Wine Berserkers - international wine social media, online community, and forums

I was just in Tuscany his month and will echo Chris S’ thoughts. Fuligni was excellent - very personal, great wine. Ciacci Piccolomini d’Aragona was fine but bland. More like a Napa retail type visit, and the wines were not as good either. I wish I had time for more visits! For folks who have been m...

I think it's clear why there is a long run trend to higher pricing. What I wonder is whether the recent (last two years or so) lurch upward in pricing is sustainable. It feels like a lot of grand crus that had already attained the hyper-expensive $150-$250 level are now going for the stratospheric ...

Listening is dead at retail.

They also have Champ de Reves and Maggy Hawk - both make good quality pinots. Small though so may not see much super market distro.

I thought this article (published by a retailer so also just be viewed through that lens) was actually pretty interesting as well. The only annoying misleading thing was the bogus click-bait title. But that’s the way things go in web publishing.

Realm

2013 Burlotto Monvigliero (HDH). Had a 2015 in Italy and it was superb. Looking forward to the ‘13s.

I’ve bought quite a bit from Winebid and have had good results. Very few bad bottles. However, I’m pretty careful - don’t bid on anything too iffy in terms of condition. I have noticed that there are some categories that have really increased in price the last few years. There are still deals on Win...

Ah yea. And the Barlow is a great venue to try things in Sebastopol.

@Tom: awesome listing. @Ben: if you want to go further up the coast a bit, the Anderson Valley (over the border into Mendocino) has many producers with really good wines, most in your price range. Try Handley, Navarro, Drew, MacPhail, Lazy Creek, Philips Hill, or Foursight, though there many more. A...

I like this openness, experimentation and flexibility. And since all these grapes are (likely) going to be low percentage blending grapes, it seems like their purpose is to make up for deficiencies in acid, body, tannin, etc. that the traditional grapes start to develop. Bordeaux has always been abo...

La Louviere can be a great value. In the mid-tier I’ve liked Malartic-Lagraviere.

Great story!

I think this seems unlikely in its pure form for a bunch of reasons. Auctions would be most attractive to wineries that regularly sell out (or get close to it). In this situation a Dutch auction or similar mechanism would be good at finding a high price, probably higher than the winery’s release pri...

I’m good the last weekend of August!

Yes it’s hot in Europe this week. I’m in Tuscany (95 F today), but focus on morning activities, shade, and hopping in the pool in the afternoon. Evenings are beautiful. As a San Franciscan I’m a weather wimp, but just have to adapt to a different flow to enjoy the summer here.

2015 Lagrange (St. Julien). One of my favorites from 2015 tastings and a proven ager. If you like more age on your wines, then buy 2005, 2009, or 2010.

While I like the wine making direction, and really enjoy the wines, the price increases have left me sadly behind. I will still buy the Castiglione, and look for Perbacco in restaurants, but otherwise I’m priced out. I assumed the price increases were part of the new ownership.

First, I’d install a lock. Then, I’d confront the housekeeper. If she admits it, I’d fire her. If she denies it ... I’m not sure what I would do. There ARE other possible thieves. All seem unlikely, but any are possible. I’d probably tell the story to the other suspects and see how they respond. Now...

Panos you couldn’t have posted in a more sympathetic place. To be a Berserker is to passionately pursue the great wine under $50 before others discover it. And at the same time to crack and pay up for the great wine we all know about. I would love to attend this 2005 Bordeaux event in 5 or 10 years....

Robert.A.Jr. wrote: ↑
June 10th, 2019, 12:16 pm

Little ‘ol me, on the other hand, if this means more Cab Franc in the blend, I’m buying a huge gas guzzling full-time fourwheel drive British SUV.

LOL

Pretty interesting article about how How climate change is affecting wine making, with a focus on Bordeaux. https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/food/climate-change-is-reshaping-wine-as-we-know-it/2019/06/06/7d8082c8-8861-11e9-98c1-e945ae5db8fb_story.html I found this quote especially stunning. ...

I saw this article too and thought these numbers made no sense. Terrible reporting.

Sarah, I was in a similar boat as you a few years ago. A million mile + lifer on AA, I was one long round trip short of Exec Plat in mid December. I bought a cross country round trip (CA to NY) to get over the edge, and that seemed worth it to me. No complex calculation though. Why? Access to EXP ph...

Brian, I’d love to come pending dates. Aug 17 is good for me for now. Maybe we can open that Becklyn you’ve been kindly storing for me

but I have no idea how old the vines are !

I think this is a perfectly reasonable question. My only issue is lack of clarity around how much the friend wants to spend. DRC (other than RC) is $1500 (Echezeaux in a lesser vintage) to $5k+ (La Tache in a good vintage) and beyond. Roughly. Most of the suggest here are in the $1500-$3000 range. S...

People love to predict apocalyptic endings to successes like Napa, and extrapolate massively from one (unclear) data point. I will take the opposite tack. Napa is here to stay and will be a premium wine region for the rest of our lives (absent some hideous externality like a world war or some such)....

I like these wines (Cali cab) but indeed as the prices push out of my comfort zone, I find myself returning to Bordeaux for Cabernet based wines I choose to afford. It’s a big world of wine.

Thanks Ross. Btw I noticed the new “sort by 750” feature. I like it, thanks!

Markus S wrote: ↑
June 4th, 2019, 7:42 am
Too many good wines available from everywhere, it's so hard to keep up!

Hah true enough!

I agree with the group. No problem at all that there is a deep wide pool of well priced highly available German Riesling. I’m relatively new to these wines and am just building a collection. Very much loving experimenting and tasting without breaking the bank. My only concern is that there is actual...

Do you know if they like California, French, or perhaps Oregon chardonnays?

Great notes, thank you for the report. So many ‘85 Bordeaux are in a great place now!

I’m in the drink camp, but mostly because I’ve had precious few bottles like this. I’m sure the restaurant has other bottles if this is bad.

Sitting at Ridge today looking out over Lytton Springs and sipping on the ‘17 Geyserville (finally in some beautiful weather after a dreary couple weeks here). Another in a string of superb and consistent vintages. As usual, already delicious now and with only good things ahead of it. Ah, I missed ...

Good discussion, always interesting to compare these things. Flawed poll though.

Btw I drink and enjoy both Chablis and SCM chards. For a rec on a < $60 Chablis, I really have been enjoying the Moreau-Naudet 2016s. Sharp and reliable young, ask me in a few years about aging

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Another point - any quality winery producing a range of wines will have customers with different preferences. You can be a Pinot Noir specialist, or a range of types of wines. I know enough regular buyers of some of these PN specialists that different friends buy different selections from those pro...

I’d love some detailed thoughts/tasting experiences. I too have gotten the German Riesling bug and have been impressed by many of the GGs I’ve tasted - especially Dönnhoff, Schäfer-Fröhlich, and Clemens Busch. I like them a lot young, but mostly am letting them age a bit. A tasting would be fun.

In ‘15 I was really impressed by the Jadot and Faiveley (especially Faiveley). By comparison BdM was showing poorly. For ‘16 I’ve only tasted the Henri Boillot which really impressed me. More eye catching given the overall weakness of ‘16 whites at this year’s La Paulee.

Not sure what you mean by host/guide. For the four tastings (I assume at wineries) I wouldn’t tip. I’ve tasted at many wineries and these don’t usually feel like tipping moments. If I like the wine, I buy a bottle. If I like it a lot, I buy more. If you’ve hired a guide who is accompanying you or dr...

Auction offerings are certainly not sparse. In the US I'm seeing more breadth and depth come into market via auctions. Those with cellars of any size are seeing the market froth and selling. K&L is running 750 - 800 auctions a week, that seems very high. Zachy's is running more frequent in-person au...

I’m with Craig on this - solid buy if in your price range. Of the lower tiers I’ve really loved the Mercurys. I’ve tasted some ‘15s and ‘16s including the Cazetiers and that turned me into a buyer. If you can find the Clos des Cortons or Mazis at decent prices they are what passes for good value GCs...

I think JJK’s list is pretty close to what I think makes sense in terms of classified producers. I haven’t tasted them all and would probably move some up and down a bit but the overall approach seems right to me. But. Schrader owned zero vines before it was bought by Constellation in 2017. Now that...

At first glance I thought this was a pure troll thread. But, no. This comes down to your own subjective POV on what “better” is. I’d think ‘lighter’ wines are usually considered less complex. And isn’t complexity generally considered better? So I’d vote no on this thread. Of course if you like ligh...

At first glance I thought this was a pure troll thread. But, no. This comes down to your own subjective POV on what “better” is. I’d think ‘lighter’ wines are usually considered less complex. And isn’t complexity generally considered better? So I’d vote no on this thread. Of course if you like light...

I have some of these (been buying mostly Le Mont sec since 2010) and will be sad if some bottles are bad. I’ll pop a ‘12 and ‘13 soon to see. I have opened a ‘12 as recently as last year and it was fine, as expected. Any my stash of ‘02s (last one consumed in 2016) were all good. I’m not saying ther...

Brunello Gelato in Montalcino. Weird, dark, bitter, intense. Not really a dessert thing but on a hot summer day it held its own.

While I’ve loved the aged white Burgs I’ve had, the price times the risk has really held me back. So my strategy now is to buy 1ers and drink them at 5-10 years old, village slightly shorter and Bourgogne Blanc for near-term consumption. PYCM 2017 BB for example is absolutely delightful right now.

Most of the wines discussed here can be found in many back vintages under $150. It seems like the Grand Crus appreciate more in cost, though this is a very rough guess. The harder part is finding the wines. But I’d recommend looking for these kinds of bottlings from vintages like 1997, 1998, 2000, 2...

Many good suggestions here. I’d add Bertheau Charmes, Clerget Caillerets, Hudelot Noellat Charmes, Leroux Vosne-Romanee, and more obscure, Francois Lumpp A Vigne Rouge, has really impressed me. And I’ll vote further for Gouges, Faiveley, and Arnoux.

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