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

Oh very interesting. The only 96 WA I have left are a couple of bottles of QC. Curious then to check in on them!

I have a few older Leonetti (single bottles) and wonder if I have waited too long. Maybe not.

Curious about the Napa fruit -- I did not realize they did that. Any idea of how often, or when/if they stopped?

My memory of what he told me back in 2000 or so was that he named the wine BF because he crushed the grapes with his feet -- thus the Bionic Frog imagery -- bouncing up and down on the grapes. Not inconsistent with the Australia story.....

So those of you who got the 2010 bionic frog are particularly lucky. That year everyone got lower allocations because of lower production. So normally I would have received 6 but only got 3. I have not tried them yet so cannot comment on quality. But the tasting notes as I recall are pretty positive.

1 — 2011 BIONIC FROG SY 750 ML 1 — 2013 EN CERISE SYRAH 750 ML 1 — 2012 GOD ONLY KNOWS 750 ML 1 — 2013 CAMASPELO 750 ML 1 — 2014 WIDOWMAKER 750 ML Would anyone mind sharing some insight into the differences between the Widowmaker and the Camaspelo in terms of character and drinking windows? I joine...

I have had one or two. I keep meaning to open another. My memory is the first one I had was not that exciting. The second was better. But I remember thinking, oh this tastes good, more like the syrahs. But of course not as good. So why not just have one of the syrahs, which I generally love. I stopp...

You nailed it about Checkmate, Ron. Part of their marketing is to push the price into that perceived "cult" territory. And it seems to be working, so all power to them. Just when advising consumers I can't really recommend it when Meyer and Blue Mountain (among others) are making such delicious cha...

I also got three (which is what I requested): Flying Pig (2011); Lovers (2012); and En Cerise Syrah (2013).

Sean -- thanks so much for this! I am going to save it, as I hope to get back to the Okanagan soon. I was there once last year, and thoroughly enjoyed it. We had a nice tasting at Le Vieux Pin -- though I tend to agree with you that while they make some interesting wines, rhone blends are not the st...

Our wine group here in Seattle has started to approach a local wine shop and have them curate a few bottles for us. We give them a general idea of our tastes (which are pretty broad and eclectic), give a total dollar cap, and ask them to pick 3 wines that they would recommend. A variation is we ask ...

There are some wineries who are doing something like this. Obviously it is just with their wines. The ones that immediately come to mind are Dirty & Rowdy, and Rasa. But I am sure there are others. The Dirty & Rowdy one I did was excellent. I have not done Rasa so cannot comment on how good it is, b...

Lol. First time? Shame on them. Not sure what happens when you reach a dozen!

Yes. Hard pass. Based on what I've been reading it seems like Garagiste is rarely a deal... accurate? I think usually the prices are competitive. Sometimes a few dollars less than elsewhere on a 30 or 40 dollar bottle. Some have notes that the whites tend to be better deals. Others have more experi...

I cannot of course speak for the moderators, but I assume that the issue is not political versus non-political, but political related to wine versus non-political related to wine. Supporting or opposing diversity, or human rights, or anything else is, by definition, a political act. I think some peo...

Here's a link to a blog post in Vinography about Betts resigning. Also in the post is a link to a video from a black woman who aspired to become a Master Somm. She was forced to call her teacher, "master". https://www.vinography.com/2020/06/sommelier-richard-betts-throws-away-his-pin Thanks for thi...

I think Glenn was asking about Arvid's interview that was referenced above in post 30. I too would be interested in it if it is available.

Any idea what the price will be?

Damn it. I resisted for 36 hours, and then broke down..... In for six.

OK, Kloof Street sounds like a kid's TV show, or a place patrolled by the Keystone Cops. As a wine, it’s pretty good. Dan Kravitz Kloof street was one of my old haunts when I lived in Cape Town in the 1990s. The first home of Melissas and later Cafe Vida. I don’t think the wine was available back t...

So Sarah, after this discussion and so many good ideas, do you have a plan? Who said I was looking for one? Certainly not me! :) As I have said up-thread - I wasn't asking for advice. My question was about what others have experienced. No where in the OP or after have I asked for any "help" dealing...

I'm new to this game. And have a hard time tasting the difference between a $100 Cab and a $225 Cab but I haven't had much $225 Cab in my life, to be fair. I work in the stock market and approach this discussion from that perspective. When there is a hot IPO, you can't get allocation to it. And it'...

Yes, this is really good - a wine I find often on restaurant lists when I'm travelling. But with great other choices available (Ridge Estate, Dehlinger, Scherrer, the Montecillo Vineyard wines) it's not so "easy!" Mike, if you are looking for prime Napa fruit made “old school” style Frogs Leap is a...

My newest discovery in this category is JB Neufeld. Their basic Yakima bottling is an amazing value at about 30 per bottle. Their reserve is I think around 45. All of them and their two blondes vineyard bottling punch way above their weight.

I know that different wine clubs provide different add-ons or events for their members, but I just had something different provided from joining the newly created wine club of JB Neufeld. I placed my allocation order (12 bottles). They arrived maybe a week ago. Sort of sitting in our basement room. ...

Brian S t o t t e r wrote: ↑
May 12th, 2020, 7:52 pm

Ron Slye wrote: ↑
May 12th, 2020, 7:11 pm
I wonder if grapes that have listened to music create wine that pairs especially well with the same music?

https://demorgenzon.com/music/

(I have been in the vineyards and heard the music.)
This is literally Baby Einstein for grapes.

I wonder if grapes that have listened to music create wine that pairs especially well with the same music?

https://demorgenzon.com/music/

(I have been in the vineyards and heard the music.)

I concur with Grassl Cru. I also like the Riedel Sommelier Syrah -- so I assume the Vinum would be similar The Riedel concentrates the flavors (which was good with a 2011 Kerloo (WA state) grenache tonight). The Cru made it a bit more open -- so good for more flowery, almost pinot-type grenaches. Th...

There have been a LOT of mystery offers lately though. I was on a virtual wine tasting with Peay wines last week and Andy Peay mentioned that they are not getting any orders from restaurants any more. I am 100% sure that is true for all wineries. While the % will vary of course, that's is a good 15...

The last one was a raffle. You were told what would be offered and the cost and the then you signed up for x bottles and took what you drew. I got three bottles which were not wines I would have chosen, but they were good. I've been on the list for a few years and I didn't get this offer. I don't h...

Their prices are significantly lower than current retail but higher than release prices. I think it's a fair offering and appreciate the opportunity to buy some properly aged bottles directly from the producer. Fair to charge a bit more than release. How much more are they charging? I haven't gone ...

Oh yes of course Kris. My understanding is not that Jeff and Sheila are closing because of economic issues (pre or post covid), but if you read their website it is a conscious choice to travel and spend more time with friends. Having said that, there are many who are selling cheap or closing not out...

Oh I should also say, the wines are really excellent. I think some of the exuberance here is a discovery that some really excellent wines were being made here and I, at least, was not aware of them. Even at their original price they were quite good value, which is a testament to the great skill of t...

While I think the concern Kris raises in general is well placed and well meaning, I do not think it applies in this case. Jeff and Sheila planned to close their winery back in June of 2019, way before the COVID 19 downturn. I have met them briefly a few times recently as they have hand delivered the...

Oh understood. Thanks anyway!

Oh understood. Thanks anyway!

Lee Short wrote: ↑
April 28th, 2020, 3:54 pm
Anything to report, Alan?

Lee. Do you have a good source of lamb in the Seattle area you would recommend?

I can attest to the qualify of Le Vieux Pin as well. I also like their lower-tiered syrah -- Violete. Very interesting flavors -- not meant for aging, but still very enjoyable right now.

Oh good Steve! I just opened the regular Pinot Blanc -- I think slightly less good than the Barbie, though still really excellent. I am drinking it on day two, and it is singing now!

I'd love to see pinot blanc/bianco develop more in OR as well. It's a similar latitude as Trentino-Alto Adige, would be great to have wines of comparable quality produced domestically. I concur on PB, but I’m not counting on it. With Chardonnay on a fast ascent and PB being a niche grape, I don’t e...

2014 Davenport Cellars Mr. B - USA, Washington, Columbia Valley (5/3/2020) Drank this over a few years. At first a bit fruit forward for me; then after a few days at first seemed a bit over oaky to me; but in the glass, after three days with about 2 inches left in the bottle, this really started to...

Oh that makes sense. And in fact I think I just misread the article. For some reason I thought the oil was added after cooking. Thanks for the clarification!

The serious eats recipe is definitely one I am going to try -- though perhaps with the colander variation rather than baking soda. What I dont understand is the separating the aromatics from the oil, then adding the oil and then the aromatics back -- any reason not to strain and just add the oil wit...

Ok I am now drinking the 2014 Mr. B. On PnP I thought this was good -- a bit fruit forward for me at first, not quite as complex as I like. And of course with a few hours in the glass, the bright fruit is still there, but there is an overlay of tobacco leaf, mushrooms, and many other lovely savory f...

I have tried all of them except the Mouverdre -- they are all approachable now, but so young. They definitely have lots of life ahead. So it depends a bit on how you like your wine. For me, I want to wait at least five more years on the Elevacion and Alturas. The Esquito I did not like as much at fi...

that's a good guess. This article has a bunch of the same language in the email, prices line up decently and of course it's a WA wine where Garagiste gets a lot of their deals. Price is definitely solid if not crazy low (winery offers it on sale at $25 periodically (before shipping). I see CT has t...

Dave H. wrote: ↑
May 1st, 2020, 9:20 am

ChrisWolff wrote: ↑
May 1st, 2020, 9:17 am
So what do we think the 'greatest white wine' in the world is today?
My guess is Delille Chaleur Blanc.

That would be a great price then. But the community average (if the reference is to CT) is not 92-3 for any vintage of Chaleur Blanc.

No. Might open one tonight. I just bought all of their remaining semillon!

I just bought a case of the 2008 RHD to hand out to my students as an end of year celebratory present (I would normally have them over to the house for wine and cheese, but of course cannot do that now). Some of my students expressed an interest in white. I asked Sheila when I ordered the RHD (and a...

We have the Breville double broiler as well, and love it. And a fancy grinder -- just bought a Mazzer Mini when the Macap stopped working (I think because we did not use it properly, which is another story). We have been very happy with what we have. Yes, there is a bit of fiddling required, especia...

Can't believe it took 43 replies before someone mentioned Cayuse. The winemaker is from the Rhone. Actually, Christophe is from the Champagne region, not the Rhone. At one time he was talking about bringing in the family wines, but I don't know if that ever materialized? He has just started produci...

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