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Sometimes there's an intangible aspect to a wine that's just pleasurable. Not, or not solely, smell or taste or anything else you can identify, but perhaps something somehow triggered an endorphin release or something.

Hyde de Villaine

Supposedly the sales rep “accidentally” gave it to the store. Their intention was to provide a case of the mt veeder, not this wine. Was told the wine has an msrp of $40 and Restaraunt’s are supposed to sell it for $80 each. Just don’t know if it’s worth keeping one at the $40/btl I paid. For $40? ...

It's my understanding Rose of Peru is the Anglicized historic California name, from the Spanish Rosa de Peru, since the grape came to the missions from Peru. Seems like a more romantic, more marketable name. I'd guess Mission came naturally from people describing it as "the mission grape" rather tha...

Could a wine like this simply be "rebottled" in a bunch of empty 375s (or even smaller containers, filled almost all the way to the top of the neck with just enough headspace to push the cork about 1.5cm in? I know many sweet wines (Sauternes, etc.) can last weeks/months after being opened, and I a...

La Mission ... can Nobility rest on blended wines? ( please no cracks about British aristocracy) Red Bdx are blended wines, so why not? That brings to mind Petite Verdot. Fantastic blending grape that really adds to some world-class wines. I've had very good varietal PV, but not sure it has the pot...

Joshua Kates wrote: ↑
November 26th, 2020, 5:05 am

Wes Barton wrote: ↑
November 24th, 2020, 1:00 am
With Ridge as my benchmark, I've never given a shit about brix
Do you call that "shitting Brix"?

Nah. The opposite.

Among the best SB I've had is Austrian. Some Napa Cab producers make excellent classically ripe SB that appeals to my preference for '70s era ripeness Napa Cabs and red Bdx, hitting a lot of those same notes, while their Cabs are unfocused, soft, murky indifference. Maybe it's as a small production ...

Trout Gulch - Chardonnay. Planting began in 1977. Though Arnot-Roberts cites 1980. Don't know if that's their block, when the first Chard went in or what. Antle Vyd. and possibly others in the Chalone AVA still have OV Melon de Bourgogne. Don't know if the oldest vines still exist, which were plante...

I suspect there have already been threads on this subject, but I was looking for a particular wine the other day and was confronted with this massive 3L 2002 Dr. Loosen Bernkasteler Lay eiswein. It's nearly as tall as a couple of my kids. I mean, I really do like riesling in all its manifestations,...

A lot of weird things move the market. Was the high-octane thing really what the consumers wanted or what they were lead to believe? I'm sure it's some of both, playing off each other. The critics rewarding the new style were guessing. Hordes of winemakers got on the bandwagon to riches, best guessi...

That's not our problem, sure, but it takes a brave winery to commit the time to establish them and, mostly importantly, selling them. I agree completely that it does take a brave winery to commit to these lesser known grapes - in reality, it probably takes quite a few more than just one to make the...

Great article which reaches a conclusion which ought to be self-evident. The author mentions Sylvaner, and that's a textbook example of how, like many rock stars, popularity comes and goes: I believe at some point in the early part of the last century it was more ubiquitous than Riesling in German ...

Hmmm, Wes....how do you go about making picking decisions to do that?? I can see if you pick at Brix in the upper 20's or above, you won't get the aromatics & varietal expression right. But 20-25 Brix, how you make that choice?? Or do you do like we do in Science...make a WAG (wild-a$$ guess)? Tom ...

Interesting follow-up info, Wes. I am curious how you came up with the idea of testing out Touriga Nacional. Do you have favorite expressions of this in Portuguese wines? Not a huge amount of info. I'd had enough Portuguese and California examples to get an idea of its expression and importance in ...

We're living in a time where we have the resources to explore grape varieties in a way never before possible. Sanitation, techniques, equipment, sharing of information... People around the world are working to get the best out of grapes, whatever the issues. We're moving beyond the cookie-cutter win...

I can think of potential reasons some Saratoga sites could've been tainted. The most plausible would be topographical. There were fires up along the summit. A channel leading down to the site could protect the densest smoke from dilution, greatly countering much of the time it took to get there. Als...

IIRC, Rudy spent millions buying up trophy wines (raising the prices across the board) sharing them to gain access to the “heavy lumber” crowd THEN started he started counterfeiting said trophy wines and selling them having already establishing himself as a great wine taster etc.... So, he does kno...

I agree with Otto on the lacrima. It really is incredibly aromatic, but the structure of the wine is a bit flabby and tough for with food. I will say that I definitely enjoy a glass or so as a happy hour drink on its own though. More than a glass can get to be a bit much for me thoguh. Yup, Michael...

Adam Frisch wrote: ↑
November 18th, 2020, 9:35 am
Thanks Wes. Marco Capelli was the name I was forgetting. The Miraflores Missions is also one of the few Missions I've not had from CA. I'll have to seek one out.

Marco is who pointed Ken to the Somers Vyd. and gave him tips on how to make the Angelica.

Michael S. wrote: ↑
November 17th, 2020, 9:15 pm
Regarding free run vs. press, once you've been on skins in tank for any length of time you basically have a slurry. I'm not all that surprised that we're not seeing wildly differing results between the two.

I heard about some roses being badly tainted.

But to be clear, there are a few producers who make Angelica. Gypsy Canyon Winery in Santa Barbara and at least 2 or 3 from Amador County grapes (Deaver Ranch and Story Winery fruit, most likely). Deaver has their own. We tasted a barrel sample that was about 10 years out alongside their much young...

Adam Frisch wrote: ↑
November 17th, 2020, 10:44 am
What's Sangelica?

Was sort of joking with that. I did some fortification experiments with Sangiovese. One is very Angelica-like, so that's what I'm calling it.

Yup, Adam... Bryan's Angelica is beautiful. Angelica is much more akin to Ratafia than Port/Sherry/Madeira. Usually they take the juice & hit it w/ brandy immediately, though, by law, they must ferment it to 0.5% alcohol before fortifying. This Angelica will be coming into its own about when you re...

Could be glass flaw. I’ve had this happen a few times with an ah-so and corks that are much bigger than the opening. They force the prongs to exert more pressure onto the side walls making it more prone to break. Usually it happens with younger or synthetic corks as they’re still quite a bit more r...

If you value being a drinker more than being an investor/collector there are plenty of good deals out there in the sense of wines that massively outperform their price point. Once you know your own palate I think it's pretty routine to be able to get wines that are at least "as good as" wines two t...

Hyde de Villaine

Agree this is an excellent vintage of a great wine. Quintessential back-up-the truck wine, since it drinks so well now and will age well. Buy more than you will drink young, and don't feel any pressure to keep your hands off them.

Haven't had a bottle recently, but have tasted several verticals and plenty of individual bottles of various maturity. Should be fine.

Funny. Bryan always wanted more tannin and acid. He'd bought a couple Slovenian botti, which he was working to get neutral before using with Neb, intending to go even more serious. They did seem to get better and better each vintage. The '08, his first attempt, always seemed disjointed to me. Easily...

Sometimes you get a sucky cork.

Sometimes I wonder why I sit on all this wine waiting for it to magically transform into some awesome elixir. This weekend I opened a 2011 Bedrock Papera Ranch Zinfandel that had transformed into something that I didn’t enjoy as much as I did the last time I opened one. I mean, it was good and all ...

Agree with John in presuming this is a no/low sulfur wine. You can get all sorts of weirdness, to varying degrees, in those. A small amount of SO2 doesn't protect against everything, but quite a lot. I've had "fishy" in wines. Not sure about this one, but many of these odd notes in wine really are t...

any noticed difference between white or red white for how long they can last? With the wine protected from oxygen, the issue is the volatile aromatic compounds. As the headspace increases, they leave the solution finding a new equilibrium. That's not all (potential) aromatics, and not all wines hav...

My Bedrock experience isn't vast, but what I've had on release has been fantastic. They seem to also have the stuff to age, so I have to assume some will find excellent mature sweet spots. To me, that's fun. Most consumers do drink their wine soon after purchase. One thing to consider: your '11 Bedr...

Portugal is what first came to mind for meeting all my interests. I see other good choices posted, but my second place place would probably be Switzerland.

Just like with my comment about Ridge wines, I wonder if you are drinking a wine at 6 years old that is meant to be drunk at 15-20 years old and then judging it based on what it tastes like now. You do not name the wine, making it hard to know whether this is the case, but if so it seems silly. Not...

'81 La Crema Vinera Vin Gris de Pinot Noir. Vibrant, touch of glycerin, seems to have spent time in oak with the dusty tannin. Arancia rosso and antique wood. 88pts

I agree with the first part, but the last part? Any examples? As far as neutral being bothersome, our last OL back in the beforetimes we had two French wines where they oak stuck out to me. There was debate, but I recognized the oak. One was a mature wine where the oak was in the mix, but a mismatc...

Idlewild is really good and a great qpr. Focus is on grapes from the Piemonte region, both single variety and masterful blends. I see one on K&L for $20, so that's a no brainer to try if you follow the good advice ordering from there. Btw, their reds are lighter in body, wonderfully expressive and r...

I'm guessing that these would have been better off being shipped ground. It may be that the pressure differential in an unpressurized cargo air shipment was too much for the old corks. No problem with the seepage, but upon returning to normal external pressure they may have sucked in a bit of air, ...

Don, all this is hard to believe and nothing but a scandal. I mean if it is right that the police shows zero interest because the victims are wealthy this argument isn´t logic. The police is interested if a thief steals a Picasso from someones house or if a fraudster tries to sell a faked Picasso. ...

The 2013 Ridge Geezer, which I loved, only had 15% new. Normally I'm not a Zin fan but I was surprised by how much I liked this wine (the 2013 geezer) and thought "boy have I been missing out!" So I went out and bought the 2014 and 2015. Well the wine gods can be capricious and the 14 and 15 have s...

We had the '17 Estate and Klein CSs today. A lighter vintage. Light in body and fruit intensity, the oak was very subtle. They'll pick up weight and should be excellent in a decade.

As far as generalizations about French oak go, there's such a huge array of expressions. Many are hyper-aggressive and will utterly ruin many wines. The same wine that can excel in 100% new "French oak" can be destroyed by "neutral" "French oak". I agree with the first part, but the last part? Any ...

Again, this one vintage is a total anomaly for Ridge. None of the prior or subsequent vintages of the Estate and none of their other wines have shown their oak like this. As far as generalizations about French oak go, there's such a huge array of expressions. Many are hyper-aggressive and will utter...

Bryan did some research and the best French Negrettes he tasted, and what inspired him to take a shot, were done with 100% carbonic maceration, so that's what he did here. There's a recent Harrington offering posted here: https://www.wineberserkers.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=173838&hilit=harringt...

There are a few previous threads on this anomaly. I didn't like it at all when tasting as a current release or a couple years later. Didn't buy any. It's good to hear from Craig that it's moving in the right direction, and hope it resolves. I'm sure I'll be offered a glass of it now and then in the ...

Ridge's Petites from Lytton Springs and Geyserville tend to be lighter and open on release. Their York Creeks have tended to need extended aging and reward it. I have yet to delve into my own '90s era stash. Haven't had a current release in a long time, but don't expect a major change. A lot of thei...

Incompetent bumbling employees. It's no wonder that they don't want the owner hearing about this, regardless of if it's still Bob or not.

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