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

Otto Forsberg

Your list starts one year after the 1988, which I think is one of the all time greats. I recall Stuart Y. comparing it to the legendary 1972, a comparison with which I agree. I've tasted 1988 and 1989 once side-by-side and both are among the best Musars I've ever tasted. However, in that tasting 19...

Otto Forsberg

Just like any other bottles, i.e. in cool and dark. The bottle material doesn't have any effect on this.

However, clay bottle sounds gimmicky and I suspect it's just some bulk stuff sold for tourists. Most likely the wine is nothing special that should be cellared for a long time.

Otto Forsberg

On a less serious note, what on earth would you put in the bottle if you were counterfeiting Musar? Not sure some other wine comes to mind that could pass for it. I'd mix a L bank Bdx. with a Cotes du Rhone or a red-fruited CdP. You'd still need to be quite careful which wines you'd need to use to ...

Otto Forsberg

Thanks for the notes Otto. It is good to see you mention prices and QPRs as well. Some of those prices are indeed pretty high. Napa cults seem to be in a market of their own. Thanks Jan. I guess I need to mention that these were the prices that the tasting organizers had paid for the wines and thus...

Otto Forsberg

I know. Even though the wine prices are prohibitively high in Finnish restaurants, $150 still sounds awful lot for a sub-$50 wine, although it sounds like the wine becomes suddenly way more expensive once it has crossed the pond. What’s the standard restaurant markup in Finland? 2.5-3x is typical i...

Otto Forsberg

the Tschida Himmel auf Erden rosé she's referencing would still be $100-$150 USD on a list. That much for a 25€ rosé? Yeeesshhh. I though Finnish wine pricing is crazy. He means at a restaurant. It's $46 on W-S (presumably that includes tariff). I know. Even though the wine prices are prohibitively...

Otto Forsberg

Sean S y d n e y wrote: ↑
July 7th, 2020, 11:34 am
the Tschida Himmel auf Erden rosé she's referencing would still be $100-$150 USD on a list.

That much for a 25€ rosé? Yeeesshhh. I though Finnish wine pricing is crazy.

Otto Forsberg

Early June we had a tasting that was supposed to be on old California / Australia wines, since those are styles we very rarely see here and everybody was eager to taste some. After all, it's quite easy to get your hands on old European wines around here (although the Finnish alcohol monopoly doesn't...

Otto Forsberg

I just want to say sesame is quite an accurate descriptor for mousiness, especially when one comes across it in whites or bubbly wines.

Otto Forsberg

Grosset Springvale and Polish Hill with 10+ years age are a common sight at auctions, so I'll keep my eyes open. For this one, though, I think cellaring conditions are to blame for the advanced development. I bought it from a store after I had seen it offered on their online website. When I arrived...

Otto Forsberg

I'm not that experienced so I might have overstated the development in my notes. I guess I will hunt down some older ones to really calibrate my palate. If you have such wines available, I heartily recommend you do so. For many Rieslings around the world 7 years is really nothing. And that includes...

Otto Forsberg

2013 Riesling is aged Riesling? Not according to my books! While some Rieslings might develop faster, a good Riesling should start to show some age only after 10-15 years or even longer. Many Clare Rieslings I've had have seemed wines for the long run, so a 2013 that feels that developed sounds rath...

Otto Forsberg

That Marguet seems like a good purchase for soon-ish consumption and the Roederer Vintage 2012 is a good effort for a Grande Marque to be cellared for some years more. When it comes to Vintage Champs, I'd be very wary with 2010s and pass all 2011s - unless you really know what you are buying. 2010 ...

Otto Forsberg

That Marguet seems like a good purchase for soon-ish consumption and the Roederer Vintage 2012 is a good effort for a Grande Marque to be cellared for some years more. When it comes to Vintage Champs, I'd be very wary with 2010s and pass all 2011s - unless you really know what you are buying. 2010 w...

Otto Forsberg

But, considering all the complaints about "toasty oak", there's a reason we don't see much lighter than "medium plus". Oak is harsh and green without enough toast. I'm guessing you mean that you don't see. I've had several wines made in virtually untoasted and very lightly toasted barrels. Oak is d...

Otto Forsberg

Oak does contain pyrazine. With all the variables of source, drying, cooperage, it's not a surprise some barrels impart significant pyrazine while others don't. I tried looking for such information, but couldn't find any. Do you have any sources for this? I can imagine green parts of oak could cont...

Otto Forsberg

I don't know if it has something to do with what kind of paper material they produce or what, but the stench is nothing like that. The reek that floats around there is quite flatulent / sulfurous to my nose. I'd associate it with heavy reduction / mercaptans in wine, not TCA by a long shot. I drove...

Otto Forsberg

To me it has that same wet cardboard stench. I don't know if it has something to do with what kind of paper material they produce or what, but the stench is nothing like that. The reek that floats around there is quite flatulent / sulfurous to my nose. I'd associate it with heavy reduction / mercap...

Otto Forsberg

Hans-Peter Eisele wrote: ↑
June 26th, 2020, 9:15 am
Ah, gracefully prancing Black Forest cake is fine. Once had Black Forest cake stumbling out of the glass clumsily. That wasn't pretty, that wasn't pretty at all.

Now there's a memorable first post if there ever was one!

Otto Forsberg

If any of you ever lived or passed through a town with a papermill, you will forever have the "corked" smell in your head. It is not easily forgotten. My SO is from a city that sits next to a huge paper mill and you have to drive past it to get to the city. I don't know if they do something differe...

Otto Forsberg

Bummer, as I grabbed 4 of these yesterday before seeing this. Oh well, while I've enjoy some vintages of this wine more than others, I've always (even in 2015) found the Foillard Cote du Py to be plenty tart/juicy/acidic and "red-fruited" for me to enjoy, and I can't imagine this is any less acidic...

Otto Forsberg

I think your comment on the wines nodding to southern Rhône Grenache was apposite. 2018s such as Bouland's and Foillard's are very well made, and I think they will pick up complexity with age, and age with grace. But, if you want high-toned, tangy Gamay that evokes Pinot from further north, it isn'...

Otto Forsberg

I had some similar comments on 2018 Bouland. Quite ripe. I can believe that. I had a Bouland Chiroubles 2015 awhile back and while it wasn't overkill at 13,5%, the style was nevertheless a bit too ripe, sweet and modest in acidity for what I like in Chiroubles. I have one Bouland Morgon 2016 waitin...

Otto Forsberg

Thanks everyone for the explanations. I did come across something previously that said there was wine from 1877 in here, but how much who knows? A thimble full or some real % I do not know. Maybe none and it's just an anniversary bottle? Lol I'd say definitely not. I'm quite certain no winery keeps...

Otto Forsberg

Certainly some useful 2018 Bojo data points, looking forward to the next classic vintage [snort.gif] I remember how worried I was with the 2017 already and based on these experiences 2018 seems be cut from the same cloth... Let's see if it's going to be the same thing with 2019 and 2020 as well. ro...

Otto Forsberg

They were really NV. Maria said until recently, there was substantial blending of vintages at LdH. With increased EU regulations, this practice has decreased but even now, the Reservas at LdH have around 10% of other vintages blended in even though they are vintage dated. The GRs are all 100% unble...

Otto Forsberg

Well, "Primer Centenario" mean "first Century" and I'd wager that wine is made in 1977, if Heredia is founded in 1877. Back then Heredia made NV Tondonias, so most likely that is such a wine if it doesn't have any vintage designations. I have no idea if that is a normal NV Tondonia, or if that Prime...

Otto Forsberg

2019 Anders Frederik Steen La Femme à qui? - France, Vin de France (4.6.2020) A pét-nat made from apple juice (50%) and organically farmed Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot (50%). Vinified and bottled without any fining, filtration or sulfites. 10,5% alcohol. Hazy, peachy reddish-orange color. Wild, sw...

Otto Forsberg

Something from earlier June: a tasting of French natural wines with a few classicists thrown in for contrast. The emphasis here was on Burgundy (the definition that includes Beaujolais as well), although the first flight had some other regions represented as well. About the producers we tasted: Ande...

Otto Forsberg

Thanks for the write-up. I've had Mac Forbes Hugh 2015, which was - IIRC - supposed to be an impressive Bordeaux-style red, but it turned pretty gentle, smooth and easy-drinking red. A good wine for sure, not coming across as super-heavy, over-oaked blockbuster, but feeling it lacked the intensity, ...

Otto Forsberg

Marcu$ Stanley wrote: ↑
June 20th, 2020, 6:46 pm
There are malic acids and sugar in wine and malic acids and sugar in milk but there is no milk in wine (and no wine in milk), etc. etc. many such examples.

Malic acid in milk?

Otto Forsberg

Have you tried leaving the vinegar and baking soda solution in the glasses overnight? I've had great success with stubbornly stained glasses. I recommend using either vinegar or baking soda. If you use both, you get a fizzy reaction where these components neutralize each other and if you use exactl...

Otto Forsberg

And freshness is something I'm definitely not opposed to! On the contrary - I find freshness one of the key components in great wines. However, how I define "freshness" is all too often absent in Bordeaux reds from the most recent vintages - especially in ones where St. Ém. reds can clock at 15,5% A...

Otto Forsberg

Jeff, I admire you being here. Me too - the smileys were there to hint the readers not to forget the pinch of salt. While my taste really doesn't align with Jeff's, I still want to say I respect his vast knowledge and experience on the matter and capabilities as a reliable taster. However, I also h...

Otto Forsberg

Jeff Leve wrote: ↑
June 18th, 2020, 9:50 am
The wines are young, but they are so soft, sweet, fresh and easy to taste

It sounds like I can skip Bordeaux for good.

Otto Forsberg

Man, I was in the region in early February pre-Covid19 and was looking for a winery visit in lieu of Chateau Simone who did not respond back to my last-minute email request. I wished this TN happened much earlier and I could have tried for a visit at Bonnaud's. In any case, nice notes and will now ...

Otto Forsberg

Indeed! And I would never consider Simone's roses to be a "light" one. Man, you folks drink well in Finland. For a State alcohol system you get such variety, I'm sure Ontarians would be jealous. I wonder if climate change or other factors are responsible for shifts 2015+, as I've never felt Simone'...

Otto Forsberg

Well, that bottle was a recent purchase from an auction, so it's still possible to find such gems at random! And from what I heard, I guess there's still another bottle left where that particular rosé came from, so there's always a possibility to get to taste one if we arrange another brosé bronanza...

Otto Forsberg

The problem is that people write 60 seconds, and 45 and 50 seconds, as if this were measurable, like alcohol. Jeff said he actually timed it! So this isn’t a metaphor. It’s faux scientific wine assessment. And when I read that stuff, I think some is fooling themselves. Still, what he wants to tell ...

Otto Forsberg

And I’m saying that measuring is in seconds is BS because the measured time varies with each individual and the wine and/or food they’ve had before the sip that’s timed. Your still on the wrong track, John. Jeff is measuring his own perception of length of a wine, not some magical absolute number w...

Otto Forsberg

I don’t think they/we are denying that a lot of Bordeaux smells and tastes like Black Forest cake today. We’re just saying that it didn’t used to. Exactly this. I'm not saying it didn't smell like it, it just doesn't sound something like I've ever had from any barrel sample, no matter how much cher...

Otto Forsberg

Château Simone Blanc is typically a blend of organically farmed Clairette (80%), Grenache Blanc (10%), Bourboulenc (5%), Ugni Blanc (3%) and Muscat (2%). Fermented spontaneously with indigenous yeasts in oak vats. Aged for 18 months in old oak barriques, of which the first 6 months with fine lees. H...

Otto Forsberg

In late May one of my friends who had been collecting some Palette wines for some time decided that he wanted to have a tasting on the whites of Palette. Since Palette is such a small appellation (43 ha / 106 acres), you really don't have many producers to choose from (there are 5 producers in the w...

Otto Forsberg

Sorry, but good Bordeaux tastes absolutely nothing like Black Forest cake. Maybe one of those Chocovine chocolate-infused reds that get sold around Valentine’s Day might have some notes of Black Forest cake but decent Bordeaux doesn’t This, so many times this. I can accept is a young Vintage Port t...

Otto Forsberg

Both Valentini Cerasuolo and LdH Gran Reserva Tondonia Rosado are some of the greatest rosés I know, but apart from their remarkable quality I really see no similarities with them whatsoever. To me that sounds like saying a Grand Cru Burgundy is similar to a Rioja Gran Reserva. The "very unique" par...

Otto Forsberg

In late May one of my friends arranged a producer-themed tasting on Weingut Heinrich. I guess not that many are familiar with Heinrich, so perhaps I should have an introductory of sorts here. So, in short, Heinrich is a winery located in Burgenland, i.e. that wine region in the easternmost Austria, ...

Otto Forsberg

R M Kriete wrote: ↑
June 9th, 2020, 8:38 am
I'm a sucker for Champagnes with a bready/yeasty quality. Which with these qualities would be recommended?

Charles Heidsieck
Bollinger LGA and up
Marguet
Lahaye
Selosse
Egly-Ouriet
Boulard

The more you can cellar these, the toastier they tend to become.

Otto Forsberg

Well, if I remember correctly, Rocca delle Macie's Chianti Classico Riserva is a rather modernist Chianti with some Merlot and Cab in the blend and aged in French oak barriques. It's not a surprise it would fare nicely on its own. I personally haven't tasted the Rocca delle Macie's CCR myself, but b...

Otto Forsberg

Leonard Taylor wrote: ↑
June 8th, 2020, 2:49 pm
Just tried logging on and Bad Gateway. Anyone else having issues?

Had some of these yesterday evening (aka probably somewhere around 2 pm to 5 pm in the States).

Otto Forsberg

Oh yes, missed out the vintage completely. That would explain the lack of fruit, definitely.

But still: I've never had a Chianti with too much acidity!

(Perhaps some 2014s with too little fruit to back up all the acidity, though...)

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