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

I wanted a Burgundy but it had to go decently with brisket. So, we opened a NSG - a 2006 Hospices de Nuits Nuits St. Georges 1er Cru Les Didiers Cuvée Jacques Duret Faiveley (Hospices Auction Group). It did pretty well in that it was richer with nice plum flavors but not that much complexity that wo...

It's possible that I'm just a terrible taster, but we just did a dinner a few months ago with a bunch of 05s, and the clear winners were two non 05 ringers. Even wines as plush and typically open as Mugneret Gibourg's Fueselottes need 3 hours or more to open up. (On pop and pour a few weeks earlier...

FWIW in relation to whites I reckon 2013s might be a real bolster. Very early days of course. Again, with whites, I would say that the real underrated vintage is 1993. Parker trashed both the reds and whites from this vintage, but the wines from both colors are really good. I also agree with the co...

The hope is that you're right, the fear is that you're wrong. 2005s have plenty of acidity. 2005s have everything. It's as close as you can get to a sure thing in wine. Comparing it to '95 just sounds craaaazy to me. '95 has had hard tannin forever and some of them lost their fruit before they even...

If we are now going back in time, I am going with 1993.

My feeling about recent vintages is this. 1999, 2005 (I hope) and 2010 are the great vintages. I'm less confident making that call on 2005, as I have some concerns that it might go the way of 96 (though I really hope I'm wrong). I also think 2016 is a great vintage, personally. What’s happening wit...

My feeling about recent vintages is this. 1999, 2005 (I hope) and 2010 are the great vintages. 2004 is a poor vintage and 2003 and 2011 are very uneven. Everything else since at least 1999 is at least pretty good, although they can be stylistically very different from each other. How to rank these v...

So far, what I have tasted in red from 2019 is very exciting indeed... I tasted Cécile Tremblay's wines the other day (she moves her barrels up a level in the cellar after harvest, before bottling next year, so I like to go early before the lees are disturbed by that operation) and it's clearly her...

So, by your definition Lafite, Margaux and Ausone are not great wine houses. [There is a debate (above) about the consistency of Grunhaus. I doubt there would be too many people trying to argue that these properties have not had down periods - anyone who disagrees should try, say, the 1970s from an...

Since this thread is already way off-topic.... Question for Von Schubert fans: is it reasonable to say, at least as a rough rule of thumb, that in general Abtsberg > Herrenberg? Or do we not go there? For my palate, yes. But this should not be taken to mean that Herrenberg isn't also wonderful. Agr...

eweininger wrote: ↑
September 16th, 2020, 6:42 pm
Since this thread is already way off-topic....

Question for Von Schubert fans: is it reasonable to say, at least as a rough rule of thumb, that in general Abtsberg > Herrenberg? Or do we not go there?

For my palate, yes.

19s sound like they will be tremendous. So far, what I have tasted in red from 2019 is very exciting indeed... I tasted Cécile Tremblay's wines the other day (she moves her barrels up a level in the cellar after harvest, before bottling next year, so I like to go early before the lees are disturbed...

I agree on the 1979 Ausone. But, I was specifically talking about 1970, which was a fabulous vintage where none of these properties made very good wines. Certainly, each of these had a period around this time of severe underperformance, although the specific dates differ. Try 1983s, 1989s and 1990s...

This is easy, despite great Terrior Von Schubert has had a number of periods of inconsistency. I would argue that even now they are underperforming their peers. So, by your definition Lafite, Margaux and Ausone are not great wine houses. [There is a debate (above) about the consistency of Grunhaus....

I would like to amend my original post and add the great Port houses to the list. Fonseca, Taylor, Graham etc. That is unless we are just dealing with table wines. What is your definition of a "great wine house"? As I asked much earlier, what is the difference between Prum and von Schubert as far a...

I would like to amend my original post and add the great Port houses to the list. Fonseca, Taylor, Graham etc. That is unless we are just dealing with table wines. What is your definition of a "great wine house"? As I asked much earlier, what is the difference between Prum and von Schubert as far a...

Hmmm, that doesn't sound like the wine I had back in March. My CT note below: Very well judged ripeness bestows the wine with lovely perfumed red cherry fruit accented with damp forest floor on a foundation of firm but elegant tannins, lifted acidity, and a lingering soft finish. 92+ This note is m...

D@vid Bu3ker wrote: ↑
May 11th, 2019, 6:08 pm
It’s not nearly as good.

Agreed

Might be easier to ask if any usually good producers didn't make great wine in 2001. If so, they would probably be in Volnay. 2001 Volnays did not have a good reputation but the only ones I bought (d'Angerville Clos du Ducs) have turned out better than I thought they would and are excellent. Yes, b...

Jay Miller wrote: ↑
September 13th, 2020, 7:33 am
Might be easier to ask if any usually good producers didn't make great wine in 2001.

If so, they would probably be in Volnay. 2001 Volnays did not have a good reputation but the only ones I bought (d'Angerville Clos du Ducs) have turned out better than I thought they would and are excellent.

I remember having some Burgess Cabernets from the late 1970s but have not had any or even seen any (other than in a friend's cellar) for a very long, long time. I thought the wines were very good but not of the highest level. Interesting, esp. Mel's comments.

See a whole bunch of MSD wines on this list - Dujac, Lignier, Truchot, Lambrays. Now I am a huge fan of wines from MSD, so this does not really shock me in any vintage, but it is interesting here.

Brian S t o t t e r wrote: ↑
September 12th, 2020, 8:58 am

Barry L i p t o n wrote: ↑
September 12th, 2020, 8:36 am
Does Prum make a GG?
No

Certainly Truchot. His 2001s are incredible.

Also, Clos des Lambrays, Bachelet and Rossignol-Trapet.

https://polanerselections.com/producer/fontaine-gagnard

Had a 2005 Bernkastler Badstube Spatlese from Prum tonight. What a beautiful wines and my guess it will drink beautifully for many, many years. Prum really hit it out of the park in 2005.

I had a premoxed 2012 Jouard some time ago so can’t consider this in any way surprising. The retailer replaced the bottle but even the replacement was heading that way, even if it was actually enjoyable still. The retailer of course claimed that he had never heard of a premoxed bottle of Jouard bef...

If not buying wine because the price is more than I want to pay for it constitutes boycotting, I am currently boycotting thousands of wines! I thought the same thing. A "boycott" is a much more active, punitive thing than just not buying something because the price is too high. Agreed. My favorite ...

Great call on the Drouhin. Dublere also made an excellent Chorey-les-Beaune.

Don't be obtuse, I didn't mention tariffs. My restaurant gets allocated the wines because we do a lot of business with the portfolio of the wholesaler. We also get Rosenthal allocations because we do a lot of business with the portfolio, the whole portfolio. We do not get Dujac, DRC and others that...

If you aren't that kind of good customer (good means you buy broadly and don't just try to cherry pick) why shouldn't the retailer price to market? The "let them eat cake" voice of ITB-ish, the guy who can buy wholesale. If you aren't ITB and don't buy $10,000 of wine from a store a year, you don't...

If you aren't that kind of good customer (good means you buy broadly and don't just try to cherry pick) why shouldn't the retailer price to market? The "let them eat cake" voice of ITB-ish, the guy who can buy wholesale. If you aren't ITB and don't buy $10,000 of wine from a store a year, you don't...

Aren't all the SQN wines going to be big, jammy, and alcoholic and get 95+ points anyway? If you like that style who cares about the reviews...just buy them. And taste like Black Forest Cake. Haters gotta hate, as I have said before. The 2010 Stockholm Syndrome Syrah was outstanding on Sunday night...

So what I'm wondering is whether anyone will really buy or not buy based on a review. All of the people on this thread have opinions on the various wines. Take Realm for example. If you know it and like it are you seriously going to avoid it because it got a few points less than last year? Or are y...

For a lot of people, a high score from the WA has historically influenced the flip value of the wine. My guess is that this is a good bit of the reason why people who buy a wine anyway want a WA score. Also, bragging rights - Look at me, I am drinking a 98 point wine. Not to forget that 99.9% of al...

Ian, I guess I’m saying I think the notion that assuming a particular producer will always make a great wine in good vintages, and that they can automatically be placed in their spot in the hierarchy, is questionable. While I agree that good producers will almost always do good things in good vinta...

Like with any critics publication I read the WA mostly to learn about wines, vintages, regions, development in these regions, etc. The scores are not that important to me (although when everybody says that this or that wine is special this year, then it certainly influences me. But it’s always more...

So what I'm wondering is whether anyone will really buy or not buy based on a review. All of the people on this thread have opinions on the various wines. Take Realm for example. If you know it and like it are you seriously going to avoid it because it got a few points less than last year? Or are y...

And the best part is, Jeb and Pat are both good dudes and would enjoy popping something together! Granted, we may need two bottles to account for preferences! I’ll moderate. Just give Jeb and your wife a bottle of Ovid and they won’t bother you while you’re drinking the weedy stuff! I dunno, post-C...

strawman You're welcome. If you have more of the Spätlesen, uncork one of them. You can't go wrong—e.g., AP 14 (Ternes) has 88° Oechsle and 60 g/l RS. That's less ripe and sweet than many other producers' Kabinetts. Less ripe than other producers' Kabinetts in the Saar or elsewhere in Germany? Also...

strawman You're welcome, Jim. Those five wines come from different parcels or sections of Niedermenniger Herrenberg and were vinified separately. For those buyers who want to know the differences, the bottling number is in a larger, bold typeface. I wouldn't say that there's a significant quality o...

I think 17s are in their sweet spot atm. After opening that Drouhin Laroze Beze that was shut down hard, I’m staying away from 14s for at least a couple yrs. For the most part I agree, but 17 Arnoux-Lachaux Hautes Maizières was shutting down pretty hard about 2 weeks ago Interesting. When I was at ...

You're welcome, Jim. Those five wines come from different parcels or sections of Niedermenniger Herrenberg and were vinified separately. For those buyers who want to know the differences, the bottling number is in a larger, bold typeface. I wouldn't say that there's a significant quality or style d...

Rieslings are really good with lots of types of food including Chinese, Indian, and other spicy foods.

Opened a 2014 d'Angerville Volnay 1er Cru tonight. Beautiful, primary and velvety at first, but after an hour it closed up on itself and became a wall of tannin. Some deep chocolatey and high-toned floral aspects as well, but they diminished with air. A 14 Fourrier Gevrey VV closed up similarly in ...

Opened a 2014 d'Angerville Volnay 1er Cru tonight. Beautiful, primary and velvety at first, but after an hour it closed up on itself and became a wall of tannin. Some deep chocolatey and high-toned floral aspects as well, but they diminished with air. A 14 Fourrier Gevrey VV closed up similarly in ...

c fu wrote: ↑
September 7th, 2020, 5:25 pm

D@vid Bu3ker wrote: ↑
September 7th, 2020, 5:24 pm
Tariffs have hurt as well. 25% price jump is a big freaking deal.
But it’s 25% at the import level. Not at the retail.

A 25% increase at the import level usually results in a 25% increase at retail, but that should not be true when wines are being sold for 3-5 times the price at the winery.

I was able to justify purchases(long retail relationships with prices less than full retail helped) through ‘14 for BR, V-R, NSG, Chaignots, snd, believe it or not, even C-M Feusselottes. With ‘15 vintage I could not justify any bottling - prices increased 33-50% - and will arguably never be able t...

Thanks everyone, especially those with notes about how things have or haven't changed. So often, when new wine collectors ask for advice about what to buy or cellar, they hear "be careful, your tastes may change," which is absolutely true, but that just touches the surface of how things can change ...

Graacher Himmelreich Wehlener Sonnenuhr Both Prum and W Schaefer make these wines . How do they compare? For different cuvees (kab, spat...) It’s interesting - Willi Schaefer’s wehlener sonnenuhr has always seemed a bit like a forgotten cuvée. There isn’t much, and I don’t think he makes a kabinett...

Search found 11048 matches