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

Jan Janas

This is incredible work, Don! However, it is laughable that auction houses and the series of professional authenticators let slip 100 lots of fake wines to be checked, photographed, cataloged, and sold. What a world, jeez.

Jan Janas

Thanks for sharing, Matt! I just opened a 2005 from 375ml bottle and must say that your note is pretty much spot-on! Mine is still developing in the glass (poured through the Coravin's aerator) but is showing beautiful red berry fruits and red cherries on the palate, and similar aromatics: dried thy...

Jan Janas

I couldn't really get what he was trying to argue. The fact that winemaking, even in the Old World, constantly changed, does not refute the view of profound differences between the two - especially if viewed from shorter timeframes, and in practical terms (how does the wine smell and taste). The fac...

Jan Janas

Laherte Freres Blanc de Blancs Brut Nature NV 11/19 Deg. - This was a great showing from a grower that more and more climbs to the highest echelon in my mind. I couldn't believe this was non-dose, as it was perfectly balanced as is, generous and giving already despite the young age. Complex aromatic...

Jan Janas

Just won a 2001 of this on auction right now - hoping for it to be much more open for business. Can't wait to try! It's going to be my first Clape Cornas.

Jan Janas

Arras is the big gun of Tasmanian sparkling. Their current Late Disgorged is 2002!!!! Over 10 years on lees. Thanks, I will try to pick up the NV before deciding if I want to go deeper into their portfolio. I live in Australia and I see 2005 late disgorged for A$180, which veers into higher-end Cha...

Jan Janas

For me it would be Australian. Have had some amazing Tasmanian sparkling wines (champagne caliber) and they offer such breadth of selection among both red and white varietals. And I have almost no experience with South American / South African / Portuguese wine. What tasmanian sparklers did you lik...

Jan Janas

To answer the OP: IMO, the best value Santorini Assyrtiko is currently Argyros, following the death of Haridimos Hatzidakis. This is what I was trying to tell right from the start. I really don't see how Sigalas could be of great value from the first place and why everybody was voting it. Probably ...

Jan Janas

Brian G r a f s t r o m wrote: ↑
October 28th, 2020, 1:58 pm
Just picked-up one bottle of the Lahert Freres to try. $40.

Good choice! Loads of character - I love that he works with unheralded terroir and churn out such good Champagnes with distinctive individuality. Let us know how you like it!

Jan Janas

If the Vilmart Grand Cellier were in the $40 bracket, it would be a serious contender and arguably walk away with the trophy, but the Grand Reserve, albeit a good wine, is not really 'better' than many of the wines mentioned in the thread. Also, an interesting thing with Champagne is that there are ...

Jan Janas

A couple more:

Burgundy: Hudelot Noellat Bourgogne Rouge
Champagne: Laherte Freres Ultradition NV
Trentino-Alto Adige: Terlan Vorberg Riserva Pinot Bianco

[Edit: removed Australian picks after seeing EU only in title]

Jan Janas

October was

NV Vilmart Cuvee Rubis
NV Laherte Freres Ultradition
NV Bereche Brut Reserve
NV Chartogne-Taillet Cuvee St Anne

Not sure about November yet, I will see if some interesting offers pop up

Jan Janas

Vilaine for $80 is one of the all time champagne steals for the quality. This hurts so much - in Australia the price is A$170 (US$123), with the Les Ursules at A$230, similar markups for Egly-Ouriet, which turns me off to try their wines. Can't wait to travel to Europe and go deep into all these be...

Jan Janas

Vilaine for $80 is one of the all time champagne steals for the quality. This hurts so much - in Australia the price is A$170 (US$123), with the Les Ursules at A$230, similar markups for Egly-Ouriet, which turns me off to try their wines. Can't wait to travel to Europe and go deep into all these be...

Jan Janas

Just went to visit Cédric yesterday. As well as a vertical of Creux d'Enfer, a stunning magnum of 2008 Ursules (the best mature Bouchard wine I ever tasted, surpassing high expectations), and a few other bottles, we tried the newly-released 2018 Val Vilaine. It's super demonstrative and fleshy, whi...

Jan Janas

Anyone here knows how PYCM’s Bourgogne Blanc compares in 2018 vs 2016? I have tried neither but notes on CT seem to suggest the former is very big and ripe and the latter a bit austere.

If I had to buy one to drink now which vintage would you recommend?

Jan Janas

How far is Robert Chevillon’s Le Chaignots from M-G in terms of quality? While recent vintages have crept up in price too, older ones are available for half the price of M-G. I find MG to be a far superior producer in general across the board, and I find the MG Chaignot specifically to be a far sup...

Jan Janas

How far is Robert Chevillon’s Le Chaignots from M-G in terms of quality? While recent vintages have crept up in price too, older ones are available for half the price of M-G.

Jan Janas

One of my favorite wine shops just came out with an offer for a Spanish 6-pack and I was wondering how the wines are. Spain is a country I still have to explore and where I'm still a complete beginner, which makes this pack interesting as an introduction. I'd love to know what you think of the wines...

Jan Janas

What is the characteristic "patina" you are referring to William? I know he likes to age his wines on lees for quite a while, is that part of it? Egly's barrel fermentation and élevage (including his cooperage choices - all the barrels come from his friend Dominique Laurent) tend to impart a distin...

Jan Janas

Sean you just reminded that I never had a Hunter Valley Semillon yet! I was looking at it some time ago but never found one that made me jump on it. There are some very affordable options and then the prices escalate pretty quickly and I couldn't make up my mind on where to go... Brokenwood is wide...

Jan Janas

Sean you just reminded that I never had a Hunter Valley Semillon yet! I was looking at it some time ago but never found one that made me jump on it. There are some very affordable options and then the prices escalate pretty quickly and I couldn't make up my mind on where to go... Brokenwood is widel...

Jan Janas

Great notes! Your experience with Krug was similar to my first last year. I found it utterly mindblowing from both a flavour and sheer winemaking talent perspective. The word "depth" was made for Krug. I only had one, but thinking that they replicate this every year is mindblowing indeed... Thanks ...

Jan Janas

I'm sorry to resuscite such and old thread, but I have question that didn't seem to warrant a new one: would you suggest this or the Tradition NV as an entry-point into Egly Ouriet's line-up? I'd suggest the Tradition—which is in fact no longer called the "Tradition", but rather just Brut Grand Cru...

Jan Janas

jhans wrote: ↑
August 23rd, 2020, 2:20 pm
I had the opposite problem. The coravin needle broke when I used it on a composite cork

Is DIAM a composite cork?

Jan Janas

Really exciting bunch of notes! Thanks for sharing. You made me realize how much I miss Krug... Thanks, Tomás! I still have a bit of Krug leftover and have to force myself from having more because I want to savour every drop of it for as long as possible... When I do get to it again tomorrow I will...

Jan Janas

I'm sorry to resuscite such and old thread, but I have question that didn't seem to warrant a new one: would you suggest this or the Tradition NV as an entry-point into Egly Ouriet's line-up?

Jan Janas

August 2020 has been a great month for me. It is the month when I got my Coravin and invested in some classic representatives of style or region to help me grow my palate while isolating at home. It is also the month when I finally found a new job for a Marketing agency and balled some money on Krug...

Jan Janas

I'm more tempted to say there's a Cult of Red Wine, as so often the reds are treated like the main event and everything else is secondary, as others have said. Of course there are those of us who don't think that way - some of whom have chimed in already - but it's pretty common with both geeks and...

Jan Janas

Al Osterheld wrote: ↑
August 21st, 2020, 7:36 am
I have an acquaintance who calls himself a Champagne slut. This led to an awkward moment when he approvingly told a woman at a tasting "I see you're a Champagne slut, too".

-Al

Jan Janas

The first time with Vilmart's Grand Cellier NV and it exceeds expectations. The way it walks the line between power and elegance is an act of class and control. Fresh butter, cream, buttermilk, white flowers, and citrus all intermingle in a delicately expressive, aromatic nose; while the palate is f...

Jan Janas

Champagne was my first vinous love - had a glass when I was 16, sitting outside at the Brasserie au General Lafayette in Paris, and it was a tremendous epiphany. I had never imagined something so steely and mineral could be so utterly delicious. We hardly ever have it at home and it really grinds m...

Jan Janas

My view of Champagne has completely changed since joining this forum. Now I open Champagnes with dinner regularly, or have it in the evening with some snacks to wind down. I view it and appreciate it like any other wine and I think that's great.

Jan Janas

Very interesting that the Zind-Humbrecht's can be so all over the place - from the worst to one of the greatest in 12 months!

Jan Janas

You're thinking of the NVs one sees today. They are built for the short-term consumption and the most inexpensive ones really are best when released and won't develop much if at all after release. Most Grande Marque NVs tend to benefit from aging, but most are built for maybe 10-15 years, not for 3...

Jan Janas

One thing I neglected to mention in my first post was that some of the great values in older Champagne are non-vintage. I bought a case of 1970s Delamotte NV a few years ago that was just delicious, and more exciting than plenty of much more expensive vintage Champagnes that I can think of ... See ...

Jan Janas

Great note Sean! Do you have any idea of how the wines of brother Jean-Luc compare with the Domaine's? I don't seem to find the Domaine wines over here, but his brother's are widely available, and he has a Collines Rhodaniennes as well

Jan Janas

A quick hit on wine-searcher gave me this list: https://www.wine-searcher.com/grape-380-pinot-blanc?tab_F=best Apart from the aforementioned Alto-Adige Pinot Bianco and the Austrian Smaragds, it seems that Germany does quite few Weissbunger GGs. Anyone ever tried one? I see none exported to Australi...

Jan Janas

Not a movie but the TV series Succession has a lot of great wine moments. My favorite is this one:

Jan Janas

I'm surprised to see no Barolo in the top 50. Despite all the price increases in Piedmont, it is still a relative bargain region. How much do you think the region's prices are going to grow further? Would you say this might be a golden era of buying before we approach the heights of Burgundy or are ...

Jan Janas

2017 Clonakilla Shiraz Viognier
2017 Leeuwin Art Series Chardonnay
2017 By Farr RP Pinot Noir
2010 Yves Cuilleron Cote-Rotie Terres Sombres
2003 Chateau Rieussec

Jan Janas

I think you should view pairings less about the protein involved and more about textures and flavours. Oaked Chardonnays are wonderful with all kinds of creamy, buttery, nutty dishes. Most risottos (butternut squash a winner), white meats cooked in butter, potatoes, corn, mushrooms, creams, all comp...

Jan Janas

Like RSA chenin blancs but love Loire chenin blancs more. Need to try a few more that need to be hunted out. Would like to try some of the Sadie Family chenins but are difficult to find and require a bit of cash. For many years my standard table chenin was the Ken Forrester 'Petit Chenin' . At $8-1...

Jan Janas

I tried the 2017 a year ago and found it very enjoyable at 13.5% ABV, albeit slightly chilled as it should be. 14.5% feels like such a jump that I'll happily leave this vintage to others. Having had the wine once, I'll happily leave all the remaining bottles of this vintage to others. Sure, it's a ...

Jan Janas

Thanks Tomas - it is good to hear that a good investor is backing this up, as it looked like an expensive project but as is often the state lots of money don't equate good results. Exciting to see what you report back.

Jan Janas

You could also try to arrange some sort of quid pro quo with a member of this forum. You could both store wines for each other that hard to find on each side of the Atlantic - EU wines for you and US wines for you - and try to meet once a year or so and exchange the goodies. Or store and consolidate...

Jan Janas

Has anyone heard of this yet? Apparently Porto just opened a massive wine district with wine and food 'experiences'. Not really sure what they entail, as a quick scroll through the website didn't make things clearer in the slightest. Looks like a lot of money went into this, and it seems more like a...

Jan Janas

~$55 USD/$75 CAD here for this bottling. I'd jump on any old Prum I could find, honestly. Funny you should say that! I cracked this open because we got some Indian food. Granted, it was a pretty crackling lamb Vindaloo, but I found the food overwhelmed the wine a bit so after having a glass before ...

Jan Janas

JJ Prum's wines are experiencing a steep increase in prices over here. Latest releases crack the AU$130 mark. I hope the pricing is better in CA. I saw some older vintages around for about half the price of the newer ones and will bite on them soon. Even as young as this 2016 was it sounds delicious...

Jan Janas

Beautiful, cannot wait!

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