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2014 Henri Jouan Chambolle-Musigny - France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Chambolle-Musigny (4/22/2019) Beguiling aromatics that are both gentle and persistent, precede a palate presence that is similarly light and long. It’s pretty amazing that such a young Burgundy can be so captivating, but the eleg...

There was for a while a school of thought in German winemaking praising reductive wines. The "father" of this was Hans-Gunter Schwarz https://www.nytimes.com/1991/09/25/garden/out-of-obscurity-into-a-wine-pantheon.html He had a number of followers. I think this is not as popular in Germany as it on...

Which just underscores how stupid the requirement is to begin with.

Last night a 2014 Jouan Chambolle Musigny VV pretty much stopped me in my tracks. The aromatics were stunning, the palate elegant and persistent.

I am a huge fan of the Sonoma Hillsides, both 2016 and 2017.

Appreciate the notes, as my C-K and Griffin’s Syrahs arrived a few weeks ago.

You do realize that your answer actually does more to support Terry’s report than refute it.

Grab some Clos de Betz. It’s a really good introduction.

Apologies for sounding like a broken record on this topic but you can't take a country as large as Germany with so many varied regions, grapes and winemaking styles and easily lump it all into one simple vintage categorization. OK. But what’s your solution? Fly over and taste everything? Is that re...

That is the best wine they have ever made IMO.

We were discussing what else we like in the same price range. This is a few $$ cheaper than Roederer Estate, and I liked the Cremant more.

NV Caves des Hautes-Cotes Crémant de Bourgogne Victorine de Chastenay - France, Burgundy, Crémant de Bourgogne (4/20/2019) Fresh, clean, apple and citrus fruit, with a nice mouthfeel, this is an excellent value in sparkling wine. The $16 price tag beats out pretty much anything in the range, and th...

So let’s see...Cedric Bouchard Val Villaine (2015 version) was as good as every other note says it is. We had a 2016 Günther Steinmetz Brauneberger Juffer Riesling Kabinett Feinherb that was very well balanced, minerally and showing quite dry. A 2008 Jakob Schneider Niederhauser Klamm Riesling Spatl...

#5 is always outstanding.

Interesting (though I paid $50 for most of the 2013 Riservas as well).

Jim Anderson wrote: ↑
April 20th, 2019, 11:11 am
This wine was stacked up at the specialty grocery store I was at this morning. Didn’t check the price as I’m pretty sure I already have it but probably less than $50.

The Riserva?

Josh H wrote: ↑
April 20th, 2019, 11:04 am
How do you get on the allocation list?

It’s retail stuff. Just find a good retailer.

2012 Bedrock Wine Co. Syrah Exposition Three Weill Vineyard - USA, California, Sonoma County, Sonoma Valley (4/19/2019) Popped and poured at a restaurant, this was open and giving tons of pleasure from nearly the first sip. It took about ten minutes to shake off time in bottle, then the rich, plumm...

Yes there are. Likely 2017 as well.

2012 is markedly better than 2013 IMO.

I chose the single vineyard Taylor 1969 because it is a brand new release, and therefore, there is no question of there being any old stock. So in the UK, it is going from a low of $162 to generally $170. Here in the US, the low is $230, and the retail at a major player, Total Wine is $249. We bitc...

Alex, we did not have the opportunity to decant, but it was already amazing on pop and pour. About 1/3 of the bottle is left (we had four wines), so I can revisit as the evening draws to a close.

Oh man, I have a 2012 Exposition #3 standing up for dinner this weekend. Mouth...watering...can’t...wait.

2015 is not even close to 2003 in terms of extreme warmth and richness over acidity. I started tasting German vintages on release in 1996, and 2003 remains a singular year. That being said, the wines are starting to come around into form. 2015 has much higher acid than 2003. There have been a whole ...

Got mine yesterday as well. Gonna wait a week then dig in.

2015 has a lot of acidity. Unfortunately in a lot of cases it sticks out at odd angles.

2015 has some issues. What’s good is very good, but there is a lot of disjointed wine.

Then do you really like Riesling, or do you just like acidic wine?

Not meant as an insult, just an observation.

Bill Buitenhuys wrote: ↑
April 17th, 2019, 7:41 am
Zacapa 23 is fairly highly sugar dosed so an Old Fashioned (just add a dash of bitters, I use our Figgy Pudding bitters with sweeter rum) over ice is pretty tasty.

Gosh...I wonder what to call that drink...

You misinterpret...I may prefer vintages like '01, '12, etc., but even more I love surfing the variations that vintages give, high acid or low acid. Every vintage has wines that find a balance point. It would be boring if they were all the same, or even all similar.

2012 Dönnhoff Riesling - Germany, Nahe (4/17/2019) Refreshing, bright, barely off-dry, food friendly, and just barely starting to develop some aged complexity, this is still on the young side. For about $20 it's a great value, and an pleasing dinner companion. I recently had the 2011 version, which...

Otto,

It's not an Insignia thing. It's just version 476.0 of the same argument that happens every so often on the wine boards. It goes way back to the beginning of wine board time.

It's amazing how attached we can become to grape juice.

I like Insignia. I have always liked Insignia. That goes for the older wines (the ones from the 1970s were wonderful), and the newer wines. They are truly different, but I can understand the appeal of either style. What I can't understand is how a 12,000 case production Cab blend goes for $250 a bot...

K_F_o_l_e_y wrote: ↑
April 16th, 2019, 5:57 pm
Cedric Bouchard Val Vilaine

For us it’s either that or the base NV from Bereche right now,

Merkelbach is old school Mosel Riesling. Amazing producers. Get the wines while you can. The brothers are not getting any younger.

2016 Loring Wine Company Pinot Noir Clos Pepe Vineyard - USA, California, Central Coast, Sta. Rita Hills (4/16/2019) Last minute replacement, as the planned wine was corked. This is dangerously drinkable, with luscious black fruit, a touch of vanilla, and a kick of spice on the finish. Yummy, which...

The level of ignorance combined with callous disregard for a significant loss at some wineries is distressing, but unfortunately not shocking.

2014 Matthiasson Red Wine - USA, California, Napa Valley (4/15/2019) Early days, but it's what I wanted to drink. It shows a deep red color, and restrained aromatics, centered on black cherry, violets, rosemary and turned earth. The palate balance is impressive, with nothing out of place or stickin...

The Betz website still lists Bob as "consulting winemaker."

“It’s all a matter of balance” is the truth. Of course we all have different balance points.

Haven't tasted yet. Still a couple of months out.

Acid seems to be the great divider these days. Some folks want to have battery cables attached to their glass.

I want the acid to be in balance with the rest of the wine. We'll see where these stand in time.

Right on both counts.

I know two very experienced people, other than me, who believe the 2004s are in a perfect place for drinking. I will let you guess who they are.

Chill out. That's actually the problem. Just wanted to let you know, I got the joke. I see others did not. I have found that sarcasm and a little levity are inevitably taken as brutal insults. It won't stop me. People treating a wine board like it's some life or death intellectual struggle actually...

YLee wrote: ↑
April 14th, 2019, 5:33 pm
Chill out.

That's actually the problem.

The Donnhoff being medium brown suggests poor handling at some point. My early 2000s stickies are all still quite light in color, maybe to golden at most.

Ha. Well I’m not going anywhere.

Yes it was. It’s still Maume. Easier to say.

Mark B wrote: ↑
April 14th, 2019, 1:19 pm
Hate to highjack the thread but has anyone had any Domaine Maume Bourgogne rouge lately? I love that producer but haven’t tasted their entry level in a few years. Always seemed reasonably priced to me.

The 2014 was delicious, and elegant. I drank all my bottles much too quickly.

Betz makes some wonderful wines. They don’t get much play. Not sure why.

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