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

That's quite surprising about the Dunn: I drank a bottle of the exact same wine—the 1982 Napa—on Saturday, and it was still very much full of life. I have a picture of the wine in the glass on my phone somewhere if anyone wants to see. Sounds like the Lafleur was also an off bottle which is really ...

We tasted tonight (8/14/19) some More Mixed Reds: 1. Piccoli Caparbio DOC: Valpolicella Ripasso Superiore/Veneto (14%; www.PiccoliWine.It; ToscoImprts) Piccoli Daniela/Tommasini Veronica/Verona 2016 : Med.color; fairly strong cherry/berry/almost Sangio-like light pencilly/oak some earthy/dusty fairl...

We tasted last night (8/19/19) More Blair's Wines: 1. Dom.Weinbach Cuvee Theo GWT (12.5%; MeBalP) TheoFaller/Kayserberg 1992 : Deep gold color; beautiful slight cedary old GWT/slight lychee/spicy slight cinammon/nutmeg very complex nose; fairly rich/lush cedary slight lychee very spicy quite dry rat...

Gary York wrote: ↑
August 19th, 2019, 8:21 am
As the saying goes, don't believe the hype.

Right, Gary....until it's reported on FoxNews..can't believe it!!
Tom

As linked on WineTerroirist, there's a very inteesting article CorkReport/Barboursville by AaronMenenberg on BarboursvilleVnyds. Mostly (alas) the focus is on the Barboursville Octogon CabFranc. But it did like the Barborsvilly Nebbiolo quite a lot. The few btls of it I've tried I've thought pretty ...

Karl K wrote: ↑
August 19th, 2019, 5:56 am
Anything more?

Nice release price on the Lafleur.

Karl,
There will be, I believe an old Red Brug and an old Tokaji Essencia.
Yeah...great price on the Lafleur. Afore it became a cult wine. Current prices are up near $1,000.
Tom

Tried this wine from Blair's stash last night: 1. DavidBruce WhiteRiesling SantaCruzCnty (16.2%) LosGatos 1979 : Btl over half ullaged away; very dark brown/light PX color; very strong bit gout de petrol/valve oil/quite old R bit alcoholic/fumey/sherry rather cedary/pencilly/Fr.oak slight oxidized v...

Some more interesting wines from Blair's cellar tonight at Pig+Fig: More Blair's Wines Aug 19, 2019 1. Dom.Weinbach Cuvee Theo GWT (12.5%; MeBalP) TheoFaller/Kayserberg 1992: $16.50 (vBS)/$44 2. Maximilian v.Othegraven Weingut Kanzemer Berg Kanzemer Altenberg Auslese (Fuder 5; QmP; A.P.Nr. 3 518 034...

15.5% sounds really high for Valtellina. Any other producers making these with high alcohol %? Kris, 15.5%, that's on the low side :) Here is a tasting note from a bunch of Valtellina Nebbiolo tasted a few months ago. Dirupi, Vino Sbagliote” Sforzato di Valtellina DOCG 2015 : Sforzato di Valtellina...

Kris Patten wrote: ↑
August 18th, 2019, 12:11 pm
15.5% sounds really high for Valtellina.

Any other producers making these with high alcohol %?

Yeah, Kris...that's pretty typical for a Sforzato, which is made from dehydrated grapes like Amarone/Recioto.
Normal Valtelline Nebbs are in the 12%-14% range.
Tom

Had these 3 Nebbs over the weekend: 1. G.D.Vajra rosabella Vino Rosato (13%; www.gdvajra.it/en; Nebbiolo + Barbera/Dolcetto) Barolo 2018 : Light pink/orangey/bit onion skin color; very bright fragrant floral/lilacs/rose petal/strawberry very attractive nose; quite tart/tangy bright/zippy/electric (1...

Thanks, Todd, for posting a great bunch of notes. Croatian wines can sometimes be a bit rustic, but there are often real gems lurking in there. I love Malvasiz Istarka & they should be planting it in all Calif. We spent 4 days about 200 km into the interior near Cerovlje in a tiny Agroturismo in Gol...

We tried tonight (8/15/19) at BacchusBadBoys: ABC (Anything But Chard): 1. Ancilla Lugana DOC: Lugana (13%; www.AncillaLugana.It; ToscoImprts) Benedetti Luisella/ Villafranca di Verona 2017 : Pale gold color; quite fragrant floral/carnations/cardamon slight chalky very pretty aromatic nose; fairly t...

Grayson brought his first mystery wine last night and it was a doozy. He'll be invited back: 14. Ridge Calif CabernetSauvignon MonteBello SantaCruzMtns (13.1%; 93% CS/7% Merlot; 45% slctn out; bttld: May 1987; Drk: 2012:PD) 1985 : Very dark color w/ little bricking; very strong Cab/blackcurranty qui...

Turley controls most of the Zin in the Paso area - there are only a few outstanding old vine locations here. Downstream is also getting Zin from Paderewski Vineyard, an excellent young-vine site. Love to see them get some Ueberroth or Pesenti fruit for Cambi to play with, although both Dusi's can b...

Turley controls most of the Zin in the Paso area - there are only a few outstanding old vine locations here. Downstream is also getting Zin from Paderewski Vineyard, an excellent young-vine site. Love to see them get some Ueberroth or Pesenti fruit for Cambi to play with, although both Dusi's can b...

Tried these two last night w/ my plate of tomatoes: 1. Radio-Coteau Chard Savoy/AndersonVlly (U; 14.1%; www.RadioCoteau.com) Sebastapol 2013 : Med.gold color; very strong ripe/melony/lemony/Chard spicy/nutmeg/cardamon light pencilly/Fr.oak quite fragrant lovely nose; lightly tart/tangy ripe/melony/C...

What was interesting is the Zin is based on Dusi fruit.
I'm assuming that that's DantaDusi vnyd rather than BeniDusi vnyd, which is the
better of the two.
Tom

Interesting article by RHDrexel on Jeb's Site: Dunnuck/Downstream about the Downstream project w/ Justin/SashaVerhage/PhillipeCambie. He celebrates the fact that the wine is priced at $200/btl. What I found interesting is that Justin's son has made a GWT from Stolo fruit. That is such a great vnyd. ...

Tom, Did you drink these over multiple days? Did they fall off on Day 2? I recently opened a 2014 Peay Syrah and it was outstanding on day 1 but declined significantly on day 2. Dave Yup, Dave. Tasted them all over several days. The Novy's were totally shot within a few hrs after opening. The Carli...

Tried these 5 over the last week: 1. Novy Syrah DryCreekVlly (14.3%) 2006 : Med.dark color w/ some bricking; some toasty/pencilly/Siduri oak slight raspberry/DryCreekVlly/blackberry/Syrah rather tired nose; soft rather tangy/metallic some pencilly/Siduri oak light blackberry/raspberry/Syrah rather t...

Tried this last week: 1. Muller-Catoir Mussbacher Eselshaut Rieslaner Auslese Pfalz (8.0%; QmP; Ap.Nr. 5 174 079 16 96; TerryTheiseImprts) Reustadt 1995 : Very dark/burnished bronze/almost black color; very intense botrytis/peachy/apricotty beautiful very complex old R nose; bit tart/tangy very swee...

Dug this one out of the archives last night: 1. AlbanVnyds Roussanne AlbanEstateVnyd/EdnaVlly (14.4%) 1998 : Deep golden/burnished bronze somewhat cloudy color; strong nutty/toasted hazelnuts/bit oxidized some honeyed/honeycomb slight honeysuckle/Rouss quite complex nose; quite tart/tangy rather hon...

Tried this last night w/ some seriously good caramel/sea salt chocolate: 1. EtXe Oneko Pisano Tannat Sweet Red Wine (16.5%; Recioto & Amarone; Plntd: 1942; U; Dried on the vine; www.PisanoWines.com; SarantyImports/Ttamford/CT) Gustavo Pisano & Gabriel Pisano/Progresso/Uruguay NV : Very dark/black co...

Tried this w/ Susan Fri: 1. Dom.PhilemOn JuranconNoir IGP: Cotes du Tarn/Gaillac (13%; Pet-Nat; WineTraditionsLtd/FallsChurch; MeBaD) MathieuVieules/Villeneuve sur Vere 2015 : Very dark color; quite earthy/dusty/very loamy rather grapey/blackberry/boysenberry some peppery/licorice/bit herbal rather ...

Pretty much anything that Elisabetta makes is top-notch. The master of Teroldego.
Tom

Ken, thanks for the clarification. Not having sampled the California Bianca I wonder how it compares to Istriana. Seems to me it might make for another tasting theme [cheers.gif] Tom What Ken said. My understanding that Malvasia Istriana is a member of the Malavasia family. Malvisia Bianca, which i...

Neal.Mollen wrote: ↑
August 8th, 2019, 3:11 pm
Jesus WHAT A THREAD!

Nawh, Neal....nobody has played the Nazi card yet. Then the thread will be taken to the highest level!!!

Great notes, Tom. Wish I could have been there. Great lineup of wines that Thomas put together. I love Malvasia d'Istriana. Distinctly Muscat, but less candied/tutti-fruity/obnoxious than the usual Muscat. Obviously a grape they should be planting all up&down the Coast of Calif. Do you know if anyon...

I never noticed the oak so much with the Pinot, but when I started checking out their Syrah, I thought I had consumed liquefied lumber. To be fair, this was their Novy line and it was only one data point - It was enough to scare me off of trying the others though... Cheers! Well, Scott. I always th...

Just came across this post while doing a little google searching. I don't suppose anyone followed up on this? I'm curious if anyone knows how to get a hold of those recently unsealed records. This is going to be kinda heavy (sorry), but... My Grandmother was a Jewish German ex-pat living in Bordeau...

Mike Grammer wrote: ↑
August 7th, 2019, 11:21 am
Splendid notes para usuel, Tom. I presume "R-like" you mean "Rhone-like"?

A friend here served up a Slovenian Tokaji Essencia. It was good, but not a patch on the Hungarian versions.

Cheers,

Mike

Sorry, Mike...by R-like I meant Riesling-like.
Tom

We tried last night (7/3/19) Some New Odds&Ends: 1. la Colombera Timorasso IlMontino Dd'OC: Colli Tortonesi (12.5%; www.lacolomberavini.it/en) Piercarlo Semino La Colombera/Tortona/Piedmont 2014 : Med.color; beautiful very fragrant floral/carnations/Timo/ bit pineapple/tropical fruits/barber shop li...

Tried these two last night: 1. Siduri PinotNoir WillametteVlly/OR (13.0%) 2007 : Rather light somewhat bricked color; slight funky/mousey light cherry/PN/earthy some pencilly/Siduri oak slight spicy/peppery bit faded/old PN nose; lightly tart rather faded/tired slight funky/mousey light cherry/OR PN...

Had friends over on Fri to share two Calif Syrahs: 1. Carlisle Syrah SonomaCnty (15.8%; 125 cs) 1999 : Very dark color w/ slight bricking; very strong blackberry/Syrah/chocolaty/licorice some alcoholic some toasty/oak fairly perfumed/loads of fruit nose; rather fumey/alcoholic intense blackberry/boy...

cheap hair oil is a positive descriptor? Well, Michael...I regard it as value-neutral descriptor. It has this artificial fragrance to it that reminds me of the cheap hair oil that my barber bought in 55 gal. drums when I was a kid. I loved it when Mr.Swope gave me a hair cut..so it evokes positive ...

I have no dog in the fight but do find it pretty interesting that quite a few people who like the wines and/or people involved quickly overlook these issues or point fingers elsewhere on environmental regulations as being too much. Unfortunately, this seems to be an attribute of human nature. The e...

Tried these three last night: 1. Sottimano Mate VinoRosso (12.5%) Sottimano/Neive 2018 : Light ruby red color; lovely very fragrant/perfumed bright/zippy/strawberry/cherry/Bracheto/floral/cheap hair oil nose; light tart/tangy very strong floral/strawberry/cherry/Brachetto very perfumed flavor w/ lig...

1995 Edmunds St. John Syrah - USA, California (8/4/2019) Very heavy sediment required a careful decant, even so leaving the wine a touch cloudy. First sip was all road tar, roasted meat and underbrush. An hour later, the wine cleared up, and a hint of blackberry fruit was added to the mix, alongsid...

Could someone post the GoogleMaps coordinates so we could all look with our very own eyes?
Tom

Did some bottom feeding at TJ's & WF's this weekend: 1. Maison Barboulot 70% Marsanne/30% Viog LaComptine IGP: Pays d'Oc/Languedoc (12.5%; www.PlumeRidge.com; "from the foothills of the Black Mtn") 2017 : Med.gold bit bronze color; fairly strong appley/Marsanne light earthy rather attractive nose; b...

Tried this last night: 1. LouisM.Martini Cabernet Sauvignon SonomaCnty (13.6%) V&B by Louis M. Martini/St.Helena 2015 : Very dark color; strong juicy/blackcurranty/Cab/grapey light vanilla/oak rather simple nose; fairly soft strong juicy/blackcurranty/Cab/grapey light vanilla/oak flavor w/ light smo...

LouisM was the founder. LouisP was the son, Mike’s father. LouisP was the one I met.
Tom

I didn't know about her career in the film business. Quite an accomplished person in her own right. I sat with her & Alan at a BonnyDoon winemaker dinner at SantaFe W&C Fiesta one yr, bringing a couple of my old BonnyDoon wines. Alan was a kinda quiet guy. But Ruthie was very outgoing & ebullient. A...

Technical and production definitions and winemaking aside and refocusing: Can someone please explain consumer protections and natural wines, since acceptability of what producers, sellers and consumers of traditional wines have considered as flaws seem to be part of the new normal? Are there natura...

Just heard from Patrick Comisky that RandallGrahm’s Mom, Ruthie, has passed.
I had the good fortune to spend time with her and Alan several times over the yrs. She was one gem of a lady. She passed her “zany” genes on to Randall. The end of an era.
Tom

S teve R edenbaugh wrote: ↑
July 31st, 2019, 8:22 am
Tom, thanks for the heads up. I'll always have a soft-spot in my heart for the wines. I can't recall how many of the 1978 Monte Bello Cabernets I drank, but they were amazing...even with their funky white plastic top.

Presume you mean MonteRosso, Steve?
Tom

Tried last night: 1. Bedrock Cuvee Karatas Semillon MonteRossoVnyd/SonomaCnty WW (14.1%; 35% SauvBlanc) 2015 : Med.gold color; very strong waxy/figgy/Semillon/bit olive light pencilly/oak slight earthy/dusty/chalky rather complex nose; rather tart/tangy very strong figgy/Semillon/waxy/olive/smokey q...

A really terrific article, as linked in WineTerriorist, by KelliWhite on the history of MartiniWnry: 750Daily:MartiniWnry including a lot about the MonteRossoVnyd. (Long, but not boring) It recounts how Louis P Martini went directly from EllisIsland, fleeing the poverty of SouthernItaly (where was t...

We tried last night (7/24/19) Some New Odds&Ends: 1. TularosaVnyds Mission NewMexico TW (www.TularosaVineyards.com) NV : Light garnet bit browning color; light fragrant Mission/high-toned slightly tired/raisined/overripe nose; rather sweet somewhat underacid slight cinammon toast/juicy/fruity/Missio...

Search found 8975 matches