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

A fairly interesting article in WineEnthusiast on Straw Wines: https://www.winemag.com/2020/09/17/straw-wine-raisin-south-africa/ It's a genre I wish they'd explore more in Calif. It's rather labor intensive so the wines can be expensive. Some of the best ones are made at Tablas Creek and they are e...

Thanks, Carole....that's one beautiful chunk of steel. The picture belies its actual size.
I recall it being over a foot long.
If you put your ear up to your screen, you can faintly hear The Anvil Chorus playing in the background.
Tom

2019 Solminer Wines Syrah Carbonic Coquelicot Vineyard - USA, California, Central Coast, Santa Ynez Valley (8/19/2020) -- decanted immediately before initial taste -- -- tasted non-blind over approx. 3 hours -- NOSE: smells like a rosé; light red fruits; moderately gassy at first; touch of fresh to...

The new '19 vintage showed up at WholeFoods so tried: 1. MonteRustico DOC: Langhe Bianco Dogliani (13%; 90% Arneis/10% SauvBlanc; PacificHwyWines&Spirits/AmericanCanyon) G.D.Vajra 2019 : Med.light gold color; very fragrant floral/Arneis/gardenias/carnations slight mineral/chalky lovely aromatic nose...

Tried these two over the last few days: 1. Radio-Coteau Zin vonWeidlichVnyd/RRV (15.2%; 272 cs; U/U) Sebastapol 2007 : Dark color w/ some bricking; rather pencilly/cedary/cigar box/old Zin/bit tired some dusty/OV some blackberry/boysenberry/Zin/spicy bit volatile/alcoholic light earthy some complex ...

Had these two over the last few days: 1. Forlorn-Hope Verdelho Rhu RorickHeritageVnyd/CalaverasCnty/SierraFoothills (13.60%) 2017 : Med.dark gold color; strong herbal/Verdelho/bit floral very slight resiny/skin-contact slight earthy bit undistinguished nose; quite tart/tangy/bit lean light grapey/Ve...

Had these 4 over the last few days: 1. Carlisle Syrah PelkanRanch/Knight'sVlly (14.9%; 260 cs) 2007 : Very dark color w/ slight bricking; strong blackberry/Syrah/boysenberry/ripe light toasty/pencilly/Fr.oak/smokey some peppery/spicy somewhat complex quite fragrant nose; lightly tart/tangy strong bl...

Thanks, Matt... from someone with boots on the ground.
Tom

Tried these three Carlisles over the last week: 1. Carlisle TwoAcres RRV RW (13.7%; Mourv/PS/Syrah/Carignane/AlicanteBouchet; Plntd: 1910; 295 cs) 2007 : Drk color w/ some bricking; strong fragrant plummy/earthy/blackberry/black cherry cola some toasty/oak slight loamy/rustic rather dusty/OV some co...

Had these three over the last few days: 1. Carlisle PetiteSirah DryCreekVlly (14.8%; 85 cs) 2007 : Black color w/ some bricking; strong blackberry/PS slight earthy/peppery some toasty/oak fairly classic clunky/oafish/PS nose; soft bit hot/alcoholic strong blackberry/boysenberry/PS slight peppery som...

The GWT was just so sweet and the acidity so low that it became utterly boring and we couldn't even finish half the btl. Sooo sad.
Tom

Tried these two last night: 1. Haut Vol Vin de France Rose (12.5%; www.ScopertaImports.com; Grenache/Carignan) Vignobles Foncalieu/Arzens/Languedoc 2019 : Pale copper/salmon color; pleasant strawberry/cranberry/watermelon lightly spicy rather pretty nose; fairly tart/tangy some strawberry/watermelon...

Tried these two last night: 1. Forlorn-Hope Nacre Semillon YountMillVnyd/Yountville (11%; 77 cs) Calistoga 2008 : Deep yellow color; strong figgy/fig newton/graham cracker/Semillon rather nutty/bit oxidative slight herbal/boiled peanuts rather interesting/complex nose; quite tart/tangy/austere stran...

Rod Schiffman on WCWN pulled up the message traffic there on 9/11. It was a guy Michael who put out the first alert that I saw. But don't remember who Michael was.
Tom

I was into work early and was checking out the wine boards, either alt.food.wine or WestCoastWineNetwork. Don't remember which one. A member who was a financial type with an office high up on WallStreet . Don't remember his name anymore. He posted "Holy $hit... a plane just crashed into the WorldTra...

I think, at $35, you can better Riesling from Germany or Austria, so David probably has a point. But it's grown on primo real estate and I don't mind paying more for this very unique expression of Riesling.
Tom

Saw the video by Isi Vaira the other day of the first of their harvest, the Riesling, so thought I'd try: 1. G.D.Vajra Riesling Petracine Dd'OC: Langhe (13%; L 16 19; www.GDVajra.It) Barolo 2018 : Light gold color; strong floral/R/mango some mineral/chalky very slight herbal/thyme rather fragrant no...

DarrenDelmore just released his new three wines. We tried them at Laura's on Sun afternoon: 1. Delmore PinotNoir EdenRiftVnyd/CienegaVlly/SanBenitoCnty (13.4%; 2 brls; U; www.DarrenDelmore.com) PasoRobles 2019 : Dark color; quite fragrant cherry/black cherry/PN slight herbal bit SanBenito/jammy ligh...

Wow, Otto... that's a pretty incredible collection of old wines. Thanks for writing up & sharing such detailed TN's with us. They're long... but not boring.
Never heard of the Valtelline producer Plozza. Not too surprised it's still holding on, though. Tom

Ethan Abraham wrote: ↑
September 7th, 2020, 10:36 am
Recork and shake, repeat until no longer spritzy.

How does that relate to travel shock beating down a wine's character?
Tom

Just got ystrday JamieGoode's new book "The Goode Guide to Wine... A Manifesto of Sorts". It is a collection of 55 chapters on a plethora of wine topics that Jamie wishes to share his thoughts on. I've read 5-6 now and find them fascinating and very thought provoking. Don't always agree with his th...

Cracked these three the other night looking for something good to drink. These were not them: 1. DavidCoffaro EstateCuvee Estate/DryCreekVlly RW (33% Zin/30% CS/27% Carignane/10% PetiteSirah; 750 cs; U/U; 13.9%) 2002 : Med.light color w/ some browning; quite dried-out/tired some oxidized no fruit no...

Tried these two last week: 1. Siduri PinotNoir Gary'sVnyd/SantaLuciaHighlands (14.1%) 2005 : Med.light color w/ light bricking; strong Siduri/toasty/Fr.oak some cedary/pencilly/old PN light PN/black cherry fairly complex/mature nose; lightly tart/tangy/slight metallic strong Siduri/Fr.oak/toasty lig...

I've noticed that a lot of stuff that I look at on wine.com is often only available at Solano Cellars in my state, CA. It's a pattern that seemed so consistent that I assumed there must be some linkage. Never heard of a connection, although what I did hear was that the Solano guys own or have inter...

Tried these 4 over the last few days: 1. Novy Zin ElsbreeVnyd/RRV (14.6%) 2010 : Med.color w/ some bricking; strong Siduri/oak some blackberry/Zin/spicy slight cedary/pencilly/old Zin bit complex nose; soft rather cedary/pencilly/old Zin/Siduri oak light blackberry/Zin bit tired/metallic/tangy flavo...

Found this odd/unknown wine at Koko so we tried it last night: 1. Terraprima Massis del Garraf WW (12.5%; www.Canrafolsdelscaus.com; 30-65 yr old vines; Xaral-lo/Riesling) Can Rafals dels Caus/Avinyonet/Penedes/Spain 2015 : Med.gold color; quite floral/peach/mango/grapey some stony/chalky/mineral sl...

Tom, any reason to wait on these, the ‘18s ? I’ve been holding off. To us the wines are probably the best QPR of any we buy. The Syrah’s, with age, are excellent. Clueless as to if this will get better. I don't think dramatically so, though. It's so good right now but should hold its own for severa...

Thanks for sharing Tom! Had the Ograde 2016 a while back and thought it was excellent. Complex, balanced and hard to put away the glass, really liked it. Btw, didn’t know there was a “second” Prepotto, and that close to each other :) Yup... Sandi's Ograde is a world-class wine. Apparently there are...

Had this wine last weekend: 1. Skerk Malvazija IGP: Venezia Giulia (13.5%; Oliver McCrumWines) Sandi Skerk/Prepotto/Trieste 2013 : Med.orange/burnshed bronze bit cloudy color; strong resiny/phenolic/skin-contact light earthy/dusty/stony some orangey/honeyed quiet muscatty rather complex nose; fairly...

Tried these two early in the week: 1. Idlewild Barbera FoxHillVnyd/MendoCnty (14.1%) Geyserville 2016 : Dark color; strong spicy/Barbera/dried Italian spices/dried oregano rather earthy/dusty light toasty/oak fairly complex nose; quite tart/tangy/acidic rather earthy/dusty strong Barbera/spicy/dried...

Tried this wine earlier in the week: 1. Ridge Zin Calif PasoRobles BenitoDusiRanch/PasoRobles/SLOCnty (14.6%; 100% Zin; bttld Dec 09; 86 yr old vnyd; Drk: 8/09-8/14-8/16: EB) 2008 : Med.dark color w/ some bricking; strong vanilla/new Am.oak rather dusty/OV some ripe/boysenberry/Zin/blackberry/spicy ...

Tried this wine early in the week: 1. Cedarville {Viognier} EstateBttld/ElDorado (14.3%; 145 cs) 2018 : Med.light yellow color; very strong pear/Viog/peach some floral/peach blossom slight earthy/chalky/perfumed talc quite attractive nose; lightly tart/tangy slightly rich/lush very strong floral/pea...

Had this last night w/ my BLT: 1. Forlorn-Hope TheFraufreluches GWT Adam&Eve Vnyd/RRV (14.3%; 34 cs) SuisunVlly 2010 : Rather amber/burnished bronze color; fairly strong GWT/hair-oil/spicy/floral bit pencilly/cigar box modest phenolic/skin-contact/resiny bit Radikon-like rather complex nose; fairly ...

Off topic a bit, but the current issue of PrinceofPinot has a great historical retrospective on old pinot wineries and vineyards in California, sorted by region, with lots of good pix. Ortman made some good wines at Meridian for a time, not the supermarket stuff, but with grapes from Edna Valley. I...

Mike Robbins was a retired Naval (Admiral?) Officer. I did a visit with him at Miravalle in the mid-'70's. An absolutely charming man who walked me thru the mansion, pre-FalconCrest days. His restoration of it was a labor of love. The wnry was in the old barn/carriage house away from the house. His ...

Mike Robbins bought in 1972 a small property just North of Beringer on Hwy 29 and started making wines, mostly Cab and Chard. He outgrew the wnry and it eventually became StClement Wnry. To expand, he bought the old TuburicoParrot/Miravalle Estate up on Spring Mtn Rd and restored the mansion. That w...

Norm Yost doesn't get a lot of love around here but he makes some lovely wines up there on BienNacido property.
Tom

Link:
https://us02web.zoom.us/rec/play/v8Irce ... rhtaid=667

Pswd: 54jslQv#

If needed.
Tom

Just finished watching a WineAccess Zoom Webinar on "An Exploration of Ribolla Gialla", featuring the usual suspects... SteveMatthiasen/DanPetroski/MeghanGlaab/DuncanRobertsand a couple of others. It was quite informative about a grape that has about only 15 acres planted in the USofA: mostly Calif,...

A particularly good article in WS by Robert Camuto on the wines of Alois Lageder: WS:Lageder It describes a lot of the innovative work they are doing in the vnyd. Interesting that they are returning to the use of pergola training. They are working with the Greek Asyritiko grape. They make a wine fro...

Just got ystrday JamieGoode's new book "The Goode Guide to Wine... A Manifesto of Sorts". It is a collection of 55 chapters on a plethora of wine topics that Jamie wishes to share his thoughts on. I've read 5-6 now and find them fascinating and very thought provoking. Don't always agree with his tho...

Susan made a slow-cooked baked salmon & we had these two: 1. Sattlerhof SauvBlanc DAC: Sudsteiermark (12%; LN 02508/19; www.Sattlerhof.At; Craft+Estate/Winebow) Gamlitz 2018 : Pale yellow color; strong rather herbal/SB/slight melony light earthy/chalky/stony slight mango/R-like quite pretty nose; qu...

A very interesting photo montage of grape growing on the CanaryIslands:
Lanzarote/CanaryIslands

Pretty rugged growing conditions.
Tom

Had these two Bedrocks last week: 1. Bedrock Riesling WirzVnyd/CienegaVlly/SanBenitoCnty (Dry farmed by PatWirz; Plnted: 1963; Aged: neutral Fr.oak cask; 13.5%) 2016 : Med.gold color; beautiful fragrant/R/floral/mango strong mineral/Mosel valve oil/bit petrol/pungent some chalky/flinty quite complex...

Had these two w/ dinner Wed night: 1. UpShot Calif WW Blend (13%; 27% Chard/21% GrenacheBlanc/18% GWT/17% PinotNoir/11% Viognier/6% SauvBlanc; 3 mo. in barrel; SaH: 22.8 Brix, pH: 3.22, TA: 0.64) RodneyStrongVnyds/Healdsburg 2018 : Pale yellow color; lightly floral/grapey/fruity simple/non-descript/...

D@vid Bu3ker wrote: ↑
August 26th, 2020, 9:30 am
Perhaps he didn't mean it in a completely literal sense Tom...

That could very well be, David.
Tom

No, acid never disappears in the bottle. On the contrary: the final state of each and every wine is vinegar, sometimes after 2-5 years, sometimes after 200-300 years. The fruit disappears, the acidity stays. What can happen is the convertation of malic acidity (sharper tasting) into lactic acidity ...

Ian S wrote: ↑
August 25th, 2020, 5:27 pm
Also, bacteria can convert malic acid into lactic acid, further softening wine, but this changes the pH.

Uhhhh, Ian... you don't want a M-L fermentation going on in a btls wine. It releases CO2 and almost always pretty much guts the way... at least for the next yr or two.
Tom

It was that Merlot that did in the SoH!!
Tom

G. Greenbaum wrote: ↑
August 23rd, 2020, 11:55 am
Thanks for these notes Tom. The '70 Ridge Jimsonaire Zin remains one of the greatest wines I have ever tasted.

Yup, Gregg...the '70 Jimsomare and '70 Occidental were monumental wines. That was when Bennion was handing off the reins to Draper, so not sure whose doing it was.
Tom

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