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Just to flesh out the local issue with Weyerbacher: Their taproom is yuuge off a major interstate so getting to-from is a bit of a thing even if you’re local. They’ve changed the PA laws to allow taprooms to essentially function as bars now. They can serve their beer on premise and do growler/crowl...

They tend to get it mostly right in the vineyard, producing great fruit, then think that the better cuvees need to be slathered in the most expensive winemaking techniques (lots and lots of the best new oak). Fred, IIRC, the term I've heard is: "slutting it up". We're in agreement, although some of...

Ch. Poujeaux (Moulis en Medoc, cru bourgeois), $40: Nice nose with oak and black fruit, and a trace of red currant, as well. Both rich and tannic, with great fruit showing – more than most. Slight green hint suggested cabernet franc, but that’s only 5%; it’s 50% cabernet sauvignon. Very pleasing an...

Pinot Noir is complicated and resistant to easy definition and/or categorization. I've definitely had less expensive lighter style bottlings that I've preferred to bigger more concentrated home run efforts. I believe that it's harder to hide flaws in "lighter" Pinot Noir. Sometimes the increased den...

Ian Fitzsimmons wrote: ↑
May 8th, 2019, 12:35 pm
Have you had any 05 Clisson?

Yes. Only 1 bottle left in the cellar...it was that good.

RT

I visited the Domaine in 2012. Marc is a great host. He treated us to several younger vintages, some tank samples and a bottle from 1984. That 28 year old wine was lovely. Fascinating stuff and still holding on fine...lots of tertiary interest. I'm not sure the same could be said of every bottle.......

Nobody around here seems to like or know the Muri Gries Lagrein Rosato....at a whopping $13. I'm cool with that. Haven't tried the '18 yet but backed up the truck for the '16s.

FYI, 20% off sale at Astor today on all their Roses.

RT

When Yuengling was reintroduced into the MA market, a coworker and I tasted it alongside Budweiser. Styles were a bit different, but quality was very similar. In the 1990's...Yuengling brewed a higher quality beer IMHO. I preferred it to Bud, Miller, etc. It never approached the quality of many of ...

Todd F r e n c h wrote: ↑
May 6th, 2019, 6:04 pm
2012 Seven of Hearts Pinot Noir Curmudgeon Cuvée Armstrong Vineyard[/url] - USA, Oregon, Willamette Valley, Ribbon Ridge (5/6/2019)

Nice! You don't see a lot of that around.

RT

A few months ago I popped a 2007 and 2017 side-by-side. The 07 had increased depth and presence but was, as expected, missing the lighter, fresher notes of the livelier 2017. I was hoping for a bit more complexity/layering from the aging. I preferred the younger wine. A different bottle of each (dif...

Along with Lambrusco, Brachetto d'Acqui can be novel/interesting.

RT

I am sure that's largely because of Yuengling (craft - ha!). They also seem not to be counting Boston Beer Company in the Massachusetts total, which might change the #1 spot, but again, "craft" in name only. PA does have a LOT of breweries, though. Boston Beer has a huge brewing facility in the Leh...

Rick, for now...the big chains don't have a lock on the local supermarkets. There are also a limited number of markets and gas stations with beer/wine licenses, usually with a separate cash register and a limit on the amount that can be sold at any one time (i.e.: 2 six packs max). Like I said, anti...

Stumbled on an estimate that PA produces more craft beer by volume than any other State . CA is #2. OR is #9. There're 7 - 8 craft breweries within 10 miles of my house...and I live in the relative "sticks" compared to Philadelphia or the Lehigh Valley. A number of them are quite good IMHO. It's har...

Goodbeerhunting.com story "At its peak in 2014, Weyerbacher sold an estimated 19,500 BBLs, but has struggled to tread water since. Due to lack of funding, Lampe told Brewbound the company made only 11,000 BBLs last year, but is hoping to get back to around 16,000 in 2019, a production level where W...

I don't follow these things closely but I was surprised by a recent front page article in the local rag: Bankruptcy: How did Weyerbacher Brewing get to this point? Weyerbacher seemed to be on a path to success (since 1995...fairly early in the game) and was growing faster than a few dozen other loca...

a slightly different theme direction... I stopped in to a small Parisian suburb wine shop last year and chatted to the owner about personal wine preferences. She was attentive and made some suggestions. She had a broad hand-picked selection of French offerings (including GC Burgs and higher end Bord...

You've never heard about his "Infallibility" doctrine? Basically he could not be wrong . I think this was put into writ sometime in the late 1980's/early 1990's. Obviously, his church believed him. For well over a decade, Parker was a beacon of wine expertise...to myself and many here. His newslett...

Jason, 2010 was relatively cool with a long October harvest window allowing adequate ripening with lower brix. The best wines are lovely, elegant and restrained with good natural acidity. The better Pinots seem quite age-worthy. One of the top vintages of the 2000s IMHO. Not every wine holds true to...

Greg, you nailed it, word for word it would have been my response in this thread. Also attended several wine dinners with Mark present. We may have met along the way at one of those dinners. I met Mr Glasser and many other members at these events. In person Mark was so different, yes he could dish ...

2010 Biggio-Hamina Riesling Amity Vineyard The 2010 Amity vineyard Riesling was a swan song for us. When I worked at Archery Summit for Gary Andrus my wife and I rented a house from Myron Redford. Polar opposites, but tremendous cork pullers. I learned a bunch from both of them. Anyways Myron was l...

I'm still waiting for you guys to come and join the amateur Ronde Van Vlaanderen on Saturday ( day before the race , thousands join , including a lot of Yankees ) . I promise to organize a TOP dinner afterwards . For those who finish the 260 km . But.....it's hilly! Owl-dude...training goal for 202...

Been hearing good things about Franny Beck for a while. Need to try some. Never tasted or seen Flaneur or Violin....or One Hundred Sun or Redolent or Guillen Cellars.

Nice exploration!

RT

Richard, Pinot Gris and PGC? I wasn't aware of Patty Green producing a Pinot Gris. Perhaps a long time ago or maybe thinking about PGC's Sauvignon Blanc? James Yes, likely a faulty memory here. Jim Anderson is allergic to Pinot Gris. Did they play with it early in the 2000s? I'm familiar with their...

Pinot Gris gets treated as a second-class citizen from winemaking perspective - just like Chardonnay used to get treated. True. Burgundy Grand Crus are widely recognized as the pinnacle of Chardonnay, but there're terrific examples all over the globe. Burgundy has set a high bar. OR is producing so...

....the one race I’d want to win were I a pro. Defines cycling as a brutal sport of perseverance. The winner cycles for about 6 hours in crappy weather, on crappy roads, on multiple stages of cobbles that destroy bike parts, cause accidents and blow tyres. Unlike Tour de France, this is a race buil...

Don't know Fossil & Fawn. There're so many tiny OR producers that it's very hard to keep up unless you're local. Pinot Gris can be done well but it requires effort...and probably a little added expense and the results can be good (noting that so many are neutral at best). The typical style is never ...

I’d throw Belle Pente’s into the mix too. Have to admit I don’t remember the Goodfellow Pinot Gris, though surely I tried it when I tasted with him last fall. Certainly remember the Pinot Boir, Chardonnay and Syrah though.... Well....that triggered a memory cell. Brian shared a 1992 or 1993 (can't ...

2016 Goodfellow Clover Pinot Gris Reserve It's not fat. It's not over-ripe. It's not oaky. It's well made. It's pleasant. It's perfectly drinkable and it's Pinot Gris. It's better than most. It'd probably be best for me to taste/drink all Pinot Gris blind...or drink something else. Oregon Pinot Gri...

2015 Goodfellow Cellars Deux Vert Syrah “Cool climate” Syrah from a warm OR vintage. Shoe leather, tobacco and herbs with savory blackberry. Bright acidity featuring pomegranate and plums in the mouth. Massaging tannins. This is a structured accessible effort. No distracting wood or heat/ripeness. ...

The '17 Whistling Ridge Blanc that Sean ^^^ gave me. Lovely vibrant wine, wonderful aromatics, masterful blend. (62% Riesling, 18% Pinot Noir, 14% Pinot Blanc, 6% Gewurztraminer.) 2016 Goodfellow Cellars Whistling Ridge Blanc White pepper, gooseberry, celery seed, and a spiciness reminscent of grun...

Thanks for the update. My last taste was at the July 2015 Post-IPNC group tasting. https://www.wineberserkers.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=114955 It was lackluster, IMHO, compared to the overall lineup...which was pretty strong. Probably time to check-in again soon....although the cognoscenti seem ...

Jeremy Holmes wrote: ↑
April 10th, 2019, 11:03 pm
Being in an abstemious mood....

Yeah, that can increase the suckiness of wine drinking in France.

RT

Visited N'Ombra de Vin, Enoteca Ronchi and Peck....probably a decade ago. Cool shops. Sorry to hear that Enoteca Ronchi is no more? That was my favorite of the three.

My wife might be headed to Milan on business in a few weeks so thanks for the suggestions.

RT

Consumed the 2013 over a period of 3 days. My particular bottle was unflawed and showed fresh and red fruited...lots of cranberry and red briar fruit with secondary OR "woodsy" notes and hints of black cherry. The fruit is sweet but not jammy or raisined. Plenty of balancing acidity. No noticeable h...

Gentlemen..."reclusive" does not mean "antisocial". It does not mean "socially inept". It means (Merriam Webster definition): "seeking solitude"...i.e: privacy. Which sounds exactly as Scott describes and consistent with other encounters. How many OR wine producers with similar years of experience h...

Mitch, my main point is mostly that Thomas is a small...let's call it "niche" artisan producer. I'm not sure I know any small producers with long track records (making wines I prefer) who aren't "eccentric". I mentioned "fairly reclusive" because it's a fair description. Try scheduling an appointmen...

Flawed bottles are par for the Thomas course. The highs can put them near the top of the OR heap. On average, they're on par with a fairly large group of producers that I consider to be the "usual suspects". You'll also encounter appreciably more duds. John Thomas is eccentric, fairly reclusive and ...

There are three Muscadets that I have in numbers in my cellar, Pepiere Briords, Pepiere Clisson and Luneau-Papin L d'Or. I've never even given a thought as to which I preferred. I wouldn't want to be without any of the 3. Throw in some Jo Landron Amphibolite and Fief du Breil and you're in my cella...

2013 Thomas Pinot Noir Mushrooms, parnips and subtle baking spice with abundant sour cherry aromas, the wood is balanced adding mild cedar and soft vanilla without too much distraction. I normally expect smoked meats with Thomas...but MIA in this one. There’s a sweetness to the palate suggesting RS...

And I've had iffy 04s (mine) shared at group tastings.

RT

Thomas has a reputation for inconsistent bottles. The phenomenon may or may not be vintage-wide. For a wine that traditionally doesn't hit its stride until age 10+, this isn't great news. One shouldn't expect to need to polish them off by age 5 or 6. That would be almost tragically quick for a numbe...

For a first time trip to TX, that was a great approach/theme. I've traveled across and around most of the State (it's been a long time) and couldn't have done it better. Never made it to Austin, which most people seem to love. The traffic sounds pretty awful. Hard to imagine it's worse than Houston ...

Do you buy wine that is considered a Veblen good? I don't buy wines that I consider to be Veblen goods. There's no widely approved list....although there're certainly prime suspects as you've mentioned, i.e.: Screagle and DRC. I'm not convinced about Cristal. The wine really can be exceptional (tas...

Markus S wrote: ↑
March 28th, 2019, 5:39 pm
ANother 3 months or so in the Northeast, yay!

Probably depends where. In these times of global warming..the Mid-Atlantic window starts getting dicey by Mid-May. Earlier in parts of VA and most of NC. Nothing like a weekend wine sauna during transport.

RT

Sounds fun! Thanks for sharing. Pretty sure Isabelle Meunier made the 2013 Seven Springs just prior to her departure. As much as I didn't like the Tarlov operation, some very respectable wines were made. I'm an Eric Hamacher fan so nice to see his Chard in the line-up. Roulot has gone over the top c...

Some of the Burgs downstairs have increased in to the $400 - $800 value range. That kind of price increase causes some hesitation and promotes more focus on when and under what circumstances to drink them. If the value increase was similar to what Alan has observed, that would almost certainly remov...

This year by volume: Cabernet Franc, Gamay, Nebbiolo and Pinot Noir in almost equal proportions. Chardonnay for whites/bubbles.

RT

If you have never had a chance to taste, and for you it is a major purchase, how would you decide what to buy? Ratings, a particular critic, a wine store, someone on the berserker board or classification etc? Most here have had a chance to learn their own preferences and found some favorites. It's ...

The main SCUBA resort is Hurghada. A rogue attacker stabbed several tourists (all women) 2 years ago. 3 women died. There was an attack the year before (January 2016) involving tourist stabbings and alleged ISIS connections. On average, it's fairly safe (and much of it over-dived according to some) ...

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