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

2017 BROSSEAU BROSSEAU VINEYARDS CHALONE PINOT NOIR- the first thing I noticed was the very near cork fill which reminded me of my friend, Burt Williams` intention to fill all of his wines to the cork; the next observation had to do with a heartfelt father to son message on the back label about the ...

Do you think the 2006 DOMAINE du VIEUX TELEGRAPHE “LA CRAU” CHATEAUNEUF du PAPE is past it's peak? Cellartracker TN seem to indicate this, but they're also all over the map in the last 10 months. FWI Avg. score is a 91. I just bought a Magnum of this wine and hoping I didn't make a mistake. Dave, t...

A good friend and his wife co-hosted a presentation for a local charity organisation at their home recently and in addition to serving some good appetisers and home made pizzas, opened some nice wines along with a few that were bought by some of us attending. My friend is the recently anointed rep f...

Here's a beauty if you like rich and full bodied champagne that is in really good balance now and has so much potential for being a keeper for the long run: 2008 LEGRAS & HAAS BLANC de BLANC BRUT- Magnum; made from Grand Cru Chardonnay from Chouilly; this luscious wine was rich and full bodied with ...

Adding a pic:

: Chris, Brig and Viet with Balboa Bay in the background

brigcampbell wrote: ↑
June 9th, 2019, 1:55 pm
Thursday is the best day!

Especially Brig, the one after the Wednesday we shared although I have to admit, I had a vapor trail aura around me all day Thursday.

Very nice Blake! Good to see you and come back soon! Thanks Steve. I've shared some of our Wednesday night details with friends who are a part of the 3 wine groups here in SB I'm involved with and they are all in agreement, there are some special groups around doing what we do with like kind and pa...

After a fabulous dinner with a great group of wine centric guys at The Winery in Newport Beach, Roelanda and I enjoyed our own night out on the town the next night at the highly recommended French bistro restaurant, Marche` Moderne. There were also some strong recommendations for going to Taco Maria...

Finally, I got it together to do some notes on this wondrous evening. I'm including the entire format I use for my email list, but first want to give a big shout out to Steve Nordhoff who creatively orchestrated the wines and venue on this night: After having met some wonderful folks online in the W...

This is what I received via email: "We are absolutely thrilled to add a fabulous new Williams Selyem Cabernet Sauvignon vineyard designate to our already stellar line-up of extraordinary offerings. The Beckstoffer Vineyard Georges III was one of the original Beaulieu Vineyard sites, and was a key co...

As with Brig, I'm in a rehydrating phase and will post notes in a few days as well. As always, it was such a treat to be in the presence of Steve, Frank, Sean, Chris, Viet, Brig, Andrew, Chuck and Windell. This group is truly dedicated to sharing the passion and in exploiting the nuances of everythi...

Yesterday, I had multiple tastings of: 08` Cristal 07` Salon 08` Dom 07` Taittinger CdC MV Krug Grand Cuvee 167eme Thoughts on 08 Cristal v 08 Dom, and how was the new 167 release from Krug? John, the 08` Cristal is just not ready. I had tastes from a few different bottles throughout the day and ha...

Yesterday, I had multiple tastings of: 08` Cristal 07` Salon 08` Dom 07` Taittinger CdC MV Krug Grand Cuvee 167eme and single pours of at least 20 other splendid bubblies. How could I do that all in one sitting/ standing? I went to Wally`s Grande Marque Champagne Tasting in Santa Monica. Oh, BTW, I ...

2009 LOUIS ROEDERER CRISTAL BRUT- I have a 6 pack of this bubbly and wanted to find out where it stands now for future reference; I’ve had a few in the last couple of years and they were really ready in their youth to please, in fact, much more so than the heralded 08`; from the nose through the ta...

Frank Murray III wrote: ↑
May 26th, 2019, 9:26 am
Thanks for the post, Blake. The 2009 Cristal is on my short list for WOTY. Excellent wine.

Happy to see you also find this so excellent Brother Frank. I see you have gravitated back to the Comtes de Champagne too.

Sounds like a lovely evening. I'll try to remember the name of this place should we get out to the area at some point; sounds glorious. And I do love that 09 Cristal! Neal, we have 5 top luxury resorts here, The Biltmore 4 Seasons, newly opened Miramar, El Encanto and Bacara. IMHO, the SYR and Ston...

We have a favorite restaurant in the Santa Barbara area where we have celebrated special occasions or just gone out for a fine dining experience because we were inn the mood and didn't want to go to San Francisco or LA or Vegas or Paris. It has been shut down for over a year due to extensive damage ...

Your note is tempting me to pull a bottle of ‘08 Roederer although I do prefer them with more age. Jayson, I'm with you on the maturity factor. In this case, I just had to find out where this wine is now for future reference. Its so good now, but I have to put the others down. I just did the same t...

Our dinner group enjoyed another stellar evening, this time dining at Roost, a fairly new restaurant in Santa Barbara that features a menu of seasonal fare featuring rotisserie roasted meats and vegetables, fresh salads, grilled seafood and steaks. The wine theme was white Burgs, Champagne, and the ...

Blake, thanks for the link and the release letter. Both were fun reads. I remember having a bottle of Stony Hill Chardonnay at a group dinner back in the early 80s. I don’t remember where it came from but it was treated as a rarity and made a big impression. and David, I remember my first exposure ...

A few yers ago, I offered a live auction lot in the Central Coast Wine Classic featuring a dinner for 10 at the San Ysidro Ranch restaurant, The Stonehouse, along with 10 wines from Williams Selyem from 1988-1997 vintages. This included the rare appearance of Burt Williams as well. It sold for a bun...

Blake, thanks for the link and the release letter. Both were fun reads. I remember having a bottle of Stony Hill Chardonnay at a group dinner back in the early 80s. I don’t remember where it came from but it was treated as a rarity and made a big impression. and David, I remember my first exposure ...

Well...I still have this cuneiform tablet from Pliny the Elder announcing the release of his latest Falernian wine!! [snort.gif] The StonyHill mailing list was the first one I recall hearing of. Probably dating back to the 1960's. Well before Joseph Swan or DougNalle. Tom Earlier today, I asked Bur...

I looked through my files and regret that I did not save the mailers I received early on in the 80s from Williams Selyem. The earliest I found was from March 1, 1994, but they show the "casual"" style that Ed and Burt had:

I always thought it was Stony Hill too. Other possibles would be Martin Ray and the original Souverain. Hanzell came along a bit later. Both Hanzell and SH discovered that it was possible for your mailing list members to get old all of a sudden. Wms Selyem put their phone number on the cork. Now th...

To settle a debate about who was the first to put out a mailing list, The Prince of Pinot Noir, Rusty Gaffney, did some research and discovered it was Stony Hill in the 1950s. In his previous PinotFile article, he had stated it was Williams Selyem in the 1980s, but was corrected by a reader. In this...

So many great options already mentioned - but a few more in my neck of the woods to consider: Ojai Vineyards Jaffurs Samsara Stolpman Good luck! And next time you are heading to Paso, consider detouring to Santa Barbara County instead! Cheers. +1 on Jaffurs and a big vote for Qupe under Bob Lindqui...

I tip for services that are rendered with passion, precision and consideration regardless of any other costs. Its about reward for those who serve righteously. Why not encourage more of the same for others?

CT is gold IMHO.

I can totally relate. I go to Amsterdam for a 3 weeks stay twice a year and have a similar experience at the wine centric restaurants there. Since I've gotten to know the "sommeliers" at each of my favs places, I turn over the wine selections, especially for food pairings to them and never regret it...

amazing note for the nv ruinart, and agree about the bottle shape sounds like a nice wine to sit with all night Actually, there was some dregs left over that I took home and 2 days later, my wife and I finished it off with enough for a glass each. The surprising thing was, it was maybe a touch bett...

great notes as always Blake! my impressions: bubbles . . . NV Ruinart Brut : wonderfully lively combo of limey citrus notes and fragrant yeasty biscuits; bright acidity and life-force; incredibly long finish whites . . . 2015 Weingut Brundlmayer Heiligenstein 1r Alte Reben Riesling Kamtal Reserve :...

dcornutt wrote: ↑
May 10th, 2019, 4:45 pm
Wonderful notes Blake. Sounds like a very good time. Important to me to read notes like this!

Hey Don. Its equally important for me to have experiences that merit notes like this.

amazing note for the nv ruinart, and agree about the bottle shape sounds like a nice wine to sit with all night Actually, there was some dregs left over that I took home and 2 days later, my wife and I finished it off with enough for a glass each. The surprising thing was, it was maybe a touch bett...

Anton D wrote: ↑
May 10th, 2019, 1:30 pm
Blake, I love your notes.

It’s weird not having to turn my phone sideways to read the labels!

Anton, I struggled more than once to get the Launois upright and could never pull it off???? It was edited and upright in MY PHOTOS.

MAY MAGNUM MADNESS Our dinner group held its semi-annual magnum event recently as we dined at one of our past local favs, Jane. Thirteen of us were seated in the upstairs front dining area which was set up for us to use exclusively. Usually, there are some 750s brought to compliment the bigger bottl...

Just saw this thread and am late to the game but here something from somewhere: 2000 Brogan Cellars Russian River Valley Reserve Pinot Noir- 13.9% abv; this was absolutely stellar hitting all of the right spots from the nose through the tail; it had a still youthful red burgundy color; the aromatics...

Blake - Thanks for raising awareness of this project. Just what I needed - another source from which to buy wine. I just bought a few based upon the Prince's notes. All 2016's. Kirk reached out to personally thank me for the purchase and to find out how I learned of WesMar. I told him: Blake, WB an...

For those who desire more info on WesMar, here is a link that not only has a nice writeup about the winery, but TNs dating back to 02` up to close to current releases: http://www.princeofpinot.com/winery/176/ A couple off salient points here. Its pronounced Wes Mare and the Mare comes from the daugh...

I ordered a sixer of WesMar with my father on a lark (well, we were drinking together) and was very happy. I've ordered from the last 3 vintages - great pinot and a reasonable price! Bryan, can you elaborate on the style, weight and fruit profile? I'm tempted to go for some blind just knowing that ...

Really fine writeup Don. Stephen sent me a copy which I just opened after returning from Europe yesterday. I had strong, clear visuals of his home, dining room and the table as well as strong sensory sensations from your notes that included a nice heartfelt appreciation for Stephen and friends. Such...

I ordered a sixer of WesMar with my father on a lark (well, we were drinking together) and was very happy. I've ordered from the last 3 vintages - great pinot and a reasonable price! Bryan, can you elaborate on the style, weight and fruit profile? I'm tempted to go for some blind just knowing that ...

Vincent Fritzshe makes beautiful PNs from Willamette: https://vincentwinecompany.com Todd Hamina makes outstanding wines from Willamette as well:http://biggiohamina.com Call Todd, he usually has a few older bottles he'll let you have as well! Goodfellow Family Vineyards, also has gorgeous red fruit...

A local purveyor, Hi-Time, had the 2014 Mt. Eden available by the glass when I stopped by a year (maybe two) ago. My first thought was it was outrageously good, before I even considered the price (which is such a good value). I agree Bryan. These wines are very reasonably priced for the quality the...

That's a very neat cross-section, and great notes as always, Blake. Love that you led with your heart on the Campaneros in particular. Haven't had some of these producers in some years, so really appreciate a look-in on their recent vintage wines. I also do agree that 2011 was a somewhat challengin...

Blake, did you ever try the original Bartles and James before they started using grains instead of grapes?? Wow!! There is nothing like a barrel fermented wine cooler. Of course Tom Hill followed them from the beginning...still does. Mel, there's a few wondrous things I've missed in life and that w...

Great notes Frank. Drinking some pretty serious stuff there. Happy your bottle of the 08` Cristal showed some pizzaz as the 3 I've had have been super tight and not very giving although there was enough to suggest this will be a major player once the game gets in to later stages.. I finally shut dow...

Two rose half bottles for comparison Billecart Salmon Rose - essentially no info on the bottle. Raspberry and dried cherry. These seems a bit drier than 10 years ago, which is fine with me. Very nice, solid and consistent. Roederer 2012 Rose. This house is on fire for me lately, between this, the i...

Blake Brown wrote: ↑
May 13th, 2018, 11:52 am
Totally revised and updated on 3/23/19.

Now updated 4/30/19

Williams Selyem meets Bartles and James: the Bartles and James commercials started the same year W-S, then Hacienda of the River, did. As I recall, one of the characters was played by a contractor who was building a house for Hal Riney, the creator of the commercials. I`ll take Williams Selyem`s wi...

Search found 4869 matches