Favorite BerserkerDay wines so far??

While I haven’t been able to crack many of mine yet, the fact that our 2010 Congruence was gone by LAST WEEKEND (two bottles, with the second being consumed within days of the first, since I let Jen choose the wine the night the 2nd bottle was selected) would squarely place it as our favorite, I guess. Didn’t even last a month in my house.

What are some favorites of yours so far??

None. Of course, I live in Ohio in the deep freeze, so everyone has been good/smart enough not to ship into the weather. But what a great group of producers; lots of great deals, personal emails, excellent customer service. Can’t wait for the March/April shipping weather.

Haven’t received let alone tasted any yet - thanks for the reminder! It might warm up enough next week…

2012 Sandler Wine Company Pinot Noir Peterson, young but freaking delicious! Kills me I only bought 1 pack

Only received Windy Oaks and not planning on opening them any time soon.

SWIBM prevented me from partaking BUT I was still able to drink some and loved them all.

• 2012 Wilde Farm Wines Pinot Noir Donnelly Creek Vineyard - USA, California, North Coast, Anderson Valley (11/20/2013)
  Day 2 notes. What an exciting Pinot Noir this is. Bright, lively fruit just glides over the palate offering tea leaf, cranberry, pomegranate and forest floor. Exceptional balance of bright fruit, zippy acidity and grippy tannins floating over 12.7% abv. Seamless expression of Anderson Valley fruit with absolutely no rough edges, adds a touch of cherry on the finish. Great food wine and a value play to boot. Must hit the reload button. Wow!
• 2012 Wilde Farm Wines Chardonnay Brosseau - USA, California, North Coast, Anderson Valley (12/3/2013)
  Started out crisp, clean and saline with an oyster shell minerality accenting the lemongrass and grapefruit pith. By day 3 it became creamy and round on the palate. Interesting place right now but it will likely shine even more next year. Another Wilde Farm winner.
• 2012 Wilde Farm Wines Heritage Bedrock Vineyard - USA, California, Sonoma County, Sonoma Valley (2/9/2014)
  Gave this a decant and followed over 6+ hrs. Started off with a little leesy aroma but went all spice afterwards. Early on it reminded me a bit of the Wind Gap Nebbiolo. Red fruited approach with spice, spice and more spice. Seemed to detect some Cabernet Sauvignon on the mid-palate? Good tannic structure. This completes the Wilde Farm “Trifecta” nicely. What a great opening offering from this little hometown winery.

Posted from CellarTracker

Congruence '08… yummi!
I tent. plan to have few friends for WB day tastings. Once it gets warmer

I also purchased one pack… should I buy a helmet?

Haven’t got any yet! It’s freezing here. The only BerserkerDay purchase that has arrived is my Wine Check. It looks better than it tastes.

Only had 1 bottle… the Ivernel Bubbly from Hi-Time… forget how much it was but it was cheap like 20 bucks cheap but it drank well and definitely legit for the price.

From past BDs, i’d say it’s the introduction to EMH vineyard, Merrill, the lady, the cat, the wine… all fantastic.

No deliveries yet

I think the only one I’ve had so far was the 2012 Wilde Farm Wines Pinot Noir Donnelly Creek Vineyard, which was fantastic stuff. We might open a Congruence cab tonight.

The only wines I’ve received so far are the Johan PN and the L-M Syrah. I’ll probably open a LM later next week; probably cook something on the grill to pair with it.

Alpha omega las piedras.

My Longplays arrived on Friday. Rather than let them settle, I opened the '10 Lia’s Pinot that evening. I knew from the color things looked promising. I could see through the wine. My take is that this bottle showed off a very pure expression of pinot. Now granted, my eyes usually roll whenever I see someone else use the phrase “very pure expression of…” but that seems most fitting here. No funk (which I often like), no earth (ditto), no forest floor etc. but just pure elegant fruit. What I really enjoyed was the weightless feel on the palate-as if the wine were somehow floating above the tongue. Another nice aspect of this bottle-it got more expressive over two days with zero signs of overt oxidation-no tell-tale softening/fattening up of the fruit. Very nice stuff. I am now a fan.

Mine have not yet arrived. I live in the land of the ‘polar vortex’ and not in the world of sun, surf and Two Years Before the Mast.

2005 Lagier Meredith Syrah Mt Veeder
I was very impressed: large scaled, excellent balance, lovely layered flavors. I suspect it would have been even better for my taste in a couple more years. I will certainly be seeking out more of their wines! That’s what makes Berserkers Day so great- it’s a win/win (or is it a wine/wine?) for wineries and wine lovers!

Cheers,

Hal

• 2012 Sandler Wine Company Pinot Noir Bien Nacido Vineyard - USA, California, Central Coast, Santa Maria Valley (2/23/2014)
  Falltacular 2014 (FMIII in the OC): Light red color. Red fruit and berries in the glass. Palate is bright strawberry. Medium plus finish and perfect balance. Good lord, this was only $25.
• 2012 Sandler Wine Company Pinot Noir Boer Vineyard - USA, California, Central Coast, Chalone (2/23/2014)
  Falltacular 2014 (FMIII in the OC): Wine is dark violet color. Nose is muted. Muddled berry and a big dose of rough tannins providing for a very grippy finish. This wine has the most structure of all the pinots and is wrapped around the axle. Hold, hold, and hold to find the pot of gold.
• 2012 Sandler Wine Company Pinot Noir Keefer Ranch - USA, California, Sonoma County, Russian River Valley (2/23/2014)
  Falltacular 2014 (FMIII in the OC): Violet color. Sweet strawberry and light oak nose, very entertaining. Palate shows sandlewood and crushed red berries with a spicy backbone. Excellent balance and finish.
• 2012 Sandler Wine Company Pinot Noir Peterson Vineyard Santa Lucia Highlands - USA, California, Central Coast, Santa Lucia Highlands (2/23/2014)
  Falltacular 2014 (FMIII in the OC): This is completely different than the August West version. Light red color. Nose is a bit muted with red fruit sneaking out. Medium tannins with strawberry showing at the end. Excellent balance and a medium finish.

Posted from CellarTracker

I am still waiting on mine. My Joseph Swan case was destroyed beyond recognition evidently. Shipped but never received. Nothing from the winery until I contacted them. Sheesh!! I wanted these about two weeks ago. They have reshipped. But not very good customer service. Nothing from Siduri. My two other purchases have not arrived. I know the weather has something to do with it. But I am really anxious to try these new purchases.

I have to say, I was not particularly impressed with the customer service from Joseph Swan either. Really nice guy who did answer my questions about the wine, but it was like pulling teeth to get him to close the deal and give me some confirmation. Lots of phone calls, voicemails, and emails. Hoping the wines are better (and fully expecting them to be great). In the end, not that big a deal… just less than great.

My Liquid Farm sampler showed up today. Popped the White Hill as soon as I got home and could get it on ice. I’m really, really impressed – real taut, crackling energy that makes me think of ozone. I think a Ceritas more than a year ago was the last time I got that same impression from a CA chard.

I’ve been mulling over Clark Smith’s take on minerality, and I’m still skeptical that it’s a quality that I perceive in the absence of ample acidity. For him it’s a sort of electrical charge perceived at the very back of the palate. I bought his chard on BD, and I can see what he’s driving at when tasting that wine (though I could still, just as easily, perceive it as acidity). Wines like the White Hill, however, cause me to think that his is a very de minimis conception of minerality. Here, the mineral impression is more substantial than an end-of-the-palate flourish. It starts with chalk on the nose, and there’s a steely tang/oyster shell grip that runs the length of the palate. For me, the White Hill is another data point where a sort of start-to-finish minerality and good/nervy acidity overlap.