Tasting With "The Todd" Anderson

[mike_pobega]

@Steve Eisenhauer

@J. Benjamin

I think he has…he spoke of your tasting and said that it made a difference in the future tone of the “bloggers.”

I don’t know. The Ghost Horse was good but came nowhere near justifying its tariff.

What really stood out about that night was the dismal (or worse) quality of so many of the “cult” wines (eg Futo, the Dalla Valle Maya, the Abreu). I came away thinking the only one there was any chance I would spend my money on was the 2005 Merus.

In terms of overall quality, the night was, to me, the biggest disappointment of all the CLONYC dinners I attended. Certainly nowhere nearly as good as the Thomas Brown nights, the Cultish Cabs night, the To Kalon night, the 70s Cab night, the $50 and less cab night. You get the idea. Being WOTN on a disappointing night is nothing to get too jazzed up about. I believe a barrel sample of my upcoming 2008 would have been WOTN were it at that dinner. Seriously.

Nice.

[BeckyTyner]

As someone from the valley we all may scoff and snicker a bit at the price point of Ghost Horse (as we do Screaming Eagle, Harlon, and countless others). But honestly the Andersons…all of them, are really nice people. He may have an ego, but you have to have a big ego to carry that big price tag, but he’s always friendly and nice. Andersons Conn Valley, to me, is very unique with a distinct terroir. I know this because, Gus, Todd’s dad, makes his own wine up there, Eagles Trace, with very similar flavor profiles.

[Jack_Bulkin]

@mike pobega

@Steve Eisenhauer

@J. Benjamin

I think he has…he spoke of your tasting and said that it made a difference in the future tone of the “bloggers.”

I don’t know. The Ghost Horse was good but came nowhere near justifying its tariff.

What really stood out about that night was the dismal (or worse) quality of so many of the “cult” wines (eg Futo, the Dalla Valle Maya, the Abreu). I came away thinking the only one there was any chance I would spend my money on was the 2005 Merus.

In terms of overall quality, the night was, to me, the biggest disappointment of all the CLONYC dinners I attended. Certainly nowhere nearly as good as the Thomas Brown nights, the Cultish Cabs night, the To Kalon night, the 70s Cab night, the $50 and less cab night. You get the idea. Being WOTN on a disappointing night is nothing to get too jazzed up about. I believe a barrel sample of my upcoming 2008 would have been WOTN were it at that dinner. Seriously.

Nice.

Mike we don’t need sign language or smoke signals to understand and realize that Ghost Horse is not worth ANYWHERE NEAR the price of admission. I have never tasted it, and really don’t need to to make that conclusion. I had the 07 Maybach this weekend. It will be a great wine. But in this ecomomy, $110 a pop is still on the high side for a bottle of yeast infused grape juice. So, I love ya and get ya.

[Yoni_O_v_a_d_i_a]

@Steve Eisenhauer

@J. Benjamin

I think he has…he spoke of your tasting and said that it made a difference in the future tone of the “bloggers.”

I don’t know. The Ghost Horse was good but came nowhere near justifying its tariff.

What really stood out about that night was the dismal (or worse) quality of so many of the “cult” wines (eg Futo, the Dalla Valle Maya, the Abreu). I came away thinking the only one there was any chance I would spend my money on was the 2005 Merus.

In terms of overall quality, the night was, to me, the biggest disappointment of all the CLONYC dinners I attended. Certainly nowhere nearly as good as the Thomas Brown nights, the Cultish Cabs night, the To Kalon night, the 70s Cab night, the $50 and less cab night. You get the idea. Being WOTN on a disappointing night is nothing to get too jazzed up about. I believe a barrel sample of my upcoming 2008 would have been WOTN were it at that dinner. Seriously.

I don’t disagree with you that it’s priced high. I wouldn’t (and couldn’t) personally pay the Tarriff.

I’m also sure you felt some of the others Cabs didn’t ‘show’ at your dinner. (in essence saying Ghost Horse won by default.)

As for me, with all the wines that were poured this weekend, I don’t know if there was a better wine than the 2002 as well as the 2004 Apparition. And it wasn’t because the other wines weren’t showing well… IMO, they were just that good.

[Frank_Deis]

What is a “Yooper”??

You California guys…

[Dave_Smig]

@Frank Deis

What is a “Yooper”??

You California guys…

a Yooper is someone who is born in the upper peninsula of Michigan. Google it and you will see all the negative connotations.

When I called Todd a Yooper, and told him I was from the lower peninsula of Michigan, he was quick to fire back and call me a Troll because I lived under the bridge. Another term that is only familiar with Michiganders. Under the bridge refers to the Mackinac Bridge which connects the two peninsulas.

-dave

[Rob_MacKay]

@Bill Tex Landreth

@Todd F r e n c h

…the '94 Spottswoode (do I have the vintage correct?) was my WOTN. It was nice, I liked it.

Pretty awesome wine. Thanks to Rob for bringing it. He kept me glass full while I was manning the grills.

It’s important to keep the grill master happy.

[Jack_Bulkin]

@Rob MacKay

@Bill Tex Landreth

@Todd F r e n c h

…the '94 Spottswoode (do I have the vintage correct?) was my WOTN. It was nice, I liked it.

Pretty awesome wine. Thanks to Rob for bringing it. He kept me glass full while I was manning the grills.

It’s important to keep the grill master happy.

I was trying not to overcook the 12 pounds of fresh Bluefin Tuna standing next to you and got Pica Mynosa from Wetspot.

Amazon.com" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[Michael_Bowden]

@Daniel Posner

Michael Bowden, 2000 Ghost Horse is not indicative of the quality of the winery. That was the first vintage and it is very average wine, as I reported last year.

Not denying that its an average wine for the year…but that’s all I have to go on as I haven’t tasted any other vintages. Both the CS and the PN were slightly green, which I think is due to the year. I think that they were well made considering the vintage, hence the well made comment.

[Jack_Bulkin]

@Todd F r e n c h

As soon as Van, Dave, and/or The Todd get here, let’s count on some crazy Berserker Exclusive deal, huh?

2007 Spectre a low, low, low $2699.00 a bottle.

[ToddFrench]

@Jack Bulkin

@Todd F r e n c h

As soon as Van, Dave, and/or The Todd get here, let’s count on some crazy Berserker Exclusive deal, huh?

2007 Spectre a low, low, low $2699.00 a bottle.

No deals on GH, rather, on Anderson’s Conn Valley, say, the Petit Sirah??

[Glenn_L_e_v_i_n_e]

i am an interested party when it comes to 2005 Conn Valley PS.

[Bill_Tex_Landreth]

@Glenn L e v i n e

i am an interested party when it comes to 2005 Conn Valley PS.

I am more than interested.

[C_Bowman]

@Glenn L e v i n e

i am an interested party when it comes to 2005 Conn Valley PS.

I might have to go crack one since we are still celebrating Beserkerfest with Mr & Mrs. The Todd, Van, etc etc & pizza tonight

[Glenn_L_e_v_i_n_e]

tell Van i have man-love for his chicken.

[Jack_Bulkin]

@C. Bowman

@Glenn L e v i n e

i am an interested party when it comes to 2005 Conn Valley PS.

I might have to go crack one since we are still celebrating Beserkerfest with Mr & Mrs. The Todd, Van, etc etc & pizza tonight

Please ask Van if he got my message Carrie.

[C_Bowman]

@Jack Bulkin

Please ask Van if he got my message Carrie.

If you left it on his cel phone, he is trying to find it. I sent him an e-mail telling him you left one

[Dan_Hammer]

After taking my cousin to the Cave in 2007, I told him we might as well call it a day. After tasting the best, and having a wonderful experience, why bother going to another winery. I brought a '99 Reserve Cab to my very first O/L in NYC about 2 plus years ago. I’m saving additional selections for future special events.

[Jim_Brennan]

@Bill Tex Landreth

After funning around, we went up to the caves to taste some wines…all from barrel.

What kind of barrel… 12 gauge shotgun like in his photos, or something bigger like a 105mm?

[gene_keenan]

The Todd and the rest of his gang were exceptionally gracious. Everyone was definitely in the top 10% club and would say it was one of the top experiences I have ever had at a winery.

All of the wines were exceptional but of the ones I could afford I would place them in this order:

1. Petite Sirah
2. Eloge
3. Right Bank
4. Cabernet

But I will have to try them again when I go back up in a few weeks…

All of the wines we tasted with XX at XXXXXXX were stellar particularly the grenache he is making. We got to try both the 08 XXXXXXX and the XXXX from barrel and without a doubt the XXXX was vastly superior at this stage of the game with the XXXXXXX tasting super primary (think blackberry juice loaded with tannin)

Finally, that day for me ended with a stop at http://www.pottwine.com/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; up on mount veeder. Again all of the wines were simply fantastic. I would say the cab franc could be the best one I have ever tasted from california. simply a stellar wine; can’t wait to drink some.

One thing we heard on the trail that day from everyone is the quality of the 08 wines for many are on par with the 07’s and to date from what I have tasted I would have to agree.