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I’ve been trying Beerenauslesen and Eiswein from various grape varieties the past year, mainly to see if I can find something I like as much as Riesling.
This chardonnay surprised me a bit: very aromatic nose, a mix of fruit and fresh herbs. Palate mainly sweet but smooth texture, and a nice peppery finish. Still a bit more ‘straightforward’ desert wine than I prefer, but pleasurable.
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This was a couple of weeks ago. After seeing how many “missing and presumed drunk” wines I’ve noticed lately, I’m trying to go through my photos and remove some of the wines I’ve consumed from my database.
.375 bottle. PnP with a Flannery Wagyu filet mignon. I usually buy their bone in ribeye, Jorge, or teres major, but gave these a try.
Upon opening, the wine was so dominated by oak that we were very disappointed. However, the fruit awakened rather quickly in the glass, with dense cassis, blackberry, and other dark berries emerging. By the end, even my severely oak averse wife liked it.
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Nicolas-Jay Chardonnay Yamhill-Carlton Bishop Creek Vineyard 2023
TN: lime sherbet, salted cucumber, wet rocks … delicious, perfect with Dungeness crab cake
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2019 2 Lads Sparkling Reserve from Old Mission Peninsula, Michigan. Traditional method, aged 4 years on the lees, fantastic quality sparkler.
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How much $$?
$55 for the 2 lads. QPR feels just right - a similar bottle from CA or OR would cost about the same/slightly more.
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Aromas of forest floor, dried cranberry, and dried cherry. On the palate it is very similar with the addition of a light tobacco note. Pleasantly surprised to see this wine wasn’t over the hill.
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I actually guessed the Ducru was much younger than the Gruaud, and it was a bit less funky, but both were very good bottles.
This was a ton of fun - thanks for leading the charge here, Wyatt! I’d love to do this again and maybe we can rope in any other DSM metro WBers.
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This was lovely, if a little shy and two dimensional on the nose, this wine from 2014.
The big news here is the super silky, even slightly unctuous (for a pinot noir anyway) mouthfeel. You just want to roll it in your mouth and not swallow it. Good wine for a wine-spitter at a tasting 
. Nice balance of fruit and acid, but not enough tension to make me think it has a whole bunch of years of improvement ahead - 90
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Tasty! Different animal than the 2005 I had a few weeks ago. Much more restrained. I like it better.
Anyone have advice on when to decant and when to not? I understand it is something that will come as I experience more wines; however, it can be a bummer when I only have one bottle and don’t have anything to compare it to. I think this was right to decant, as 2 hours later it’s showing just as well if not better than the first glass.
Luke, I’ve suggested this elsewhere: before decanting, I have a small pour, sip immediately, then swirl energetically in the glass and taste again after 5 to 10 minutes. If the second taste is much better than the first, I decant.
Also as a general rule I find full-bodied wines often benefit from decant if they’re between 10 and 20 years old. Older wines frequently fade upon decant IME.
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That and the 2001 are both quite nice. This estate went over the deep end in later years, pushing ripeness to extremes.
I would have done what Jeff recommended on this bottle. Less likely for me to decant a mature CDP.
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Just one glass last night out of a 375. Drinking beautifully out of the gate with bright red fruit, a touch of tobacco and nice acidity. It had a lot of fine sediment floating around which I didn’t anticipate so I put the rest away for tonight and stood up so it’s a little less gritty.
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Thanks for the note! Bought a 6 pack when those came out and have not touched one yet. That’s about to change.
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Some nice Bordeaux from last night…
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Fyi had the rest the next night. Still really good and still really gritty. I’d stand the bottle up for a week before drinking.
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No decant??