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The Official Wine Thread

Piobaire

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^ I tell you, Yalumba makes some good grape juice. Ever try their "Museum" muscat?
 

PandArts

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Originally Posted by Piobaire
^ I tell you, Yalumba makes some good grape juice. Ever try their "Museum" muscat?

No, but if it's as good as the cab or their bush vine grenache I'm in!
 

foodguy

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i usually order rabbit when it's offered because it's a little tricky to cook (dries out as fast as skinless chickenbreast) and i figure anyone with the confidence to offer it must be able to cook it. my success rate with this theory runs about 60-40, which puts it in the upper percentile for me. I cooked a benefit this summer that involved browning and braising about 100 pounds of rabbit. i was surprised at how well it turned out, which calls my theory into question even further. cute food story: way back when, my daughter had a pet guinea pig. a guatemalan friend came to dinner and noticed him. "You know Sarah, in my country those are considered quite a delicacy." Sarah: "How could you eat Dovey? He's so cute!" "Cute, yes," my friend said, "and so delicious."
 

Piobaire

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Who the hell is Jonathan H. Newman and why in the hell is everything a 92? I picture him as Malinda.
 

gomestar

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Originally Posted by Piobaire
Who the hell is Jonathan H. Newman and why in the hell is everything a 92? I picture him as Malinda.

more statisticians are needed in wine rating.

If I have the time, all of Gary V's ratings are in a spreadsheet. I'm thinking about adding some missing info (date, Country, region, sub region, etc.) and then playing with the data a little.
 

Mark from Plano

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Originally Posted by Piobaire
Who the hell is Jonathan H. Newman and why in the hell is everything a 92? I picture him as Malinda.

This new Wired For Wine place has a RP 91-93 2007 CdR for $14, down from $22. Free shipping is only on half a case though. Tempting as the only CdR I have right now is not fit for human consumption. I think I'm going to pass though.
 

Piobaire

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Originally Posted by Mark from Plano
This new Wired For Wine place has a RP 91-93 2007 CdR for $14, down from $22. Free shipping is only on half a case though. Tempting as the only CdR I have right now is not fit for human consumption. I think I'm going to pass though.

I am ignoring that site, given it is also in NJ. LALALALALALALALA.
 

Mark from Plano

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Originally Posted by Piobaire
I am ignoring that site, given it is also in NJ. LALALALALALALALA.

Resistence is futile. You will be assimilated.
 

james_timothy

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I'm following Prof. Manton's Bordeaux class by drinking my Bordeaux home work.

Bordeaux, the most important wine growing area in the world, of which I know nothing. But Manton has gotten the boys interested.

Now, if I'm studying Bordeaux I'll need a non-Bordeaux control sample. Washington State is supposed to be good at bordeaux blends, and might perhaps be better value. I'll admit that this is partly just following the home team, but as justification there is the idea that vines do best in marginal conditions and Eastern Washington excels at marginal conditions: arid is to the Yakima Valley as lush is to Napa Valley. It'll make a fine control sample.

To understand Bordeaux I'm mostly following Manton's writing, to the extent of buying some Tour de Haut Moulin to put down. I also lately stumbled across what must be a standard item in peoples' armory: Hugh Johnston's Pocket Wine Book. Its a great book on its own, and I'm reading it in conjunction with a copy of the Bordeaux Atlas and Encyclopaedia of Chateaux I found in the local library. I get to look at the architecture and read short histories to pick favorites on completely shallow bases ("what a nice looking building and they keep horses there, too!") then look up in the Pocket Wine Book to see what Johnston and collaborators think of the actual wine.

To understand Washington State... well, ok, I'm stuck. There are several books on Washington State wineries, Amazon says, but I don't have access to them. Did I mention that I spent my book budget on wine? I wonder if libraries do interstate library loans... now there's an idea. In the meantime, I just use the Pocket Wine Book as a guide.

So far I've capped the cost at $25/bottle.

Ranked from good to... not so much:
2003 Château Larose-Trintaudon, Huat Medoc. Exotic, really good- fruit floating over a deep ground
2006 Château Couronneau, Entre Duex Mers. I like. Single layered compared to Larose-Trintadon
2008 Hedges Family Estate CMS, Tri Cities. With food, I like a lot. Not as structured as the Couronneau.
2007 Château Tour de Bigorre, Cotes de Castillon. Another delicate wine but fuller than the Meric and with bordeaux complexity
2007 Château Meric, Medoc. Light and delicate, but so little there. Was that what they aimed at?

So the results of the first round is that Larose-Trintaudon is head and shoulders above the rest in structure, complexity, and in general being interesting. Among the others the most directly comparable are Chateau Couronneau and Hedges CMS, and there Couronneau gets the nod as it was most at home either with or without food.

Next up are wines that should be more comparable with Larose-Trintaudon: Chateau Graysac, Basel Cellars Claret, DiStefano Domenica, a 2000 Chateau Jander. At one or two bottles a week, this will take time, but this kind of time I have.
 

gomestar

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Nice!!

Are you giving those wines a healthy decant before consuming?

And Manton, have you tried any of your '05 Graysac yet?
 

james_timothy

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No decanting, though three of them we drank over 2 days and I got to watch that evolution. I suppose I can sacrifice the purchase of a bottle to buy a decanter. I don't think I can bring myself to use our ceramic water pitcher.

Hmm. Giving me justification to buy another bottle of Larose-Trintaudon I see. Very good- thank you!
 

Manton

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Can a wine smell watery? 2004 Grand Bateau manages it.

This a generic Bordeaux, made by the people who make the very good Chateau Beychevelle in St. Julien. It ought to be decent. It is lame. Weak year, I know, but this really has next to nothing.
 

Johnny_5

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I can't get over the fact that so many people who enjoy wine don't have a proper decanter. Although you dont really need one since other stuff like a flower vase, pitcher, etc will suffice, but to me it really enhances the experience and takes it to the next level. I'm not calling anyone out (gomestar
smile.gif
) in particular but just making an observation. I recently bought this one at Total Wine for $20 and IMHO was worth every penny. edited: forgot to include the link
 

kwilkinson

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I use a carafe, which works in a pinch, but even I know it can't hold a candle to the decanters you and Pio and others have. Mine basically hits the neck and then falls to the bottom, where it aerates very slowly, almost no faster than just opening a bottle. I wish I had one that was really nice, like had a neck that the wine would hit against, then a very wide bottom and a large punt, something that would get a lot of oxygen into it quickly. But this is all I have.
frown.gif
 

gomestar

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Originally Posted by Johnny_5
I'm not calling anyone out (gomestar
smile.gif
) in particular but just making an observation.


I upgraded. No worries.
 

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