What's your favorite red wine?

[suitntieguy]

Originally Posted by Bouji

Petrus? Haut Brion?

your on the right track. I will help by adding a few

lafite, lafluer, las cases, latour, mouton, cheval blanc, Drc, leroy, beaucstel, reyes, ...why don't we just vote to ban all new world stuff alogether. You guys keep you caymus and screaming eagle and will keep the french crap

 

[greg_atlanta]

Cotes du Rhone (in the $10 range, at least... don't often spend more than that).

 

[Huntsman]

Cotes du Rhone is mine as well. But greg, can you really get $10 CdR? I usually run $30-40 for that stuff, and only see, say Barton & Guestier in the <$20 range.

 

[Dmax]

Greg and Huntsman, Gentlemen, you are on the right track. Cotes Du Rhone is not the best wine in the world but certainly one that offers a lot of flavor for your money.

I usually pay $12-$15 for every day Cotes Du Rhone and prefer syrah based or syrah-grenache blend wines. My favorite Rhone vignerons are Eric Texier and Esterzagues. Currenly in my wine fridge are Cotes Du Rhone Villages Chusclan '05, Domaine Les Genestas '05, Domaine De Montagnette and Domaine de Bacchantes. I also think Guigal makes a decent CDR in similar price range.

 

[Piobaire]

If I had to name a varietal, it would be pinot noir. From a slate/mineral, terrior reflective Burgundy to smoky, subtle, chocolate Cali to an in-your-face, fruit forward Aussie, I generally like what pinot has to offer.

 

[em36]

Sort of like the soda list. These are affordable, albeit a bit hard to get in the States. Not so in Britain. All go well with steak.

Escorihuela Gascon Malbec (arg)
Amat Tannat (Uruguay)
Rupert & Rothschild Edmond (Saf)
Cabsav/meritage from Rust en Vrede or Rustenberg wineries (Saf)
Balthazar of Barossa Shiraz (Oz)

For a great lunch of prawns, chorizo and lechon, loll around Hac Sa beach at Fernando's in Macau, and quaff a couple of Quinta Do Vale Meao Meandro.

Hearty second on Austrian wines. Pares very well with their food.

 

[Bouji]

Originally Posted by suitntieguy

your on the right track. I will help by adding a few

lafite, lafluer, las cases, latour, mouton, cheval blanc, Drc, leroy, beaucstel, reyes, ...why don't we just vote to ban all new world stuff alogether. You guys keep you caymus and screaming eagle and will keep the french crap

Defiantly with you there.

 

[mano]

Originally Posted by Coho

I live very close to the Napa Valley. Please recommend.

The fact that you ask wine drinkers that question suggests you're not much of a wine drinker; is that true?

If it is and you're very close to Napa, go on day trips and do wine tastings whenever you have a chance. Ask questions, take notes and most of all, spit except when tasting the best wine of the tasting. Eventually you'll develop a palate and will know what you like best. Before you know it people will be asking you the same question and you'll be giving them a similar answer as this.

 

[Brian278]

I like Barolo, Brunello, Super Tuscans, Cabernets and some Malbecs from South America, Rioja (especially the Reservas), occasionally Burgundy and Chateauneuf-du-Pape. Never really got into the Calfornia stuff, always seemed like you could do a lot better for your money elsewhere. Though I did have Opus One once and it was magnificent.

 

[Piobaire]

Originally Posted by Brian278

Never really got into the Calfornia stuff, always seemed like you could do a lot better for your money elsewhere. Though I did have Opus One once and it was magnificent.

Those two sentences together are a laugh to most people that are into Cali wine. Opus is usually the, "I want to impress people with the amount of money I am spending on a bottle of wine and I want them to know it" type thing. I am not taking away from that particular grape juice, it certainly has some fantastic vintages, but to quote you, you can do a lot better for your money elsewhere

I agree, many Cali (and Oregon and Washington) wines are getting way over priced. But then again, with the Euro and high demand in new markets (think India and the Orient), French wines are no bargain either. For instance, anything coming out of DRC is going to be north of $500 bucks. IMO, a carefully picked Aussie, Kiwi, and South American wine are where the current deals tend to be, but only for your daily drinkers and medium price point wines ($50 and under). For stuff I cellar, I am still sticking with the wineries with track records.

Good picks on the Italian wines btw.

 

[Brian278]

Originally Posted by Piobaire

Those two sentences together are a laugh to most people that are into Cali wine. Opus is usually the, "I want to impress people with the amount of money I am spending on a bottle of wine and I want them to know it" type thing. I am not taking away from that particular grape juice, it certainly has some fantastic vintages, but to quote you, you can do a lot better for your money elsewhere

I agree, many Cali (and Oregon and Washington) wines are getting way over priced. But then again, with the Euro and high demand in new markets (think India and the Orient), French wines are no bargain either. For instance, anything coming out of DRC is going to be north of $500 bucks. IMO, a carefully picked Aussie, Kiwi, and South American wine are where the current deals tend to be, but only for your daily drinkers and medium price point wines ($50 and under). For stuff I cellar, I am still sticking with the wineries with track records. Good picks on the Italian wines btw.
Opus One may very well be overpriced and pretentious, but I felt (in my admittedly amateur opinion) it was excellent. It was at small get together with family friends; they opened a case that they'd had since the vintage was released. I was admittedly pretty impressed, albeit in the infant stages of any remote wine knowledge. I didn't really know what I was drinking until a year or two later. I agree with you entirely about South America. I like the Montes/Kaiken family stuff a lot (the Cabs and Malbec specifically).

 

[Piobaire]

Originally Posted by Brian278

Opus One may very well be overpriced and pretentious, but I felt (in my admittedly amateur opinion) it was excellent. It was at small get together with family friends; they opened a case that they'd had since the vintage was released. I was admittedly pretty impressed, albeit in the infant stages of any remote wine knowledge. I didn't really know what I was drinking until a year or two later.

I agree with you entirely about South America. I like the Montes/Kaiken family stuff a lot (the Cabs and Malbec specifically).

Yeah, those Mablecs. Hard to beat QPR (quality/price ratio).

A good Cali deal, right now, is the Siduri Sonoma Coast PN, 2006. Drink now, $19.50. Drinking very nicely!

 

[greg_atlanta]

Originally Posted by Huntsman

Cotes du Rhone is mine as well. But greg, can you really get $10 CdR? I usually run $30-40 for that stuff, and only see, say Barton & Guestier in the <$20 range.

Two that come to mind are J. Vidal Fleury and Parallele 45. Just buy all the Cotes Du Rhone you can find in the $10 range and chances are 1 or 2 of them will be to your liking.

Trader Joe's sells wine with a similar style (blended lighter grapes), think it's called Cotes to Ventoux (or something like that). It's $6.49 and has a rooster on the front. It's perfect for an everyday wine or parties where quantity/value is more important.

 

[johnapril]

Originally Posted by horton

Re local stuff. IMO most of the good cabs are over-priced and most (not all) of the pinots are too straberry flavored

For california I'd say stick with a few premium houses and if you like massive go with the zinfindels. That's what they do best.

Hartford (also one of the few places that I think make good pinot but they're very pricey), Carlisle (sp?) and Turley are all very good.

having said that, the best advice is to pop a lot of corks and try a lot of things. I'm personally a big fan of Northern Italians, Burgundy and Rhone (mostly Northern)

What are your recent favorites from N. Italy?

 

[johnapril]

Originally Posted by Piobaire

If I had to name a varietal, it would be pinot noir. From a slate/mineral, terrior reflective Burgundy to smoky, subtle, chocolate Cali to an in-your-face, fruit forward Aussie, I generally like what pinot has to offer.

A lot of the pinot out of America tastes medicinal.