The Official Wine Thread

[AmericanGent]

Even better and you can let the bottle air dry overnight so there's zero water in it.

I have a tall decanter that (I think) can be used for this purpose, It's the same size as a bottle but the opening is a touch wider and built to pour, not to hold a cork.

 

[Hannerhan]

A few years back I got on the waiting list of ~10 wineries that were hard to get, and now I'm starting to get allocations on these. The problem is that I'm not drinking quite as much good wine as I thought I would be at this point, and it's hard to justify spending the money to buy from a lot of these places. One of them was Saxum and it was a no brainer for me to go ahead and order because I love their wine. But another was Leonetti (Walla Walla) and I'm not sure whether to place an order. Have only had their cab once and it was a few years back.

Anyone have thoughts on this wine and whether it's worthwhile to be ordering their stuff? Prices range from $65 for the Sangiovese to $140 for the Reserve Cab.

 

[Cary Grant]

I see 09 Reserve online for about the same price so if you really don't want a lot...

 

[gomestar]



I also feel that decanting is somewhat unrelated to sediment.

it's very related to sediment.

Decanting puts more of the wine in contact with air so it opens up faster.

time in the decanter can be very beneficial to young wines. Old wines, not so much. In fact, I'd pour into decanter to remove sediment, then start drinking it immediately because the wine will inevitably change with more exposure to air, and that evolution is often an enjoyable experience.

 

[b1os]

So, the past two days I thought a few times that I probably should've chosen a different wine over the potentially-past-prime Barbera d'Alba. The cork didn't look great either (see spoiler, almost--or did it already?--leakage).

Spoiler: Warning: Spoiler!

There was little sediment. As much as you can see at the bottom of the cork and the neck of the bottle remained in the bottle.
Now that I drank it, I do not regret purchasing it. It was one of the better wines I've head. Despite the 14.5%, it didn't taste hot. The acidity balanced it out nicely. Velvety/"smooth" texture. Notes of sour cherries, berries, blah blah. I was positively surprised. I couldn't tell whether it's already past prime--it may very well be--but we were very pleased with it.

Oh, and the nose reminded me a little of port wine.

 

[indesertum]

how much you pay for it?

get a centrifuge to get that pesky sediment out

 

[b1os]

€ 21 or so including a 25% discount.

How do Barbera d'Alba and Barbera d'Asti usually differ? That is, what are the differences in their regional character?

 

[Cary Grant]



€ 21 or so including a 25% discount.

How do Barbera d'Alba and Barbera d'Asti usually differ? That is, what are the differences in their regional character?

Comparing Asti to Alba is too generic, there are too many variants, styles and substyles. Malvira's single vineyards for example are all quite unique from each other.
This is long-winded but it gets most of the points right in my mind: http://www.diwinetaste.com/dwt/en2010063.php

In Alba most of the best vineyards grow Nebbiolo and in Asti there's less competition for prime land so, at least in theory, Barbera from Asti is considered a bit superior. My Asti experiences are more limited but I'm enormously biased towards the wines from Malvira so Alba gets the nod from me.



Also FYI: http://www.nytimes.com/2011/08/17/dining/reviews/tasting-barbera-wines.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0

 

[gomestar]



How do Barbera d'Alba and Barbera d'Asti usually differ? That is, what are the differences in their regional character?

i find that asti wines tend to be slightly brighter in style. This is a blanket generalization.

 

[b1os]

Ran into a wine tasting event at a wholesale by accident. Tasted a few wines. Some quick notes of what I remember, thus unreliable.

Antica Chiusina Montepulciano '04. Good.
Chapoutier Les Arènes Cornas '0?. Also decent.

Vigneto Poggio Sant'Enrico (montepulciano) '03. Lots of tannins.
il Colombaio di Cencio - il futuro '0?. A little jammy, medium acidity and tannins.
Guidolberto Tenuta San Guido '09. Jammy.

Domaine Terlato & Chapoutier lieu dit Malakoff Shiraz (Pyrenees, '10). Very good. Definitely worth a try. Very interesting shiraz.

Louis Jadot Meursault '0?. I enjoyed this quite a bit.
----------
A few Barbera d'Asti for the next days. Today was Michele Chiarlo's entry level (Le Orme '10) whose '08 vintage was recommended by the NYT. It's very good for € 9. Tomorrow will be Michele Chiarlo's La Court (Barbera d'Asti Nizza), so his higher end one. Monday: Damilano Barbera d'Asti '10, another € 9 one. Guess it's time for some more Barbera d'Alba afterwards.

 

[Piobaire]

Had quite a few wines last night. I popped an 08 Sea Smoke Ten and it was horrible upon open. The nose had heavy barnyard and it tasted like extracted prune juice. An hour later and it had opened up into a typical Sea Smoke. Tasted a Ken Wright that was totally flawed. Smelled very highly of sulfur and it was effervescent on the tongue. Somm knew it was there and said he had tried five bottles of three cases and they were all like that. Interesting flaw; I wonder what mechanism caused it?

Had a very affordable northern Rhone blend from Epoch Winery in Paso Robles. Was very good and I plan to visit there. Had a nice bottle of Torrentes with sushi. Also had a WA wine, can't remember the maker, but was Sauv. Blanc and Semillon blend. Had acid and a smoothness to it. Had a really light, in colour, body, and taste, RRV Pinot that I know is value priced but cannot remember the maker. Was from Alexander Valley and will have to ask the somm so I can buy some.

Lastly, as we were leaving, the somm handed me a wine bag that contained a bottle of Pierre Peters, the grower/producer that really brought me into the fold for Champagne.

 

[Cary Grant]

http://newyork.grubstreet.com/2013/03/neurology-of-wine-tastings-wine-palate-tricked.htm

 

[Cary Grant]

That's weird, Pio. Sounds like they were trying to cover an obvious flaw in the make. But frizzante, unless a grüner and a few others is usually a sign of contamination and critters, right?

 

[Cary Grant]

There is apparently only one white and one red from the Jura in all of the Twin Cities, this is the latter.

Tastes exactly like tart cranberry juice. Looks it too.

Unimpressed.

???

 

[itsstillmatt]

I had a Berthet Bondet Jura Nature tonight. Not a very oxidized version like the tradition. Next time you are out here for cheese, I will point you in the right direction.