The Official Wine Thread

Originally Posted by kwilkinson

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Flabby is your big wine pet peeve eh?
I acidity. Were it acceptable, I might drink good vinegar with dinner.

Originally Posted by iammatt

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Anent your Condrieu discussion, I find white Rhones to be very flabby much of the time. I pretty much avoid them now.

the flabby viognier strikes again! I also love acidity above all others, perhaps why I've been on a bit of a Loire SB and Austrian GruVee jig lately. And the Italians, too, but they tend to have more body so the effects of the acidity can seem reduced.

Originally Posted by iammatt

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I

acidity. Were it acceptable, I might drink good vinegar with dinner.

Did your vinegar ever turn out?

Originally Posted by kwilkinson

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Did your vinegar ever turn out?
Yes, but I got bored with it.

Originally Posted by iammatt

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I actually prefer the cuvee classique to the migoua and tourtine, and would if the prices were the same. It isn't so much that I think it is a better wine, but the classique is so quintessentially Bandol that it is perfect.

Pallieres is a great wine. I think the best of its type, or at least the best I have had. I am not sold on their splitting the vineyard, but we shall see. Your wife is a good woman.

BTW, your taste is not so different from mine, it seems. I just picked up a case of Clape Cornas Renaissance, which is his younger vine label, based on a bottle I had last week. Awesome stuff. The other labeling, the standard one, is great, but it is so thick and so rich that it needs 20 years. You might check Renaissance out. It isn't cheap, but not wildly expensive either.

The classique definitely did not disappoint and it's $15 less a bottle than the other cuvees. The others will really have to impress to command that difference.

My wine merchant carries Clape and I see the renaissance for 04, 05 and 06 available - which do you like and I'll give it a try?

I haven't tried the Racines yet, just the 04-06 Pallieres and the've been hits every bottle we've opened. And indeed my wife is a good woman - long suffering putting up with me and my hobbies but she seems to show infinite patience and good humor... and she never turns down a good glass.

Come the cooler weather, I'm going to have to give you a budget and get you to pick a mixed case for me at KL, Matt.

Originally Posted by tattersall

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The classique definitely did not disappoint and it's $15 less a bottle than the other cuvees. The others will really have to impress to command that difference.

My wine merchant carries Clape and I see the renaissance for 04, 05 and 06 available - which do you like and I'll give it a try?

I haven't tried the Racines yet, just the 04-06 Pallieres and the've been hits every bottle we've opened. And indeed my wife is a good woman - long suffering putting up with me and my hobbies but she seems to show infinite patience and good humor... and she never turns down a good glass.
I picked up the '06. From when I tasted it, it is fantastic. Probably slightly too young, and certainly could go on a long time, but really good now. I think it is pretty representative of what he tends to produce year in and year out.

Oh, btw, Mrs. Piob has enjoyed all the Grenache heavy blends you've suggested.

Originally Posted by Piobaire

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Oh, btw, Mrs. Piob has enjoyed all the Grenache heavy blends you've suggested.

It seems like your tastes evolve quite a bit, but hers kind of stay the same. Or at least, it seems like you've said she's been on a Grenache kick for quite some time.

Originally Posted by kwilkinson

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It seems like your tastes evolve quite a bit, but hers kind of stay the same. Or at least, it seems like you've said she's been on a Grenache kick for quite some time.

Well, I am more adventuresome than her by nature but she will usually drink whatever I'm trying. Poor thing has to drink more PN than she gets to drink Grenache, as I do the majority of the buying/ordering. However, even her Grenache horizon has expanded. You can't compare something like Betts and Scholl's Chronique to wine from the Rhone region. First, it's likely to be a blend and second, we all know it won't be as fruity forward, will have more tannins and structure, etc.

She actually started off liking big oak, CA cabs and moved over to Grenache as her favorite grape.

I started off liking light whites, i.e. SBs and vintage ports, and now there really isn't even a close second for me to Pinot. However, we both now enjoy many varietals we did not formally, such as Chard, V, etc.

Originally Posted by iammatt

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I picked up the '06. From when I tasted it, it is fantastic. Probably slightly too young, and certainly could go on a long time, but really good now. I think it is pretty representative of what he tends to produce year in and year out.

We'll give it a whirl - thanks, all of your suggestions have been so good.

Last night I looked at my old Oxford Companion (1994) and Cornas is described as under-appreciated with phenomenal potential for long-term aging - lots in common with hermitage and rotie but without the price. Clape in particular is singled out for toughing it through the lean '70s when most of the vineyards were abandoned and that he now enjoys a cult following. A true connoisseur's wine - no surprise that it gets the iammatt seal of approval...

Originally Posted by tattersall

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We'll give it a whirl - thanks, all of your suggestions have been so good.

Last night I looked at my old Oxford Companion (1994) and Cornas is described as under-appreciated with phenomenal potential for long-term aging - lots in common with hermitage and rotie but without the price. Clape in particular is singled out for toughing it through the lean '70s when most of the vineyards were abandoned and that he now enjoys a cult following. A true connoisseur's wine - no surprise that it gets the iammatt seal of approval...

I wish I could claim credit, but the truth is that all of these wines - VT, Clape, Tempier - have the same US importer who is pretty local to me, and runs a great shop. He is particular, kwilkinson can tell you, so most of the wines have some tendencies in common. People love or hate their stuff. I love it. FWIW, he owns Pallieres with the brothers from VT.

Originally Posted by iammatt

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I wish I could claim credit, but the truth is that all of these wines - VT, Clape, Tempier - have the same US importer who is pretty local to me, and runs a great shop. He is particular, kwilkinson can tell you, so most of the wines have some tendencies in common. People love or hate their stuff. I love it. FWIW, he owns Pallieres with the brothers from VT.

We popped into Lynch's place quite at random about six years ago before driving on to Chez Panisse for dinner. We picked up some bottles for our hotel room but I don't remember a thing about them apart from them being not at all expensive - little did I realize I'd made a trip to wine mecca for my current tastes

2005 Concha y Toro Cabernet Sauvignon Don Melchor (Private Reserve) (Chile, Central Valley, Maipo Valley, Puente Alto)

Originally Posted by tattersall

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We popped into Lynch's place quite at random about six years ago before driving on to Chez Panisse for dinner. We picked up some bottles for our hotel room but I don't remember a thing about them apart from them being not at all expensive - little did I realize I'd made a trip to wine mecca for my current tastes

That's pretty much how it goes, isn't it. Years ago, a friend called me while we were in France and asked if I'd like to spend the day with him and Michel Chapoutier cruising around his vineyards, having meals, etc. I declined, thinking that I didn't really like Rhone wines.