The Official Wine Thread

1990 phelan segur here, what a beautiful wine, everything one could want in a mature bordeaux

Originally Posted by vinouspleasure

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1990 phelan segur here, what a beautiful wine, everything one could want in a mature bordeaux

A very good year - glad you enjoyed it.

We had a great iammatt suggestion - 2006 Cornas Renaissance from Domaine Clape. Tastes like 100% syrah and took over two hours to open up but once it did it was just superb. Extraordinarily tannic - I'm glad I picked up a few bottles to leave alone for a while to see how this wine develops. Very tart black fruit and almost spicy at times. $65 up here in Canadia. Served with a whole roast beef tenderloin wrapped in caul and a fricasee of chanterelle, cepes, and lobster mushrooms.

Originally Posted by tattersall

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A very good year - glad you enjoyed it.

We had a great iammatt suggestion - 2006 Cornas Renaissance from Domaine Clape. Tastes like 100% syrah and took over two hours to open up but once it did it was just superb. Extraordinarily tannic - I'm glad I picked up a few bottles to leave alone for a while to see how this wine develops. Very tart black fruit and almost spicy at times. $65 up here in Canadia. Served with a whole roast beef tenderloin wrapped in caul and a fricasee of chanterelle, cepes, and lobster mushrooms.

Sounds like a great bottle and a great meal.

Originally Posted by JMRouse

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I have always been a casual wine drinker, but am interested in brushing up my knowledge. Any books or other resources recommended people here?

we just discussed this a page or two back

I just wanted to thank you guys for the help regarding the 1988 Pichon-Longueville Baron I received. I went out and bought a Riedel decanter and some Bordeaux glasses (I had cheap stemware previously), decanted it to remove sediment, and served it at about 60 degrees. I had a glass before dinner, one during, and finished the bottle off after. I had the person that gave it to me over to enjoy it with me. Full disclaimer - this was the first "real" bottle of wine I've ever had. Before this, the best I had was a cheaper Barolo at a restaurant. I've never really had a drink related experience quite like this before. I never really "got" wine before; I certainly enjoyed it, but never really understood what would compel someone to spend thousands upon thousands creating a cellar, or why someone would become obsessed over it. That's changed. Drinking this bottle was actually an emotional experience - it was that sensual. I was actually laughing out loud after every sip. It doesn't even taste like the "wine" I've had before; it's almost as if it was a completely different beverage. The way it felt in my mouth was surreal - it had a weightlessness and a smoothness to it that's difficult to describe. And the smell from the decanter - at times I could have sworn that I actually smelled chocolate, of all things. I don't understand how the smell of chocolate can be so exactly replicated by grapes? Either way, I'm actually a bit depressed that not only is it gone, but that I won't be able to keep it for the future. Even if I buy another bottle, people say that it's already at it's maturity. I wish so much I could stock up on this and share it with people next year, in 5 years, etc I'm ordering a Vinotemp, the Wine Bible and the Sotheby's book. I'm hooked.

Dude, you're hooked.

A lot of people have "the bottle" that got them really passionate about wine. You'll never forget that bottle, regardless of how many more you drink in your lifetime. Happy for ya. Hopefully we'll see you in this thread more.

Originally Posted by kwilkinson

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Dude, you're hooked.

A lot of people have "the bottle" that got them really passionate about wine. You'll never forget that bottle, regardless of how many more you drink in your lifetime. Happy for ya. Hopefully we'll see you in this thread more.

I'll be in this thread more, but there's so much that I don't know that I need to do a lot of reading before I'm even at the point I can ask more questions. I'm going to start small for now mostly because I can't be spending thousands on wine at the moment. I think since I found something I really enjoy for the first time (older Bordeauxs), I'm going to learn about and focus on that. Try to figure out exactly why I loved it so much, and look for more wines similar to both define and refine my taste more. I don't even know the technical terms to explain why I vastly prefer this to most wines I've had. I know that it was much "smoother," had much less of a "bite" (not very acidic maybe? Is that "tannic"?), and that I tasted something different every half second it was in my mouth. I'm still dying thinking about the way it finished in the back of my mouth...it felt like I could even taste it in the glands on the side of my throat. Most cheaper and younger wine I've had is very tart and less "drinkable" to my palate. Gonna be a long process, but if I can get wine even half as good as I had tonight it will be both worthwhile and enjoyable.

Oh man, you're snagged! Congrats and condolences.

It's been awhile since we did "the bottle." Let's do it again.

Mine was a 2002 Sea Smoke Ten. Still remember how amazed I was at the pepper and spice on the finish.

Originally Posted by computerpro3

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I'll be in this thread more, but there's so much that I don't know that I need to do a lot of reading before I'm even at the point I can ask more questions. I'm going to start small for now mostly because I can't be spending thousands on wine at the moment. I think since I found something I really enjoy for the first time (older Bordeauxs), I'm going to learn about and focus on that. Try to figure out exactly why I loved it so much, and look for more wines similar to both define and refine my taste more.

Gonna be a long process, but if I can get wine even half as good as I had tonight it will be both worthwhile and enjoyable.

If you DON'T want to drop thousands on wine now, deciding you like aged bordeaux was a baaaaaaaaaaaaad choice.

I enjoy book smarts on wine, but not much compares to tasting a lot of different wines and really exploring by the glass rather than by the text.

Originally Posted by kwilkinson

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If you DON'T want to drop thousands on wine now, deciding you like aged bordeaux was a baaaaaaaaaaaaad choice.

Why does this always happen to me

I guess I will have to start with quality over quantity.

today I went out to visit some Jersey friends and ate here for a late lunch. I really enjoyed the food, but the Gruner by the glass was merely ehh.

And then for dinner we checked out DBGB where the Domaine Tissot Cremant du Jura sparkling wine was great with the crispy pigs feet.

aw man. i haven't had my "the bottle" yet. I have "teh books". -_- i don think gomestar would think that counts

Originally Posted by indesertum

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aw man. i haven't had my "the bottle" yet. I have "teh books". -_- i don think gomestar would think that counts
TBH, I never really had "the bottle" either. But spending a week in France when I was 18 and seeing how big a role wine played in their lives had an impact on me, and since then I'd been "into it." It wasn't until I lived in Sonoma County and saw how big a role wine played in MY daily life that I really knew I wanted to spend the rest of my life working with it. Since then, I've had several bottles that make me fall more and more in love with wine.+

Last night at a dinner party: 2 bottles of 2003 Bouchard Père et Fils, Beaune Grèves Vigne de l'Enfant Jà sus. Quite nice.