The Official Wine Thread

Originally Posted by kwilkinson

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Winner winner chicken dinner. Damn son. I love Kracher.

I was going to say you are a cracker but then I remembered teh joo.

anyway, not that familiar with this but it was fantastic.

Originally Posted by audiophilia

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Old faithful. $21

So crazy, I drank this last night. Was a gift at our housewarming party that we had thrown in the cellar and forgotten about. It was nice.

Originally Posted by Manton

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I was going to say you are a cracker but then I remembered teh joo. anyway, not that familiar with this but it was fantastic.
I'm more cracker than j00. All his stuff is great. Kracher is, or was, Alois Kracher, but he died in 2007 and I believe his son took over winemaking but I'm not certain. Incredible Austrian winemaker. All sweet wines from Austria, all TBA too. Their vineyards are all located on the shores of Lake Neusiedl, an area tailor-made for botrytis. Cuvees are all numbered by their concentration, and each year there is a different amount of cuvees bottled. The wine with what they consider the best balance is called "Grande Cuvee." You got lucky, 99 is probably his second or third best vintage ever. They are made with all kinds of grapes, although most famously he makes sweet wine from Chard. He also uses a local grape called Zweigelt and makes wines from welchriesling and moskat. He makes both blends and single varietal dessert wines. You're bound to pay a hefty price tag with anything bearing the Kracher name, but it is truly the nectar of the gods. I never had the pleasure of meeting Alois, but my boss from Trotter's did and said that he was an incredible man.

Originally Posted by kwilkinson

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I like Roederer.
+1. IMO one of the best domestic sparklers. WTF Manton, I'll just assume you forgot to hit the 'send' button on my invite

Originally Posted by tattersall

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When you mentioned the Ducru deal, I thought of a passage in Olney's excellent autobiography of his buying '47 Ducru by the case in the early fifties for the equivalent of $1.80 per bottle.
I did the math- that's about $15.00 in 2011 dollars. Still a dirt cheap price. Someone must have forgotten to tell the world they were making good wine. They just have to stop telling them that, now, for a while.

we're drinking $13 Picpoul de Pinet tonight by l'Ormarine.

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Another one to put on my watch list.

Originally Posted by Raoul Duke

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The experience was pretty wild.... I have another bottle that I will be opening on my birthday in a couple months.
That sounds great. The closest thing in my experience (not very close, I admit, but the wild ride sounds similar) was a 2008 Syncline Grenache-Carignan (Washington State), which opened to smells of "I'm not actually going to drink this, am I?" and got to "hey this is a great wine, there's only a hint of skunk left". I'm pretty sure we need to start a tradition of pouring just the smallest libation to the wine thread when we drink a special wine! At least those we intend to talk about here.

Originally Posted by tattersall

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we're drinking $13 Picpoul de Pinet tonight by l'Ormarine.

So I actually enjoyed this for what it was - not a finely balanced wine at all (and what would you expect for something so cheap) with very bracing acidity, aromas of mild vanilla and a taste that reminded me of gentle green apple. My wife didn't like it and opened a local BC pinot blanc so I don't think I'll be buying more of this wine, but I'll certainly be on the lookout for other picpouls.

Originally Posted by kwilkinson

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He also uses a local grape called Zweigelt and makes wines from welchriesling and moskat.

Nice wines, Manton. Kwilk - that Zweigelt TBA would be red??

Originally Posted by tattersall

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So I actually enjoyed this for what it was - not a finely balanced wine at all (and what would you expect for something so cheap) with very bracing acidity, aromas of mild vanilla and a taste that reminded me of gentle green apple. My wife didn't like it and opened a local BC pinot blanc so I don't think I'll be buying more of this wine, but I'll certainly be on the lookout for other picpouls.



Nice wines, Manton. Kwilk - that Zweigelt TBA would be red??

You know, I'm not certain. Zweigelt is his only varietal I haven't tasted. I'm not sure whether he macerates or not.

Tonight is a new cru beaujolais for me: George Descombes 2009 Brouilly. More feminine than a morgon - medium bright red with a burst of red berries on the nose. Tasted slight earthiness but not in a bad way. I haven't had a bad '09 beaujolais yet.

Originally Posted by Raoul Duke

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Had a 1989 Château de Beaucastel Châteauneuf-du-Pape the other night. Has anyone else had the pleasure of consuming this wine?

Yes. The wine was supposed to have brett problems or some issue. I had one once and it was just dull. Not much there. Had another time in line up of Beaucastes and it was fantastic.

So many of you have been posting great bottles.

Had a few ones worth mentioning lately. This for $12 or so from K&L was a great bottle: 2009 Domaine Philippe Tessier Cheverny Rouge (France, Loire Valley, Upper Loire, Cheverny). I would buy a case and drink over the next year.

This was great but cost too much: 2009 Peay Vineyards Viognier Estate.

Drinking great: 2006 Sea Smoke Pinot Noir Southing.

Have a few bottles. Will revisit again in a few years but drinking well young: 2009 Paul Pernot et ses Fils Puligny-Montrachet.

this wine: 2008 Freiherr Langwerth von Simmern Hattenheimer Riesling Kabinett feinherb.

^^^

welcome to Teh Wine Thread!

Getting settled into corporate housing in Princeton and stopped by a local wineshop. I'm just tickled at the wine situation here. Several great shops with wonderful selections of interesting wines from all over. My liver quivers.

falanghina, nice!

Originally Posted by gomestar

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falanghina, nice!
I actually had this one last October at Da Dora in Naples and have been looking for it ever since!

Good way to find best inexpensive gems is to google the most prestigious restaurants in the world and check what they sell by-glass on their menus. Then 'wine-search' the hell out of them. I let their sommeliers do all teh home-work for me. Your accountant will be impressed as much as your tastebuds.