WINE - Red, White, or Other - Discussed Here!

Started by SonicMan46, April 07, 2007, 06:14:18 PM

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Sergeant Rock

Quote from: mc ukrneal on December 03, 2011, 12:59:09 PM
Usually, it (decanting) can help an old wine....But with an older wine like yours, it can be a riskier thing, mostly because the wine's taste will 'evaporate' away faster than you can drink it.

Yes, I am aware of that. Hence my dilemma: to decant or not to decant. I poured a glass (the picture) and let it stand, taking a sip every few minutes to guage it's progress while the lamb finished cooking. The wine improved rapidly in the glass...too quickly perhaps--which is why I decided to let it remain in bottle. There was enough air to open it up but not enough to send it to wine heaven.

QuoteSome people, when they have chosen a wine, will allow it to stand upright for a while so that the sediment will collect at the bottom (while it is also reaching room temperature).

That's what I did. Brought it up from the cellar three hours before dinner. The sediment settled and the wine warmed up. I opened it a half hour before we began eating. I poured the last glass very carefully. The sediment stayed in the bottle. My last sip was crud free  ;D

The wine cost the equivalent of $35 when I bought it in 1994 (French Franc 170). Definitely worth it.

Sarge

the phone rings and somebody says,
"hey, they made a movie about
Mahler, you ought to go see it.
he was as f*cked-up as you are."
                               --Charles Bukowski, "Mahler"

mc ukrneal

Quote from: Sergeant Rock on December 03, 2011, 01:22:34 PM
Yes, I am aware of that. Hence my dilemma: to decant or not to decant. I poured a glass (the picture) and let it stand, taking a sip every few minutes to guage it's progress while the lamb finished cooking. The wine improved rapidly in the glass...too quickly perhaps--which is why I decided to let it remain in bottle. There was enough air to open it up but not enough to send it to wine heaven.

That's what I did. Brought it up from the cellar three hours before dinner. The sediment settled and the wine warmed up. I opened it a half hour before we began eating. I poured the last glass very carefully. The sediment stayed in the bottle. My last sip was crud free  ;D

The wine cost the equivalent of $35 when I bought it in 1994 (French Franc 170). Definitely worth it.

Sarge


Always good to have crud free wine!! :) With a Bordeaux, I might have taken the risk. But the Lafite being more gentle/elegant, I think I would have left it too. Glad it worked out!!! It's so much fun to drink those types of bottles (especially when purchased for such reasonable sums)!
Be kind to your fellow posters!!

Sergeant Rock

Quote from: mc ukrneal on December 03, 2011, 01:37:31 PMIt's so much fun to drink those types of bottles (especially when purchased for such reasonable sums)!

Man, those were the days (the '90 Lafite was only 50 bucks!). Unfortunately we had little disposable income then (the 90s) and couldn't acquire nearly as much as we wanted to. By the time we were debt free Bordeaux prices had skyrocketed. Such a shame. Oh well...drinking what we have left, slowly, a bottle every few months, just makes it that much more special.

Sarge
the phone rings and somebody says,
"hey, they made a movie about
Mahler, you ought to go see it.
he was as f*cked-up as you are."
                               --Charles Bukowski, "Mahler"

Sergeant Rock

#623
We had a surprisingly good white with dinner tonight (surprising because I don't usually get excited about whites from southern Europe). On the strength of this, and a Cab/Merlot blend from the same winemaker we had recently, I'd call Nico Lazaridi one of the  best wineries in Greece. It was his 2008 Chardonnay. Like drinking liquid apricots. We ate pork tenderloin in a mild horseradish/cream cheese sauce.






Sarge
the phone rings and somebody says,
"hey, they made a movie about
Mahler, you ought to go see it.
he was as f*cked-up as you are."
                               --Charles Bukowski, "Mahler"

Bogey

Just grabbed a bottle of this from the local shop:



Had a sample of this '85 and enjoyed....probably passed its prime.  Hard to say with a grand reserve.  Anyways, $30 to drink something made a year after I graduated from high school was too cool to pass up.  Now that '43 posted earlier....wow!
There will never be another era like the Golden Age of Hollywood.  We didn't know how to blow up buildings then so we had no choice but to tell great stories with great characters.-Ben Mankiewicz

SonicMan46

Quote from: Bogey on December 16, 2011, 04:17:17 PM
Just grabbed a bottle of this from the local shop:



Had a sample of this '85 and enjoyed....probably passed its prime.  Hard to say with a grand reserve.  Anyways, $30 to drink something made a year after I graduated from high school was too cool to pass up.  Now that '43 posted earlier....wow!

Hi Bill - still drinking plenty of wine but not posting much here - need to catch up! :)

But your story reminded me of having wines from years w/ a personal memory - bought a half case of the Warre's Port 1977 (pic added above) in the early 1980s (almost 30 yrs in my basement!); have just one bottle left - but that was the year I joined the faculty at Wake Forest and now having retired in June after 34 yrs, that bottle does have a special meaning - probably will wait until my son returns to visit and decant it for us (he was 4 y/o at the time of its production) - Dave  :D

Bogey

Just need to watch that drinking time frame, Dave.  Wait too long and it becomes a conversation piece and no more. :D  The Spanish Riojas that I am starting to enjoy more and more are tagged frequently with a "barnyard" aroma.  Interestng, but fairly accurate. ;D   
There will never be another era like the Golden Age of Hollywood.  We didn't know how to blow up buildings then so we had no choice but to tell great stories with great characters.-Ben Mankiewicz

SonicMan46

Quote from: Bogey on December 17, 2011, 07:51:34 AM
Just need to watch that drinking time frame, Dave.  Wait too long and it becomes a conversation piece and no more. :D  The Spanish Riojas that I am starting to enjoy more and more are tagged frequently with a "barnyard" aroma.  Interestng, but fairly accurate. ;D   

Hi Bill - well that term barnyard smell has been around for a long time and has always been a debated and controversial issue for wine tasters, i.e. is the smell/aroma a positive or a negative attribute?  And a corollary is if present 'how much' is enough; the latter probably up to the person drinking the wine and their feelings toward that particular aroma?

The issue traces back to a common yeast called Brettanomyces or 'Brett' for short - whether this is a contaminant to be avoided in the wine cellar or a possibly positive component in a wine is the center of the debate; basically the term barnyard is kind of a euphemism for basically the smell of manure (or S&%T!) - there are other terms in this category, such as 'saddle sweat'.  For me a little 'brett' goes a LONG way and I like the aroma(s) (BUT hey I love those smelly blue cheeses a LOT!).

In the past, my wine cellar was much larger (700+ bottles) and I had a nice collection of red Burgundies and Rhones (both northern and southern areas) - and I must say that the 'brett' aroma in those aged bottles was quite pronounced; in more recent years I've been getting into more lighter & younger reds (just has become my preference) - for a little more information on 'brett' - Check HERE - Dave :)

Bogey

I tell you, that '85 introduced me to it....very clearly.  As for the blue cheese, we are truly brothers. :)
There will never be another era like the Golden Age of Hollywood.  We didn't know how to blow up buildings then so we had no choice but to tell great stories with great characters.-Ben Mankiewicz

Karl Henning

Karl Henning, Ph.D.
Composer & Clarinetist
Boston MA
http://www.karlhenning.com/
[Matisse] was interested neither in fending off opposition,
nor in competing for the favor of wayward friends.
His only competition was with himself. — Françoise Gilot

Sergeant Rock

I don't mind a little barnyard in my reds. I think it was Parker who wondered about the barnyard element in one of his favorite boutique Pomerols (Le Pin, I think) which was run for decades by two French spinsters who actually made their wine the old fashioned way, in an open vat, inside a barn full of animals. He wondered just how much of the barnyard actually went into the wine  ;D

Other smells/tastes can have negative or positive connotations depending on who's drinking it. Rotten red meat and asparagus for example. I recall an 83 grand cru Burgundy, a Corton from Bouchard père et fils, that had an aroma like a steak that'd turned green  ;D  I loved it. Mrs. Rock took one sip and was done with it. But she loves wine that reeks (to me) of asparagus. We're Jack Spratt and wife.

Sarge
the phone rings and somebody says,
"hey, they made a movie about
Mahler, you ought to go see it.
he was as f*cked-up as you are."
                               --Charles Bukowski, "Mahler"

Bogey

Quote from: karlhenning on December 19, 2011, 10:38:53 AM
Ah, the bleu cheese fraternity!

So, all that is left to do is each cut a slice, press them together and then enjoy with a cracker. ;D
There will never be another era like the Golden Age of Hollywood.  We didn't know how to blow up buildings then so we had no choice but to tell great stories with great characters.-Ben Mankiewicz

Karl Henning

Quote from: Bogey on December 19, 2011, 12:05:59 PM
So, all that is left to do is each cut a slice, press them together and then enjoy with a cracker. ;D

Bleu cheese has divided a mother from her daughter ; )  Mom has taken a liking to it, but we can enjoy it together only when the missus is out of the house . . . she cannot abide it . . . .
Karl Henning, Ph.D.
Composer & Clarinetist
Boston MA
http://www.karlhenning.com/
[Matisse] was interested neither in fending off opposition,
nor in competing for the favor of wayward friends.
His only competition was with himself. — Françoise Gilot

Bogey

Quote from: karlhenning on December 19, 2011, 12:08:13 PM
Bleu cheese has divided a mother from her daughter ; )  Mom has taken a liking to it, but we can enjoy it together only when the missus is out of the house . . . she cannot abide it . . . .

Sorry I have to be firm here, Karl, but no Raccoon Lodge membership for your mother-in-law. :)

There will never be another era like the Golden Age of Hollywood.  We didn't know how to blow up buildings then so we had no choice but to tell great stories with great characters.-Ben Mankiewicz

SonicMan46

Well, I guess that my comments would stimulate some interest -  ;D 8)

But are us humans any different from other animals?  And, do some 'wine aromas' stimulate us as much?   ;) :D


Sergeant Rock

#635
I've been restocking the cellar. Lots of Champagne and a case each of these reds:




From the Chilean Errazuriz estate the 2008 Max Reserva Carmenère (a spicy, peppery varietal that exists, as far as I know, only in Chile) €13.95




2006 Chateau German, a Pomerol style blend from the Cotes de Castillon €6.60




From Argentina, Dieter Meier's 2010 Ojo de Agua Malbec €9.50




Chateau Nico Lazaridi 2005 Regional Drama Red, a blend of Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot €12.95




And the 2007 Columbia Crest Syrah.



Sarge
the phone rings and somebody says,
"hey, they made a movie about
Mahler, you ought to go see it.
he was as f*cked-up as you are."
                               --Charles Bukowski, "Mahler"

Sergeant Rock

#636
At the supermarket today (the German equivalent of a Walmart superstore) I found an interesting looking dry Riesling from the Winzerverein Deidesheim, one of Germany's best wine cooperatives. (A co-op is a group of vintners with small parcels of vineyards who band together to jointly produce and offer their wine under one label.) The wine is the 2010 Deidesheimer Paradiesgarten Riesling Spätlese trocken (dry).






It won a Golden prize from the state. 2010 was a tough year, with small yields and excessive acidity. Proving the contention that Deidesheim vineyards excel in poor and mediocre years, this really is an excellent wine. But it needed to breathe. It was, at first, disappointing with little taste and almost no bouquet. It's one of those rare whites that, like a red wine, needs air and time to reveal itself. By the time the bottle was half empty it was exhibiting delicious notes of lime, gooseberry, paraffin wax and stone, the texture utterly creamy on the tongue. It has a golden color not usually seen in a wine so young. Not overly acidic, it was well balanced for the vintage. At €4.99, a fabulous bargain, and the best 2010 Riesling I've had so far.

Sarge
the phone rings and somebody says,
"hey, they made a movie about
Mahler, you ought to go see it.
he was as f*cked-up as you are."
                               --Charles Bukowski, "Mahler"

Sergeant Rock

#637
Tesch is an old winery in the Nahe (a wine region between the Mosel and the Rheingau both geographically and stylistically). I recall reading about Tesch 20 years ago but the founder's stern countenance on the label turned me off. I never tried the wines. A few weeks ago I read a blog entry in The Wine Rambler about the young son who's now in charge; who, against the wishes of his father, modernized the way the wine is made and marketed (the strategy aimed at the under-30 crowd). He vinifies all his wine dry and 90% is Riesling. He's a member of the VDP whose members must conform to strict quality control rules. The wine is labeled like Grand Cru burgundy with only the vineyard name on the front. According to the article, he's been wildly successful. (He's the second vintner profiled in the article):

http://www.winerambler.net/blog/death-dreams-destiny-place-family-obsession-rock-n-roll-german-winemaking

I decided to order a Probierpaket. It arrived this afternoon: six bottles of 2010 Riesling, one from each of their vineyards plus the black label called Riesling Unplugged.

Along with wine they included a CD called Riesling People. It's part history, part wine review, and part music, including a song by my favorite German punk band, Die Toten Hosen (The Dead Pants ;D ) I've uploaded another of the songs here (you can download it or listen at the website):

http://www.4shared.com/mp3/A2QoInHi/RieslingIsCool.html

Even though it's mostly in German, all wine lovers should hear it. The relevant words are sung in English. For those, like me, who think Riesling in the greatest white varietal in the world (because it is  8) ) the song is a must hear. It's not actually called "Riesling is Cool" but if I gave you the true title, it would spoil the fun  ;D



the phone rings and somebody says,
"hey, they made a movie about
Mahler, you ought to go see it.
he was as f*cked-up as you are."
                               --Charles Bukowski, "Mahler"

mc ukrneal

Quote from: Sergeant Rock on January 13, 2012, 04:04:59 AM
Even though it's mostly in German, all wine lovers should hear it. The relevant words are sung in English. For those, like me, who think Riesling in the greatest white varietal in the world (because it is  8) ) the song is a must hear. It's not actually called "Riesling is Cool" but if I gave you the true title, it would spoil the fun  ;D
We love Riesling in our house. We were recently in Alsace and had a wonderful time drinking the wines. The Pinot Gris was a particular standout as I had never had this before. We like the German wines too, though only the major brands get to us here (Loosen and the like). I'd say that roughly 70-80% of all the white wines we drink are Riesling.
Be kind to your fellow posters!!

Sergeant Rock

#639
Quote from: mc ukrneal on January 13, 2012, 04:25:02 AMThe Pinot Gris was a particular standout...

Pinot Gris is my favorite Alsatian varietal. It's been a love affair for over forty years. My first first wife studied at the university in Strasbourg and brought back her love for all things Alsatian, including the wine. (In Germany the grape is called Grauburgunder.)

Quote from: mc ukrneal on January 13, 2012, 04:25:02 AM
We like the German wines too, though only the major brands get to us here (Loosen and the like). I'd say that roughly 70-80% of all the white wines we drink are Riesling.

Excellent  8)  Have you found any trocken (dry) Rieslings in your area? When I visit Ohio (the Akron area), they are impossible to find. A few halbtrocken but probably 90% are sweet. Although Mosels (like Loosen) needn't be dry. Some would even say they shouldn't be--that they become unbalanced.

It's a pity the world remains essentially ignorant about the quality of German dry Riesling. On the other hand, if the world ever discovers it, prices would skyrocket. Maybe it's better (for me) that it remains a closely guarded secret  ;D

Sarge
the phone rings and somebody says,
"hey, they made a movie about
Mahler, you ought to go see it.
he was as f*cked-up as you are."
                               --Charles Bukowski, "Mahler"