Tumble Weed said:

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Nothing can hide in my cellar.
Self control is not my greatest attribute. Congrats on waiting that long!

Tonight I am drinking a 2004 warres LBV. Few bottles live to be that old in my house.

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I have two separate wine fridges. One is in the kitchen to take wine to drink from, and the other is back in the mancave to keep us from drinking it all. As the kitchen one empties, we rotate in from the mancave so it's more controlled, not free-for-all drinking.

That said, I probably only have a few bottles that are expensive and high quality enough to keep for awhile.

Had these two tonight, which couldn't be more opposite.

First, a 2016 JaM Cellars Butter Chardonnay.

This is actually pretty decent. It's definitely a buttery Chardonnay, but it isn't flabby. There's some acid there, and if it were better integrated into the wine, this could be a steal at its $15 price. Good for Sunday afternoon drinking.

Then, there was this: a 2008 Inwood Estate Vineyards Cornelius Reserve.

I was trying to save this to put into a Spanish Tempranillo tasting, but the timing never worked out. So we uncorked it tonight. This shows that there are some Texas wines that can take on some age and still retain their character. I'm glad I don't wait any longer.

Agree. Had one several weeks ago. Three left. Will drink two over the next few months. Save one for several more years, just to see...

Austintm said:

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BigAg95 said:

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BSD said:

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The Pott release started yesterday. I got a couple of each wine, except Turf War which was only a 12 case production. I just got one of those. Hopefully there won't be any more releases for a while because I am too full on wine and this stuff ain't doing my checkbook any favors!

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I jut got an email that I am in the next wave and my allocation will open next week, so hopefully there are still some good ones left!

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Just received mine as well. Thought I was done buying for the year, but I guess not...

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The "second wave" Pott offering is open (yes, early)

Received a solid shipment today......

Solid!!!

Speaking of AO, when I was seriously downsizing after my heart diagnosis, I had put some AO wines for sale online. Jean, the winemaker, reached out to me and bought all the AO bottles back. What service!

htxag09 said:

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Received a solid shipment today......

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Nice! I got a three pack of the stagecoach as well! I am hoping it does well.

Nicely done. I only got the AO Las Piedras. Was at AO over Labor Day weekend and was lucky enough to sample all of these. Already drinking well.

Had this the other night. I'm starting to like Gamay.

I would love to visit the Beaujolais region for a couple of weeks. I just need to find a couple of friends that speak french. The language barrier can be taxing. A little foie gras, a little cognac, and some nice scenery.

HTownAg98 said:

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Had this the other night. I'm starting to like Gamay.

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So what on that bottle tells you it's Gamay?

MooreTrucker said:

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HTownAg98 said:

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Had this the other night. I'm starting to like Gamay.

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So what on that bottle tells you it's Gamay?

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Vin du Beau Beaujolais

Although Beaujolais has a reputation for fruity, weak wine (e.g. Beaujolais Nouveau, which ironically enough will be released this Thursday) it does have 10 crus which make fine wine. Think Burgundy... The bottle in the picture is one of the 10 crus: CTE DE BROUILLY

The 10 Crus of Beaujolais

Beaujolais region mainly has gamay vines.

Thanks, guys. I was reading something the other day extolling the virtues of Gamay which I hadn't heard of. But then our wine shop put some Gamay in the wine club selection so I now have some to try.

Awesome. I never understood the hate. Dude makes great wine.

In other news ( as if we need one more reason to drink wine...)

Red wine and chocolate may delay aging...

BigAg95 said:

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We just downed a bottle of 2016 8 Years in the Desert (and a perfect medium rare prime ribeye for good measure). I know most wine folk love to hate on Dave Phinney, but damn that is a delicious wine.

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Opened this same bottle and paired it with a medium rare prime rib. It was fantastic.

Would you share the list?

Salmon Sancerre Vieilles Vignes
Zind Humbrecht Riesling
Domaine de la Bressande Mercurey Rouge
Maison Denuziere Crozes-Hermitage Les Galets
Chateau Haura Graves, 2015

TP Ag '87 said:

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Salmon Sancerre Vieilles Vignes
Zind Humbrecht Riesling
Domaine de la Bressande Mercurey Rouge
Maison Denuziere Crozes-Hermitage Les Galets
Chateau Haura Graves, 2015

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Interesting choices, especially including a Riesling.

I think I'll look for the reds at TW and give a try. They're certainly at affordable price points. Interesting to not choose a Cote du Rhone for the Rhone since they're much easier to find.

While you're at Total Wine look around the Bordeaux section when you find the Graves. any number of the St. Emilion Pr Gr Crus (slightly higher price point ~$40) are really good. One to try is 2015 Chateau La Fleur Cardinale.

Happy hunting and please report back!

Re the Riesling, everyone liked it, even the other couple who doesn't drink white. Very dry but good.

She asked me about price point desired. I actually told her we were open to higher prices but she thought this was a good indicative range.

Did figure out that my wife, not a big bold red drinker, really liked those French reds.

Rhone wines are a bargain in the grand scheme of things. The burgundy can go either way. My wife doesn't care for them, but I do. And the Graves will be good, anytime someone recommends a Bordeaux that they know, it prevents just scatter shooting - there's just so many...

Yeah, we discussed that very thing and the frustration with the crap shoot.

I wish we had a Total Wine. We have *A* wine shop but it's almost a hobby rather than a business for the owner and a lot of her wines are the "look, a cool label" type. Most are good but not what you'd call "fine wine".

We do have a Specs with a large wine selection, including lots of French wines, but I don't know enough yet to tell which are good and which to leave alone. TW employees seem more knowledgeable than Specs'.

I honestly never ask the TW people. I do research online to pick my basket via Vivino, then order/pick up in an hour. No hassle.

TP Ag '87 said:

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I honestly never ask the TW people. I do research online to pick my basket via Vivino, then order/pick up in an hour. No hassle.

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And that expertise is hit and miss. Some definitely have it, others, not so much...

This is why I love Austin Wine Merchant. They carry good French and Italian wines at all price points. I'm slowly converting my wife to French wines.

Granted, Vivino reviews aren't perfect but I don't usually think 4 star rating wines suck. They may not be 4-star to me but more hit than miss I guess.

cecil77 said:

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Rhone wines are a bargain in the grand scheme of things. The burgundy can go either way. My wife doesn't care for them, but I do. And the Graves will be good, anytime someone recommends a Bordeaux that they know, it prevents just scatter shooting - there's just so many...

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There's a lot of bad Cote du Rhone out there too. As long as you stay at the Cote du Rhone-Villages level, your chances of getting burned on a bad wine go down a bunch.

Crozes-Hermitage is another one of those areas where you need someone who really knows their stuff, because there are $40-$50 wines that suck.

TP Ag '87 said:

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I honestly never ask the TW people. I do research online to pick my basket via Vivino, then order/pick up in an hour. No hassle.

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I do love me some Vivino. I need to use it for more than just recording the wines that I drink.