Having yet another bottle of 2012 Santa Maria Cellars Merlot.

Lord help me I still like the stuff. I wish some of you wine gurus could give it a try. Dry Merlot that just reeks of creme brulet and blueberry cobbler. Having it with chocolate cake from Bear Moon Bakery (my daughter works there and brought it home with her) - it just rocks!

This is what I remember partaking of yesterday:
09 Bryant Family DB4
09 Morlet cab (don't remember which one)
10 Moone-Tsai cab
10 Window Pane (second label of Kobalt)
10 Adronicus cab
09 Cornerstone Howell Mountain
07 Mayacamas cab

It was a good day/evening.

The Sonoma lunch went well, thanks again for the valuable inputs. Nice diverse line up:

10 Peay "Pomarium" Pinot Noir
09 Phelps "Freestone" Pinot Noir
09 Hartford "Fanucchi-WoodRoad" Old Vine Zin
04 Kamen Cabernet Sauvignon
02 Vérité "LaJoie" Meritage

A2

very nice. I have a bottle of Peay, but I have yet to taste it (given to me).

I am not familiar with Kamen, how was it?

The Kamen was great, very expressive cabernet. I'd recommend it.

KLawrence 2006 last night was awesome.

Thanks BSD.

KLawrence 2006 cab last night was awesome.

Thanks BSD.

I'm glad you enjoyed it, dermdoc! Now do yourself a favor and buy the reserves off their website before they sell out. As I've mentioned before, KL is dissolving so you better load up now while you can. We are keeping all of our reserves because they're just that good. They are certainly special occasion wines.

Htown,

you need to come to Sugar Land and check out our little local wine/spirits shop. they carry some very interesting stuff you would appreciate, I think.

Of the three bottles I picked up from BSD, the only one we've opened so far was the KL cab, I think the same vintage as above. Anyway, we usually have this with dinner. We sit down and my wife takes a sip. A little later on in the meal I notice she hasn't touched it since. "You don't like it?" "Oh, I like it," she said. "I'm saving it to drink after dinner by itself." For someone that doesn't like much cab without food, that is a pretty good endorsement.

Don't think I'll be stocking up though. we have about twice as many bottles as we have storage, and I'm on wine buying probation.

enjoyed an 09 Futo OV for the MIL's dinner last night. very tasty.

Nice Aggiemike!

As for me, I dropped by my buddy's house to drop off some wine he bought from me and he sent me home with this Harlan made goodie. I thought I was supposed to quit drinking????

Tonight I tasted a 2009 Zichichi estate zin (Dry Creek Valley) and a 2006 Provenance estate cab (Rutherford) that my wife opened for some good friends in town from overseas.

Alright, this thread is well represented by some of the best wine made today. What is needed is the other end of the spectrum. Last night we opened a gift from a relative. "Sneaky Pete" (NV) from Baumberger in Dell Rapids, SD. While nothing that is going to compete with the best of California, SD is capable of producing some good fruit based wine. This is not that wine. Some one told me that it really takes three sips before you get a complete picture of a wine. I hated this wine more with every sip I took. My first impression was that I should be pairing this with a communion wafer. The aroma was astringent and hit you like a low budget cleaning agent. This paired with a strangly sweet taste, like Welch's grape juice. By my second sip, the wine had been able to breath a bit and it had notes of Frankenberry. Ironically, the more the wine breathes, the less I recommend you should. The third sip reminded me of a fermented Ocean Spray cranberry/blueberry cocktail and was accompanied by two foot stomps that I usually reserve for low grade tequila.

If you want to try the best of South Dakota, I suggest you opt for something from Prairie Berry Winery.

http://www.baumbergervineyard.com/OurWines.aspx

Laadies and gentleman, I think I have found the future of my wine drinking experiences. Since I can no longer drink like I used to, I will be limited to one glass on special occasions. The problem with that is my wife would then be forced to drink the rest of the bottle, which she typically does not do. Or I could invite friends over but some of my friends don't quite appreciate the difference between a Silver Oak and a Screaming Eagle.

So what's a man to do? http://www.coravin.com/

It sticks a needle thru the cork, draws out wine, and replaces the air with an inert gas so the wine keeps aging. It's a no brainer for me! I'll be sure to report back on the effectiveness...although it will be November before I drink a glass, and another month til I have another.

Interesting, BSD. Two things:
1. $300? Wow. But,... I get it.
2. What about decanting? Guess it would all be done in the glass or by a Vinturi.

Again, interesting invention. TP

Yes, $300. It aint cheap, but then again, I'm not buying much wine anymore these days either. As far as decanting, you're right, that will be done in the glass with some swirling. It may not be for everyone, but it certainly excites me.

Actually, as a serious cellaring aid I can see a lot of value. Is that 2004 Opus ready? Geez, I'd really like to have it, but dang sure don't want to open it too soon... Perfect for that!

BSD,

"Or I could invite friends over but some of my friends don't quite appreciate the difference between a Silver Oak and a Screaming Eagle."

Any homes for sale in your neighborhood? =)

A2

Napa tomorrow! Staying in Calistoga. Scheduled for the first day: Bennet Lane, Lava and Summers Estate.

Wheels up from SAT at 6:40AM

I'll give you one meellion dollars if you bring me back some bouchons from Bouchon Bakery.

Done!

Consider it you sales commission for the wine...

Booyah! Enjoy the trip. What restaurants do you have lined up?

Just CIA.

Suggestions welcomed.

I would hit up Addendum for lunch one day. It's a little shed behind Ad Hoc and serve Thomas Keller's fried chicken and BBQ. I got one of each last time! I think they are only open Thurs-Sat so check ahead. Another good lunch is Cook in St Helena. I always eat there. And of course Bouchon is one of my favorites. I try to eat there at least twice.

Thursday is Spring Mountain day, so we'll check out Cook...

and don't forget Model Bakery English Muffins for breakfast. I always load up on those and bring back at least a dozen.

Since I can't go to napa just ordered a 6 liter Karl Lawrence 2003 cab for Christmas dinner.

Thanks BSD for the advice

Got to taste a few last night, mainly Napa wines
'11 Meiomi Pinot Noir
'06 Silver Oak Napa
'08 Silver Oak Napa
'05 Opus One
'09 Opus One
'08 Duckhorn Merlot Napa
'10 Caymus Special Selection
'09 Cakebread Chardonnay

Needless to say it was a good night

for you Hobel folk:

"2011 Hobel Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon will begin next Tuesday August 27 at 8am PST."

quote:

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just ordered a 6 liter Karl Lawrence 2003 cab for Christmas dinner

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Niiiiiiiiiiice. December 26th is going to hurt!

Bouchons acquired...

Haha. Awesome! How's the trip going?

Back late last night. Winery report (may be a bit long) :

Tuesday - arrival day

Bennet Lane: Pretty good. Standard tasting includes tasting several varietals right off the vine. Travis, the host, was enthusiastic and knowledgeable. Some good wine at good prices. Purchased three bottles.

Summers Estate: Meh...

Lava: Ok, but just so. Bought a pity bottle.

Wednesday - Calistoga

Envy/Carter: Very good. Our hostess Barbie was generous with the pours and the wine was good. She poured both Envy and Carter. Michael Smith the winemaker was also there so he told her to pour some Myriad as well! Bought two bottles of Carter Hossfield.

VonStrasser: Very pretty mountain setting. Good wine tasted outside under big trees. After we finished and were just sitting a fellow walked by and just came over "Hi, I'm Rudy VonStrasser, nice to have you here today" - and then chatted with us for quite a while. Two bottles of Cab and one of Port.

Jericho Canyon/La Sirena: David tasted for La Sirena. His biggest flaw is that he poured about twelve wines! He knows the Barretts well and we spent a good hour and a half with him hearing war stories and tasting wine. 3 bottles will be shipped in the fall.

Thursday - Spring Mountain

Sherwin Family Vineyards - Gorgeous setting and swanky home like setting Donna poured and we were the only ones there. Oddly enough she has three other people from Boerne on their mailing list. Very good wine. Two bottles of Cellar Scraps and one of Reserve Cab.

Pride Mountain Vineyards - largest winery on Spring Mountain. Katrina was great. Nice tour through their facility ending up in their private tasting room with good cheese and nuts. Two bottles cab and one reserve cab.

Robert Keenan: OK, and kinda fun. Only way I can describe it is the "trailer trash" of Spring Mountain. Tasted with another group which was fun. Just one bottle of Cab.

Friday - Upscale Cabs

Far Niente - Just a great tour and tasting. Incredible facility which includes their vintage car collection including my first ever up close look at a Ferrari Daytona. A well orchestrated tasting with some Florida folks including one Auburn guy, so there was some football discussion. Two bottles 2009 Cab from their cave collection.

Quintessa - Very interesting facility. "Mo" from Morocco was our host. Very well presented tasting. Mo also left us alone at times during the tasting which I really liked as we could discuss the wine privately. One bottle Quintessa in the nice wooden box.

Joseph Phelps - Nice, but a bit more corporate/commercial than the others. Tasting outside. Host was from Austin and very knowledgeable. Two bottles Joseph Phelps Cab.

Saturday - Healdsburg

Ramey - Good wines and fun hostess, but nothing at all to see. Just a warehouse district winery. One bottle cab and one Syrah.

Sunday -

Swanson - Yes, the Swanson dinner Swansons. We met an artist Ira Yeager who is friends with the Swansons and he set it up. The private tasting mimics a Parisian Salon. Four couples. The other three were from Sacramento and they ended up inviting us to dinner, so it was a great time. Pretty good wine as well. Four bottles shipping in the Fall.

Robert Mondavi - Completely spur of the moment. Turned out to be fun. The facility is Disneyesque, but was not crowed. We went to the reserve room, but there was a group of Chinese kids (probably early twenties) being very loud, so we walked around a bit. After we left, we learned they had purchased $40,000 in wine and this was their first winery! The host had been with them 17 years. I asked him about Robert Mondavi and wondered if he ever reconciled with Peter before he died. He answered that they had, and it was in the same room we were in and that he had been present for the conversation! Kind of an epic wine story! Two bottles of 2003 Reserve Cab.


Next time we go, I think we'll make it more about food and fun than just wine. It's hard work tasting so much!





[This message has been edited by cecil77 (edited 8/27/2013 11:33a).]

Sounds like a great trip! I'm glad you guys got to visit so many wineries and saw the area.

quote:

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Envy/Carter: Very good. Our hostess Barbie was generous with the pours and the wine was good. She poured both Envy and Carter. Michael Smith the winemaker was also there so he told her to pour some Myriad as well! Bought two bottles of Carter Hossfield.

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Mike is a friend of mine, and one of my favorite winemakers. I should have had you tell him hello for me and that you were there to drink the wine that I cant drink. His Myriad label is one of the few wines that I will continue to buy and I'll see him in October when I head out there. The '12 Myriad Dr. Crane cab is f'ing killer!


People are often surprised when I recommend Mondavi for a first visit. It can be educational. I used to buy their Reserve bottles when I saw them at a deeply discounted price since it was all To Kalon fruit.

How'd you like Healdsburg? I love that town.