And of course when I watch Manuel Angel walk down the fairway I am reminded of the old saying "If you got a good tool you build a shed over it."

I have enjoyed a lot of Spanish wine, but none of it has ever struck me as overly interesting or making me want to delve more deeply into the wines. I do agree I haven't had many stinkers that I remember.

It is most often more in the "man that is really good for that price" kinda compliment. Nothing wrong with that!

A lot of the cheaper stuff is Grenache based. It's easy to grow, typically yields pretty well, and results in a high alcohol wine. It isn't overly complex, but it gives you a simple, straight-forward wine. It also adds bulk to wines when blended, and plays well with others, so to speak.

One Spanish wine I really love is Urbina Crianza, really great and not too expensive. The Gran Reserva is very good also, but obviously a little more $$$.

I will put in a good word again for Spanish wines. I would say the are the best quality ( old vines) for value wines around. There are some great importers that if you stick to their labels you can really great some great wine. Patrick Mata ( Ole), Jorge Ordonez , and Eric Solomen.

I love watching that golfer Manual Angel. He looks like he knows how to party. (Not a golf fan, but do watch the Masters.)

Cecil77- I'm headed to Boerne tomorrow. Is Boerne Wine Company worth the stop? Better question, as a local are there any favorite places near Main? I figure locals may be getting burned out with the Frederiscksburgification of that stretch and may have other suggestions.

Bottle of Abstract, sitting on the deck at the ranch. Not a bad night.

"It's not revenge... It's the reckoning... - Marcus Luttrell, USN Retired.

a lot of good French Grenache based wine that is complex and highly interesting.

the cheap Grenache from Spain is usually pretty darn good

Yes! To Boerne Wine Company. Tell them Cecil sent you. My wife will be working at Kiss the Cook after 2pm. Stop by, she is the best Boerne resource. It's behind Bear Moon Bakery.



[This message has been edited by cecil77 (edited 4/19/2014 6:33a).]

Thanks for the tips. I wanted to stop in that Kids the Cook store back around Christmas but I was in town for my sisters wedding and the schedule got away from me.

It is looking like Management is tweaking our itinerary for the day, so I may have to follow up at a later date.

That was supposed to be Kiss the Cook. Darn autocorrect. We did stop by Saturday morning, so missed Mrs. Cecil77. That is a dangerous place for my wife and I, especially since we live in a condo and don't have a large kitchen.

Rest of the day was fun. We went up to Fredericksburg after all. Wihle that meant that we missed the Boerne Wine Company, we did stop by Pedernales Cellars. Unfortunately there won't be a 2013 viognier as the crop up in Lubbock was mostly destroyed. Very disappointing as that was a very big crowd pleaser. A little sweet, but not overly. They did have a blend that was a close replacement (Cinco?) but not as good. Will look forward to it's return if they make it through May ok. They had a few others but the only one I would recommend is the tempranillo. The 2010 High plains they had was very good but the 2012 reserve really needs at least another year. Unfortunately the other wines they had weren't all that good. Mostly they had little to no finish. I feel those are more Texas crowd pleasers than anything. Texans love Texas so having something made in Texas with Texas grapes is going to have a pretty big market. I think then the main goal is just not turning off your customers, rather than selling them on it.

Friday night: 2010 Collazzi Toscana IGT. A Cabernet, Merlot, cab franc, and petit Verdot Super Tuscan. Blackberries, currants, raspberries, violets, and cedar mulch with an aggressive tannin structure. It went very well with Sunday Sauce, and it needs food to drink it now or another two years to drink on its own.

Sunday: 2010 Ridge Paso Robles Zinfandel. This is an atypically ripe zin from Ridge (almost too ripe). Tons of dried fruits, with hints of raisin. Some may like this, but it wasn't my favorite.

We opened a 2005 Ovid at dinner tonight. It was a nice treat.

I’m working in Portland right now for an extended period of time so my wife came up this past weekend and we spent a few days driving down the Oregon coast (absolutely beautiful by the way). We went all in on an Oregon Pinot weekend and had a bottle of each of the following; White Rose, Brick House (Les Dijonnais, Ribbon Ridge), Westrey (Oracle Vineyard), Domaine Drouhin (Dundee Hills), Carlton Hill (Reserve) and Soter (Beacon Hill)

All were very good. At the price, the White Rose and Westrey were pretty impressive. On the higher end, the Carlton Hill and Domaine Drouhin were our favorites. We’ve had a fair amount of Oregon pinots over the years but mostly on the lower end. They were never bad, but never did too much for me either. This weekend changed my thoughts on Oregon pinot completely. At the middle and higher ends there are some impressive wines.

My wife is coming back in a month and we’re doing wine country. We’re going to stay in McMinnville and hit the surrounding area. Probably hit a few of the ones already mentioned above as well as a few others (Domaine Serene, Beaux Freres, etc.). Anybody have any other can’t miss wineries in that area?

We'll be there next week! Staying in Newberg. Our itinerary is still pretty open, but serene, drouhin, white rose, and freres are all on the list. Mrs Rononeill likes her some bubbles so Argyle's a contender as well. Will report back!

Brick House Les Dijonnais Pinot I drank around the holidays was about the best I have had in the past 6 months. I think it was a '10, but it might have been an '09, can't remember.

I've only had a few of their wines, but I'm a big fan.

Old guys and selfies isn't the best combo in the world!



This is the bottle I scored as a part of a six bottle lot @ $42ea from undergroundcellar.

Favorite GSM wines anyone?

Tablas Creek and Foxen are the first two California's that come to mind.

There are some in the US, but they aren't very common. Australia, Cotes du Rhone, and Chateauneuf du Pape are going to be your best regions to explore. If you want a more fruit driven wine, go to Australia. If you want earthiness, go to France.

If you go French, know that Cotes du Rhone can be cheap and just ok, and Chateauneuf du Pape can be excellent, but expensive. If you can find Cotes du Rhone Villages, it's a good middle ground, and there are wines that can be more of a new world style.

I got to taste through some of the Domaine Serene portfolio Tuesday night. Tasted the 2012 Evenstad Chardonnay, the 2009 Oregon Pinot, the 2010 Yamhill Cuveé, and the 2011 Evenstad Pinot Noir. All the wines were great, but the 2009 Pinot is the only one I'd drink now. The 2010 will be really good in about a year, and the 2011 will be excellent in about 3-4 years.

I also got to try a 2005 Grace vineyard Pinot. This may be just as good as DRC, for about 1/20th of the price.

Rhone wines are some of the best bargains around when compared to Napa prices. As mentioned, if you enjoy earthiness, they are some really great wines!

Priorat is primarily grenache, and is well worth a look...

[This message has been edited by cecil77 (edited 5/1/2014 9:57a).]

I forget (and am too lazy to Google), what is GSM? I know it is the three grapes, but I cna never keep it straight.

GSM = Grenache, Syrah, and Mourvedre

there are some great Syrah heavy blends out of Washington. Not true So Rhone blends, but a bit richer in style than the French 100% Syrah wines. Charles Smith makes some good ones along with about every famous Wash. state producer. I'll give more names if anyone is interested.

From Cali., I love the Donkey and Goat five-thirteen which is a southern rhone blend.

You see more Cali. wines from Santa Ynez valley and Mendocino county. There is a trade group called "Rhone Rangers" that is trying to raise their exposure. Lots of good single varietal's being made from Grenache, too.

Rhone Rangers

Cecil, when are we diving into that Maybach?

12/4/2014.

I turn 60!

And if you get to Boerne, you get some!

Bularry. I have been collecting the WA state Syrahs for a couple of year. I am a huge fan of the Northwest wines. I was just getting opinions for my next turn in my local tasting group. The host picks a theme and 5 to 6 bottles, and then we spend 4 hours drinking, eating , and discussing. I have a bottle of Les Cornubs Vinsorbes from the same family that produces Beaucastel, and a couple of other GSM from the southern Rhone. I will pick up a Foxen or Tablas creek. Any suggestion from Australia would be much appreciated.

HTownAg98, they were pouring the 02 Evenstad reserve at the pinot fest in DC that I went to. It was fabulous . I will be on the look out for the Grace vineyards.

BSD - saw a few pages back in this thread that you occasionally sell/ship some wine to friends/TexAgs contacts. Interested in sampling some of your Napa Cab selection. Have been following this thread a while, Cecil gave me some advice a year or so ago. If you need to move some inventory would love to work something out. PM me if you get a chance. Otherwise I'll post my email if that would be easier.

I think you have to have stars on Texags to PM...

My wife got a pretty interesting glass last night. A pinot noir called "Macedon" from Stobi Winery in the Tikves region in Macedonia. I only got a taste but it had a lot of the familiar attributes of pinot noir, but in the middle of the taste you get a pretty pronounced streak of minerality. I'm guessing limestone but I'm not great at the "Name that Flavor" game. It was good. Then we happened to be at Central Market this morning and saw it for $15. Not bad for the price and pretty unusual, at least to us.

I had a gamay that isn't worth mentioning.

[This message has been edited by Rononeill (edited 5/3/2014 10:48p).]

Was at Serene today. Beautiful campus, but had higher hopes for the juice. They did have a couple very interesting white pinots- like super rich Chardonnays, but at $95 per couldn't come up w an occasion to justify one. Was really blown away by White Rose Estate, right across the street. Beautiful scenery, generous pours, personable staff, tasty juice - from delicate to more rich- very impressed.