quote:

---

had an '07 Anderson's Conn Valley from Napa last night and it was really drinking nice. It wasn't close to expiring or anything but I don't think it was going to improve a lot over the next couple of years either, so I'm glad I opened it up.


What is y'all's experience with a wine's "dead period"? I was told holding a wine for 2-3 years was not good, you generally need to either drink in the first year or so or hold for at least 4 or maybe 5 years. supposedly a lot of reds (cabs and syrah's and pinot, too) have a dormant period after a couple of years where the flavors are very muted and wine doesn't drink that well.

anyoen have some experience or insight on this?

---

My experience is limited to napa cabs and Russian river valley Pinot noir, but in general (and I use that term very loosely), Pinot seems to go dumb 2-3 years after vintage date, and cabs are about 4-5 years. The catch is that it won't happen to some wines. The good news is you can "wake it up" by decanting it and giving the wine an hour or so.

As far as decanting goes, I rarely decant any of my everyday drinkers that are just sitting on the wine rack. A heavy pour and an aggressive swirl is all they need.
Anything coming out of the cooler gets decanted. I mainly do it just to warm them up a bit to serving temperature, and give them a good shot of air if they are a little tight.

The above post just about sums it up for me as well.

Last night was my birthday so I celebrated with a little Pott at Underbelly. This was the 2007 Neruda...a cab from Oakville. It is actually the vineyard right behind Brix restaurant.




Tonight was a glass of beer (Pliny) to celebrate being alive a year after all hell broke loose around here. Well, a glass of beer and lots of hugs from the little man of the house.

Belated and all my best Birthday Wishes to You, Mr. BSD!!!

Heading to Paris next week. Was going to hit up O Chateau for a quick glass or 4. (I enjoyed the owner's book, "Into Wine"). Don't have time to do much else. Anyone have any experience at this place or others in that part of the city?

Public safety message. I do not have one, but some of you may own one. http://www.drvino.com/2014/06/02/coravin-exploding/

I've seen the reports of the Corvain, but have also heard that the incidences of the occurrence are very small. I won't be too worried about it. It's not like the device is pressurizing the bottle with an excessive amount of air, it's just replacing lost volume of liquid. Still, it would suck to some old Burgs go all over the floor!

Drank a J Vineyards 2009 Nicole's Vineyard Pinot Noir. I don't know if that wine was just tight, dumb, or getting old, but it was just a meh bottle.

I visited J vineyards back in March. It was fun to do the full tour there but I wasn't a big fan of their wines, the Chardonnay excepted. That was a very nice example of the classic Chardonnay. The rest, namely the pinots, just didn't impress.

I'm a big fan of their pinots: it's a style I like. Fact is, I like a lot of different styles. Some of their sparking wines are pretty good too.
Did you taste at the bar or do the special tasting in the salon room?

We did at the bar after a winery tour. I don't remember any specific thoughts but just not a fan. I don't drink a lot of sparkling wine though so with that I'll admit that there are things I don't appreciate.

I find J wines to be overpriced for the value. not a fan of their pinot's, although have only tasted a few. I do like their Sparkling, just can find better for the $$, IMO.

HEB Cab sale now through Tuesday.

10% single bottles, 20% off six or more.

All Cabs, mix and match!

Dammit, I did not need to know this.

Stag's Leap WC Artemis for $33.29 plus tax is a pretty good deal, I think.

40th Anniversary Caymus for $54

Thanks, Cecil. There goes the weekend budget. Guess it's a Father's Day present to myself!

Cecil - thanks for the heads up. Will have to pick up a few bottles to make up for the worst wine I've ever tasted. Seriously.

I'm not as experienced as most on this thread. I enjoy most reds, can really pick out the varieties and vineyards I like (cabs, zins, some pinos). But tonight I had my first experience with a really BAD bottle. 2 buck chuck would have scored a 92 next to this wine. What surprised me is that it was a 25 dollar bottle I got based on a recommendation at specs. 2011 Bordeaux called Les Demoiselles. Label has 2 female silhouettes in gold on a basic tan paper background. This wine was awful. Very earthy nose. Tight and acidic. Zero fruit, pepper, or caramel tones I'm used to. The finish - like castor oil. Avoid this one at all costs. This is not a good Bordeaux and the entire country of France should be ashamed for producing it. I've had great Bordeaux and this was....I can't even describe the horror.

As a 2011, any chance I just got a bad bottle? Does that happen? Bottle was undamaged, stored in my wine cellar, no evidence of loss from the bottle. Cork was intact. Thinking about taking the bottle back to Specs and complaining. Problem is my receipt is long gone. Have been storing it 9 mos or so.

Would love some thoughts. If someone gave me a glass of this to try and I'd never had red wine before, I'd swear red wine off for life.

It could be a bad bottle. This is the second Wine(can be good values in great vintages which 2011 was good not great) from a fairly well reputed producer in the satellite region Bourg in Bordeaux . My local merchant currently only carriers the first wine from 2010 ( great year)at $18.00. I have not had either so I cannot comment. If you are looking for satellite regions, I would personally stick to Fronsac, Moulis,Listrac, Cote de Castillion and Lalande de Pommerols .

I wandered thru the wine section at HEB the other night and saw Lancaster Estate on sale for $56.69 a bottle (normally $70, then marked down to $63, then 10% off for the 6 or more discount). I think I was getting them from the winery club at $65. If I was still able to pound wine away, I would have bought a case. If you haven't had it before, give it a shot, especially at this price.

Had a 2006 Catena Zapata Adrianna Vineyard last night. Actually, I got half of it because the lady that opened it had to take her daughter home so she told me to take the bottle. It's an exceptional bottle worth seeking out.

DSB, that is a good price for 6 or more.

I like their wines quite a bit

[This message has been edited by bularry (edited 6/17/2014 4:17p).]

Good thing I didn't see this until today... I did not need the temptation... and I have no place to put another 6 bottles right now...

Yes, Yes... I know... that means I need to drink some of my current juice.

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

I got to taste through some of the wines from Revana last night. The best way to describe their overall style is elegant. The Pinot Gris was excellent, showing off a lot of tropical fruit flavors and honeysuckle, but it wasn't heavy or cloying. The Pinot noir from Dundee Hills is very good, and should be a benchmark for what kind of Pinot Oregon can make. The Malbec (under the Corazon del Sol label made by Archaval Ferrar) is how Malbec was made 20 years ago. It's lighter, with more bright fruit and just enough oak to pull everything together. The estate cab was stupidly good. It showed a lot of red fruits and acid, but it is extremely well balanced, and should easily age for 20 years. If you're a score-chaser who likes massive over-extracted cabs, this is not your wine. At $175, it's not my wine either, but if someone gave this to me, I definitely would not turn it down.

Help me understand the difference between well-balanced and massive overextracted?

I know what I like, but don't know what the words are. And of course mere words are woefully inadequate to describe this stuff...

Balance in wine (in this scenario, we will stick with cab) means you can taste the red fruits, the black fruits, the acid, the vanilla from the oak, and the dryness of the tannins, but none of the flavors dominate each other. They tend to be ruby red colored to slightly darker, but not purple. They also can be lower in alcohol, coming in around 14%.

Over-extracted wines are purple, and can be almost viscous in the glass. They tend to be dominated by black fruits, heavy on the vanilla, and the tannins are very smooth when they are young.

Hope this helps.

Dr. Revana's parties at his house here in Houston are legendary. I like his wines but was never a buyer.

So I've heard.

Thanks. Why do so many now put down the "big" cabs along with their Parker scores? I kinda like them, but appreciate more subtle cabs as well.

I understand that they are different manifestations of cab, but other than personal preference, why is one better or worse than the other?

I'll hang up and listen...

It all comes down to personal taste to a degree. Parker is a fan of the bombastic fruit-forward style. Around the early to mid 90s, winemakers in the napa valley figured this out, and started pushing for riper wines with lower acidity, and Parker rewarded them with higher scores. This, the cycle was born, and now you have wines getting 95+ points pushing 16.5% alcohol. Like it or not, those high scores sell wine, creating demand, and ratcheting up the price on these wines.

Winemakers will tell you they are only doing what they are doing to satisfy demand, and taking what the vineyard gives them. That is true to a point, but winemakers could pick earlier or do less canopy thinning and still produce elegant and balanced wines. However, there is no denying that people like this bold fruit forward style. I'm just in the minority I guess.

Parker did a lot to clean up the cellars in France, and made them produce wine that didn't taste and smell like wet newsprint. But his influence got a little out of hand to the point that napa is now making Franken-wine in some cases. Thankfully for me, Parker's influence is starting to wane a bit, and balance is coming back into the equation.

I bet you liked:



I agree on the high alcohol manipulation. However, I think that it's become uber-cool to denigrate Parker and his like of fruit forward (at least if that means what I think it does). I think it's good to try to appreciate all kinds of good wins. I'm just now beginning to appreciate Pinot and it's subtleties, contrasted to the Cabs, Petite Shirahs, and Rhone blends I've always liked.

May take awhile to start appreciating any whites other than Sauternes, though.

You're missing out. White Burgundy may be my favorite white. It's an expensive playground that I don't visit very often, but when I do, I always find done great wines. Condrieu is a close second.

Wine Club Shipment Wednesday! Round Pond. A lot of summer wines (i.e. whites) but a fun reward. Looking most forward to their white blend. It's almost like it shifts gears mid pallet to go from the crisp fruit of a sauvignon blanc to a richer finish.

Do you find white Burgundy different from other Chardonnay? What do you look for? thx

They tend to be less oaky, more mineral driven, and higher acidity. Chassagne-Montrachet is an excellent region to look into, though it can get pricy in a hurry. Meursault will typically be more California (buttery and oaky wines) in style. If you're looking for good value, try the Maconnais or Village designated wines. If all else fails, find a shop that carries a lot of white Burgundy and ask them.

What about a good Chablis ? The only Chardonnay that works with oysters.

William Fevre. It is usually around $20.