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Has anyone every tried Proper Wines from WA? Their syrah has good reviews on cellar tracker, but wanted to see what you guys thought.

They offer a 3-pack which is perfect

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I drink quite a bit of Washington wines but not familiar with these guys, sorry. you just looking for some syrah's to acquire and try?

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I am, and it's been more difficult than I thought it would be. WA seems to be putting much more of a focus on Syrah than CA, but Specs doesn't carry hardly any WA wines. How do get your WA stuff, mailing list?

Any recommendations?

Does anyone have the September 15th issue of Wine Spectator with the chili basil red snapper on the front? I am trying to get that recipe.

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Has anyone every tried Proper Wines from WA? Their syrah has good reviews on cellar tracker, but wanted to see what you guys thought.

They offer a 3-pack which is perfect

---

I drink quite a bit of Washington wines but not familiar with these guys, sorry. you just looking for some syrah's to acquire and try?

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I am, and it's been more difficult than I thought it would be. WA seems to be putting much more of a focus on Syrah than CA, but Specs doesn't carry hardly any WA wines. How do get your WA stuff, mailing list?

Any recommendations?

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yeah, WA stuff is hard to find down here.

but, yes, the wines I'm currently buying are pretty much mailing list and those are Delille, Betz and Reynvaan. Those are all very good. One winery I do see around Houston at times is Gramercy Cellars and also some of the K Vintners offerings. Gramercy is really, really good and I will likely drop my Betz purchases next year and get on the Gramercy list.

a few other top producers you might find around here include Gorman, Mark Ryan and I've seen a bit of Sparkman at Houston Wine Merchant. Sparkman makes some killer Rhone blends at a pretty reasonable price point.

Cayuse is currently the most exclusive of Washington wineries and their best wines are Syrah's or at least Syrah heavy blends. the wait list is long, though, probably 5+ years. but if you can find them, buy them, and I've been told Spec's can get some of their wines. I'm not a big enough buyer at Spec's to get those sort of invites.

www.winespectator.com/magazine/show/id/51912

This one?

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www.winespectator.com/magazine/show/id/51912

This one?

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That's the one! I dont have a login to them so I cant' see it. That is from one of my favorite restaurants...Lotus of Siam in Vegas. As a matter of fact, I'll be there this weekend. They have a great wine list, although I wont be drinking much on this trip. Here is what we had on my wife's 40th there:




On a side note, the former Somm there, Bank, left to open his own spot...Chada. We are dining there as well. I dont think it's possible to have too much Thai.

I'll take a look when I get home, that issue has to be somewhere. I'll email it to you.

A2

Here you go.

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THAI FRIED RED SNAPPER
1/4 cup chopped garlic
1 jalapeo pepper, chopped
1 Thai chile pepper, chopped
2 1/4 cups vegetable oil, divided
1/2 cup chicken stock
2 tablespoons oyster sauce
1 1/2 teaspoons sugar
1 teaspoon soy sauce
1 teaspoon Golden Mountain Seasoning Sauce
2 cups water
1 tablespoon cornstarch
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 whole red snapper, about 1 1/2 pounds
1/2 cup Thai basil
1/2 teaspoon white pepper
1. Mix the garlic, jalapeo and Thai chile pepper on a cutting board and very finely mince together, or use a mortar and pestle, if possible, until well ground.
2. Place a frying pan or wok over medium-high heat. Add 1/4 cup of vegetable oil, then the garlic and pepper mixture, and stir until golden and strongly aromatic. Add the stock, followed by the oyster sauce, sugar, soy sauce and Golden Mountain Seasoning Sauce, and stir. Keep warm until ready to serve.
3. In a bowl large enough to fit the fish, mix the water with the cornstarch and salt until dissolved. Submerge the snapper in the cornstarch, massaging the mixture into the entire surface of the fish. Remove any excess by holding the fish by its tail and shaking gently.
4. Fry the snapper in the remaining 2 cups of oil (almost an inch deep) at 350 F for 3 to 4 minutes, flip, and cook another 3 to 4 minutes, until golden brown. Be very careful of splashing the oil when turning the fish.
5. Pour the warm sauce over the fish, garnish with the Thai basil and white pepper, and serve. Serves 1 but is easily multiplied.
WINE PAIRING
Chef's Match: Joh. Jos. Prm Riesling Kabinett Mosel Graacher Himmelreich 2009
Wine Spectator Alternates: S.A. Prm Riesling Kabinett Mosel Wehlener Sonnenuhr 2009 (92, $25)
Dr. Loosen Riesling Kabinett Mosel Blue Slate 2013 (90, $22)

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Good bull. Thank you, gentlemen.

it looks like some of the measurements got caught off, though, if you get a chance, will you take a look at that? thanks again!

done

excellent. thanks.

I don't put a lot of stock in lists and ratings, but I gotta say I'm happy to see so much love for NW wines in the recently released Wine Spectator top 100 with Quilceda Creek and Evening Land grabbing spots 2 and 3. Also Bergstrom and Big Table Farm in the top 20 is great for those wineries and Gramercy getting to 22 with a US syrah is unusual. a few other Oregon '12 Pinots on the list including a fantastic little winery called Colene Clemens we visited. I am lucky to have a couple more bottles of Margo.

I was also happy to see the Santa Cruz Mts get the nod in the top ten with Mount Eden, a chardonnay I have had and it is lovely.

anyway, just found it interesting.

Cool to see those on there. But the #1 wine? a 96 point cab for $195? laughable at best.

Proper started in 2010. It is located in the Rocks AVA near Cayuse. Wine is made by Sean Boyd of Cte Rote. I have been collecting them and they are reasonably priced. Production is limited under 400 cases a year.

Coleen C. & Bergstrom are just the tip of the iceberg Bularry. Can't go wrong with about 50 labels from 12 in Oregon.

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Proper started in 2010. It is located in the Rocks AVA near Cayuse. Wine is made by Sean Boyd of Cte Rote. I have been collecting them and they are reasonably priced. Production is limited under 400 cases a year.

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ah, that makes sense it is someone already established up there. Cote Rote makes some good stuff.


and yeah, lots of great '12 Oregon Pinot. I just liked personally the winemaker at Colene Clemens and know how much something like this can mean to a small business like that.

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Cool to see those on there. But the #1 wine? a 96 point cab for $195? laughable at best.

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Sir Peter Michael might ruffle at your comment, good sir

I'm sure it's a good wine but for $200, I'd expect a much higher score than 96 to be the grand champion of champions! They rated Altesino Montosoli Brunello a 98 and it's $70 less. I would have gone with that. Both aren't large production, which is another one of their criteria so I'm lost there as well. Il Poggione was a 95 accoring to WS, and is $85 with over 18,000 cases. that seems like it would be a strong candidate as well.

But lists are lists, this one just ends up making me scratch me head. I honestly don't care that much about it, just made me wonder if they remembered what they were supposed to be doing there.

(PS I own some of that Altesino. I buy some every year since we went to the winery on our honeymoon)

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Has anyone every tried Proper Wines from WA? Their syrah has good reviews on cellar tracker, but wanted to see what you guys thought.

They offer a 3-pack which is perfect

---

I drink quite a bit of Washington wines but not familiar with these guys, sorry. you just looking for some syrah's to acquire and try?

---

I am, and it's been more difficult than I thought it would be. WA seems to be putting much more of a focus on Syrah than CA, but Specs doesn't carry hardly any WA wines. How do get your WA stuff, mailing list?

Any recommendations?

---

yeah, WA stuff is hard to find down here.

but, yes, the wines I'm currently buying are pretty much mailing list and those are Delille, Betz and Reynvaan. Those are all very good. One winery I do see around Houston at times is Gramercy Cellars and also some of the K Vintners offerings. Gramercy is really, really good and I will likely drop my Betz purchases next year and get on the Gramercy list.

a few other top producers you might find around here include Gorman, Mark Ryan and I've seen a bit of Sparkman at Houston Wine Merchant. Sparkman makes some killer Rhone blends at a pretty reasonable price point.

Cayuse is currently the most exclusive of Washington wineries and their best wines are Syrah's or at least Syrah heavy blends. the wait list is long, though, probably 5+ years. but if you can find them, buy them, and I've been told Spec's can get some of their wines. I'm not a big enough buyer at Spec's to get those sort of invites.

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Great list of producers to check out thanks! I'm glad you mentioned Betz vs Gramercy, I was curious about those two in particular after doing a little internetting. I will definitely be checking Houston Wine Merchant.

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Proper started in 2010. It is located in the Rocks AVA near Cayuse. Wine is made by Sean Boyd of Cte Rote. I have been collecting them and they are reasonably priced. Production is limited under 400 cases a year.

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Reload, have you received a fall shipment? I went ahead and signed up for their 3-pack, but they never charged my CC, and I haven't heard from them.

I just pulled the cork on a bottle of Cabernet Sauvignon from the 2003 vintage from Cakebread. That's a pretty good vintage and it's held up incredibly well in the cellar. Surprised to find two bottles of it down there since it's not a bottle I would have planned to age this long. But a nice find and now I'll have to plan something special for the second bottle. Though sharing the first bottle with my wife and listening to music is not bad at all. I might let the second bottle sit until 2018 given how good this one tastes. Damn, I need better inventory of the stuff I've squirreled away. My biggest collection is Andrew Will as we love their Sorella (I have a pretty good vertical collection of that wine) and I'm still keeping an eye on the Chateau Lynch-Bages which still has a few more years to go. My non-Petrus Pomerol collection has a few bottles we can drink next year. My Petrus collection doesn't exist, unfortunately.

Brownguy, I didn't order through the winery. My 13 will be shipped via a shop in the next temperature appropriate window. I know they have already arrived at the shop. Good luck! FYI there is an Aggie at the Houston Wine merchant named Matt Tessler who worked for the shop were I get my wines. He would be a good resource for Washington and Oregon wines.

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Brownguy, I didn't order through the winery. My 13 will be shipped via a shop in the next temperature appropriate window. I know they have already arrived at the shop. Good luck! FYI there is an Aggie at the Houston Wine merchant named Matt Tessler who worked for the shop were I get my wines. He would be a good resource for Washington and Oregon wines.

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Thanks for the tip! I'm definitely stopping by there

BSD, I would love to have some good '10 Brunello's. I'm very jealous

Bularry and BSD care to give me some advice on any of the Brunellos on the provided link? Thanks in advance!

http://www.bassins.com/search/results.php?searchterm=Brunello&x=0&y=0

all of my 12's have arrived with the exception of Dana Estates. It is my first year with them so all I could purchase is the Onda. Anyone else waiting or know when they are shipping?

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Bularry and BSD care to give me some advice on any of the Brunellos on the provided link? Thanks in advance!

http://www.bassins.com/search/results.php?searchterm=Brunello&x=0&y=0

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'10 is supposedly a good vintage. I'd look at those. I'm a fan of Argiano, Poggio Antico, Altesino, and Casanova de Neri, too.

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BSD, I would love to have some good '10 Brunello's. I'm very jealous

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Not too late to grab them!

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all of my 12's have arrived with the exception of Dana Estates. It is my first year with them so all I could purchase is the Onda. Anyone else waiting or know when they are shipping?

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the '21s should be there by now. I'd call/email and ask when they expect to ship out.

Thanks again BSD!

The wine from dinner last night. This is the second bottling of Margaux. It was pretty good but I'd love to try an aged bottle of the real Margaux someday.

I hate you so very much.

Fortunately, today is Big Winos, so there's lots of good stuff to be drunk today.
Brun Premier Premier Cru Champagne 2004
Paul Lato Pinot Noir "Suerte"
Espectacle Montsants
2012 Beaucastel CDP
2011 Continuum, Napa
2013 Bevan Sugerloaf Cabernet
I'm bringing a 2000 Burgess Cabernet. We'll see how that is. Hopefully it isn't over the hill.

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I hate you so very much.

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That butternut soup across the table was the best dish of the night. And I love the onion soup, so that's saying something! Tonight should be a good dinner, too.

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2013 Bevan Sugerloaf Cabernet

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I'm very interested in hearing about this Bevan. I have one coming in soon.

I'll let you know in a bit.


The Bevan is exceptional. It came in first. The rankings are as follows:
1. Bevan
2. Continuum
3. Espectacle
4. Paul Lato
5. Beaucastel
Mystery wine was a 2009 Mascot. I guessed a 2010 Continuum, which was good enough for a tie for first.

Good to hear on Bevan.

Do they sell Bevan at the shop you frequent? Also, I've tasted the Mascot, still have a two bottles. It's no Continuum! .