Had a 2007 Kapcsandy Grand Vin this week. Got to start remembering to take a picture! Drinking nicely

I've never had a Kapscandy. I feel as if I'm missing out!


As far as the shiner, it will be opened soon. I think that was the intent of the winemaker when he sent it. We'll be having lunch today (he's in town for a party) and will talk about it more.

Spent the weekend in Fredericksburg, sorry Cecil, we were planning on stopping by Inwood but the William Chris tasting took a lot longer than we expected and the wedding was earlier than I originally thought...

William Chris: we enjoyed this tour quite a bit, actually ended up spending over 2 and a half hours on it. Guide was great, adapted the tour to our liking. Also, Chris saw my A&M shirt so ran over to introduce himself as he's an A&M grad. The other half, Bill, is a Tech grad. Our favorite wines were by far the High Cross Syrah and the Enchante. The Loyal Valley cab was also good, a little more subtle than our general liking but we did enjoy the wine enough to buy a couple bottles. Also enjoyed the Hunter blend.

Kuhlman: Didn't enjoy the wines as much, though we did find a couple we liked. Enjoyed the Calcaria as it went really well with the spicy food they paired it with and we've been in search of more wines to pair with spicy Thai and other foods. Our favorite was the Kankar, definitely their boldest and most complex wine in my opinion. Our favorite thing about this tour was honestly the food. We ended up leaving with just about all the jams, spreads, cherries, etc. they sell. Our favorite were the almonds, those damn things were addicting.

Overall, we only got to go to two vineyards but really enjoyed it. MUCH more so than our past Fredericksburg trips. I did a lot of research and scoured this thread along with several others to come up with these two. Seems like a lot of time for two vineyards but glad I did it, wanted to get past the couple pretty bad recommendations that everyone seems to throw out when they hear Hill Country Wines (not going to name any names). Definitely had a good time and have much more of a desire to get back out there. Other ones on my list that we didn't get to go to were Inwood, Lewis, and Calais.

Wanted to make a separate post as these are are pretty much all California wines. On the way home, we swung by my Aunt and Uncles to visit for a little while and talk wine. Ended up leaving there with quite a few bottles. They gave us a couple bottles of Scarlett so got to talking about Mike Smith. They just randomly found the wine and enjoyed it enough to call the winery and order several cases, but didn't know about all of Mike's other labels. So needless to say, they are excited to get back out to Napa and get a chance to meet Mike and dive into some of his other wines.

They also recently got back from a quick trip to Oregon. Want us to go back and visit after they start getting those shipments to share some of them with us. Pretty excited as we've been wanting to get up to that area as not a whole lot of wines from there are available here.

No worries. We were slammed for most of Saturday so we'll get together next time.

William Chris (along with Calais and Pontotoc) are two wineries that I point people to. It's not on 290, but Perisso's is also very good. WC wines are very good, we had their GSM (the one with the art on the label) last week and enjoyed it very much.

We were members at Kuhlman for awhile but dropped them. For one, they are still a lot of California wine, but they do have the integrity to label it as such. But we saw a big drop off in their second vintage. That's a hazard of buying wine from others and labeling it (If the label shows doesn't show "produced and bottled by" (or "made by") the winery did not make the wine). A couple of bottles from our last pick up we actually had a sip or two of and then recorked and put back for cooking. I'm looking forward to their own vineyard coming into production. Good folks there though.

HTownAg did make it by. I hooked him up with at 2008 Cornelius Reserve (100% Temp) from a library case. It's just outstanding right now. I opened a bottle of it at my youngest's graduation in June. I served a glass to another dad that was East Coast Financial Manager for Gallo or somesuch. He was complimentary of it, and I assumed just being gracious, but he wanted a picture of the label to take back.

I am clearly biased, but Dan's wines are just SO much phenolically richer than others that it can be off-putting. And, of course our prices show it. Inwood's least expensive bottle is $50 where many Texas wineries top out about there.

It was good to see you yesterday. We could have waxed poetic on wine for hours, but you had customers come in.

It actually stayed steady until closing. Sundays are really more fun as those that come in tend to be higher end wine drinkers and we can spend more time together.

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As far as the shiner, it will be opened soon. I think that was the intent of the winemaker when he sent it. We'll be having lunch today (he's in town for a party) and will talk about it more.

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Was I correct? If so, I placed an order a few weeks ago.

Who did you guess? This will be an inaugural release from a "new" winemaker.

last name begins with a K and the wine begins with a C

Nope. Not that one. This guy's name is Will. Many of you already know him (or of him). He's worked with a pretty good winemaker for the last several years, much like that Mike Smith guy did.

It's not really a secret wine project or anything like that. I just didn't want to get ahead of his own announcements or anything. The website is about 2 weeks away and I'll post more then. I'll be popping the cork on the shiner this weekend and tasting over 48 hours to get a feel for it.

I know who this is now!

Will Harlan I assume

Not Will Harlan.

I know which Will and tried to get a tasting for this Friday but he was busy with harvest. I do not know the details of the project. BSD mentioned it in passing with no details earlier this year. Eagerly waiting.

Rivers Marie Will? I really have been wanting to get a tasting with him...

That's the one!

Yeah, it's tough to catch him during harvest. I've missed him several times myself out there during this time of year. he was in Houston last Friday so we had some bbq at lunch. Believe it or not, we talked more beer and football than wine. everything on the last page was info he had given me two years ago (luckily I don't delete texts so it was all on my phone still!).

We are a big fan of Dave Matthew's Dreaming Tree wines. They are very affordable and readily available. If you are looking for a good blend, the red Crush and white Everyday are good. We also enjoy the Cab Sav. Friends are also impressed with the wine when we bring it over. Give a try--doesn't runs anywhere from $13-18.
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Big fan of Rivers Marie and TRB. Look forward to seeing what Will produces.

After buying The Maiden the past few years in hopes of moving up, finally got fulfilled on 2014 Harlan Estate. Through some friends I've acquired some Tusk and Fairchild Sigaro. Stones 2 is coming out Oct 18th. No idea if I'll get any but fingers are crossed! Can't find any MacDonald from anyone, sadly.

Honest wine question for you high rollers, that I'm jealous of.

Are ultra premium Napa Cabs all that you collect? And if so, why?

I understand the dichotomy of collecting versus drinking. I'll explain to people that buying a $200 bottle of wine and drinking it tonight is pretty extravagant. However, keeping that $200 bottle for ten years adds the "value of possession" similar to art or a coin collection or whatever.

So that being said, if you restrict your collecting to primarily ultra premium Napa, is that a collection decision? A "taste" decision? Or What? I ask because the more I learn and the more I drink there's just a huge world of wine out there to be savored and enjoyed. If I had the budget (I don't) I think I would be buying the good stuff from all over the world - reds, whites, sparkling, fortified - all of it.

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So that being said, if you restrict your collecting to primarily ultra premium Napa, is that a collection decision? A "taste" decision? Or What? I ask because the more I learn and the more I drink there's just a huge world of wine out there to be savored and enjoyed. If I had the budget (I don't) I think I would be buying the good stuff from all over the world - reds, whites, sparkling, fortified - all of it.

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I think similarly to you cecil. I love some good cow and good cab together as much as the next guy but I love all kinds of wine. My collection is more of a small "gathering" at this point but it's pretty diverse.

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Are ultra premium Napa Cabs all that you collect? And if so, why?

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Nope, I also buy some high end Bordeaux, Champagne, Burgs, and other bottles from Europe. I do however, love Napa so much that the majority of what I own is from there. A lot of the old world stuff I buy is easily sourced from secondary markets so I don't keep too much on hand at home. I buy as needed. A lot of Chateaux and Domaines have much larger production than a typical Napa winery so it's easy to find. Small Napa wineries can be tough to find and source unless you are on the mailing list so I'm almost forced to "collect."

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I understand the dichotomy of collecting versus drinking. I'll explain to people that buying a $200 bottle of wine and drinking it tonight is pretty extravagant. However, keeping that $200 bottle for ten years adds the "value of possession" similar to art or a coin collection or whatever.

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I actually don't feel as if I'm collecting wine. To me it's a consumable product, not an investment or a possession with much value or "prestige" outside of a very, very small circle of people. Most of my friends drink Bud Light so they aren't impressed with any of it. Granted, there are bottles that can be flipped but that really isn't what I want to do with it. I like my wine with a little age on it so as I mentioned, I'm almost forced to collect to get the small production bottles I want.

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I ask because the more I learn and the more I drink there's just a huge world of wine out there to be savored and enjoyed. If I had the budget (I don't) I think I would be buying the good stuff from all over the world - reds, whites, sparkling, fortified - all of it.

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There is indeed. And it kills me (no pun intended) that I am not able to try it all.

And just to be clear I completely discount any profit motive from the vast majority of collecting. Sure, on paper some wine I have has increased in value, but 1) those aren't really prices I could get and 2) I'm not ever going to sell any of it!

Everything I buy I intend to drink. I have a very modest "collection", but it isn't that valuable and I intend to drink it all with family and friends. Since my wife does not like the big oaky tannins of Napa cabs, it isn't a focus for us. I have about 20 cases and would like to have twice as much. I don't think I ever want to go above 500 bottles.

I focus on domestics for what I hold, even though I love Italian wines (I have a few Italians I'm holding). I'm sure I'll keep picking up a random Italian or French wine here and there.

My goal is to be varietal diverse. I feel cabernet is a good wine to have because it can be really good and represent a special occasion, plus most like that wine. I can't afford the Harlan's so I buy a few Napas at lower price point that aren't that common and I personally enjoy. I also buy Cab from Wash state that I like along with some syrah from Wash. My wife and I love GSM and Rhone blends, so we have some of those around, too.

I have a variety of Cali pinot and am still evolving in what I want to keep buying and holding. I am on the Domaine de la Cote list now, but would like another high quality producer. I also want to add an Oregon Pinot to my club list, but can't decide which one.

My great "hole" is sparkling/champagne. I love the stuff but just don't buy enough to hold. At the moment I don't have any at home. I also have some chardonnay and other whites I like but am still changing what I buy and want to hold.

Looking back to an earlier post that referenced my cellartracker reports, I was at 75% Cabernet Sauvignon in December of 2012. That number is down to 50% today. I still have roughly the same number of bottles that made up the other 50%, but I had sold off a bunch of cabs when I was diagnosed with heart failure. Roughly 13% is foreign wine but as I mentioned, I will buy those on an as-needed basis and don't hold them as long.

Interestingly, my cellar value has gone up on an absolute basis since 2012 as I added more high end bottles even though the number of bottles was cut by over half. In other words, you'd think I'd save money by not drinking but the opposite occurred!

I have about 150 bottles I've put back. Maybe a 100 more to drink through. This before November 1 when all the stuff I've forgotten I ordered start hitting the door!

I buy a variety of reds and whites/sparkling for my wine locker at our club. Usually these are ready to drink but occasionally I buy bottles that need to age. Thus, I over-order which is an easy way for the wine director to let me know my locker is full and I need to take some home. So through those experiences (wine tastings and dinners) I have expanded my palate and buying pattern. However, when I buy specifically for the cellar at home, it's more to build a sustainable collection of fantastic wines. So I'm in the heavy accumulation phase for another 2-3 years. I've bought Bordeauxs and Rhones from 2009-2011, and all Napa Cabs in 2012-2014 vintages. I do buy a fair amount of whites/sparkling, but I don't consider that as cellar wine because my wife and her friends can hit it like a locust storm and it just disappears as fast as I can unpack it (although I do hide a few bottles in the cellar for when I'm in the mood!).

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I do buy a fair amount of whites/sparkling, but I don't consider that as cellar wine because my wife and her friends can hit it like a locust storm and it just disappears as fast as I can unpack it (although I do hide a few bottles in the cellar for when I'm in the mood!)

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My wife is the same way. She doesn't touch the pricer bottles but any Champagne/Sparkling I buy that isn't in the "special bottle" area is fair game. Lots of Schramsberg, Sophia (the cans are great for her), prosseco, etc.

Schramsberg half bottles!

exactly, I stock up every time I go to the store! I dont drink and she doesn't need a whole bottle. Don't get me wrong, she will drink a whole bottle but she always regrets it.

Amateur.

The Schramsburg Mirabelle is a great buy in the sparkling wine world.

you can go cheaper than that, check out the Michelle brute from Wash St pretty darn good and widely available.


got my first allocation yesterday, Pinot from Domaine de La Cote.

FYI, Pott wines is next week. I have room to share.

Monsieur Etain drops tomorrow. Bought case of six of the 13's last year and still didn't get offered any Scarecrow for 2014. Probably will only take three of the 14s.

Pott is bought. One of each for me and one of each for a friend. Still room there if anyone wants to jump on board.

Is M Etain still sold in two packs?