You should be charged with child murder.
Looks like a great set of wines. I'm jealous.

Have picked up lots of fun stuff on Last Bottle, especially during the marathon events. Agree on the Luna as I think I've tried 7-8 of their wines from here and have enjoyed them all. Picked up some great Argentinian malbecs over the years. This last marathon also had some good offerings from Buena Vista, Beau Vigne and Von Strasser that are pretty highly rated but were available at bargain level prices.

Just got my 2019 MacDonald notification for next week. Definitely a no-brainer.

Awesome! Good trip?

I don't know if anyone here buys or drinks Ultramarine but first wave was today. It's great, probably the best, domestic bubbles.

I'm still on the waitlist but BigAg was very generous and shared his last allocation with me. Those are still resting. I'm hoping to get moved up someday so I can get more.

aggiejumper said:

---

I don't know if anyone here buys or drinks Ultramarine but first wave was today. It's great, probably the best, domestic bubbles.

---

Nothing for me yet. I must not be first wave!

Those M-M from '18 are absolute monsters...

Per the recommendation above.

jh0400 said:

---

Great trip. It's crazy how much good wine there is here for good value. We had a Michelin star dinner tonight, and the total check may have covered our wine at home.

---

You could go to a random bistro in Lyon and get an appetizer, main, and dessert for 35-40 Euros, and drink some stupid good wines on the cheap. It's crazy how cheap great food is there.

One of the best meals I had over there was at a sidewalk cafe in Beaune. Escargot and chicken in a mustard cream sauce for 19 and two glasses of 8 1er Cru Volnay made for a great midday meal.

aggiejumper said:

---

I don't know if anyone here buys or drinks Ultramarine but first wave was today. It's great, probably the best, domestic bubbles.

---

is that really saying much, though? I'm sure it is good, but I just can't get behind paying what they charge

Having some rose of Pinot noir tonight out of Mendo. Generally I prefer Grenache based rose the most.

I had a rose pinot last night too, and I feel the same way about them. They seem a little thin and lacking body.

This is a weirder request but still a serious one.

Does anyone have any good wine recommendations for those who have had COVID and things smell different now?

Both my wife and I's wine palettes don't enjoy wine as much anymore because of COVID wrecking our sense of smell. Even this far into it. Wine's have to be really full bodied to taste good. Anything that isn't a malbec comes across as very thin.

Of course, buying nicer wine tends to help, but its tough to spend some serious coin on wine and it not taste good.

So recommendations on really full bodied red wines? We've really enjoyed malbecs, chianti classicos and brunellos if were going to splurge.

Im certainly no expert but as much as I hate to say it, maybe something that is a bit higher in sugar content that also tends to be very fruit forward. Lots of cheaper grocery store options to test that theory, and maybe something like Caymus on the higher end?

Would be interest to play with a smell kit and see if it's across the board or just different aroma categories. Maybe you could then look for wines that match your senses.

That being said, "thin" is a marker for low concentration. And lower prices typically mean lower concentration.

Tannant has a similar fragrance to Malbec, on the truffley, mushroomy side...

Tempranillo can also have some strong markers.

Interesting problem, maybe you can have some fun with it figuring out what works for you. It's also possible that the more you "exercise" you sense of smell, it could begin to return (or you could begin to recognize aromas at lower concentrations)

Thanks for the reply.

Its been an interesting ride and some weird smell associations. We were driving down some country roads in the middle of nowhere after hunting and I go, 'Man it smells like coffee out here.'

And my compatriots all said, 'well you might smell coffee, but we all smell skunk.'

So thats where were at.

That's weird, but maybe not that weird.

When I started playing with the smell kit, their "truffle" to me smelled just like peppermint. So now if I smell peppermint in a wine I way "truffle". All smell associations are learned. Could be that your brain will retrain.

Pour one out for Two-Buck Chuck.

Fred Franzia, the California winemaker behind "Two Buck Chuck," died Tuesday at 79. He was guided by a simple belief: A person should not have to pay more than $10 for a bottle of wine.https://t.co/NyBl17Yrjn

— NPR (@NPR) September 15, 2022

If Malbec (I assume Argentine) is still working for you, try looking for reds from other regions that tend to make a more big, over the top style like super-Tuscans, priorat, Paso cabs. You may also want to check out stuff from Orin swift, Herman story, Justin, Austin hope, and caymus/Wagner family stuff. All those producers tend to make wines that to me smell like I am standing in a vineyard and someone is smashing handfuls of fresh fruit into my face. You won't get much in the way of elegance, though.

BigAg95 said:

---

If Malbec (I assume Argentine) is still working for you, try looking for reds from other regions that tend to make a more big, over the top style like super-Tuscans, priorat, Paso cabs. You may also want to check out stuff from Orin swift, Herman story, Justin, Austin hope, and caymus/Wagner family stuff. All those producers tend to make wines that to me smell like I am standing in a vineyard and someone is smashing handfuls of fresh fruit into my face. You won't get much in the way of elegance, though.

---

And a good dose of sugar in those CA ones...

I'd throw Ribera del Duero, Tuscan reds (Chianti, Rosso di Montalcino, or even low end Rosso table wine), or possibly even a Gevrey-Chambertin into the mix to avoid the additives that tend to be present in the new world wines listed.

ETA: Borsao Tres Picos fits the bill as a fuller-bodied fruit forward wine that can be had for $15 if cost is a concern in this experiment.

I get to taste these this afternoon:
Albert Bichot Clos de la Roche Grand Cru 2016,
Chateau Lynch Bages 2008,
Chateau Ducru Beaucaillou 2010,
Momento Mori Cabernet Sauvignon 2018 Napa Valley
Mayacamas Cabernet Sauvignon 2014
Tenuta Luce Brunello di Montalcino 2015

It's going to be a good day tater.

I really need to pick up some more Syrah.

HTownAg98 said:

---

This was my contribution to the melange of wines. Other wines making an appearance include a 2004 Cos de Estournel, 2005 Lynch Bages, 2008 Futo, and many more.

---

That's my jam! I have a couple bottles. How was it?

cecil77 said:

---

And a good dose of sugar in those CA ones...

---

Yep. That is one way to achieve the lack of subtlety he is probably looking for.

BigAg95 said:

---

HTownAg98 said:

---

This was my contribution to the melange of wines. Other wines making an appearance include a 2004 Cos de Estournel, 2005 Lynch Bages, 2008 Futo, and many more.

---

That's my jam! I have a couple bottles. How was it?

---

Excellent. Many people made it their favorite of the night among the extra bottles brought in for consumption. Open one and see what you think.

If anyone is interested, I have a few bottles of Detert, Piper, Myriad Elysian, Tench, and SQN available for sale at release cost. Will also trade for champs (Dom, Cristal, Taitt CdC, etc).

Email in profile.

I want to get some vintage Doms,