Wine-savvy

[masi]

Hello.

 

Relatively recently a friend of mine let me taste chateau margaux and Bordeaux and i must say that i enjoyed it upto the last drop.

Anybody familiar with these wines? I was told these are above the average prices of wine, just like how much? What other french wines are as good or better?

 

Interested to learn other people's experiences.

 

 

 

depends on the year (vintage).... Price range is P15k up....

[agxo3]

Dinner tonight was rib-eye steaks (my brother's contribution), artichokes, baked potatoes (I had baked camote).....and a 1966 Chateau Leoville Las Cases. From Bordeaux. WOW!!! Let me repeat..... WOW!!!

Loads of fruit - plums, black fruit (black cherries and black raspberries). A hint of tar on the finish. Licorice. Looooooong finish. Remarkably fresh tasting despite its age. Well-moderated (but still present) tannins. This could have gone another 6 years easy!!! I wish I'd kept it to 2016!

 

Up next - a 1975 Lynch-Bages. Wonder when I'll open that..........

 

And today was a great wine day. Started out with oysters, BBQ'ed tri-tip and zinfandel @ Retzlaff. Noah was tasting the two barrels (about 50 cases) of 2008 zins from Lake County (above Lake Berryessa). Also tasting the 2007 zins. Who knew how well zins and oysters go together? Well, Noah knew!!!

 

Then on to Wood Family for a barrel tasting of the 2008 Grenache. Masi, Bods and Storm know about this winery - I brought the '06 for tasting the last time I visited Manila.

 

Finally, a stop at Rodrigue-Molyneaux.

 

Now finishing up the last of the '66 before moving on to dessert and a '97 Late Harvest Chardonnay from Audubon Vineyards.

 

I'll sleep well tonight.

Edited February 14, 2010 by agxo3

[agxo3]

This is wine event season here.......

 

Friday, the annual Petite Sirah tasting at Rock Wall winery (Ken Rosenblum's new winery after he sold Rosenblum Wines). 41 wineries and over 50 different Petite Sirahs to taste. All paired with food supplied by some of the best restaurants in the Bay Area. Didn't get to taste all of them ;( but the ones I did were memorable. One of the best - a 5 year vertical (2003-2007) from Twisted Oak. 04 was the best, followed by 07. The 04 and 05 very VERY tight and will take a few years of bottle time before they open up and are ready to drink.

 

Saturday, the SF Chronicle Annual Wine Contest winners tasting event in SF. Wine, wine and MORE wine. In 3 hours, got through about half the hall, and all I tasted were the gold and double gold winners! Way too many wines, way too little time.

 

Coming up in March, Sonona County winery crawl........

[masi]

McKeon Philips 2004 Cab Suav

[masi]

McKeon Philips 2004 Cab Suav

[agxo3]

2008 Est! Est! Est! di Montefiascone - from Italy

 

The name is over 1000 years old, and this very good wine from the Falesco winery in Montecchio shows why it's lasted so long. Their 2008 is light, fruity and zesty. Alcohol is mid-range (12.5%) so it's not a big wine like many California or other New World wines are trending towards. Its rewards are finesse and subtlety, not an alcoholic slap in the face.

 

It's a white! Those of you who know me personally know that I am a big fan of red wines and just a bit above tolerant of whites. But this is a white to change one's mind. For $8 it was a BIG surprise! Pears and sweet green apples, a hint of casaba melon, perhaps. Bright and vibrant acidity to balance all that fruit. I had it with wild (not farmed!) salmon and a green salad and it stood up well to the meaty flavors of the fish and the lemony Caesar dressing. Would be good with a roast chicken or even with a good roast pork (but not lechon, I think - that would need a good pinot noir!)

 

From wein-plus.com, a short history of the wine:

Est! Est!! Est!!! di Montefiascone DOC

"DOC for white wine in the wine-growing region of Latium in Italy. The zone includes the communes of Bolsena, Capodimonte, Gradoli, Grotte di Castro, Marta, Montefiascone, from which it takes its name, and San Lorenzo Nuovo in the province of Viterbo. The name of the wine is derived from an interesting legend that dates back to the early 12th century. Bishop Johannes Fugger was among the entourage of German emperor Heinrich V. (1086-1125). A servant of the bishop was sent ahead of the main group in 1111, with the duty of testing the wines as well as the hostelries of the area, by visiting all the pubs and hostelries. It was agreed that if he found a house that offered good wine, he would write ”Est! (translates as: ”this is it!) next to the entrance in chalk. At a guest house in the town of Montefiascone he was so enthusiastic about the wine served that he documented this with a triple „Est! Est!! Est!!! on the door. Incidentally, Monsignore Fugger is buried in the church of San Flaviano in Montefiascone. At the time, the wine was made from Moscato grapes, and was most probably sweet. Today, the white wine is a blend made from Procanico = Trebbiano Toscano (65%), Malvasia Bianca Toscana (20%) and Rossetto = Trebbiano Giallo (15%). A Spumante version is also made. Both are available in secco, abboccato and amabile (dry, off-dry and sweet) versions. As a tourist attraction, the wine is also bottled in a flat pulcinella bottle. The DOC white wine Orvieto, which is made from the same varieties, is similar."

[Itto Ogami]

can somebody recommend a wine with the sweetness of Novellinos

but with a 12% or higher alcohol content?

 

otherwise, i'll just buy some Carlo Rossi and put a few drops of stevia in it.

 

thanks...

[masi]

I'm here in Bacolod doing advisory work for an American friend. He brought several wines and we've been drinking them every night.

 

Here's the initial list:

 

Macphail Pinot Noir 2007 Anderson Valley Toulouse Vineyard

Foxen Chardonnay 2008 Bien Nacido Vineyard Santa Maria Valley

Bonaccorsi Pinot Noir 2006 Carcasacchi Vineyard Santa Rita Hills

 

 

a nightcap of Johnny Walker Gold!

[agxo3]

WTF???

 

http://mwcimporterforhellokittywine.com/

[masi]

my bacolod wine adventure continues:

 

chateau bonnet rose bordeaux 2006

nobilo icon marlborough sauvignon blanc 2008

bonaccorsi julia's vineyard pinot noir 2006

Edited April 2, 2010 by masi

[masi]

back in manila with my american friend

the adventure moves into holy thursday

 

goldert muscat 2005 alsace grand cru

j. rochioli 2002 pinot noir west bloc

brewer-clifton 2005 melville sta. rita hills pinot noir

[bods1000]

WTF???

 

http://mwcimporterforhellokittywine.com/

 

hahaha!

so what's next? Swatch wines? Barbie ports? Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles single malts? Justin Timberlake beer? :sick: :grr:

The mind boggles....

[storm]

Cheers! Wala bang wine EB? There will be wine tasting event at Ralphs Wine Museum on Thursday starting at 6pm.

[FNX]

wine eb... sounds interesting... hehe seems like many posters on this thread are out of the country though

[agxo3]

Wandering around Taipei this dreary Sunday morning, I came across a farmer's market, and in that farmer's market, I found some local Taiwanese wine. From grapes, not rice or barley! And they were giving out tastes! Hmmmm.....I've had wine from China (early vintage was not bad but later vintages were not good), and wine from Japan (not good). But never Taiwanese wine. So I bravely stepped up to TOFTT.

 

In a word - DON'T. Sweet and syrupy, tannins totally and conspicuously absent, "grape-y" and nothing else. Not even sweet in the port-like or late harvest sense. More like the "I poured rubbing alcohol into a bottle of Welch's grape juice" sense. Clearly not made from any of the vinifera varietals I have had the pleasure to taste. I guess it's made for the local palate which favors sweet and not tannic. I should have taken a picture of the label to warn everyone off this stuff, but I was so repulsed I had to leave the booth immediately.