What wine are you enjoying today?

Just a thought here, not sure if it works. Rather than having separate threads about each wine, how about if we just have a catch-all topic where you can post on any wine you try, and like (or for the contrarians, any wine you want to slam). If a particular wine or region explodes into an extended dialogue, that could be split into its own topic.

This would be separate from the $6-$9 topic, which I am happy to leave in its own world (yes, there are decent $6 wine, but I am not prepared to kiss that many frogs to find a Princess).

I received a 2004 Dashwood Pinot Noir (NZ) is a sampler case from Solano Cellars a couple of months ago, and when I finally got around to tasting it found it to be delightful. Wonderful fruity, berry wine, with a little depth and earthiness underlying it. Solano was sold out by that time, but I see it is at Sam's for $14 a bottle, and I will be picking up a little soon.

I am a permanent fan of most wines from Bodega Muga - picked up a few bottles of 1995 Torre Muga in the late 90's on a whim and found them to be among the greatest wines I have ever enjoyed, deep, strong, long finish, a transporting experience. So whenever I see something from the winery, I buy it.

The last couple of summers, the Muga Rosado has become my standby summer wine. Pretty pink, good acid, touch of sweetness, works okay by itself, but is just fine with grilled and spicy foods. Found a case at Wine Expressions in Lisle a couple of months ago, and am happy to be covered for a while.

I am also a big fan of Foxen Vineyards, near Santa Barbara. They mostly specialize in reds, a lot of big Pinots and Syrahs that are a little more refined (and less pricey) than most, but definitely California in style. The place makes an amazing range of wines (including lots of little single vineyard experiments one can never find), so there is a lot to sample, and while there are lots of misses, there are also enough wonderful wines for me to keep getting their wines. Interestingly, they make a couple of Chenin Blancs,every year that are realiably good. The Santa Barbara Chenin Blanc runs about $15 when you can find it, and is bursting with fruity, flowery, exuberant flavor, though not particularly sweet. I am trying to think of a comparison, maybe a slightly more acidic and structured NZ SB??

The Wickenden Old Vines Chenin Blanc is a touch more expensive at $18, and offers a slightly drier, more refined quaff, less fruit, longer finish (though neither of these are big wines). I like the cheaper one more, but they are both quite good in each of the last three vintages released.

Looking forward to others' notes.

You can order some of the Foxen (and other Santa Barbara wines) from the Los Olivos Tasting Room. We used to be part of their wine club - you tell them what you want, they send it to you "I want 2 bottles of Pinot Noir every other month, no more than $23.97 per bottle" or whatever. We found them to be quite helpful, and if you ever get out there, it's a fun place to try a bunch of different wines.

http://www.losolivoswines.com/

Last night we tried two 1997 Brunellos: the Fanti and the Pieve Santa Restituta Rennina from Angelo Gaja. The Gaja wine was a bit confusing for me: medium color and body, with great nose, and lots of detail. The finish went on and on, but it doesn't taste like a Brunello to me. I like it, but it's not what I think when I think Brunello. The Fanti was lush, full, great bouquet, and enormous detail. More fruit than usual for Brunello. We didn't quite finish it and the glass I'm having right now is just huge. I wish I had bought more of it as I probably wouldn't want to spend what they're asking for it today. A great Brunello.

The Foxen Chenin will all be from the Ernesto Wickenden vineyard from now on. They are moving towards single vineyards. The Wickenden vineyard was planted by Dick Dore's great uncle over 80 years ago. For several years, Kendall Jackson held the contract to the fruit and was using it to blend into their chardonnay. The Chardonnay is coming from the Tinaquaic vineyard and is dry farmed. Pinot Noirs from Bien Nacido and a very small quantity from the Sea Smoke vineyard.

I have some really cool pictures of the old vines of the Ernesto Wickenden vineyard but don't know how to put them in here.


Oh, and tonight I am drinking a new wine from the folks at Lang & Reed, cabernet franc specialists: 2004 Red Shed Cabernet Franc North Coast. Yummy!

leek wrote:You can order some of the Foxen (and other Santa Barbara wines) from the Los Olivos Tasting Room. We used to be part of their wine club - you tell them what you want, they send it to you "I want 2 bottles of Pinot Noir every other month, no more than $23.97 per bottle" or whatever. We found them to be quite helpful, and if you ever get out there, it's a fun place to try a bunch of different wines.

http://www.losolivoswines.com/

I am a member of their club, actually. I need to work with Chris, though, because his choices for me have not been that great. I am drinking a 2005 Calera Central Coast Pinot Noir from him that is a decent wine - some fruit, a little funk underneath, but a tiny bit too high in alcohol makes it a touch hot (a pretty common issue with SB Pinot), and for what is effectively a young, fresh Pinot the price, $25 I believe, seems a touch high. Not bad, in sum. I think he sends me these types of wines because I bought over a case of a couple of vintages of Tin House Pinot Noir a couple of years ago, which has a similar profile. Maybe I liked simple, alcoholic Pinots more back then, tho it wore on me and I have about half of it left in my basement.

I was sort of lucky in that I went and visited the SB wineries a little more than a year before Sideways. I got on Andrew Murray and Foxen's mailing lists - dropped Murray after a year or so cause the wines were just too, too extracted and overblown for me. But I have kept the Foxen (whose mailing list is now closed) and they continue to delight and surprise me frequently. Having said that, I drank the 2002 Sangiovese Volpino last week and was decidedly underwhelmed. Ehhhh.

The Tinaquaic Chardonnay, on the other hand, is generally excellent, a minerally, crisp, nicely acid version - bright and enjoyable.

Okay, so not today, actually about a month ago, but the bottle's been sitting in my office now for that month so I'd remember to post about it.

Guy at the liquor store recommended A to Z Pinot Noir 2005. Comes from Oregon, but not a specific vineyard. They buy excess grapes, I guess (all Oregon), and blend to their taste. Really surprisingly good, I thought, for a $16-18? pinot.

I'd likely get this again.

While I am a devout Francophile who dabbles in the Piedmont, I purchased a bottle of Torberck 2004 Semillion (The Woodcutter) and brought it to TAC Quick. It held up nicely enough to the heat. It should make an attractive bottle for warm weather drinking too. Not much (if any residual) residual sugar. It was about $13 at Binnys. I liked it so much I bought another case and a half.

There's a large liquor store chain in this area called Friar Tuck's. They have a club where they send you a coupon for some highly rated wine they have on special for a few weeks. It's a good chance to sample something you might not ordinarily try. This month it was Mano a mano La Mancha. I wasn't overly impressed at first, but it grew on me after a bit. I ended up enjoying it.

And I don't want to horrify anyone here, but my favorite "every day" wine is Yellow Tail Merlot. No matter what else I try, I keep coming back to Yellow Tail. I also enjoy a good German/Austrian spätlese or auslese every once in a while.

dicksond wrote:...I am a permanent fan of most wines from Bodega Muga - picked up a few bottles of 1995 Torre Muga in the late 90's on a whim and found them to be among the greatest wines I have ever enjoyed, deep, strong, long finish, a transporting experience. So whenever I see something from the winery, I buy it...

At a recent gathering, I had a Bodega Solar de Urbezo and immediately decided I had to buy a few bottles. However, even Sam's looked at me quizzically and "couldn't find it in their computer." I haven't had any luck since. Even my SIL, who works part-time in a wine shop, hasn't seen nor heard of it. So my question to you, dicksond, is, where do you find Bodega wines?

And to M_Six, I, for one, am not "horrified." I happen to like Yellow Tail Merlot and Shiraz. However, last week on a trip to upstate NY to see the family, we sampled Mollydooker Shiraz. Very smooth and just a bit of brightness at the end. Immediately bought the one and only bottle of it I could find ($19).

Carol wrote:
At a recent gathering, I had a Bodega Solar de Urbezo and immediately decided I had to buy a few bottles. However, even Sam's looked at me quizzically and "couldn't find it in their computer." I haven't had any luck since. Even my SIL, who works part-time in a wine shop, hasn't seen nor heard of it. So my question to you, dicksond, is, where do you find Bodega wines.

Bodega means either grocery store or wineshop in Spanish so Bodegas Solar de Urbezo and Bodegas Muga are two totally different wineries. You could try calling Bodegas Solar de Urbezo and see if they have distribution in Illinois - http://www.solardeurbezo.es/contacto.php

Virtually anything by the Napa Wine Co--even the Pinot Noir, who would have thought. In my experience, about as ood of a value as there is in the 15-20 range. I get it at Sam's.

http://www.napawineco.com/

A tool that I find very helpful in trying to locate wine is http://www.wine-searcher.com/ You can find most anything on wine searcher, as the group of merchants who participate is pretty large. While I got a hit for Mollydooker Shiraz (at 18.99), there were no hits at all for Urbezo. Good luck hunting this down.

Having a wine from Capçanes
Mas Donis - red

http://www.cellercapcanes.com/

Last night I had a bottle of 1994 Crozes Hermitage Thalabert by Paul Jaboulet Aine. I bought a case a long time ago and finished it all when it was young (1994 was not a great northern rhone vintage) except for this bottle which somehow got lost. It was ready to drink, and showed just a bit of orange around the rim. The taste was primarily red fruits (cherries) with a bit of pepper at the finish. All in all a very satisfying experience. I wish I had "lost" more.

Thank you, fujisan and deesher.

Last night I had a bottle of 2003 Hecula from Castano. I bought it at the same time as the Mas Donis mentioned above by leek. The Hecula is made from old vine monastrell (mourvedre) and the Mas Donis is a blend of syrah and grenache. The Hecula is from a viticultural area known as Yecla and the Mas Donis is from Montsant. What the two wines have in common is that they are both fresh and fruit driven and cost about $10 a bottle. Spain has a lot of good wines at reasonable prices and these two are certainly worth seeking out (at least in 2003).

On Friday I broke open a 2001 Jaffurs Santa Barbara Syrah that Los Olivos tasting room had provided me some time ago. I was not terribly excited about it - expecting an overly ripe and extracted Central California wine, maybe even a little over the hill.

What I got was a very pleasant, still slightly young (a little aggressive in the tannins, it could age for a few years, still tho it will peak by 2009 I think, but it opened up as we drank it) well-structured and balanced Syrah that Hermitage would have been proud of.

Not cheap, around $23, but I like it. Have a few other miscellaneous bottles of Jaffurs in the basement that I never took the time to try - I think what put me onto it was that I saw one of their wines on a restaurant list that I liked, so I thought - hmm, I have some of these wines, need to try them.

Quite good with a ribeye, mashed p, and creamed spinach at Hugo's.

Anyone else have any experience with Jaffurs? WS rates them in the high 80's usually, which seems to be a sweet spot for me (avoid any WS rating between 90 and 95, 85-90 is okay and 95-100 is, too, but that 90's range is deadly) - indicative of well-structured wines that are food-friendly and balanced.

dicksond wrote:Anyone else have any experience with Jaffurs?

I've never gotten around to trying Jaffurs, although the missus and I are drinking a lot of Central Coast rhones right now. Several times in the past few weeks I've had my hands on a bottle of their Stolpman Vyd Grenache ($26 at Binny's) and put it down in favor of something else. But your tasting notes confirm what I've heard about Craig Jaffurs and have tasted among a number of his peers - stereotypes about California rhones that were appropriate even 5 years ago need to be revisited. These are makers who are harvesting earlier to ensure higher acidity and who are experimenting with colder growing conditions to allow for longer hang times. (Jaffurs sources from the Melville vyd, a cool site in the Santa Rita hills better suited to pinot noir). The results are still very definitely Californian but the acid/fruit balance makes the wines freaking delicious, to my palate at least.

And I didn't think you could sneeze in Santa Barbara for less than $20 a bottle...

Fillay

And I didn't think you could sneeze in Santa Barbara for less than $20 a bottle...

The Foxen whites, chardonnay and chenin blanc, come in around $14-$18. And Chris of Los Olivos Tasting Room (from whom I got my Jaffurs) can put together samplers in that same range - but he does source wines elsewhere, so it might not prove you wrong.

They also offer case discounts that could possibly bring something like the Jaffurs down to right around $20.

Turns out I was wrong and only have one more bottle of Jaffurs - the 2003 SB County Syrah, which I will now hold for a couple of years. The other gold-foiled bottle next to it turned out to be Lane Tanner 2003 French Camp Syrah. Any expereinces with that or Ethan's SB Viognier, or Paso Robles Sangiovese? 2004 and 2003 respectively, I believe.

I have not been terribly impressed with the Central Coast Cal-Itals, I admit, so I am not looking forward to the Sangiovese. Simple, baked, too high in alcohol for me. And there is some flavor to Viognier that has never been good for me, despite my fervent desire to like it. My problem, certainly, but there it is.

A couple of years ago I bought a case of Tin House 2001 Edna Valley Pinot Noir, after enjoying one bottle. Turned out to be a mistake - it had some nice fruit when very young with some acid to back it up, but when it aged, and I am just talking about a year or so here, the fruit quickly receded, and I was left with something alcoholic, acidic and not terribly pleasant. Oh well.

Tonight I'm having a 1997 Travaglini Gattinara. I love the goofy shaped bottle. Gattinara is kind of an entry level barolo (nebbiolo) and Travaligni is a very good producer. Good red fruit flavor with a dry dusty finish. Glad I have some more.

dicksond wrote:

French Camp Syrah. Any expereinces with that or Ethan's SB Viognier

The Ethan's SB viognier is made by Ethan Lindquist, son of Bob Lindquist
(Qupe vineyard) If the son's wines are 1/2 as good as dad's wines.....

IMHO, I have yet to have a CA viognier or a Cal/Ital that was to my tastes.

great set of TN on many CA wines (from the very start) located
on this site http://www.grape-nutz.com/tastings/tomhill/

the main page at www.grape-nutz.com will take you to many TN reports
thru all of CA wine country. BTW Eric is now part of GrapeRadio.com as well.

Best,
mel

I love all those nebbiolo-based Barolo neighbors. Haven't had any Gattinara in a while. Seems to have gotten really expensive as the dollar went down over the years.
Also love Carema, and good versions of the Valtellina wines (Sassella, et. al.), and even well made Spana.
I'd sort of lost the habit of drinking them as I turned to more available Rhones. Now I really miss them.
Maybe for Passover...

LTH,

I can tell you which wine we did not enjoy lately, Peique Tinto Mencia. Not only was the consensus that the Peique did not go well with pizza, but wouldn't even make the cut as sangria wine.



Enjoy,
Gary

G Wiv wrote:

I can tell you which wine we did not enjoy lately, Peique Tinto Mencia. Not only was the consensus that the Peique did not go well with pizza but wouldn't even make the cut as sangria wine.

I've been on a bierzo kick lately and have seen this on shelves but haven't tried - do tell, what didn't you like about it?

Fillay

fillay wrote:I've been on a bierzo kick lately and have seen this on shelves but haven't tried - do tell, what didn't you like about it?

Fillay,

I found the Peique flat, tannic, with a watery finish. Boring, insipid, not distinctive also come to mind. On the plus note there was, if one employed super human spider sense the slightest hint of clove like spiciness.

Just to be fair an hour or so ago I opened my second, of three, Peique let it open to it's full height of insipidness and had a sip or five. $11.99 at Sam's.

Enjoy,
Gary

Patricia Green
Four Winds Pinot Noir
2002

last nite. an inspired matchup of multi courses defensively ordered by gary @ tac was a kim crawford sauv blanc from new zealand, surprisingly bought chilled @ the liquor store next door under the l.

Fujisan wrote:Bodega means either grocery store or wineshop in Spanish

I believe bodega means several things in Spanish, two of which are grocery store and wine shop, but another of which, more pertinent to the labelling of wines, is wine cellar.

Any storeroom or warehouse could also be called a bodega.

Hirschbach & Sohne Riesling. Mmmmmmmmmmm tasty! And only $8 a bottle. I also polished off nearly a full bottle of a different Riesling the other day (and no hangover!) but I can't remember the name. It was something that started with S and also came from Germany in a green bottle. I like helpful descriptions, don't you? It was from my boyfriend's friend Dennis; it's too bad my boyfriend never got to try it.

Just polishing off a bottle of rojo mojo, a bottle of Spanish shiraz (2005) from DO La Mancha.

Picked this up at the local liquor joint, because I usually try any cheap Spanish red on offer at least once.

A little weird, to my eye, to see a Spanish shiraz, and I can't say that this was particularly notable but for tasting pretty good with some grilled Costco lamb chops (thanks for finally convincing me, ab!). It was under $10, better than Yellow Tail, and I'm finishing the bottle. Good times.