Brad Ballinger

1992 Ridge Geyserville, Sonoma County. The wine is a blend of 65% zinfandel, 20% carignan, and 15% petit sirah. It is also gloriously in its prime drinking window. I brought this wine to a restaurant on Sunday evening, and spaced that their stemware was less than ideal. But this wine was able to rise above that, and still made a strong statement. The nose showed a heavy dose of blackberry with some tobacco leaf, molasses, and earth. And it didn’t let up whatsoever from first pour to last. In the mouth, there was terrific balance between fruit, mineral, oak, acid, tannin, you-name-it. The tannins are softening and silky, but the integrity of the structure is not yet compromised. The wine is held together seamlessly and in beautiful harmony. And there is still a massive amount of fruit. The fruit has not dried up by any stretch, and has not gone stewed. With each sip, it shows a new dimension. This bottle is why we age our Geyservilles. And it’s why we drink wine.

Welcome aboard, BP. And nice note on the Isabel.

Look to this thread for a short discussion. More importantly, there is a link in the thread to another wine-related web site that has a very good tutorial on buying a wine cellar.

Jim, I'm glad to see someone who shares my opinion on the Turriga. I was at a tasting several months back where I tasted the 1998 Turriga. The nose was all oaky vanilla and I dumped without tasting it. The Winebow rep and I had a moderate debate. We also continued the debate with respect to Notaio's La Firma. But I concluded it by saying that the wines will have no trouble selling even if none are sold to me. We both seemed to agree on that point.

Umathum is one of the producers I had in mind when posting my comment on Austrian reds. And their wines can be had for $15 here give or take a couple dollars. Here's a note from the 2001 Umathum Zweigelt I tasted many months ago... 2001 J. Umathum Zweigelt, Burgenland – $15. Zweigelt is a hybrid cross of St. Laurent and Blaufrankisch. This wine is a terrific food partner, and very good for the money. A little grapey on the nose with some of that “I just got done fermenting” character. But it is quickly joined by a healthy dose of black pepper. One the palate there is tart fruit, spice, pepper, ebullient acid. The wine seems to be at play in the mouth and it finishes clean with moderate length. Very nice. Heinrich also makes some good reds. The Blaufrankisch was particularly nice.

I hate to boil it down to the laws of supply and demand, but that is part of it. As far as German wines and Italian wines are concerned (and probably any other country) there are such a small percentage that get exported. And I don't expect to see that increase (to the U.S. at any rate) any time soon with the strength of the euro against the dollar. I was in the Pfalz last October, and brought back a handful of spatburgunder wines only because I never see them here. Some were pradikat wines and others were QbA wines. I also brought back a wine made from dornfelder that is quite luscious. And I probably brought back more weissburgunder (pinot blanc) than I did riesling. On a pseudo-related matter, we are starting to see some Austrian reds come into many regions of the U.S. Some are priced a bit high that it will be tough to "introduce" people to them. But for those who've had them and know how incredibly food friendly they are, this is good news.

Missed that on first scrolling. My bad.

I can't believe there have been 20 replies and no one else grills them. I clean them, marinate in XVOO, garlic, and a small amount of lemon. Sprinkly wiht Old Bay, slap 'em on the grill. Then I serve them in grilled sandwich buns with a homemade remoulade.

The en primeur debate surrounding the quality of the 2003 Château Pavie has deepened with the highly influential American wine critic Robert M Parker Jnr breaking his silence to attack Master of Wine Jancis Robinson’s Pavie tasting note.

Too long, in fact, to fit into both "topic title" and "topic description" fields, combined. 2002 Württembergische Weingartner-Zentralgenossenschaft Horrheimer Stromberg Trollinger mit Lemberger Trocken QbA, Württemburg. Okaaaaay. The first three words (I’m counting the hyphenated one as two words) is the name of a wine producing co-operative in the Württemberg wine region in southern Germany. The rest should be fairly typical of German wine labels – Horreheim is the village, Stromberg the vineyard, Trollinger and Lemberger the grape varieties, Trocken means dry, QbA is a notch below the pradikat wines that carry the designations kabinett, spatlese, etc., on the label (QbA wines carry no such designation), and I’ve already mentioned Württemberg. And, for those who care, the A.P. number is 00121503. Now, onto the wine… The trollinger grape is probably the most widely planted black grape (if not grape of any color) in the Württemberg region. For this bottle, it was blended with lemberger, but I don’t know what percentage of either is in this blend. I chilled the wine slightly before serving. The wine is characteristically light and fruity. The color is rather light. Put more brick and less pink in a dark rosé wine, and you’re pretty close. For those who’ve had wines from the grignolino grape, it’s similar in color to those wines, if not a bit lighter. The nose promises a light, fruity, and floral wine. There were aromas of wild strawberry and white cranberry in a floral package. On the palate, it comes across as light and playful. It’s fruity, mildly acidic, and not terribly complex. Immediately, it conjured up the image of a picnic in a meadow in the middle of nowhere. And, truly, it struck me as the quintessential picnic wine that would go with damn near anything one would put in a picnic basket. The wine was a gift from a German co-worker. I don’t know how widely this particular wine is distributed outside of Germany, but I post this note to encourage you to try a wine made from trollinger should you get the chance. And bring it on a picnic.

Before I even scrolled down far enough, my first thought was Landmark. But I think Landmark is in Sonoma County and not Napa. Not to worry, though. You will find plenty in Napa. Try Trefethen and Silverado.

The lowest retail price in the U.S. according to Wine Searcher is $349/bottle. There are some prices lower through online auction brokers. The average retail bottle prices is probably around $450. But, for me, 1st growths left my budget after the 1989 vintage.

Unless it's a case price.

2002 Donnafugata Anthilia, Sicilia. This is a blend of 50% ansonica and 50% catarratto, tank fermented. It has a nose of peach blossoms, citrus blossoms, melons, and a bit of rain fallen on gravel. There's a fairly soft mouthfeel with some acidity, but not a lot. There's an herbal and mineral quality to the flavor profile, which primarily features melon, Meyer lemons, and white stone fruit. The finish is very clean and shows more peach and melon. The mineral in the wine is less steely and more rocky, if that makes any sense. The label indicates that "Donnafugata" means "fleeing woman." More literally, I think it mean fugitive woman. Not that that has anything to do with the wine, though unless drinking it brings to mind the allure of such a woman. I'd love this wine with some soft-shelled crab, but I had it primarily on its own and with Easter leftovers.

2210GBP??? What is that in USD? Sorry for having to ask. But, in general, regarding deals that appear too good to be true, I've always found it best to try one and then see about buying much more.

A couple of reactions here. The wines I've had from Chandon have tended to come across as "sweeter" than the sparkling wines I've had from Champagne. That's one person's opinion. But what I think you are describing is a creaminess, which is usually a texture of the mousse kind of thing, but could have a bit to do with the base wine. I think I style you might particularly like is Vilmart's Cuvee Rubis, a rose wine that will be well within your budget. Also the Jacquesson Signature Rose. The Billecart-Salmon Elisabeth will be more elegant than either of those, but the other two have something to offer. And if you want to go Blanc de Noirs, Bollinger is usually pretty pinot noir intensive, and you can't go wrong with the Grand Annee. But if you can find a Bollinger R.D., I think you'd really find that to be special. I don't know what vintage of R.D. is currently available. R.D., by the way, means "recently disgorged." It will be an older vintage wine that has been released later than when the Grand Annee was first released. All of Krug's vintage wines, for example, are R.D. wines, even if not labeled as such.

Last night, our entire department from work went out to dinner. It's one of those things where, if you've ever been in the position, you just go along for the ride. Rarely is the restaurant one you'd pick if you, like me, are "hyphenated" when it comes to food and wine. This particular venue was Biaggi's an Italian-themed chain. There were 14 of us. The server was taking drink orders, and one person asked for a glass of chardonnay. The server asked which one of the two they offered. The individual asked the server about the difference... "Well, the Chateau St. Jean is lighter while the Canyon Road is more dry."

Huh? Why not use a top notch sparkler for pairing with any food? This seems to be what it is best suited for IMO. I'm assuming you drink top notch still wine with food. Mulcahy, you have some great choices here. If you need any help narrowing it down, what did you like and/or not like about the VC Yellow Label and the Dom? All the wines suggested so far would be great for your purpose, but if there's a style you prefer that might help zero in on a recommendation. Without that, I'd look to Krug Grand Cuvee or (for rose ) Billecar-Salmon Elisabeth.

Geo, Good to see you here, friend. Brad

I really don't like it when my wine bottle is removed from the table, either. Aside from a bad wine list, that is perhaps my biggest pet peeve with wine in restaurants. Any thoughts as to the rationale of the restaurant for doing this. I have experienced this in many a fine restaurant. This is usually only done in higher end restaurants. Keeping the wine away from the table allows the table to remain less cluttered (a cleaner look, easy to serve the food), prevents the wine from being spilled accidentally, etc. It also keeps the sommelier/server "in charge" of the bottle (not meant in a bad way). They will be doing the pouring/refilling, will know the current fill level of the bottle, ask if you'd like another bottle, etc. I don't see it as an issue in higher end places.

Not what I was saying. If you don't need change, then the server doesn't need to return to the table with it (in the event you do wish to leave). The statement is not a euphemism for "get out."

1999 A. Palacios Les Terrasses, Priorat. This wine is 50% garnacha, 40% carinena, and 10% cabernet sauvignon. Upon release the wine was juicy and creamy. It also garnered a lot of high points from the critics. It has fleshed itself out now into what is becoming a beautiful wine, which is not bad considering this wine gets the grapes that aren't good enough for L'Ermita or Finca Dofi. The wine is meant for earlier drinking. At this point, there are some mature earthy and meaty notes on the nose, and more complexity in the flavor profile on the palate. Stronger presence of spice and leather. This wine hasn't been too terribly oaky, and it's considerably less noticeable at this stage than it was upon release. It's a little dusty on the finish. I'm glad I held onto it for this long as it showed me more layering and dimension than it did in its youth. I wouldn't hold it past another year or two though.

How the wine is poured doesn't bother me if the glass isn't filled too full (and usually I just say "that's plenty") and if the server doesn't spill the wine. There is no excuse for spilling, and the server should've done something to make up for it. But, more often than not, like blil, I let the server know I'll pour my own.

This is what I was going to post had I been here early enough. The server wants to know if you are on the way out and need him/her to return with change or not. Even if it's the last seating, it's still what hsould be asked. Servers have to look to see if you paid in cash or with a credit card. If cash, it's reflex to ask if change is needed. And give them the benefit of the doubt that they are not totalling up the amount of cash before asking -- the rare case where there is a sloitary $100 bill notwithstanding. Even in that latter case, it's still probably a question out of habit. The server may not even know what your specific bill came to unti s/he is closing you out at the computer or cash register.

Getting back on topic. In my home, I rarely drink wine without food. I may do so on the odd occasion, but then I'm doing it to evaluate the bottle where I likely have more of them and the exercise is in the interest of science. If I'm going to drink alcohol without food, I'll pour a scotch or open a bottle of beer.