Robert Nesta Marley

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i believe you're correct. indeed, brander's forte is SB, since the, what, late 70s, no? they've served as an early benchmark for a pretty long time, before santa barbara wines were cool. it's not only the Nicholas that sees wood now, though; although most of their cuvees don't. in new york they're distributed by domaine select estates now if you're ITB. more cool peoples.

this week i found myself at both prune and the tasting room within three days of each other. what incredibly different experiences--aside from the service, as we were guests of staff at both establishments, for all sense of purposes. i'd much rather have a table at the TR. and they're not that difficult to come by, relatively speaking. we were way too crowded at prune--clearly not there to be *seen*, which is the only reason i might see actually not minding the setup there. unless you're really used to eating in paris, where there's no space between tables, generally speaking. needless to say, we couldn't get much work done there. the food at the TN has so much more finesse & style. such a delightfully *incongruous* way about it in this regard, as the wine list is all american.... not that there aren't esoteric productions on the list, which there are. and the wine service is impeccable, with the proprietor available if you so choose to solicit his assistance. one byo, one buy off the list is the policy. very generous. creamed chestnuts at prune were of a displeasing consistency. oatmeal-like, and milky; without a contrast in flavors.......? i don't get them. i'll reread plots & others posts if i have time. also, it's april, though. but the braised escarole (suvir's *bitter greens*, that brit) was also medium-poor. imbalanced, with way way, way to large of a *pinch* of nutmeg, which made them bitter. and underseasoned at that. breaded sweetbreads could've been an entree, i swear. too heavy. moist, i'll have you, but it just left my date full after a gifted app & before an entree. oh, but they do have foreau vouvray for $33 there. delicious. lots of non-u.s. wines, as a matter of fact (relatively speaking, i guess). rabbit legs in a butter-laden broth. is it april? although he did have a whole branzino. that was nice & refreshing. tasing room rocked. just outstanding, everything on the list (we had chef's menus). just to get back to the point of this thread & post. anyone go to WD50 soft opening this week?

the sparkler from yarden is very, very, very good. it's on the list at AZ, or was about three months ago.

wow. you paid a lot of money for those wines. i've been really curious about puech-haut, though; thanks.

i like a vouvray demi-sec with petillance paired with camembert for the same reasons i like sparkling cider. and of course champagne is classic with camembert. what you may be looking for is acidity to lift the cream. but again, the quality of the cheese is key. don't worry about finding "old" oloroso. i recently spent $40 on a bottle of "very rare" oloroso from "older" soleras because i needed it at the last minute. i should've done some homework but i needed it in a pinch. go with lustau, just seek out single estate productions from the almenecista line. generally speaking, i'd go for the weight of an oloroso over an amontillado for cheese. st. andres are usually commercial productions, across the board. at least sample some pierre robert for your audience if they're beginners. but, yes, moscato d'asti is back in. screw "sophistication". coppo's moncalvina is fairly easy to find, but their petillance levels have been really inconsistent lately, so taste before you buy to be sure the bubbles aren't too huge, etc. meunster, well....it depends what shape it's in, no? but i'd go with the richness (& residual sugar, again) of zind-humbrecht's cuvee laurence gewurztraminer more so than a pinot gris. what about loire chenin blanc here? dry. i think i might want to play around with this idea. anyone?

why drink corbieres with triple cremes when you can have climens ???? what about royal tokaji & cheese? experiences anyone would like to share?

wilfrid, you don't find sweeter bleus tasting metallic with dry reds? bobbie.

eric bordelet's sparkling ciders are much more intriguing (they're bottled under the chateau de hauteville label). he does pear & apple ciders in normandy. besides, the last time i checked, she stopped making hudson valley cider, unfortunately. anyway, his ciders pair famously with bleus like old chatham's ewe's blue, that blue made in hubbardstown, MA that i always forget (of course there's only one & everyone will know what it is ). but others like bleu d'auvergne with lower salinity & a higher butterfat composition will be outstanding with his productions. one of my all time favorite meals is a lustau oloroso or domecq palo cortado (yes, they are wines & might win you smart points) with a sufficiently ripe, buttery, nutty brebis from the basque. take your pick. membrillo or unsulphured dried fruit if you wish. that's living. good luck. p.s. dry white wine is always better than dry red wine with cheese. i don't care; i'm pulling a plotnicki on this one.

the new wine director there is very knowledgeable & well-traveled, with great passion for his work. so even if you're completely unfamiliar with greek wine, he's likely to steer you in a direction you're interested in going. just tell him what you usually drink. yes, everyone should go now. before the hoards.

rose d'anjou is cool again. montlouis major cool points. lambrusco in again as well if you talk to the right people. so is moscato d'asti. and don't get me started on moscato d'asti rosso. aah. but, as always, it's all about the right producer, especially in overlooked and/or overcropped regions. as evidenced, of course, by the gambero rosso this week....... and by the plethora of franciacortas at their tasting this week, seriously. wow.

i don't expect much from that wednesday section anymore these days. a shame.

did you have a bad day? or did one of us push you on the playground? who *relegated* beer to monday night football? the media? than don't watch tv--this is "america"; be proactive & run a beer campaign or something. and comments like "a far less complex drink like wine" won't win you any points here. you'd be lucky to even see much discussion on this thread, but i could be wrong. lambics like cantillon are wine-y to the max. i suppose you don't see the complexity in their geuze? so you're on the beer board often? that's good to know.

Craig, don't concede so quickly. Steve wants a run for his money.

thank you.

I personally wouldn't go this far back with Dujac, as a general rule. Either clos de la roche or village morey and certainly not chambolle. too feminine altogether. i've never had the clos st denis.

estufarian! right on, brother! it would've been so apropos if this madeira thread would've been your first post, no? one of the best sources on madeira is michael broadbent's brother (i think it's his brother). i apologize for not being able to recall his name right now. is he at the rare wine co.? bobbie.

Craig, could you provide more information or a link for the *Ambition Plan 2006* you're talking about? You seem to be touching on some careful things with regards to it. I'm sorry I missed the tasting in nyc; all the negociants turned me off. Claude: yum. 1985s. ummm. there are quite a few of them in the aution markets these days, too. check the internet-only auctions out there, especially as the weather gets warmer: i'd think people would rather be out of the house than glued to the computer on the weekends. I've decided that Lefarge is too expensive as per its QPR, in my opinion. Bobby.

zinfan, welcome--whether you're seth or someone who works with him. i do like westerly for the money. namely the sauvignon blanc. and this cab franc blend is fun for santa barbara cab franc. i think it's called the W or something. is anyone going to the pinot fest in SB this weekend?

lissome, how old can you take your french viognier? i wouldn't drink dry condrieu more than three vintages old, arguments with regards to the ageability of grillet nonwithstanding (which i refuse to participate in for socio-political reasons ). or do you just like the angular way it gets as it loses its fruit??

thanks for reminding me, marty!..... (SFJoe, i'll get you the muscadet if you get me a TIVO. )

i've defended josh jensen pinot enough here to add another dimension to my expressed opinion, since due to those comments certain people here think i like all west coast pinot. in fact, someone thinks i like it so much that he gave me a bottle of '91 jensen vineyard in january. i opened it tonight. yes, great vintage for cabernets, hot as it was. maybe that's why he gave me this bottle of '91 pinot , presumably from his private collection? this was so hot, i truly thought of little more than martinelli for the first few minutes, and those tastings where you "get" to taste all 38 vineyards & then don't remember what happened afterwards. miniscus bricking quarter of an inch or so. nice lighter garnet color. unfiltered, non-brilliant, etc. oh, but there's that plastic-y way about the nose that i hate because i don't know what it's about. "plastic-y"? opinions on this? what's going on? it seems i get it in a lot of NW pinot, but i haven't done work on it. entire aromatic profile not immediately apparent initially, but there is quite a bit of, say, cherry ludens....okay, fine. ripe, hot, so i immediately start slicing baguette, proscuitto, & petite basque in anticipation. the alcohol was nearly assaultive. funny how i almost let the heat disguise itself as black pepper or, say allspice. admittedly, i wanted to like it. but this was pretty imbalanced, with the alcohol lingering a bit long and deep on the finish, obscuring some of the fruit. after about an hour figs start to show. and this distinct nuttiness that, combined with the figginess, really reminds me of pedro ximenez. this is not a great showing for josh jensen. i'll take '97 mills over this, gladly. so i amend my previous comments, perhaps generalized in favor of aging his wines (my purpose of this note). this should go now. note i wouldn't enjoy it with mushrooms or a truffled cheese. acidity still persists, though. of course you can always give it away if you're ridding yourself of all your NW wines.

it's all about DeLille, darling.

i don't know; there's a lot of dead wine out there.

a "pint of scrumpy"..... sounds, well, like the perfect accompaniment for the "sinister Blue Vinny"..... um, point me to them. ( )