What Wine Are You Drinking Today?

[Luke]

A new wine for me:  Jacob's Creek Reserve Shiraz Barossa 2012.  Very nice indeed.  My first Shiraz other than the utterly cheap kind.  I could get to like this.

My favourite Tuesday night Shiraaz!!! Actually, I had one tonight as well, albeit 2009. They do age well for a mid priced wine.

Luke

[lesliec]

Me?  Oh, nothing special ...

 

 

I bought this bottle in, I think, 1983, on a trip to New Caledonia.  And since this year is its 40th birthday I thought maybe it was time to see how it was getting on.  New Year's Day and all that.

 

It's been cellared reasonably well since I got it, but has had to cope with a number of house moves.  I have no idea now what I paid for it, but if you now want one for yourself, these people will cheerfully relieve you of a couple of thousand US dollars, or 585 Euros if you're on the other side of the Atlantic.  (They may be optimistic, since here you can get one for a mere $625.)  Robert Parker and Wine Spectator are quoted as having regarded the 1976 very highly.

 

As you can see from the bottle shot, my bottle (cellar dust and all) is showing a bit of corrosion round the capsule and the wine itself is quite dark - call it whiskey-coloured. Here's a better look:

 

 

That, incidentally, is one of Riedel's Sommeilier series Sauternes glasses.  I indulged in a couple a few years ago when I started seriously thinking about opening the Yquem.  Do they make a difference?  That's a whole other discussion, not for this topic, but here and here are a couple of places eG has addressed it previously.  Of the Sauternes glasses I'll say only that they're lovely to look at but slightly odd to drink out of - the lip curves so far inwards, it almost feels backwards.  But you get used to it, and being pretty counts for a lot in my book.

 

So ... what was it like?  My initial and continuing thought was that the acid level must have been fearsome when the wine was young, because it's still sharp and lively, but Parker's 1998 review, quoted here and elsewhere, talks about relatively low acidity.  The reviews of the '76 have talked about the usual tropical fruit salad, but I lack the palate to be too specific.  There was certainly considerable power and character.  I had a strong impression of citrus, perhaps because of the acid, and I think I can allow Parker his pineapple.  But this bottle was not in the first flush of youth, and whatever distinctive fruits may have been identifiable several years ago are now hidden under a patina of age.  I don't believe oxidation is much of a factor in this one, but it's certainly possible it had some influence.

 

We drank the wine on its own, but I can't honestly think what food I might have tried to pair it with had we been so inclined.  A piece of foie gras might have coped, but I can't get the good stuff here.

 

A great experience, which I don't imagine I'll get a chance to repeat.  And the value of my cellar is now only a fraction of what it was this time yesterday!

 

 

[Kerry Beal]

Love the glasses.

 

Agree on the food with it - over the years I  have been a party to the drinking of 3 of the bottles of Chateau d'Yquem that my father bought in the 60's for the unheard of price of around $25 each - all accompanied by a nice aged cheddar. Perfect foil for the wine - but foie would go well too.

[patrickamory]

Gorgeous.

[Okanagancook]

Thank you for sharing your experience.  I have never had a Sauternes that old.

[JoNorvelleWalker]

I'm not often moved to post in this thread but tonight was a bottle of Ghost Pines 2014 Zinfandel.  One of the best bottles of not all that expensive red wines I've had.  Even if the trees on the attractive label are not pines.

 

 

 

 

[JoNorvelleWalker]

Some red wines are good the first night but are vile by the next day.  The Ghost Pines was still excellent three nights later.

 

In every way a winner.

 

 

[Smithy]

I've seen Ghost Pines wines at the store, but never tried one. Now I will. Thanks, @JoNorvelleWalker.

[Okanagancook]

Delicious

[JoNorvelleWalker]

I possess an ancient memory of disliking pinot grigio.  I'd not tasted it in probably twenty years.  However I wondered if I had merely sampled cheap pinot grigio?  Accordingly tonight I opened a bottle of Santa Margherita.  Which was not cheap.

 

After a bit of research I know now why Eric Asimov panned Santa Margherita pinot grigio in the NY Times.  Wish I had done my reading first.

 

[joiei]

Santa Margharita is over priced for what it is.  There are other pinot grigios that are much better for much less.  When I was still working at the wine shop, we sold the heck out of Giocato from Slovenia.  A much better value.  

[JoNorvelleWalker]

27 minutes ago, joiei said:

Santa Margharita is over priced for what it is.  There are other pinot grigios that are much better for much less.  When I was still working at the wine shop, we sold the heck out of Giocato from Slovenia.  A much better value.  

 

Part of the problem may be I just don't like pinot grigio.

 

[Okanagancook]

I find pino Gris quite variable.  We have 100 plants of the stuff and we find that waiting for the acids to drop into the zone we need allows the brix or sugar to go up which can result in a sweeter wine....definitely a challenge.  So far we have managed to only make wine that is little too acidic for me.  This year we are being patient.

 

tonight we are having a Blue Mountain 2014 Reserve Chardonnay.  The winery is in the Okanagan and is one of the first vineyards planted in old apple orchards so it's about 30 years old.

Edited October 24, 2017 by Okanagancook
Typo (log)

[MetsFan5]

9 hours ago, joiei said:

Santa Margharita is over priced for what it is.  There are other pinot grigios that are much better for much less.  When I was still working at the wine shop, we sold the heck out of Giocato from Slovenia.  A much better value.  

 

 

Ahh Santa Margarita. Such garbage. But when I first started drinking wine is was affordable at $11 a bottle. Now? It could be free and I wouldn't drink it. It's heartburn central. Way too acidic for my taste. 

[JoNorvelleWalker]

2 hours ago, MetsFan5 said:

 

 

Ahh Santa Margarita. Such garbage. But when I first started drinking wine is was affordable at $11 a bottle. Now? It could be free and I wouldn't drink it. It's heartburn central. Way too acidic for my taste. 

 

I don't find it too acidic but there is nothing back up and balance the acidity.  Last night I had some, since the bottle was open, with tomatoes, avocado, lots of balsamic vinegar.

 

[liuzhou]

My local supermarket has a team of highly trained oenophiles who scout the vineyards of the entire known universe, dedicated to sourcing the worst wines in the world. Then they inflate the prices to the point where I could fly to Europe and pick up a bottle cheaper than they sell it.

 

Let me be clear. 99% of Chinese wine drinkers haven't a clue what wine should taste like. It's merely a status flaunting gesture. Legends abound of people buying bottles of Chateau Lafite and mixing it with Coca Cola - they are true.

 

The most popular domestic wine is Dynasty. Skip the first two letters.

 

Nasty Wine

 

I dropped by today in search of anything but wine, but noticed this:

 

 

A German sparkler, not of the highest quality, but a decent everyday bubbler on special offer. Instead of ¥129 (USD $19.50) a bottle, they are offering two for ¥150 (USD $11.30 each ). I bought four. So that's what I'm drinking, while reserving my last bottle of the real thing - Champagne until Christmas day.

 

I should point out that China does produce some excellent wines, but in very limited quantities. Their day is coming.

Edited December 9, 2017 by liuzhou (log)

[JoNorvelleWalker]

Something new for me:

 

http://www.marani.co/index.php?site-lang=en&site-path=wines/&item=14

 

I've been reading about Georgian food and wine and wanted to taste a wine from Georgia.  The Marani Kindzmarauli is from eastern Georgia, fresh and sweet.  Almost an impossibly bright grape juice, not cloying.  I was smitten with the Saperavi varietal and would love to try a more traditionally made dry expression.  Alas, Marani Kindzmarauli is the only Georgian wine of any kind locally to be found.

 

[Orbit]

 The 2016 https://www.klwines.com/p/i?i=1328026 really nice Oregon Wilamette Valeey Pinot Noir. Very light, a European style.

[Plonrn]

Rose D'anjou Barton&Guestier 2016

Edited May 31, 2018 by Plonrn (log)

[JoNorvelleWalker]

How did this topic get so buried?  In my dotage I seldom try new stuff.  To the best of my remembrance never had I assayed an Argentine Malbec.  But on a friends suggestion I picked up a bottle of Gascon.*  I didn't pour it down the drain, despite it being vile.  The taste was of wood and bitter chocolate.  Nice if enjoying bitter chocolate.  Not so nice in wine.  At least not in my glass.

 

Tonight, a bottle of Pheasant's Tears 2008 Saperavi.  I obtained a case and I'm so glad I did.

 

 

*She is still my friend.  What she recommended was Argentine Malbec, not necessarily Gascon.

 

 

 

Edit:  but I shall speak with her.

 

Edited May 14, 2019 by JoNorvelleWalker (log)

[liuzhou]

Valquejigoso V2 2008

 

A gift from a dear friend who carried it all the way from the vineyard to China for me!

 

[eugenep]

28 minutes ago, liuzhou said:

Valquejigoso V2 2008

 

A gift from a dear friend who carried it all the way from the vineyard to China for me!

 

please let us know if there was any alcohol burn when you tried it? I'm guessing..it was a red maybe and what varietal (I'm so curious). In the US, they go by varietal but in France they go by region. I'm curious if China is adopting the US system, French system or their own system of categorizing wines for the consumer? 

 

Sometimes when I get a good bottle of red and there is alcohol burn, I wonder if decanting and giving it air for a few hours might mellow our the harsh flavors of alcohol burn? 

[liuzhou]

 

 

17 minutes ago, eugenep said:

I'm curious if China is adopting the US system, French system or their own system of categorizing wines for the consumer?  

 

 

This isn't a Chinese wine but Spanish, but generally China classifies by varietal.

 

It's a blend of 67% Cabernet Sauvignon, 12% Syrah, 12% Petit Verdot and 9% Negral . I'm not anticipating any  "alcohol burn", but will let you know.

 

Edited August 28, 2019 by liuzhou (log)

[liuzhou]

 

Montes Twins 2012

 

Edited August 31, 2019 by liuzhou (log)

[Bernie]

If you do a search on the aging process of wines, the majority of the research seems to be in China. I guess like all things china takes a pragmatic approach to Wine making. What I found interesting was the finding that the production of the volatiles/aromatics in wine during aging is dependent on both time and temperature, and they can be interchanged (within reason). So the aging process can be accelerated by storing at a higher temperature. They relied on chemical analysis rather than taste.

However, whether the conversion process of the individual sugars to aromatics proceeds at the same rate is open to conjecture.

Trouble is that the acceptance preference for wines & their taste is as much to do with perception, culture, history, romance, advertising and economics. The Chinese market has the potential to grow into the world largest consumer base and may well determine what the winescape looks like.

When I was young my preference was for some truly appalling (now) wines but I like to think my palate is maturing and ageing  well. Perhaps there is about a half a billion consumers at that first stage?