Wine & Spirits Bargains at the PLCB (Part 1)

[Capaneus]

Also lovely with the lighter side of dinner was an '04 Domaine Amido Lirac Rose. Gorgeous balance of sharp acidity and a shade of sweetness on the finish, a middle of strawberries, rasberries, citrus and Evan's Shiro Plums . A gorgeous tipple for a measly $11.99, demanding I ask: what is *your* excuse for staying sober in a world that clearly requires you otherwise?

Currently available at all Philadelphia Premium stores (though it's running low at 1218 Chestnut).

[MarketStEl]

Also lovely with the lighter side of dinner was an '04 Domaine Amido Lirac Rose. Gorgeous balance of sharp acidity and a shade of sweetness on the finish, a middle of strawberries, rasberries, citrus and Evan's Shiro Plums . A gorgeous tipple for  a measly $11.99, demanding I ask: what is *your* excuse for staying sober in a world that clearly requires you otherwise?

←

Alcohol is a depressant. I took my doctor's advice while being treated for depression.

I think I can handle it on occasion now, though. Which, from an oenological standpoint, is A Good Thing.

[Andrew Fenton]

A gorgeous tipple for  a measly $11.99, demanding I ask: what is *your* excuse for staying sober in a world that clearly requires you otherwise?

I have none, sir. Now I'm going to go hang my head in shame, or dip my beak in a wine glass, or both.

[sockii]

I did the dance of joy last night upon seeing the return of the Byron Nielson Chardonnay 01 as a Chairman Selection! Last time it was available, my friends and family indulged mightily in this wonderful bargain, and only regretted not stocking up enough while it was available. Rest assured, we will not make this mistake again. Will we be seeing more Byron wines in the future? We also sampled the 01 Sierra Madre Pinot Noir, which I quite liked though it was a bit rich for some (sadly, I only brought home one bottle to try before it was gone from the shelves! )

Thanks again to Mr. Newman for this wonderful program--I've sampled some truly fine wines in recent months that otherwise would have been well outside of my budget.

[ddwinedrinker]

I did the dance of joy last night upon seeing the return of the Byron Nielson Chardonnay 01 as a Chairman Selection! Last time it was available, my friends and family indulged mightily in this wonderful bargain, and only regretted not stocking up enough while it was available. Rest assured, we will not make this mistake again. Will we be seeing more Byron wines in the future? We also sampled the 01 Sierra Madre Pinot Noir, which I quite liked though it was a bit rich for some (sadly, I only brought home one bottle to try before it was gone from the shelves!  )

Thanks again to Mr. Newman for this wonderful program--I've sampled some truly fine wines in recent months that otherwise would have been well outside of my budget.

←

I am anxious to try this and I finally purchased a bottle of this Chardonnay on Thursday, we are having it with dinner tonight. I am curious to see how it compares to the Robert Young Chardonnay we have from Chateau St. Jean which we LOVE! We are getting ready to travel abroad and I had to go grab some of the incredible Chairman's Selections for our trip. Paying a corkage beats paying markup on a lesser quality wine. Had to have some of that Freemark Abbey Sycamore to take along...sure drinks easy!

I am waiting for my husband to cut me off from the Chairman's Selections telling me "NO MORE!" Thank you to everyone who posts their reviews here and also to Johnathan Newman for being into wine! I hope that Katie can make a Chairman's tasting happen in Philadelphia, I'd love to drive in from Reading and taste Philadelphia cuisine with some great wines.

Happy sipping!

[Deidre Costello]

I want to start by saying thank you to Evan for hosting our first OL Chairman Selection tasting. Evan you were a wonderful host and the backyard setting was perfect!

This was a potluck appetizer event, where I should have been more observant and notated who provided which appetizer. Since it was my first OL I was busy trying to put user names, to real names, to faces, so my apologies for not taking those particular notes however, compliments are in order to all the delicious items that made up the spread!

I volunteered to write down my tasting notes, I’m sure others will soon post their thoughts. We did have a few ‘non’ chairman selection wines and I will note those wines as SLO (special liquor order). The wines are listed in order of our tasting these wines.

Lurton Bodega Pinot Gris ‘04 (SLO #59933 $9.99) Perfect first wine, pretty floral, peach and apricot nose the flavors continue to the palate where the flavors are round and mouth filling finishes clean

Montes Alpha Chardonnay ’04 $10.99 California style, nice buttery component on the nose (from malolactic fermentation). Rich mouth coating tropical flavors. Well integrated oak ,nice balance well made a bargain at $11

Byron Nielson Vineyard Chardonnay ’01 $12.99 More fruit on the nose, crisper (non-malolactic fermentation) Tropical fruits on the palate clean crisp long lingering finish.

Leganza Crianza 1999 (SLO #60252 $11.19) Lots of cherry flavors on both the nose and on the palate. On the palate oak mixes with the cherry flavors nicely, drying tannins.

Morlanda Crianza 2001 $29.99 Nose has beautiful cherry plum aromas, on the palate the plum and cherry flavors are carried through to the dry finish, chalky tannins.

Arrowood Le Beau Melange Syrah 01 $17.99 Big in your face fruit flavors of black cherry, black raspberry, plum on the palate big wine flavors and black fruits with chewy tannins some spice and licorice long finish.

Lancaster Red ’01 $19.99 Bordeaux style refined red very elegant everything is refined especially after the syrah. Fruits are black cherry and red fruits well structured soft tannins. Very pretty soft Bordeaux blend.

Mariah Zinfandel 00 $14.99 Cherry, blackberry and pepper nose on the palate the flavors are carried through with lots of fruit and spice. Soft tannins

Kracher Cuvee Auslese 2003 (Specialty item special treat #11413) #18.99 (available in some specialy stores) Honeysuckle and candied citrus on the nose on the palate the taste of honey fruit well balanced was a perfect complement to the pound cake.

I was a real treat to meet everyone that attended and to put a face on the user name.

Again Evan, Thank you for a wonderful evening.

-Deidre

[shacke]

Bigger thanks to YOU Deidre for the notes. It was a great evening and what perfect weather for a night in the yard. As always, new and old faces abound and it was great meeting you and some other familiar screen names. This is an event worth repeating for sure and I think that JeffL is already planning round 2 at his place. Let him do the preparatory yard work this time!

For the price of a $25 bottle, we all got to try a host of new and interesting chairman selections and it was everything I hoped it would be. The leftover bottles made for great rebates.

Thanks to all and big shout out to Katie for her help - boo yeah!

The pot luck was a great idea of Capaneus'. I can barely move this morning but I can roll just fine!

FWIW - I liked the Lancaster red as my WOTN (wine of the night)

Evan

[Jeff L]

Bigger thanks to YOU Deidre for the notes.  It was a great evening and what perfect weather for a night in the yard.  As always, new and old faces abound and it was great meeting you and some other familiar screen names.  This is an event worth repeating for sure and I think that JeffL is already planning round 2 at his place.  Let him do the preparatory yard work this time!

For the price of a $25 bottle, we all got to try a host of new and interesting chairman selections and it was everything I hoped it would be.  The leftover bottles made for great rebates.

Thanks to all and big shout out to Katie for her help - boo yeah! 

The pot luck was a great idea of Capaneus'.  I can barely move this morning but I can roll just fine!

FWIW - I liked the Lancaster red as my WOTN (wine of the night)

Evan

←

As last nights event was a great success by every measure, I would in fact like to host "round 2" of the Chairman's Selection (and suitable other non-chairman wines) I would also like to keep the group to no more than 20 to facilitate good and manageable conversation.

Tentative dates are Sept. 16th and 23rd. Please PM me if you are interested in attending.

Thanks,

Jeff

[sockii]

I also wanted to chime in my thanks for last night--David and I had a wonderful time.

After clearing the cobwebs out of my head this morning, I'd have to say that the Leganza Crianza and Lancaster reds were my favorites. I can definitely see having the Leganza around regularly for a nice smooth dinner wine, and I already picked up a bottle of the Lancaster for the reserves this morning. David said his favorite was the Montes Alpha Chardonnay, so we'll be picking up some of that, and I'm already hoarding all the Byron Chardonnay I can get my hands on.

All in all it was wonderful to finally meet some of the fabulous people here on the board, and get to sample so many great wines.

And Evan, David was STILL raving about the bread this morning!

[Capaneus]

The pot luck was a great idea of Capaneus'.  I can barely move this morning but I can roll just fine!

FWIW - I liked the Lancaster red as my WOTN (wine of the night)

←

Thank you, Evan, for the hospitality and the *amazing* bread (but you *can't* make it so pretty: people won't eat it). But when I suggested potluck, I did not expect people to try to kill me by playing on my well-know complete absence of impulse control (thank you for the life-saving faux Tums). I hesitate to praise anyone's food because there was so much that was *so* good, and I know I'd leave something out... Oh, and I gained 2 1/2 lbs, if anyone cares.

And thanks to Katie and Deidre for the setting up, and in advance to Jeff for the next shindig (I'm *so* there). It was great seeing everyone, look forward to the next one.

And my wine of the evening was, I think, the sadly-forgotten Priorat. Which, unfortunately, is probably a tad too dear for my wallet.

[mrbigjas]

yeah, what they all said! thanks to all, esp. evan for hosting and deirdre for the ride home.

my wine of the night was the priorat as well but like you, i won't be able to afford it very often.

[mike volker]

Also thanks to Evan for hosting. We had a great time and looking forward to the next one.

Best,

Mike

[Jeff L]

Oh Yeah, thanks for hosting Evan! That braided bread you baked might just be enough to get me into baking!

Jeff

[Jeff L]

Still have a few openings for the 2nd e-gullet chairman's selection wine tasting being held at my house next Friday, 9/16. I would like to have 15 people and so far have just 10 confirmed.

If anyone is interested in going just pm me and I'll provide all the details.

Jeff

[mike volker]

Hi all,

The second chairman's selection tasting was held fri night at jeffL's house. Not all of the wines were chairman's selections, but they were all from Pa. state stores. Attendence was a little slimmer than the first time and there were a few new faces. As always, the food was excellant and the company even better. Thanks to JeffL for hosting and I hope to see you at the next one.

Best,

Mike

Edited September 18, 2005 by mike volker (log)

[mrbigjas]

wish i coulda made it--tasting notes, anyone?

[Nancy HM]

First, I want to thank Mr Newman for providing the stuff and all you eGulleteers for your recommendations and insight. I haunt the Jenkintown store! and my wallet shows the effects.

However, I wonder if I'm being unreasonable about something. Yesterday the Jenkintown store (next to Trader Joe's) had the music cranked up so LOUD it made the whole buying experience very trying. I'm no old f*rt. But I think I should be able to visit with other customers, ask questions of the staff, etc, and not have to shout. Does this bother anybody else?

[Jeff L]

First, I want to thank Mr Newman for providing the stuff and all you eGulleteers for your recommendations and insight.  I haunt the Jenkintown store!  and my wallet shows the effects.

However, I wonder if I'm being unreasonable about something.  Yesterday the Jenkintown store (next to Trader Joe's) had the music cranked up so LOUD it made the whole buying experience very trying.  I'm no old f*rt.  But I think I should be able to visit with other customers, ask questions of the staff, etc, and not have to shout.  Does this bother anybody else?

←

Not only would this bother me, but I would have found out who the manager was and complained to him/her. Now don't get me wrong, I'm all about loud music but not when contemplating some of the most serious wine decisions in recent memory thanks to the never ending chairmans selections and other notable non chairmens selections.

[glepore]

Tried the 2000 Mondavi Stags Leap District Cab last night-typical modern Mondavi, very well made, very refined (maybe a little too refined if you like brawny Cali cabs). It needs time to open, first taste was really disappointing, but it got much better with time.

[Capaneus]

First, I want to thank Mr Newman for providing the stuff and all you eGulleteers for your recommendations and insight.  I haunt the Jenkintown store!  and my wallet shows the effects.

However, I wonder if I'm being unreasonable about something.  Yesterday the Jenkintown store (next to Trader Joe's) had the music cranked up so LOUD it made the whole buying experience very trying.  I'm no old f*rt.  But I think I should be able to visit with other customers, ask questions of the staff, etc, and not have to shout.  Does this bother anybody else?

←

Not only would this bother me, but I would have found out who the manager was and complained to him/her. Now don't get me wrong, I'm all about loud music but not when contemplating some of the most serious wine decisions in recent memory thanks to the never ending chairmans selections and other notable non chairmens selections.

←

Thing is, I cannot remember music ever playing at any of the CC stores. I would wonder about how much latitude they would have in whatever the policy is... Also, from my time in retail, it could be a case of "While the Manager's away, the Staff will play". People in positions of authority may be entirely unaware this is going on.

[philadining]

The second chairman's selection tasting was held fri night at jeffL's house....

←

I'm starting to suspect that the tasting crew discovered some AMAZING wines and are keeping this info to themselves so that Capaneus doesn't buy-up all the remaining stock... It's OK, he's currently unable to carry multiple cases at a time, seize the moment!!

What did you folks taste, what did you think?

[Jeff L]

The second chairman's selection tasting was held fri night at jeffL's house....

←

I'm starting to suspect that the tasting crew discovered some AMAZING wines and are keeping this info to themselves so that Capaneus doesn't buy-up all the remaining stock... It's OK, he's currently unable to carry multiple cases at a time, seize the moment!!

What did you folks taste, what did you think?

←

OK, I guess it's left to me to post something close to notes on the wines we sampled last week. I must tell you Philadining that you were off base about the quality of the wines tasted. There were really no AMAZING wines with one notable exception and that was the Almaviva I pulled from my cellar at the end of the tasting. Most of these wines were just ok with some that I would consider buying again.

This is my first attempt to post notes, WARNING, I am not Deidre Costello and a quick look at what follows will easily confirm that!

WHITES:

Robertson Sauvignon blanc 2004 – South Africa (3rd tasted)

Nice but rather benign sauv .. it was unexciting but not unpleasant. I noticed some lemon notes but that’s about it.

Adelstein Vineyard – Pinot Gris – Oregon (2nd tasted)

Very uninspired wine. From the first sip I found it be harsh and too acidic for my tastes

Cuvee Emile Willlm – Gewurztraminer reserve 2002 – Alsace (1st tasted)

I just don’t care for this varietal at all and this one did not alter my feelings. Most everyone agreed.

Hogue Chenin Blanc – California (4th tasted)

In my book a real summertime winner. This wine would pair nicely with fish and light sauced chicken dishes. Nice smooth and lingering finish – I will be more of this wine.

Domaine Michelot Meursault – 2000 – France (5th tasted)

Far and away the best of the whites tasted. Smooth and polished with a long finish. Of course it was the most expensive of the whites sampled as well.

REDS:

Iron Horse Sangiovese – 2002 Alexander Valley

I liked this wine but for the life of me can’t remember why.

McClaren Vale Shiraz – 2002 – Australia

Another nice big shiraz –went down well and will be a stock item here at Jeff L’s house

Liparita 2000 Cabernet – Napa

I like this wine very much. I had tasted it on several prior occasions (the only wine I previously had of the lot) I will buy it again – It was approachable, not too tannic and I tasted cassis and blackberry.

Acacia Pinot Noir – 2003 Napa

This was a pleasant, if unsophisticated pinot. Can’t remember anything about it and had too much wine to write notes down.

Cardinal Zin – Bonny Doon 2002

Waste of time to even write about

[mrbigjas]

Iron Horse Sangiovese – 2002 Alexander Valley

I liked this wine but for the life of me can’t remember why.

that looks like most of my tasting notes.... thanks jeff.

[Jeff L]

Iron Horse Sangiovese – 2002 Alexander Valley

I liked this wine but for the life of me can’t remember why.

that looks like most of my tasting notes.... thanks jeff.

←

Thanks James, I feel a lot better knowing that! Sorry you guys couldn't make it, it was fun despite the so-so wines.

Jeff

[philadining]

Indeed, big thanks Jeff! Wish I could have made it, regardless of the overall quality of the wines, and I hope these events will continue.

It's every bit as useful to know about when wines are NOT thrilling as when they are, you probably saved me a good bit of money, I would have taken a chance on some of these. But there are plenty more to choose from, so I'll spend some money on those!

I'm a little surprised about the Gewurtz, I don't know that maker, but every time I serve that varietal to folks who don't know the grape, they are intrigued and become fans. But maybe I've just gotten lucky to have good examples.

And nice to know about the Sangiovese. I think that Liparita Cab has been lauded here previously. Do we remember how expensive the Mersault was?

Thanks again for the report, and I hope to join in on one of these soon!