Bordeaux Wine Enthusiasts

Michael Malinoski

A little while back, my family and I visited with some friends and we ended up enjoying a couple of nice wines together over a very nice dinner. N.V. Domaine Tissot (André & Mireille now Stéphane) Crémant du Jura Extra Brut . This wine presents a sharp, cutting nose of copper minerality, dark ci...

Michael Malinoski

Tom, I did some research on this right before the trip. Here is what I dug up: Champagne’s Special Club is a unique collection of 26 Grower-Producers who all have the common goal of promoting the expression of terroir in the region. The Special Club or Club Trésors de Champagne (Treasures of Champag...

Michael Malinoski

Jim, we stayed pretty close to the villa most of the time we were there, with day trips to the beach to go snorkeling, boogie boarding, swimming and such. There's really a lot more to see than we got around to. Next time, I'd like to hike the rainforest, get up to see the radio telescope, visit old ...

Michael Malinoski

A few weeks ago, my family and I joined another family for a quick getaway to Puerto Rico. We brought a bunch of wine along with us and enjoyed most of them over the course of the five evenings we spent together down there. My friend likes to focus on Spanish wines while he’s at the villa there, so ...

Michael Malinoski

I picked Salon, as it's just so distinctive and you don't come across it very often. However, don't overlook the Femme from Duval-Leroy. The 1996 in particular was tremendous (and their 1996 Blanc de Chardonnay Brut ain't no slouch, either!). And I definitely agree you should seek out the Special Cl...

Michael Malinoski

There are an amazing number of credible and talented wine critics coming up through the ranks to join those who've been at it now for many years. But with the plethora of wine blogs and sites like Jeff's, the power of crowdsourcing reviews from places like CellarTracker!, and just the general global...

Michael Malinoski

Back in mid-November, Ron Kramer and Joyce were very kind to offer a bunch of us access to their condo complex’s entertainment suite for a fun night of Italian food and largely Italian wines. Folks brought some really interesting stuff and it was great to meet several new people for the first time a...

Michael Malinoski

My wife and I were invited to another couple’s house for dinner recently and enjoyed some really inventive dishes and several excellent wines with them. NV Billecart-Salmon Champagne Brut Rosé . This is broad and generous on the nose, but also a bit spiky and minerally—showing fine and elegant aroma...

Michael Malinoski

Once more unto the breach with 10 dear friends at China King for Peking ducks and tons of side dishes to go with an enormous assortment of wines… Sparkling/white wines: 2010 François Chidaine Vouvray Pétillant . This is very crisp and crunchy on the nose—showing fresh and tingly aromas of struck mat...

Michael Malinoski

We drank some very nice wines for my wife's birthday recently: 2009 Peter Michael Sauvignon Blanc L'Apres-Midi Knights Valley . This is just a tremendous wine all around. It’s loaded with full aromas of fresh figs, sliced melon, apricots, wet stones, minerals and a bit of soft oak in the background....

Michael Malinoski

Glad to hear that, Tim! My experiences with BV's Georges de Latour have been mixed, for sure, over the past several years, from a wide variety of sources: 1973: Drunk 2x. The first one pretty decent but on the downslide, the second one better but still showing rather aged. 1974: Drunk 3x. First one ...

Michael Malinoski

Those who follow my tasting notes at all will know that a lot of my wine drinking is done at informal tasting events with my wine geek friends. However, I do also sometimes take notes on bottles drunk at home with my wife and family. I tend to save those up for some period of time and then post them...

Michael Malinoski

There was an opening in my friend Ed’s regular tasting group last month for their tasting of California Cabernets, and I was happy to answer the call. As usual, all wines were served blind, and the restaurant staff determined the order of serving, with all wines poured at once into numbered glasses....

Michael Malinoski

My wife and I joined another friend of ours and his son for an afternoon of NFL tailgating last month, with a few wines to go with our grilled sausages, burgers and the like. 2009 Rhys Chardonnay Santa Cruz Mountains . This is a lovely Chardonnay for my tastes, starting with plush but elegant aromas...

Michael Malinoski

I joined three friends for our annual football tailgate a little while back, and we drank plenty of good wines to go along with the massive amount of grilling we did. N.V. Simonnet-Febvre Chardonnay Crémant de Bourgogne Brut . This wine features a crisp apple and cider nose that also shows some copp...

Michael Malinoski

A little while back, I was fortunate to join 10 other wine lovers for a fun dinner at Peach Farm in Chinatown. A crazy variety of wines were brought along and they were paired with the usual crazy variety of dishes that poured out of the Peach Farm kitchen all night long. Sparkling/white/rose wines:...

Michael Malinoski

There were 9 of us recently at Portugalia in East Cambridge for a delightful dinner of Portuguese specialties paired with some terrific wines. There was no official theme to the wines going into the evening, and nothing was served blind. Still, some interesting flights managed to take shape and seve...

Michael Malinoski

Been enjoying your posts, as usual, Stefan. Glad you had a nice bottle of '85 La Lagune--the last one I had was quite nice but seemed to be fading. Your bottle shows that it still has the stuffing, if treated well, though. Now, I really would like to try that '89--you've certainly got me eager to se...

Michael Malinoski

Sounds really nice, Jim. I'm pretty sure I've posted a note on the board regarding the 2002 Staglin, which was pretty damned special, IMO. Do a quick search if you're so inclined (after the chocolate dessert is done!). We're going with Ducru Beaucaillou for Christmas dinner here, as well. Have the '...

Michael Malinoski

I had a rare chance to hang out with a couple of friends recently in the middle of what was supposed to be a work day, and we decided it would be nice to open a few bottles to drink over lunch. 1996 Robert Mondavi Winery Cabernet Sauvignon Reserve Napa Valley . There are just lovely aromatics here—w...

Michael Malinoski

Tom hosted our regular poker game a little while back in the clubhouse of his condo, and his idea was to serve wines that he thought we’d never shared together as a group before. While a small number actually did turn out to be old favorites, most of these were indeed “new” wines to us, which was a ...

Michael Malinoski

A friend of mine recently arranged for five of us to join him for dinner at an Italian restaurant in Newton that I had never previously been to. At the last minute, he fell ill and couldn’t attend, but the rest of us carried on and drank some fine wines with the tasty dishes that came streaming out ...

Michael Malinoski

I went to a tasting over the summer where a company was demonstrating a new product that when attached to wine bottles can track the range of temperatures the wine has been exposed to during shipping. I think they were running a trial with Ch Palmer and were pouring the '08 Alter Ego from a pristine...

Michael Malinoski

I helped out a friend a little while ago who needed to inventory a bunch of new wine shipments he had just received. We toiled for a few hours at his off-site wine locker and then traveled a short distance to a local tavern to have dinner and drink a few of the wines from his stash. 2006 Pahlmeyer C...

Michael Malinoski

Nobody was more surprised than me (as I am pretty sure I was the only person there who had ever tasted a single bottle of Loring)...

Definitely check out Rivers-Marie.

-Michael

Michael Malinoski

It was a pleasure to join my friend Ed and his monthly tasting group at a local restaurant a little while back as a sub to somebody who couldn’t make it. This group often seems to focus on European wine, so I was very curious to see what sorts of wines they would bring to a blind tasting of “West Co...

Michael Malinoski

Was Kathleen a cross-dresser in that film??

Michael Malinoski

My favorite is Blue Seal Kielbasa from Chicopee, MA. I am pretty sure you can order it online and have it shipped. Or they carry it at the Big Y supermarket on Route 1 near Gillette Stadium...

-Michael

Michael Malinoski

A little while back, my wife and I joined our friends Tom and Sandy up at Jud and Lisa’s home to taste through some fine red and white Burgundies. We had great cheeses and other appetizers with the whites and then sat down to dinner with a whole bunch of different types of grilled homemade sausages ...

Michael Malinoski

Great note, thanks!

I've heard of the producer but never tried it (or any wine from Valencay). Maybe a bit like Cheverny in style, it sounds like?

-Michael

Michael Malinoski

Nic, I don't know much at all about Verite, other than that I have now had this 1999 La Muse twice (last time in early 2009) and have liked it a lot both times. I can't speak for their other wines or vintages, sorry!

-Michael

Michael Malinoski

One of our recent regular poker games took place at Zach’s house, with the wines supplied by Kyle. Only the opening wine was served non-blind, with the rest served in organized flights of two. 2009 Château d'Oupia Minervois Rosé . This is kind of light and tight on the nose, with gentle aromas of st...

Michael Malinoski

Thanks, guys!

I love Bordeaux, but thrive on variety, as well. As a professional market researcher, I always enjoy learning something new--in this case about different wine areas and styles!

Best,
Michael

Michael Malinoski

A little while back, 9 of us met at Peach Farm in Chinatown to dine on many, many crazy dishes and drink many, many crazy-good wines. As usual, there was no theme, no blind flights, and no drinking order, just good times. 2002 Gaston Chiquet Champagne Millésime Or . A blend of 60% Pinot Noir and 40%...

Michael Malinoski

Here and there over the past year, we’ve tried to get a small group together on Monday evenings over at our friend Ed’s house. On a recent Monday it was just 3 of us, but we did our best to consume a lot of Chinese take-out and drink several outstanding wines. 1996 Gosset Champagne Celebris Brut . O...

Michael Malinoski

A friend and I recently attended a concert together and decided to do a little tailgating in the parking lot before the show. 2006 Inman Family Wines Pinot Noir Russian River Valley . There are a lot of toasty brown spice notes on the airy and pretty nose of this wine, with some sassafras and autumn...

Michael Malinoski

A friend of ours had to move his wine cellar and called upon four of us for help in lugging all the bottles to a new location. Our reward was an opportunity to cherry-pick a few bottles from his stash to drink afterwards to ease the pain in our aching backs. 1996 Pol Roger Champagne Blanc de Chardon...

Michael Malinoski

My wife and I had another couple over recently for an early dinner, and we ended up opening a fair number of wines by the time all was said and done. 2008 Ramey Chardonnay Ritchie Vineyard Russian River Valley . This wine has a bodacious and delightful bouquet to it, loaded with fun scents of hazeln...

Michael Malinoski

A little while back, our golf foursome was thwarted by decidedly inhospitable weather and so we opted instead to retire to the sanctuary of the clubhouse to play some poker and drink some wines we had brought along initally for the 19th hole. Later, we ambled over to a fun little BYO joint for dinne...

Michael Malinoski

Thanks, Alex. I have 2 bottles of the '99 Clos des Goisses left and probably will try to keep hands off for another 2-3 years. The '98 is the vintage I really want to try...

-Michael

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