What are we drinking in the Omicron ominous?

Blanquito · Post by **Blanquito** » Fri Apr 17, 2020 2:51 am

Single malt scotch, 23 years old.

Comte Flaneur · Post by **Comte Flaneur** » Fri Apr 17, 2020 9:09 am

Cappellano Barolo Pie Franco 2004

14% ABV, it had an oxidative note and a brown hue. Undeterred I double decanted at 5pm.
By the time I came back three hours later the colour had brightened up and it was singing.
Multi-faceted nose of balsamic, menthol, sandalwood, cedar, herbs, gardenia
On the palate, ripe, rich, big and expansive, but at the same time elegant, exhilarating and electric
Overall a sensational bottle, the best barolo I have tried since the 2001 Pie Franco a year and a half ago.
On the basis of this bottle there is no need to wait.
I think I paid $80-90 bottle for these ten years ago from the Wine Connection, Pound Ridge, New York State. Wish I had bought more, absolutely thrilling wine.

tim · Post by **tim** » Fri Apr 17, 2020 10:39 am

I poured myself a glass of single malt scotch the other night, and I confirmed that I really don't like scotch. I've tried great ones in the past, and much as I try to like it, I couldn't. I had to wash out the taste with a little bit of calvados.

jal · Post by **jal** » Fri Apr 17, 2020 11:32 am

Claret wrote:2012 Rhys Alpine Chardonnay. A stunner.

meeting with
I understand there was a Zoom meeting yesterday with the owner and winemaker of Rhys. That sounds amazing. Were you there Glenn? How did that go?

jckba · Post by **jckba** » Fri Apr 17, 2020 11:50 am

JCNorthway wrote:JC, at age 15, do you think those Brunellos will lose the prominent oak before the wine fades? I have a few bottles of 2007 Chateauneuf du Pape that still has significant and troubling oak presence. Based on following this wine since release, I'm not sure it will ever achieve a balance.

I think the ones with good fruit and good underlying materials should be better suited in being able to pull it off and allow for the oak to soften / mellow but that will surely not be the case across the board. The more troubling aspect to me is when the oak is coupled with higher alcohol as that is something that doesn’t really ever change and will likely always cause a problem. I guess we shall see.

Claret · Post by **Claret** » Fri Apr 17, 2020 2:27 pm

jal wrote:
Claret wrote:2012 Rhys Alpine Chardonnay. A stunner.
I understand there was a Zoom meeting yesterday with the owner and winemaker of Rhys. That sounds amazing. Were you there Glenn? How did that go?

Yes I was online. My first zoom experience, it was cool. Kevin and Jeff used photos to highlight areas of the vineyards. Members were posting tasting notes on chat. There was a q and a at the end.

The Alpine Chardonnay was Puligny Montrachet like. Glad to have 2 more. I stopped buying Rhys with the 13 vintage. The pricing was edging up and I still have a total of 63 bottles in the cellar. The PN take a long time to come around. 06 Alpine opened this month was finally showing some maturity.

jal · Post by **jal** » Fri Apr 17, 2020 3:36 pm

Sounds great. That's a great way for a winemaker to keep in touch with customers.

I have only had the Chardonnay a couple of times and liked it. I'll try to find some.

JCNorthway · Post by **JCNorthway** » Fri Apr 17, 2020 3:54 pm

I know of Rhys wines but have never had any. Just looked them up, and they are quite pricey. I understand prices have been increasing in recent years, but were they always on the expensive side?

Claret · Post by **Claret** » Fri Apr 17, 2020 4:53 pm

Mostly sold on a mailing list so secondary market can be higher. SVD's started at $49 with the 06's and have gone up.

JAL, I have had some Chardonnay from Rhys which did not age well. The 12 and 13 are good bets as well as newer vintages.

Blanquito · Post by **Blanquito** » Sat Apr 18, 2020 12:14 am

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stefan · Post by **stefan** » Sat Apr 18, 2020 12:48 am

I hope it is as good as it looks, Patrick.

Tonight we drank 2013 St Innocent Freedom Hill PN with shrimp and tomatoes over polenta. This wine was unattractive a few months after release and stayed that way for quite some time but has now come around. I was worried about the 2013 St Innocent PNs, but no longer. They are smoothing out and should be quite good when they reach maturity in around five years. This is what some Burgundy lovers predicted several years ago. I had my doubts, but they were right.

Winona Chief · Post by **Winona Chief** » Sat Apr 18, 2020 1:31 am

Tonight we each had a nice big glass of Dr. Thanisch (Erben-Thanisch) 2015 Berncasteler Doctor Riesling Kabinett. This is very good stuff - light and a little sweet with zinging acidity. Great fruit and only 8% alcohol.

Chris Bublitz

DavidG · Post by **DavidG** » Sat Apr 18, 2020 4:15 am

2017 Bouchard Meursault Perrières. Young and yummy

Claret · Post by **Claret** » Sat Apr 18, 2020 2:53 pm

stefan wrote:I hope it is as good as it looks, Patrick.

Tonight we drank 2013 St Innocent Freedom Hill PN with shrimp and tomatoes over polenta. This wine was unattractive a few months after release and stayed that way for quite some time but has now come around. I was worried about the 2013 St Innocent PNs, but no longer. They are smoothing out and should be quite good when they reach maturity in around five years. This is what some Burgundy lovers predicted several years ago. I had my doubts, but they were right.

Thanks for the data point. I have been bullish on 13 WV PN while they rest. I bought a decent amount of 13 SI during a Cyber Monday sale and have not popped one yet. I have the most from Zenith so maybe I should pull one from storage.

stefan · Post by **stefan** » Sat Apr 18, 2020 4:06 pm

If you have a lot, now is the time to take a taste. I suggest a tomato based dish rather than a mushroom one and five hours of airing. Let me know what you think. Yours might not be as far along as mine as my storage for young wines is at 65F.

Claret · Post by **Claret** » Sun Apr 19, 2020 2:57 pm

It might be a while before I get to my locker to pull a 13. Next up is 06 Seven Springs Special Selection.

stefan · Post by **stefan** » Sun Apr 19, 2020 3:02 pm

NV Perrier-Jouet. At one time we drank this fairly often, but stopped when it had a down period. This bottle, purchased a year or two ago, was quite good, with some peach overtones and a fullish taste. Then with beef Bourguignon we drank 2015 Domaine Drouhin Laurene Pinot Noir. Lucie says the light nose was very nice, but I could not smell anything. This balanced Dundee Hills PN has good structure and pure flavors, but it is way too young for my taste. The regular DD Dundee Hills PN is much better for current drinking even if it also will benefit from being blanquitoed at least once.

Blanquito · Post by **Blanquito** » Sun Apr 19, 2020 5:11 pm

The 2008 Laurent Perrier I had a few days confirmed for me that this is a top value in vintage bubbly. The 02 of this in February really charmed as well, while the 08 was much more steely and bright at present.

robert goulet · Post by **robert goulet** » Sun Apr 19, 2020 11:49 pm

brodway wrote:Talbot has always been good....never had a great one that moved me...but reliable and at $30 or so for the 2000 a superb value...Please report back on the showing for the 2000...i have a few hidden in a dark deep cabinet

'82 Talbot is an absolute freak of greatness

Nicklasss · Post by **Nicklasss** » Sun Apr 19, 2020 11:49 pm

Limited experience, but I like Laurent Perrier and Perrier-Jouët Champagnes. Elegance, flowery, festive wines.

The 2002 Perrier-Jouët Belle Époque is impossible to resist to.

Last fall, with friends, i brought 3 bottles of the regular Laurent Perrier. I opened one bottle but... you can imagine that 60 min after, none of the 3 bottles were having any liquid left.

Nic

jckba · Post by **jckba** » Mon Apr 20, 2020 12:08 am

2006 Clos des Papes CdP Blanc

Blanquito · Post by **Blanquito** » Mon Apr 20, 2020 12:19 am

1990 Langoa Barton: Fully mature, round, soft, very pleasant but for a Third Growth from 1990, a little bland. Kinda an 88-89 point wine, one we happily drink, but not one we really need to seek again.

Claudius2 · Post by **Claudius2** » Mon Apr 20, 2020 9:51 am

Been drinking a few less famous Bordeaux, with the air conditioning on full and 95F/35C degrees and 100% humidity outside.

The 2013 Chateau Dassault St Emilion was not bad for a lesser vintage, a little fluid but with some nice plummy fruit, a little smoky oak and green tobacco.
The 2011 Loudonne Medoc CB was a bit better despite the vintage - nice Medoc style fruit, medium bodied, quite long with cedary oak and a touch of herbs.

Blanquito
Drank the 2006 Langoa Barton recently and was very disappointed.
Thin, dry, with not much of anything. No evident faults just too dilute and plain.
I drank a bottle or two of the same a few yrs earlier and it was better but still rather dull.
Not sure if I was unlucky but the Loudenne (which was about $US15) was much better.

Just one point about lockdown. We are coping pretty well but there is a bit of a disaster in worker's accommodation here.
Just about all "work" here (I mean labouring, construction, cleaning, roadwork, maintenance, domestic and commercial service jobs etc) are filled by foreign workers on work visas.
Unfortunately, there have been large numbers of these workers who have been infected over the last week or so.
The govt is now desperately trying to quarantine them and move uninfected people out, but there are so many of them relative to the population (they are around 20% of the total population here) and they are living in crowded dormitories and hostels. At least they are generally young and quite fit and none have died out of several thousand infections.

cheers
Mark

stefan · Post by **stefan** » Mon Apr 20, 2020 3:19 pm

2003 Smith-Haut-Lafitte with 2nd day Beef Bourguignon. I do not remember drinking this wine, but my OWC contains only 8 bottles. Not a good sign either for me or for the wine. Lucie likes the the wine, so all is well. But my impression is that it was vatted with vanilla infused burnt oak chips. Certainly it is not like S-H-L was in the olden days. Probably I was kinder in judging previous bottles, feeling that the wine was just too young. I'll try to forget this bottle as well and hope not to reopen the case by mistake for five years.

Blanquito · Post by **Blanquito** » Mon Apr 20, 2020 3:25 pm

stefan wrote:2003 Smith-Haut-Lafitte... my impression is that it was vatted with vanilla infused burnt oak chips.

That’s a good thing, right?

But seriously, you nail what turns me off this chateau. That and the gloss. And the heat. And the sweetness I suppose!

OrlandoRobert · Post by **OrlandoRobert** » Mon Apr 20, 2020 3:28 pm

Popped a 2014 Rougeard last night. Killer juice!

Paired well with fast food fried chicken. I’ve got no shame!

JCNorthway · Post by **JCNorthway** » Mon Apr 20, 2020 3:49 pm

We opened a couple of bottles of older white Burgundy on Friday evening - 2004 Morey Chassagne Caillerets, and 2004 Fevre Chablis Les Clos. They had sort of gotten lost in our move from Chicago and I wanted to see if they had survived. Upon opening, neither of them seemed at all worth drinking. But I set them aside and opened a younger wine to drink with dinner. After a couple of hours, both wines had somewhat revived. The Chassagne had a bit more of that "carmel" flavor than I would prefer, but there was still some enjoyable fruit to enjoy. The Chablis actually made a better recovery; it showed pretty good fruit, had developed a nice fragrant nose, and was quite enjoyable. All in all, they are far past their best at age 16, but they are still enjoyable enough to drink.

stefan · Post by **stefan** » Mon Apr 20, 2020 7:27 pm

Not at all sweet, Patrick. The sugar probably morphed into alcohol.

robert goulet · Post by **robert goulet** » Mon Apr 20, 2020 10:02 pm

stefan wrote:I agree with Chris on Larose-Trintaudon. This estate consistently produces a solid wine at a modest price. The 2010 is a best buy.

I went lady gaga over the '04

Nicklasss · Post by **Nicklasss** » Mon Apr 20, 2020 10:07 pm

Blanquito wrote:
stefan wrote:2003 Smith-Haut-Lafitte... my impression is that it was vatted with vanilla infused burnt oak chips.
That’s a good thing, right?

But seriously, you nail what turns me off this chateau. That and the gloss. And the heat. And the sweetness I suppose!

Come on blanquito and stefan, SHL is like the Freddie Mercury of red Bordeaux. What not to like?

Since it's rebirth with the Cathiard, yes it is more flashy but Pessac Léognan complex and concentrated like that, can deal easily with a bit of gloss!

Nic

JimHow · Post by **JimHow** » Mon Apr 20, 2020 10:32 pm

What's this "gloss" business all of a sudden?
I've never heard that term used in wine descriptions until recently.
Has Neil Martin or somebody started using it?
What does it mean? What is the characteristic of a wine when it is "too glossy"?
I still like SHL, Nicola, even though it has definitely become much more modern.

Chateau Vin · Post by **Chateau Vin** » Mon Apr 20, 2020 10:33 pm

Claudius2 wrote:.
.
.
Drank the 2006 Langoa Barton recently and was very disappointed.
Thin, dry, with not much of anything. No evident faults just too dilute and plain.
I drank a bottle or two of the same a few yrs earlier and it was better but still rather dull.
.
.
.

cheers
Mark

I don't know if Langoa has younger vines or something else, but I find their Grand Vin in recent years rather thin and prosaic. I have tried 00, 05, 10, 12, 15 and 16. Also, at the UGC tastings, trying Langoa next to it's big brother LeoB doesn't help either...

Chateau Vin · Post by **Chateau Vin** » Mon Apr 20, 2020 10:36 pm

Nicklasss wrote:
Blanquito wrote:
stefan wrote:2003 Smith-Haut-Lafitte... my impression is that it was vatted with vanilla infused burnt oak chips.
That’s a good thing, right?

But seriously, you nail what turns me off this chateau. That and the gloss. And the heat. And the sweetness I suppose!
Come on blanquito and stefan, SHL is like the Freddie Mercury of red Bordeaux. What not to like?

Since it's rebirth with the Cathiard, yes it is more flashy but Pessac Léognan complex and concentrated like that, can deal easily with a bit of gloss!

Nic

I thought 2010 version of SHL was dynamite. Granted I tried it very young, but it's head and shoulders above some of the great chateaux of that great vintage. Have to see how it pans out going forward, but I have confidence...

Chateau Vin · Post by **Chateau Vin** » Mon Apr 20, 2020 10:40 pm

Comte Flaneur wrote:Cappellano Barolo Pie Franco 2004

14% ABV, it had an oxidative note and a brown hue. Undeterred I double decanted at 5pm.
By the time I came back three hours later the colour had brightened up and it was singing.
Multi-faceted nose of balsamic, menthol, sandalwood, cedar, herbs, gardenia
On the palate, ripe, rich, big and expansive, but at the same time elegant, exhilarating and electric
Overall a sensational bottle, the best barolo I have tried since the 2001 Pie Franco a year and a half ago.
On the basis of this bottle there is no need to wait.
I think I paid $80-90 bottle for these ten years ago from the Wine Connection, Pound Ridge, New York State. Wish I had bought more, absolutely thrilling wine.

Don't know how I missed this note, Comte. I have Cappellano Pie Franco 03 and 06, but not 04. Maybe I should try the 03 version first...I also have Rupestris versions of 04, 06 and 08...Do you think the Rupestris 04 is ready, now that you have had the Franco 04?

Blanquito · Post by **Blanquito** » Mon Apr 20, 2020 11:37 pm

So true, Ian. I’ve only had Cappellano barolo twice. Both times it was epic, and despite being young by barolo standards, these were right up there with the best I’ve ever had.

stefan · Post by **stefan** » Tue Apr 21, 2020 12:38 am

The 2003 is concentrated for sure, Nic. Mostly with oak. I did not find anything Grave-like.

I haven't tasted other youngish SHL. Maybe they would be better for my taste.

Nicklasss · Post by **Nicklasss** » Tue Apr 21, 2020 12:46 am

Jim, chateau vin, count me as a fan of Chateau Smith Haut Lafitte. Grands Vins and Deuxièmes Vins, in both colors.

Gloss is positive i guess to a wine description. Faint, dim or dull would be the opposite, like the faint, dim and dull, boring 1993 Chateau Batailley.

Nic

JimHow · Post by **JimHow** » Tue Apr 21, 2020 12:53 am

I too would think "gloss" would be a positive term, Nic, but it seems to be a negative term in descriptions of fine Bordeaux.
Honestly, in 25 years of drinking Bordeaux, I've never heard the term "gloss" used to describe these wines, now all of a sudden I'm seeing it everywhere, not just here on BWE. That's why I'm wondering if some leading wine taster recently started using the term. And I'm STILL not sure exactly what it means, or even whether it is a positive or a negative....

JimHow · Post by **JimHow** » Tue Apr 21, 2020 1:16 am

My business card is glossy.
My high school graduation picture from 1976 was printed on glossy paper.
Smith Haut Lafitte -- "glossy"? -- I remember meeting the Cathiards in their garden back in 2015, Nicola, late afternoon, the president of Singapore inside with his entourage.... Classy, perhaps, but "glossy" I'm having trouble reconciling...

Claudius2 · Post by **Claudius2** » Tue Apr 21, 2020 9:50 am

Chateau Vin,
If the 2005 is similar to the 2006, then I am sending it to auction.
I have a full OWC in the wine hold, and I was hoping that it would be more like Leoville B (at least in an average vintage).
I think I still have 1 bottle of the 2006, but not to worry.

Jim
At the Leoville Barton vertical a few months back, one taster kept describing the wines as "glossy", and I thought it referred to the shiny colour.
The LB's really did look "glossy" from that perspective, but I largely ignored it at the time and thought the low level of light played some role.
However, it certainly did not mean the wine was over-blown or worked.
So I'm just as confused.....