Wine Enthusiasts

[transactionfee]

vintage 2007

[ken shinoda]

2002 Bodega Catena Zapata Nicolas Catena Zapata- My respect to this wine. Could mistaken this for a world wine. Cabernet-Malbec, terrific blend.

[islandboi8204]

how did you guys learn how to really taste wine? they all taste relatively similar to me, except when it comes to sweetness. i can't taste all those subtle flavors... just grape.

[JayDC7]

just drink more wine or go to a wine tasting. the more you drink the easier it will be to pick out the slight differences between them.

[ryker01]

I'm not sure what you expected from the 93 Lafleur. Probably the second worst vintage in the 90's to 92.

The best wines I've had recently were

1985 Le Pin: Awesome wine with dense red/black fruit, olive tapenade, and a hint of menthol. Really complete wine with great mid palate denisty and a killer finish.

1990 La Tache: The best burgundy I've ever had hands down.

1999 La Tache: Will rival or possibly surpass the 90 one day, but it needs several years to fill out its huge structure.

On a side note I just drank a bottle of the 2005 Sine Qua Non Atlantis Grenache that paker gave 98pts to. It sucked. Just a massive oak bomb.

[transactionfee]

"Let me show you how this is done. First thing, hold the glass up and examine the wine against the light. You're looking for color and clarity. Just, get a sense of it. OK? Uhh, thick? Thin? Watery? Syrupy? OK? Alright. Now, tip it. What you're doing here is checking for color density as it thins out towards the rim. Uhh, that's gonna tell you how old it is, among other things. It's usually more important with reds. OK? Now, stick your nose in it. Don't be shy, really get your nose in there. Mmm... a little citrus... maybe some strawberry..."

CHEERS!

[darkanimal]

[rockon99]

Bump?

i bumped 2 wine threads cos i didnt know which one people liked more.. this one seems to deal with nicer wines though.

[rockon99]

Bumpppp...

2nd wine thread i've bumped.. pick one.

[FUCK]

I've been loving Chilean wines lately, especially this cab, which just happens to be sold out everywhere in town:

They also make a decent sauvignon blanc.

Any South American recommendations would be greatly appreciated!

A decent blog worth checking out for cheap wine reviews:

http://cheapwineratings.com/

[readytoignite]

intriguing, do these shirazs all fit the stereotype of uber-concentrated? i had a really good one last year, will have to check my notes

Eileen Hardy Shiraz

Wynns Coonawarra Estate Cabernet Sauvignon/shiraz Limited Release

going to give penfolds bin 138 another mention (i love blends) especially an "02" or "03"

Wirra Wirra's Scrubby Rise Shiraz or blend

Wolfblass Black label shiraz/blend,

Wolfblass Grey Label Shiraz/ Cab Sav

D’Arenberg various

Clarendon Hills Kangarilla Vineyard Old Vine Grenache (i also love old vine hence bin 138 as well)

There are to many more, perhaps we can get thie thread going, i would love to discuss wines in depth, one of my many pastimes..

[B-Dawg]

Just got a bottle of Graham's 20 year old port, which i'm excited about. Anyone tried it before?

[rockon99]

im rather new to wine, i dont quite know how to taste it for what it is. i just know whats sweet and dry. What is a good red wine to start with that isnt sweet, but isnt like.. the most extreme of dry. i kinda imagening something fresh and grapey, but not all sweet and gross. thanksssssss

edit: Under $30 would be nice as well - im rather a beginner.

[readytoignite]

you're in oregon? go to a decent wine store and ask for recs on local pinots

[the_state]

im rather new to wine, i dont quite know how to taste it for what it is. i just know whats sweet and dry. What is a good red wine to start with that isnt sweet, but isnt like.. the most extreme of dry. i kinda imagening something fresh and grapey, but not all sweet and gross. thanksssssss

edit: Under $30 would be nice as well - im rather a beginner.

i think your best bet is to educate yourself on types of wine before you narrow down which particular bottle tastes great. understand the differences in each will let you know what you like, and then you can find really great bottles. pinot noirs are generally light, cabernets are full bodied and heavy, merlots taste like sour ass, malbec is ninja and steezy as fuck, and there's some type of relatively inexpensive red w/ a french name (dejoublais or something?!) that's really good and can be served a little chilled. go out there and see what ya like.

[chrisbunnington]

(dejoublais or something?!)

beaujolais is a red wine from technically the southern part of burgundy, but it's most commonly treated as its own wine producing region. it's really a great way to start drinking red wine, and yeah, you can serve it a bit chilled and it's really nice, especially during summertime. it definitely fits the description of "fresh and grapey", and i think starting off with a few bottles of decent beaujolais is a good way to get used to drinking red wine and becoming accustomed to its nuances and flavours. from there on, you'll develop a better understanding of what you enjoy in a wine. georges dubouef is a reliable producer of beaujolais, so try a couple by him. as a bonus, beaujolais is cheap.

[readytoignite]

you're talking about beaujolais nouveau, which is basically seasonal table wine. there are other classifications of beaujolais that don't really fit the description, most notably the cru beaujolais that won't have the word on the bottle but are the best the region has to offer.

my advice to people who want to learn about wine is just to drink it, and occasionally get something nice (preferably, when traveling to a place known for their wine). the difference will become apparent. there's no real point in busting the bank getting the good stuff if you can't appreciate it.

[swooc]

Eileen Hardy Shiraz

Wynns Coonawarra Estate Cabernet Sauvignon/shiraz Limited Release

i bought a 2002 eileen hardy shiraz a couple of weeks ago and it was pretty good. im not really a big fan of expensive wine but it was 70 bucks well spent.

i would love to try a wynns coonawarra limited release, one of my favourite mid priced reds are the wynnns connawarra vintage releases.

going to buy a few bottles of torbreck barossa 'woodcutters' shiraz next. seem to be quite popular and cheap too.

[rockon99]

^thank you guys for your help

+rep

edit: the wine steward at the store i work at recommended (im just copy/pasting) 2005 'Les Ruffes', La Sauvageonne, Coteaux du Languedoc

lol

[ericdw]

during downtime at work, I just read The Billionaire's Vinegar by Benjamin Wallace about wine collecting and counterfitting, and particularly about several bottles of Lafite 1787 owned by Thomas Jefferson. Good quick read for ppl interested in collecting mega-expensive wines.

[rxtim]

looking for an oaky chardonnay, up to $25-30, any ideas?

[readytoignite]

i'm not a big fan of oaked chardonnays (or at least it's not something i would ever seek out deliberately) but maybe penfold's may suit the bill at a lower price point...?

[rxtim]

thanks, it's for some dinner party

[YoungPunch]

Tried the '06 North Star Merlot and Col Solare out of Washington State today. Great wines. The sales rep at my store is hooking us up with a great cost price. Our retail margin is a little low, but most def. will sell well for the holiday season. Both wines are excellent: flavorful and smooth - drinking. Highly recommend.

[blm14]

Is this really the only wine thread?!

[broneck]

I know that's an old post, but SMH at people drinking cheap oaked chardonnay. Almost all chardonnay's under $25 are oaked unnaturally - that is to say, that shitloads of oak chips are literally dumped into the wine, which sucks up loads of the flavour, imparting that nasty taste into the final product.

Most people I know who don't like oaked chardonnay say so because they drink some 5 dolla holla and never get the full experience. Chard is one of the only whites I drink (because generally I find shit like Sauv Blanc or Pinot Gris comparable to watching paint dry), but you've gotta shell out 30 bucks or so otherwise it tastes like perfume. (helps to be from France too)

Any Cote Rotie fans in the house?

[blm14]

Ok so normally I stay away from wine in a box, but this was $10 at my local wine store and it's organic:

http://www.calnaturale.com/

I got the cabernet sauv planning to use it for cooking, but I had a glass first to taste. It's actually shockingly good!

[lestat]

Bouchard Chevalier-Montrachet - my favorite chard... but cant afford to drink it on the regular...

Grgich Hills, Cakebread, Hanzell are my usual go to chards

got a '86 d'qyuem and a '99 Bouchard P&f La Romanée waiting to be opened...

[blm14]

I hate you for that d'qyuem. kan haz a glass?

[jyoni]

Is it unrounded of me if I only like Amarone or Ripasso?

edit**Ripasso is usually better imo, should take the edge off that question.