Opened the bottle of 1970 Graham's Vintage Port last night to sample tonight. Oh my Gawd. <or> Holy feckin' sheeyat! (whichever you choose) More refined with a little less fruit and punch than the 1985 and in SUCH a great spot right now. This is probably gonna be another year I have to rack a few bottles of. For dinner with friends, we brought a bottle of 2001 Arrowood Reserve Speciale. It's still not fully resolved, but infinitely more drinkable than a year and a half ago. The tannins have mellowed, the peppery spice is still present but not overbearing, and the fruit is coming to peak. I figure by the time I've exhausted my supply of '95 (1 magnum and 7 regular bottles) in a year or two, the '01 should be just into it's prime drinking window.
Yes, definitely not for everyone. It wasn't always the case, but I'm pretty much exclusively Islay these days. We do agree on the Jays though. Hopefully they can add a few more runs.
Putting together another Cab-off. 4 bottles, served blind in brown paper bags labelled with letters to our group, of $25 California Cabernet Sauvignon. As with the $50 Cab-off, 1 of them is our house favorite. Chappellet was that favorite in the $50 bracket and it won, narrowly beating out Odette's Adaptation. (click HERE for the thread on Wine Berserkers) This time, however, our house favorite is up against some tighter competition. I won't say what those brands are now, but will link back once the GTG "panel" has voted. Funny thing is that just like last time, I've had all but one of the bottles. Anyway, sitting in the fridge as of yesterday is a bottle of 2012 Jean Edwards Cellar Rutherford Reserve from the George III vineyard in the Beckstoffer area. What an awesome Cab! It's half the price of Hourglass with a very similar profile. I think once the last 2 bottles of Hourglass are gone they'll be replaced by a case of JEC's 2013. Have a case (6 bottles) of the 2012 left. Glad I do because as good as it is now, it's only gonna get better with age. Tonight is the last glass of the 1970 Graham's VP. Oh well, there's more to be found if necessary. Still haven't had a port that can knock 1985 Graham's off the top of the hill though.
Price hasn't had his best stuff but he always seems to have another level when he needs it. More runs would be nice though....
My favourite is still Dalmore 15. I buy it at the duty free every time I cross the border. Shamefully, I have to have ice in an Islay.
Duty free is definitely our friend, especially with single malts. I'll be picking up a bottle on my return from Vegas in a few weeks. This 10 yr Ardbeg was CAD $100 at the LCBO....
Me too - to paraphrase Mike Myers...if it's not Isaly, it's crap! If you don't agree then as Jock McBile would say...get stuffed! Anyway I do occasionally drink Scotch not from Islay, but not very often. Ardberg has become a favourite these days, in particular the Uigeadail. My wife is in the US regularly so she can get it far cheaper than we can here - I think it's $170 a bottle here and she got it for a lot less down there. Not even at Duty Free, just a store she goes to with a very good selection.
I might have gone a little off the reservation at the Japanese supermarket across the river, but these were on sale and it's the best sake I've ever had...