Not quite an '00 First Growth but a nice evening with my WIS buddy.

A '96 GPL and an '07 Las Cases with a 14900 and a Tag Prof. Nice evening.

 

Great stuff. Did you decant the las cases?

 

Tristing with Southern Italian wines.
She's an assertive one this.

 

Too many Left Banks in the last few posts - where's the love for Right Banks? Pomeral all the way. Seriously, I have a problem with the pencil shavings aroma of many Left Bank Bordeaux, particularly classified growths from Pauillac and the surrounding Medoc area. I like the Merlot-based wines that are slightly up river on the Right Bank.

If we ever have a GTG, I'll bring a '98 LaConseillante or a '94 Arrowood Reserve Merlot to put on the table. Right Bank or a New World wine that has fooled even experienced Merlot-based Bordeaux drinkers.

...... and let's not get started on Burgundy.

Oof - you're a baby killer! I've got some 2007's that I won't even touch yet. Still drinking the '00 Riservas.

So, we've been on a search for daily drinkers that won't break the bank. Not having much luck finding my wife a red that isn't too tannic, doesn't have herbal / green notes, has a lot of red fruit, and is under $60 a bottle. She'll certainly have a glass or two of the mid-90's Ponsots (Chapelle-Chambertin and Clos de la Roche) when we crack them open, but paying that sum on a regular basis would put us in bankruptcy court.

 

Oh, I'm definitely a fan of Right banks too! Pomerols and St. Emilions for sure! Have never ben fortunate to try a Petrus, but I've had some Clinet, Taillefer, Trotanoy and Le Fleur De Gay. As for St. Emilions, I've had a few Angelus. But there are great value-for-money ones like Tauzinat.

As for Burgs, yeah, I love them, but I admittedly haven't had the chance to dedicate the needed investment (time and money) to really collect them. So, I rely on my generous friends who are far knowledgeable on Burgs.

If we're talking about great value-for-money, Burg-like wines though, then there's classic Rioja - Lopez de Heredia, Faustino, Bodegas Riojanas, etc. These wines, aged long enough can approximate the elegance and complexity of great Burgs at far lower prices

 

Most certainly did, him and I split a case of it last year and we've been itching to check in on how it's doing.

I second the Lopez de Heredia suggestion, try the Bosconia and see if she likes it, but don't expect it to be under $60 a bottle.

And as far as Ponsot is concerned
I had the fortune to be around a few high rollers while back and somehow got in on a DRC tasting. Maybe Mrs. Ulackfocus would enjoy those?

 

@LawBrk : You're getting confused between me and @ulackfocus!

 

Dt! That's what happens when you have two bottles of Bordeaux and a cigar right before bed.

 

We've all been there before!

 

Expect complete bollocks from me this evening on my second glass and not had dinner yet

OmegaSean

 

2014 Trius saucing on blanc from the Niagara region (okay the spell check is really messing me up...Sauvignon blanc dammmit!). Making some chook stock so used a 1/2 cup there and we drank the rest for dinner. Not a real white fan but this was good!

 

Hit the spot. Not baaad

 

Hey, the official beer of Speedmaster fanboys!

 

Last night was fun - it was our $25 California Cab-Off. The contestants:

2009 Hagen's Reserve - $23.66
2010 Conn Creek - $24.99
2012 Textbook - $22.98
2012 Hardin - $23.98

The results:

2009 Hagen's Reserve - 31 points (4 firsts, 5 seconds)
2010 Conn Creek - 29 points (4 firsts, 3 seconds, 2 thirds)
2012 Hardin - 20 points (1 first, 1 second, 6 thirds, 1 fourth)
2012 Textbook - 10 points (1 third, 8 fourths)

Even though the Textbook looks like it had a poor showing, it really wasn't bad to drink. It was just outshined by the others. As far as the top 2 spots, it came down to personal preference for the style. Those who enjoy a profile of peppery spice, dark fruit & menthol voted for the Hagen's Reserve, while others who favor cinnamon spice & cranberry / red fruit voted for the Conn Creek.

We had a 2002 JJ Prum Graacher Himmelreich Spatlese for our warm up wine.

Tonight, we're going to a dinner sponsored by Daou Winery. We're bringing the dessert wine: 1966 Krohn's Colheita Port.

 

^Have you had much from Conn Creek in the past? Interested to hear more. I did the 'blending experience' at Conn Creek, and although it was a fun experience, found their wines to be lacking, but most were quite young. I'd be curious if these become a much better reasonably priced cab once laid down for a few years.

 

No, this is our first try.

From what I'm told, this is made with the Cab barrels that don't make it into the Bordeaux style blend the winery produces. It was pretty damn good, a little more red fruit with cinnamon than I'm used to in a Napa Cab, getting close to what you'd expect from an inexpensive Borgougne blend / village level Burgundy.

We plan on finding out just that - I have 3 bottles going in a case earmarked for future consumption. Actually, there are quite a few $10 - $30 Cabs that are the guinea pigs for that exact experiment. Besides 3 of each of the wines in the Cab-off, there are:

6 x 2012 H3 (Horse Heaven Hills)
6 x 2012 Columbia Crest
3 x 2012 Sebastiani Alexander Valley

MIght grab 3 2012 Conn Creek bottles too.

 

Thanks, I await your findings! I'm on a similar, albeit less formalized quest to yours. I'm finding "Reverse Wine Snob" to be a good source of inspiration for inexpensive wines that punch above their price tags.

 

One of best value for money Bordeaux wines

 

Did the blending experience thing too on our last trip to Napa.

I thought it was a lot of fun and it was definitely not something you are likely to get the chance to do again elsewhere.

In terms of their wines, the straight Cab Savs elsewhere in Napa are much better but their price point was pretty reasonable.

My favorite was actually their Cab Franc for $50.

Hard to find Cab Franc at even our big wine retailers here in Chicago.

 

Tonight's cocktail of choice: a Vesper Martini ... 3 ounces of Bombay Sapphire, one ounce of Belvedere, half an ounce of Lillet. Shake over ice until super cold, then strain into a frosted Martini glass or champagne coupe with a long, curly twist of lemon ...