Wine Thread

[KDawgCometh 2]

Geez, this got 3 pages in. OT's been busy!I finally had a french wine last night.2006 La Ramillade Cote Du Rhone.Was actually pretty darn good. So well balanced, nothing stood out too much, which is nice. Very easy to drink. Also had Altos Las Hormigas 2006 Malbec (Mendoza, Argentina)Not quite as good. Oh well.

what do you know, I was right . You should check out a bunch of the 05 Cotes Du Rhones as that year was one of the best years in the southern rhone in recent history

Château Margaux 1990 (This is from my cellar)

oh good lord

[leftygolfer 7]

i like whoresi'm not sure why i've never mentioned it before but dammit it deserves to be said.

OK # 10

Should I PM you my address for the invite so its not awkward for you when I crash your wedding?

Sure. We are registered at Macy's.

oh good lord - that's what she said.

Just finished off a 2003 Yalumba Shiraz(95%)/Viognier(5%). Had bought it a couple of years ago when we did an Australian/South African tasting. Yalumba is Australia's oldest winery.It was an unusual combination, but I like it as the Viognier mellows out the Shiraz.

[KDawgCometh 2]

jeff, I'm a very big fan of the shiraz/viognier combo. It doesn't always get Cote Rotie like because barossa fruit is so ripe, but I agree that it mellows out some of the over the top ness of some aussie shiraz's. You really should check out the Domaine&Terlato Shiraz/Viognier. I had the 05 and it was straight Cote Rotie-esque but that is more because it's from Victoria rather then from South Australia. Be sure to check out this one(it's for around 26 at my store):

• 2006 Mr. Riggs Shiraz - Viognier - Australia, South Australia, Mount Lofty Ranges, Adelaide Hills (3/1/2008)super dark purple on the color herenose: sumptuous nose of black berries, coffee, blueberries, black currant, smoked wood notes, and even some bacon fat and floral tones. Not a fruit bomb at all, but still very aromatic and deeptaste: very weighty on the palate with black berries, smoked game notes, bacon fat, black currant, and dark spice notesoverall: this is outstanding. Wonderful feel on the palate that is also very filling. It hits all parts of the palate and leaves a very long finish of blackberry and black currant. Very dark in the fruit, and very tasty (91 pts.)

Posted from CellarTrackerhere are some others that I've had recently that I really reccomend:

• 2004 Azienda Agricola Dei Vino Nobile di Montepulciano - Italy, Tuscany, Montepulciano, Vino Nobile di Montepulciano (3/8/2008)nose: nice rounded and earth driven nose with floral notes, cherry, bits of raspberry, and cummintaste: very fluid on the palate with floral notes, dark cherry, mixed berries, with spice notes and red currantsoverall: an excellent wine. Nice weight and balance with a good 20 second finish (91 pts.)
• 2005 La Spinetta (Rivetti) Il Nero di Casanova Toscana IGT - Italy, Tuscany, Toscana IGT (3/8/2008)nose: nice soft nose of cherry, raspberry, cedar, and floral notestaste: lush feel of cherry, floral notes, cedar, and some earth tonesoverall: very nice and supple on the palate with a very pleasant finish (89 pts.)

Posted from CellarTracker

• 2006 Montes Syrah Alpha - Chile, Central Valley, Rapel Valley, Colchagua Valley (3/2/2008)nose: nice dark nose of coffee beans, smoked game, blackberries, some earth, and dark cherrytaste: nice feel of blackberries, dark cherry, smoked game, earth, and some espresso beans with some black currant and dark spicesoverall: a very nice syrah. Lots of dark tones to it and a nice rustic style to it too. Nice finish of black berry and smoked game. While not the big time rock star that the 05 was, but this is an excellent syrah and a great QPR (90 pts.)
• 2004 Pago Florentino Vino de la Tierra de Castilla - Spain, Castilla-La Mancha, Vino de la Tierra de Castilla (3/1/2008)nose: pungent nose of burnt cedar, black currant, black berries, dark cherry, and even a bit of slight floral notestaste: tons of structure with toasted oak, black currant, black berries, and dark cherry with some black licorice toooverall: this wine is big and excellent. loads of depth and a real nice lasting finish with a great back end. It's amazing just looking at my glass and seeing how long the legs are and how slowly they go down the glass. An excellent and deep wine (91 pts.)
• 2005 Poggio Argentiera Bolgheri Poggio Al Ginepri - Italy, Tuscany, Bolgheri (2/27/2008)decanted for a little over an hournose: nice deep styled bordeaux nose of roasted coffee, blackberries, graphite, red currants, and some damp earth tonestaste: nice and firm with red currants, tobbacco, roasted coffee, cranberry, and earthoverall: this is an excellent wine. nice firm tannins with a nice elegant margaux style feel on the palate. this still has room to grow and hopefully that will add to the finish as the finish doesn't last as long as I'd like, but this is a wine that is worth seeking out (90 pts.)

Posted from CellarTracker

• 2006 Martín Códax Albariño Rías Baixas Burgáns - Spain, Galicia, Rías Baixas (3/8/2008)nose: nice sea breezy nose of vanilla, peaches, sea salt, and even a bit of cinnamontaste: good bright and easy flavors of green apple, peach, sea salt, and vanilla notesoverall: very nice and crisp with a good solid finish (87 pts.)

Posted from CellarTrackerhopefully I'll be able to have a bunch of new stuff to check out after friday, but I've been sick a bit and while I can breathe out of my nose, I still can't smell much unless it's a really strong smell

[leftygolfer 7]

Just finished a 2002 Lincourt Pinot Noir. This was taken from their website and I agree. The Lincourt 2002 Pinot Noir has elegant notes of dark fruit, with aromas ofblueberry, blackberry, cranberry, cherry cola, earth and spice. Medium-bodied, thewine is extremely textured and offers firm yet yielding tannins in the mouth.I am going to look for some more.

[HollywoodAFD 0]

Cherry Block... exclusive.But if you're at a restaurant that has fine wines... ask for it. May not be on the list.AWESOME at $120 a bottle.It's a Cabernet Sauvignon type... more of an oak taste to it than a fruit taste. A bit dry... but still very good.Del Friscos has it.Not sure where else.

[El Guapo 8]

I am having a very mediocre Robert Mondavi Saviaugn Blanc. We used it to cook some procutto wrapped chicken and now I am drinking the rest. Its not as terrible as I would have guessed.

[HollywoodAFD 0]

I am having a very mediocre Robert Mondavi Saviaugn Blanc. We used it to cook some procutto wrapped chicken and now I am drinking the rest. Its not as terrible as I would have guessed.

That could be their marketing slogan."Robert Mondavi... It's not as terrible as you might have guessed"

[brvheart 1,752]

If peach snapple was a wine, then that would be my favorite.

[chaosnhavoc 0]

Havent drank wine in a month or two but when I do it usually is one of these easy to find at most restaraunts and low cost at most stores.ChardonnaysB.V. Reserve-Carneros Napa Valley (2003)B.V.-Carneros Napa Valley (2004) Clos du Bois-Calcaire Russian River Valley (2003)Greg Norman-Santa Barbara County (2004)Kendall Jackson Grand Reserve-Monterey/Santa Barbara (2004)Toasted Head-Russian River Valley (2004)MerlotB.V.-Napa Valley (2003)Greg Norman Estates- (2002)

[leftygolfer 7]

polished off 3 bottles of bubbly tonight. too chrozzo'd lazy to post details...will update later.

[KDawgCometh 2]

I am having a very mediocre Robert Mondavi Saviaugn Blanc. We used it to cook some procutto wrapped chicken and now I am drinking the rest. Its not as terrible as I would have guessed.

*slaps forehead* c'mon man, try new stuff, buy some albarinos and torrontes. I've had a ton of stuff lately, mainly due to my store having a tasting last friday(the 14th) and me having a brunello tasting at my place the next day, and then on wednesday two distributors came through to taste stuff out to us. Here is the full report from my brunello tasting, and I'll give highlights my store's tasting and what the distros brought in:A NIGHT OF BRUNELLOS - My house (3/15/2008)LeatherPalate and Claudio161 came over to my house to have a blind brunello tasting. LP brought some great cheese and Claudio brought some awesome baked ziti.The capsules and corks were removed and then bagged. We then mixed them up a bit on the table and put numbers on them, but we didn't exactly pull a wine according to number, it was more to keep track of stuffkick off wineI busted out this chianti to roll us into the tasting and to have something out before hand while we chatted and got ready for the main event

• 2004 Castello di Monsanto Chianti Classico Riserva - Italy, Tuscany, Chianti, Chianti Classiconose: a bit tight on the nose, even with it being decanted for a good 90 minutes and some good swirling this wasn't giving off much. Was able to get some plum, earth, cherry, and floral notestaste: nice and soft with cherry, earth, and floral tonesoverall: a very nice and full bodied chianti. Has good structure and a nice lasting finish, this one will probably be better in two or three years (88 pts.)

the main eventI threw in the Vino Nobile as a ringer and it worked well. It was great doing these blind as we don't get influenced by labels and knowing what they got scored etc etc. Everything showed pretty well, but obviously some of these will be much better in a few years

• 2003 Azienda Agricola Dei Vino Nobile di Montepulciano Bossona Riserva - Italy, Tuscany, Montepulciano, Vino Nobile di Montepulcianonose: nice pungent nose with floral tones, smoke, black cherry, cedar box tones, and hints of mint. Very nice and full with some nice elegance to ittaste: good and firm with tobbacco, earth, dark cherry, and vanillansoverall: it's young for sure, but there's a lot of promise on this. THe tannins are taking apart the mid palate a bit, but it then leans into a nice floral and peppery finish. Will get better with some age on it (92 pts.)
• 2001 Conti Costanti Brunello di Montalcino Riserva - Italy, Tuscany, Montalcino, Brunello di Montalcinonose: a lot of dark red fruit with a faint candy smell along with dried figs, cherry evolving more in glass, and even bits of tobbacco leaftaste: lots of cherry on the attack with some earth, tobbacco, and a nuttyness to it toooverall: it's very explosive on the attack and mid palate, but finish is slightly lacking, but that is more due to this being a very young wine. This will certainly get better as it ages and more integration happens (91 pts.)
• 1999 Casisano-Colombaio Brunello di Montalcino Riserva - Italy, Tuscany, Montalcino, Brunello di Montalcinonose: huge cherry nose with various cherries, hi-floral tones, tea notes, cigar leaf, lots of mixed berries, and bits of earth. Just utterly sumptuous and insanely balanced and deep at the same timetaste: huge and elegant that is just pure silk on the palate with leather, pepper, tobbacco, lots of silky cherry, mixed berries, and floral tonesoverall: wonderful balance and length. Very classy finish that just doesn't quit. The tannins are still firm, but this is just utterly amazing (95 pts.)
• 1997 Casanova di Neri Brunello di Montalcino Tenuta Nuova - Italy, Tuscany, Montalcino, Brunello di Montalcinonose: very interesting nose of smoke tones, blueberries, game notes, floral tones with slight flavors of compost tones, cherry, black currant, and flavors of clay. Really dense nose that changed a lot in the glasstaste: nice and silky, but not nearly as deep as the nose with cherry, smoke, wild game, floral tones, and a bit of blueberryoverall: a really interesting wine. It changed a lot in a short time and is very elegant, but the finish doesn't bring as much and the mid palate is a bit thin. While possesing some really interesting characteristics, there is a bit lacking that turns this into a amazing wine (91 pts.)
• 1999 Castelgiocondo (Frescobaldi) Brunello di Montalcino Riserva Ripe al Convento - Italy, Tuscany, Montalcino, Brunello di Montalcinonose: big fruitful nose of cherry, vanillans, blueberry, and leather, with some definite oak influence on the nose tootaste: the tannins are just thrashing the palate. The fruit is there with cherry, cranberry, tobbacco, and leather, but it's obvious that this will develop a lot once the tannins resolve moreoverall: insanely tannic right now, where the tannins almost feel like a chainsaw. There is a lot of promise to this wine and there is enough there to see that it will certainly turn into a "wow" wine, but it's just not fully ready right now. THe finish is really long and the weight is perfect (91 pts.)

after dinner mintI had this as a pitch in wine where we all ponied up for it and I grabbed it from work. This wasn't blind and was more so that we just had some more brunello to drink

• 2001 Poggio San Polo Brunello di Montalcino - Italy, Tuscany, Montalcino, Brunello di Montalcinonose: big perfumy nose of lilac, cherry, blueberry, cedar, and mixed nut tones. Very pretty and elegant nosetaste: there's just a real nice and soft elegance to this with lush cherry, blueberry, lilac, and earth tonesoverall: a beautiful and classy wine that is filled with elegance. It still posseses nice and firm tannins with a great attack and very lengthy finish. Just beautiful (93 pts.)

A really great night. A bunch of great wine was drunk and a lot of fun was had. The quality was tremendous and it's always fun to drink brunellos in the first place, it's just better when you do it with friendsPosted from CellarTracker

[KDawgCometh 2]

these were from last wednesday when the two distros came in. I wanted to put in the malma malbec because it's $9.99 at binny's

• 2005 L'Ecole No. 41 Apogee Pepper Bridge Vineyard - USA, Washington, Columbia Valley, Walla Walla Valley (3/19/2008)nose: nice sharp nose of black currant, anise, dark cherry, and spice tonestaste: very firm tannins that give into anise, dark cherry, and spicesoverall: big and full with a long finish of anise (92 pts.)
• 2005 K Vintners Syrah Morrison Lane - USA, Washington, Columbia Valley, Walla Walla Valley (3/19/2008)nose: nice deep nose of dark cherry, black licorice, with red and black currants and even a very slight hint of floral notestaste: really gorgeous feel with violets bits, blueberries, dark cherry, and black licoriceoverall: a really interesting syrah that is long and smooth with serious polish (91 pts.)
• 2005 Seven Hills Cabernet Sauvignon Seven Hills Vineyard - USA, Washington, Columbia Valley, Walla Walla Valley (3/19/2008)nose: beautiful lush cherry, black currant, floral tones, and some red licorice notestaste: nice cherry flavor with black currant, red licorice, and floral tonesoverall: very elegant with really nice weight that leans into a quality lasting finish (91 pts.)
• 2005 Susana Balbo Brioso - Argentina, Mendoza (3/19/2008)nose: real interesting dark and dusty nose with sour cranberry, dark cherry, and black curranttaste: very lush on the palate with dark cherry, black currants, and hints of sour cranberryoverall: very full on the feel with nice firm tannins that give this some really good backbone (91 pts.)
• 2006 Drew Family Cellars Pinot Noir Cargasacchi-Jalama Vineyard - USA, California, Central Coast, Santa Barbara County (3/19/2008)nose: real soft plush nose with cherry, earth, and bits of spicetaste: very elegant and polished with cherry, plum, and spiceoverall: a very classy pinot with nice silk and elegance (91 pts.)
• 2005 Bodega NQN Viñedos de la Patagonia Malbec Malma - Argentina, Patagonia (3/19/2008)nose: really nice nose of dark cherry, red currants, black currants, and sour cranberry. Not at all in the international style of malbec that can be found, which is nicetaste: good and firm with dark cherry, black currant, raspberry, and tastes of violetoverall: a really nice malbec that has really good dark fruit flavors. It's nice to come across a malbec in this price range that isn't done in the international style that can be found more and more. A really good value that is worth checking out (88 pts.)

Posted from CellarTrackerhere were the highlights(well, more like wines I personally found interesting and ones that I enjoyed from my own enjoyment level) from my store's tasting on the 14th:

• 2005 Garric Cellars Cabernet Sauvignon - USA, California, Napa Valley (3/14/2008)a tasting of new releases: nose: really big nose, but not overtly jammy. Good pure fruit but with a good balance to it with ripe cherry, cranberry, black currants and red currants. A lot of complexity to the nose already and one that will certainly add more to it with timetaste: big and plush on the palate with loads of cranberry, cherry, cedar notes, and red currants. Really good blanceoverall: this is tremendous. Great weight and feel. The purity of the fruit is just great and you can tell that there is a lot hiding underneath that will show itself with a good 8 years of cellaring. this definitely will get better (93 pts.)
• 2004 Havens Wine Cellars Black and Blue - USA, California, Napa Valley (3/14/2008)a tasting of new releases: nose: very full and interesting nose of dark cherry, raspberry, blackberry, and coffee taste: excellent weight and feel on the palate with cherry, blackberry, and coffee flavoroverall: a really interesting wine as both the nose and flavor profile present some flavors that are fun to taste and smell. Very smooth but also complex this is an excellent wine (91 pts.)
• 2005 Domaine du Grand Tinel Châteauneuf-du-Pape Alexis Establet - France, Rhône, Southern Rhône, Châteauneuf-du-Pape (3/14/2008)a tasting of new releases: nose: really nice nose of cracked pepper, leather, dark cherry, garrigue, and pine needles. Really smooth nose that is nice and deeptaste: good broad feel on the palate with leather, dark cherry, garrigue, and cracked pepperoverall: very elegant. Not as big as it's been in the past for me, but it still has that nice feel and weight with a long and polished finish (91 pts.)
• 2005 Talbott Chardonnay Sleepy Hollow Vineyard - USA, California, Central Coast, Monterey (3/14/2008)a tasting of new releases: nose: real good california style nose of vanilla, citrus fruits, and mangotaste: nice and full bodied on the palate with orange tones, mango, and vanillaoverall: a really good chardonnay with good weight and a nice crisp finish (90 pts.)
• 2006 Gypsy Dancer Pinot Noir Emily Ann's Young Vines - USA, Oregon, Willamette Valley, Chehalem Mountains (3/14/2008)a tasting of new releases: nose: nice funky nose that is reminiscant of burgundy that then blows off after a little bit, but still lingers under tones of salted meat, plum, cherry, and earthtaste: good silky feel of earth, plum, and cherryoverall: a very attractive pinot that presents the burgundy side of Oregon Pinot. Nice feel and weight with a good solid finish. A worthy buy at under $30 (90 pts.)
• 2006 Landmark Pinot Noir Grand Detour - USA, California, Sonoma County, Sonoma Coast (3/14/2008)a tasting of new releases: nose: nice soft nose of cherry, spice, earth tones and bits of vanillataste: good smooth and light feel on the palate with cherry, spice, and bits of plumoverall: a really nice and enjoyable pinot. Definite cali style but not over the top (90 pts.)
• 2005 Mischief and Mayhem Meursault - France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Meursault (3/14/2008)a tasting of new releases: nose: nice fat and round nose that is quintessentially meursault with glycerin, lemon peel, and mineralstaste: really beautiful oily and round feel on the palate with vanilla, lemon peel, and nice minerality to back it upoverall: this pretty much hits what I love about meursault and presents it in a nice and fresh style (89 pts.)
• 2006 Domaine d'Andézon Côtes du Rhône - France, Rhône, Southern Rhône, Côtes du Rhône (3/14/2008)a tasting of new releases: nose: very sumptuous nose of earth, leather, cracked peppercorns, and dark cherry taste: wonderful smooth attack of pepper, leather, earth, tobbacco, dark cherry, and bits of provencal herbs on the back endoverall: what a great QPR and a really good CdR. Nice and easy drinking along with being very enjoyable (88 pts.)
• 2006 Treana White Mer Soleil Vineyard - USA, California, Central Coast (3/14/2008)a tasting of new releases: nose: very interesting nose of grapefruit, starfruit, and mixed nutstaste: nice oily feel on the palate with hazelnut, star fruit, and grape fruitoverall: very smooth and oily feel. Nice profile with a very zesty and tasty finish (88 pts.)
• 2007 Crios de Susana Balbo Torrontés - Argentina, Mendoza (3/14/2008)a tasting of new releases: nose: nice bright nose of honeysuckle and pineapple with a bit of grapefruit and other tangy tropical fruitstaste: good tart flavors of honeysuckle, pineapple, melon, and some grapefruitoverall: nice and crisp with good acidity and tart flavors (87 pts.)

Posted from CellarTrackerwhat will be interesting is that on friday my friends and I are having a Judgement of Paris style Chard-off pitting 7 white burgs against 7 cali chards blind. My hope is that I'll be able to get 80% of which country they are from. It's going to be a very impressive line up for sure because I know about 60% of what is being brought(though I'm not really supposed to know, but people have told me and have come to me for burg advice) and I got a chance to taste one and it was tremendous. There's gonna be a lot of heavy hitters for it, so expectations are high

[El Guapo 8]

*slaps forehead* c'mon man, try new stuff, buy some albarinos and torrontes.

Keith, I live an hour from Napa, my local stores have 90% Napa/Sonoma wines 5% Livermore 5% other.You wanna know what the non-west coast section looks like.....Bella Sera pinot Grigo. thats it. So I would have to go out of my way to order online 95% of what you are recomending. Plus we were using it to cook. I'm not using rot gut, but at the same time I am not going to use a $30 bottle of wine. A $15 white is just fine for cooking.

[KDawgCometh 2]

Keith, I live an hour from Napa, my local stores have 90% Napa/Sonoma wines 5% Livermore 5% other.You wanna know what the non-west coast section looks like.....Bella Sera pinot Grigo. thats it. So I would have to go out of my way to order online 95% of what you are recomending. Plus we were using it to cook. I'm not using rot gut, but at the same time I am not going to use a $30 bottle of wine. A $15 white is just fine for cooking.

so if you like close to napa, then you also live within reasonable distance to JJ Buckley, Premier Cru, and K&L. there also has to be a BevMo near you or a Total Wine near by you. Seriously, go to K&L or Premier Cru, your wine world will vastly change

[El Guapo 8]

so if you like close to napa, then you also live within reasonable distance to JJ Buckley, Premier Cru, and K&L. there also has to be a BevMo near you or a Total Wine near by you. Seriously, go to K&L or Premier Cru, your wine world will vastly change

K&L is 2+ hours away. The other two are 1-2 hours depending on Traffic. So I will have to be on a special wine buying trip to do that, because it is pretty much a whole day out. (Bec mo out here is mostly Napa wines too)Like I said before, when I decide to re-build a wine library then I will check them out.Thanks for the recomendations.

[Gallo 1]

Wild Irish Rose FTW!!I remember drinking a bottle of this stuff back when I was about 15 or 16. Me and my friends were outside drinking and after I drank the whole bottle, I could swear I saw the houses across the street get up and start moving towards me. True story.

[myenemy 0]

Guys, You may have seen the Dear_Nikki thread but I'll be in San Fran over the 4th of July and plan on spending two nights in Napa. Im looking for any suggestions that you might have on wineries, hotels, restaurants, whatever, in the Napa/Sonoma area.Thanks a lot.PS. I did not read this whole thread yet and am back tracking now, sorry if this info is already here.

[RoadDOG813 0]

Cakebread all the way.

[El Guapo 8]

Cakebread all the way.

Great winery, and they do there tastings in the Vineyard. Its pretty cool.

[RoadDOG813 0]

I really haven't read this thread much, but I noticed Pine Ridge on the first page.One of my relatives is a member of their wine club.

[KDawgCometh 2]

not to keep on harping on how great southern rhone wines can be as far as value, buuuuuuutttttttttttttt, this one that I'm having right now is just awesome. You just can't find this type of value at under $15 anywhere else in the world:

• 2005 Domaine Daniel et Denis Alary Côtes du Rhône Villages Cairanne - France, Rhône, Southern Rhône, Côtes du Rhône Villages Cairanne (3/24/2008)nose: nice filling nose of blackberry, leather, creme de cassis, peppercorns, and bits of dark spices and briar notestaste: nice black fruit flavors on teh palate with black licorice, creme de cassis, and dark spicesoverall: this is a tremendous wine. great as a pop n pour with nice racy dark notes on both the nose and palate. It's a bit thin on the mid palate and doesn't have as long of a finish as I'd like, but this is a pure steal at $14 (89 pts.)

Posted from CellarTracker

[Huskers20 0]

This is for Kdawg and all of Chicago should consider.Last night went to Clubhouse where they have half price wine on Monday, anything on list, so we went kind of big.First2002 Gaja "mistral" (i think) was listed as a Super Tuscan. WOW, it was amazing. Keith, what else compares to this would prefer less than 60, which this might be it was 75 at half, but as a Cali mainly drinker this might have been my favorite European wine.We then had a 2002 Heitz Cabernet which was also awesome, and then since dessert was not yet served 2003 Mount Veeder Cabernet. Remember all at half off:)So, Keith let me know what you think of Gaja and which other "super tuscans" should I/we be on the lookout for.Huskers20

[Suited_Up 2]

Had 2 more CdR and then a CdR Grenache.The first CdR was at Geja's (fondue) and was another great one.The 2nd was one I just picked up randomly from Binny's, I forget the name, but it actually had a name on it, and was last in the bin, so I figured it must be ok. But wasn't as huge of a fan. A bit too old world for me. Lots of tobacco and earthiness. Just not my thingThe CdR Grenache was quite good as well though.

[KDawgCometh 2]

This is for Kdawg and all of Chicago should consider.Last night went to Clubhouse where they have half price wine on Monday, anything on list, so we went kind of big.First2002 Gaja "mistral" (i think) was listed as a Super Tuscan. WOW, it was amazing. Keith, what else compares to this would prefer less than 60, which this might be it was 75 at half, but as a Cali mainly drinker this might have been my favorite European wine.We then had a 2002 Heitz Cabernet which was also awesome, and then since dessert was not yet served 2003 Mount Veeder Cabernet. Remember all at half off:)So, Keith let me know what you think of Gaja and which other "super tuscans" should I/we be on the lookout for.Huskers20

steve, where is clubhouse? When I get a bit more money coming my way, I'd love to hit it up with you. Also, which 02 Heitz did you drink, was it the Bella's? I'm a huge fan of Heitz in general and loved the Bella's Oaks when I had itas far as what I think of Gaja, all I can say is that every Gaja I've ever had whether it be their Brunellos or Barberescos have been utterly amazing. I was at a Gaja seminar almost a month ago at the Binny's south loop store where Gaia Gaja was hosting it and got to taste a bunch of their stuff. It was utterly tremendous.Now, as far as super tuscans or tuscan bordeaux blends, check out the ornellaia le serra nuova. It's at 50 right now. If you can find the 05 Poggio Al Ginepri, it's a utter steal at $20. You are getting a bordeaux blend that with some age on it could hold its own against a bunch of very good margauxs(not chateau margaux, but wines from the margaux region) that cost twice as much. It had a lot of Margaux characteristics to it and was wonderful when I had it. I think I may have put a tasting note in this thread.I don't drink that many super tuscans in general as they can get really expensive and generally when I'm forking out the money for what you have to pay for a Super Tuscan, I'm buying brunello instead. Of course, I have splashed out for Sassicaia and Ornellaia and though I've baby killed on those, they certainly were specialright now personally I'm on just a huge italian kick in my drinking and there's just so much value and different stuff that you can find from italy, and I love it

Had 2 more CdR and then a CdR Grenache.The first CdR was at Geja's (fondue) and was another great one.The 2nd was one I just picked up randomly from Binny's, I forget the name, but it actually had a name on it, and was last in the bin, so I figured it must be ok. But wasn't as huge of a fan. A bit too old world for me. Lots of tobacco and earthiness. Just not my thingThe CdR Grenache was quite good as well though.

kurt, all CdRs will be predominetly grenache as that's what's grown in the southern rhone as the main grape. Keep trying a lot of the CdRs as there is a fuckton of value in them, but there is also a ton of crap too. Still, something like that Alary I had last night was fully worth it

[Suited_Up 2]

kurt, all CdRs will be predominetly grenache as that's what's grown in the southern rhone as the main grape. Keep trying a lot of the CdRs as there is a fuckton of value in them, but there is also a ton of crap too. Still, something like that Alary I had last night was fully worth it

Oooh, I did not know that. Maybe that's why I've liked them so much.That's my issue with the French ones... It doesn't usually tell me the grape, I just have to know it, and I don't.