Recent content by ty martin

We opened a 99' Stielweg last friday that was showing quite nicely. Dense and incredibly concentrated minerality but definitely open for business.

We've got the 2004 Montus on the floor right now and though it's tannic as can be I don't feel like the flavor of the oak is dominant. It was impenetrable on day one, enjoyed by a few on day two, and though some fruit had fled by day three I feel like it gave a glimpse of something pretty...

How come you have to rip out the trees?

I drank one of these at Terroir earlier this year and it turned out to be the perfect wine for serious beer geeks. Once I compared it to De Ranke they were excited and the wine definitely delivered. Maybe the CO2 helped?

If it's the red Cappellano Chinato that I think it is I drank a bottle over a few days recently on the rocks with soda and a few inches of orange peel and it was fantastic as an aperitif. Enjoy, Steve!

The folks that won, Olympic Provisions, are awesome! Not only is their salumi incredible (as are I'm sure the dishes that won them the contest mentioned in the article) but they have an amazing wine list that would even look good to many around here.

I drank the Petite Roches 07 recently and thought it was pretty good; clean and enjoyably leafy. Then I drank it against Baudry 07 Domaine which just trumped it on all levels.

I always take a friend with me to tastings where I'm unlikely to know anyone. It's not always easy to have a genuine connection with someone new at what is essentially a sales convention so bring your own.

In recent tastes of the 05, 06, and 07 I found the 05 to be the most rustic and wound up. 06 was the juiciest and most accessible in the now while the 07 was in a similar style but unsettled. The 05 gave me the most hope for a rewarding drink down the road but the 06 converted a lot of...

Just like wine; cool, dark, and don't open it until you're going to drink it. Reefers offer to many contaminating flavors and if it's already ground when you buy it, it's best moments are a thing of the past. Once the oils in the bean have been expressed there's no getting them back. It's a...

natto?

Though I haven't had any aged Orval it is my understanding that they sweetened the recipe considerably in the last decade, though it somehow remains the driest of the Trappists. Shelton Brothers insists that De Ranke XX Bitter (excellent in my biased opinion) is similar to Orval "in it's heyday."