Drink a ginger day

[Thor]

Dashe 1998 Zinfandel Todd Brothers Ranch (Alexander Valley) 14.5%. Tiring, and though it still clings to remnants of its dusty, dark fruit days, those days are firmly in the past. Its not yet in an imbalanced stage, in which the structure overwhelms the remnants, but its getting there. (12/09)

Kalin 1997 Sauvignon Blanc Reserve (Potter Valley) Malic, then buttery, then thick with well-salted tan soil and lush apricot cream. More anonymous than these wines usually are, but it must be said that among the whites I generally prefer chardonnay and semillon from this house. Here, not everything on the structural side is entirely where it should be. (12/09)

Marietta Old Vine Red Lot Number 47 (California) Juicy, gummy-fruit fun. Like wine soda, without the actual carbonation. (12/09)

Harpoon 100 Barrel Series Ginger Wheat (Massachusetts) Alcoholic ginger beer. Gee, if only someone had thought of that before. My sarcasm hides the fact that ginger beer is really all this is, cuz the wheat doesnt enter into it. (12/09)

Long Trail Brewmaster Series Winter White (Vermont) Really quite clever, combining the spicy lightness of white with the richer, heavier expectations of a winter ale, and managing to work this alchemy without sacrificing either styles character or overall balance. (12/09)

 

[MLipton]

originally posted by Thor:
Kalin 1997 Sauvignon Blanc Reserve (Potter Valley) Malic, then buttery, then thick with well-salted tan soil and lush apricot cream. More anonymous than these wines usually are, but it must be said that among the whites I generally prefer chardonnay and semillon from this house. Here, not everything on the structural side is entirely where it should be. (12/09)

Perchance do you mean "lactic" where you wrote "malic"? Malic acid, as the name implies, tastes like tart green apples. Lactic acid, again as suggested by the name, tastes (depending on the taster) like sour milk, butter, etc. Sorry to hear that it didn't turn out better for you, as this can be a very fine wine.

Mark Lipton

 

[Thor]

Actually, no, I meant it as written. There was a whack of the sort of bright, sharp malic acidity I often expect from Kalin, and then the butter (maybe a combination of lactic and diacetyl, but it's not like I sent it to the lab) arrived and overwhelmed it. I liked this wine as little as I have ever liked any Kalin, and while I don't think this acidic shift was the only thing wrong with it, I think it was the major structural flaw. I don't know that I would have preferred the wine with just the dominating lacticity it eventually developed, but it would have been less schizophrenic.

 

[Sharon Bowman]

How was the cork/storage, just out of curiosity?

 

[Thor]

Of the Kalin? The cork, to my recollection, was beautiful. I can't speak to transport conditions between winery and store, but the wine was purchased the day it hit the shelves, so there was no store effect unless they'd had it sitting in the back for a long while (which, given the micro-size of the store, I doubt). Other bottles from that same purchase (different grapes) haven't shown any signs of fatigue or damage. More than that I don't know.