What, no thread on Thanksgiving bottles?
- Thread starter Ken Schramm
- Start date
Bill Lundstrom
Bill Lundstrom
i let it air out for about 3 or so hours. we drank it rather slowly and it kept getting better so an 8 hour decant doesn't seem out of the question.
Bill Lundstrom
Bill Lundstrom
that's where mine came from. i really like the producer.
Keith Levenberg
Keith Levenberg
ours:
Tarlant La Vigne d'Antan (1998/99 blend, 2006 disgorgement) -
Bottle variation on this constantly frustrates me. They go back and forth between glorious and generic young champagne that shows zero payoff for the decade-plus I've been holding them. This one was somewhere in the middle, better than generic, but no cellar payoff. Bracing fruit with chalk and gravel.
Foillard 2009 Cuvee 3.14
This has gotten streamlined considerably with age, no longer the tannic beast it used to be. Very sleek now with zingy raspberry and cranberry fruit laced with crushed rock. Oddly leaner and silkier than the regular Cote de Py right now, also showing a bit younger/fresher and not quite as interestingly developed as the regular, but more interesting than...
Marcel Lapierre MMIX
On release this was blatantly jammy and over-the-top, could have been labeled I Can't Believe It's Not California. Still showing plenty of that with dark fruit and a raisined sur-maturite that fortunately mellows out with a few hours' decanting. Much better than it used to be, but still far off the point where you could say, "see, just needed some time!"
Kracher 1999 Welschriesling TBA #8
Color browning, flavors still as luscious as Kracher always is with tropical apricot flavors turning almost caramel with age.
Roulot l'Abricot
You like apricots? Here is essence of apricot. Specifically tastes like essence of those perfect juicy French dried apricots they (used to?) sell at Fairway.
Tarlant La Vigne d'Antan (1998/99 blend, 2006 disgorgement) -
Bottle variation on this constantly frustrates me. They go back and forth between glorious and generic young champagne that shows zero payoff for the decade-plus I've been holding them. This one was somewhere in the middle, better than generic, but no cellar payoff. Bracing fruit with chalk and gravel.
Foillard 2009 Cuvee 3.14
This has gotten streamlined considerably with age, no longer the tannic beast it used to be. Very sleek now with zingy raspberry and cranberry fruit laced with crushed rock. Oddly leaner and silkier than the regular Cote de Py right now, also showing a bit younger/fresher and not quite as interestingly developed as the regular, but more interesting than...
Marcel Lapierre MMIX
On release this was blatantly jammy and over-the-top, could have been labeled I Can't Believe It's Not California. Still showing plenty of that with dark fruit and a raisined sur-maturite that fortunately mellows out with a few hours' decanting. Much better than it used to be, but still far off the point where you could say, "see, just needed some time!"
Kracher 1999 Welschriesling TBA #8
Color browning, flavors still as luscious as Kracher always is with tropical apricot flavors turning almost caramel with age.
Roulot l'Abricot
You like apricots? Here is essence of apricot. Specifically tastes like essence of those perfect juicy French dried apricots they (used to?) sell at Fairway.
Jayson Cohen
Jayson Cohen
I haven’t liked Geyserville lately either. Thick jam-slathered oak and high-ish alcohol.
Jayson Cohen
Jayson Cohen
2014 Patrick Javillier Savigny les Beaune Les Montchevenoy. A good buy around $23; not so keen at 50%+ more that I’m seeing now. Serviceable mineral tangeriney-citrus but a bit thick and possibly even a hint of RS. Not as popular among non-geeks at a traditional Thanksgiving meal as.....
2010 Alain Michelot Bourgogne Rouge. Old vines sap here. Rustic dark fruit but with some tension. I’d guess it could use 3-5 years more in the cellar but this is surprisingly open now. Won the Thunderbird prize.
2010 Alain Michelot Bourgogne Rouge. Old vines sap here. Rustic dark fruit but with some tension. I’d guess it could use 3-5 years more in the cellar but this is surprisingly open now. Won the Thunderbird prize.
Jayson Cohen
Jayson Cohen
Had to miss a vertical they did last Monday at Racines. I was bummed about that. I don’t know this wine.
Christian Miller (CMM)
Christian Miller
At the cousins, American wines for an American holiday, accompanying roast turkey, mashed potatoes, brazil nut-based stuffing, creamed onions, a salad of spinach, tangerines and cubes of roast butternut squash, hazelnut and apple pies.
A slightly over the hill Walla Walla Chardonnay completely lacquered with French Oak, didn't bother to remember the name.
Lenné 2011 "Jill's 115" Willamette Valley Pinot Noir - pleasant yet unexpected aroma with tobacco-woody tones and mellow cherry fruit. More akin to old school Rioja than PN, it is completely missing PN's signature clovey spice note; medium body, mellow velvety tannins, decent acid. A puzzling winery: the 2009 Kill Hill Vineyard was phenomenal a couple of years ago, extremely aromatic and complex; while last year a 2010 Willamette bottling was subdued and quite unevolved.
Rafanelli 2009 Dry Creek Estate Merlot - aromatic cherry-berry fruit with background oak, medium body with plump middle, still lively and well-balanced with good acid. Not complex, but this wine channels the same jolly, zesty Dry Creek character that you find in the better Zins from the appellation. Good T-day wine.
Arrowood 2009 Russian River Saralee vineyard Late Harvest Riesling- pure apricot lusciousnouss with honeyed botrytis, tinged floral. Could ding it for low acid, but that might just be the high sugar overwhelming it. Again, not complex but tasty.
A slightly over the hill Walla Walla Chardonnay completely lacquered with French Oak, didn't bother to remember the name.
Lenné 2011 "Jill's 115" Willamette Valley Pinot Noir - pleasant yet unexpected aroma with tobacco-woody tones and mellow cherry fruit. More akin to old school Rioja than PN, it is completely missing PN's signature clovey spice note; medium body, mellow velvety tannins, decent acid. A puzzling winery: the 2009 Kill Hill Vineyard was phenomenal a couple of years ago, extremely aromatic and complex; while last year a 2010 Willamette bottling was subdued and quite unevolved.
Rafanelli 2009 Dry Creek Estate Merlot - aromatic cherry-berry fruit with background oak, medium body with plump middle, still lively and well-balanced with good acid. Not complex, but this wine channels the same jolly, zesty Dry Creek character that you find in the better Zins from the appellation. Good T-day wine.
Arrowood 2009 Russian River Saralee vineyard Late Harvest Riesling- pure apricot lusciousnouss with honeyed botrytis, tinged floral. Could ding it for low acid, but that might just be the high sugar overwhelming it. Again, not complex but tasty.
Oswaldo Costa
Oswaldo Costa
We didn't celebrate, but opened a 2013 Antoine Sanzay Saumur-Champigny Les Poyeux 12.0% to see what Poyeux tastes like without flavorings and emollients. Lots of leather and barnyard with hints of tar and licorice. Pleasing body and weight, balanced, with a vibrant acidity of which a small fraction was volatile. Gained gravitas with food, but never flirted with the luxurious sumptuousness that only the cedar/sandalwood side of the NFO spectrum can provide in the Rougeard version. Much kinder on the wallet, of course.
Pavel Tchichikov
Pavel Tchichikov
love these wines
didn't get to visit this year, but always keeping a close eye
Pavel Tchichikov
Pavel Tchichikov
this is interesting; i may need to re-engage
when this and MMIX were released, I plugged myself into an iCarsoft BMW scanner and got a dual "alcohol out of permissible range" fault code. Actually, your note does not necessarily preclude such condition as there is "lean" and then there is lean, but sounds like a 10-year reunion may be warranted.
Ian Fitzsimmons
Ian Fitzsimmons
Michelot, or bourgogne rouge? Michelot seems to be generally in stealth mode in the U.S., considering his vineyard holdings and the decent press Kermit gave him in his book. I have dabbled, purchase-wise, but not yet sampled.
Pavel Tchichikov
Pavel Tchichikov
Michelot.
Kermit?
The vineyards are great. The wines are nicely represented and distributed in MA. It is important to keep in mind though that Cailles is from relatively young vines, and while usually delicious it should be evaluated in context.
Keith Levenberg
Keith Levenberg
Kermit Michelot had to be a different Michelot (of which there are plenty...). I don't remember his tag ever being on an Alain bottle.
Yesterday was the day I cooked a turkey with friends. Since we aren't cranberry fans, there was none of that to mess with wine. The turkey was done on the weber rotisserie with a single small hardwood chunk to give a hint of smokiness. I served a mag of 95 Druet Vaumoreau with it, sourced from K&L for a collection of change lost between my sofa cushions. The wine was fantastic, drinking well but still with a bit of room for improvement. Definitely had a green note, but not a very assertive one, and was a hit with the guests -- non geeks, but folks who appreciate various beverages.
Larry Stein
Larry Stein
2012 Cowan Cellars Pinot Noir, Anderson Valley and 2006 August West Syrah, Rosella's Vnyd (Santa Lucia Highlands)
There were just 4 adults. Cowan was a big hit with all of us (Thanks, Jim!). August West was a real surprise. Silky, a touch of smoke (which matched well with the smoked turkey), and well balanced. Not your typical CA Syrah. This was given to me by Ed Kurtzman after a day of bottling.
There were just 4 adults. Cowan was a big hit with all of us (Thanks, Jim!). August West was a real surprise. Silky, a touch of smoke (which matched well with the smoked turkey), and well balanced. Not your typical CA Syrah. This was given to me by Ed Kurtzman after a day of bottling.