Wine Geekery

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I tried texting this to tgapp but it won't go through so I'll just post it here.

If you're in Salt Lake and like big reds, I think this is a fun bottle for $30. Currently at the 3rd West store. A good reminder that 'natural' wine doesn't have to be neon and smell like feet.

100% bobal, 2018. I have had an older vintage that blew me away with all the tertiaries. This is mostly dark berries and oak influence at the moment but is starting to get somewhere after about 3 hours open. I am excited to revisit tomorrow night.

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with this one you always want a magnum

I've recently gone down the wine rabbit hole. Any mags using Cellar Tracker to track bottles and tasting notes? It's a pretty slick system, particularly with the ability to scan bar codes.

CT user here.

With some ongoing health issues, consumption levels have dropped.

In the last month:

Lately I've been drinking some relatively inexpensive ($12-15) barberas. So far it's been a good way to indulge my earthy/funky red interests.

No Reba?

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Originally Posted by cravenmorhead

Lately I've been drinking some relatively inexpensive ($12-15) barberas. So far it's been a good way to indulge my earthy/funky red interests.

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Heh - I've been drinking those for about 2 decades now. It's my favorite grape, if I'm honest. This one was also very tasty, and I'm trying to get my local liquor store to find me a case:

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it’s really hard to keep up with the recs in this thread but i do try to follow grapes more than labels which can be hard to come by.

i picked up one wine i remembered liking from many years ago and it just wasn’t at all what i remembered.

anyone familiar with refosco?

i thought it was a kind of lighter red, in the vein of a cerasuolo or frapetto but i pick up this guy from slovenia and it was not the same.

super jammy fruit and loads of tannins, way more than i’m into. poor expression or did i misremember? anyone into this stuff or other weird varietals to recommend?

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Some recent notes (with some booze thrown in there for good measure):

• 2019 Domaine Lafage Côtes du Roussillon Bastide Miraflors - France, Languedoc Roussillon, Roussillon, Côtes du Roussillon (9/6/2022)
  Fairly complex for the price. Garnet to ruby with a watery meniscus. Dark red fruit and plum, medium acid, pepper, maybe tobacco, medium integrated tannins on the finish, some floral notes in there too. (89 pts.)
• NV Casal Garcia Vinho Verde Rosé - Portugal, Minho, Vinho Verde (9/5/2022)
  A fun little effervescent Rose. Some strawberry and acid and not much else. Perfect for a picnic or a raft trip (88 pts.)
• 2021 Adegas Tollodouro Albariño Pontellon - Spain, Galicia, Rías Baixas (9/5/2022)
  Bright pineapple and lemon on the nose and palate. Some brine and mineral, maybe some green apple and melon too. Nice acidity - really fresh and bright. (87 pts.)
• NV Talisker Storm - United Kingdom, Scotland, Isle of Skye (9/2/2022)
  Smoke and saline; a lot of the aspects I like about Lagavaulin without the band-aid. Lighter bodied (none of the oiliness present in Islays sometimes) with some honey on the finish. A great deal at $35, but I've been seeing it for closer to $50 lately, which puts it in the middle of the pack at the price point. (92 pts.)
• 2020 Bodegas Ostatu Rioja Rosado - Spain, La Rioja, La Rioja Alavesa, Rioja (9/1/2022)
  My style of rose. Medium+ body, strawberry on the nose and more of the same with good structure on palate. Nose is a little sharp and finish a little short but a fun porch drinker with a little more guts than most roses. (90 pts.)
• 2021 Sartarelli Verdicchio dei Castelli di Jesi Classico - Italy, Marche, Verdicchio dei Castelli di Jesi Classico (9/1/2022)
  Star bright, light body, some lemon, vegetal notes, asparagus, minerality on the medium finish. Fine but not my style (86 pts.)
• 2020 La Crema Pinot Noir Rosé - USA, California, Central Coast, Monterey (8/29/2022)
  Light salmon. Light body. Tiny bit of effervescence. Nose is sharp, with strawberry and watermelon. Medium acid with more of the same on the palate, with a bit of canteloupe. Not bad but pretty forgettable. (85 pts.)
• 2020 Pasqua Montepulciano d'Abruzzo Vigneti del Sole - Italy, Abruzzi, Montepulciano d'Abruzzo (8/27/2022)
  Plum, raspberry, a little earth and vanilla and spice. Medium acid and some tannin on the finish. More vanilla as it opens up. Light plus body. A fun weeknight wine I'd buy again, and good value at $10 or so (88 pts.)
• 2020 La Vieille Ferme (Perrin & Fils) Rouge - France, Rhône, Southern Rhône, Ventoux (8/27/2022)
  Thin body, red fruit, nail polish, short finish. Tasted industrial. Wouldn't recommend (78 pts.)
• NV La Vieille Ferme (Perrin & Fils) Cotes de Ventoux - France, Rhône, Southern Rhône, Ventoux (8/26/2022)
  Thin body, some red fruit and nail polish on the nose. More of the same on the palatte - tastes like it came from a factory. Was hoping for a bargain but didn't find one here at any price (75 pts.)
• 2019 Ca' del Sarto Barbera d'Alba - Italy, Piedmont, Alba, Barbera d'Alba (8/23/2022)
  Plum, currant, cherry, raspberry, maybe a little blueberry, medium+ acid. Some vanilla/oak. Solid value at $12 or so (86 pts.)
• 2020 Rouvalis Assyrtiko - Greece, Peloponnisos, Achaia (8/21/2022)
  White peach, honey, floral notes, dry with some minerality on the back end. Nice food pairing wine (89 pts.)
• NV Mawida Carménère - Chile, Curico Valley (8/20/2022)
  Tobacco and wood and some smoke and red fruit. Lighter body and finish than expected. Interesting for the low price (85 pts.)
• 2020 Cantine Povero Barbera d'Asti - Italy, Piedmont, Asti, Barbera d'Asti (8/19/2022)
  Great funky nose. Much more subdued on the palatte. Cherry and Berry with a light dry finish. A nice everyday drinker but didn't knock my socks off. (86 pts.)
• 2020 Menard-Gaborit Muscadet de Sèvre-et-Maine les princes - France, Loire Valley, Pays Nantais, Muscadet de Sèvre-et-Maine (8/18/2022)
  Nice straw color, mostly pear notes, tart finish, not enough minerality for me (84 pts.)
• 2019 Cantine Povero Dolcetto Monferrato Capitano del Palio - Italy, Piedmont, Monferrato (8/9/2022)
  Black cherry and spice, great everyday wine for the price (91 pts.)
• 2020 Clifford Bay Sauvignon Blanc - New Zealand, South Island, Marlborough, Awatere Valley (8/9/2022)
  Bright and grapefruity, with some nice minerality. One of my favorite everyday whites (91 pts.)
• 2020 Oyster Bay Sauvignon Blanc - New Zealand, South Island, Marlborough (8/9/2022)
  A very nice oyster wine. Grassy and bright with some minerality on the finish. Solid buy. (90 pts.)
• NV Del Maguey Mezcal Vida - Mexico, Oaxaca, Chichicapa (8/9/2022)
  A mellow mezcal that is great for mixing. Clay-like flavors can be hit or miss neat. (89 pts.)
• 2019 Mark West Pinot Noir California - USA, California (8/9/2022)
  Cherry with lots of oak on the back end. On the sweeter end. Fine for the price but not impressive. (83 pts.)

Quiet evening at home with Italian peppercorn beef stew leftovers. Recipe thanks to skaredshtles from the cooking thread.

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Originally Posted by oftpiste

Quiet evening at home with Italian peppercorn beef stew leftovers. Recipe thanks to skaredshtles from the cooking thread.

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Goddam - that's a pretty fancy bottle for that peasant stew. :D

Damn! That 2000 had gotta be singing at this point. That was such a good vintage.

Here's one of the lineups I ran thru yesterday. Some fun stuff for sure.
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Originally Posted by Cruiser

Damn! That 2000 had gotta be singing at this point. That was such a good vintage.

Here's one of the lineups I ran thru yesterday. Some fun stuff for sure.
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Damnn that's a helluva a lineup for a shop tasting...you work for Natural wines? Or you on the retail side?

ArPePe is on the menu for tgiving. Love their wines. That Burnello was delicious when i tasted it 9 months ago.

Been buying wines from DeNegoce. Very pleased with w/ quality and price

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Originally Posted by oftpiste

Quiet evening at home with Italian peppercorn beef stew leftovers. Recipe thanks to skaredshtles from the cooking thread.

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Your posts give me cellar envy

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Originally Posted by doebedoe

Damnn that's a helluva a lineup for a shop tasting...you work for Natural wines? Or you on the retail side?

ArPePe is on the menu for tgiving. Love their wines. That Burnello was delicious when i tasted it 9 months ago.

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I'm a retail buyer. Def not a tasting for the consumers. ;)

I've got a great natural rep so when he emailed to say he had a good bag out and wondered if he could stop by I happily obliged.

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Originally Posted by Cruiser

I'm a retail buyer. Def not a tasting for the consumers. ;)

I've got a great natural rep so when he emailed to say he had a good bag out and wondered if he could stop by I happily obliged.

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Are you in the south metro? If so I think I'm good friends with your rep (in fact he and his partner were the only 2 people at our COVID wedding.) I'm often the beneficiary of the leftovers from B's retail tastings :).

Tasty looking stew.
I'm now on the De Negoce hype train thanks to neufox.

Nope, I'm in Lakewood and have someone different. But its hard for most folks to comprehend how much very good wine gets dumped cuz you start to run out of people to give the open bottles to at the end of the day. Glad you guys get to crush some of those cuz natural has some stuff that's worth drinking for sure.

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Originally Posted by irul&ublo

Your posts give me cellar envy

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I bought a lot of good juice in the '90s. With the dearth of dinner parties these days (and so few people who are interested, sadly), and having become mostly a hermit I need to get over the 'saving for a special occasion' thing and guzzle the few hundred bottles that are down there. Now, what to do with the 3 liter '97 Montebello among other things?

I do have a small group of friends who give a shit and we go out to eat. I bring like 6 bottles and have dropped a few servers' jaws. Even there there's less knowledge and interest than there used to be. I've always offered tastes to servers (can ease corkage fee damage). Last guy wouldn't even have a sip (clearly had no idea what was on the table) and there was some cool stuff opened. Oh well.

^^It's coming back, slowly. I try to limit how many newsletters I get each week but one I don't miss is from Domestique in DC. They are certainly a premier shop for modern wine but slowly their focus is turning towards a classic style.

I think a big part of the disinterest is the wine geeks drove prices into the stratosphere. It's a good bit of work to figure out what you like and then find bottles that are affordable. Cellaring can be a tough sell too, when I told my wife how much we were going to spend on a case of wedding year wine to sit on for 10+ years it took her a while to come around.

I've said it here more than once but if I could afford to I would drink Chablis and Champagne all week long. I drink German Riesling because I found there was a real value there but prices have started to creep in the last few years.

I LIKE DINNER PARTIES!

I agree about value in the german rieslings - some really fun $15 bottles in there.

My wife has found a great source for Italian wines and we are living on Amaroni. Early this month we went to Paso Robles and joined 5 wine clubs, so we have a ton of wine in the house right now.

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Originally Posted by cravenmorhead

Tasty looking stew.
I'm now on the De Negoce hype train thanks to neufox.

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It’s a dangerous habit. Next thing you know you’re renting a wine lockers at your local storage and getting stressed about if you can get your cellar built.

142, 129, and 145 that he has on sale right now are excellent. 145 is substantially better than 129 but 129 is a very very nice week day cab. 142 is the best Malbec I’ve ever had, maybe due to its style, as I’m not a big Malbec fan.

148 Sierra foothills Cab/Syrah blend is a really fantastic wine. Most who’ve had it can’t believe it’s a foothills wine.

67, 91 are really nice too.

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Originally Posted by oftpiste

I bought a lot of good juice in the '90s. With the dearth of dinner parties these days (and so few people who are interested, sadly), and having become mostly a hermit I need to get over the 'saving for a special occasion' thing and guzzle the few hundred bottles that are down there. Now, what to do with the 3 liter '97 Montebello among other things?

I do have a small group of friends who give a shit and we go out to eat. I bring like 6 bottles and have dropped a few servers' jaws. Even there there's less knowledge and interest than there used to be. I've always offered tastes to servers (can ease corkage fee damage). Last guy wouldn't even have a sip (clearly had no idea what was on the table) and there was some cool stuff opened. Oh well.

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Jeebus ....
I'd sweep your driveway .... winkwinknudgenudge .... to help out with the 3 liters.

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Originally Posted by liv2ski

My wife has found a great source for Italian wines and we are living on Amaroni. Early this month we went to Paso Robles and joined 5 wine clubs, so we have a ton of wine in the house right now.

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Wait ..... 5 clubs????? should cross post to "I love my wife, but ......"
We're trying to wean ourselves down to 3, from 5, currently at 4.

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Originally Posted by PB

Wait ..... 5 clubs????? should cross post to "I love my wife, but ......"
We're trying to wean ourselves down to 3, from 5, currently at 4.

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No shit. Did she sign you up for a timeshare too?

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Originally Posted by irul&ublo

No shit. Did she sign you up for a timeshare too?

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This stings.


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Originally Posted by irul&ublo

No shit. Did she sign you up for a timeshare too?

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https://media.tenor.com/7NgfbmvWJcgA...-alcoholic.gif

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Originally Posted by PB

Jeebus ....
I'd sweep your driveway .... winkwinknudgenudge .... to help out with the 3 liters.

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I have a lot of leaves and pruning debris that need to be hauled away.... :fm:

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Originally Posted by oftpiste

I have a lot of leaves and pruning debris that need to be hauled away.... :fm:

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Ok, I’ll watch the wine while you take care of that

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Originally Posted by PB

Wait ..... 5 clubs????? should cross post to "I love my wife, but ......"
We're trying to wean ourselves down to 3, from 5, currently at 4.

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We will likely wean it down, but are happy for now. No timeshares, paid to get rid of that right before covid, thank Dog.

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Originally Posted by JimmyCarter

Ok, I’ll watch the wine while you take care of that

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Back of the line, junior.

So wait, who's cleaning up the yard waste? Plenty of wine afterwards.

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This one was interesting and surprisingly delish too.

Impressive bottles from Oft and Buster


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Originally Posted by liv2ski

My wife has found a great source for Italian wines and we are living on Amaroni. Early this month we went to Paso Robles and joined 5 wine clubs, so we have a ton of wine in the house right now.

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Impressive!

My wife not-so-accidentally forgot to cancel “our” Fatcork subscription and $400 later I was signing Mr UPS man for “our” box

Nothing on the level of what’s going on in here but thought I’d share this from the Happy Thanksgiving thread.

Had family down in town this weekend for an early turkey day and cracked a bunch of dusties that needed drank. This was the oldest. I was very pleasantly surprised at how well the structure held up and well it drank. Way more earth tones but also a lot more fruit than I expected. It’s obviously been in decline but that’s relative to how well it drank for a basic offering. Good year indeed.

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Garagiste has some 1992 Warres port right now. $60 with shipping for 500 ml. I told myself no more wine buys until after the holidays but couldn’t resist.


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