Wine Geekery

[cravenmorhead]

I'm starting to suspect I may not be able to identify cork taint, or I just identify it as a bad wine. My tasting notes tell me I've tried 100+ wines over the past year and I haven't identified a single one as corked. Granted, a lot of the producers I like use Diam closures, but still...

[ex-powderbroker]

i look for that “wet cardboard” note. for me if i smell that it’s 100%. not always undrinkable but 95% and if it’s in a restaurant it gets sent back. haven’t had a drink in six weeks but stoked for my gf’s birthday, i have some sweet juice from the okanagan



saving this sparkling since last summer too



am i a dry drunk? i’ve barely had anything at all since october and it’s not hard but i kind of crave these mouth watering super treats. wrong thread i guess.

[cravenmorhead]

Then maybe I've just been lucky - I feel like I'd notice full-on wet cardboard.

In other related news, I've grown to be a De Negoce fanboy.

[irul&ublo]

In other related news, I've grown to be a De Negoce fanboy.

Agreed

[Cruiser]

One of my regular customers invested in a bunch of 2021 kabinett only to realize that he wasn't a fan of such intensely acidic and sweet wine. So he brought me a couple as a gift. I hope he brings me more!

[Cruiser]

And yeah, wet cardboard or wet newspaper is the indicator smell you're looking for in cork tainted wine. Once you've smelled it a couple times it's not difficult to identify.

Closure technology has never been better than it is today tho. I rarely see wines with tca on them these days but ten years ago I would run across a flawed bottle multiple times per month.

[doebedoe]

I think I've had 3 over the past 2 years. Two were 1995 or older. The other was an a recent vintage Portuguese wine.

I took the last one back to the shop empty ( had dumped it before opening a good version of the same bottle.) I thought retailler would want to know but they gave me shit about trying to a refund for a $10 bottle. Luckily a few min into this person giving me shit and insisting they refund me "just this once" the wine buyer came by and recognized me, asked what was up, and told the person to STFU.

[Kenny Satch]

I got lucky back in 92. We drive down to Yountville California outside of Napa and stay there a about 5 day. There was this store in Yountville actually a short walk from where we were staying that had 4 long rows stacked with local wine. I don't think there was anything but local wine. I couldn't believe how good they all were for around $5. That's the budget we stuck to. No more than $5 and we had all kinds of options.

Not one them was a disappointment. It was truly wine heaven with no hangovers. Imagine that.

So we picked a few we really liked and visit their vineyards. The people running them or owning them were all really cool about telling us how they started and how they got it right. Many were doing it from a grassroots approach of making small batches to eventually being able to produce quality on a larger scale. Some had experienced pros from France, Italy or Germany helping them. Others didn't which was impressive.

That trip made me fall in love with wine. Especially California red. If I had a time machine I would love the names of every bottle I had just to see what they are like now. It was the right time before the world found out how good they were.

An amazing experience that changed my bias or snobbery away from French or Italian wines. Truth be told now I only drink Spanish wines when I'm not drinking a California red.

[oftpiste]

Fucking nice gift! If he has any more he wants to ditch sign me up.

One of my regular customers invested in a bunch of 2021 kabinett only to realize that he wasn't a fan of such intensely acidic and sweet wine. So he brought me a couple as a gift. I hope he brings me more!

[ghosthop]

Seriously nice gift. 2021 has been really hyped, I haven't tried anything yet because fucking Utah but have a mixed case of some perennial favorites stashed in my Grandmother's root cellar and plan to stock up on what's left next week while in DC.

If you have any notion to, I would let those kabis age for at least a few years. We drank a 2018 Prum Spatlese at TFW's Wasatch party this past fall that was straight infanticide. Still fun to drink, definitely should have decanted.

vom Boden, the current Prum importer is one of my favorites. His whole book really leans toward a racy and clean tasting wine, which is my jam. Did your customer go with multiple producers or only Prum? I would also be interested in buying some wine if he's looking to sell.

[Cruiser]

I dunno where he got those particular bottles but he bought a couple of cases of kabinett from various different procedures from me a month or so ago only to decide they weren't to his or his wife's taste. I was able to take some of them back so he was throwing a couple bottles my way as a thank you. I usually don't accept wine gifts from customers but he's an exception cuz I've been selling him stuff for so long.

And yeah, I totally agree about vom boden. That portfolio has really come into its own in recent years. I've bought several things from their local distributor over the last couple of years and have gotten tons of good feedback. Roterfaden and Roswag "terraces" red and white been particularly fun recently.

[neufox47]

Anyone else jump on the DeNegoce Monterrey Pinot Noir deal today? I’m on a self imposed wine buying moratorium but I broke my rules for that one at a delivered cost of $11 a bottle.


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[lowsparkco]

I will throw a quick cork taint anecdote in the mix…

Bought a pretty nice bottle of Pinot Noir from a friend who is semi-retired from winemaking. He buys some fruit from a couple of specific farms he really likes and makes a small batch of a couple of varieties every year. I gave the bottle as a gift at a dinner and the recepient asked the sommelier to open it. It looked and smelled nice, but it just didn’t have any body. It was real delicate, but no off flavor. I thought it was just the wine, but the winemaker asked me how I liked it and I told him about the experience. He immediately said it was tainted and replaced the bottle. Further discussion revealed that he buys really high end cork and although it fails infrequently when it does the wine generally oxidizes without much of the wet cardboard smell or taste. Never encountered it before.

[AmmergauerTele]

Anyone ever make their own wine? Looking at getting my wife an at home setup where you can make wine....bottle it, etc. You can buy pre-pressed grape juice and make whatever you want. Taste OK?

[doebedoe]

Anyone ever make their own wine? Looking at getting my wife an at home setup where you can make wine....bottle it, etc. You can buy pre-pressed grape juice and make whatever you want. Taste OK?

I have friends that have. If you're in it for the fun of making it -- sure. You can make drinkable wine. But unlike homebrew, you're never going to make something very good because the quality of juice available to consumers is low compared to what good producers have access to.

[neufox47]

I have friends that have. If you're in it for the fun of making it -- sure. You can make drinkable wine. But unlike homebrew, you're never going to make something very good because the quality of juice available to consumers is low compared to what good producers have access to.

I don’t know about that if you live in a wine growing area. According to many winery owners and operators I’ve talked to you can nab grapes or juice from very high quality vineyards. I’ve never made it myself but have had quality Napa Cabernet from home wine makers. But they were opportunistic and knew people at vineyards.

[oftpiste]

Opened a bottle of '05 Ridge Dusi Ranch Zin (ATP) the other night. It tasted all Parker-y. Which I know is not what Draper was ever after or probably cared about, but still.... one of the reasons I cancelled my 20 year ATP subscription.

Anyone watched Somme 3? Good shit.

[PB]

Parker-y ....... like it.

In all fairness, while it's surprising that it still had that much fruit, would you actually expect a 100% Zin to hold up that long?

[oftpiste]

^^I've had many zins that held up well for many years. This one was definitely not shot. I just don't care for that big, boozy, jammy, over extracted flavor profile, and most of Drapers' wines aren't that way. Some of the ATP releases began to feel they were being made to please the Parker crowd.

My older Montebellos, Lytton Springs, and others are way more classic Ridge in style, and haven't had one yet that hadn't held up quite nicely.

[PB]

Totally in agreement - I really prefer their more classic style, and have also drifted away from the ATP, especially the 100% zins e.g. Dusi Ranch.
Of the few vintage Ridge zins I've had the good fortune to enjoy, they have without fail been the older style blends (petite syrah + carignane most commonly). What vintage 100% zins would you recommend?

[Cruiser]

Check out once and future / bedrock if you want terroir driven zin

[jackstraw]

We're mostly Malbec fans, but I'll drink any red.

This was a gift we're enjoying tonight

[irul&ublo]

The wine named after Digitaldeath’s Mom

[doebedoe]

Check out once and future / bedrock if you want terroir driven zin

+1. Bedrock Old Vine Zin was one of our wedding wines. Punches above it's price point. Some of their higher end single varietal zins and zin blends (the Heritage) are worthy of sitting in a cellar if you're patient.

[oftpiste]

I've been off 100% zin for a long time so can't really help you there. The field blends with a lot of zin are still wonderful and holding up beautifully after many years. I still have some from the late 90's and early oughts that are delightful.

Totally in agreement - I really prefer their more classic style, and have also drifted away from the ATP, especially the 100% zins e.g. Dusi Ranch.
Of the few vintage Ridge zins I've had the good fortune to enjoy, they have without fail been the older style blends (petite syrah + carignane most commonly). What vintage 100% zins would you recommend?