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What Are You Drinking Right Now?


deangold

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Thanks to the incredible generostiy of Joe Riley....

Ridge Montebello 1990, 1991, 1992

Thanks to Daniel of Domaine Select;

Movia Sauvignon (trying to explain this wine is like trying to explain sex to a virgin, until you taste it you will never know how good it actually is), Castel in Villa 1998 Riserva somethning or other (superb), a Val d'Aosta white that I hope to remember in a less drunken state.

:lol: Now off to finish inventory.... I am glad I studied imaginary numbers in college :huh:

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Thanks to the incredible generosity of Dean Gold, I was able to bring those Montebellos to Dino and enjoy them with excellent food, as God and Paul Draper intended (my steak was a particularly luscious accompaniment to the wine).

In my opinion, and having zero frame of reference for older Montebello, the '91 was the rock star, yet even now still shows years of potential growth ahead of it. The '90 was okay but still seemed young for a 16 year-old California Cabernet Sauvignon (I believe the cork may have crumbled on that one). The '92 seemed very reserved but still had lovely top notes of fruit. All in all, an outstanding education in what Decanter magazine has called "the Latour of California". The pedigree is impeccable. I'll take this wine over most of those more expensive, rare "mailing-list" Cabs (with a pedigree measured in weeks, not years) any day of the week.

The Chianti Classico Riserva '98 that Mr. Daniel Hubbard provided was extremely well-balanced in my estimation. I kept getting a lovely aspect of mint from it, not overpowering just very pleasant.

That Les Crêtes Petite Arvine 2004 from Vallée d'Aoste (I hope I'm not leaving out a crucial bit of info here) was a minerally charmer, an off-the-beaten-path kind of wine (usually something that captivates my imagination) and once again, my paradigm for what good Italian white wine can be was shifted to include this. I hope to write more about it when I'm more informed and sober.

The Movia Sauvignon 2003 was my second time tasting this wine, and my second time being knocked on my ass by how stunning it was. As I explained to Dean at the time, it's such a delight to be minding one's own business and tasting Sauvignon, thinking how much you understand all of it's best aspects (Loire, Graves, St. Bris, Collio, Austria, New Zealand, South African..) and then you discover yet another amazing facet to the grape heretofore unrealized. I will have this wine in my store within the next 45 days and you can experience this phenomenon for yourself. Mark your calendars!

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Ridge Montebello that has been sititng in a decanter for almost 24 hours! The 91 was soft and a little funky. The 90 is still firm and now a little silky, with no off odors or even any signs of acquired bottle bouquet. You could mistake this for a new release cab with a 20-30 year future ahead of it. The 92 is exotic with a touch of volatility coming out now, but silky and smooth finally. Either the 90 or 92, with 24 hours airtime are freaking amazing!

Also... Paolo Bea San Valentino Rosso di Montefalco 2000. Yum!

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Ridge Montebello that has been sititng in a decanter for almost 24 hours!  The 91 was soft and a little funky.  The 90 is still firm and now a little silky, with no off odors or even any signs of acquired bottle bouquet.  You could mistake this for a new release cab with a 20-30 year future ahead of it.  The 92 is exotic with a touch of volatility coming out now, but silky and smooth finally.  Either the 90 or 92, with 24 hours airtime are freaking amazing!

Color me officially jealous :lol:

Also... Paolo Bea San Valentino Rosso di Montefalco 2000.  Yum!

Bea is the bizzomb, yo.

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Finished up the night with some Barbara d'Alba from Ca' Rome: 2001 Gamberaja which is drinking really well right now.

Then, a bit, just a wee bit :lol: , of XO from G-R. I think I've gone a week without any grappa. Just to show I can do it!

Edited by deangold
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Finished up the night with some Barbara d'Alba from Ca' Rome: 2001 Gamberaja which is drinking really well right now.

Then, a bit, just a wee bit  :lol: , of XO from G-R.  I think I've gone a week without any grappa.  Just to show I can do it!

Dean, I knew that I liked you for a reason :huh: That's one of of my favorite Barberas (and one of my favorite Piedmont growers) and Germain-Robin X.O. is truly a delight - I'd still eather drink that than Louis XIII or any other big-name cognac.

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From the "I guess you could, but...." files, I subject you to:

Not The Dogsled

3/4 oz Yukon Jack

3/4 oz Canadian Club

1/2 oz Gran Gala

1/2 oz Lemon juice

Alright, it was supposed to be entirely Yukon Jack, right? No, wait...come back! Thank you...And be called The Dogsled. But I didn't have as much Yukon Jack as I thought (it's popular at parties, you see. LATE into parties, mind, but still....popular), so I was like "I need something else that's Canadian or the drink won't be thematically sound anymore!"

Long story short...this isn't bad! <_< Little sweet, little sour. More Yukon Jack, less on the Gran Gala. Maybe on the rocks with soda instead of up. I give it 6.5 stars out of a possible 10.5.

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I am hoping for a little pity here -

After travelling to the food and wine Mecca of Knoxville Tennesse, and struggling to find a room to sleep, I am in the "Honeymoon Suite" (did I mention ALONE?) at the Comfort Suites here by the airport. $100/night and worth every slimy penny since I have a delightful "SearsPaintSale-Red" colored HEART SHAPED (translate: spare no expense on ambiance) jaccuzzi in the middle of my room. I shudder to think of the blissful-romantic nights out here on rte 129N outside of the airport in the "Honeymoon Suite" of Comfort Suites....

So with that, I set the mood:

I had my Subway turkey sandwich that hit the mark for mediocrity (I hate that weird shredded lettuce thing!) And now, I sink blissfully into a glass of Marquis Philips 2004 Shiraz in one of those lovely styrofoam cups.

Anyone care to join me?

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Maybe Mark Slater will fill in the details, but there was a champagne cuvee that runs maybe 500 cases and combined the toasty flavor of a well-aged vintage champagne with the sparkle of something just out of the caves. Veuve something (not Cliquot). A couple bottle of Savennieres, but not just any Savennieres, but an area with its own appellation. It was the color of honey and just as the honeusuckle nose came up through the glass, the tart granite-and-chalk-anchored chenin blanc flavor came through and if it had't been so delicate my face might have melted with joy. A Latricieres Chambertin, 2002, that made me remember why Burgundy is important. A Condrieu that tasted of flowers and young love, ordered by accident -- we just wanted a glass, but the bottle was undeniable. And then some Banyuls with the chocolate. And somebody else paid!

You can spend a boatload of money on mediocre wine, even if you have some clue what you're doing. That's why, whatever the wine markup is at Citronelle, it is worth it -- I don't think I've ever had so extraordinary a run of wines in a single evening, and Slater's palate and dedication to his list and his customers are the reason.

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Brokers gin giboson, gently chilled, served up. "Shaken not stirred" may be how James Bond ordered his martini's, but all shaking does is water down a drink. A gently stirred martini/gibson made with this handcrafted small batch gin is a thing of beauty.

E.T.A. I drank this last night... I am not hitting the cocktail circut at noon.... just yet!

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2002 Alto Moncayo which is 100% grenache and 15.5% alcohol. Delicious. In truth this is part of a 12 bottle mixed case which I received yesterday from the Wine Library. All Spanish, all Parker 90 points or above. Yes, I know, a terrible way to buy wine but I (as in the past) have bought twelve different bottles and will judge future purchases by what I think of this. Last night I opened a bottle of 2001 Masia Carreras Costa Brava Emporada which Parker gave 94 points to. $27.99. Three friends of mine and I gave it about an hour or so and it opened really nicely. First thirty minutes it was closed and we were very critical of it. On our second glass, in the second hour we began to agree with Parker. Of course, for $34.99, we expected a fairly serious wine. Neither of these are worth buying another bottle of. Rather, the 2002 Sierra Cantabria Cuvee Especial for $16.99 and the 2003 Altos de Luzon for $13.99 (from Paul's-the Wine Library is now sold out) were each worth the half dozen cases that myself and several friends purchased. Anyway, there's another 10 bottles in this case and over the next week or so we'll drink all of them.

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Just finishing up a 2002 Vision Cellars Sonoma County Pinot Noir. An excellent wine, particularly at $24.99. For some reason, Vision doesn't have the buzz of some other relatively new Pinot producers, but they make a buch of real good wines.

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2000 La Mission Haut Brion.  I poured this at a fund raiser on Saturday, and it tastes even better tonight.  I can only imagine what this is going to be like in twenty years.

Well, don't have anymore of that. And I'll stay off of the Robitussin. <_< Night!

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Well, don't have anymore of that. And I'll stay off of the Robitussin.  ;)    Night!

Sorry, I only had a half bottle and my wife demanded half of it. <_<

edited: by half bottle I mean half of a whole bottle that had been opened this weekend. Last night was the very young but drinkable remainder of the 2002 Mouton, hmm Mouton.

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A 1995 Thomas Hardy Ale. This can scantly be called a beer, it is more like a fine sherry. There were few suds, and a lovely wine like finish. I am happy that I have five more of these, I can only imagine how they are going to taste in the years to come.

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Ahhhh in the comfort of my own home - after travelling through Tennessee this past week, and a downright scarring experience outside of Knoxville (see my post about the hot tub - I don't dare think of the germs!) AND a hell of a flight from Atlanta tonight, I opened a bottle of Elderton Shiraz 2002 - actually quite delicious - and I am certain I will sleep well!

I will have sugar plums, black cherries, raspberries, tobacco, eucalypt and spice dancing through my head!

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There were too many to remember, but what struck me were the 1970 BV Reserve. There were 3 bottles. Each bottle was very differnt. The first went down the drain the second was sipped but ignored, and the third was stunningly beautiful.

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Berta Moscato Grappa.... Yum!

This brings up the bottle of Saracco Moscato D'Asti 1996 we have had ever since Craig hit the close-out sale at a wholesalers in DC several years ago. Does this stuff get better with age, or should we find an excuse to drink it RIGHT NOW?
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This brings up the bottle of Saracco Moscato D'Asti 1996 we have had ever since Craig hit the close-out sale at a wholesalers in DC several years ago.  Does this stuff get better with age, or should we find an excuse to drink it RIGHT NOW?

Distilled spirits only improve in the barrel. They will remain stable in the bottle, unopened for years (indefinitely?). Once opened there is a slight reduction in their aromatic quality over time.

On second reqading, it this a moscato d'asti wine or a grappa di moscato d'asti? If the latter, its meant to be drunk you and you have an experiement on your hands.

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Life isn't so bad if you you have a case of that hanging around.  Our favorite sommelier, Mark Slater recomends it highly.  As do -- with substantially less crediblity -- I.

I blew my entire wine budget until July on 3 cases from the importer who brings it in. The other two cases were Burgundies (where a little goes a long way to killing one's budget).
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2002 Mitolo* Shiraz Savitar. I thought that this was going to be a total fruit bomb, but I was pleasently surprised that it was not. This is a delightful wine that reminds me more of a Northern Rhone than a Southern Australian. I would drink this over a Mitolo GAM any day.

*Mitolo also makes a wonderful olive oil. I was lucky enought to be given a bottle as a gift from my vintner. If you can find a bottle I highly recommend picking one up.

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2001 Leonetti Merlot. The mid and late '90's vintages were exemplery; starting with 2000 there seems to have been a drop off. Given the former cult statis of this wine (which is now available on various wine shop shelves in Seattle) in combination with the ascension of Washington state wines Leonetti may have suffered a bit. The last several years I have not ordered my full allocation (I've been on their mailing list since about 1991) especially since they're asking $65 for a bottle of good but no better merlot.

After 30 minutes this has improved. But not enough to warrant that price. Leonetti Merlot, Cab and Reserve Cab are very good wines; but they have fallen a bit-perhaps quite a bit-since the Wine Spectator called them "America's best merlot." At $30 I would buy a case of this. At $65, well, that's worth some thought.

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