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What Are You Drinking Right Now?


deangold

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Brunello 2000 Ciacci Piccomonini- big ful fat, dark

Brunello 2000 Pertimali - huge body for a brunello, spicy, blackberries

Brunello 1999 Le Macioche- earthy, smoother, spicy, bright almost raspberry flavors with tar and smoke on the nose.

Hangar One Lime Gibson

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Ahlgren Chardonnay 1988 Beurge vineyard

To celebrate our first day off in weeks, I made dinner at home tonight. Since we had a rather large lunch (Grenfields in Rockville with 3 rather large Caipirinha's) we ate light: tomato and cucumber sandwiches with a bottle of 1988 Ahlgren Beurge Chardonnay. 1988. Not a typo but an 18 year old chardonnay from Santa Cruz Mountains. The wine was lively and very much in great shape. It started out a little sherried on the nose and very butterscotchy on the palate. But as it warmed up a bit from our 57 degree cellar temp, it opend up beautifully. The nose was rather subdued from beginning to end. But the flavors ont eh palate were broad and expansive with toast and yeast nicely blended in with hard spices and pineapple.

The wine was originally fermented in mostly old barrels and then given extended lees aging in stainless barrels. If it came form any other growing regions other than Santa Cruz I doubt very much if it would be as lively and in such good condition as it was from Santa Cruz Mountains.

YUM!!! I have at least one bottle left too!

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Congrats BRR!

Le Macioche 99 Brunello (old schook, lighter color, round tanins, lots of flavor development in a wine so young) and Ciacci 2000 Brunello (huge, fat, lush, superb one of th ebest of the vintage).

Again on both of these yummy wines!!!

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My fiance and I received a wonderful shower gift in the form of a 30 bottle wine fridge and we are in the process of stocking it all. This thread is a great one for ideas, so thanks.

Do yourself a favor. Go to your favorite wine shop and get a few bottles of 2004 Rosso di Montalcino to add to your collection. They will run less than $30 mostly and they will age for 5-10 years into truly great wines. You may also want to splurge on 2-3 bottles of 2001 Brunello. I would try either Costanti, Pertimali or Ciacci Piccolomini. I would buy just one so you can see how it evolves over time. But beware, you will catch the wine collecting bug and soon be saving up for a 240 bottle unit... then a 500... then a 200 case :)

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blackandtqc1.jpg

Concoct a 'Black and Tan' in my brandy snifter.

(Even though 'concoct' implies 'mixing'. Really it's more of a 'decanting' operation. Not pictured: One of those twisty decanters and the strawberry-scented erotic novelty candle I used to check for sediment.)

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Tonight for the first time in months, I cooked dinner for Kay... Dry Aged Porterhouse from Silver Springs Whole Foods crisped in a cast iron pan with salt and olio along side a fennel and endive salad.

The wines--

Louis Martini Barbera 1975 (original price $2.30 at Trader Joes)

Huge aromas and mouthfeel, starting off with blackberry jam and a touch of VA (Volatile Acidity or Vinegar not a state with the most poorly designed roads I have ever encountered outside of Siena Italy). The wine was ripe ripe ripe but, and this is the most important thing, incredibly alive and balanced for a 30 year old wine!. On its own it was a bit on the aggressive side but with the steak it mellowed into a plummy/blackberry like wonder. We polished it off with no problem and only had the dignity to not drink the incredibly cloudy dregs (though we did lap up the juices of the porterhouse with our fingers because Whole Foods forgot to pack my potatoes!!!!!) because of....

Joseph Phelps SLH Gewurztraminer 1977. This is a beerenauslese style of gewurz, made from partially dried berries coated with Botrytis. It is a darl gold to amber color filled with hints of cinnamon, chestnut honey, nutmeg and apricots.

Sorry to go all wine geeky on you, but I have to use some technical terms here.... Shit! These are fucking fantastic wines!!!!

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Louis Martini Barbera 1975 (original price $2.30 at Trader Joes)

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What a blast from the past! This was our "house red" back then, because it was both cheap and good. Amazing that it has survived. You must have good storage. I have a few bottles from the mid-70's that I have kept for nostalgic reasons, but I'm sure that they are undrinkable.

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Do yourself a favor. Go to your favorite wine shop and get a few bottles of 2004 Rosso di Montalcino to add to your collection. They will run less than $30 mostly and they will age for 5-10 years into truly great wines. You may also want to splurge on 2-3 bottles of 2001 Brunello. I would try either Costanti, Pertimali or Ciacci Piccolomini. I would buy just one so you can see how it evolves over time. But beware, you will catch the wine collecting bug and soon be saving up for a 240 bottle unit... then a 500... then a 200 case :)

I am taking your advice and this evening I am going to stock the sucker. I am a COMPLETE novice but I am going to keep coming back to this thread for some ideas. I have susbscribed to wine spectator and food and wine and I am ready to go. Thanks again for the recs

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Martini. Hendricks gin and Vya vermouth (and four onions, so techincally it's a Gibson). The Hendricks and Vya really make a perfect Martini.

Whilst I enjoy the occasional Hendricks... I am now in love with Bin 209. Not a traditional gin in that its made from corn but it packs a wallop of flavor that reminds me of Tanquerey when it was a boutique gin (the 60's when my father taught me how to make gibsons when I was 9 or so years old!).

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Whilst I enjoy the occasional Hendricks... I am now in love with Bin 209. Not a traditional gin in that its made from corn but it packs a wallop of flavor that reminds me of Tanquerey when it was a boutique gin (the 60's when my father taught me how to make gibsons when I was 9 or so years old!).
I picked up a bottle of Bin 209 from Cleveland Park liquor on Saturday. It is a very fine Gin.
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Anybody ever try the 1999 Virgin Hills out of Australia? My wine guy here in Charlottesville put me on this Bordeaux blend. I'm a wine novice trying to educate my palate on a public educator's budget. While I'm not above trolling the cheapo bargain non-Shaw wine choices at Trader Joe's, any recs for tasty reds retailing under $15 (espcially Italian) would be greatly appreciated.

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Anybody ever try the 1999 Virgin Hills out of Australia? My wine guy here in Charlottesville put me on this Bordeaux blend. I'm a wine novice trying to educate my palate on a public educator's budget. While I'm not above trolling the cheapo bargain non-Shaw wine choices at Trader Joe's, any recs for tasty reds retailing under $15 (espcially Italian) would be greatly appreciated.

While not just Italian wines, check out this thread.

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ok smart guy...what SHOULD I be reading then?
Find a decent wine store and attend their free tastings, and discuss the wine styles with the people pouring. This will allow you to get a better understanding of the wine. Then again, I don't have a problem reading either of those magazines or even the wine advocate, but I would not depend on any of them for my wine selections.
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What Sthitch said. For basic background on wine regions and styles and an approach to tasting wine, I recommend the two Jancis Robinson books, How to Taste and Jancis Robinson's Wine Course.
Also Robinson's Oxford Companion to Wine is a great resource. It will not tell you much about brands, but really does a nice job of breaking down each region. For a really quick primer, I recommend the Windows on the World Complete Wine Course .
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A “Last Word”

1 part No. 209 Gin

1 part Green Chartreuse

1 part lime juice

½ part mineral water

Pour all over ice, shake, and serve in a chilled glass.

Garnish with a wedge of lime.

The Last Word is among the greatest of cocktails, but you left out an essential ingredient (whether from your drink or only from your post I don't know). The Last Word is equal parts gin, lime juice, green Chartreuse, and maraschino liqueur (preferably Luxardo brand). Adding a little water, mineral or otherwise, should be unnecessary if you shake with ice, and the classic recipe includes no garnish of lime wedge (which I think is out of place in a cocktail glass anyway). Without the maraschino, you may have a perfectly agreeable cocktail, but it isn't the Last Word.

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The Last Word is among the greatest of cocktails, but you left out an essential ingredient (whether from your drink or only from your post I don't know). The Last Word is equal parts gin, lime juice, green Chartreuse, and maraschino liqueur (preferably Luxardo brand). Adding a little water, mineral or otherwise, should be unnecessary if you shake with ice, and the classic recipe includes no garnish of lime wedge (which I think is out of place in a cocktail glass anyway). Without the maraschino, you may have a perfectly agreeable cocktail, but it isn't the Last Word.
Yes, you are right about the Maraschino, but since when I wrote that I had already consumed a Last Word, a Martini, and a Manhattan and half a bottle of wine, so I was a shall we say a bit drunk. :)
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ok smart guy...what SHOULD I be reading then?

I’ve always thought that one of the most erudite but also one of the most level-headed writers about wine is Michael Broadbent. There are few, if any, who can match the breadth and depth of his experience in all aspects of the wine world. His best books can be hard to find in the US, and others are often issued here as “pocket guides” that do not reflect his best work. But try to find Wine Tasting: How to Approach and Appreciate Wine, ed. Hilary Lumsden (London 2000). Even older editions, such as Wine Tasting: Enjoying, Understanding (London 1979), are a pleasure to read for their witty, intelligent, but no-nonsense approach to a complex subject. (Both are available at the Library of Congress.)

And whatever you do, don’t waste your money on Wine Spectator!

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I have heard many say this, but why?

This is a big can of worms, but the most general objection many have to the magazine is that its reviews are geared to a 100-point system in which no wine ever gets below a certain score, no wine gets a 100 (if my information is still correct), and the fiction is propagated that there is actually a meaningful and quantifiable difference between a 96-point wine and a 97-point wine. It sounds like nonsense because it is. (Hugh Johnson has cattily compared this point-system to the grading system in US schools.) Moreover, this "system" drives most average wine sellers to stock their shelves based on its findings, ultimately narrowing the choice for consumers as well and discouraging them from exploring wines that don't "measure up" by this silly scale.

For all its faults, I'd recommend the film "Mondovino" for a more extensive answer, and I'm sure Joe Riley and Jake Parrot can explain this all better than I.

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