+- WineBoard (https://www.wines.com/wineboard)
+-- Forum: GENERAL (https://www.wines.com/wineboard/forum-100.html)
+--- Forum: Rants & Raves (https://www.wines.com/wineboard/forum-12.html)
+--- Thread: Weeding out cellar (/thread-12722.html)
Pages:
1
2
- brappy - 02-29-2008
I'm in the process of weeding out my cellar. I've a load of wines that need to be gone. So, to start with, I've designated a bin to "Need To Drink Now" wines. These wines are:
A - everyday drinkers that I didn't drink everyday
B - wines I forgot about and have really no idea what they are
C - I didn't like a previous bottle of the same
D - Got the wine from a grab box
1. Thirsty Owl Wine Company, 2004, Pinot Noir, Cayuga Lake, Finger Lakes, New York
I do not remember this place at all. Maybe it was at the end of a tasting day. Who knows? Hattie and I are tasting at the same time tonight. This is real time.... for us anyway. Nose is not good, weedy,very high acid; not much actual fruit. Never mind! Total vinegar... Extremely nasty! Dumping....
2. The Wishing Tree, Cab-Merlot, '05, Western Australia
Nose- Over-extracted, burnt rubber, not much fruit.. Palate has a bit of concentration. You can tell what they were doing but didn't do a good job of it. Tried to get too much fruit out of what they had....
3. Juniper Estate, Shiraz, '02, Margaret River, Australia
Having a hard time figuring out what is going on with this wine. Need to give it more time.
4. Hazard Hill by Plantagenet, Shiraz '04, Western Australia
Good red fruits on the nose; a touch of extraction. Palate has blueberry and a touch of red raspberry. So far the wine of the night although that's not saying much. Would have no problem drinking this wine. This wine was just opened, should open up nicely.
5. Leasingham Wines, Classic Clare Shiraz, '05
Very tight; will give it some more time.
mark
- brappy - 02-29-2008
2 hours later (after the wine was opened)
#1 - We dumped
#2 - NO better, weedy, green, thin, overall crap
#3 - The nose seems to be coming out of its shell; still a bit of overextraction. Palate hasn't gotten any better. Don't know if this one is in a phase (dumb) or not. I'll check in another hour.
#4 - Good red fruit on the nose. On the palate, this wine still has blueberry with a touch of raspberry. Typical for a cool climate syrah.....
#5 - still opening.. will check back
- Innkeeper - 02-29-2008
Haven't heard of Thirsty Owl Company either.
- brappy - 02-29-2008
#3,4,5 all got a bit better last night, but not enough change to update tasting notes. The Hazard Hill was the best of the bunch. These last 3 were good, not great.
I may try a new bunch tonight after work.
mark
- Duane Meissner - 02-29-2008
If you're weeding your cellar, you probably have too much moisture and sunlight down there.
...sorry, couldn't resist...
- brappy - 03-01-2008
OK.
I still have not dumped out the last 3 bottles from last night, so I can give them one more try.
Last Night #3 Juniper Estate, Shiraz, '02, Margaret River, Australia
The nose is much more open. More red fruit. Still that overextracted note comes through. I thought that had blown off. The palate is still a bit weedy, much better than even earlier today but still a good one not to purchase. Now dumping...
Last Night #4 Hazard Hill by Plantagenet, Shiraz '04, Western Australia. More blueberry on the nose with a hint of "spring rain" or at least thats what I sense when smelling this wine. Palate has sweetened up a bit, even from this morning. Still a classic cool climate syrah on the palate minus any bacon. I may finish this bottle....
Last Night #5 Leasingham Wines, Classic Clare Shiraz, '05. The nose on this wine is still hiding something. Almost able to break through whatever barrier is preventing me from getting the whole picture. Makes me wonder if this wine is just shut down for business or just doesn't have enough business to really show. Hmmmm..... Palate is just not that promising.... Dumping now...
And some new wines:
#1 - Paringa Cabernet, '05, South Australia. Interesting nose... The first thing that came to mind was Flinstones Chewable Vitamin C. A very distant memory from when I was a child. This sensation is riding next to some red fruit; Fresh red fruit - raspberry and bing cherry... It's getting better. Nice pure fruit on the palate. All red fruit. Nothing extraordinary, but very nice. Definately giving this one some more time....
#2 - Dos Lomos Malbec '05, Mendoza, Argentina. Nothing but burnt rubber on the nose. No fruit whatsoever... Some dill components on the palate.... Yuck... dumping now.....
#3 - Rosemount Estate Pinot Noir Diamond Label, '05, Southeastern Australia. Nose has some red cherries and actually smells like a Pinot Noir. Palate is a touch tart but tastes like a Pinot. I'll give this one some time and see what happens.
#4 - William Hill Winery, Merlot, '03, Napa. Nose of red fruit, kind of non-descript... Seems vibrant until you put the wine on your palate and realize the Acid got away from the maker a touch. Will hold this to see if it improves. My guess at this time is it won't really improve.
mark
- brappy - 03-02-2008
Alright, I must be boring you people. Just a few more days.... I promise.
Last night #1 Paringa Cabernet, '05, South Australia. Still holding.... The nose is still full of red fruit. A touch of cinamon also. The palate is not screaming Cabernet but is pleasant anyway. This really is a great value.
Last night #3 Rosemount Estate Pinot Noir Diamond Label, '05, Southeastern Australia. This one is really a surprise. Varietal correctness and a pleasant quaffer. The fruit is much larger than I would have thought. A very pleasant drink.
Last night #4 William Hill Winery, Merlot, '03, Napa. This wine didn't change much last night. Was very unpleasant. Not much has changed today. The nose has added some depth but not particularly good depth. The palate is pure crap. Dumped.
And some new wines:
#1 - Mad Fish Shiraz, '04, Western Australia. I don't remember ever tasting this stuff. Interesting nose..... Not much fruit. Some cinamon toast is about all I get from this. On the palate, there is a touch of red fruit and so much acid you could wash your tires with it. Odd wine. I'm going to hold it for a bit to see if something comes alive.....
#2 - Louis M. Martini, Cabernet, '05, Sonoma. Green, herbal, vegetal nose. Wow, the same thing on the palate wrapped with a bit of red fruit and vanilla. Almost like cherry-vanilla yogurt. This wine needs some time. We'll see what happens later.
mark
- winoweenie - 03-02-2008
I'm always amazed at how wine drinkers decide on a style, grape and country of origin and then concentrate exclusively on that area. Atta' Boy Braps! WW [img]http://wines.com/ubb/wink.gif[/img]
- dananne - 03-02-2008
After drinking the Diamond Label stuff from time to time when we were just getting into wine, we've moved away from it, and I haven't had something I've really enjoyed in that line for some time. So, I was a bit surprised to see the Pinot Noir notes above. Since we're always on the lookout for daily-drinking PN, I'll give it a shot. It's tough to open a $35 PN on a Tuesday night when only one of us is drinking, and we've blasted through all of our usual midweek PN of choice, the Queen of Hearts.
- TheEngineer - 03-02-2008
Okay! You've inspired me to do the same...clean out my cellar of similar bottles that is. next week home most of it At least I think so....so I can do this. It will be fun!!! and I can taste again after having the flu for so long......
- brappy - 03-03-2008
Just cleaning out that section at the moment WW. I'll move onto other areas soon enough.
Dan, I believe Rosemount Diamond series are roughly $10 a bottle. So, nice wine for the price. Remember though, you do drink much more Pinot than I do.
Bring it on Eng.... Can't wait to see what you have lingering in your cellar.
Alright.... From a couple of days ago...
#3 - Rosemount Estate Pinot Noir Diamond Label, '05, Southeastern Australia. Nose is still showing some decent fruit. Although it is starting to fade, this is impressive. I expected nothing and got a decent quaffer.
And last night...
#1 - Mad Fish Shiraz, '04, Western Australia. I can detect some fruit on the nose... it is faint though - but pleasant. Still high acid but the fruit has poked its head out of the hole it was in. The fruit is not bad... too bad the acid takes it too far out of balance.
#2 - Louis M. Martini, Cabernet, '05, Sonoma. The nose on this wine is still complete garbage. So is the palate.... They should be ashamed of themselves for putting this crap in a bottle. Dumped.
And a couple of new ones for tonight...
#1 - Hill of Content, Grenache (90%) Shiraz(10%), '04, Clare Valley, Australia. Good nose of blue and red fruits with a touch of sweet spice. The palate is saying cool climate grenache, but I don't believe that's the case. Don't know for sure. Nice blueberry notes. This is a good wine. Well done. I'm going to give this one some time and taste again.
#2 - Arcadian, Cabernet Franc, New York State. Winery is in the Finger Lakes region. I don't see a vintage on the bottle so I'm assuming NV. Oh Boy.... Really don't know what to expect with this one. Very interesting nose. Some fecal material, but not all together bad. Barn yard aromas but not much fruit. Palate is actually OK. Good red fruit with lots of earthy flavors with a green streak intertwined through the whole experience. The green streak adds a bit of complexity..... or does it? This wine is making me think too much. One moment, I find it intriguing and the next I feel like a masochist drinking down some unrealistic fecal matter. I can't help but be impressed.
mark
- TheEngineer - 03-04-2008
Here we go Brappy!
IN order to pick my four bottles tonight, started off with my wine list first and it was not an easy thing to do. Like many starting buyers/horders... you buy many singles ....and let me tell you I've got a lot of singles. I didn't know where to start. Brappy...you feel the same way? So just went downstairs and started looking at things that I always find an excuse not to open (other than its too nice for tonight and its too expensive.....).
I ended up with .... A LOT...... Dozens of bottles everywhere......so for first night, I picked up regions that I've not tasted in a while. Also, since I’ve been sick, I’ve not tasted any wine in any significant measure in a long time. So with a bit of a swollen tongue still, the notes I’m afraid, might be a bit compromised. Nonetheless,
(1) 2005 Vitae Angiovese, Puglia Italia. A $10 CDN bottle courtesy of the LCBO. Actually a very pretty nose, floral. In the mouth, it is a very rich, ripe wine, densely flavoured cherries, a high one tea, and a hint of citrus with a low tone wood flavour. Hint of alcohol at the end. It is actually very attractive to drink right now. The acidity is always in the back, almost tart at the end. Long persistence. Performing well above its paygrade. Might work really well in a sauce too.
(2) 2001 Solaris Merlot Napa Valley, a $7.99 buy at Trader Joes. Dark in colour. Funky nose, dark, wood, coco and beef bouillon. Not exactly exciting. In the mouth, the dark fruits appear to be drying, and while the flavours are dense, wood, coco, beefy, it last very little. Tannins are noticeable at the end along with a wet wood flavour. Flabby. Very little to go back to and outclassed by the previous wine. I barely wanted to finish the small taste.
(3) 2004 Edmunds St. John, Bone-Joly Gamay Noir. $ Light garnet in colour. Light woody, cedar nose again. The cedar is the first thing I notice. Followed closely then by light and art berries. The wine is not overdone and given the tartness of it, I would not have ever guessed California. Interesting wine but it needs food….and I’m getting hungry.
(4) 2003 Chateau La Rogue, Pic Saint Loup, Coteaux de Languedoc. $13.00 A nonfiltered wine, garnet with a hint of bricking. Again, a fairly muted nose with hints of wood. Full rich fruit flavors ripe, dark fruit, perfumey wood, tannic, tart, and a bit discombobulated right now. High acidity, bit of tar and black licorice. Strange because the first part of the taste is very large, and then it drops significantly and in the later part of the mouthful, it is tart and almost astringent. Not very attractive right now but looks like one to return to once it has aired out a bit more.
- brappy - 03-04-2008
Hey, great notes Eng. Wow, you're all over the place. I know what you mean.... It's tough to decide which wine to bring from the cellar. Actually, Hattie wants the total number of wines to decrease by a couple of hundred. So she really is the one who spurred this whole thing on. Keep them coming.....
Here we go:
Last night #1 Hill of Content, Grenache (90%) Shiraz(10%), '04, Clare Valley, Australia. Still showing nicely. This is a solid wine. For any of you Grenache lovers out there, this is the QPR you're looking for. I might actually finish this tonight. Maybe....
Last night #2 Arcadian, Cabernet Franc, New York State. I thought for sure this wine end up falling apart. Not even close. I may get laughed at for this, but it reminds me of a left bank cab franc predominant from an off house. Very well done.
Tonight #1 Summers, Charbono, '04, Napa. I actually opened this up because the last one I opened had a touch of oxidation. So I figured the wine was aging too quickly. This wine doesn't even have a hint of oxidation. So I was dead wrong. That's what I get from my total ignorance with this grape.
Red cherries and baking spices on the nose. Wow, the palate has much of the same with nice acid level and a gripping tannic backbone. This wine could have easily aged another 5 to 7 years. The fruit is very good. Even better than the first few bottles I opened a couple of years ago. Very good.
Tonight #2 Simon Bize & Fils, Bourgogne, "Les Perrieres", '03, Burgundy. Over extracted....... Why???? Ohhhh, to cover the extremely high acid on the palate. I'm not sure what I'm thinking but I'll give this some more time.
Tonight #3 Frei Brothers, Merlot Reserve, Dry Creek Valley, '05, Sonoma. Also over extracted, but not nearly as bad. Forgivable anyway. A bit of red fruit on the nose as well. The palate is full of tart red fruit. The acid takes this wine out of balance. Not terribly so, but takes any thought of aging this wine to null. I'll give this some more time to see what happens.
mark
- wondersofwine - 03-04-2008
Brappy,
Was the Simon Bize a white Burgundy?
Also, I like Frei Brothers Pinot Noir but haven't had the Merlot.
- TheEngineer - 03-05-2008
Thought that I posted an update on the Ch. Rogue.... after spending almost five hours with the wines...(on and off..read, walking away, etc), I finally double decanted the Rouge. Wow...what an immediate different. The wine rounded out and integrated almost right away. A much smoother, rounder drink and the falling off of the favors went away, This is a ripe dark long finishing wine. I get the sense that this could have hung around for a while but now that it is in this state, what the hay?
- brappy - 03-05-2008
Hey Jane..... No, no whites yet. But soon...
Eng, it gets tough opening a few wines and still posting after tasting a bit. Were the latter notes on the Rogue from later last night or tonight?
Anyway, quick notes tonight. Birthday is tomorrow and the day is filled with wine. Should be a good day.
2 days ago - Hill of Content, Grenache (90%) Shiraz(10%), '04, Clare Valley, Australia. This wine is on its last leg, but still a terrific wine.
And Last night:
#1 - Summers, Charbono, '04, Napa. This wine is pretty good. I'm almost upset I opened this in this format. But not really.... OK, red fruits with a bit of earth in both the nose and palate. This wine has a complexity that is gentle but nice.
#2 - Simon Bize & Fils, Bourgogne, "Les Perrieres", '03, Burgundy. Horrible nose... Seriously crappy juice... Just coats your tongue in acid juice.... Dumped!
#3 - Frei Brothers, Merlot Reserve, Dry Creek Valley, '05, Sonoma. Nose is fairly muted. ???? Not unpleasant but..... just nothing on the nose. Palate is not unpleasant either.... but again, not much there. The wine has bulked up but not enough to combat the unbalanced acid. Too bad......
And tonight:
#1 - MontGras, Merlot, Reserva, Colchagua, Chile, '04. I don't even know how to describe this wine's nose. Something odd.. Like minty dough.. or playdough.. I just put this wine on my palate..... Nasty!
Can't wait for some great wines tomorrow!
mark
- winoweenie - 03-05-2008
Let me be one of the 1st to wish you a HAPPY B/D Braps. You deserve so good juice after all the torment youse has gone thru. WW
- wondersofwine - 03-05-2008
Wishing a happy to Brappy!
Brappy, my friend Connie who lives near Annapolis, teaches a class Thursday night so can't join us for the wine tasting April 3rd. I'm thinking maybe we should meet up in Baltimore and I will stay in a hotel there that night and stay with Connie Friday night and Sallie (near DC) Saturday night. Do you want to go back to Samos in Greektown? Can't wait.
- TheEngineer - 03-05-2008
Happy BDay Brappy!
- TheEngineer - 03-07-2008
Night two. notes posted in their respective folders but the list was
(1) 2002 Block wine (box wine)
(2) 2000 Paitin Ce Veja Nebbiolo D'alba
(3) Dry Creek Meritage
(4) 2002 Francois Raquillet Mercurey 1er Cru Les Vasee
my first and only box wine.. nice packaging!!