Author Topic: The Wine Thread (Read 69491 times)

johngenx · « **Reply #60 on:** October 22, 2015, 08:44:56 pm »

This is an excellent buy. I like it as you need less than a normal wine so I take it into the backcountry with me.

http://www.bcliquorstores.com/product/713750

SKYMTL · « **Reply #61 on:** November 02, 2015, 10:07:39 am »

I hope this doesn't go over too badly but this is my personal opinion and the opinion of our friends.

Over the weekend there was a private wine import event here in Montreal and some of the Big Head wines were on display. The Petit Verdot and Chenin Blanc took center stage in our tasting and, among a group of eight, both failed miserably.

To most of us the 2013 Petit Verdot completely missed the mark by offering tasting notes that stopped well short expectations. The tobacco notes were far too forward, indicating this wine needed at least another 12-18 months in the barrel. There's a reason why all the top winemakers in the world use this grape as part of a blend in parts under 20%; it just doesn't do all that well alone unless babied from vine to bottle. The price was also completely shocking. $45 for this?

The Chenin Blanc was necessarily a failure but labeling it as a Chenin is an insult to the varietal. This is more of an extremely sweet dessert wine of the likes you'll find around the Finger Lakes region rather than a properly mellow Chenin. If approached as a dessert wine, it succeeds quite well but, due to the sweet-forward pallet a number of us wondered if the winemaker let it run amok by mistake. Off the top of my head, I believe the residual sugar was around 30g/L which is a good 6x more than a Chenin Blanc has any business having.

I think we tasted 50 wines on Saturday night and while those two weren't the lowest of the list, they were pretty far down due to their overly ambitious prices.

Small edit. Just looked over my notes again and the Big Head Syrah was among our top wines of the night. At $45 many found it overpriced though.

Weels · « **Reply #62 on:** November 02, 2015, 02:36:18 pm »

^

Reminds me a bit of this I watched the other day...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bdcG7PlkAg0

tooscoops · « **Reply #63 on:** November 02, 2015, 03:05:56 pm »

WINE PRANKS!!!!

heh.. nice.

I don't know why i like the wines i do. i just know i like some of them. heh.. funny, i was just typing this as that video was playing the last bit about just drink what you like...

had a white bottle of "hat trick"... not a fan... can't even describe it, just drank cheaply. with my basement being re-done, i got rid of all my wine (and my bar!) so now i might have to get a few bottles to restock... but without the place to put the bottles, i'll stick to quality over quantity.

SKYMTL · « **Reply #64 on:** November 02, 2015, 03:30:04 pm »

Quote from: Weels on November 02, 2015, 02:36:18 pm

^

Reminds me a bit of this I watched the other day...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bdcG7PlkAg0

I fully believe this is all down to personal opinion and tastes. But when a wine has far too much sugar for the varietal it claims to be....that's a problem with branding, not the wine itself.

Truth be told, my wine cellar is filled with $30 or lower bottles. I may have at most a half dozen bottles in the $30 to $50 category. Hence why I find paying $45 for what I FEEL is an inferior wine (again, my opinion and not a statement of fact) is that much more egregious.

It just so happens that pretty much everyone we went with agreed with one another. None of us can really tell an overly oaked Cab from a Zinfandel and we're certainly not using the spittoons at these events if you catch my drift.

That doesn't make anyone snobs. It just points towards a wine that, to some folks at least, isn't a good value for money.

tooscoops · « **Reply #65 on:** November 02, 2015, 03:37:34 pm »

i can tell some grapes, and sugar contents... that's about the extent of my palate.

there are some snobs out there, and your language is close, but i actually get what you are saying and can agree.

HeliDriver · « **Reply #66 on:** November 02, 2015, 03:56:45 pm »

Quote from: tooscoops on November 02, 2015, 03:37:34 pm

there are some snobs out there, and your language is close, but i actually get what you are saying and can agree.

Near as I can tell, this is all that was actually said: the "tobacco notes were too far forward" on the Petit Verdot, and the Chenin Blanc was too sweet.

SKYMTL · « **Reply #67 on:** November 02, 2015, 04:00:31 pm »

Quote from: tooscoops on November 02, 2015, 03:37:34 pm

i can tell some grapes, and sugar contents... that's about the extent of my palate.

there are some snobs out there, and your language is close, but i actually get what you are saying and can agree.

The language is likely close but I'm someone who appreciate value above all else. I don't think I've ever spent more than $60 on a bottle. Ever. And that was for a private import of a wine from Isola d'Elba that had more sentimental value than good taste.

tortoise · « **Reply #68 on:** November 02, 2015, 04:35:32 pm »

I had this one the weekend:

http://www.winealign.com/wines/67344-Cono-Sur-Single-Vineyard-Block-No--21-Viento-Mar-Pinot-Noir-2012

I really enjoyed it. I like Pinot's a lot, but this one was a bit different that the usual light drinking ones. It had tons of body and flavour while maintaining that delicious Pinot taste.

tooscoops · « **Reply #69 on:** November 02, 2015, 04:37:03 pm »

Quote from: HeliDriver on November 02, 2015, 03:56:45 pm

Quote from: tooscoops on November 02, 2015, 03:37:34 pm

there are some snobs out there, and your language is close, but i actually get what you are saying and can agree.

Near as I can tell, this is all that was actually said: the "tobacco notes were too far forward" on the Petit Verdot, and the Chenin Blanc was too sweet.

i took a class to be a sommelier back in college... fun course! plus while there i worked at the lcbo, so i got used to some of the language... even pretended to speak it a bit myself to some customers who only wanted to be helped by someone knowledgeable... it was funny, lifers there would bring customers to me (a part time casual employee) to choose wines... i didn't really know more, but i could fake it better....

... guess that is why i sell cars!

HeliDriver · « **Reply #70 on:** November 02, 2015, 04:41:09 pm »

Funny, just remembered a wine we had a couple days ago: 2013 Octavia Pinot Noir.

Label says "cherries, pomegranate and spice..." but I kept tasting jasmine, like green tea at a Chinese restaurant. It was odd, and not really in a good way. Interestingly, my wife didn't pick up any jasmine at all.

tooscoops · « **Reply #71 on:** November 02, 2015, 04:52:58 pm »

forget what movie it was, but there was this "wine box" the guy had, that had sprigs of leaves and spices... lots of cool little things...

he had someone taste wine, then describe what they could taste... then they would open the box, smell some stuff and taste that. after "experiencing" the box, then they would try the wine again and taste nearly every thing in that box to some degree...

thought it was cool and still stays with me for some reason. movie probably sucked.

Weels · « **Reply #72 on:** November 02, 2015, 06:29:19 pm »

The video i posted above reminded me of the "oh it's expensive, it must be good" thinking.. (sort of like people that take golf wayyy too seriously...)

I've tasted a few over the years that made me LOL at the price tag... but.. next guy might think it's the best thing ever.
At every price point there are good wines and crap wines according to your taste buds.

johngenx · « **Reply #73 on:** November 02, 2015, 08:24:58 pm »

Quote from: Weels on November 02, 2015, 06:29:19 pm

At every price point there are good wines and crap wines according to your taste buds.

This. I've found stuff I like ranging from $8-$30, and after $30 I just don't bother. If I'm spending money it's on really good scotch.

Weels · « **Reply #74 on:** November 02, 2015, 08:34:27 pm »

^
Agree. My average spend is about $20 per bottle. The stuff that is $40-50 isn't twice as good IMO.

tortoise · « **Reply #75 on:** November 02, 2015, 09:09:56 pm »

That being said, we did a wine tasting on our honeymoon in Sonoma and ended up buying this for my father in-law. To this date it is hands down my favourite wine I have ever had.

https://shopbenziger.vintegrate.com/13-DC-PINOT-NOIR-ARBORE-SACRA-

Was it 3 times better than a $25 bottle? Who the hell cares.

SKYMTL · « **Reply #76 on:** November 03, 2015, 12:48:46 pm »

Quote from: tortoise on November 02, 2015, 04:35:32 pm

I had this one the weekend:

http://www.winealign.com/wines/67344-Cono-Sur-Single-Vineyard-Block-No--21-Viento-Mar-Pinot-Noir-2012

I really enjoyed it. I like Pinot's a lot, but this one was a bit different that the usual light drinking ones. It had tons of body and flavour while maintaining that delicious Pinot taste.

If you are a fan of slightly "heavier" Pinot Noirs then you're certainly in the right region for it.

For a completely different taste, check into Pinots from the Willamette Valley in Oregon. They're typically quite well priced (under $25) and have an amazing diversity of taste!

SKYMTL · « **Reply #77 on:** November 03, 2015, 12:56:23 pm »

Quote from: Weels on November 02, 2015, 08:34:27 pm

^
Agree. My average spend is about $20 per bottle. The stuff that is $40-50 isn't twice as good IMO.

We actually pick wines based on three things: varietals we know we like (Cab, Pinot, Zinfandel, Tempranillo, etc.), price (under $30) and sugar content.

Lately, the residual sugar has been a really big deal for us as we've found that several with levels above 10g/L have given us headaches or an expansion of that "tipsy" feeling. It may be completely random or totally in our heads but we've found the drinking experience better as we've transitioned to lower-sugar wines.

Noto · « **Reply #78 on:** November 03, 2015, 02:38:08 pm »

I only paid $36 for the Chenin Blanc

Whatever the case, I'm a big fan and take no offence to your tastes being different. I can't drink overly dry wines, and quite like a little residual sugar. What I like in particular about Lipinski's wines are that they are unique, 'daring' (if you will...), and atypical of what one expects out of a varietal. I don't expect him to win over sommeliers...I just enjoy his stuff and his way of production. Also, I love the blind tasting experience and for $15, even if you don't love the wine, it's well-worth doing.

My boss gave me a $300+ bottle of Dom for my engagement - regifted, saying that he can't stand the 'stuff'. As part of my halloween costume last Friday, I went as a celebratory Blue Jay:

...with my own flare of being a bit mean ("~~TAKE~~ OCTOBER" on the back of my shirt, for example). I brought a $17 bottle of "Prosecco" to toast everyone at lunch. Said boss didn't expect much, and said that he didn't want to drink it because he hates the "bubbly stuff". As a good sport, he toasted with us all and said "actually, this is quite drinkable!"

...go figure.

Different strokes for different folks. I have no issues that others don't like the wine that I do, but when I find someone I want to support (with no personal gains to be had in so supporting), I am happy to share my experiences with anyone who is interested.

to all!

johngenx · « **Reply #79 on:** November 03, 2015, 04:56:05 pm »

I take it you've learned the old business adage:

"Get them drunk, get them laid, get it on film.."