What's in your glass tonight?
- Thread starter Boatboy24
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Two nights in a row, Varis?
Boatboy24
No longer a newbie, but still clueless.
Looks like the first bottle was from breakfast.
The left over from the night before...lol
My wife is not drinking during lent, so I cannot drink the whole bottle myself in just one night...lol
Boatboy24
No longer a newbie, but still clueless.
You're not applying yourself.
A glass of Chilean Syrah (Harford bucket + lug 'o grapes) started 5-6-2017. I think I bottled it just before Christmas. Looks like I put some Am Med+ Xoakers in, hardly notice the oak at this point. Has a nice spicy nose and flavor, probably due to the AMH yeast I used. Let it air out a bit (probably close to an hour). This is a really nice glass of wine for ~ $3.50 a bottle. Very enjoyable even after drinking swill beer all day (just kidding, tapped a keg of German lager I made back in January - lower end Fest style, low bitterness, definite smokey malt character).
So this is what happens when you sell your winery for millions to a conglomerate I suppose. Went to dinner with friends last night. and they opened a bottle of 2016 Prisoner. It has been "millennialized" for lack of a better term. It is now sweet. You could tell it was a decent made wine still but it has an almost overwhelming sweet taste to it. I brought a bottle of 2012 Bookwalter Conflict which we opened first with dinner. It did not disappoint. The Prisoner was opened after we drained the Bookwalter. Like night and days difference. One wine was made to cut through a steak and the other wine was made to sip all by itself with zero aging. Absolutely no tannin bite. Even the most recent WS review says "Plump and fairly sweet".......
Sad!
Sad!
Boatboy24
No longer a newbie, but still clueless.
A shame. I was gifted a bottle of the 2015 about two years ago. Haven't opened it yet.
Boatboy24
No longer a newbie, but still clueless.
Ah, maybe there's hope for my 2015 then. Perhaps it's time to stock up.
Good luck finding any 2015 still. They have released the 2017 version already.....
If you can find some 2015 I would open your bottle to see if its to your liking before buying any more.
If you can find some 2015 I would open your bottle to see if its to your liking before buying any more.
Boatboy24
No longer a newbie, but still clueless.
That's the issue, is finding any. I think I'll just look to drink more Dave Phinney stuff and skip the Swift.
Just wanted to let anyone who might be interested that the 2016 has hit the shelves. I just snagged a few from one of my favorite online retailers. Looks to be as good as the 2015 at this point.
https://www.klwines.com/p/i?i=13989...ab99c5e2-80bdc8a55c-137936097##TrackingCode##
https://www.klwines.com/p/i?i=13989...ab99c5e2-80bdc8a55c-137936097##TrackingCode##
Picked up 3 of these last Fall IIRC. Opened the first one last night. Holy Cow. This drinks like a $25-30 bottle and only cost $13. 70% Syrah, 30% Grenache. 14.5% ABV. Flat out amazing food friendly wine to say the least. WA rated it 94pts. I would give it 91-92. Really good juice. 5 Star QPR for sure.
WA has a different reviewer on this wine this year, not nearly as enthusiastic as Jeb Dunnuck was on the '15's
Rating
89
Release Price
$18
Drink Date
2018 - 2024
Reviewed by
Joe Czerwinski
Issue Date
27th Apr 2018
Source
236, The Wine Advocate
The 2016 Bastide Miraflors is 80% Syrah and 20% Grenache grown on granite and gneiss at elevations approaching 400 meters above sea level. Half was matured in demi-muids, half in concrete, with oak staves. It's a firm, structured wine—not so much as to be unapproachable, just enough to partner with red meat. A hint of cracked pepper accents blueberry and cassis fruit in this medium to full-bodied red that comes across as being similar to a solid Saint-Joseph.
The dynamic Jean Marc Lafage has rapidly expanded his holdings and production in the past decade, since he began working with American importer Eric Solomon. There's a huge, state-of-the-art winery and a seemingly endless number of cuvées to taste through. The white wine-making tends to be highly reductive, although a couple of cuvées are barrel fermented. Even if I'm slightly less enthusiastic than the previous WA reviewer about some of the entry-level wines, there are still many screaming values in the lineup (both white and red, but more red). At the high end, the reds are impressive, showing ample concentration and well-managed tannins. With the generally high alcohol levels, I've been conservative with my drinking windows, not wanting to push them out too far, but I did taste the terrific 2005 Les Onze Terrasses (albeit from magnum), and it was still drinking well, so these wines may well last longer than I've projected. Clearly, I need to acquire more data points!
Boatboy24
No longer a newbie, but still clueless.
Too bad they don't ship to VA.
Did you mean the 16's re JD by chance?
I will report back as soon as I get my order in. Hopefully by the end of the week. Bought enough to pop a few early and let the others ride it out in the cellar for a while. CT has review's up on the 16's already. Seems to be about like the 15's were. For this price I am looking for something that fits a niche drinking market so to speak.
I will report back as soon as I get my order in. Hopefully by the end of the week. Bought enough to pop a few early and let the others ride it out in the cellar for a while. CT has review's up on the 16's already. Seems to be about like the 15's were. For this price I am looking for something that fits a niche drinking market so to speak.
wine.com might be your friend when they restock unless VA is a wine "unfriendly" State.
