Bumping so we have this on the radar.

And to be topical, I'm not much of a rhone wine drinker, but the other day was at a dinner with friends and one guy brought a Gonon St Joseph blanc. It was from '14, I believe, so a touch of age. Absolutely gorgeous wine.

Worth the hype!

I passed on my Latour allocation. I just can't pull the trigger on a wine that is so much $$ and I won't drink for 20 years.

GoBearsGo said:

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I passed on my Latour allocation. I just can't pull the trigger on a wine that is so much $$ and I won't drink for 20 years.

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I feel ya..... cool to have, though

ATXBear said:

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Just for fun-- what's the best bottle or glass of wine you've ever had? I'll start and list a few: Glass of Hundred Acre cab (don't know the year), Spotteswood 2007 Cab, 1985 Keenan Merlot, 2005 Opus One. As you can tell, I haven't had the opportunity to taste much of the quality wines outside the US. PS-- Caymus and Ghost Block are highly overrated IMHO.

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Oakwood appellation purchased at that store in Napa

Got a good deal on Charles Hiedseick Brut Reserve champagne for $39 a bottle. Very classic house champagne and definitely a steal at this price. I only bought a 6 pack, I'll probably regret not buying more when Christmas rolls around.

Love me some bubbles at holiday meals with family and friends!!

Shared a bottle of Chateau Leroy with a friend

Osodecentx said:

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Shared a bottle of Chateau Leroy with a friend

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Burgundy Leroy? Which bottling?

bularry said:

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Osodecentx said:

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Shared a bottle of Chateau Leroy with a friend

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Burgundy Leroy? Which bottling?

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white burgundy. 96 I think
Montrachet

Osodecentx said:

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bularry said:

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Osodecentx said:

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Shared a bottle of Chateau Leroy with a friend

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Burgundy Leroy? Which bottling?

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white burgundy. 96 I think
Montrachet

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Hell yeah! I guess no premox? That's pretty special

bularry said:

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Osodecentx said:

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bularry said:

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Osodecentx said:

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Shared a bottle of Chateau Leroy with a friend

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Burgundy Leroy? Which bottling?

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white burgundy. 96 I think
Montrachet

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Premix?
Hell yeah! I guess no premox? That's pretty special

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premature oxidation. white burgundy has had some issues with too much oxygen getting to the wine at bottling, resulting in wines that, well, age like 100 years in 10 years, which ain't good.

Visited a winery in Southern Italy and on Sicily. Interesting wines.

Benanti is a very solid producer of Etna Rosso wines.


sorry you missed the Aussie Pinot tasting with David. It was pretty good wine and very interesting dude.

bularry said:

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Benanti is a very solid producer of Etna Rosso wines.


sorry you missed the Aussie Pinot tasting with David. It was pretty good wine and very interesting dude.

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I grabbed a few just to have. The wine from Southern Italy was just ok, had a few bottles shipped home just to have them and open with friends.

GoBearsGo said:

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bularry said:

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Benanti is a very solid producer of Etna Rosso wines.


sorry you missed the Aussie Pinot tasting with David. It was pretty good wine and very interesting dude.

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I grabbed a few just to have. The wine from Southern Italy was just ok, had a few bottles shipped home just to have them and open with friends.

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I love southern italy! at least Campania area wines - Fiano, Fallaghini, Greco are all some amazing whites of various types.

On Sicily the Carricante white is really nice to my palate. Not sure I spelled it right and too lazy to google for correct but you know what i'm referring to

FYI, wine causes cancer. So as a gesture of goodwill, I will help anyone by taking the cancerous material off of their hands and disposing of it in a safe manner.

send me DM and I'll provide location you can mail your wine to. cheers.

Just had a great bottle of Chenin Blanc from Southern California, of all places. Most Chenin Blanc is grown in South Africa and New Zeland. But this one vinter, Jesse Katz, found some old vine CB (planted in the 1940s) on the Sacramento River. It was mostly being used for white blends, and the owner was going to plow it under to plant more lucrative Cab grapes. But Katz stopped him and bought 5 years worth of supply to make a true American Chenin Blanc.

It is called Aperture, and the 2022 bottle I had was excellent. I spend far more time on reds (especially Italian reds), but was delighted to get some of these:

Aperture_2023_Chenin_Blanc_Tech_Sheet.w.reviews

I didn't love that Chenin. Sandlands also makes a Chenin from Lodi that I enjoy much more.

and in your list of where Chenin blanc is made, you skipped Loire Valley!!

bularry said:

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I didn't love that Chenin. Sandlands also makes a Chenin from Lodi that I enjoy much more.

and in your list of where Chenin blanc is made, you skipped Loire Valley!!

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Of course, Loire! I didn't love Sandlands. It seemed very mineral to me. I like the sharp acidity of a CB. But I will agree that the Sndlands CB had one of the longest finishes I've ever had from a CB.

Aperture also made a sauvignon blanc in '22 that I got on discount that I thought was really great.

I'd like to discuss one element of the domestic winery business, specifically the Direct to Consumer (DTC) model/business


I have a huge concern that the renewed focus on this model by quality domestic producers will further cement wine as a niche product that only the few truly appreciate.


So, who has an opinion? How much wine do you purchase via DTC? Why not more?

At the moment the most of the wine I buy is DTC for the most part. as we have discussed I'm excited to start buying lots more from around the world. I'm trying to really drink and gift my California/napa wine.