Simply...The Wine Thread

[fusionstorm]

To show support for the afflicted region (and to aid the headache some posters gave me for popping some nice bottles WAY TOO SOON.....), I popped a 2009 Joseph Phelps Napa cab for dinner. In a beautiful place, but not going to improve any. Not going to decline for a good 5+ years, either. Cheers!



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[BNA/LION]

Some Merlot Tonight, 2013...

[fkim011]

Originally Posted by offrdmania

Very nice! I know the Daou brothers very well. My sister is the vineyard manager there among other vineyards. We also sell them the Grenache from our vineyard. Last year my sister received a doubloon of their 2007 Cab Reserve as a thank you gift. That bottle is massive! I think its the equivalent of 8 bottles.

The wines they are producing now are excellent. Just locked in my Holiday allocation there with bunch of Magnums coming my way for the family get togethers.

[offrdmania]

Originally Posted by fkim011

The wines they are producing now are excellent. Just locked in my Holiday allocation there with bunch of Magnums coming my way for the family get togethers.

Very nice! Are any of the magnums the Soul of a Lion?

[fkim011]

Originally Posted by offrdmania

Very nice! Are any of the magnums the Soul of a Lion?

The Soul of Lion is my favorite Daou. I got a 2012 and 2013 Magnum of Soul of Lion coming my way.

I'm eager to try Patrimony from the Daou brothers and I have an allocation coming in March.

[offrdmania]

Originally Posted by fkim011

The Soul of Lion is my favorite Daou. I got a 2012 and 2013 Magnum of Soul of Lion coming my way.



I'm eager to try Patrimony from the Daou brothers and I have an allocation coming in March.

Once you go “free-run” you can never go back. I made some free-run Petite Syrah last year for myself that’s on oak right now and even only being in barrel for a year it is super soft and as smooth as silk. Another year on oak and it will absolutely melt in your mouth with no tannic finish at all. I can’t wait

[fkim011]

Some of my recent deliveries and pickups! Not pictured is all the Daou I have and love. You guys drink some fantastic wines in here.

Surprised not to see many Silver Oak or Darioush drinkers in here.

My favorite Pinot right now is Sea Smoke Ten. Just an awesome flavor profile.

[wantonebad]

Originally Posted by fkim011

Some of my recent deliveries and pickups! Not pictured is all the Daou I have and love. You guys drink some fantastic wines in here.

Surprised not to see many Silver Oak or Darioush drinkers in here.

My favorite Pinot right now is Sea Smoke Ten. Just an awesome flavor profile.

Nice wine and digs Frank, you've got great all around taste sir!

Decor is impeccable but those refrigerators...

Wine ain't bad either

[mjclark32]

[QUOTE=fkim011;7981294]Some of my recent deliveries and pickups! Not pictured is all the Daou I have and love. You guys drink some fantastic wines in here.

Surprised not to see many Silver Oak or Darioush drinkers in here.

My favorite Pinot right now is Sea Smoke Ten. Just an awesome flavor profile.

QUOTE]

Really nice! The wine, the fridge, home, fire, etc!

[teqp]

Nice looking wine Frank. There are some of us that enjoy Silver Oak.
For me I enjoy both SO (Alexander Valley and Napa).

[fkim011]

Thanks guys!

I prefer the Alexander over Napa myself but both are excellent. Consistent year to year and you know what you're getting out of the bottle every time . No surprises which could be a good and bad thing I guess...

[Runnin' Rebel]

Well, here's Houston and this was very excellent, so good in fact I had it Capitol Grill 2 months later



Some times all the wines miss making this thread but we have a lot of different ones.


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[fkim011]

There we go! Hope you enjoyed her.

[RHIII]

Opened these two this evening...



The Hess is young — but ready to drink — it’s definitely a full bodied cab — but even young - not over the top.

This Merryvale is a GEM - my first taste reminded me why I liked it so much — it is complex - yet on the milder side - not too fruity and well balanced.



Cheers all!!!


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[Runnin' Rebel]

Hi Roger
Merryvale one if my favorites as well. I've had many, mostly from 2007-2010, it's been a while though and will for sure get the 2012/2013-. Also had a long run with the Starmont brand of Merryvale as well. It's been a while for both actually. Thanks for showing that

Have some 2014 Maybach Family Materium Oakville Cabernet Sauvignon being shipped and has been held , been waiting all summer for that. Can't wait

Cheers

[RHIII]

Originally Posted by Runnin' Rebel

Well, here's Houston and this was very excellent, so good in fact I had it Capitol Grill 2 months later



Some times all the wines miss making this thread but we have a lot of different ones.


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Looking good my friend!!

Totally agree!! I was thinking the other day about the ones that haven’t made it to the thread as well!! Hahahahha!!

Cheers!!!


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[James K]

Stag's Leap Audentia, pretty good, I was impressed by this one. Very silky smooth

Opened this one after it, having a pretty good night

[Lucky777]

Enjoyed this yesterday afternoon on a beautiful fall day.


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[RHIII]

Opened this last night — while it was definitely on the decline — it still had quite a bit of fruit left and was quite nice - very earthy on the nose — but it made up for it on the palate — decanted a solid 2 hours — needed more like 2 days.

Cheers All!!!




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[teqp]

Drinking this tonight with some nice boneless rib eyes. Enjoy the weekend TRF.



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[wantonebad]

can't get enough of the 2014's...

[incontrol]

Surprised at how sweet, fruity and easy drinking this Caymus Cabernet was. Not my style but the ladies loved it.




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[Lucky777]

Enjoyed this the other day ... slightly past it's Prime yet still good


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[fkim011]

Originally Posted by incontrol

Surprised at how sweet, fruity and easy drinking this Caymus Cabernet was. Not my style but the ladies loved it.




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This is delicious!

[Headshrinker]

Anyone watch 60 Minutes last night? They had on one of the Koch brothers that was ripped off some $500,000 for purchasing four bottles of fake Thomas Jefferson owned wines. He spent $35,000,000 investigating fraud in the wine business from France to Napa Valley.

[wantonebad]

Originally Posted by Headshrinker

Anyone watch 60 Minutes last night? They had on one of the Koch brothers that was ripped off some $500,000 for purchasing four bottles of fake Thomas Jefferson owned wines. He spent $35,000,000 investigating fraud in the wine business from France to Napa Valley.

It was a glossed over micro-snapshot of the real story, and it's a few years old now. If you want the details checkout the NYT expose on the investigations or the documentary "Sour Grapes" which is online and netfix. There are a lot of players in multiple schemes and even more that have yet to be exposed. It's really only the dumb ones who have been caught, caveat emptor!!

[Lucky777]

Originally Posted by wantonebad

It was a glossed over micro-snapshot of the real story, and it's a few years old now. If you want the details checkout the NYT expose on the investigations or the documentary "Sour Grapes" which is online and netfix. There are a lot of players in multiple schemes and even more that have yet to be exposed. It's really only the dumb ones who have been caught, caveat emptor!!

I thoroughly enjoyed Sour Grapes. Although Rudy is a criminal his palette and what he was able to pull off is remarkable. I am not condoning in any way what he did just miraculous he was able to duplicate the blends the way he did.


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[wantonebad]

Originally Posted by Lucky777

I thoroughly enjoyed Sour Grapes. Although Rudy is a criminal his palette and what he was able to pull off is remarkable. I am not condoning in any way what he did just miraculous he was able to duplicate the blends the way he did.


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He had a lot of things going for him, but he was incredibly greedy, and prolific. I mean he could have been been more subtle about it, been less active and kept it going for decades, but like most criminals he couldn't stop himself. We're all lucky he was so greedy or it may never have been exposed.

[fusionstorm]

Originally Posted by Lucky777

I thoroughly enjoyed Sour Grapes. Although Rudy is a criminal his palette and what he was able to pull off is remarkable. I am not condoning in any way what he did just miraculous he was able to duplicate the blends the way he did.


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What I bolded highlighted the limits of what many reviewers and connoisseurs actually know. There probably isn't anyone alive who can have had repeated tastings of legitimate Domaine de la Romanee Conti (the most esteemed of the many wines that Rudy faked) from many, many decades ago. The qtys produced were noticeably less than what are produced now, and wine collecting was far less of a phenomenon back then. Legit bottles from these old vintages are few and far between, so the opportunities for reviewers and connoisseurs to develop the knowledge of what really, really mature Burgundy and Bordeaux taste like are also few and far between.

Rudy realized that a "verifiable database" was absent amongst the wine community of what older "unicorn" bottles of wine should actually taste like in the glass, and took advantage of that accordingly. In hindsight, it is very amusing to read the sentiments of esteemed reviewers describing wines produced upwards of 90 years ago as being so amazingly fresh, alive and with plenty of life ahead of them. Well, it turns out there may be a market for blending Marcassin Pinot Noir from Napa (the most expensive PN produced in the United States) with old bottles of cheap negociant Burgundy (to provide the Burgundy "funk" that you don't find in US-made PN). The key thing is to put that blend into bottles that have artificially aged labels glued onto them from expensive producers.

[Lucky777]

Originally Posted by fusionstorm

What I bolded highlighted the limits of what many reviewers and connoisseurs actually know. There probably isn't anyone alive who can have had repeated tastings of legitimate Domaine de la Romanee Conti (the most esteemed of the many wines that Rudy faked) from many, many decades ago. The qtys produced were noticeably less than what are produced now, and wine collecting was far less of a phenomenon back then. Legit bottles from these old vintages are few and far between, so the opportunities for reviewers and connoisseurs to develop the knowledge of what really, really mature Burgundy and Bordeaux taste like are also few and far between.

Rudy realized that a "verifiable database" was absent amongst the wine community of what older "unicorn" bottles of wine should actually taste like in the glass, and took advantage of that accordingly. In hindsight, it is very amusing to read the sentiments of esteemed reviewers describing wines produced upwards of 90 years ago as being so amazingly fresh, alive and with plenty of life ahead of them. Well, it turns out there may be a market for blending Marcassin Pinot Noir from Napa (the most expensive PN produced in the United States) with old bottles of cheap negociant Burgundy (to provide the Burgundy "funk" that you don't find in US-made PN). The key thing is to put that blend into bottles that have artificially aged labels glued onto them from expensive producers.

Very well written, and I completely agree!