Chateau Latour! Now THAT is some serious wine folls. I'm going to my Mom's house tomorrow and will take some pictures in the wine cellar and post em on here. We always save the bottles of the real facemelt joints that we drank and I will be sure to photograph some for ya. Latour photos tomorrow.
What up Aser? You good? That Chateau Haut Brion is NICE hommie.
Not any Chateau Latour - 1961 ...i was looking for a Chateau Lafite photo as well...my pops has both bottles back in RI - both empty now.
I know almost nothing about wine other than I like reds that have a smoky flavor. Digging ya'll's recommendations and will be checking out the cheaper ones.
This $8 bottle usually does the trick for me:
But over the holidays my brother-in-law who works in a restaurant brought this piff:
I strictly go for the grocery store / cvs type populist selection. That's because I watched "Sideways" to learn about wine, and learned nothing. Wine snobs, you have been warned.
Carlo Rossi - Paisano - excellent stuff
Yellowtail - Cabernet Merlot - smooth and mellow
"No, if anyone orders Merlot, I'm leaving. I am NOT drinking any fucking Merlot!"
and chan with the st-emilion...christ i am salivating right now
damn straight! 1964!!! ARE YOU FUCKING KIDDING ME? jesus, like i said i tasted the 1995 vintage and it was like nothing i have ever tasted before, then i reread your post and you are dropping science on the 19bloody64...
ok, time for me to lay back, finish the bottle im on and start learing from the bigdogs.
I find that really expensive wines just aren't worth it (for me). For instance, to my taste buds, a $20 bottle is more than twice as good as a $10 bottle, but a $40 bottle doesn't taste twice as good as a $20... so I think for my tastes the sweet spot is around $30 to get a real nice bottle of wine. I think you have to drink a lot of wine to be able to really appreciate the upper ranges.
I find that really expensive wines just aren't worth it (for me). For instance, to my taste buds, a $20 bottle is more than twice as good as a $10 bottle, but a $40 bottle doesn't taste twice as good as a $20... so I think for my tastes the sweet spot is around $30 to get a real nice bottle of wine. I think you have to drink a lot of wine to be able to really appreciate the upper ranges.
I agree that in general the $20 bottles are twice as good as the $10 bottles (though you can find some excellent values in the $10-$12 range - in particular, red wines from Spain tend to provide very good value for money if you know what you're looking at). As for the upper range stuff, you will likely be able to taste and feel the difference in the real high end stuff versus the mid-range bottles. Between $20-$40 there isn't always a big difference, but between $60 and $30 there usually is, in my experience.
And this is only from comparing the $60 Oregon Pinot (J.K. Carriere 2001 Antoinette Vineyard) to its $30 counterparts. I can't even front on the big French stuff that Big Chan is talking about. I rarely employ a graemlin, but Latour 1961 definitely merits a as well as a .
Since I don't get back to the homeland often enough, the closest I get is with the wine. Oregon Pinot is always on special at JRoots. Here are some of my favorites:
Regular around the house pinot: A to Z Vineyards - a nice blended pinot made collaboratively by some of the better winemakers in Oregon. Don't worry about the screw top - it saves you a buck or two a bottle and this is not built to cellar anyhow. About $15 usually.
St. Innocent Villages Cuvee - Mark Vlossak shows that he makes a blend as well as he makes a single vineyard. Excellent bottle for about $18.
MacKinlay Pinot - Matt MacKinlay makes wonderful wine. $15-$17.
Nicer bottles:
J.K. Carriere Pinot Noir 1999-2003 - earthy and lovely. $35 at release. The older bottles are really nice now.
St. Innocent Pinot Noir - various vineyard designates (Shea, Freedom Hill, Seven Springs, Anden, Brickhouse (discont. 2001), Temperance Hill) These wines like a few years in the bottle, some more than others. full flavored, earthy and spicy, not for the fruitforward grape juice crowd.
Raptor Ridge - When you want the fruit forward thing, pull for the Meredith Mitchell. Very nice.
Premium bottles:
Beaux Freres - 2001-2004. The most "sought after" Pinot in Oregon. And for good reason. It's like butter. We cracked a magnum of 2000 with Christmas dinner last year. $65-$75 at release.
J.K. Carriere Single Vineyards (Antoinette, Shea) 2001-2003. Jim Prosser makes between 50 and 75 cases a year of these single vineyard designates, and they really are that much better than his blends in my experience. $65-$75 at release.
wine's definitely my drink of choice. I'm not too tied to one "genre." I like whites, reds, and even a nice rose in the summer...in france somewhere, hopefully. I've had a lot of ill wines because my brother in law is an oenophile (the grate collectro of wines). We have tastings 3 or 4 times a year. We had an ill dessert wine session recently where we had 3 different chateau d'yquems, a royal tokaji 6 puttonyos, some trockenbeerenauslese, and one other I forgot. That was pretty special (though, too many dessert wines can be a bit tough). I love Borolos, Barbarescos, Burgundies, and Cabernet Sauvignons and whatnot, but I lack the patience and funds for them, so I tend to stick to American Pinots, Shirazes and blends for reds...and most whites...I've really developed a love for the sweet earthiness of Wehlener Sonnenuhr Rieslings, especially JJ Prum. I'm definitely a fan of regions like South Africa, New Zealand, Portugal (love albarinhos), Argentina, Spain, and other less established, less expensive regions.
I like California pinots a lot, but also Oregon. I just had a Ken Wright McCrone Vineyard that was delicious. I got a couple of the WH Smith's from Sonoma just because of the rating in Wine Spectator (and the decent price), but they're not ready to drink yet, so I'll have to hold on for a bit. I have a small 30 bottle wine fridge in my rest, so I have some stuff I store and a bunch of anytime bottles. Beyond the taste of wine, though, I love the conversation and general warmth that always seems to flow from a bottle. It's liquid loquacia, right. See, even just reading about it, I type my longest post of the year.
I think the most important thing is to get over the initial sticker shock of some wines. A lot of folks are price adverse to intangible goods, they rather spend $$ on something they can hold onto forever (cough records cough) instead of something they'll "piss away" so to speak. There's a direct correlation between wine and food too, folks will think of it in the same terms of utility. You are what you eat/drink, remember that.
Everybody should experience a 1st growth at least once in their lives, one that is properly cellared to maturity. It really opened my eyes the first time I got to experience it, thanks to my old man. I appreciate the nuggets of knowledge he has inadvertently passed down through the years.
If you're really interested in trying the finer estates, one tip is to go for their 2nd wines, which are often 1/3 to 1/5 the price of their main wines. Or even secondary estates owned by the same people. Also get like minded folks over and split the price of a few bottles, because besides the wine itself, the company shared while drinking is what makes it special. In the end, memories are all that's left after the bottle has been consumed.
shiiiiit, i'm about livin' a little on very little. familiarize yo'selves with this:
for those special occassions:
this one has an especially special bouquet:
1970 was a good year for this one, too. what's the word? thunderbird. how's it sold? good and cold.
and this is my personal favorite. be sure to swirl and sniff the vapors carefully before tasting- the aromas alone may do damage to livers and possibly other internal organs
not really, only if you plan on not finishing a bottle right away, which you really should anyway. Not a good rook to let an open bottle sit around overnight.
If you plan on cellaring wine, then a decanter would be nice, mainly to remove sediments. Airing out a wine doesn't really do too much, it's the pouring action that releases the oxidants. Hence pour it slowly into a decanter and let it trickle down the sides.
Comments
Not any Chateau Latour - 1961 ...i was looking for a Chateau Lafite photo as well...my pops has both bottles back in RI - both empty now.
golf clap
he just knows his shit and bought these things a while ago for fractions of what they were later worth...really not a
This $8 bottle usually does the trick for me:
But over the holidays my brother-in-law who works in a restaurant brought this piff:
Mas Mar??al Catalunya Crianza 1999
But I ain't been able to find it since.
oh good god how i wish!!!
unfortunately i wasnt working there at the time.
Carlo Rossi - Paisano - excellent stuff
Yellowtail - Cabernet Merlot - smooth and mellow
"No, if anyone orders Merlot, I'm leaving. I am NOT drinking any fucking Merlot!"
The MacDonalds of wine. Quantity over quality.
the first real bottle of wine i ever tasted, am drinking a red label shiraz cabernet sauvignon as i type this (2002, 10 euro)
then there is the riojas, im still learning but hav been pleasently surprised with their taste/price combinations.
i have started on the French wines as well, but it is like leaning another language, a friend brought over a bottle of
his was a 95 vintage and was sex on the tounge.
bring on the Dutch summer!
and chan with the st-emilion...christ i am salivating right now
damn straight! 1964!!! ARE YOU FUCKING KIDDING ME? jesus, like i said i tasted the 1995 vintage and it was like nothing i have ever tasted before, then i reread your post and you are dropping science on the 19bloody64...
ok, time for me to lay back, finish the bottle im on and start learing from the bigdogs.
Now, time to talk about accesories in our wine experiences.
Essential?
I agree that in general the $20 bottles are twice as good as the $10 bottles (though you can find some excellent values in the $10-$12 range - in particular, red wines from Spain tend to provide very good value for money if you know what you're looking at). As for the upper range stuff, you will likely be able to taste and feel the difference in the real high end stuff versus the mid-range bottles. Between $20-$40 there isn't always a big difference, but between $60 and $30 there usually is, in my experience.
And this is only from comparing the $60 Oregon Pinot (J.K. Carriere 2001 Antoinette Vineyard) to its $30 counterparts. I can't even front on the big French stuff that Big Chan is talking about. I rarely employ a graemlin, but Latour 1961 definitely merits a
Since I don't get back to the homeland often enough, the closest I get is with the wine. Oregon Pinot is always on special at JRoots. Here are some of my favorites:
Regular around the house pinot:
A to Z Vineyards - a nice blended pinot made collaboratively by some of the better winemakers in Oregon. Don't worry about the screw top - it saves you a buck or two a bottle and this is not built to cellar anyhow. About $15 usually.
St. Innocent Villages Cuvee - Mark Vlossak shows that he makes a blend as well as he makes a single vineyard. Excellent bottle for about $18.
MacKinlay Pinot - Matt MacKinlay makes wonderful wine. $15-$17.
Nicer bottles:
J.K. Carriere Pinot Noir 1999-2003 - earthy and lovely. $35 at release. The older bottles are really nice now.
St. Innocent Pinot Noir - various vineyard designates (Shea, Freedom Hill, Seven Springs, Anden, Brickhouse (discont. 2001), Temperance Hill) These wines like a few years in the bottle, some more than others. full flavored, earthy and spicy, not for the fruitforward grape juice crowd.
Raptor Ridge - When you want the fruit forward thing, pull for the Meredith Mitchell. Very nice.
Premium bottles:
Beaux Freres - 2001-2004. The most "sought after" Pinot in Oregon. And for good reason. It's like butter. We cracked a magnum of 2000 with Christmas dinner last year. $65-$75 at release.
J.K. Carriere Single Vineyards (Antoinette, Shea) 2001-2003. Jim Prosser makes between 50 and 75 cases a year of these single vineyard designates, and they really are that much better than his blends in my experience. $65-$75 at release.
I like California pinots a lot, but also Oregon. I just had a Ken Wright McCrone Vineyard that was delicious. I got a couple of the WH Smith's from Sonoma just because of the rating in Wine Spectator (and the decent price), but they're not ready to drink yet, so I'll have to hold on for a bit. I have a small 30 bottle wine fridge in my rest, so I have some stuff I store and a bunch of anytime bottles. Beyond the taste of wine, though, I love the conversation and general warmth that always seems to flow from a bottle. It's liquid loquacia, right. See, even just reading about it, I type my longest post of the year.
Everybody should experience a 1st growth at least once in their lives, one that is properly cellared to maturity. It really opened my eyes the first time I got to experience it, thanks to my old man. I appreciate the nuggets of knowledge he has inadvertently passed down through the years.
If you're really interested in trying the finer estates, one tip is to go for their 2nd wines, which are often 1/3 to 1/5 the price of their main wines. Or even secondary estates owned by the same people. Also get like minded folks over and split the price of a few bottles, because besides the wine itself, the company shared while drinking is what makes it special. In the end, memories are all that's left after the bottle has been consumed.
La Mission Haut-Brion
Le Petit Cheval
Les Forts de Latour
for those special occassions:
this one has an especially special bouquet:
1970 was a good year for this one, too. what's the word? thunderbird. how's it sold? good and cold.
and this is my personal favorite. be sure to swirl and sniff the vapors carefully before tasting- the aromas alone may do damage to livers and possibly other internal organs
not really, only if you plan on not finishing a bottle right away, which you really should anyway. Not a good rook to let an open bottle sit around overnight.
If you plan on cellaring wine, then a decanter would be nice, mainly to remove sediments. Airing out a wine doesn't really do too much, it's the pouring action that releases the oxidants. Hence pour it slowly into a decanter and let it trickle down the sides.
finish the bottle in one sitting or you're cuddly.
My uncle invented and patented this it is now distributed by LeCreuset
Impress your friends!
been familiar w/ this when i was 14. strawberry kiwi on the way back up
Harlem Vintage iz one of many spots i go to cop good wine.
I just went to Astor Wines on Layfayette =
I prefer big-bodied reds from Chile,South Africa,and Australia.