Which wine are you drinking today?
Posted by: naim_nymph on 20 October 2012
Wine ratings....
0/10... Undrinkable poison (or corked) …a non-starter.
1/10... Horrible nasty tasting plonk. Best used for a sink waste cleaner.
2/10... Very poor effort, not enjoyable to drink but maybe used for cooking.
3/10... Grimace wine ...with too many concessions that leaves one wanting.
4/10... An okay wine with some virtues but far from good quality.
5/10... Good drinkable fair to middling wine but far from flawless.
6/10... Very good wine, drinkable. Would buy again at the right price.
7/10... Excellent wine, very drinkable and enjoyable.
8/10... Excellent plus wine, highly enjoyable, class!
9/10... A special wine with the most fantastic taste.
Ten!.. Perfection!
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Just uncorked an Angel's Flight : )
My previous bottles of this have been nice and this isn't bad either, this the has hints of liquorice…, it really needs to be decanted and goes without saying - room temp… and given some time (2 hours) to smooth out an otherwise cold hairy tongue after taste, can be very grizzly if opened up too cold [I know… I tried] Nice colour and good body but more than slightly strong.
When warmed up proper is very happy face drinkable though : )
score = 6/10
Debs
Tony
Tony
Had a bottle of this Italian lovely a couple of months ago, tasted fantastic, very smooth, highly enjoyable, but needed drinking on the day, [my limit both in alcohol and economy is rule of thumb around half a bottle in 24hr] sadly my half bottle left-over tasted a bit tired the following evening, which was a shame. Perhaps this denotes a low level of sulphates, which is far better than too much imho. This evenings bottle has a different tang, not quite so smooth, have only just decanted half the bottle so mustn't hurry, still tastes excellent though, and improving all the while. Scores 8/10
Debs
William Hardy 2010 Shiraz.
6.5/10, not bad at all. (especially as it was a freebie )
Baron de Ley Rioja Reserva - Lamb shanks in the oven... 
Tony
Vicuña - 2011
Valle Central, Chile
Medium Red
Cabernet Sauvignon/Merlot
12.5%
Price £6.20
Very satisfying smooth easy going red which tastes far better than it’s bouquet would suggest it ought.
Imho this knocks the Concha y Toro Merlot off the top budget Chilean red wine list.
I decanted but don’t think it was necessary, nor a cork screw either.
What a bargain, very glad I bought a whole 12 bottle case of this one : )
Score 8/10
Debs
It's been a very good day indeed and I deserve it!
Barolo Villa Peironte.
Salute!
THE BLACK STUMP DURIF SHIRAZ 2012
Impressively juicy, spicy Shiraz 
Graham.
Had a bottle of this Italian lovely a couple of months ago, tasted fantastic, very smooth, highly enjoyable, but needed drinking on the day, [my limit both in alcohol and economy is rule of thumb around half a bottle in 24hr] sadly my half bottle left-over tasted a bit tired the following evening, which was a shame. Perhaps this denotes a low level of sulphates, which is far better than too much imho. This evenings bottle has a different tang, not quite so smooth, have only just decanted half the bottle so mustn't hurry, still tastes excellent though, and improving all the while. Scores 8/10
Debs
Continuing my consumption of 1 bottle of red per week.
My choice for this weekend, decided by auto-rotation of my selection of six different reds, is again [after six weeks since the last time] the turn of the Alovini to be dusted off the rack and carried up the spiral stairs of my cellar, and placed next the decanting jar in a warm music room.
This will be the 4th time I’ve enjoyed this wine, although it seems to strangely taste different from what I remember from one bottle to next, and the last time it tasted plausibly better [smoother] on the second day, decanting half the bottle Saturday, and keeping half bottle [with cork firmly plugged back in] until decanted that for the Sunday.
I know many people frown at this way of saving back half a bottle of wine for next day, but I often find it actually tastes better on the following day : )
Debs
I know many people frown at this way of saving back half a bottle of wine for next day, but I often find it actually tastes better on the following day : )
Debs
Ageing wine is all about oxidation. A wine that benefits from age - almost all reds with tannin, and many whites that have seen oak - will taste better for some, possibly a lot of, time spent maturing in the bottle.
But the benefits of this can also be achieved by aerating the wine after opening. Maybe pouring into a decanter (or even just a jug), or using large bowl glasses and swirling it round, or by sucking in air as you sip, and simply by drinking it the following day (or even later). If it's several days later then the oxidation process will be slowed down by keeping the wine in the fridge, or using a ''VacuVin' or similar, or both.
You might then wonder what is the point of keeping wines for decades in a cellar, when all you really need do to replicate this is to open them "two Tuesdays ago" to achieve the same thing. Unfortunately, the minute you open the bottle, as well as the oxygen, bacteria also gets to work, principally the bacteria that causes the acids in wine to turn to vinegar (acetobacter). A wine fortified with spirit to 18-20% a.b.v. will be immune to this (hence "fortified") which is why an open bottle of Madeiria can be kept for some time. But not other fortified wines like Port and most Sherry which are not oxidised before bottling. The reason many people don't like Sherry is probably because they have only ever drunk stale (usually very stale) sherry. It's a wine like any other, and you've only got a week at best, irrespective of its immunity to baceterial spoilage.
So, you won't find anyone who knows what they are talking about 'frowning' at this Debs. Problem (for me) is managing not to finish the bottle the night before...
THE BLACK STUMP DURIF SHIRAZ 2012
Impressively juicy, spicy Shiraz
Graham.
Durif is also a grape variety, called Petite Sirah in the States, and grown also in the south of France. Tends to be even spicier than Shiraz.
If a label has two grape varieties listed on it, then the one listed first must be the majority (unless the split is 50/50), and Durif will dominate a blend.
