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!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
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
Marques de Caceres Crianza, Rioja 2009
My Rioja is similar grape combination of the posher stuff of tonym. But I’m not grumbling.
A little feisty and fruity but becoming more agreeable during the 2nd glass ...the Rioja’s not bad either.
Going down well with a cheesy pasta bake + garlic bread : )
Debs
Originally Posted by Huwge:
St. Valentin, Eppan - Sauvignon Blanc 2012
very tasty - 50km on the bike was hard work today, so I think I earned it. Need to find a nice Pinot Noir for later.
San Michele/St Michael, (along with Produttori Del Barbaresco), is one of the best co-operative wineries in the world. Each of the growers involved is dedicated and quality orientated. Their patches of vineyard are just too small to be viably made into individual wines, so the resources are pooled. It has a kind of 'highest common denominator' effect (the exact opposite of most co-operative farming). The St Valentin Sauvignon Blanc has been awarded 'Tre Bicchere' (the highest) in the Gambero Rosso (Italy's most prestigious wine awards publication) every year for the last seventeen, a feat for a white wine only matched by Antinori's Cervaro della Sala, which is about four times the price (probably 'poncey' therefore).
In fact this part of German-speaking north Italy is also prime Pinot Noir territory itself, and you could do a lot worse than search out a Pinot Nero from San Michele, or the really lovely Pinot Neros made by Franz Haas, which I know are available in the UK
Frank,
UK prices over here:
£2 put on each bottle for Excise Duty for starters.
20% VAT on retail price.
Wine merchants overheads too, tax, tax and more tax 
How much does the de Calceres Crianza 2009 sell for in Spain?
Debs
Had some rather nice wines last night at the IMW 60th Anniversary dinner.
Stoppit stoppit stoppit! You lucky so-and-so! How did they taste? On second thoughts, I don't want to know. 
The wines were all donated! Always nice to drink Margaux when someone else has paid...
In fact the Pichon Baron 1988 was a bit disappointing (our bottle anyway), a little dried out and over-old tasting. But the Ridge was holding up fantastically, and the Margaux was as good as it's supposed to be.
The other highlight for me was the Gewurztraminer Hengst GC Vendage Tardive 1989 which came direct from Olivier Humbrecht (in the room). I would never have thought Gewurz, let alone a sweet one, could stand 24 years of ageing but this was amazing.
The Port was a bit knackered.
It was a lovely evening. I have never been to the Banqueting House in Whitehall before. Amazing ceilings (painted by Rubens, and the last thing Charles I saw before he lost his head.)
Astonished that they can cater at a very high standard for 300 guests simultaneously.
Would that be 100 guests up for wine drinking and the other 200 to carry them home? 
Glad to hear you had a good time, Rod.
That wine looks jolly interesting,
1990 was a far better year for me than 1988 [i won't bore with details]
A quarter of a century ago already.
And i bet the food was good too : )
Debs
Stella, Primitivo di Manduria DOC 2011
Red - Full & Round
ABV - 14%
Grape - Primitivo 100%
UK price - £13.50
After cork removal the initial bouquet came across a bit cheap and plonky.
Decanted half the bottle and let it settle for an hour.
The body is lighter than expected, in the glass the bouquet has improved to promising, the taste smooth and easy for the while, then a slight problem dry mufty back-taste.
A bit of a disappointment to be honest, maybe a duff bottle?
I’ll know more tomorrow with the second half.
I have another 5 bottles of this down in the cellar 
Debs
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
Re-ordered another 6 bottles of this one.
It's gone up 20p a bottle since last November.
Same vintage, same lovely taste.
Going down well while i prepare a stilton cheese salad : )
Debs
Hi Fabio
Can't say I know them, but Andora is a lovely place, and I do like good Ligurian Vermentino (more than as Rolle in France I think, and way better than Pinot Grigio in general).
Ageing wines in wood is usually done in oak, because it is easier and cheaper to make containers that hold water from oak (not the oak used to make furniture in England - which is more expensive. The oak family is a large one - even cork is a type of oak in fact). Acacia, chestnut and even cherry wood can also be used to make barrels, but they cost a lot more as you can imagine - the trees grow more slowly and not generally to as large as size as oak).
I just spent a couple of very rewarding days in a harvest-pregnant Champagne. The weather was great - suggesting a good quality vintage 2013 is in store (although rain is forecast for tomorrow).
We are a fairly significant customer, but nevertheless were treated like royalty:
Dom Pérignon (with Chef de Caves Richard Geoffroy)
2004, 2003, 2002. Oenothèque 1996, Rosé 2003, Oenothèque 1990 and Oenothèque 1970
Not much spitting!
Krug Clos de Mesnil 2000, Vintage 2000, Vintage 1998, Grande Cuvée (and Rosé with dinner)
Need a diet and a lot of exercise now!
Cheers
Rod
Bogle Vineyards Old Vine Zinfandel, Clarksburg, California 2010
100% Zinfandel
ABV 14.5%
Stella, Primitivo di Manduria DOC 2011
Red - Full & Round
ABV - 14%
Grape - Primitivo 100%
UK price - £13.50
After cork removal the initial bouquet came across a bit cheap and plonky.
Decanted half the bottle and let it settle for an hour.
The body is lighter than expected, in the glass the bouquet has improved to promising, the taste smooth and easy for the while, then a slight problem dry mufty back-taste.
A bit of a disappointment to be honest, maybe a duff bottle?
I’ll know more tomorrow with the second half.
I have another 5 bottles of this down in the cellar
Debs
Another bottle of the primitivo Stella, excellent bouquet, very nice smooth taste albeit with a strange fizzy-spicy after-taste.
But this second bottle is far better than the one [above] of a month or so ago, which must have been off.
and i’m still amazed that wine can be made out of lager 
Debs
Pato Torrente Merlot Reserva. 2013
Valle Central, Chile
Red - Medium-bodied
Especially reserva-ed for cheap skate bargain hunters, 6 bottles for £37 
A strange mauvey coloured glow and light in body, from vineyards that are watered by the cold, crisp streams that cascade from the Andes and that are home to the brightly coloured Torrent Duck, ‘Pato Torrente’,
After nesting the bottle in airing cupboard for a couple of hours, and decanting into a warm vessel an hour before use, this un-oaked fruity merlot is nice to sup for aperitif or during a meal, goes so deliciously well with cheesy pasta the ducks can relax, and quack all they like.
Debs
Went out for a fab Indian meal last night. Huge good fortune was had by complementing it with this lovely red.
Perez Cruz Cabernet Sauvignon Reserva 2011 from Chile. Highly recommended. Lovely full flavoured blackcurranty taste, slips down lovely, not too full bodied.
Ahh, 
To help open presents with a little earlier.