Random Rumblings (good ones, gripes and general grouchiness)

[David M. Bueker]

Antinori is making a very nice Vermentino, though it bears more than a little resemblance to oaked Chablis and Sauvignon Blanc. It does have a screwcap, so one more wine I can buy once the 2008 vintage hits the shelves.

Went to a tasting last night. A good friend poured 10 Brunello and Brunello Riservas blind. There were 7 tasters and not one of us guess the wines had anything to do with Italy until we were continually asked to re-guess. I loved the wines, but they almost all tasted like Cabernet Sauvignon to me.

Heat-damaged wines just might bother me more than corked wines. At another tasting on Tuesday we had a thoroughly cooked '91 Penfold's Grange and an equally broiled '01 Guigal Cote Rotie Chateau d'Ampuis.

Sushi and Champagne is a really nice match. Hold the wasabi.

Three cheers for Rhys. They ask for money in mid-October & will be shipping the wine in early November. That's a much more reasonable arrangement than some of the place that want your money in July or August for late fall delivery. I'm sick of being the bank for California wineries.

St. Innocent is making fantastic Pinot Noir. Now I buy their wines and really do not care what kind of scores they would get, but it really surprises me that I almost never see Mark's wines reviewed. I wonder why.

A soulless consistency is the hobgoblin of little wines.

I thought the St Innocent wines were reviewed (with big scores) by either WA or WS a couple of years ago, certainly became harder/pricier to find.

Heat-damaged wines just might bother me more than corked wines. At another tasting on Tuesday we had a thoroughly cooked '91 Penfold's Grange and an equally broiled '01 Guigal Cote Rotie Chateau d'Ampuis.

I might have a mental meltdown with either one of those. That's incredibly painful. And heat damaged wines do bother me more than corked wines, just because if how easily a little bit of carelessness/shoddy storage can quickly kill a very drinkable wine at any time. At least with TCA the odds seem to be better with producers who use screwcap/other non-cork methods, or have very high quality control levels when corks are concerned.

Went to a tasting last night. A good friend poured 10 Brunello and Brunello Riservas blind. There were 7 tasters and not one of us guess the wines had anything to do with Italy until we were continually asked to re-guess. I loved the wines, but they almost all tasted like Cabernet Sauvignon to me..

Who were the producers?

I don't drink much Brunello but the ones that I have liked did not remind me of Cabernet Sauvignon. Good thing I didn't drink them blind!

[David M. Bueker]

I thought the St Innocent wines were reviewed (with big scores) by either WA or WS a couple of years ago, certainly became harder/pricier to find.

At least in my area the prices for St. Innocent have risen but not in any way that is inconsistent with the general market. And availability is 100% better than it used to be.

David,

You mentioned a bottle of Grange as a wine you suspected was heat-damaged (or in my words, cooked in bottle). I recognize this description as being part and parcel of my perception of most examples of the Grange. I wonder if that "aromatic and flavor profile" of having been heat-affected is actually part of the intentional winemaking style, rather than being a result of subsequent post-Penfolds handling during shipping or storage.

The reason I ask is that this profile is an enjoyment blind spot for me with the Grange, unlike anything else of similar renown. I've actually liked so few examples (somewhat) due to the cooked aromas and flavors that I've given up trying to understand its price and popularity. After all, one can't like everything and you shouldn't even need to try.

But I guess that I always assumed that Penfolds actually cooked the finished wine somehow, to some extent in the bottle intentionally, perhaps via periods of case or bottle storage in the warm sun or heated shade.

I'm not referring to light-struck effects (metallic, shrill notes).

I do wonder.

St. Innocent is making fantastic Pinot Noir. Now I buy their wines and really do not care what kind of scores they would get, but it really surprises me that I almost never see Mark's wines reviewed. I wonder why.

I don't know, and am only guessing, David, but it's possible the SI is not reveiwed more because the winery may not be sending out shotgun sample blasts to anyone with a pen or keyboard.

Some wineries don't do it as a matter of principle; some don't do it because they don't need to do it.

And for some reason, when wineries don't send out tons of free samples, they don't get reviewed as often.

Look at it from the veiwpoint of SI: They sell everything they make. The price it where they want to price it. They don't rely on reviews to sell it; it sells on its own merits. And let's say a powerful reviewer is having a pissy day, or he's ranting about Oregon PNs in general, or he got a bad bottle and writes a bad review: the potential downside of sending out the bottles could be far worse than any potential upside for the winery.

[David M. Bueker]

Actually I took a look at the Parker web site & there were some reviews in the past, but not consistently. My mistake.

[David M. Bueker]

Went to a tasting last night. A good friend poured 10 Brunello and Brunello Riservas blind. There were 7 tasters and not one of us guess the wines had anything to do with Italy until we were continually asked to re-guess. I loved the wines, but they almost all tasted like Cabernet Sauvignon to me..

Who were the producers?

I don't drink much Brunello but the ones that I have liked did not remind me of Cabernet Sauvignon. Good thing I didn't drink them blind!

Valdicava
Fanti
Fuligni
Fonti

[David M. Bueker]

David,

You mentioned a bottle of Grange as a wine you suspected was heat-damaged (or in my words, cooked in bottle). I recognize this description as being part and parcel of my perception of most examples of the Grange. I wonder if that "aromatic and flavor profile" of having been heat-affected is actually part of the intentional winemaking style, rather than being a result of subsequent post-Penfolds handling during shipping or storage.

The reason I ask is that this profile is an enjoyment blind spot for me with the Grange, unlike anything else of similar renown. I've actually liked so few examples (somewhat) due to the cooked aromas and flavors that I've given up trying to understand its price and popularity. After all, one can't like everything and you shouldn't even need to try.

But I guess that I always assumed that Penfolds actually cooked the finished wine somehow, to some extent in the bottle intentionally, perhaps via periods of case or bottle storage in the warm sun or heated shade.

I'm not referring to light-struck effects (metallic, shrill notes).

I do wonder.

I have never found anything like that to be the case.

David B,

You've never tasted anything like that, a Grange that you suspected had been heat damaged ? Maybe I misunderstood what you posted earlier.

[David M. Bueker]

The 1991 was clearly heat damaged. I have had other bottles of Grange and never experienced the same phenomenon.

So I do not think it's part of the style (or an egregious blind spot) if that's what you were getting at. If that's not what you were getting at then I need clarification. Not shocking as I have been drinking fortified wine tonight.