2010 Mission Mountain Winery Merlot. Still pretty good but sliding off a bit...
What's in your glass tonight?
- Thread starter Boatboy24
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Cracked a WE Eclipse Stags Leap Merlot, about 4 years old. It is drinking mighty fine. I generally don't think my wines hold up to commercial wines, but this one is drinking in the $15 range. 
What year?
First bottle of 2016 Master Vintner Limited Sauvignon Blanc. It's fantastic. Nice job Tim Vandergrift!
Mrs. Sour Grapes & I went to a nice Portuguese restaurant this evening; the food was freaking fantastic. I mean it was really good. Accordingly, I had a goodly amount of a random Douro (Tom de Baton), and was well satisfied. To complete the evening, then, we decided to stop at a liquor store on the way home and picked up some Rainwater Madeira for a late dessert. Enjoying supping and sipping!
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Need to check my notes but I think 2015
I have that too in bulk age, I think I started it a year ago.
Did you add any oak?
I didn't add any oak and I followed the instructions with exceptions to timelines and use of sorbate, which I didn't use. Again, it's very good. I wish I could buy this kit again. Of that series, the only one I didn't get was the Cab because it wasn't available. I haven't tried the Merlot yet but the Chardonnay is very good too. I'm just one bottle in on the whites right now.
Decanted (for an hour) and poured a Dornfelder (40 mos old) for dinner (eye round roast, nice pairing for me). Really has come along nicely. The grapes were picked early (IMO) and had a definite bell pepper aftertaste. Can still get a hint of that, but doesn't overwhelm the overall flavor profile and doesn't linger in the aftertaste. Main difference with this tasting and previous ones is that I decanted it for an hour (maybe more by the time we ate dinner). Still has fruit intensity and nice color for being over three years old. I'm assuming that it will continue to age well since I had to let it breathe for so long before I got a nice nose and a less tannic initial taste that didn't hide the fruitiness.
I also got the Merlot in bulk age, ready to bottle soon.
My 2012 El Alcaide (The Warden) 80% Syrah, 20% Cab Sauv. Dayuum. Nice. I think I will pair with some leftover BBQ. The Lafitte 1+1 Aglo Corks are holding up fantastic.
Boatboy24
No longer a newbie, but still clueless.
And...?
It is nice, not as smooth as I'd like but it has a nice aroma of cherries, licorice and chocolate.
Is a good wine for sure.
Boatboy24
No longer a newbie, but still clueless.
Nice Tempranillo for the cold weather. Done in a heavy-handed style with huge tannins, a good amount of oak and a touch of alcohol on the nose. I’d give it a 90-91. It’s a 2016 and I think it’ll benefit from some air. We’ll see in a bit, but its perfectly enjoyable right now.
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Ajmassa
just a guy
Long long LONG week. Already through a mediocre Sangiovese. And onto the good stuff. Long overdue. Salutè
A simple Munich Dunkel to get me in the mood to brew some beer tomorrow morning. Close enough to the style I'm trying to make, at least for me. Love the fact that I can actually buy a six or twelve pack at the distributor, local Rutters or grocery store. This one is one of the more mild ones at ~ $30 per 24 bottle case (12 pack was $16). After researching a bit I found that my grain bill pretty much matches the Munich Dark in Greg Noonan's Brewing Lager Beer book (1st addition) though I was trying for an Oktoberfest/Marzen from memory. Toying with my hop additions to get the bitterness up to 28 IBUs, but hard to do with low bittering German hops.
Eees pretty good! 90-91 pts. Better with some air for sure. 2013 IIRC that has been laying down for a while. I think this has gone downhill since looking at the reviews online.
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