What's in your glass tonight?

[roger80465]

It's my Friday, wife was working later than normal and Papa Murphy's for dinner. Opened a WS Valpolacella, about 18 months from pitching yeast. Wow, that is good! Lighter but full of cherry raspberry and a little dark fruit flavor. I call it amarone light. Gotta start another one of these soon.

 

[sour_grapes]

I cracked a bottle of Leese-Fitch Merlot for the first time. (I have had their Cab Sauv before.)

Boy, that is a good wine for $9. Dark, brooding, fruits, hint of tar. Mmmm, mmm, good.

 

[heatherd]

I am in Augusta, GA, so a nice cocktail from Craft & Vine called a greyhound and a caipirinha. Super yummy. The place has a cool wine preservation system so you can buy a taste or glass of wines normally only sold by the bottle, such as Opus One.
Heather

 

[PhilDarby]

Ribena and cherry wine here tonight hic hic

 

[fuse]

Bottom of the line Spagnols Nebbiolo kit

The good kits are aging, and me and the lover needed some vino, so we've dipped into the half carboy of Cellar Masters Nebbiolo.
One half is aging in another half carboy, so it will be interesting to monitor the improvement in this cheap ($42!) kit over the next 12 months.
It tastes like a Barefoot wine, of which the Zinfandel has been my go-to cheap plonk when budgeting is necessitated. Nicer to pay $1.40/bottle, rather than the $10/bottle here in Canada!

 

[Boatboy24]

..Carnivor..

 

[geek]

Store bought Chardonnay....I'm liking Chardonnay ...!!

 

[ibglowin]

Saviah Cellars 2009 Funk Estate Vineyard Syrah, Walla Walla Valley. This is a bottle you just want to sip on slowly as it just keeps expanding and opening up new flavors. Excellent!

 

[Boatboy24]

Saviah Cellars 2009 Funk Estate Vineyard Syrah, Walla Walla Valley. This is a bottle you just want to sip on slowly as it just keeps expanding and opening up new flavors. Excellent!

Just did a little research on that one. It sounds very nice. Looks like they cofermented with 3% Viognier.

 

[ibglowin]

I have been on their mailing list for years now. Richard Funk the owner and winemaker is one of the nicest guys you will ever meet. The wines are not overpriced and they always over deliver. They have a value wine line called "The Jack" that is always amazing QPR. Multiple wines including a Syrah, Cab, a Bordeaux Blend, Riesling…..

Good stuff!

 

[Boatboy24]

We have some friends coming over tonight and will be doing a little pizza party with the Kettle Pizza. I'll be pouring 2010 Palazzo Della Torre Veronese and a 2010 Re Manfredi Aglianico Del Vulture.

 

[tonyt]

Nope, no hallucination. The one I did is from New Zealand. The one currently offered on FineVineWines is Chilean.

Yep, mine was New Zealand also.

 

[ibglowin]

2007 Silver Oak (Alexander Valley). Been sitting on this one for 2 years now. Drank pretty well but not anywhere near its price point. Napa Valley just keeps going down, down, down in quality while the price keeps going up, up, up…… This was a $20 bottle of wine that sold for $70. Nuff said. :>

 

[Boatboy24]

That stinks, Mike. 2007 was apparently a pretty good year too.

 

[ibglowin]

Even WS gave it a whopping 86 points…….

Atypically coarse in texture, thi spicy red shows dill and dried currant notes. Medium to full bodied, turning simpler on the finish where the flavors dissipate. Drink now through 2017. 75,000 cases made.

 

[sour_grapes]

Over the years, I have been experimenting with moderately aging cheap commercial wines to see how they might improve. Tonight I got to open the first of a case of 2008 Columbia Crest Grand Estates Merlot that I laid away two years ago. It was actually surprisingly tannic upon opening. However, it has opened up nicely over an hour or so of decanting, and now it is lovely. I cannot honestly remember what this was like 2 years ago, but I suspect it was not this good!

 

[ibglowin]

Columbia Crest does a lot of things right and puts out some of the highest QPR wines in the US. I have held on to some of the H3 wines for 3 years (from purchase) and they were all still excellent when opened.

 

[sour_grapes]

Columbia Crest does a lot of things right and puts out some of the highest QPR wines in the US. I have held on to some of the H3 wines for 3 years (from purchase) and they were all still excellent when opened.

Yeah, I am a big fan of Washington wines in general. Columbia Crest was my "gateway drug" for that region, sometime in the late 80's!

I also laid a case of 2010 H3 Merlot away, planning to open in 2016 and drink until 2019. (I also buy the odd bottle of H3 here and there. Unfortunately, none of my usual, convenient wine stores carry H3 for some odd reason, so I quaff less of it than I otherwise would!)

 

[ibglowin]

I pick up most of mine from Costco. Total Wine has moved into the area and is also carrying most varieties of H3 as well. I am a CC Reserve wine club member so I can order through them as well if I need something and just can't seem to find it anywhere else. I have to admit I am kinda scratching my head at the 2012 H3's. The cab got 92pts WS and I just don't get it. Its a good wine, just not sure its really a 92pts good wine more like 90pts at best. The 2012 H3 Merlot as well. They don't seem to have as long a finish as say the '09 or '10's and the oak seems diminished like they are using lower quality perhaps to save money. They have a new winemaker for the last year or two so he might be putting his touch on things.

Unfortunately, none of my usual, convenient wine stores carry H3 for some odd reason, so I quaff less of it than I otherwise would!)

 

[sour_grapes]

I am a CC Reserve wine club member so I can order through them as well if I need something and just can't seem to find it anywhere else.

Thanks for all the info, Mike. I had never heard of CC's wine club. I just looked into it. They are a bit vague on pricing, so can I ask you: It seems like the clock in around $20/bottle. Does that sound about right?

Thanks!