What's in your glass tonight?

[jswordy]

Just a fun little sweet shiraz, like the thrill of hooking up with someone for what you both already know will be a short fling. It IS jammy!

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BTW, just want to report that this is GREAT with ribeye steak. Boy, was that good...

 

[geek]

Cheap but real good.

 

[winemaker81]

Vivinio rates this one 3.5 with 600+ reviews. I concur -- it's a good, every day wine. Tonight it's accompanying strip steak, baked potato, and salad.

Note that by Vivinio standards this one is above average. However, given MY choice, I don't drink averages wines (yes, I'm cheerfully a snob!).

 

[geek]

Freaking hot today..!!!!! And humidity is way up.

 

[jswordy]

Vivinio rates this one 3.5 with 600+ reviews. I concur -- it's a good, every day wine. Tonight it's accompanying strip steak, baked potato, and salad.

Note that by Vivinio standards this one is above average. However, given MY choice, I don't drink averages wines (yes, I'm cheerfully a snob!).

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Vivino rated this 2016 as a 3.5 – "Among the top 4% of wines in the world. (2003 vintage)" – and wine.com rated it 3.7. And I rate it as utter watery crap. I have one more bottle of this to force down. Might just use it as mouthwash. Never again!

 

[jswordy]

Tonight, it'll be the second half of Penfold's Koonunga Hill 2018 (Vivino 3.6; wine.com 3.9) ... shiraz cab ... I mean, $11.99 a bottle? ... Please hurry up, clock! Hurry up!

 

[mainshipfred]

Tonight, it'll be the second half of Penfold's Koonunga Hill 2018 ... shiraz cab ... I mean, $11.99 a bottle? ... Please hurry up, clock! Hurry up!

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I have a 2020 Shiraz and a Cab from S Africa I was thinking of blending together. You'll have to let me know what you think of this one.

 

[jswordy]

I have a 2020 Shiraz and a Cab from S Africa I was thinking of blending together. You'll have to let me know what you think of this one.

No need to wait. I have already had several of these. You can find this 2018 from $9.99 (rarely) to $14.99. My notes: Dense, rich dark notes and suppleness. Well integrated to drink now and perfect for cellaring for another five years. Sort of a little brother to Bin 389 (which I also have cellared), and not far off from it, either, IMO.

 

[jswordy]

@mainshipfred Now, you have to tell me how your blending works out. I'd guess you would use the shiraz as the backbone and add in the cab as needed?

 

[mainshipfred]

@mainshipfred Now, you have to tell me how your blending works out. I'd guess you would use the shiraz as the backbone and add in the cab as needed?

@mainshipfred Now, you have to tell me how your blending works out. I'd guess you would use the shiraz as the backbone and add in the cab as needed?

I still have it aging in the barrels so I haven't given it much thought yet. Probably won't blend it until sometime in December but I will let you know.

 

[geek]

Way too hot today

 

[sour_grapes]

Here is what was in my glass last night.



Here is the backstory, and description follows that:

Check out these beauties below.

Pardon the long story: Just about a year ago, our own @crushday and I had a friendly exchange wherein I expressed admiration (read: jealousy! ) for his quaff of Caymus-Suisun Grand Durif. IIRC, I begged him (in jest) to "cut me a slice" of that wine! I will elide the details, but George was so kind as to offer, nay, to insist, on acceding to my joking request. He very generously arranged for me to get a few of those bottles courtesy of him. Unfortunately, (I don't know if any of you have noticed), but there has been a bit of pandemic bouncing around since then. Until recently, I wasn't able to consummate the deal. Now that I am vaxxed and Covid cases here are way down, I was able to acquire these bold beauties: (Thank you so much, @crushday . You are too kind!)


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As noted in the quote above, @crushday was so very kind as to give me a gift of this fine quaff. (It is a single-varietal Petite Sirah, which goes by the name Durif nearly everywhere else in the world.) I was waiting for the right occasion. I feared that it might not make sense to crack such a brawny red until the fall. However, the stars aligned in the following ways: (1) it was quite cool here in Milwaukee yesterday; (2) it was my last official day of work yesterday, so looking to celebrate; and (3) I bought a giant porterhouse steak to celebrate fact (2)! (Will post that elsewhere.) So I dug into this. It was really good!

The color was deep garnet (not purple -- no megapurple here!). The nose was mild and appealing; vinous, with a hint of booze. The thought that struck me the hardest upon tasting was that it was exceptionally well balanced: the right amount of acid, dark fruit, and other flavors. It was powerful, but elegant. It had a solid, fruit-dominant taste, but with leather in the background. I tend to overuse the word "languid" when rating favored wines, but there was no other word for this.

It was amazing! Thank you so much, George.

 

[sour_grapes]

Update: After posting the above, @Rice_Guy stopped by with his lovely bride. We had a nice meetup, and we killed off the last of the Caymus-Suisun bottle (although unfortunately we only had a small amount to share). We then dug into a lesser offering.

 

[geek]

 

[number6]

Since we're finishing out the holiday weekend with pizza, it will be a nice local (Temecula) Sangiovese.

 

[geek]

This little wine never disappoints me at such a low price.

 

[ibglowin]

Anybody spot the 2020 version in the wild yet?

https://costcowineblog.com/2020-kir...re_cotes_de_provence_rose&utm_term=2021-07-07

 

[jswordy]

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Mmmm... Four to six of those Beck's would be nice...

 

[Boatboy24]

Anybody spot the 2020 version in the wild yet?

https://costcowineblog.com/2020-kir...re_cotes_de_provence_rose&utm_term=2021-07-07

https://www.winemakingtalk.com/threads/whats-in-your-glass-tonight.42950/page-317#post-797656

 

[geek]

Anybody spot the 2020 version in the wild yet?

https://costcowineblog.com/2020-kir...re_cotes_de_provence_rose&utm_term=2021-07-07

I'm waiting for my local Costco to have it back ....that is a good buy for sure.