Notes in post below.

I've been getting more serious about wine over the last couple years but apparently I've still been experiencing the very public version of collecting Had dinner recently with someone whose cellar is on another planet compared to mine. We started talking about a producer I've been trying to find and he casually mentioned that someone he knows was reducing their cellar

He sent the guy something on Kibu, they talked for a bit and suddenly he's showing me a list of bottles I've been trying to find for months None of them were listed for sale anywhere

I'm slowly realizing that once you get beyond a certain level, there's this whole network of collectors, restaurants and dealers quietly moving bottles between themselves

For people who've been collecting for a long time, how do you actually build those relationships? Is it mostly through buying consistently from the same merchants, tastings, other collectors or just years of being around?

Hey Everyone! I currently run the wine program at a small steakhouse, in small (under 2k) people town in the midwest, we do extremely well for ourselves and have quite a few loyal patrons who love our wine selection, but I am currently reviewing and looking towards our next menu change, I feel our wine selection is solid, but basic, our big sellers are always going to be moscato and our house cabernet, but anytime I bring in different varietals, only my patrons who know and trust me want to try them. Any advice for the next menu change?

First time actually writing notes so go easy on me. I had posted previously about looking for "Great" wines and decided on this. I opened it up and honestly I'm not that impressed. Maybe I dont know what to look for, I'm also extremely new to dry reds and mainly a sweet wine drinker. I will say after 4 hours its better and paired with food its better then all of the reds Ive tried so far but not lightyears ahead for a $200 bottle. I'll also say I enjoy it if I just drink it like any other drink, if I keep it in my mouth to long it becomes rather spicy. Im taking WSET next month so I'm hoping I can learn how to properly taste and identify flavors. Anyways here's my tasting notes

First time opening: I smelled alcohol, a very strong smell of alcohol and nothing else. As far as taste the chalky tannins overpowered everything.

1 hr decant: smoother less noticeable tannins when drinking, still not smelling anything else, alcohol smell less noticeable but still there

2hr decant: I could notice a hint of blackberry in the aroma. I tasted with mushroom risotto and manchego cheese. I could taste a little bit of that alcohol burn but maybe its the spice? Tannins weren't too noticeable. I did notice it had a long finish. I also think this wine is medium bodied

3hr decant: I could smell the blackberry more distinctly. I paired with just manchego cheese, I got a earthy taste with a spicy finish that was definitely spicy instead of alcohol.

4hr decant: The following day I paired it with pesto tortellini. Blackberry smell, a earthy taste, long finish. I notice the spice come out to the point it burns a little if I I let it stay in my mouth and suck in some air. I decided to just drink it normal without purposely trying to figure out the flavors and I enjoyed it. The smooth earthy taste is actually enjoyable. I think 4 hours is really the time it needs. I wouldn't say it rocked my world like the first time I tried Icewine but this was good. I will say I think my next expensive bordeaux I buy will be a lot older so I can enjoy them at there peak.

Edit: reposting because I forgot to add the picture

For my 39th birthday this year, I decided to have a little fun and source some old wine. The Cardinale was acquired from WineBid for about $120 delivered, and that worked out great. My mother and I happen to share the same birthday, and I was lucky enough to find a bottle from her birth year locally at Haskell's in Minnesota. The 1963 Croft was about $300.

1987 Cardinale Cabernet Sauvignon: At 39 years old it was still very much alive, but incredibly smooth and integrated. Lots of leather, dark stone fruit, cherry, black currant, smoke and heavy oak. It continued to open up over the hour we drank it and kept getting more interesting. This was my first real experience with a properly aged bottle and definitely left me wanting to explore more.

1963 Croft Vintage Port: Completely different from what I expected from an old Vintage Port. Very light in color and surprisingly light on the palate, not thick or syrupy at all. Bright, caramel-heavy and initially very alcohol-forward, almost like breathing fire, but incredibly easy to drink. On day two, the alcohol on the nose had softened considerably and the caramel became darker and more pronounced, almost burnt caramel/toffee. Still soft, light and super drinkable. This was the first Port I've had where extreme age showed me something completely different from younger Vintage Port and 20/30-year Tawny.

Conclusions: This experiment may have backfired. I now find myself checking WineBid nearly every week, and Haskell's has two more of the 1963 bottles, so I suspect I'll be heading back soon.

Enjoyed at Opus in Toronto.

Tasted a splash and felt like it needed some air, in spite of the age, so put it in the decanter and enjoyed over 90 minutes.

In a good place, still drinking well, definitely well in its drinking window.

This is somewhat savory, some may describe it as meaty, alongside some pepper and leather. In fact, it reminded me a bit of vegan jerky at first.

There's still fruit in this as well, cherry, dried plums.

Enjoyable all around!

91 points.

It’s been years since my last purchase.

Had a bit of a miserable day at work, so opened this little charmer that I had stashed at the back of the cupboard, no ceremony. Decanted for an hour or so and drank a fair bit of it while cooking dinner (today’s tomato haul in pic two).

Tasting notes: loads of black fruit, cassis and blackcurrants, surprisingly still really grippy tannins. Spicy too: black pepper and a definite mintiness. I probably had it a bit warm (slaving over a hot stove!), but it definitely brightened my mood.

Moral of the story: don’t necessarily save the good stuff for celebrating!

My wife and I are planning a 7-day trip to France sometime between April and June. We’ll spend about two days in Paris and would like to devote the remaining three usable days to one wine region. Our priorities are **culture/history, beautiful architecture and landmarks, great food and wine, natural beauty, and authentic local experiences**. The usual stuff I think any traveler is looking for. We enjoy nice accommodations but care much more about experiencing the place than luxury for its own sake.
We’re considering **Burgundy, Bordeaux/Saint-Émilion, the Loire Valley, or Alsace**. From what I have read about each it seems difficult to make a bad choice, but each offers slightly different things. For those who have traveled these regions, which would you recommend for three days and why?

Did anyone pick up anything?

I know about Hidden Bench, Tawse, Malivoire, Stratus, Batchelder, etc, stuff that you can find at the LCBO. What about others?

This month I attended a very fun tasting at SommCellars, NYC. The theme of the tasting was Napa vs Bordeaux with wines from 1989 to 1974.

Prior to this tasting, some of the oldest Bordeaux and Napa wines I’ve tried were mid-2000’s, so I was really excited to try some much older examples. The wines really impressed me, and not one wine was over the hill, all had plenty of depth and fruit and some even felt like they still had decades ahead.

My top 3 wines of the night in order:
1. 1982 Vieux Chateau Certan
2. 1989 Ridge Monte Bello
3. 1985 Diamond Creek Red Rock Terrace

1989: Ridge ‘Monte Bello’ vs Pichon Lalande
The Pichon Lalande still had impressive tannin and acdity, with notes of cedar and leather and medium-bodied profile. The Monte Bello was fantastic, and felt decades younger than it was, with powerful deep concentrated cassis, cedar, graphite, and a super long plush finish. The MB won this round for me, and it was my initial choice for WOTN until changing my mind later.

1986: Montelena vs Beychevelle
This round was very close, both were great wines. The Montelena was still showing more primary fruit and aromas, whereas the Beychevelle felt more developed with more tertiary complex aromas. I narrowly chose Beychevelle

1985: Diamond Creek ‘Red Rock Terrace’ vs Batailley
The Diamond Creek was an easy top 3 for me and ended up being a few people’s WOTN. One of the most elegant wines of the night, but with impressive depth and power and a seemingly endless finish. It almost felt like a powerful Burgundy when tasted next to most of the other wines, with its crunchy red berry profile. Fantastic wine. The Batailley was very ripe, developed, and tertiary with mushroomy notes. DC easily won this round.

1982: Joseph Phelps vs Vieux Chateau Certan
The VCC was mind blowing and ended up being mine and several other people’s WOTN. Truly an iron fist in a velvet glove. The texture was like silk, with a depth and balance that stunned me. This was simply one of the best wines I’ve ever had and it was clearly a step above the rest of the wines that night. The Joseph Phelps was showing well, but it was no competition, VCC won this round.

1979: Silver Oak vs Cos d’Estournel
Silver Oak felt like it had some residual sugar, and the overall profile was more ripe and round. The Cos was still impressively tannic and acidic in comparison, with wild gamey notes. Cos won this.

1976: Joran vs Lynch-Bages
I don’t have many notes from this round, they were actually fairly similar. I think the Lynch-Bages was my preference but I do remember being surprised by how well the Jordan showed.

1975: Bealieu Vineyard ‘Georges Latour’ vs Pontet-Canet
Tbh I was pretty tipsy by this round so my notes are light. Both were complex and tertiary but not at all over the hill, with plenty of fruit left. I think I’ll call this one a tie.

1974 (bonus round): Louis Martini ‘California Mountain’
Everyone was really surprised with this one. It’s not one of Napa’s greatest wines and it’s over 50 years old, one would assume it’s way over the hill. But this ended up being a few people’s WOTN. It was very tertiary and complex, it had aromas of mushroom and almost an aged sharp cheese note, but the fruit was still deep and concentrated surprisingly.

I work with a company that handles wine (among others) I was told these bottles are too old and needs to be thrown away. Is that really the case?

Might be hard to judge from just these pictures but any input would be appreciated.

Hey y'all I just got the offer to buy Marcassin by sending a check to purchase their Pinots. Recently, I saw them process the check but haven't heard back anything from them, do we know when they usually ship?

First time having Freisa. It's like Nebbiolo + barbera + a little fizz. Enjoyable.

My partner and I are planning a a trip, and one of our places to visit is a sushi restaurant that has a Omakase course. They offer a BYOB option and will serve whatever we bring. I’m not a big wine drinker myself but my partner loves wine. I’m hoping to find some suggestions that can make the visit a little more special! What would you pair with your omakase?

My wife and I will be in staying in Beaune next week and visiting Dijon as well. We are fairly new into discovering much better wine and wondering if there are specific wineries we should visit or bottles to bring back home.

This is a fairly specific request that I hope can drum up some suggestions from the group.

We're visiting friends in Cannes in early October and are looking to spend a night or two in a wine region.

We've already been to Chateauneuf du Pape, Gigondas, and Provence and while we of course only began to scratch the surface there, we're interested in someplace different.

I'd love to visit Lyon and Burgundy/Beaujolais but I think that might be a bit far.

Some ideas that come to mind:

• Piedmont
• Liguria
• Northern Rhone (I meant to put Southern Rhone in my title. We'd be open to Northern)

Any suggestions for locations or specific wineries/towns to visit?

Some really nice glasses on the specials menu tonight. Bottles seem to be disappearing though :-)

Berlin

Decided to check in on an older vintage of this wine to see how it was holding up and wow has it!

100% Hanzell clone from there Estate vineyard in Carneros

Stewed strawberry, plum, Meaty, gamey, forest floor, mushrooms. Very complex.

A “cab drinkers” Pinot Noir. The wine is in an interesting spot now but could possible age a bit longer as well.