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Personal House Wines - 4/5/2008 8:20:48 PM

ParkHill

Posts: 124
Joined: 6/27/2007
From: Denver, CO
Status: offline

As I taste and try different wines, I discover some expensive wines that are really, really good. More tasting, and I eventually discover some reasonably priced wines that approximate those great ones. A $30 Barolo that goes head-to-head with a lot of $80 or $100 Barolos. A $26 Rioja that rocks. At $30, I'm willing to pop for one or two cases, give bottles as gifts to friends, and I don't feel so guilty about popping one now and then to keep me away from my longer-term purchases.

The other defining factor for a house wine is that it is drinking now. Some of those higher-priced wines are really for 5 or 10 years out.

What wines make your House Wine List?

Here are a few of recent "house" purchases:

2005 Artadi Vina de Gain, Rioja.
2000 G. Mascarello Monprivato, Barolo
2000 Cavallotto, Barolo
2000 Colle dei Venti, Barolo

That 2000 Monprivato is readily available on wineseacher. If you don't know what the Barolo buzz is about, just go try one: Iron/Blood, Cherry, Tar and Mushrooms. Barolos are notoriously slow to mature, but 2000 opens with 4-12 hours of air. It is well-worth having a case while you're waiting for the 1999s and 2001s to mature.

For a more oaky experience, the 2004 and 2005 Riojas are really something. So easy to drink. If Italian wines tend to a more acidic touch, the Riojas are more oaky, sweet and warm. $25-$35 is a really sweet spot for drinkable, lush, quality Rioja. The $80 Riojas probably deserve 10 years of aging.

Post #: 1

RE: Personal House Wines - 4/6/2008 1:24:14 AM

Colonel Lawrence

Posts: 1953
Joined: 4/24/2006
From: Arabia
Status: offline

My oft rec'd Norton Privada: can now attest to the 2003,4 & 5 vintages:
http://www.norton.com.ar/
(warning - watch out for a hernia if you buy a case - heaviest bottles I've come across, it's the Swarovski connection).

I found the Cab version of this half price in either Sainsbury's or Tesco's - was rather good:
(warning turn your sound off, they have the most amazingly annoying tune, worse than Bodega Norton!)
http://www.zontesfootstep.com.au/site/?page_id=5

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First they came for ....................

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Post #: 2

RE: Personal House Wines - 4/6/2008 6:30:32 PM

esb

Posts: 118
Joined: 1/17/2008
From: Bend, Oregon
Status: offline

'03 Tre Donne Barbera
'04 Paitin Pasquero Serra Boella Barbera

'05 Basciano Chianti Rufina - 2 hour decant
'01 Campo Viejo Rioja Reserva

Can't live without them.

(in reply to Colonel Lawrence)

Post #: 3

RE: Personal House Wines - 4/6/2008 6:36:11 PM

gbm

Posts: 136
Joined: 3/12/2008
From: Connecticut
Status: offline

Ruffino Chianti Classico Riserva Ducale Oro

Very reliable.

(in reply to esb)

Post #: 4

RE: Personal House Wines - 4/7/2008 4:30:22 AM

cgrimes

Posts: 895
Joined: 10/8/2007
From: Massachusetts
Status: offline

Clos de la Siete
Domaine la Monardiere, Vacqueyras

(in reply to gbm)

Post #: 5

RE: Personal House Wines - 4/7/2008 4:53:06 PM

Eric K

Posts: 70
Joined: 2/16/2008
From: Atlanta, GA
Status: offline

Italian: Falesco Vitiano '04, Di Majo Sanjiovese '05, Banfi Centine '06; all under $10.
Pinot: Amisfield '05 ($30), but just tried the Bogle which a a deal at about $11.
Cab: Concha y Toro marques de casa concha ($17 and always rated well) and Sebastiani '02 (but down to 3 bottles.)
Other: Just picked up a case of the Clos de los Siete (under $15).
White: CMS or Evans and Tate always work, but we rarely drink white.

(in reply to cgrimes)

Post #: 6

RE: Personal House Wines - 4/9/2008 12:10:11 PM

grafstrb

Posts: 408
Joined: 11/6/2007
From: Los Angeles, via Minnesota
Status: offline

Sparkling: N.V. Rotari - Brut ($6...drinks like a nice $20 bottle)
White: current vintage Matua - Sauv. Blanc ($8-$10)
Rose: current vintage Summerwood - Syrah Rose ($24)
Red: Razor's Edge - Shiraz ($10)
Red - Rhone (b/c wife and I like Rhone so much): Autard - CdR ($10)
Red - Rhone (nice): '05 Clos de l'Oratoire CdP ($25)

(in reply to Eric K)

Post #: 7

RE: Personal House Wines - 4/9/2008 1:51:52 PM

GalvezGuy

Posts: 298
Joined: 5/10/2007
From: Galveston, TX
Status: offline

I use more of a food and sipping thing with this:

Pizza/Spaghetti - Falesco Vitiano
Pork/Chicken - Montes Reserve Pinot Noir
Grilled beef - Barra of Mendicino Cabernet Sauv or Michel Schlumberger Cabernet Sauv Dry Creek Valley
Seafood - Drylands Sauv. Blanc or Trimbach Riesling
Shellfish - Gruet Brut
BBQ - Norton Malbec or Bogel Petit Sirah
Lamb - Louis Bernard Gigondas or E. Guigal Crozes Hermitage

Sippers

Domaine de Pouy Vin de Pays des Côtes de Gascogne
Chateau Puygueraud
Beringer Merlot Bancroft Ranch 2000 (I got this for about $25/bottle on clearance, what a steal)
Au Bon Climat Chardonnay
Susan Balbo Crios Torrontes
Windy Oaks Pinot Noir
Bodegas Borsao Garnacha Campo de Borja Tres Picos
Domaine de Mourchon Côtes du Rhône Villages Séguret Tradition
Tait the Ballbuster

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Post #: 8

RE: Personal House Wines - 4/22/2008 12:00:11 PM

Maestro

Posts: 521
Joined: 10/4/2007
Status: offline

quote:

ORIGINAL: Colonel Lawrence

My oft rec'd Norton Privada: can now attest to the 2003,4 & 5 vintages:
http://www.norton.com.ar/
(warning - watch out for a hernia if you buy a case - heaviest bottles I've come across, it's the Swarovski connection).

I just got a delivery of the Norton Privada 2005 and found out when I went to register it that some dissatisfied consumer just created a huge spread (70-92) in the TNs of the Good Colonel's house wine ( http://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=433240 ).

I guess I'll have to try it for myself then...

(in reply to Colonel Lawrence)

Post #: 9

RE: Personal House Wines - 4/23/2008 12:44:40 AM

Colonel Lawrence

Posts: 1953
Joined: 4/24/2006
From: Arabia
Status: offline

Looks like just Siggy had a problem.

(in reply to Maestro)

Post #: 10

RE: Personal House Wines - 4/23/2008 2:10:41 AM

nwinther

Posts: 347
Joined: 7/28/2006
From: Denmark
Status: offline

A suggestion in relation to Siggy's TN: When a wine recieves more than 10 CT TN's, wouldn't it be clevar to remove the highest and the lowest scored review - or at least remove them from the computing? Or even better - make this optional. This is a common method in statistical science - you remove the extremes in the population in order to secure a less skewed picture (someone writing that he's a plumber and has an income of 10 billion dollars p.a. would seriously skew the image of plumbers average income - just like the ones writing 0 dollars).

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What I lack in size I make up for in obnoxiousness.

(in reply to Colonel Lawrence)

Post #: 11

RE: Personal House Wines - 4/23/2008 11:26:37 AM

Blue Shorts

Posts: 297
Joined: 2/5/2008
From: Santa Cruz, California
Status: offline

You make a good point. Your method would tend to give a clearer picture. I think that all the scores should be kept, but dropping the highest and lowest from the average makes sense.

Another way to accompish something similar would be to post the median score instead of the average. This method would be very simple to accomplish and would still leave all of the individual scores intact. In the case of the Norton Privada, the median score would be 90, which makes a lot of sense.

I think that it's important to keep all scores posted (unless it's obvious that someone is purposly trying to skew the results). Maybe that 70 score was due to corked wine. If other very low scores turn up, it could indicate a problem at the winery.

Anyway, my vote would be for the median score to be posted instead of the simple average. Median ranking makes the most sense since it implies that half the people rated the wine higher and half lower.

< Message edited by Blue Shorts -- 4/23/2008 11:31:38 AM >

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The best wine is the one that you haven't yet tried.

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Post #: 12

RE: Personal House Wines - 8/6/2008 3:11:07 PM

Maestro

Posts: 521
Joined: 10/4/2007
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I can get this wine now for $9 per bottle by the case... It is insane value. It needs a couple of hours of aeration, but after that it is an incredible wine for the price. And it will still evolve for 5+ years.

This is the power of good Aglianico...

(in reply to Blue Shorts)

Post #: 13

RE: Personal House Wines - 8/6/2008 3:42:17 PM

esb

Posts: 118
Joined: 1/17/2008
From: Bend, Oregon
Status: offline

I haven't had this yet, but I'm still enjoying the '03. It is a rustic wine with power and character. After some air, I get an unexpected subtle, but distinct, tangerine element from the '03. Delicious.

(in reply to Maestro)

Post #: 14

RE: Personal House Wines - 8/6/2008 7:26:01 PM

Paul S

Posts: 494
Joined: 1/15/2008
From: Singapore
Status: offline

I really like the Artadi Vinos de Gain and the Amisfield Pinot as well - great value there.
Il Molino de Grace's 2004 Chianti Classico is great for its price: http://www.cellartracker.com./wine.asp?iWine=385738
And I am currently on my Coonawara mood, so the Majella comes highly recommended: http://www.cellartracker.com./wine.asp?iWine=102883

(in reply to esb)

Post #: 15

RE: Personal House Wines - 8/6/2008 10:45:08 PM

jhannah27

Posts: 408
Joined: 6/9/2008
From: Anaheim, CA
Status: offline

Although this changes constantly, these are my current "house" wines. Excellent values and never disappointing.

http://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=539394

http://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=544007

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"Quickly! Bring me a beaker of wine, so that I may wet my mind and say something clever."
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Post #: 16

RE: Personal House Wines - 8/7/2008 6:10:52 AM

JohnNezlek

Posts: 208
Joined: 12/14/2006
From: Gloucester, Virginia
Status: offline

Dear All,

For an everyday dessert wine, I drink Samos
http://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=58886

You should be able to pick up a bottle for $10 (or maybe less). Serve well chilled. By the way, I have stopped posting TNs on this because it is very consistent.

Cheers,

John

(in reply to jhannah27)

Post #: 17

RE: Personal House Wines - 8/7/2008 6:31:45 AM

Wrighty

Posts: 642
Joined: 10/3/2005
From: Hong Kong
Status: offline

Have settled on

Hartenberg Chardonnay
Selini Sauv Blanc
Battle of Bosworth Cab Sav
Heartland Cab Sav

Will buy a few mixed cases in the QPR category when I get back from holiday and see if there are any that can replace these.

Wrighty

(in reply to JohnNezlek)

Post #: 18

RE: Personal House Wines - 8/7/2008 3:09:56 PM

Rak

Posts: 78
Joined: 7/6/2007
Status: offline

Splendid thread chaps.

I rather like decent Bourgogne Rouges from reliable producers for this purpose; e.g. G. Barthod. The 2002 was delicious. Looking forward to the 2005.....

Happy drinking!

(in reply to Wrighty)

Post #: 19