3/5/2016 - rromain wrote:

Beautiful transparent dark red cherry color. Smoky spinach and herb nose, with a bitter cherry and pork fat finish, with everthing in between. A nice simple Villages from Nuits that, while not hitting the top of the quality scale, is a very satisfying wine and will continue to drink well for a while. A great way to wash down crunchy pizza.

9/9/2015 - rromain Likes this wine:

N.V. Rare Wine Co. (Vinhos Barbeito) Madeira 'Historic Series Charleston' Sercial Special Reserve, 19 pabv. Short (3/4") standard 5 band cork, warm, tawny brown, quite bitty. First to reach the nostrils after 3 days open is smoked cherry, some creaminess, and lime blossom. Rich but not sweet, with caramel and some mint high tones, medium entry, energetic midpalate, and nice juicy cherries and lime finish. Actually has opened up a bit since day before yesterday. Much better with Black Diamond Reserve Cheddar. In my opinion just misses its price point; would have been a more reasonable buy at $35-40. However, with the shortage of good Sercials, I welcomed this in the market, and still do. It's possible that Sercial should be the benchmark of all Madeira styles, actually it is for me, though my introduction was all Boal and Malvasia. (89 pts.)

Now having given this until Sept 12, about 6 days on from opening, another impression: Again the smoked cherries and cream, lime blossom delicate but more prominent, and a neat bitter aroma, all quite well integrated over a sort of energetic pongy base made mostly up of bacon fat. Harmonious but not all resolved, promising more development with air. Aged sawdust is added to the above on the palate, with a nice punch of lime-tinged acidity and an appropriate finish. Seems to support the Trombley theorem on the development of oxidized-style wines. An excellent demonstration of the virtues of Sercial, and now rated excellent. (90/100). jht (sweetstuff) note

9/6/2015 - rromain wrote:

EX magnum. Straw with plenty of Weinstein. In the last 3 years, the hay notes have sweetened up and have become integrated harmoniously with the sweet pea. Light and tripping on the tongue, with cooked white pepper finish. Bring on the hog! 91 for quality, 96 for pleasure. In mag, will hold five plus years. Thanks, Bill Mayer, a poet of a wine retailer. Romain reunion, Evansville.

9/6/2015 - rromain wrote:

Purple with dusty-brick hues from a bottle with great but lubricated cork. Funky raspberry and earth nose, sweetish undertones. Delicate texture; juicy, with fine tannins and energetic finish. 91/100; drink now--2019. romain 'hog roast' reunion, today, Evansville.

9/6/2015 - rromain wrote:

Rr cellar, jut note: Leafy green, plenty of coarse tartar. Intro petrol phase. Creamy, vanillin opening, underlain with a clean peachy leesiness. Crisp, dryish, clean, with an Italianate, brothy note. Lotsa Schafer spunk, with room to grow. Romain 2015 family reunion At Linda's. 93/100, within 10 minutes after opening. Now--??

9/5/2015 - rromain wrote:

Heavily caramel-treated. That this is a Borderies spirit is plain from the fermented earth, seafood, lacquer and citrus nose. This is fairly heavily sweetened, with lanolin notes predominating on the mouth. Good plus finish. 89/100, being somewhat generous. Jht

9/5/2015 - rromain wrote:

Brilliant gold-green, from Riedel Scotch glass and Impitoyable; the latter concentrating the seemingly gently apple flower and spicy nose to a rich seamless rye expression, harmonized with sawn lumber and sultana raisin. This flows spicily and limpidly over the tongue and leaves an integrated aftertaste, something like an old-vines wine. Worth sitting with foe a long time, watching it blossom.

'Blended 'with a Waterloo Distillery (founded 1857) batch of Canadian whisky', this was the last of the Seagram's distillery that bornned in 1993 after being closed.

9/5/2015 - rromain wrote:

94 pt see tn

9/4/2015 - rromain wrote:

Ugni blanc-Colombard single dustillate. $115/750 ml. Aged 19 yrs in oak. Orange w/ green overtones. In a Riedel Scotch glass added 1 tsp spring water to 2 oz spirit. Deeply sweet vanilla and old library nose with pungent overtones of chocolate and white truffle in a horehound rich spirit with a tingly bite. Downgraded for intensity bordering on clumsiness. This bottle opened up circa one year ago. Does it actually need gentle oxidation? jht

9/4/2015 - rromain wrote:

9/4/2015 -94 Points
In Evansville at RRs, recent case purchase of his. Waxed six-band 1.25-inch cork.

Not a trace of sediment upon decanting into a 1500-ml Rare Wine Irish style crystal.

Searching plum. Purple plum predominates; cream, Cameroon cigar wrapper, Italian thyme, lots of delicately tickly and fine high notes, breathing a gentle stoniness.

Limpid and suave in texture, fine but accumulating tannins, with that Italian bitter twist on finish, tones underneath fine tarriness and white truffle.

Great promise for what is going to be tomight's spaghetti wine, though made by Connie. Now-2025. 94/100.

9/4/2015 - rromain wrote:

In Evansville at RRs, recent case purchase of his. Waxed six-band 1.25-inch cork.

Not a trace of sedimen upon decanting into a 1500-ml Rare Wine Irish style crystal.

Searching plum. Purple plum predominates; cream, Cameroon cigar wrapper, Italian thyme, lots of delicately tickly and fine high notes, breathing a gentle stoniness.

Limpid and suave in texture, with that Italian bitter twist on finish, tones underneath fine tarriness and white truffle.

Great promise for what is going to be tomight's spaghetti wine, though made by Connie. Now-2025. 94/100.

4/8/2015 - rromain wrote:

NV Sandeman Porto Finest Rich Ruby (estimated 1970s and prior)

Postby John Trombley [This user is an FTLOP Subscriber] » 08 Apr 2015 18:52 Tasting Date: April 8, 2015
NV Sandeman Porto Finest Rich Ruby (estimated 1970s and prior) - Portugal, Douro, Porto (4/8/2015)
This wine was probably bottled 1950s-1970s, by appearance. It has US volume figures. 20 pabv. $45/4/5th of a quart, plus 15 percent buyer's premium. WineBid (bottles still up for bid as of today). Imported by WA Taylor, Washington, DC.

T-corked; top snapped off when I attempted to remove it; removed the bottom stub of cork with a Durand corkpuller.

Very, very tawny in color, and translucent; quite bitty. Quite slow tears.

Earthy, with usual caramel and maple scents, with a touch of lacquer, richly nutty. Good fresh nose.

Somewhat drier than a young ruby; little or no heat; good acid balance, very fine tannin. Nice length.

91/100. Drink now or over the next few years. Westminster 'Royal Addition' English Cheddar does well with this, as does Membrillo (quince paste) with the same cheese.

I'd probably allow this to settle more next time on its side both for the bittiness and the dry cork. (91 pts.)

I remember my ex-brother in law Bob King ordering me a glass of Sandeman ruby or tawny port at London Chop House in Detroit circa 1979. This reminds me very much of that port, which was my first fall-in-love exposure to this fantastic type of wine. I think I got my nose in a Beerenauslese first a couple weeks before or probably Port would be the passion for me now that German wine is. It's no far behind! Also at that Chop House meal was poured: 1964 Petrus, for a remembered cost of $50. I owe much to Bob: Two classed-growth Bordeaux, Leoville-las Cazes and Beycheville, the above mentioned Petrus, and my first sip of Mersault Clos de la Barre; a bottle of 1966 Fonseca, and a vintage, not remembered now, of Cheval Blanc. Still remember these wines after all this time, as well as a few of mine that I opened for him.

2/1/2015 - rromain wrote:

$33/750 ml at Papa Joe's in Richmond, IN.

This is a blended malt Scotch, not a blended Scotch, which is a big difference stylistically. Blended Scotches usually contain considerable non-malt Scotch grain spirits, such as corn or wheat, while a blended Scotch malt contains only malt Scotches, a mixture of so-called 'singles'. In this case the sources are three: Balvenie, Kininvie, and Glenfiddich, all Gordon-owned Speysiders kept in Bourbon oak.

Although blended malts are nothing new in Scotland, this is a relatively new marketing adventure, a mid-priced whisky with the flavors of malt but with a lower price than many of them; indeed, than many blended Scotches.

From Riedel malt glass. Warm yellow-green. Quick-dropping tears. Undergirded with corn fatty acids, a warm, broad-sided, with a little orange oil and baked cherry. Not a comer in either style or flavor, but designed for easy drinking. Leather and grass and pipe tobacco, a very small amount of peat; a dry dram, with a short finish edged with spearmint. Leaves a versatile hint of tannin on the tongue. Water not needed. Good value for money.

It stands up well to quality mix. A short one of an ounce of it, shaken with ice and the juice of one medium lemon and 2 teaspoonfuls of organic Florida cane sugar and a splash of Gerolsteiner, was distinctive, clean, and harmonious.

For the new explorer of malt Scotch whiskey, a solid bottle to build a good-value collection around. Also a good one for the aficionado to have around for those embarassing moments when asked for a grain blend that you don't have in your locker--'Oh, if you like xxx I have one that will please you a lot'.

12/31/2014 - rromain wrote:

$86/750 ml; 8.0 pabv, Thiese/Skurnik, Oakland Hills, OH Dorothy Lane Market. jht

Has an odd, flaky white crust, that dissipates with the touch of a finger; when decanted, leaves the crust behind and fizzes with the spritz as a nucleus. Quite bitty but with a brilliant green-gold; thick with extract and glass-coating.

Just out of the bottle it's almost burning with acidity, with the sweetness covered up by grippy orange-peel tannins; there is penetrating fruit of razor-like simplicity and enormous length, a wine of great promise. Next on the nose comes the petrol and then the fresh bread and butter.' Then sweet-sour dried apricot dripping with orange-flower honey. At 12 hours in glass is broadcasting a strong fresh green grass scent. also linseed oil. A wine of powerful botrytis effects but absolutely clean and focused.

This gripping sweet-sour is á point with the etched flavors of a great Norman cidre, balancing in the mouth. Lanolin and anise linger in the background followed by a sense of perfectly ripe grapefruit juice. Flavors echo around inside your head for minutes after a sip. The empty glass reveals aromas of vanilla creme brulée custard and a light dusting of tobacco. Then, after a while, scents of ripe apple peels and tastes of rubbed aromatic wood veneers.

Schildknecht's idea that this is a wine in adolescence on its way to early adulthood at age 40 is not far off. Drink 2021 (so I'll hopefully have a chance to drink it before I die) through 2046. 99/100.

The greatest young Mosel Riesling Auslese I've tasted in 40 years of pursuit of this wine style.

10/12/2014 - rromain wrote:

Glinting amber-green eye. Upon opening, so powerful and dense that it is practically untastable; still the same six hours later. At twenty four hours, beginning to emerge from its musclebound state. Powerful high end nose of shellac, caramel, peanut butter cookies, fennel, pine needles, but still partially unresolved. Full richness with searing acidity, with a full synopsis on a two minuit plus finish. 99 plus. Rarely have I ever scored a wine so high that gave me so little pure pleasure.

3/28/2014 - rromain wrote:

Glenfiddich Single Malt Scotch Whisky Solera 15 Years Old, 40.0%, $53/1000 ml; Duty free Signature Shop, MS Zweiderdam, Holland-America SS Line. Matured in at least half-full Oregon pine tun, after prior maturation in sherry, bourbon, and new oak casks. William Grant and Sons.

An amber-green with evidence of crystillization with some dilution with spring water. Plenty of vanillin oak with maturation in sweet sherry casks. Full of orange and citrus notes on the palate, with lacquery-malt finish. A fine and emjoyable and well-integrated single malt. 88/100.

1/6/2014 - rromain wrote:

seems to have been an inferior wine

1/6/2014 - rromain wrote:

assumed in poor condition per rr's " was disappointed with this wine, consumed over holidays 2013 "

11/13/2013 - rromain wrote:

Tawny witih pink overtones when opened at 8 am the day of the Romain tasting in April 2013, having been decanted off gobs of membranous liver-like crusting. Plenty of thick tears. Sweet cherry candy and mahogany begin the nose profile, resinous and quite high-toned, featuring mint and vanilla over burnt earth. Becomes noticeably drier with a few hours' airing. At first a little heat but nothing really to speak about and intergrates with time.

Later sensing pipe tobacco and sea-urchin caviar. Solid, suave, unusually chunky and restrained in sweetness for a Grahams, with no chance to reach its peak--it was swilled down between 8 and 9 p.m. Despite being not estate bottled, this was as perfect a bottle as I could hope to find, and confirms all the good things I've heard about Whitwham's bottlings--they are completely representative of what they're given to bottle. What a sucker bet for $75 a bottle (a sucker for those who didn't bid on it, which was everyone but me!)

This bottle is completely at its best but is going nowhere--it perhaps has a couple decades or more left in it. Drink now-2033; note by sweetstuff.

11/13/2013 - rromain wrote:

$215/375 ml, Age of Riesling, Terry Theise/Skurnik; AP 11 08

First Schaefer Eiswein I've ever seen in 30-plus years following this estate. Influence of a new generation? Still a totally classic Eiswein, as you'll see below.

Finished with a beautiful long (term) cork.

Restrained green, medium-thick.

Intense peach, fresh air á la Eiswein; butter, somewhat dried apricots, vivid and clean.

Fresh radish, peach, apricots, and spicy ginger, with a finish at this time wincingly tart and pfiffy.

I'd say this is a relatively low-botrytis, completely clean Eiswein, for those, like me, who prefer the classic style.

An arm-wrestler of a wine; pure power, but subtlety will come with time, which it really needs. Drink 2016-2060. note by sweetstuff

I checked and there are still six half-bottles of this at Macarthur Wines in DC at $210. A must for those with deep pockets and love of this estate like mine, which started with two full bottles of the 1976 Beerenauslese Domprobst, emptied at a table containin 12 people in a once-around.

10/29/2013 - rromain wrote:

AP 29101 012 12 8.5 pabv Terry Thiese Estate Selections/Michael Skurnik. $23.50/750. Drunk at Winds Yellow Springs, OH on our 8th Anniversary. Obviously needs double-decanting, so it got it. Deep nose with rhubarb, strawberry, and peach. Medium-dry with great luscious stony acidity, umami, rosewater, and good length. GIves a delightful lift and works well with good food. Recommended strongly as a classic Kabinett.

10/21/2013 - rromain wrote:

A great disappointment at the Romain's wine dinner in February 2013, but a good chance for the company to taste an expensive but horribly premoxed bottle. Wrote the Guigals about this but no response.....

10/19/2013 - rromain wrote:

At Cousin Ron's, Evansville, 2/2013. Opened casually to sip while we were attending to other bottles for the big wine dinner. Seamless, stunning, integrated nose and palate, light in texture, tannins quite resolved. Strawberries, incense, leather, with great harmony, and lissome texture, still has a great future but at peak amd holding if well stored.
At Romain What Is So Rare? Dinner prelude. Deserves more attention than we could give it under the circumsances.

4/21/2013 - rromain wrote:

Bought Richmond, IN 4/19/2013, $70/750 ml, a yearly donation to Trinity Church, Troy, OH and its Kirking of the Tartans with Piping in the Haggis in upcoming November. Since we were devouring haggis in Dunedin, New Zealand for the last one, which was sucked dry when I got home, decided to taste this one before letting it go heavenward. See all you malt-lovers in Troy in November. Best church service of the year. The empty bottle from last year was the most positive tasting note from this crowd ever, although I think the real power drinkers missed the Aberlour Abunadh

Light but definite yellow with hints of green. Diluted 1:1 with Fiji. Sour apples and vanillic American oak spice, with linoleum, dried orange peel, roasted nuts and lacquer, almost like part of it was aged in Sherry casks (which are themselves made of American oak, for the most part). Nose very gentle and will make no enemies. Though these are not charred casks, there is a definite but light bourbon likeness to this.

Rich-textured, sweetish fruit and moderate spiciness, with little alcohol heat at this dilution (about 55 proof). Finesse rather than power, and again, won't drive away the crowd. Pleasing.

4/19/2013 - rromain wrote:

Euros 20 per 375 ml, tasted and purchased at the estate Sept 2010, ILF 526208. Alwin Jurtschitsch and Stefanie Hasselbach are from families well-known for exploiting vignobles of greater potential than marketable sexiness; I hope not too poor a way to describe the Rheinhessen and the Kamptal subregion of the Niederösterreich (which also includes the Wachau and the Kremstal of Austria.) The name Hasselbach is more than beloved to those who follow the exploits of Gunderloch, for example. I believer that Stephanie is Alice Hasselbach's daughter, who charmingly waited on us at the estate.

These two are not only young and talented but seem to be uncompromising in their search for the maximum expression to be had from the materials nature provided them. Not every sip at every time will please every palate, but they know how to express what they have and want, and it's up to the cellar, and the purchaser, to do the rest.

Cotton-candy and spun-sugar, plum, red-currant, honeysuckle melon, and dusty minerality, gives a bumpy but scintillating ride.Full dessert-wine sweetness and richness. Now through 10 years should provide adequate search for the sweet spot. This is the second tasting, and it's much more grown up and less into awkward adolescence; quite a show for those who don't know Gruener V as a sweet wine.

As far as I know the sweet series is not available in the United States, but the dry Grand Cru GV series is, and is well worth trying at the prices I see.

4/12/2013 - rromain wrote:

now closed down; oatmeal, peach, smoke, lemon-lime, moderately sweet, great leangth.

4/10/2013 - rromain wrote:

1994 Maximin Grünhäuser Riesling Herrenberg Auslese #45. 7.5 pabv, AP Nr. 3 536 014 09 95. From Paul Mann's passive cellar.

Fullish green with an orange hue, quite positive, with an orange-green clinging sheet. The aroma is full of vanilla, tobacco, and honey butter, in fine harmonic proportion; not a bit of oxidation, preem or pos, but showing some wild mushroom. Slim profile in mouth, with clean and sweet expressiveness, but less than originally, I'm sure. Great expressive length.

Twenty-four hours later, tangerine and dried apricot have emerged over that butter and vanilla. The finish has released a bitter-citrus tang over the remaining light residual. A wonderful food Riesling. Drink now through 2018, given the fact that this was passively cellared for most of its life.

93/100.

4/8/2013 - rromain wrote:

Premixed badly and nearly undrinkable

10/21/2013 flawed bottle: A great disappointment at the Romain's wine dinner in February 2013, but a good chance for the company to taste an expensive but horribly premoxed bottle. Wrote the Guigals about this but no response..... (1998 views)

4/8/2013 - rromain wrote:

Deep yellow green, somewhat coarse mousse still present. Lots of autolysis, with oxidized notes. Rich and fullbodied, but past it's best, both bottles. Jht

2/26/2013 - rromain wrote:

2001 Warre Porto Late Bottled Vintage, Bottle Aged, Unfiltered; Bottled 2005, Released for Sale 2009. $33/750 ml. Warre's 'earlier bottled, late released' style has been a favorite of mine for a long time, and often will iimprove 15-20 years in cellar (such as the 1982). 20 pabv. Produced and bottled by the Symington family; imported by Vineyard Brands, American Canyon, CA.

Cork-finished; could not be removed with an Ah-So, but a Waiter's Friend did the trick. Double-decanted through a port filter. A moderate amount of medium-sized, leathery crust. Quite bitty when examined in a Riedel Zin glass; heavy coating and tears; deep purple-gray, opaque coloration with a 2 mm meniscus, no bricking perceptible. At 12 years or age looks like a current release.

Spicy-peppery cherry-mineral nose, with a juicy, lightly vanilla-tinged impression.

A creamy, mouth-filling wine, with the alcohol and tannin texture coated with extract. Deep and focused cherry-juice impression, on the dry side, with a persistent ripely-tannic finish. Served with some Murray's Reggiano, it matches nearly as well with the cheese as a Gaja Barbaresco would.

A very impressive specimen of this type, and totally pleasurable current drinking; with Warre's rusticity but with considerable depth of fruit, and time in hand, as Michael Broadbent would say. Drink now-2020. 91+/100

2/24/2013 - rromain wrote:

2003 Joh. Jos. Prüm Wehlener Sonnenuhr Riesling Auslese Goldkapsel (Germany, Mosel Saar Ruwer). AP 2 576 511 31--04; pabv 7.0 percent; mid yellow-green with plenty of fine carbon dioxide bubbles on first decanting and with lots of refractivity at edges, even with a little pink and having a thick coating on the glass surfaces but not much tearing. This wine has quite a bit of fine tartrate floaters. Nose: Bakeshop-green with mineralic, minty-and-tannic skin tones, quite clean and cool and honied. The juicy and crisp flavors have lots of minerals and salinity with juicinss and acidity. I was hoping fora little less petrol, but it'll be ok with some airing. It also could use a little more focus and a little less warm-vintage exhuberance. The finish is has a little wandering, undisciplined aspect, but time with tell with that. More structure and focus might become apparent with time. 92/100. hopefully, there's some left to be patient with; quite a bit came into the US at release.

10/13/2012 - rromain wrote:

July 18, 2012 at the Romain Reunion, Fort Wayne, Indiana.

Put out on the table with many other wines from Ron's and my cellars, and cheerfully guzzled by folks who kept coming back for more. 'This is terrific; what is it? Is there any more left?' Crowd reaction compared favorably with the Schaefer Domprobst 2005 Auction Wine. This is the second time I've gone down to the Reunion, finding far more perceptibility concerning wine quality (after all, I share the genes of these folks) than I expected. At least 93/100, but it would deserve at some time a quieter and more thorough assessment by yours truly.

7/18/2012 - rromain wrote:

Joh. Jos. Prüm Wehlener Sonnenuhr Riesling Auslese Goldkapsel, 2001. AP 22 02. Opened at the Romain Reunion 0n June 16, 2012, and finished on July 18, not refrigerated in the meantime.

Light in color still for type, although it's beginning to have a richer hue, but still with the optical brilliance previously noted.

This wine shows little evidence of petrol yet on the nose until it's been long opened, which has just begun to close down and seem a little shy. It's not a damaged bottle because over the succeeding 2 or 3 weeks it comes round and opens up, giving great pleasure with the last pour, showing a slight smokiness over a delicate mineral-laden, juicy peach, reminding me very much of the 1983 at this stage. It caresses your smeller with a lovely, but forceful, stroke The palate shows that same wild-honey elegance that has been previously remarked upon, with slightly lemony acidity due to the beginning of the secondary maturity allowing the structure to show through things. It's a great old-vines wine with all the focus and breathless brilliance of flavor expected from this bottling. All that's lacking is the integration that's coming in a few years. Too bad I opened it, but strangely, I'm glad I did. There is a little more left in the LeCache after the Katrina auction donations were removed and taken to Wheeling, West Virginia for delivery.

96/100; if you didn't enjoy it young, hold onto it for a minimum of 5 to 7 years, recalling that this is the age at which bottle variation can begin to be apparent. Whether the delicacy, a characteristic of the Prüm Sonnenuhrs, will turn into fragility, is yet open to discussion, but my bet would be for this to be a very long-term wine well-stored. I can only imagine what the auction wines and the LGKA's would be like from this vintage.

7/10/2012 - rromain wrote:

Amontillado Domecq 30 year dated Sherry V O R S (Vinum Optimum Rare Signatum) 51-1a, Nonvintage, 19 percent alcohol BV, 750 ml, $75.00, Allied Domecq Wines, Healdsburg, CA.

The previous bottling I found of this was of a 'Very Rare' 51 1a about 2004 that had been in the commercial system for perhaps 15-20 years by appearance. The VORS labeling I hoped was quite similar in style to the older stuff.

O> Deep tea color with a touch of unfiltered? bittiness. Glass-coating sheeting texture.

N> Considerable caramel and a brothy complexity, underlined with a rich and vivid maltiness, still quite angular and with a vivid awkwardness.

T> Considerable crisp acidity with a decided white-wine-tannin midpalate and finish. Medium to long, smoky, stony, mineralic, salivary-gland-striking palate. After removal from the cellar, and considerable aeration via double decanting and swirling, a great deal more depth and more richness and integration begins to show. It begins to resemble the earlier bottle quite a bit!

This wine seems very similar in materials to the previous 'very rare' sherry, but I'd say the older one had a great deal of bottle age, all to its benefit, and which was beautifully drinkable but even then with a little upside, and no fear of collapse at all.

I'd advise a good 13-17 years on recent releases, and keeping track of cellar time. 9r/100 and perhaps more with sufficient aging; drink from 2025--2030. If you hit at it any earlier, take the precautions to air described above.

2/1/2011 - rromain wrote:

Just short of classic at Cousin Ron's in Feb 2011--heavy on cherry cola but with a great brightness and deftness; lacking the somewhat heavy oakiness some of these Spanish monsters are flawed with. Drink now-2020 and on.

4/25/2011 - rromain wrote:

Given approximately 24 hours in decanter; all that was available to me. This wine was purchased as a birthday gift for someone born in 1951 (Mom forgot when he was born.)

Certainly deserved a full tasting note but I was playing sommelier at a major wine dinner for 12 and so didn't. Other wines were a magnum of 1991 Vega Sicilia Unico, a stunning bottle of old Moscatel sweet sherry, a terribly premoxed bottle of 2001 Hermitage Guigal Ex Voto white, a great bottle of Barolo Pajore 1971, and so forth.

A little sweeter than expected for type; deep, almost profound, smoky, grapy liveliness, long; a delight to the crowd at Cousin Ron's in Evansville Feb 2011. Drinking Window 2011-2041

4/25/2011 - rromain wrote:

There was a soapy scent and flavor that may have been due to a fault in the cleaning of the glasses. There was plenty of Mouton underneath but what a disappointment in context! NR

4/25/2011 - rromain wrote:

At Cousin Ron's, Evansville, Feb. 2011. The coarseness that sometimes afflicts 1997s is perceptible here; time will help.

4/25/2011 - rromain wrote:

Does well as a less serious 'party wine', too, with the Romains in Evansville, at Aunt Betty's, with the Romain cousins.

12/11/2008 - rromain wrote:

TN:1989 Trimbach (AOC Alsace) Riesling Selection des Grains Nobles ‘Fut 27'; 13 pabv; $125/375 ml; Rare Wine Co/Vieux Vins, Importer. Most likely comes directly ‘ex cellars’ selected during one of the buyers’ visits to the domaine,

Notes on this wine: Even Manny Berk of Rare Wine Co. doesn’t seem to remember the vineyard source or sources for this wine; but Trimbach has plenty of source material from vineyards that they don’t actually own. This is a ‘Mis en Bouteille par” wine; in other words, a negociant wine

A healthy and clean four-banded cork slips out readily ; speaking of the provenance. There’s a nice fill without much apparent sediment. The wine appears to be a medium-rich copper, showing a hint of green; almost the color of new motor oil. It's somewhat viscous with noticeable sheeting in the glass.

Tertiary aromas starting to be quite expressive. Freshly-decorated christmas tree; unfinished wood attic; pine-wood crates; a certain spiciness underlain with balanced primary notes of apricot, rose water, and a little orange blossom; cream and a sort of creamy sensation in the nose.

Opens with a restrained sweetness; has plenty of bitter orange and apricot; zesty, energetic, and uplifting to the palate. One can also sense on the palate the tertiary aromas mentioned above. Finish shows length and complexity and a nice juicy but balanced acidity.

94/100. This mysterious wine, sitting among the several Domaine releases of this great vintage, is definitely now into the drinkable phase, but it’ll improve for the next 10 years or more and has some promise of keeping well beyond that.

A wonderful sipping wine, but a good chef would also find uses for it at the table.

Tasted 12/11/2008

10/24/2008 - rromain wrote:

RR describes as starting well but a bit faded in the middle--still travel-shocked? 10/23/2008jht

10/23/2008 - rromain wrote:

TN: Coudoulet de Beaucastel 2005 Cotes-du-Rhone Rouge; 14 pabv; Sté Fermière des Vignobeles Pierre Perrin; Chateau de Beaucastel Courthezon (Vsa) France; Vineyard Brands; Birmingham, AL. $33/750 ml Beacon Wine and Spirits. The secondary label says this wine is the 'Second Label' of Chateau de Beaucastel; a debatable point, although we know that often some wines from the Chateauneuf-du-Pape properties of Perrin end up in this blend. This is a mixture of Perrin wine made from the, ahem, 'varietals' Syrah, Granache Rouge, Cinsault, and Mourvèdre, each harvested and vinified separately, "accourding to the second label."

The wine is a deep purple right to the rim with a reflective green hue. The nose is dominated by energetic bacon fat and smoky cherries, outlined by tar, leather, mint, theyme, and tarragon--a neatly integrated melange of garrigue, fruit, and all the scents we expect here. Comes together nicely and with an impression of smoothness, with a powerful mouthful of the expected flavors here which are very nice with the Coleman dry-aged New York Strip we picked up at Dorothy Lane Market in Washington Square, Dayton, Ohio. Some who like to say so would note that the flavors are dominated by dark chocolate; again; a matter of taste.

Great for drinking right now but will not be harmed by two or three more years of cellar age.

10/13/2008 - rromain wrote:

2005 Chateau Grand Traverse Riesling Ice Wine - USA, Michigan (10/13/2008)

TN: Château Grand Traverse Riesling Ice Wine Old Mission Peninsula; 2005/375ml; $75; Main Tasting Room of the Estate. 12.5 pabv; Hand-picked frozen Dec. 6, 2008; Harvested 38.5 Brix; Residual 9.5 Brix. 23.1 degrees potential alcohol calculated; 5.7 degrees potential alcohol as residual; 17.4 degrees calculated potential alcohol; 12.5 degrees alcohol as measured. As you can see either some sugar was added here or some of the data is plain wrong, either in value or calculation.

Nice full Bordeaux-quality and Bordeaux-size cork. 1-1/2 inch, five-year cork. Preferred to remove it with an Ah-So, since it appeared not to be lubricated too generously.

A highly refractive polished copper wine with a relatively high viscosity.

At first shows a touch of volatile acidity which quickly blows off. Cotton candy, powder sugar, Ceylon tea. Eiswein fresh air; a touch of raw radish; ripe nectarine juice; artificial lemon scent as contained in dishwasher detergent. Smooth and rich nose. Very little Botrytis; plenty of limestone reef minerality.

Smooth, rich, glycerin-laden, and tea-like, with plenty of energy, and a long, smooth, pleasant, simple, clean, finish. One of the better Ice Wines from this house in the last 20-plus years. 2008-2030.

Photo courtesy CellarTracker (91 pts.) Note was taken over 24 hours on a double-decanted sample.

The back label reveals fermentation in small stainless steel tanks. Some previous batches had been oak-aged, and one experimental lot was even done up in new American oak, for those who like dill on their radishes. (smile). Congrats to the O'Keefe Brothers whose Rieslings continue to improve, but who can't grow enough to satisfy demand. I recommend that those who can find some stock up before Ed and Sean remember the classic method of dealing with this economic problem. Their Rieslings are great values.

Some Cellar Tracker users apparently found half-bottles of this for about 40 dollars, another value.

10/10/2008 - rromain wrote:

Barbara's rating 92. A Chambers Street (NY) shelf orphan. 8.0 PABV; AP 3 551 083 11 06. jht note; Caroline's on the Square; Troy, OH, for our third anniversary. $55/750 ml. Their regular (white cap) non-auction bottling.

http://www.cellartracker.com/labels/78300.jpg
Photo courtesy CellarTracker

Medium light copper. Starts with a focused touch of peach; then comes a considerable blast of ground walnut and honey, dried fruit, and an aromatic herbal note. Medium-sweet and medium-bodied, with a cool-mint slate-earth taste; slickly and powerfully acidic, complex, deep, and deft, with a neat smoky-minerally finish, quite expressive. Both powerful and dancingly light on its feet. Hasn't really started its development yet, and, despite all its style, it's not even into the baby-fat stage.. Its malic-dominated acidity needs some time to unwind, and it may have a little trouble before really settling down for the long haul. 2013-2030. Went well with broiled pork 'porterhouse' and a rather delicate Gulf of Mexico ocean fish whose name escapes me, but whose taste reminded me of halibut or Dover sole.

OK, Barbara, after what it's shown me on the second day I'll split the 92nd point with you!