A decent Cali Cab at a bargain price is getting harder and harder to find. The only one you liked was the $30 cab. Wine Spectator rated that wine 93pts, so you are not alone. It’s too bad that the moderately priced Cali reds don’t do better.

Interesting show. I’ve had Liberty School and BV in the past, they’re generally uninspiring sort of cocktail party or off-night wines. Haven’t tried the Ravenswood Merlot … they’re generally a Zin house, so it doesn’t entirely surprise me that their Merlot isn’t up to snuff.

Thanks though for your ongoing efforts towards objectivity. Keep it up.

GeneV:

The WL website says that the Panza got an 89 on the Wine Spectator. Who is mistaken: Gary or you?

David

Hi Gary,

I watch all your episodes and have commented a few times in the past with suggestions and questions. I always learn somthig with every segment. You stated a couple time in this episode that you “did not bring much to the table” and that it did not go as planned. I abolsutley disagree and think this was by far one of the best! You were honest and I really enjoy your facial exppressions. We all know how it tastes the second you smell something odd or taste something funny in that first puff of air during a taste. To have the courage to say that some of the famous names and biggest selling wines are really not that good is fantastic. You show great bravery in the face of having to continue relations with wineries and distributors. Of course taste is subjective, but in my quest for knowledge and good wines to drink, I really enjoy your segments. Now go find us some great more good California Reds in the $10 – $25 dollar range!…..Cheers!

David I think Gene thought this was the Panza Stags’ Leap Ranch Napa Valley 2001 which is a red blend(93WS)but in fact it is the Cabernet (89 WS) but I have to say they missed this one!

GV

Gary: These videos are so much fun to watch. You have a huge fan here.

I am sure you have had all this stuff, but I wanted to give you a few thoughts from things that I have bought in your place. So you know, I tend to drink $15 to $40 bottles during the week (by myself). I rarely make it through more than half a bottle, then I try to store it but throw it out all the time. On the weekend, I will typically drink 50 to 100 bottles.

1. I just had the 1991 Silver Oak that you have. There was very little fruit left, clearly late maturity.
2. The 1994 Dalle Valle was over the top. Just a fantastic wine with amazing structure. I paid 110, got the last one. What a bargain.
3. I had the 1994 Caymus (regular, not special selection). Bought it this weekend. To me, it was past maturity. Little structure. Tasted like a saddle.
4. Torbreck. I absolutely love â??The Factorâ? and â??Run Rigâ?. I thought the Descendant was good, but not worthy of a 97. I wonder if I need to decant itâ?¦I saw your show on Amon Ra (which I bought but have not tried)>
5. You guys are selling a Turley â??Juvinilesâ? like a 1999. I hated it. I loved the Presenti, Old Vines and Earthquake.
6. I drank â??The Fightâ?? from Red Car. YOU HAVE GOT TO DECANT IT.
7. If you have not tried the Alder 2003 syrah from Alisos, please try it. I opened it, it was loaded with sediment, and totally chocolate. Then, I had it in fridge and it mellowed out. Great buy at 30â?¦I think Robert Parker missed it at a 90. Great buy.

Take care, just wanted to throw some random thoughts at you to see if you had a reaction.

George A

Gary,

Iâ??m hooked on Wine Library TV! What I appreciate the most is your honesty. If a wine isnâ??t good, you donâ??t beat around the bush in order to keep sales up. Thatâ??s the biggest thing youâ??ve got going for you. When you say a wine is great, I know that I can trust that youâ??re not just trying to move bottles. If you say itâ??s great, I know thatâ??s your real opinion. That alone is worth more than anything else.

And I like and appreciate the simplicity of your videos. You and a bottle of wine is all thatâ??s needed. Your knowledge, honesty and enthusiasm comes through in every episode. I like the taste comparisons the most, though the episode on decanting was easily the most informative. A few more episodes in that vein would be great. Maybe something on wine tasting, how to taste wines, tasting wines at the winery, etc.

Also, I normally donâ??t plug wines, but I recently had a stunning and complex Bordeaux blend called â??Lady in Redâ? from Windwalker Vineyards in the Sierra Nevada foothills of California. It is literally one of the best wines I have ever tasted â?? which is hard for me to believe, given the overall weakness of wines in the Amador foothills. Itâ??s an area known for its Zins (in a style I strongly dislike), not its Cabsâ?¦but this wine could easily complete with serious offerings from Napa. Made halfway between the forward California style and an earthy French style, but with a level of complexity I associate more with good French wines. Anyway, if you get the chance, track it down. I seriously doubt you will be disappointed.

Keep up the great work! I love hearing about California wines and would love to see you a Cal Cab vs. Bordeaux or Cal Rhone Ranger vs. real Rhone taste off.

I never miss an episode if there are any red wines involved! Great stuff!

Tony D

Thank you for the honesty! It is refreshing. I have struggled for years with budget priced California Reds. About 5 years ago I simply quit drinking them after so many disapointments and wasted money on wine that was so bad I didn’t want to cook with it let alone cdrink it. Down the toilet it all went. I stayed with French, Italian and Spanish for the most part after that. I have not found consistent quality in low priced Cali reds. The bad is really bad. Really green, really unbalanced and really oaky. Whereas in the other low priced reds from Fr. Italy & Spain-some aren’t that great but very few are really bad. This is just my personal experience. Wine is personal taste so there may be many who have had a more positive one.

Gary,
You did bring “a lot to the table”…honesty.
I don’t even attempt to try California cabs as my budget won’t allow the drinkable wines.
Great show!

My bad. The names of the wines are quite similar.

A suggestion for Gary’s future taste would be the Terra Valentine which is featured as a WL 90+ special. If I am reading the names right this time, WE rates 96, WS gives this a 77 and Parker is in between at 88.

Another terrific episode. Panza also makes a phenomenal Petite Sirah that I highly recommend.

-W

Gary…

The quality and frequency of your video podcasts make it a stand-out. I think that your format; honest, straight-forward tasting is hard to improve upon. Nice job!

Patrick

I’m not surprised at all about the Panza cab-i’ve had their petite sirah, cant remember which vintage but it was a huge fruit bomb with BIG tannins-a long-term wine; a winery to watch for sure

Gary,

This is the petite sirah, isn’t it? That is the same label from the 99 you sold last year. I believe the blue and black label is the cab. Anyway, just ordered 6 bottles – thanks!!

Brian

Going through the episodes…something I’m seeing.
Gary is doing wines we can’t get just anywhere, and also wines we can run down to the store and get if we choose…even though the first three were bad.
Another reason WLTV is so great.

B

There are definitely a lot of red wines coming out of California in the 15 to 25 dollar price range. I guess living here in the US; it’s easy for the retailers to carry a lot of these wines. I think Napa and Sonoma wines come with an inherent price point. Maybe it’s real estate or labor, or demand. Who knows? I do know it’s more work to find real value with these wines. Most are decent, and others are really good. A few are bad. I just havenâ??t been very daring when it comes to these wines. Nothing I remember trying in that range was that remarkable. I know it’s a matter of timing until I prove myself wrong. On the other hand I’ve had Chilean Cabs, and Spanish Tempranillo, Mourvedre, and Syrah blends that were memorable. These wines were under 15 dollars. And I was very happy more often than not. Of course there was some stand out drek as well. So many wines…so little time.

You know what I love about winelibrary tv (other than learning about wine that I would otherwise not learn about), is when an episode like this happens. Most of these wines I can find in Hawai’i. Most of them have crossed my mind when perusing the local Class VI or wine store. What I like is knowing which wines to avoid and not waste my limited resources. Thanks Gary!

I was won over to the Napa Cab boat by a 1974 Martha’s Vineyard that a friend who is a serious wine geek pulled out…..It was stunning

GV- Wow, the Panza really bailed that episode out, huh? good episode.

I like your honesty on the wines. It’s good to get it straight and to have an honest interpretation of the wines. Like your slogan goes “tasting bad wines so that you don’t have to”.

This has to be the most wines panned in an episode. Good show though.