Merry Christmas Vayniacs!

QOTD: 2004 Chateau Larose-Trintaudon Haut Medoc, 2006 E Guigal Cotes Du Rhone both contributed to the merriment this year…Im turning into a Rhone-head!!!

Gary,

After seeing that gewurz, I’m seriously considering picking up a holiday pack after the fact. But, I might not know for a few more days whether it’s realistic to spend another $80 on wine, after I’ve spent so much recently. How long will this pack be available online?

QOTD: My family has our big dinner on Xmas eve, so we’ve already done the wine thang. We had an entry level 2007 Estate Riesling from Monchof in Germany, and a 2007 Ironstone Reserve Chardonnay from Sierra Foothills, CA. The riesling was much sweeter than I had anticipated, but still delicious when I got over that. Candied peach and apricot flavors, and a nice long finish. Not a great pairing with our food, but it was good to drink after dinner. The chardonnay was a better food play, with some citrus, tropical fruit, and crushed rock. I was actually hoping it would be a little more buttery/creamy than it was, but it had a bit of butter on the finish. Crisp and acidic, despite the new French oak aging and relatively full-bodied mouthfeel–I bet GV would actually like this better than I did. So, both wines were good, but both took me by surprise.

QOTD: 2004 Callabriga Dao from Portugal. Nice tannins, “herby.” I’ve really enjoyed the wines I’ve tried from Portugal. Merry Christmas!

We did the family thing on Xmas eve.
Started with Valle D?Oro Montepulciano d?Abruzzo Rosato 2006. I couldn’t find much on this; it was part of a mixed case raffle prize I won. Nice color, slight strawberry on the nose, but this was bad. Really bad. It reminded me of a dry version of the pink catawba that was sometimes around my parents house. Boring and no ump of any kind – we put the “cork” back in the bottle and moved on.
Next was (not my choice) a Hob Nob pinot noir. I knew things were dicey when it hit the glass. dark, dark color. You couldn’t see your fingers through the glass. Some soy and cranberries on the nose. Couldn’t shake the calculations running through my skull about the percentage of syrah hiding here. Dark, dark fruit, blackberries…quaffable but looked at the label again…still says pinot.
Louis Martini CS with dinner. Nice nose. Typical CS. Black currant, licorice, depth and some cedar. At $14, nice PQR.
Also popped a Clos La Coutale Cahors 07 (WS #76 of 09). Dark cherry, plum with a slight bitter finish. A little meh. Malbec and merlot. $12.
Xmas day decanting the Parusso Barolo 35th Anniversary Barolo 2005 and keeping it all to myself. Will post on that tomorrow. Or is that later today?

We did the family thing on Xmas eve.
Started with Valle D?Oro Montepulciano d?Abruzzo Rosato 2006. I couldn’t find much on this; it was part of a mixed case raffle prize I won. Nice color, slight strawberry on the nose, but this was bad. Really bad. It reminded me of a dry version of the pink catawba that was sometimes around my parents house. Boring and no ump of any kind – we put the “cork” back in the bottle and moved on.
Next was (not my choice) a Hob Nob pinot noir. I knew things were dicey when it hit the glass. dark, dark color. You couldn’t see your fingers through the glass. Some soy and cranberries on the nose. Couldn’t shake the calculations running through my skull about the percentage of syrah hiding here. Dark, dark fruit, blackberries…quaffable but looked at the label again…still says pinot.
Louis Martini CS with dinner. Nice nose. Typical CS. Black currant, licorice, depth and some cedar. At $14, nice PQR.
Also popped a Clos La Coutale Cahors 07 (WS #76 of 09). Dark cherry, plum with a slight bitter finish. A little meh. Malbec and merlot. $12.
Xmas day decanting the Parusso Barolo 35th Anniversary Barolo 2005 and keeping it all to myself. Will post on that tomorrow. Or is that later today?

@Pat B I just had the ’04 Frank Famy Cab a month ago. I liked it very much.

1998 clarendon hills cabernet from mclaren vale – lots of sediment, really mellow, dark fruits with a bit of greenness and leather – 89/100. would i buy it again? probably not for the money, but it was decent.

1998 clarendon hills cabernet from mclaren vale – lots of sediment, really mellow, dark fruits with a bit of greenness and leather – 89/100. would i buy it again? probably not for the money, but it was decent.

QOTD a NV Ulithorne Sparkling Shiraz with Turkey & Baked Ham. 2008 Noble Mud Pie from d’Arenberg (Viognier, Piont Gri & Rossanne) with my home made Xmas Pudding

Merry Christmas!!!

QOTD: Thanks to YOU, GV, tonight (Christmas Eve) I popped the 2004 Il Bosco (Tuscan Sangiovese) from the first “Thank You Pack” and it was LOADED with Violet and blue fruit compote aromatics, and concentrated blackberry, blueberry, tar, crushed dried herbs, generous (yet mostly integrated) oak and smoke on the palate. Great way to start off my holiday season!! Cheers!

Merry Christmas!!!

QOTD: Thanks to YOU, GV, tonight (Christmas Eve) I popped the 2004 Il Bosco (Tuscan Sangiovese) from the first “Thank You Pack” and it was LOADED with Violet and blue fruit compote aromatics, and concentrated blackberry, blueberry, tar, crushed dried herbs, generous (yet mostly integrated) oak and smoke on the palate. Great way to start off my holiday season!! Cheers!

Qotd: Xmas eve: 2005 Barbera from Marchesi de Barolo. Nice, business as usual. Solid effort: 87 p. Xmas day: Probably… Quinta do Vallado 2004 Reserva or maybe just the entry-level “tinto” 2007 which really over-delivers on flavour and has a nice structure as well. Dark. Exciting. A wine you should seek out. It can’t be more than 8-9 bones in the US.

Thanks Gary V for opening my eyes on the portugal scene….

HAPPY HOLIDAYS TO ALL!

HAPPY HOLIDAYS TO ALL!

Merry X-Mas to all and I hope you enjoy the wines. I will be enjoying a nice Bacchus from a winery in Germany.

Merry Christmas, guys. Where hats more often.

Good show, I haven’t had a secret pack in a year, guess I should dive in again sometime.

Qotd: Silicata from Cinderellawine.com. It was the best wine I’ve ever had. And I’m an amateur vintner! just luscious. wish i had bought a case.

I was at the home of a non-wine person, who had some Mondavi supermarket wines. I was shocked to enjoy the merlot! 88 points in my book. I didn’t catch the vintage but probably 06.

I was at the home of a non-wine person, who had some Mondavi supermarket wines. I was shocked to enjoy the merlot! 88 points in my book. I didn’t catch the vintage but probably 06.

surprise, surprise. you gave a great review to wines you have already soldto your fans. excuse me is i’m a bit cynical. it would have been more honest to have a blind tasting by an independant reviewer. shame on you.

Gary-

Merry Christmas. Nice show. Gonna have to get back for the QOTD.
Will be heading to Philly shortly to start the festivities.

I did pick up a couple of the Sansonnet La Reserve when I took
a roadtrip up to W.L. a few weeks ago. Not going to taste them
for a while.

Gary-

Merry Christmas. Nice show. Gonna have to get back for the QOTD.
Will be heading to Philly shortly to start the festivities.

I did pick up a couple of the Sansonnet La Reserve when I took
a roadtrip up to W.L. a few weeks ago. Not going to taste them
for a while.

Merry Christmas!!!

Thanks Gary, I placed the order.

Last night, I had a 2003 Chateau Fonbadet and a 2007 Hamilton Russell Vineyards Pinot Noir. The ’03 Fonbadet was pretty nice and my favorite of the two. Very nice nose with earthy tones and a slight stink to it. My family kept saying that it smelled “old” to them. And I just told them that that was a perfect description. On the palate it was full and the fruit and the earth tones integrated very nicely. I had an 05 version of this a couple of months ago that was slightly better, as expected.

The ’07 Hamilton Russell was pretty decent and just had an awesome finish. I had a bottle of this earlier this week that was just horrible. My only guess at this point is that it was corked. Though what I picked up in the other bottle was in this second one just way toned down. But the one last night had very decent red fruit and it had a very interesting black pepper thing going.

Happy Holidays Gary! Last night I was surprised and impressed by an $13 bottle of Faustino VII Rioja. It was complex and at that price very drinkable. I wonder if you’ve tried it? What did you think?

Happy Holidays Gary! Last night I was surprised and impressed by an $13 bottle of Faustino VII Rioja. It was complex and at that price very drinkable. I wonder if you’ve tried it? What did you think?

Happy holydays to you Gary, Mr. Mott and your families.

It?s always nice to have Mott on the show, you should do it every week at least. Where is Sasha by the way?

For next year on WLTV, it?s an awesome idea to continue and expand the Blind Tastings, they are a true revelation on wine, uncontaminated by labels or previous tastings.

Next Monday, 28/12 I will be celebrating my 30th birthday with my family and some good wine. It?s gonna be great.

I just like to wish to all that make and watch WLTV a HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!