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I take it as is, but there are people who chill it a bit.Serving temp of red wine should be about 60 degrees, which is the temp just out of the cellar. I would hope a good bottle is coming straight to me at that temp (it usually is in a good restaurant) but I'm not going to chill it.
if they don't serve it correctly, i have it chilled.
:jealous: No clue about garnacha or Spanish wines.
Spain has more acres of planted grape vine then any other country in the world.Traditional Rioja wines owe much of their use to oak. Gran Reserva for example are a minimum of two years in oak and three in the bottle before release. Rioja and Navarra: Rioja is Spain's first DOC and has traditionally been the area for premier red wine. Today there are some challenges but when Rioja does a good or great wine then you can believe that it will be one of the great wines of the world. Rioja is based on Tempranillo but may also have a blend of Garnacha, Graciano, Mazuelo, and Viura (A white grape). Some of these vintages will give you 20-25 years easily. Rioja wines are often high in tannins and have leather characters and some understated fruit. With the changing times of wine some Rioja producers are making more Tempranillos with the emphasis on light and graceful fruit. These wines are crafted for early drinking periods.Check out some of these areas:Galacia: Far NW corner of Spain and a rainy area some beautiful white wines made from Albarino are being produced. When this grape is good, very few Spanish whites can hang with it. A very aromatic grape!Ribera Del Duero and Rueda: Ribera Del Duero is north of Madrid and is home to Vega Sicilia. This is the most famous and one of the, if not the most, expensive red wine in Spain. Other varietals are Tinto Fino or Tinto del Pais (local name for Tempranillo). You might also find some Cab Sauv, Malbec, and Merlot. Most of the red wines are drinking young but are capable of nice aging with elegance. One of Spains best white wines comes from Rueda and is made from the Verdjo which is being reborn in todays wine market. Somontano: An older region at the foot of the Pyrenees in the North Aragon with Cahrd and Merlot being planted as well as traditional Spanish varietalsCatalonia: Near Barcelona, the Penedes region is making some killer red and white wines of traditional Spanish varietals and also some Merlot, Cab Sauv, and Chard. Penedes is best known for Cava which is Spanish Sparkling wine using Champagne methods. Cava is traditonally made from local grapes: Parellada, Macabeo, and Xarel-Lo. There are now some Cava being made from Chardonnay. Cava is a really really good value sparkler.Look for the 2000 Marques de Caceres. Caceres really revoultionized Rioja in the 20th century and is the main reason we are drinking Rioja in the US today. Their Gran reserva is from old vines and is 85% Tempranillo, and also some Garnacha Tinta and Graciano. These wines only come from vintages deemed excellent of very good. Amazing wine! very dark color with blackberry and leather. A full bodied drinker with tannins and fruit with a long finish. Mature blu cheeses, game dishes with sauce, or ragout, lamb, or beef dishes using many spices. Roasted, stewed, or grilled meats would be a great pairing.
Parsons, Langley, or Pine Lodge?
Parsons
i am a big fan of "The Boxer" When my local upcale wine store got their shipment in I picked up 4 bottles. They had each for $22.99 at the time (IIRC). They received over 120 cases of the wine and it was gone in 2 days.I am down to one bottle and waiting for the right time to enjoy that.
If you guys like the Dooker Shiraz, I recommend giving "first class" by R wines a shot. Its about 10 bucks more, but well worth it imo.
I've become a huge fan of Pendes. Jean Leon is my favorite (has an 03 Terrasol? Syrah blend last night that was incredible). Miguel Torres is also doing some excellent stuff there. THey are my two best new favorite wineries.I alos lake the Rioja TEmpranillos and Garacha blends.
As a tribute to Spanish wines, tonight we opened up a 2001 Rioja Reserva from Marques De Caceres. Wow!Tempranillo, Graciano, and Mazuelo that was aged in French barrels for a minimum of 2 years followed by at least 4 in the bottle. This was outstanding. Some of the ladies were drinking the Marques De Caceres Blanco which was 100% Viura grape. Wonderful acidity on that one along with bright and clean fruit. Good call cosjobs!cosjobs said:
wine.com is pretty good.But you really should not be ordering wine this time of year. The summer heat can ruin the wine, especially riding around in the back of a UPS truck all day. Buy locally for now and look again in the Fall.
Thanks.Me and the girl are just getting tired of buying individual bottles of wine regularly when we could get a case for cheaper per bottle. We generally stick to things that are like consumer reports best buy wines or something. Will try your advice.
Shop around.Best bet is to find a local place that has people you can talk to about what you like and who will plut you onto some good wines in your price range. Also, many local wine shops will offer a 10-20% discount on full case purchases. With the shipping charges, its ahrd for online to compete on pricing- when I order online its usually because of selection/availability. There is much less risk locally, where you are less likely to get a bad wine and if you do, its much easier to return (I've never been turned down when returning a bottle of wine anywhere)Costco and Sam's have great pricing and selection, and in Texas you do not have to be member to buy alcohol there (ymmv).
Carolina Wines is the best I've found. My dad and I get a few family and friends together and order a few cases and then everyone gets a nice medley of wines rather than just 12 bottles of the same stuff.
Recently had the Torbreck Juveniles and Wood Cutters. Good stuff. There were a few other that I can't remember at the moment. All good. Oh yeah...Kangarilla. The Black Cbook shiraz viognier was awesome too. IMO, if you like the giant fruit bombs it's hard to go wrong to with a 2004 or 2005 Barossa shiraz.
You should try the Jacobs Creek Reserve 2004 shiraz then. Good too.
I have some of the Woodcutter's in the collectionI have a sixer of The Factor. Really good stuff. I almost pulled the trigger on the Run Rig. I do have two bottles of The Pict and four Descendant. For the white I enjoy the Viognier they produce. In a couple weeks we are getting together with Ben Glaetzer of Mitolo. It is summer so we will be drinking his wine and playing Bocce. I guess he loves his Bocce. Jester Cabernet Sauvignon, Shiraz, and their Sangiovese Rosé.Serpico Cabernet Sauvignon will also be served.From Henry's Drive we will have the Pillar Box Red and their White. If you haven't had it, try the Dead Letter Office Shiraz
I've had the Pillar Box a few times and I like it and its good value, but I think 91 points is a bit generous. I don't want to rag on it tho, I do keep a couple bottles of it in my cellar. I think there are more good value Syrah/Shiraz outh there now than any other varietal. The opnes I've really been diggin lately are some of the Spanish ones- Can Blau and Jean Leon for example.
I went back to the store for more Woodcutters and it was gone so I went with the Juveniles. Wasn't disappointed. Esp at $16 a btl. My gf loves these kinds of wines which shocked me since she is a NZ sauv blanc type of drinker. Have you had any of the Two Hands wines? Are they worth the extra $10-$20 over the Torbrecks/Kangarillas?I will try to give the Mitolo a shot. Been drinking a lot of S American cabs and malbecs to save money for my Sonoma (actualy Healdsburg) trip.
Check your local World Market- some of them have some 02 Ebeneezer Barossa Shiraz for $15. That's less than half price for a really good, sophisticated Barossa. Not the fruit bomb the less expensive ones are- quite complex and balanced. Its ageing beautifully. A steal at the price if you can find it. I lucked in to half a case a month or two ago.
Carolina are great value. I put them up there with Cono Sur for overall best bang for the buck.
Wow- that's an impressive list. Caymus and Grange at the same tasting? Wow. The last bottle of Caymus I had was the best Cab I've had in six months- maybe a year. We opened a bottle of the Don Melchor tonight and it wasn't nearly as good imo. The last Cab I had that I thought was competitive with the Caymus was a particularly good Ehler's Estate I had about 8 months ago.I still have not got to try a Grange. They're going for about $250 a bottle now, aren't they?
i'm not sure what the retail price is for the grange, that sounds about right.
Can't go wrong with duckhorn pinotDA RAIDERS said:
I had the davis bynum 05 pinot last night and it was a decent quaff, but nothing I'd go out of my way to seek again.Look back through this thread - lots of good Sonoma/Healdsburg suggestions. We were there almost exactly a year ago. Our favorites were Mauritson, St. Francis, Hanzell, Loxton (which we only added because of the suggestions on here). Also, if you head down to Napa, Shafer, Barnett, Chappellet, and Sherwin Family were our favorites. Barnett and Sherwin Family are neighbors on Spring Mountain, and both places produce very good wine.ditka311 said:
Can Blau? Nice call.A Jorge Ordonez selection. If his name is on the back of the bottle then odds are it is a good Spanish selection.cosjobs said:
Jerome Chery
As Genedoc mentioned, you can find some good info elsewhere in this thread. But a few places you might want to check out around Healds:Our two favorites from our last trip out: Rafanelli and TaltyOthers:SimiJRidgeMauritsonIf you like the Seghesio Zins, it's worth a stop.If you don't mind heading a little further south, as Gene mentioned, Loxton = value.ditka311 said:
April 13, 2006, was a happy night. Good memories.
Buy all the Zin you can, its the only place you can get it (except restaurants)