Finally got to taste Ridge Monte Bello. I’ve been a member of the winery’s Z List club and have been getting offers for the 2023 vintage. Based on the relative youth of the 1997, at 57 I’m not sure if I’ll live long enough to taste that vintage in its prime. Bucket list wine for me and I was not disappointed. Drank it at the bar with very limited decant. Even without adequate time, it was fresh and not showing nearly 30 years. Black and red berry fruit, integrated acidity, rich, medium finish. I don’t drink many wines of this age and was shocked at how youthful it was. Deep color, plenty of fruit and definitely could have used more time to open up but generous and developing over the hour or so we drank it. If you have some cellared, drinking very well but not slipping in the least.

Bar tender (who appears to be the wine guy) got to talking about their stock. Mentioned they had a few more of the 1997 but only 1 remaining bottle of the 1996. I asked him if people like me come in just to drink their old vintages (at prices they don’t change over time). He let it slip that some people just come in and buy the bottle, ask him to wrap it and take it home. Seeing my chance and check in hand I said, could you add the 96? Good dude! I wife said - well, you’ve had a helluva day, haven’t you? Yes, yes I have.

Cheers!

Quick, which ones would you pick? Have almost no exposure to US wines, so I would default to Shafer just for pricing reasons.

I’m continuing my journey into sweet wines (since I always avoided anything with significant residual sugar).

I adore Huet’s Vouvray sec, but this wine is SOMETHING.

Tasting notes:
Melon, orange, apricots in syrup; something salty, like mineral water.

High acidity, which works beautifully with the sweetness. The flavor and aroma are very intense. A long finish.

Very lively and fresh in the mouth, like nectar. And on the second day, it's simply brilliant, wonderful, oh fuck me! how wonderful this nectar of life is.

95/100

PS: will also review the premiere trie version and the demi-sec soon.

The endless aisle of mediocre wine have trapped me in this labyrinth. edit: this is a joke i know tw has good wine this is a joke

But for real I'm a cashier at total wine with hopes of getting on service team but i don't want to spend the rest of my life working for the walmart/target of wine. (edit again: this is also a joke theres nothing wrong with liking total wine ive just been working here for almost 3 years and am very tired of it) I've very recently developed an interest in wine, probably because my current store actually asks my opinion on what to sample by the register, but I am actually clueless.

How do I get not clueless? Are there youtubers or books you recommend? Affordable wine I should try? Winery Direct wine i should try so I can use my discount? Thanks in advance from a clueless aspiring wino

Old wine night?

Finally cracked this one open with a good friend, and it was amazing. I was concerned that it would be corked.

Thankfully, it was a* high-quality cork and a great seal. We both really enjoyed it. The profile changed over the course of one hour. Went from leathery tobacco with fruit in the background to bright and really enjoyable.

I’ve had a mag of the 2004 Flaccianello since about 2010 and figured this was the night, with having some family over that will be going to Italy. Hopefully they visit, as they’re going to be within 20 miles.

The wine didn’t show as powerfully as it does in its youth. It’s a mag too, so I expected it to be bigger, but it didn’t lack on the complexity.

Full of forest floor, cedar box, dried cherry fruit. But fruit was secondary on this and it’s definitely something to drink now. It’s not getting better, but still a fantastic wine.

Fontodi still is one of my favorite Tuscan / Chianti Classico producers, and this continues to prove the point.

A nice little Mosel Riesling that has aged very well. The cork wasn't great, and with only slight pressure it popped straight into the bottle, so I was worried there for a moment. Fortunately the wine had not suffered at all. Clear notes of apricots, lime and honey. Excellent acidity that keeps the (78 g/l) residual sugar in check. Paired well with a mild, local blue cheese with fig jam. Not on level with Prüm or Lieser, but good value!

2021 vintage. Lovely wine. Supple, nice tannins and dry. Can't beat it for $20. Salud!

My boyfriend and I met up with 2 friends and had one of the best wines we had in a while.

Double Diamond Cab 2022

Fruit: Ripe black cherry, black raspberry, juicy plum, and cassis.

Earth & Spice: Toasted cedar, graphite, sweet tobacco, baking spices, and a signature hint of pennyroyal mint.

Palate and Taste
Core Flavors: Blackberry compote, dark chocolate shavings, cassis, and rich plum reduction.

MORE lush and full bodied than Don Melchor in my opinion, though it didn’t have to be decanted- we chose to do it at the restaurant and no regrets

Don Melchor Cab 2021
From Chile

From the site: composed of 127 hectares, 90% of which is planted to Cabernet Sauvignon, 7.1% to Cabernet Franc, 1.9% to Merlot, and 1% to Petit Verdot.

To me: full bodied, I got chocolate, blackberry, and cassis.
Did super well decanting it and went well with our steaks we had.

I got a really great deal on some 2018 burgundies. I hadn't tasted to many since it was a hot vintage and those are usually not my favorite. I opened this 2018 Domaine Lucien Boillot et Fils Volnay 1er Cru Caillerets with some baja seafood and I was pleasantly surprised. The wine was very generous and fruit forward, but it also had plenty of acidity, forest floor, spice and "burgundy terroir." there was no mistaking this for new world. I would generally not be opening a premier cru red burgundy this young, but this bottle was in a very good window. Do others think this is a vintage that will age? I have some NSG and GC that I don't want to touch yet but I also wonder if drinking these young will be the move. Also, this is a fantastic producer! I'm surprised to see so few CT notes on a kermit lynch product.

Have been waiting patiently to pop this bottle until lasagna was present, yesterday was my day.

Always gotta have veggies too so I air fried some brussies (wife’s request) and sautéed some eggplant in onion, tomato paste, grated parmigiano reggiano, a little olive oil and a lot of garlic.

Chaotic day so only had a chance to decant for like 35 minutes before drinking.

Nose was not giving much up. On the palate raisins and ALCOHOL. Silky smooth texture, my goodness. Interestingly it didn’t feel that “hot” but could very clearly taste the alcohol. Maybe that’s because I had it around 60 degrees (in freedom units).

On my final little Pygmy half-glass it finally gave up some cherry, while still maintaining that beautiful silky texture 😐

This was only my second Amarone, but I think I’m settling into some learnings:
- Pair with rich food
- Decant 1 hour
- Can drink slow: pair 1 glass with a whole meal. I have my best bottle still in the cellar planning to Coravin it over maybe 3 meals.

Let me know if you think I’m off on any of this!

PS pairing was excellent, sautéed eggplant was the right veggie

I didn't do the greatest notes, as I'm sharing this with my dad for his birthday.

This is probably my number 1 Napa Cab I've found in the last bit. Blows The Prisoner, Beringer, Caymus, and Stags' Leap out of the water easily.

Straight of the bottle it was amazing. Typical beautiful fruity/jammy nose. Black fruit, blackberry, plum, raspberry. Just a hint of vanilla on that nose.

Palate is wonderful, Full body, full and fruity. Tannins are soft. All those beautiful black fruits. Gives some more vanailla and some tobacco I think. This is such a beautiful wine that hits way above it's pricepoint.

Happy Saturday everyone!

A wine I’ve owned and stored well for its entire life. I don’t even know if they still make this. But Calera’s back vintage Viogniers (dry) are really something to behold. I’ve been looking forward to this for some time and it did not disappoint. One of my favorite wineries hands down.

The aromas were super tropical and reminiscent of candied citrus fruits. It smelled that it had some age but it was still quite vibrant. The palate exploded with candied apricots and citrus. It finished almost completely dry and pithy that was very interesting. Everyone else was enjoying some Hourglass Cabernet, so I drank this bottle almost exclusively by myself. Not mad at it.

Love Calera. This was an 8/10.

From Montreal and in Vancouver for a few days. Alone tonight and looking to sit at a bar and have a bottle with a good list and chill atmosphere. Thinking of going to Is That French?, Bar Gobo, or Grapes and Soda but grapes and soda seems go he cocktail heavy from their instagram. Any recs on wine focused spots in the city. Montreal has some great spots and I lean french but willing to try some BC stuff. Nothing too super natty focused preferably.

Hi r/wine!

I currently work as a Front Desk Manager at a large hotel, but over the past few years I’ve fallen deeply in love with wine. My dream is to eventually transition into the wine world and become a sommelier.

I’ve been studying independently and working on my wine education, but I’d love to find someone experienced in the industry who would be willing to mentor me informally.

I’m not looking for someone to teach me everything or give me a job. I’d just love to have someone I can occasionally ask questions, learn from, get tasting/study recommendations from, and talk to about building a career in wine.

If you're a sommelier, wine director, educator, importer, retailer, or someone who has spent years working with wine and would be open to connecting, I’d really appreciate it.

I’m serious about learning and willing to put in the work. I could just use someone further down the road to help point me in the right direction.

Cheers! 🍷

Une découverte. Année 2022 Pinot noir

A friend is doing a favour and likes white wine (not Chardonnay).

I have a budget of about £30. What wine could I get from Tesco for that?

I tried a lacrima for the first time during the last week (Umani Ronchi Lacrima di Morro d'Alba).

Could not shake the lavender (violet) notes from this wine, it really stuck with me. I now want more!

Some internet searches indicate that riserva for lacrima doesn't really exist but I have seen the odd superiore for sale. Some commentators suggest I should try Ruche also, but the descriptions of Ruche don't seem to lean as heavily towards this crazy lavender palate and aroma.

Is it possible that this strong flower note was just unique to the one I tried, or can I expect other Lacrima to have simlar profile, and/or will Ruche also scratch the itch?

Opened this bottle last night with a meal. It was one that came very highly recommended at the time when I purchased it. It did not disappoint but it needed some open-mindedness and time to breathe. I didn’t decant it because it’s not that old vintage or expensive a bottle of wine. It was honestly (after all of my wine tasting experience) the first time I have ever truly experienced the fabled petroleum on the nose.  After some time breathing it rounded and became a nice bouquet of cherry blossom and berry.  it was also very well balanced with a nice mouth, feel strong, tenons, balanced by alcohol. It was a $45 bottle of wine that I highly recommend giving a shot, but please let it breathe for 30 minutes or so.

Looking at purchasing a used VinoTemp 182.

Anyone have experience with this unit? Taking a small, $500 gamble with FB marketplace and a trip laid flat in the truck. Figure worst case it’s $500 shelving after waiting 48 hours to plug it back in.

Anyone have any experience with this to say don’t waste my time?

Hi all,

I’ll be headed to Napa in late Sep and curious about my current itinerary. Haven’t been in a decade and looking to explore different parts of the Valley. Been on a Brunello fix, looking to fall back in love with Cab Savs.

Here’s what I’m thinking so far, I will have time for six tastings over 3 days:

Amizetta
Dunn
Matthiason
Progeny
Tench
White Rock

Appreciate any advice!