my inlaws are keenan subscribers - im not sure whether they were 05s, but we had a couple bottles of KCF a month or two ago and they were delish.

Keenan CF is good stuff. I also like Trespass and Virage. Crocker & Starr and Wolf Family Vineyards ain't bad either for CF.

Chappellet makes a really good one too, but it's $70/btl. You can get the To-Kalon cab for that price.

This Ridge is going down with dinner tonight.

BSD:
We're getting our Rivers-Marie Pinots in on Thursday! Can't wait, never had any of them yet. We have 4 or so RM cabs in the cellar but haven't tried any of them yet either. We are huge Outpost fans though, bought a whole case of the '09 Cab, delicious!

BSD, you *******. I love Ridge, especially the Lytton Springs. I have a friend who's collected Ridge going back to the 70s. It's always a large time when he rolls out the old stuff.

Htown, you'll hate me more when I tell  you that I picked up a case of those (2007's) at $20/btl!! Sounds like you have a pretty good friend if he's breaking those out.  I'm working on verticals of the Monte Bello cab magnums but just started.  Call me in about 20-30 years and we'll be ready to rock out.

Echoes, I'm more of a cab and zin guy but RM pinots are my go to pinots.  They are just delicious.  And please tell me you bought the Chardonnay!  It's one of the best ive ever had. Speaking of Thomas Rivers Brown, the Maybach label he makes is being released on Wednesday.  That should dent my wallet considerably.  

BSD:
Awesome, we're really looking forward to trying them! We're big Cab/Zin/Blend people ourselves, but love a good pinot. Probably our favorite pinot so far is Suhr-Lechtel's "Gary's Vineyard" pinot, super good stuff. Seghesio also makes 1 or 2 that are great, as well as Venge and Toad Hall.

Anyway, we did not get any chardonnay as we're still in the "we only drink reds" stage. I have no doubt it's great (Thomas Brown = Midas' touch) and if we get the chance we'll pick up a bottle or 2.

Since this is the cellar thread, I'll throw in some of our favorites from ours:

-Gargiulo Aprile (Sangiovese)-$$, Money Road Ranch (Cab)-$$$ and G Major 7 (Blend)-$$$$$ but amazing

-Outpost Cab, Grenache, and Howell Mountain Zin

-Venge Scout's Honor (BSD if you like Zin's and you haven't tried this, go find some now!)

-Seghesio Zins (Cortina is probably our favorite), Defiant (awesome)

-Burgess Cab, great wine for the $$$

-Von Strasser Cabs, esp. "Post" vineyard

We're up to ~200 bottles so it's a respectable little collection I guess.

Dammit, Echoes!!! Email Will at Rivers Marie and tell him you forgot to order the chard. I'm not a big white drinker either but I thoroughly enjoy the few bottles of this I get each year. I even got my wife and the mailing list so I could get one more bottle.

Gargiulo is good juice, and the I love visiting them althought it's been a few years since my last stop there. Outpost is always good. Since I now buy most of Thomas Brown's wines, I'm hoping my next visit up there will lead to barrel tasting of Outpost, RM, Schrader, and Maybach. That would be a nice day...

quote:

---

-Venge Scout's Honor (BSD if you like Zin's and you haven't tried this, go find some now!)

...

We're up to ~200 bottles so it's a respectable little collection I guess.

---

And thanks for the heads up on Venge. I'll seek it out. The name sounds familiar.

200 is a good collection. Be careful if you order a large wine cabinet. They fill up quickly. Mine filled up and I now have to keep juice at a buddy's house in his cellar and I dont quite trust him when he's been drinking.

[This message has been edited by Bsd (edited 2/27/2012 5:42p).]

Cool will do, hopefully there's still some Chardonnay available!

On the Venge, they're a cool place, small joint pretty far north on the Silverado. If you can get your hands somehow on an older vintage ('06ish) of the Scout's Honor, they are really drinking amazing. The current one ('09 I believe) is also awesome and easier to find, just FYI. If you're in Houston, we might be up for a trade or something. We're running low w/ only 3-4 bottles left though.

[This message has been edited by Echoes97 (edited 2/27/2012 6:00p).]

quote:

---

-Burgess Cab, great wine for the $$$

---

Shhhhhhhhh.

Echoes, I am in Houston do lets see what we can work out if I can't source some in my own.

As far as Burgess, I used to find their Library selections on WTSO.com until they stopped shipping to Texas. Good stuff. The best part was that they were aged and ready to drink when they arrived...no cellaring!

Now WTSO.com is back but I'm too full on wine to sign up again.

Picked a bottle of Winston hill, a few moon mountains (thanks invinio.com), 3 bottles of saddle brook and a few other items.

So glad to see this thread! We have a 350 bottle cellar and its fun to see what we haven't tried. I just hope we all live long enough to drink some of this stuff 10 - 15 years from now.

quote:

---

Since I now buy most of Thomas Brown's wines, I'm hoping my next visit up there will lead to barrel tasting of Outpost, RM, Schrader, and Maybach. That would be a nice day...

---

I don't know if there'd be a better wine day in all of Napa valley! We love visiting Outpost, been there twice and it's just an awesome property. Love being up on the mountain. It's a hike but worth it for the wine and view.

BSD, email me if you want to talk trading, never done it but it might be fun to do. txaggies at gmail.

-Jason

Outpost is a great visit. The views are amazing. What TRB doesn't make there is made just down the street.

I've never traded either, as I'm more of a drinker so let me see what I have available so that my wife won't kill me is something is missing.

Back to what's in my cellar...I just ordered Drinkward Peschon and Myriad today. Maybach tomorrow!

for those that really like Pinot's and Chard's from Russian River area, I highly recommend ordering from Chasseur winery. I am on mailing list and just started buying from them last year and have been really happy with their quality.

stuff is legit, and while not cheap, it ain't K Browne expensive, either.

Just ordered Maybach!
 
2009 Materium Cabernet, Oakville, Weitz Vineyard  
2009 Amoenus Cabernet, Calistoga, Amoenus Vineyard   
2010 Eterium Chardonnay, Sonoma Coast, B. Thieriot Vineyard  

This one hurts the wallet but pleases the palate.

Just got five cases of this for my duaghter's wedding next week!

Outstanding Cecil!

You guys are going to help me empty my bank account I'm receiving emails from WTSO.com and Invino.com. daily and the temptation is almost too much!

Just bought:

(2) 2006 Tenuta Vitalonga Terra di Confine Umbria Red Blend;
2) 2007 Bourassa Vnyrds Merlot Proprietors Rsv Napa Valley;
(2) 2009 Trecini Vicini Vineyard Pinot Noir Russian River Valley

I really like the Bourassa Merlot. They call it a "cab lovers merlot" and that describes it well.

Ray Bourassa does a great wine presentation. He did one here in Boerne, which is how we discovered him. His Cab Franc I really like(d) but the price just increased from $40 to $60.

Just got my Rivers Marie order into the cellar. 10 pinots and 2 chards!

Today's lineup:

Champange Aubry Sable Rose 2005
Baroli "Villero" Cru Barolo 2005
Tentuta San Guido "SASSICAIA" 2008
2009 Continuum
2008 Cliff Lede Poetry
2008 Dancing Hares

It shall be a large time.

Mmm, continuum. I like that juice. I pretty much like all Pritchard Hill juice, which they are moving towards.

You know talking Vitamin W with BSD and Htown is like a conversation I had with a guy in rehab for ACL tear at the same time as me. Turns out we both tore ours skiing. So I ask him where he was skiing and he says "Oh, I was helicopter skiing a glacier in Alaska." My sheepish response was that he probably wasn't interested in my blue slope at Red River...

I know quite a bit about wine, but can't afford to play with guys like cecil and BSD. Fortunately, I can cook my ass off, so I get invited to go play with the big boys and pair food with their wines. In a couple of weeks I'm doing a dinner for some couples and Shrader and Harlan are going to be making an appearance.

Yesterday's lineup was great, though I'm paying for it this morning. Some other wines that showed up:

1999 Dunn
Krupp Brothers Synchrony
2007 ...pursued by Bear
2007 Wallis
2007 Mad Hatter (the second label to Dancing Hares)
and a bunch others that I'm too hung over to remember.

Sounds like a good time. What did you think of the Continuum? We have to take notes when tasting or else we'll forget everything. I've missed out on buying great wines because I didn't write them down. Son of a...

And if you're cooking, I'm pouring! We aren't stingy in this house.

I liked it a lot. I ranked it first, as did a bunch of other people. The wines were not tasted blind. The results were as follows:


1. 2009 Continuum
2. Tentuta San Guido "SASSICAIA" 2008
3. 2008 Cliff Lede Poetry
4. 2008 Dancing Hares
5. Baroli "Villero" Cru Barolo 2005

uhh... I can't come close to hanging w/ BSD on knowledge, experience or investment. HTown, I'll take your word for it on investment, but you guys know a ton more than I. Y'all please keep on posting about this stuff!

Montepulciano D'Abruzzo

There are many different companies that make it but the grape is awesome. By far my favorite wine.

My daughter gets married Saturday. So far this week:

2009 Ferrari-Carano Tresor 2009 x 2
2009 Ferrari-Carano Cab
2009 Caymus
2008 Caymus
2007 Heitz Cellars

No, it wasn't by myself!

[This message has been edited by cecil77 (edited 3/8/2012 10:03p).]

My wife and I tasted through several Joseph Phelps wines last night.

2010 Sauvignon Blanc. Pretty tasty, and not your typical SB. They barrel fermented some of it, so it's smoother and less acidic than most California SB. I'd buy this.

2009 Freestone "FogDog" Chardonnay. I had some trouble with this wine. My wife loved it. It's definitely fruit-forward, but still has quite a bit of acid in it. If I had this with some food, I'd probably like it much more. At $21, it's a steal. I'll be getting several bottles next week.

2007 Freestone Pinot Noir. Massive, just like every other 2007 PN. However, there's a lot of acid here too. It's a bit out of balance right now, and I'd probably wait a year and see what happens. I think another year of aging will let some of the bigger fruit stuff to fall out of it and let the earthiness that's there show more. At $31, I'm buying, though there's not a lot left.

2008 Joseph Phelps Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley. A really nice cab, even though it's backwards and out of balance right now. The tannins are huge right now, and there's a ton of acid here. This wine could easily age another 10-15 years without a problem. There are more approachable wines in this price range right now, but this could top them all in 4-5 years. At $55, if you have the money to buy it and ignore it for a while, do so.

2008 Joseph Phelps Insignia. The flagship wine, and it's exceptional. Extremely complex, seamless, balanced, and shows what Napa cab can be like when you don't over-oak it and pick it when it's almost turned to raisins. It's great right now, but could be rarefied air in another year or two. At $192 (yes, that's right), deep pockets are required, but you will be handsomely rewarded.

Finally got my cellar input via the Cellar Tracker app...

Rosé
Rosé Blend
2007 Stags' Leap Winery Amparo (USA, California, Napa Valley) 1

White

Albana
2007 Podere Morini Albana di Romagna Per Dani Sette Note (Italy, Emilia-Romagna, Albana di Romagna DOCG) 8

Chardonnay
2007 Cakebread Cellars Chardonnay Napa Valley (USA, California, Napa Valley) 1
2005 Handley Chardonnay Dry Creek Valley (USA, California, Sonoma County, Dry Creek Valley) 1
2005 Homewood Winery Chardonnay Odmann Vineyard (USA, California, North Coast, Carneros) 1
2003 Kendall-Jackson Chardonnay Vintner's Reserve (USA, California) 1
2008 Lockwood Chardonnay (USA, California, Central Coast, Monterey) 1
2006 Taria Chardonnay (USA, California, Central Coast, Monterey / Santa Barbara) 1
2006 Winsome Chardonnay Reserve (USA, California, Central Valley, Lodi) 1

Gewürztraminer
2006 Hugel et Fils Gewurztraminer "Hugel" (France, Alsace, Alsace AOC) 1

Pinot Gris
2008 Benton-Lane Pinot Gris (USA, Oregon, Willamette Valley) 1
2009 Cavit Winery Pinot Grigio (Italy, Trentino-Alto Adige) 1
2007 Luna Vineyards Pinot Grigio (USA, California, Napa Valley) 1

Riesling
2008 Dr. Loosen Riesling Dr. L (Germany, Mosel Saar Ruwer) 1

Sauvignon Blanc
2009 Cakebread Cellars Sauvignon Blanc (USA, California, Napa Valley) 1
2008 Peju Province Winery Sauvignon Blanc (USA, California, Napa Valley) 1

Viognier
2007 Stags' Leap Winery Viognier (USA, California, Napa Valley) 1

White Blend
2008 Conundrum Wines White Table Wine (USA, California) 1
N.V. Sokol Blosser Evolution No. 9 (USA, Oregon) 2
2009 Tili Assisi Renaro (Italy, Umbria, Assisi) 12

Red

Cabernet Sauvignon
1998 Beaulieu Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon Georges de Latour Private Reserve (USA, California, Napa Valley) 1
2005 Chateau Ste. Michelle Cabernet Sauvignon Ethos (USA, Washington, Columbia Valley) 2
2008 Concha y Toro Cabernet Sauvignon Marqués de Casa Concha (Chile, Central Valley) 1
2007 Conn Creek Cabernet Sauvignon Limited Release (USA, California, Napa Valley) 1
2005 Honig Cabernet Sauvignon (USA, California, Napa Valley) 1
2007 Jordan Vineyard & Winery Cabernet Sauvignon Alexander Valley (USA, California, Sonoma County, Alexander Valley) 1
2005 Winsome Cabernet Sauvignon Reserve (USA, California, Central Valley, Lodi) 1

Corvina
2006 Fattoria Garbole Amarone della Valpolicella (Italy, Veneto, Valpolicella, Amarone della Valpolicella) 1

Malbec
2009 Alamos Malbec (Argentina) 1
2007 Bodega Catena Zapata Malbec (Argentina, Mendoza) 2
2006 Bodega Catena Zapata Malbec Argentino (Argentina, Mendoza) 1
2009 Pascual Toso Malbec Maipu Vineyard (Argentina, Mendoza, Maipú) 1

Merlot
2008 Becker Vineyards Merlot Reserve (USA, Texas, Texas Hill Country) 1
2008 Francis Coppola / Niebaum-Coppola Merlot Diamond Collection Blue Label (USA, California) 1
2005 Highway 12 Winery Merlot (USA, California, Sonoma County, Sonoma Valley) 1
N.V. Middle Sister Merlot Forever Cool (USA, California) 1

Montepulciano
2009 Oasi Degli Angeli Kurni Marche IGT (Italy, Marche, Marche IGT) 7

Piedirosso
2007 Mastroberardino Lacryma Christi del Vesuvio (Italy, Campania, Lacryma Christi del Vesuvio) 1

Pinot Noir
2006 Acacia Pinot Noir (USA, California, Napa Valley) 1
2006 Argyle Pinot Noir Nuthouse Reserve Series (USA, Oregon, Willamette Valley) 1
2008 Belle Glos Pinot Noir Las Alturas Vineyard (USA, California, Central Coast, Santa Lucia Highlands) 2
2010 Belle Glos Pinot Noir Meiomi (USA, California) 1
2006 Brancott Vineyards Pinot Noir Reserve Marlborough (New Zealand, South Island, Marlborough) 1
2006 Expression 44* Pinot Noir Eola-Amity Hills (USA, Oregon, Willamette Valley, Eola - Amity Hills) 1
2010 Tili Assisi D.O.C. (Italy, Umbria, Assisi) 8
1997 Tili Assisi Rosso Reserve (Italy, Umbria, Assisi) 10

Red Blend
2007 Bogle Vineyards Phantom (USA, California) 1
2008 Concha y Toro Trio Cabernet Sauvignon Shiraz Cabernet Franc (Chile, Central Valley, Maipo Valley) 1

Red Bordeaux Blend
1985 Château Greysac (France, Bordeaux, Médoc) 1
2006 Château Haut-Vigneau (France, Bordeaux, Graves, Pessac-Léognan) 1
2008 Tenuta San Guido Bolgheri Sassicaia Sassicaia (Italy, Tuscany, Bolgheri, Bolgheri Sassicaia) 6

Sagrantino
2007 Arnaldo-Caprai Sagrantino di Montefalco 25 Anni (Italy, Umbria, Montefalco, Sagrantino di Montefalco) 12

Sangiovese
2006 Castello d'Albola Chianti Classico (Italy, Tuscany, Chianti, Chianti Classico) 1
2003 Casisano-Colombaio Brunello di Montalcino (Italy, Tuscany, Montalcino, Brunello di Montalcino) 1
2004 Il Poggione (Proprietá Franceschi) Brunello di Montalcino (Italy, Tuscany, Montalcino, Brunello di Montalcino) 1
2008 Podere Morini Nadél Ravenna IGT (Italy, Emilia-Romagna, Ravenna IGT) 15
2006 Ruffino Chianti Classico Riserva Ducale Oro (Italy, Tuscany, Chianti, Chianti Classico) 1

SuperTuscan Blend
2000 Pietra Santa Sassolino (USA, California, Central Coast, Cienega Valley) 1

Syrah
2005 Perry Creek Syrah (USA, California, Sierra Foothills, El Dorado County) 1
2007 Rosemount Estate Shiraz Diamond (Australia, South Eastern) 1
2008 Yellow Tail Shiraz The Reserve Casella Estate (Australia, South Eastern) 1

Tempranillo
2005 Inwood Estates Cornelious (USA, Texas, Texas High Plains) 1
2008 Inwood Estates Cornelious (USA, Texas, Texas High Plains) 1
2005 Bodegas Muga Rioja Reserva Selección Especial (Spain, La Rioja, La Rioja Alta, Rioja) 1

Zinfandel
2002 Ballentine Vineyards Zinfandel Old Vines (USA, California, Napa Valley) 1
2008 Folie à Deux Ménage à Trois Red (USA, California) 1
2009 Francis Coppola / Niebaum-Coppola Zinfandel Director's Cut (USA, California, Sonoma County, Dry Creek Valley) 1
2010 Orin Swift The Prisoner (USA, California, Napa Valley) 1
2004 Toad Hollow Zinfandel Cacophony (USA, California, Central Coast, Paso Robles) 1

Sweet/Dessert Wines
Red
Port Blend
2005 Homewood Winery (USA, California, Sonoma County, Sonoma Valley) 1

had an '02 messina hof double barrel SV merlot last night. it was really nice. not as concentrated as it could have been, either due to not enough barrel time or bad harvesting, but the flavor profile was really nice. def. a 90+ wine.