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Heaven: In Vino Veritas - the WINE thread, what you enjoy, current drinking, tastes, recommendations

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  • Langmeil is one of the oldest of Barossa wineries, founded by the first wave of German immigrants to the region. It has had some very tough times over almost 180 years. Still family-owned, the vineyard neighbours the much better-known Peter Lehmann Wines. That VMR you had goes for $20AU a bottle direct from the winery, so quite reasonable in price in our market.

    It's the same price here, and our dollars are roughly at par these days, so as you say a reasonable price. I looked them up on the Internet after I posted and was surprised that I'd never heard of them given how long they've been around. Lehmann is well known around here, as you might guess.
    Gee D wrote: »
    Turning briefly to the silliness that often accompanies wine correspondents, a reviewer in a Sydney paper today talked of a wine having a "quiet bouquet"!
    .

    Wait till the flowers start singing at you...

  • FirenzeFirenze Shipmate, Host Emeritus
    edited October 2020
    I think that the only Uruguayan wines I've had are Tannat, certainly never a white. I note two things: that was not inexpensive; that was pretty potent. Was the 14% well integrated, or was it a bit hot?

    It was a bit heavy (my head tells me this morning).

    By way of redress, we had real Lambrusco this evening - 10.5% , dry and just a tad frizzante. Oddly enough, it went perfectly well with a savoury but mild chilli con carne.
  • PigletPiglet All Saints Host, Circus Host
    Good heavens - I think the last time I drank Lambrusco* was c.1981.

    * unlike yours, probably not Real, certainly not Dry, and very frizzante ... :blush:

  • FirenzeFirenze Shipmate, Host Emeritus
    A Pay D'oc Marsanne tonight, going very well with monkfish on a bed of potato, chorizo and tomato.
  • Last night we had a wine made by the Greek producer Tetramythos from the almost-extinct Black of Kalavryta grape (with Greek takeout, of course...). Lighter than I expected, but lots of character. From 2019, so still pretty young.
  • @Marsupial, where did you get that? What did you have with it?
  • Gee DGee D Shipmate
    Not knowing the grape, but assuming that it's red wine, I'd stay very Greek and have lamb bbqed over charcoal, plenty of garlic and thyme
  • We did have a lamb dish from a local restaurant. @Pangolin Guerre I'll PM you with the details re. sourcing the wine - not from the LCBO, but not impossibly complicated.
  • Has anyone here used any of the wine tasting/rating apps to good effect?
  • There are some websites I use that cover the Ontario market, but I’ve never used the apps. I downloaded Vivino a while ago but it sits idle on my phone.
  • la vie en rougela vie en rouge Purgatory Host, Circus Host
    edited October 2020
    Husband en rouge is insane and that's the way I like it :smiley:.

    A little while back, he spotted a premier grand cru classé Claret (ie. one of the Big Five) at auction from the year of my birth mumble mumble years ago. In the event he was the only bidder and got it for rather less than its usual price. It was still a risk though, because I wasn't born in a particularly good year for Bordeaux and there was no guarantee it would still be drinkable at this venerable age.

    Having opened it for my birthday alongside a plate of roast venison, I can confirm it was very much still drinkable, and a highly agreeable tipple.

    (The value is definitely about the prestige, though. We've drunk other wines worth less that we thought were just as good.)
  • Gee DGee D Shipmate
    Probably true. The classification is now 170 years old and there must by now have been some changes in the soil at least. Perhaps some of the vintners are new as well.
  • FirenzeFirenze Shipmate, Host Emeritus
    We had a curiosity the other night - an English red. A Bolney Pinot Noir from Sussex. Light, as you might expect, but pleasant - but you could get a great many more interesting wines at the price.
  • FirenzeFirenze Shipmate, Host Emeritus
    Husband en rouge is insane and that's the way I like it :smiley:.

    A little while back, he spotted a premier grand cru classé Claret (ie. one of the Big Five) at auction from the year of my birth mumble mumble years ago.

    I once set myself - or rather a helpful wine merchant - the task of finding a 60 yr old wine for Mr F. Not many of them about. There was a French red in the running - but there was a question about the cork. Eventually found it in a 1953 Trockenbeerenauslese - still drinking like honied gold.

  • Firenze wrote: »
    We had a curiosity the other night - an English red. A Bolney Pinot Noir from Sussex. Light, as you might expect, but pleasant - but you could get a great many more interesting wines at the price.

    I’ve heard good things about the possibilities of UK Pinot, though I’ve never tried one in person, so to speak. We had a glass of nice sparkling wine with lunch when we were in the UK, but never seen any sign of anything vinous from the UK coming into Ontario.

    We opened what was supposed to be a very nice bottle of Chablis with dinner and unfortunately it took us most of the bottle to figure out it was probably an off bottle (my first impression was that it was probably too cold). Second off bottle of white in as many weeks. Memo to winemakers: screw caps are your friend.

  • PigletPiglet All Saints Host, Circus Host
    Has anyone here used any of the wine tasting/rating apps to good effect?

    My sister swears by Vivino, and won't buy anything that's rated less than about 3.8.

    I've downloaded it, but I can't afford to be as fussy as she is.
  • FirenzeFirenze Shipmate, Host Emeritus
    Just yanking this up from the depths to remark that not only did we have a Pouilly Fuisse and a Pouligny Montrachet on Christmas Day but a Romanée-Conti and a 1970 Port. Courtesy of a friend who has a very good cellar.
  • @josephine is a Madeira imbiber, and I did some research and discovered there are 4 main grapes that Madeira is made out of, and they tend to be bottled separately not as blends. So for Christmas I bought her a bottle of each so she can comparison taste. So far we've tried the sercial, the driest and simplest of the four, but although she liked it, I did not. 2 more unfamiliar varietals to go (we both know what the malmsey tastes like).
  • @mousethief that sounds like fun. Good Madeira is hard to find here and I can’t remember any time when all four kinds were actually readily purchasable here at the same time.

    Our wine situation for Christmas so far has unfortunately lived down to 2020 expectations. We were hoping to have a nice older red that someone gave me last year with Christmas Eve, but unfortunately “older” turned out to be “way too old” and we had to substitute - we were doing a southern French beef dish so went with a Rhone-style blend from Michel Gassier that fortunately I had sitting in my basement.

    A perfectly pleasant Alsace white with Christmas dinner but not worth the $30+ I paid for it in a moment of enthusiasm last summer.

    Then finally for Boxing Day a normally very good Alentejo from southern Portugal that seemed more than a little tired. Opening another bottle of the very same wine confirmed that the first bottle was indeed off.

    I remain hopeful that tonight’s wine (white dry Douro) will break this run of bad luck.

  • TheOrganistTheOrganist Shipmate
    edited December 2020
    I still have a few bottles of a very fine 1959 Haut Medoc, Chateau Coufran, that a Godfather provided as a belated birth and baptism gift. We had one with our main course on Christmas Day - delicious!
  • By way of suggestion, I'd like to know what people are eating with the wines that they mention.

    @Marsupial, I've occasionally found an interesting madeira at Cooper St or Summerhill, but you know how hit-and-miss availability can be.
  • FirenzeFirenze Shipmate, Host Emeritus
    Food? There was food? The first two I mentioned were part of an online mini-tasting, so unless you count pistachios. The Romanée-Conti went with roast goose, and for the Port we were back with the nuts, supplemented by cheese.
  • The '59 Medic went with duck - some still having a little to go with their cheese.
  • The reds were both with the Beef Daube I made on Christmas Eve - it takes a while to make, as I was reminded as the dinner hour became later and later, but it makes a good six servings which is three dinners for us. The white was with roast chicken on Christmas Day.

    Portuguese white last night was very likeable though a bit lighter than I expected and probably not the ideal accompaniment for our cream sauce pasta.
  • Bumping to resuscitate the thread. I'm 2/3 of the way through my Dry January. I'm happy to hear about others' January wines, for February reference.
  • Nothing dry about our January. Had a hangover only yesterday.
  • Bumping to resuscitate the thread. I'm 2/3 of the way through my Dry January. I'm happy to hear about others' January wines, for February reference.

    I’m pretty sure my first post on this thread was a vote for the Avondale Jonty’s ducks red. They released the white in Ontario a few weeks ago and there are still a few bottles available here and there in Toronto. It’s a really good wine for the money - a slightly strange combination of Chenin and white Rhone varieties, but it works.

  • Have had a rather abstemious few weeks due to a strict diet in preparation for approaching surgery, but tonight Mrs BA had chosen an eye fillet roast for dinner. So we opened a 2007 Tulloch's Pokolbin Dry Red, given to us by a friend. This a classic Hunter Valley Shiraz, introduced and sustained through generations of the family. About fifty years ago, it was my introduction to quality reds at just a few dollars a bottle. If I wanted to buy this vintage from the museum shelf at the winery, it would now set me back $125 a bottle. It has gentle tannins and is lightly spicy on the palate, just the thing to accompany a rare roast of tender eye fillet.
  • Gee DGee D Shipmate
    Much envy......
  • What is the blend of types? In my experience, Australian reds (actually, true of most reds) are consumed too young, before the component parts settle down with one another. Fourteen years, though, it must have been beautifully integrated. I've found that the Australian reds that I've had that have been allowed to come to maturity are rich, harmonious creatures. Was there a sauce on the fillet or its natural juice? What were the sides? I share Gee D's envy.
  • It is a straight shiraz. It was indeed integrated. No sauce, just the tender grass-fed eye fillet, with simple sides of roast kumara [sweet potato] and baby carrots with steamed cauliflower and broccoli. Dessert was the fig dish I experimented with a couple of weeks ago - in a ramekin, fresh fruit quartered, drizzled with honey and a splash of Rutherglen Topaque [fortified Muscadelle] warmed in the microwave for 30 seconds and topped with a dollop of homemade yoghurt. As you can see, Sunday is treat day on my diet. Eight kilos down and counting, with at least ten to go.
  • My Other Half has developed an unfortunate reaction to alcohol - it keeps her awake at night. :weary:

    We are thinking of experimenting with non-alcohol or de-alcoholised wine but don't know much about them. Any thoughts or suggestions would be gratefully received.
  • I can’t really help with non-alcohol wines, but oddly, I saw some advertised on FB a while ago that looked interesting enough to explore further if one were in need. I’ll post again if I see them again.

    We had an interesting dry-farmed old vines Carignan from Chile a few days ago with a steak frites. Starts out intensely fresh blueberry and then resolves to a sort of baked blueberry pie with air. It didn’t feel particularly alcoholic (even at 14%) or oaky as we were drinking it but reactions the morning after (Ms. Marsupial being sensitive to oak) suggest otherwise. Good steak wine for less than $20.

    We had a very pleasant Morellino di Scansano (mostly Sangiovese) last night with pork chops and cherry tomato pan sauce. Lighter in alcohol, and no oak to speak of.
  • I would advise against de-alcoholised wines, period. In my experience, you're better off having a different beverage. They tend to be rather unpalatable - not just a poor replacement, but actively unpleasant. I've found that, generally, red wines are more difficult to substitute than whites.
  • FirenzeFirenze Shipmate, Host Emeritus
    Just had a bottle of Pe Branco with tonight's swordfish' n'chips. It has immediately moved to status of House White.

    I have a fondness for Portuguese wines, particularly from indigenous grapes, and this is a fine example.
  • Unfortunately Portuguese whites have always been extremely hit-and-miss for me, either really good, rather meh, or downright off - and I suspect that a number of the “meh” wines I’ve tasted were actually a little off. Hopefully that screw cap is part of a trend...
  • HeavenlyannieHeavenlyannie Shipmate
    edited February 2021
    My Other Half has developed an unfortunate reaction to alcohol - it keeps her awake at night. :weary:

    We are thinking of experimenting with non-alcohol or de-alcoholised wine but don't know much about them. Any thoughts or suggestions would be gratefully received.
    When I hit middle age I found that white wine kept me awake at night so I could only drink it in the day time. Unfortunately, since I developed post viral syndrome after covid I’ve found red wine makes my heart race so I’m only having the occasional glass of wine these days. Gin is less of a problem though, thankfully.
    @Firenze you mentioned an online mini wine tasting a while ago - was this a bought event and if so who with?
  • FirenzeFirenze Shipmate, Host Emeritus
    @Firenze you mentioned an online mini wine tasting a while ago - was this a bought event and if so who with?

    We had a bought event on Christmas Day via FaceBook, organised by Great Grog (an independent Edinburgh wine merchant).

    The other online tasting was organised by a friend who has an extensive cellar. About 8 or 9 people, mostly couples. The drill was to call by J's house with receptacles (500 ml water bottles work well). He then decanted a couple of tasting measures into each and labelled them. We then all foregathered on Zoom.
  • la vie en rougela vie en rouge Purgatory Host, Circus Host
    Happy birthday to husband en rouge. Stephanie le Quellec did the cooking because she's better at it than me (she has two Michelin stars which is two more than I have).

    To accompany her slow cooked lamb, we opened one of the finest bottles in the cellar - a 2014 Saint Joseph by Pierre Gonon. Husband en rouge bought it three or four years ago and had been ageing it for a special occasion. He seems content that the anniversary of his nativity has been suitably honoured :mrgreen:
  • Wow! Do you realise that comes in at about £120 per bottle? 😯
  • la vie en rougela vie en rouge Purgatory Host, Circus Host
    edited February 2021
    More than that for a 2014 :wink:

    It came in for slightly less than that when it was bought, and had appreciated considerably in the meantime. It was very agreeable.
  • PigletPiglet All Saints Host, Circus Host
    Wow - at that price I'm glad it was "agreeable"!
  • Ah! J'aime beaucoup le St Joseph! Félicitations!
  • We experimented this evening with a Shiraz from Sunbury - basically the outskirts of Melbourne, from the looks of it. Very savoury and remarkably lithe for its 14.5%. From 2015 so it’s had a few years to find itself. Went very nicely with our steak with chilli-ginger-garlic sautéed Brussels sprouts.*

    (*I haven’t forgotten about the great Brussels sprouts debate, but that’s another issue)

    I also picked up a Shiraz from Adelaide Hills today for future consumption. Last one we had a few years ago was very strange - strongly herbal and Eucalyptus, barely recognizable as an Australian Shiraz, but intriguing nonetheless.
  • Baptist TrainfanBaptist Trainfan Shipmate
    edited March 2021
    We are going to try some Glyndwyr red from the Vale of Glamorgan, for our St David's Day meal tonight. I don't have very high expectations (I feel the British climate is more suited to whites) but we shall see! At least this one is from mature vines, well over 20 years old.
  • PigletPiglet All Saints Host, Circus Host
    I'm going to ask a rather mercenary question - what would you expect to pay for a bottle of Cloudy Bay Sauvignon Blanc these days?

    I saw some in our local Tesco's this afternoon at £22, and resisted buying any - it's a bit beyond my budget.

    The last time David and I bought it (probably about 20-odd years ago) it was £11, which we regarded as expensive but worth it at the time (we bought half a dozen bottles and gave most of them as Christmas presents).
  • FirenzeFirenze Shipmate, Host Emeritus
    edited March 2021
    That would seem to be at the low end of the going rate.

    I have to say I would be looking at (the very many) other NZ Sauvignon blanc to be had in the £8 to £10 bracket. And also at South African - Spier, Rustenberg, Klein Constantia - for a special treat.

    It's like whiskies - certain brands get the hype. It's not that they're bad, on the contrary. But there are so many others don't have the advertising budget but are equally rewarding.
  • @Piglet 30.35 AUD if bought in a carton of 6 from our biggest retailer here in Oz. Even with extra shipping costs, 22GBP seems a bit rich, converts near enough to 40AUD. I've always said many sauv blancs are a triumph of marketing over taste, as so many of the lower-priced ones are very thin and acid on the palate, so be careful in your selection.
  • Gee DGee D Shipmate
    I can't remember when we last drank one. So many are as you describe and there's so much choice of others
  • Pangolin GuerrePangolin Guerre Shipmate
    edited March 2021
    @Baptist Trainfan - How was the Glyndwyr? What grapes are in it? And wat was your St David's Day meal?

    @Piglet, in addition to @Firenze 's suggestions, from South Africa I highly recommend Buitenverwachting Sauvignon Blanc. It's one of the best South African Sauvignon Blancs that I've tasted, and is probably half to two thirds the price of Cloudy Bay. Also very good and even more affordable from RSA is Jardin or Jordan, depending on the target market.
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