This vintage was harvested the year I graduated high school. Saved it for about 5 years in the wine fridge. Finally opened to celebrate buying our first house after 20 years of adulthood.

First of a collection of mostly higher-shelf-of-supermarket wines, predominantly 20 years old. First up was the one I had the least hope for - a 2004 "La Croix des Cabustines" Chardonnay.

On the eye: hangover piss-yellow, almost golden syrup coloured.

On the nose: surprisingly bright, almost apricot stone fruit vibe (albeit an apricot that is starting to go green and fuzzy)

Taste: again, surprisingly still tastes like white wine at first. Crisp apple and spice, quickly drying down* to wet cardboard and mud. More than a hint of apple cider vinegar about the whole ordeal. Managed about one sip.

About five minutes after pouring the glass and tasting it, about 3 bugs flew into the glass and promptly drowned so at least it tasted good for someone.

I actually think just a couple of years ago (and if the foil hadn't been damaged at the top) this would have been okay.

Overall: 2.5/10, 6/10 for surprise factor.

*I can't find the correct terminology for this in my mind

Struggling to find words for this one. First wine I've ever drank that's older than me (only by a year) and by god is it a bad one.

On the nose: musty dirty garage

On the eye: more sediment than I've ever seen, looks like someone added sand during the processing. Muddy, orangey brown. Looks more aged than most tawny ports.

Taste: Indescribable. Like you drank a whole bottle of badly oxidised wine, threw it up, and drank it again.

One of the worst things I've ever allowed my mouth to suffer through. Ungradeable.

On the plus side, I've got many more bottles to get through and my god can it only get better from here (I hope)

I was fortunate enough to be able to pop in to the last day of KL’s 50 tastings for 50th anniversary event. Incredible line up of Latour 1989, Nicolas Potel Charmes-Chambertin 2005, Dom Pérignon Brut 'Metamorphosis' Rosé 2003, Chateau D’Yquem 2005 served out of a 15L Nebuchadnezzar! Tasting notes below and shoutout to KL for an amazing free tasting.

Latour - stole the show. Very silky, round, and delicate with subtle tertiary forest floor and mushroom notes.

Charmes - spicier than I would have imagined with floral/mineral notes.

Dom - good but hard to compare to the other wines in the tasting. Fresh red fruit and a little nutty to me.

Dyquem - balanced and fresh. Reminded me of sautéed apricots and honey.

Notes in post below.

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What a treat this turned out to be. I didn't want to keep my hopes up, when I first opened it, I honestly thought it was gone. But with a little patience, it slowly came to life, revealing its true character with every passing minute.

Dried roses, leather, tobacco, truffle and earthy forest floor gave way to a silky, elegant palate that just kept unfolding. Remarkably fresh for a wine approaching 60 years of age.

It's incredible how a Barbaresco, even from a lesser-known producer, can age so beautifully. Nebbiolo never ceases to amaze me. It just goes to show that great storage can be every bit as important as a famous name on the label. If I knew that it would have turned out this good I'd have kept for a more special occasion

Beautiful second wine from the second Growth, Rauzan Segla (have not had a chance to taste Rauzan, but hopefully the future holds it for me!)

55% Cabernet Sauvignon, 43% Merlot, and 1% of each Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdort (from the info I can find about this vintage).

Beautiful bouquet right up front. Intoxicating Is a great word to describe it. Beautiful deep ruby garnet.

Nice herbal flower smell. Rose 🌹, hint of lavender 🪻 I think . Black fruit. Blackcurrant and Blackberry. This is much more inviting right after opening than the last Margaux, albeit it was a 2020, I had the privilege of drinking.

The palate is definetly softer. Medium body. It definitely coats my mouth. Wonderful acidity. This is quite open. At 11 yrs old I would definitely expect it to be like that, but I was a little wary reading reviews saying it was "closed" or "needed more time". Even just a half hour has "toned" it down a bit.

Black fruit again, more blackcurrant and blackberry. Definetly has some earthy tones. Mushroom or truffle I think. Has that little hint of vanilla and cigar box right at the back end. Nice length to the finish as well. Held up very nicely to black bean and pork enchiladas 🤤🤤

This was an exceptional pairing to some spicy green chili tonight

It sits fairly heavy on the pallet, not super dry but not super sweet. Low acidity. lots of floral and honeycomb notes, some pear, some minerality

Overall I like this quite a bit

An exceptional Chardonnay!

Have been privileged to have a fair few Italian Chardonnay’s from Piedmont and Tuscany yet this Umbrian is something spectacular. Not to say the others are not, but this expression of Chardonnay is….. a beauty. The creaminess and richness from the malolactic fermentation, bright citrus, not too oak forward, easy brioche and bred and butter notes.

Think baked apple and apricot pie with a squeeze of citrus on top and a dollop of cream.

In my opinion, I would love to drink this with a croissant in many ways 😂 I’m a savoury guy.

Vinho branco português meio seco, com denominação de origem controlada.

As uvas vêm do noroeste de Portugal, numa região bem influenciada pelo Atlântico e com solos graníticos. Em geral, as vinhas são trabalhadas de um jeito mais tradicional, sem muita intervenção mecânica.

Inspirado na cidade de Valença, no norte de Portugal, às margens do rio Minho e de frente para a Espanha.

Em geral, aparece com notas cítricas, fruta branca e aquela acidez viva que dá vontade de tomar mais um gole.

Na harmonização, ele vai muito bem com peixes, frutos do mar, saladas e pratos leves no geral. Também funciona bem com petiscos, comida com um pouco de limão e até frituras mais delicadas, porque a acidez ajuda a “limpar” o paladar.

I just got my eurocave pure L dual zone, and before turning it on today, I went to change the charcoal filter as instructed. but there is no hole in the back interior of the cabinet, unless I’m just missing it…?

in the outside back of the unit, there seems to be a partially punched hole, so I’m thinking there may be a defect where it did t get punched through fully.anyone have this fridge and able to share a picture of the back interior and exterior?

I’ll call wine enthusiast tomorrow, since their lines are closed for the day, but curious for some reference points.

on a related note, assuming this is a warranty claim, worth fighting to try to keep this unit while awaiting a replacement, if that’s the route they go, or is the filter and hole absolutely critical? Took like 12 weeks to get this one as it is…

I’m considering getting Zalto glasses. However I see everyone recommending a dishwasher for cleaning and I don’t have them. Will I be able to very gently hand wash and not break them?

thank you all!

Drank this without decanting.

Nose: blackberries and raspberries. On top there is a light musty, earthy note, maybe some thyme or similar sweet herb.

Palate: light acidity, dark sweet cherries and a touch of stone fruit. Then comes some cinnamon-like wood and what mught even be chocolate. The longer part of the palate has some vanilla and citrus peel. A hint of bitterness. At the end i am left with a caramalised berries taste. 

Overall excellent for a 30 eur supermarket (edeka) bottle.

Local tasting. Had these after the Chablis and Textbooks I posted previously. These are some of the Aussie options I tried. They only had Mollydooker products available for tasting, no Velvet Glove though. The Mollydooker Miss Molly Sparkling Shiraz was the most popular and sold out, along with Enchanted Path. The Verdelhos are a bit rare around here... ended up buying the sparkling verdelho just because. Didn't witness any left-handed shaking of bottles or pours.

Mollydooker, The Violinist, South Australia, Verdelho, 2024, 16% abv.

Nose: raw brown beans, candied beans used in refried beans or those really sweet ones... not sure what they are called, supported by legumes, blue clay, wet earth, wet resin, overall herbal and vegetative. Strange aroma set.

Palate: medium body, entry is strange but both initial and mid palate show a dichotomy of pungently flavored herbal medicine with bitter and acidic melon-like juice, a sour medicinal profile, strong on Chinese medicine herbs, a bit dry, gets saltier with each sip, hints of plastic and wax, back palate is tropical melon rinds, closer to a salty Pinot Gris and Gewurtztraminer, has the body thicken up on swallowing. Is this Verdelho? Verdejo? Aussie version of it? Strange stuff.

Finish: short, skins from exotic melons I've had from Mexico and SE Asia, a woody bitterness, so distracting I don't even know if I can sense the 16% abv! 16%! California is jealous.

Not much information on this bottling with another version in circulation? Not even sure if this is from the McLaren Vale. California distributor? The servers said not many are distributed in South Korea... and no one recommended it, hahahaha. Totally DISAGREE with all TN on CT. This was horrible... and quite reminiscent of the Spanish Verdejos (Ossian) I had a few weeks/months ago. I guess Verdelho/Verdejo is just not for me.

Mollydooker, Blue Eyed Boy, McLaren Vale, Shiraz, 2022, 16.5% abv.

Marketing materials state, "The grapes were grown on the Coppermine Road, Gateway, Long Gully Road and Mollydooker Home vineyards in McLaren Vale, and Joppich vineyard in Langhorne Creek. Barrel fermented and matured in 100% American oak, using 54% new and 46% one year old barrels. The required Marquis Fruit Weight for the Family Series is 75% – 85%. The Actual Fruit Weight for 2022 Blue Eyed Boy is 79%."

Nose: red fruit, a bit dusty,  but becomes quite sweet with the addition of vanilla and diluted caramel, virtually the same as 2022 Carnival of Love (side-by-side).

Palate: medium body, entry is sweet dessert dressing tempered with stale wood juice, mid palate shows a sweet dessert like juice with some bitter medicine and again that stale wood juice, but its quite dichotomous, gets spicey with black peppercorn, back palate is like raspberry and chocolate dressing on dessert cake, but again this bitterness pops up that I didn't get with previous Blue Eyed Boys. Surprisingly minimal alcohol. More hints of astringent oak in this vintage, might have left the juice in the barrel too long... for celllaring?

Finish: short, dry, but a bitter bready flavor remains on the back of the tongue approaching the throat, hints of eraser shavings, hints of bitter oak. Feeling the sweetness is offsetting that 16.5% abv.

Vernacular: nose is mostly secondary sweetness with red fruit in the background. Medium body, light acidity, low minerality, moderate secondary, minimal alcohol. Finish is short, dry, bitter secondary by-products.

Better than the 2022 Carnival of Love, and obviously better than the 2024 Verdelho. Wine Spectator gave this a 92 in 2024.

Mollydooker, Carnival of Love, Shiraz, 2022, 16.5% abv.

Marketing materials say, "The grapes were grown on the Gateway vineyard in McLaren Vale. Barrel fermented and matured in 100% American oak, using 100% new barrels. The required Marquis Fruit Weight for the Love Series is 85% – 95%. The Actual Fruit Weight for 2021 Carnival of Love 89%."... so no mention of the 2022 vintage.

Nose: red fruit, a bit dusty,  but becomes quite sweet with the addition of vanilla and diluted caramel, virtually the same as the 2022 Blue Eyed Boy (side-by-side).

Palate: medium body, entry is mostly dry raspberry powder, light wood juice, chalky clay, mid palate is surprisingly not as sweet, chocolate powder, chalk, hints of wooddust, bitter oak, back palate is like old fruit-bread, chalky, bready. Surprisingly minimal alcohol. Similar to the 2022 Blue Eyed Boy, more hints of astringent oak in this vintage. I think they might have left the juice in the barrel too long... for celllaring?

Finish: medium, dry, old vines, dehydrated red fruit, but mostly wood products and tannins. I feel the sweetness is really offsetting that 16.5% abv.

Vernacular: nose is mostly secondary sweetness with red fruit in the background. Medium body, light acidity, low minerality, moderate secondary, minimal alcohol. Finish is medium, dry, wood products.

Worse than Blue Eyed Boy. Could have been bottle variation... did not revisit as Textbook kept showing up in my face. Wine Spectator gave this a 93 in 2024. Noticing descriptors of "vanilla" on CT... I suspect many people don't know what vanilla actually tastes/smells like.

I recently purchased some 1987 cabernets for a special occasion:

• 1x Caymus Special Selection (1.5L)
• 2x Dominus (750ml)
• 2x Beringer (750ml)

All of the labels match other listings I can find online for those same bottles (to my untrained eye).

However, the 2x bottles of Dominus are the only ones to have clearly worn labels. The labels on the Caymus and Beringer bottles are in excellent shape. It's possible they were just stored well, but it caught my attention.

The Caymus and Beringer also have a surgeon general's warning label, whereas the Dominus does not.

My understanding is that these were not required until November 1989, so 1987 vintages could possibly go either way.

Does anyone know for sure if any of these bottles did/did not have the surgeon general warning label?

Any other tips on trying to authenticate these? This is my first time purchasing older bottles, so I'm a bit out of my depth. I purchased them from what I understand to be a reputable rare wine/spirits store in upstate NY. I have no other reason to suspect they are not authentic, but I thought the warning labels and general label conditions were red flags.

Edit: Got it. No one counterfeits these. The bottles with the best labels also had the surgeon general's warning labels which set off a red flag for me. Appreciate the info.

Burgess represents some of the best QPR in Napa.

This was my first time trying the 2016 Contadina, which is generally Burgess' entry level wine, but also exhibits a lot of the same qualities that make flagship Burgess so great.

Gave it a decant and enjoyed over an hour at Avec in Chicago. They had a decanter, but sadly not proper wine glasses, but that's okay, we make do!

Still drinking very young, lots of dark plum, dark cherry, slight graphite, dark cocoa powder.

Needed the time to open up, but wasn't overly tight on first pour either.

91 points.

I am not a woman of discerning wine taste. I like wine, I generally do have styles that appeal to me more or less, and I can certainly appreciate a nice one, but I'm not one to turn my nose up at something cheap or mass marketed or generally considered poor quality. I'll drink just about anything without blinking. Except for this. I got it at Whole Foods because it was right next to the cheese I wanted and I figured why not. The answer to why not is that it is the worst thing I have ever consumed. Why? I couldn't even tell you. I cannot describe it. There was just enough carbonation to feel wrong. Why? No idea! I don't think it's supposed to be sparkling. All I know is that I have been defeated. I have found the one wine in the world I cannot drink.

Back in 2012 or 2013 I had a wine that I know was not from the United States. The thing that struck me most about this wine was it was extremely unique with bourbon or whiskey flavor it had. It was like someone combined bourbon and wine together. I know this is a very loose question and a long shot but, are there any wines out there that ring a bell with anyone as ones that have a bold bourbon flavor to them? It was so long ago that I didn't write the name of it down but to this day it is a question that has haunted me for years!

This is a long shot but giving it a go!

We are looking for teammates to help with this seasons vintage in Oliver, BC. The pay is $23-25 per hour and we have housing available. The position is short term, roughly late August-November.

If you’re interested please message me and I’ll forward you the job posting!

Edit - job postings are in the comments!