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Christmas Week wines

1996 Bollinger Champagne R.D. Extra Brut My definitition of a perfect Champagne. Purchased on release probably from one of the first disgorgements, it was kept at 12?C ever since. Not very bubbly, and we drank it in standard glasses (not flutes) which can have an influence. Pale colour for a wine of its age, intoxicating nose of black chocolate, toffee, pain grill?, smoke and red fruits. Beautiful balance in the mouth, with a lot of intensity, an oxidative light touch and clear acidity to make it fresh and drinkable. Friends had warned about how the wine was too acidic, but my bottle was just stunning. Too bad Bollinger has now become yet another luxury brand and they are competing with other big houses to sell the most expensive Champagne, because R.D. should be a benchmark for fine drinking and not for showing how wealthy or showy you are. A++

2005 Bodegas y Vi?edos Ali?n Ribera del Duero - Spain, Castilla y Le?n, Ribera del Duero A lot of sediment. A lot. Cork broke in two parts while trying to extract it which is rare in my cellar. Oak was present initially, but I decanted the wine for 2 hours and everything went much smoother from there. Very clean nose of black fruit, a touch of leather, not terribly complex but everything in the right tune. Velvety in the mouth, with sweet oak tannins, good acidity and a good balance overall. Drinks very nicely and the wine is neither overextracted or overoaked as is typically the case with pretending reds from Ribera del Duero. I would say it has a great life ahead but the sediment is too much for a 9 years old wine. A

2005 Palacios Remondo Rioja Reserva Selecci?n Especial La Montesa - Spain, La Rioja, Rioja Very seductive nose that reminds of a great wine from Grenache. There is quite some oak too, but it is of good quality and well integrated with the wine. Lovely and charming more than powerful. A

NV Camille Sav?s Champagne Brut Carte d'Or Grand Cru - France, Champagne, Bouzy, Champagne Disgorgement 2013. Very round, juicy, savoury, dosage well integrated. Quite long. A-

NV Marc H?brart Champagne Blanc de Blancs Brut 1er Cru - France, Champagne L532 a bit young, with creamy notes, a bit shorter than I remember other disgorgements.B+/A-

2009 Ch?teau des Jacques Morgon la Roche Noire - France, Burgundy, Beaujolais, Morgon A beautiful Morgon. Not the cheapest of the bunch, but very seductive. There is a clear nose of cherries, a bit of spice, and a very lovable iron note. In the mouth there is a perfect balance between fruit, certain minerality and acidity. My only complaint is that I only purchased 4 bottles instead of 48. Very easy drinking and complete wine. Oak is not present or expected, comme il faut. A

2004 Massolino Barolo - Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barolo Needed 1 hour in the decanter to open up, for it is a bit closed just uncorked. Tart red cherries, a bit of kirsch, a whiff of oak, and very good volume in the mouth where there are some tannins to be found, adding a touch of grip. May get older but our bottle was drinking well enough to justify opening it. A

Reply to
santiago
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I know two of the wines you had, and agree this one is very good, also for the price. This is my kind of wine :)

There's a lot of Massolino Barolo, that looks the same but has different pr ice ranges, so I wonder if this is the same I had. The price here is about

2 times the price of the reserva la montesa, and I thought it was a good wi ne, but montesa was better. If the price difference is the same magnitude, I wonder if your grades take price into account, so you think that the Baro lo is better and so much as to warrant double price? I always struggle to m ake this choice, grading wines at different price levels; how to normalize for price, haha.
Reply to
Michael Nielsen

Michael Nielsen wrote in news: snipped-for-privacy@googlegroups.com:

See a picture of the bottle:

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it went very well with this:

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and this:

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and tripe:

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The

A friend went to Italy a few years ago and bought me an assorted case of Baroli (and more for him). This was one of the wines, and thanks to gmail I found the email exchange with him: price was 28,5 euro.

Montesa Reserva Selecci?n Especial 2005 retails at around 29,00 euro in Spain (though I got it a bit cheaper).

Maybe you are thinking about the regular La Montesa Crianza which retails in the 10 euros range, or the Propiedad which is now 100% Grenache and retails around 20 euros.

Selecci?n Especial is this bottle in the picture:

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If the price

Do I take into account price? the quick answer is no. The not-so-quick answer is that everytime we evaluate quality, expectations play a role, and expectations are influenced by extrinsic information, such as a price. So I guess that sometimes I am influenced, even if I do not want to.

Reply to
santiago

Seems the one thats 400dkk / 53E here:

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No it is the reserva seleccion with dark label, around 30E, but they seem t o not have it in stock anymore. I got mine for 23E due to label flaw. MAybe I got the last bottle. Annoying. Makes no sense as tehy had it on one of t heir monthly tastings, which I doubt they'd do if it is not something they expect to carry for a long time.

Thats the one.

If I dont know the price, I evaluate what I think it should cost and then c heck the price ,and if it fits the bill, its a good buy.

Reply to
Michael Nielsen

Btw, but then the price difference is fake in denmark. I was getting a chea p barolo for a premium price. I forgot to apply my new rule to always compa re prices in the wines respective homelands.

I went to a prestigious wine store in Trieste Italy and told that I have ba d experience with barolo and I needed to try something good, and he guided me to this one (knowing my preference for Napa cabs and Tuscany, he said I should look for new style Barolo) and being 2003 it is mature:

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arolo-docg-italy

He charged 59E and I will have it tonight. Then I'll see if Barolo just isn t for me or I just have bad availability in Denmark with artificially high prices. Last March of the Barolo :)

Reply to
Michael Nielsen

Michael Nielsen wrote in news: snipped-for-privacy@googlegroups.com:

It is also possible that my friend got the wine direct from the winery and therefore, 28,5 euro excellars can translate into 50 euro retail, quite easily. And if your country has a tax on alcohol, it can also add euros on top of that.

I have found Barolo a wine which is not easy to grasp. On their youth, they have a short period in which they have excellent fruit but tannins are so high. Then they enter a phase in which they seem to close and you only get oak (old or new depending on the producer) and a lot of tannin, but not much fruit. And then sometimes they blossom again.

I do not drink much Barolo (1,2% of my cellar, according to CellarTracker) because I do not have access to mature bottles or the means to purchase them. With a limited experience, I have been luckier with Barbaresco, which are more approachable when young.

It is a similar situation with Burgundy, though I have found some affordable Burgundies that provide me with great pleasure below 30 euro, something that is really difficult with Barolo. This may explain why Burgundy accounts for 6,8% of my cellar according to Cellar Tracker.

However, I like to drink a bottle of Barolo when I meet a friend to have a truffle menu, something that happens once a year or so.

Produttori del Barbaresco, Brezza, Brovia, Albino Rocca, are Nebbiolo wines from Piedmont that I have enjoyed so far. And the widely available Barolo Serralunga from Fontanafredda is also a well made wine that is not too expensive. THe 2003 was actually pretty nice for the price (sub-30 euro).

Good luck with that 2003!

Reply to
santiago

Normally prices at wineries are more expensive than retail. Like 160$ for B eringer Private Reserve, while it is 99$ retail in USA, and 150$ in Denmark . But mostly it is the same price, like Sequoia Grove Reserve Cab 50$ in ta sting room and the same in supermarkets. Or is it different in Europe? The only winery I've been to in Europe is Bdra Vinska Klet and Princic in Slove nia, but I never saw those wines in stores, so I cant compare. I've seen on e in a restaurant where it was 20E and at the winery it was 12E.

Tondonia Reserva is 30E here, so not much more than in Spain. The best chea p amarone I know of is 25E at Italian supermarkets, and never saw it on sal e, and it is 25E in Denmark, while 75% of the time it is on sale for 15E. S o prices are pretty random here. Sometimes 100% (and then more often on sal e for less than 100%) of the homeland price and I've seen up to 300% of the price, too.

The 2009 I had two days ago didnt even have tannins. Just weak and boring.

What's you profile name?

I've pulled the cork and put it in the decanter. Cork smells like cigar. Th e wine sniffing the bottle has the same cigar with some red fruits. The col our is amber and transparent, and I had a sip. I was like Bummer, seems I d o like Barolo after all, but only the expensive stuff. Was hoping I could c onclude it is overrated. It reminds me of the Tondonia Grand Reserva. We'll see tonight if it opens up as an adventure book like Tondonia, too.

Reply to
Michael Nielsen

Im saving up my holiday notes for a big post DaleW style, but here goes for this one:

I've had trouble understanding why barolo is so popular and expensive, as t hey are usually watery , sour, and flavourless. I bought this one from an I talian premium wine store for a last attempt at concluding that Barolo is n ot for me. The store owner said that this was the only one he had that was mature for me to fully understand what Barolo is. He certainly knows what h e is talking about. Because I love it. Before decanting I pulled the cork a nd it smelled of premium Tuscany cigar. The wine sniffing the bottle has th e same cigar with some red fruits. The colour is amber and transparent, and I had a sip. Reminded me of a much older Vina Tondonia Grand Reserva. Eart hy, woody, distant red tart fruits. Into the decanter it went for 5 hours. Then I had it with barolo reduced mushrooms and small onions, rosemary tate rs and pork leg . Taste was the same Tuscany cigar, then earth, mushroom, r ipe cherries, and bark. Like taking a stroll in an old forest. Certainly To ndonia is the closest wine I can think of. But after dinner I pulled out so me Jamon Iberico. Then the wine changed character. Reminded me of well aged older Beringer Private reserve and 1987 BV G. Latour. Darker more apparent fruits emerged, and eucalyptus, with a rough texture from "chewy" tannins that I love. Really impressive wine that you can shape as you want (except if you want fresh and fruity).

Reply to
Michael Nielsen

Michael Nielsen wrote in news: snipped-for-privacy@googlegroups.com:

But after dinner I pulled

Everything tastes better with Jam?n Ib?rico ;))))

Reply to
santiago

I also had a 2009 Bersano Barolo:

22E wine vinegar for cooking.

Iberico didnt improve it :)

Reply to
Michael Nielsen

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