What's in your glass today?

[SirVantes]

It's...ALIVE!!

 

[BrightonCorgi]

9 hours ago, SirVantes said:

It's...ALIVE!!

 

How was it.  The color can be like rose yet intense on the nose with old Barolo.

[SirVantes]

4 hours ago, BrightonCorgi said:

How was it.  The color can be like rose yet intense on the nose with old Barolo.

It was medium red with some bricking, a bit darker than I've come to expect with a Barolo of this age.  On the nose, really vibrant rose petals, cherry, a hint of smoke.  On the palate, sour cherries, a little tar and there's still a spine of tannin.  It seemed to have been a well-stored bottle from this outstanding vintage - a real treat! 

[Ken Gargett]

need a few quiet days.

had the annual champers comp winners' reunion (actually, not official, just a group of us) dinner where we all bring some good fizz. a few years ago, some of the inteestaters decided that as they were coming all this way, we better do a lunch next day. so some decent wines over the last couple of days.

from the champers dinner - most were single bottles, some were two bottles and some mags.

Roederer Starck 2009

Palmer 2002 Magnum

Palmer Blancs de Blancs 1996 Magnum

Dom 96 – corked

Bruno Paillard ‘Les Mesnil’ Blanc des Blancs 1990

Philipponnat Clos des Goisses 2000

Philipponnat Clos des Goisses 1986 Magnum

Moet Collection 1998

Vilmart Coeur de Cuvee 1998 Magnum

Krug Collection 1990

Egly-Ouriet Grand Cru 2005

Egly-Ouriet VP

 

Not a bad line-up. The Krug, Vilmart and two Palmers the stars, though every wine had supporters, bar the Dom, of course.

Lunch was even better –

Piper Heidsieck Rare 2002

Charles Heidsieck Blanc des Millenaires 1995 (both champers stellar but the Charles drank better than I have ever seen from it)

 

Domaine des Comtes Lafon Meursault Clos de la Barre 2010

Bonneau du Martray Corton Charlemagne 1985

Giaconda Aeolia Roussanne 2000 (all three whites drank beautifully)

 

Mommessin ‘Clos des Tart’ 1990

Rousseau Chambertin Clos des Bezé 2000 (just loved them both utterly)

 

Henschke Hill of Grace 1988

Opus One 1987 (two more crackers)

 

Henri Bonneau Chateauneuf du Pape ‘Celestins’ 2007 (ditto)

 

JJ Prum Wehlener Sonnenuhr Eiswein 1998 (truly spectacular).

 

 

 

 

not a bad 24 hours.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Lotusguy]

Cracked the 2017 Cairdeas. I like it. With my new tasting glasses, I got honey bacon. Yum!

[Tave1225]

[Tave1225]

On 11/11/2017 at 11:21 PM, Ken Gargett said:

need a few quiet days.

had the annual champers comp winners' reunion (actually, not official, just a group of us) dinner where we all bring some good fizz. a few years ago, some of the inteestaters decided that as they were coming all this way, we better do a lunch next day. so some decent wines over the last couple of days.

from the champers dinner - most were single bottles, some were two bottles and some mags.

Roederer Starck 2009

Palmer 2002 Magnum

Palmer Blancs de Blancs 1996 Magnum

Dom 96 – corked

Bruno Paillard ‘Les Mesnil’ Blanc des Blancs 1990

Philipponnat Clos des Goisses 2000

Philipponnat Clos des Goisses 1986 Magnum

Moet Collection 1998

Vilmart Coeur de Cuvee 1998 Magnum

Krug Collection 1990

Egly-Ouriet Grand Cru 2005

Egly-Ouriet VP

 

Not a bad line-up. The Krug, Vilmart and two Palmers the stars, though every wine had supporters, bar the Dom, of course.

Lunch was even better –

Piper Heidsieck Rare 2002

Charles Heidsieck Blanc des Millenaires 1995 (both champers stellar but the Charles drank better than I have ever seen from it)

 

Domaine des Comtes Lafon Meursault Clos de la Barre 2010

Bonneau du Martray Corton Charlemagne 1985

Giaconda Aeolia Roussanne 2000 (all three whites drank beautifully)

 

Mommessin ‘Clos des Tart’ 1990

Rousseau Chambertin Clos des Bezé 2000 (just loved them both utterly)

 

Henschke Hill of Grace 1988

Opus One 1987 (two more crackers)

 

Henri Bonneau Chateauneuf du Pape ‘Celestins’ 2007 (ditto)

 

JJ Prum Wehlener Sonnenuhr Eiswein 1998 (truly spectacular).

 

 

 

 

not a bad 24 hours.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Great lineup. Wine of the night?

[JohnS]

Some Cocktails I've been experimenting with lately...

1) Spice Negroni made with equal measures of Dolin Rouge Vermouth, Campari Bitters and Four Pillars Spiced Negroni

2) Traditional Dry Vermouth made with Noilly Prat Original Dry Vermouth, Tanqueray Gin and a few dashes of Regans' Orange Bitters. Garnished with a Lemon Peel (with all the pith removed, of course!)

3) Espresso Martini. This one I've experimented with a new liqueur called Mr Black Cold Brew Coffee Liqueur. It's has 25% alcohol content, as opposed to the traditional 20% abv of Kahlua, but it's nowhere near as sweet. However, instead of using the traditional 1/2 ounce of Kahlua, with Mr Black you use double, i.e. a full ounce. This was made with 1 ounce each of Mr Black Cold Brew Coffee liqueur, Ciroc Vodka and Espresso Coffee and 1/3 of an ounce of Sugar Syrup. The addition of Mr Black makes the drink more creamy, in my opinion.

 

[Ken Gargett]

2 hours ago, Tave1225 said:

Great lineup. Wine of the night?

90 krug at the dinner.

the 95 heidsieck and the eiswein at the lunch.

[Tave1225]

27 minutes ago, Ken Gargett said:

90 krug at the dinner.

the 95 heidsieck and the eiswein at the lunch.

2 Champagnes. Great to see Ken. 90 Krug is always memorable. The few times I’ve experienced it. Perhaps only eclipsed by the 96 Salon 

[Ken Gargett]

3 minutes ago, Tave1225 said:

2 Champagnes. Great to see Ken. 90 Krug is always memorable. The few times I’ve experienced it. Perhaps only eclipsed by the 96 Salon 

very different styles of course. love both salon and krug. 96 and 2002 for both though i think i might like the 88 of both even more. got to do a vertical of salon at the estate many years ago. fabulous. and a bunch of us managed to get a 1928 Krug from the collection set a few years back. supposedly the greatest champers ever made. it was old but still pretty special. i think better perhaps 30 years earlier but still such an experience.

[BrightonCorgi]

On 11/25/2017 at 4:10 PM, Tave1225 said:

What other Douro is that in the background?  That is a good wine.

[Tave1225]

17 minutes ago, BrightonCorgi said:

What other Douro is that in the background?  That is a good wine.

The other one is the 2008 Barca Velha. Great wines from Casa Ferreirinha. Their lineup is solid top to bottom 

[BrightonCorgi]

39 minutes ago, Tave1225 said:

The other one is the 2008 Barca Velha. Great wines from Casa Ferreirinha. Their lineup is solid top to bottom 

Doesn't get much fancier than Barca Velha from the Douro.  Blue Chip for sure.   I had a '70 Dow on Thanksgiving.

[Tave1225]

1 hour ago, BrightonCorgi said:

Doesn't get much fancier than Barca Velha from the Douro.  Blue Chip for sure.   I had a '70 Dow on Thanksgiving.

Great port. How was it?

[BrightonCorgi]

34 minutes ago, Tave1225 said:

Great port. How was it?

Very good, plenty of life in it.  Had some heat early on.  Great color and still has some fruit to it. 1970 may be the greatest port vintage of all time.

[Tave1225]

1 hour ago, BrightonCorgi said:

Very good, plenty of life in it.  Had some heat early on.  Great color and still has some fruit to it. 1970 may be the greatest port vintage of all time.

Great vintage indeed. Some earlier ones from the 20’s, 40’s and 50’s are amazing but alas almost all gone. Cheers. 

[BrightonCorgi]

Just now, Tave1225 said:

Great vintage indeed. Some earlier ones from the 20’s, 40’s and 50’s are amazing but alas almost all gone. Cheers. 

Oldest Dow's I have had are 1900 and 1927.  '48 is a fantastic vintage across the board.

[Tave1225]

4 minutes ago, BrightonCorgi said:

Oldest Dow's I have had are 1900 and 1927.  '48 is a fantastic vintage across the board.

48 is great. I do prefer the 45 vintage even if it’s eclipsed by the 45. If I had to pick one vintage it might be the 1955. 

[BrightonCorgi]

2 minutes ago, Tave1225 said:

48 is great. I do prefer the 45 vintage even if it’s eclipsed by the 45. If I had to pick one vintage it might be the 1955. 

'55 is also great from Grahams and Fonseca for sure.  When they get that old, it comes down the bottle as well the vintage.  Only had a couple of the '45 vintage, so I can't really herald it beyond what others have had it more than I have say.  1966 is best sleeper vintage.

[Kitchen]

Narwhal Imperial Stout, by Sierra Nevada.  I don't typicality think beer and cigars pair, but a good imperial stout certainly can enhance a full bodied cigar. 

Enjoyed this with a (non-Cuban) Padron 1926. 

[SirVantes]

Peat tonight 

[JohnS]

1 hour ago, SirVantes said:

Peat tonight 

Peat? Yes, especially the Octomore!

[Kitchen]

Dragon's Milk, by New Holland brewery.  It's a great bourbon barrel aged imperial stout; it should go nicely with a Bolivar Royal Corona. 

P.S.: Almost a great paring.  In any pairing, it is important that both the flavors compliment each other and the strengths are similar.  Here the flavors are very nice together, the most important part, however the Dragon's Milk is full bodied and the BRC only medium to medium/full.  The Dragon's Milk washes away the flavors of the BRC.  Now a BFF and Dragon's Milk would be superb.  New's Years pairing here I come. 

[kwilliams]

Trillium Free Rise.