What's in your glass today?


maverickdrinker

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Thought that I would start this off for the new year. Good to see what people's favorite or current libation is. Tonight, The Balvenie Portwood 21...

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I'm feeling better today,  Not as dark, tense, and angry as I have been the past several days. Today was better. Chores around the house, building a new humidor, repaired a door frame, and just being

17 hours ago, Fugu said:

They can still be found - nothing to do with the Nazis. Even the VDP wine association and all its members are using it ("Verband Deutscher Prädikats- und Qualitätsweingüter", founded it 1910, so unsuspicious  ;)). You know - the white tailed eagle still is the German's heraldic animal, and its use reaches far back into the medieval...

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It wasn't that symbol.  The wings were spread out and with no grapes.  It's hard to find many 1930's - early 40's German wine labels online for whatever reason.  It wasn't a Prum or Loosen brand.  I was unfamiliar with house.

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23 hours ago, Ken Gargett said:

not sure if i can get these to paste properly but giving it a go.

these will be some of the wines that some of our better importers bring in.

Wow - very interesting Ken! Those are truly all top names, nice selection there (well, 'Jayjay' Prüm and Egon Müller....! nothing more left to say). But price-wise it looks as if Australia were trying hard to keep those wines out of their market... :huh:.

I get there is some Magnum and Dmag pricing stated, but at that level, you could almost consider gathering with some wine-enthusiastic mates (I bet you got a few...) and organise a container - or part-container and import yourself..... Not kidding. While not knowing the actual import duties that these wines might be burdened with, at current sea-fright rates.... :D

At those prices (2-3x ex-producer or even retail original price) these wines would be forbidding for me. You still get many first growths and GGs from the top producers around and even below 30 bucks (ca AUD 45), with prices in the main being 'fairly' stable, exception perhaps the absolute top names recently (there is some hype, indeed).

Attaching two pics for you, just for the fun - Keller's Hubacker and Westhofener Kirchspiel from when these wines still were "simply" 'Riesling - dry' before they went "Großes Gewächs" (Grand Cru). Haag's first GG of Juffer Sonnenuhr ('08), lead by a BA from one of the last vintages under responsibility of father Wilhelm. And the (for me) legendary 2007 Hermannshöhle GG. If I told you pricing at time of me buying them, compared to your current import prices it will bring tears to your eyes... Still, 2015 and '16 Hermannshöhle 'GG' went for EUR 42,00 (~AUD 65) ex producer. Even Keller's Hubacker and Kirchspiel GGs ranking under EUR 40 for 2016.

Nice to see, there is quite a bit of Rheinhessen in those offerings, a highly dynamic region where truly a revolution had taken place over the last two decades. Love Wagner-Stempel. And Winter is a huge favourite of mine, with (one has to say) ex-junior Stefan Winter keeping his feet firmly on the ground. Terrific dry Riesling from Leckerberg and Geyersberg at still very fair pricing (have a look out for them), and even the basic qualities you can trustfully buy blind year after year.

[All that being said - if you got the dosh Ken, do yourself a favour and put some 1/1 and Magnums or even DMs of 2015 Hermannshöhle and also Dellchen 'GG' in your cellar! Also Wittmann's GGs Morstein, Kirchspiel and Aulerde appear comparatively nice-priced. Pricing ranking up with Doennhoff usually, or even above.]

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6 hours ago, BrightonCorgi said:

It wasn't that symbol.  The wings were spread out and with no grapes.  It's hard to find many 1930's - early 40's German wine labels online for whatever reason.  It wasn't a Prum or Loosen brand.  I was unfamiliar with house.

I suspect you have in mind some of the (many) labels of Staatsweingüter or the Staatl. Weinbaudomäne. They all were bearing the heroic eagle (see pics), and - you are right indeed - probably designed in the early 30s (I think I remember having seen even some bearing the swastika). But also those have been in use until quite recently. But I do get what you mean. Many of those labels were redesigned meanwhile with the reorganisation of properties and/or privatizations. Fortunately, there are also a lot of truly lovely art-nouveau and art-déco labels out there....

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14 hours ago, Fugu said:

At those prices (2-3x ex-producer or even retail original price) these wines would be forbidding for me. You still get many first growths and GGs from the top producers around and even below 30 bucks (ca AUD 45), with prices in the main being 'fairly' stable, exception perhaps the absolute top names recently (there is some hype, indeed).

To give you an idea of wine prices in Boston, I dug up my order on 2015 Keller per bottle:

2015 KELLER GRUNER SILVANER TROCKEN - $20 USD
2015 KELLER RIESLING TROCKEN - $21 USD
2015 KELLER LIMESTONE KABINETT RIESLING - $20 USD

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On 7.1.2018 at 4:33 PM, BrightonCorgi said:

To give you an idea of wine prices in Boston, I dug up my order on 2015 Keller per bottle:

2015 KELLER GRUNER SILVANER TROCKEN - $20 USD
2015 KELLER RIESLING TROCKEN - $21 USD
2015 KELLER LIMESTONE KABINETT RIESLING - $20 USD

Thanks for that. Interesting to see this even pricing level for those wines in the US, which were originally quite differently priced ex producer. E.g. the 2015 Silvaner trocken was $8.40 (USD), while the "Limestone" Kabinett was $14.20. Seems like you did a pretty good catch there with the limestone at $20. (Ken would have to pay $50 USD for that same wine in Stralia!....). Still a bit frightening to see how expensive those wines are becoming after overseas import. While in most of Europe (bar Scandinavia) you can get e.g. US or Australian wines for +/- much the same as what is asked for in retail there. Looks like Australia and (to a lesser extent) also the USA are either protecting their markets a fair deal more than vice versa, or the tax on wine/alcohol is so much higher there...

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13 hours ago, Fugu said:

 Looks like Australia and (to a lesser extent) also the USA are either protecting their markets a fair deal more than vice versa, or the tax on wine/alcohol is so much higher there...

It's not tax in my state that is elevating the price.  MA has some of the lowest liquor prices I have seen the world.  Never been to duty free that less expensive than a liquor discount liquor store down the street.

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On 1/7/2018 at 10:41 AM, Fugu said:

Wow - very interesting Ken! Those are truly all top names, nice selection there (well, 'Jayjay' Prüm and Egon Müller....! nothing more left to say). But price-wise it looks as if Australia were trying hard to keep those wines out of their market... :huh:.

I get there is some Magnum and Dmag pricing stated, but at that level, you could almost consider gathering with some wine-enthusiastic mates (I bet you got a few...) and organise a container - or part-container and import yourself..... Not kidding. While not knowing the actual import duties that these wines might be burdened with, at current sea-fright rates.... :D

At those prices (2-3x ex-producer or even retail original price) these wines would be forbidding for me. You still get many first growths and GGs from the top producers around and even below 30 bucks (ca AUD 45), with prices in the main being 'fairly' stable, exception perhaps the absolute top names recently (there is some hype, indeed).

Attaching two pics for you, just for the fun - Keller's Hubacker and Westhofener Kirchspiel from when these wines still were "simply" 'Riesling - dry' before they went "Großes Gewächs" (Grand Cru). Haag's first GG of Juffer Sonnenuhr ('08), lead by a BA from one of the last vintages under responsibility of father Wilhelm. And the (for me) legendary 2007 Hermannshöhle GG. If I told you pricing at time of me buying them, compared to your current import prices it will bring tears to your eyes... Still, 2015 and '16 Hermannshöhle 'GG' went for EUR 42,00 (~AUD 65) ex producer. Even Keller's Hubacker and Kirchspiel GGs ranking under EUR 40 for 2016.

Nice to see, there is quite a bit of Rheinhessen in those offerings, a highly dynamic region where truly a revolution had taken place over the last two decades. Love Wagner-Stempel. And Winter is a huge favourite of mine, with (one has to say) ex-junior Stefan Winter keeping his feet firmly on the ground. Terrific dry Riesling from Leckerberg and Geyersberg at still very fair pricing (have a look out for them), and even the basic qualities you can trustfully buy blind year after year.

[All that being said - if you got the dosh Ken, do yourself a favour and put some 1/1 and Magnums or even DMs of 2015 Hermannshöhle and also Dellchen 'GG' in your cellar! Also Wittmann's GGs Morstein, Kirchspiel and Aulerde appear comparatively nice-priced. Pricing ranking up with Doennhoff usually, or even above.]

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the prices are partly transport/distance but mostly our arcane and absurd taxes. it means containers done privately are just as badly hit.

i think i posted elsewhere that i took a Haag double magnum fishing to fraser island this year for the team. 2011 auslese. stunning, and got it for $200 (down from around $680 as the wholesaler having a clear-out. got a second for myself). 3-4 of us had a lovely afternoon. it was their BJS that are in your pics. and thanks for those.

a couple for you...

egon muller after a very funny day (will try and find the story for you - thought one of my mates had pegged out at the top of one of the steepest vineyards).

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then after, we had a tasting, during which egon fired up a cigar. to my delgiht and the disgust of many somms.  and no idea why this has gone underline and can't get rid of it.

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across the mosel to the prum estate.

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a tasting with ann prum. brilliant.

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at donnhoff. this was the extraordinary eiswein - only 113 halves or something like that, made for the world. the next one is tasting with helmut donnhoff.

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the view from the tasting room at robert weil.

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this was the wine we found in the cellar at zeltigen. wonderful.

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14 hours ago, Ken Gargett said:

i think i posted elsewhere that i took a Haag double magnum fishing to fraser island this year for the team. 2011 auslese. stunning, and got it for $200 (down from around $680 as the wholesaler having a clear-out. got a second for myself)

Yes, I remember your post. Great deal on that one.

Many thanks for posting those lovely pics, Ken! And how nice to learn Egon Müller is also a lover of cigars (well, why should he not....)
Your Licht-Bergweiler 1971 Beerenauslese is asking a 475 EUR today....

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18 hours ago, Colt45 said:

Washington State Mourvedre - I like it.

 

GCM.jpg

Hopefully you are not the village idiot...  Gramercy is a good producer, but never have seen that wine before.  Not really hunting them down either FWIW

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19 hours ago, BrightonCorgi said:

Hopefully you are not the village idiot...

Hey, I resemble that! Long story short, I've a sudden interest in Washington state syrah, and because I enjoy mourvedre, decided to give it a shot. I do not believe it is in current production. The same local I bought this at has the 2011 Cayuse En Cerise, but it's a bit pricey.....

P.S. while initial research showed this to be mourvedre, more digging shows it to be 80% syrah, 12% mourvedre, with a little cinsault and grenache. Makes more sense, especially after tasting a second day.

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25 minutes ago, Colt45 said:

Hey, I resemble that! Long story short, I've a sudden interest in Washington state syrah, and because I enjoy mourvedre, decided to give it a shot.

They make some good Syrah, Pinot and Merlot in that region.

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Received an email from my local wine shop on their current German offer to give you an idea on prices (USD)

2016 Egon Müller Riesling Scharzhof $48 NET

2016 Egon Müller Scharzhofberger Riesling Kabinett $76 NET

2016 Egon Müller Le Gallais Spätlese $89 NET

2016 Egon Müller Scharzhofberger Riesling Spätlese $148 NET

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3 hours ago, BrightonCorgi said:

Received an email from my local wine shop on their current German offer to give you an idea on prices (USD)

That seems very attractive pricing (well, for Müller wines that is).

Just yesterday we had some exciting 2016 Mosel Rieslings. May post something up later...

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Last two days we tried some 2016 Rieslings from Germany. Started with a truly gorgeous Brauneberger Juffer Spätlese from Fritz Haag. Pure, luscious exotic fruitiness that Oliver Haag drew on bottle here (8% alc). A joy already to drink now, but will have legs for decades to come (alas, I am not overly trusting in the cork that they are using there, a shame for a wine of that quality and longevity). We were drinking it with grilled free-range chicken, prepped w/lemon + fresh Italian herbs. Superb pairing.

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While the girls sticked with the Haag (ignorants with beer :D), I switched to Ernst Loosen's Graacher Himmelreich Kabinett. What a wine! What a nose! This is an absolute top off-dry Kabinett this year, a depth and complexity almost like on Spätlese-level (less sweet than the Haag, but of course still with noticeable residual sugar). Peach and flowery (elder) notes here with a decent minerality and well integrated acidity from these old, self-rooted vines. Loved this wine right from the first sip. This must come from grapes at full physiological ripeness. Well in balance with the residual sweetness here (10.5% alc). This is a steal, always one of the best values, but particularly this year - you can't get much more top Riesling for your money (~EUR 13 at retail).

Finished supper with a 2015 Beerenauslese from Reinhessen newcomer Katharina Wechsler. Benn is the family's small Monopole in Westhofen. I find it still a bit closed right now, but this was such a nice drinking, kids and friends couldn't hold back, so that it hadn't been given much time to breathe. Will need a bit more time in bottle. (going great with Bleu des Basques)
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Following day, missus and I opened a new bottle of the '16 Ürziger Würzgarten GG from Loosen. This is from century-old vines, ungrafted, original pre-phylloxera Mosel rootstock. Another great dry Riesling this year (at 12.5% alc.). Completely different in style. High minerality, like you feel you taste the slate. More seriousness here, a more austere wine than the fruit-driven Himmelreich. Still showing restrained notes of peach and spices. Opened up nicely in the bottle after a few hours.

Looking forward to the Himmelreich and Wehlener Sonnenuhr GG from Loosen.

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