Hey, Ratz... The last time I was around these parts (albeit probably wearing leather rather than feathers) we were discussing Williams-Selyem pinots. At that point you said you were on the list to get on THE LIST. I see from subsequent poasts that you did indeed score, and I'm wondering what your impressions were, both of the process and, of course, especially of the wines. I was lucky enough to score a bottle of their 04 Central Coast pinot over at K&L a couple of months ago, and thought it was pretty damn good, and less expensive than I had feared. I just placed my first order (I did take you advice and got into the queue back then) and am looking forward to adding to my stash sometime in late March. Moo-oo-oo-oo!!!1! -- "Tis an ill wind that blows no minds" ....PK
On Thu, 14 Feb 2008 06:45:36 -0800, in alt.alien.vampire.flonk.flonk.flonk, PsychoChicken <bawkbawkbawkbawk@heseverywhereheseverywhere.com> bloviated: >Hey, Ratz... > >The last time I was around these parts (albeit probably wearing >leather rather than feathers) we were discussing Williams-Selyem >pinots. At that point you said you were on the list to get on >THE LIST. > >I see from subsequent poasts that you did indeed score, and I'm >wondering what your impressions were, both of the process and, >of course, especially of the wines. I was lucky enough to score >a bottle of their 04 Central Coast pinot over at K&L a couple of >months ago, and thought it was pretty damn good, and less >expensive than I had feared. I picked up a bottle online, except it was a 2004 Allen Vineyards. WOW WOW WOW that is some good wine. I actually cellared all of my fall purchases. The way they do the releases is Blends (drinkables) in the Spring, Vineyard designate (cellarable) in the Fall. So I will be a month behind you as I will drive up on the 26 or 27th of April and pick this shipment up myself. When up there in the fall got to taste some of their other wines, Pinot, Chard & Zin. I am NOT a chardonay fan but if I am allocated any chardonay in the future I will most assuredly buy it all. The Zin was the single most unusual Zin I have ever tasted. I still cannot decide whether I liked it or not, it was that different. I think with a steak or some big food that Zin would be incredible, but as a drinking wine, I'm not so sure. > >I just placed my first order (I did take you advice and got into >the queue back then) and am looking forward to adding to my >stash sometime in late March. > >Moo-oo-oo-oo!!!1! I was allocated 11 bottles the first go round. I bought them all. I was allocated 14 bottles this time. I bought them all. Add to the list: Sea Smoke (same deal as W-S, sign up, wait...) South/Central coast Pinots. Had one a while back, WOW it was good. Right up there with W-S. Armida - Long list of wines, ALL of them really good and available. Especially the Stuhmiller Cabernet and the Bacigalupi Pinot Noir. Just down Westside Road from W-S. Another one that makes some good wines was Bevedere (between W-S and Armida). Not vintage stuff but a great list of good drinkable wine.
In article <26n8r3dn87rgnljrv0t0bidfs7o71l37d1@4ax.com>, Aratzio says... > On Thu, 14 Feb 2008 06:45:36 -0800, in > alt.alien.vampire.flonk.flonk.flonk, PsychoChicken > <bawkbawkbawkbawk@heseverywhereheseverywhere.com> bloviated: > > >Hey, Ratz... > > > >The last time I was around these parts (albeit probably wearing > >leather rather than feathers) we were discussing Williams-Selyem > >pinots. At that point you said you were on the list to get on > >THE LIST. > > > >I see from subsequent poasts that you did indeed score, and I'm > >wondering what your impressions were, both of the process and, > >of course, especially of the wines. I was lucky enough to score > >a bottle of their 04 Central Coast pinot over at K&L a couple of > >months ago, and thought it was pretty damn good, and less > >expensive than I had feared. > > I picked up a bottle online, except it was a 2004 Allen Vineyards. WOW > WOW WOW that is some good wine. > > I actually cellared all of my fall purchases. The way they do the > releases is Blends (drinkables) in the Spring, Vineyard designate > (cellarable) in the Fall. So I will be a month behind you as I will > drive up on the 26 or 27th of April and pick this shipment up myself. I'd certainly like to get by there at some point, but as I've recently 'unretired' to sort out some data security issues for an old friend's bank, I've kinda got my hands full right now. > When up there in the fall got to taste some of their other wines, > Pinot, Chard & Zin. I am NOT a chardonay fan but if I am allocated any > chardonay in the future I will most assuredly buy it all. The Zin was > the single most unusual Zin I have ever tasted. I still cannot decide > whether I liked it or not, it was that different. I think with a steak > or some big food that Zin would be incredible, but as a drinking wine, > I'm not so sure. I didn't even realize they made Chardonnay until I got my allocation notice (altho all I get are pinots this go-round). I enjoy big, dense Calif. chardonnays, but my old lady prefers real white burgundy, preferably Louis Latour. Which way do the W-S chards tend? > > > >I just placed my first order (I did take you advice and got into > >the queue back then) and am looking forward to adding to my > >stash sometime in late March. > > > >Moo-oo-oo-oo!!!1! > > I was allocated 11 bottles the first go round. I bought them all. > I was allocated 14 bottles this time. I bought them all. I only ordered one bottle each of three of the four pinots on my first list. I'm starting to run out of rack space... > > Add to the list: > Sea Smoke (same deal as W-S, sign up, wait...) South/Central coast > Pinots. Had one a while back, WOW it was good. Right up there with > W-S. Sea Smoke is readily available here - I know two shops that have allocations. I think its a bit over rated, at least the last vintage was. Maybe I'm just not as big a fan of Santa Barabara pinots as I am of central coast / Russian River wines > Armida - Long list of wines, ALL of them really good and available. > Especially the Stuhmiller Cabernet and the Bacigalupi Pinot Noir. Just > down Westside Road from W-S. > > Another one that makes some good wines was Bevedere (between W-S and > Armida). Not vintage stuff but a great list of good drinkable wine. I'll have to look these two up and locate samples. (Gee, lifes rough) I think that Siduri makes the most consistantly outstanding pinots I've run into, almost every wine they release is 90+ in Parker etc. Their house style tends towards the very big, in- your-face side of the grape. As of very recently there was no waiting for their list, or you can order thru K&L. Lucia pinots are also great, altho a much more limited number of vineyards. Its owned by Gary Pisoni. The two 'newcomers' that I'm hooked on are Walter Hansel (mostly various Russian River vineyards) and Sonnet (owned by the former winemaker for David Bruce, offering a variety of central coast and RR vineyards). They are both generally priced in the $30-40 range and are outstanding values compared to some of the 'cult' names. -- "Tis an ill wind that blows no minds" ....PK
On Fri, 15 Feb 2008 07:23:12 -0800, in alt.alien.vampire.flonk.flonk.flonk, PsychoChicken <bawkbawkbawkbawk@heseverywhereheseverywhere.com> bloviated: >In article <26n8r3dn87rgnljrv0t0bidfs7o71l37d1@4ax.com>, Aratzio >says... > >> On Thu, 14 Feb 2008 06:45:36 -0800, in >> alt.alien.vampire.flonk.flonk.flonk, PsychoChicken >> <bawkbawkbawkbawk@heseverywhereheseverywhere.com> bloviated: >> >> >Hey, Ratz... >> > >> >The last time I was around these parts (albeit probably wearing >> >leather rather than feathers) we were discussing Williams-Selyem >> >pinots. At that point you said you were on the list to get on >> >THE LIST. >> > >> >I see from subsequent poasts that you did indeed score, and I'm >> >wondering what your impressions were, both of the process and, >> >of course, especially of the wines. I was lucky enough to score >> >a bottle of their 04 Central Coast pinot over at K&L a couple of >> >months ago, and thought it was pretty damn good, and less >> >expensive than I had feared. >> >> I picked up a bottle online, except it was a 2004 Allen Vineyards. WOW >> WOW WOW that is some good wine. >> >> I actually cellared all of my fall purchases. The way they do the >> releases is Blends (drinkables) in the Spring, Vineyard designate >> (cellarable) in the Fall. So I will be a month behind you as I will >> drive up on the 26 or 27th of April and pick this shipment up myself. > >I'd certainly like to get by there at some point, but as I've >recently 'unretired' to sort out some data security issues for >an old friend's bank, I've kinda got my hands full right now. > >> When up there in the fall got to taste some of their other wines, >> Pinot, Chard & Zin. I am NOT a chardonay fan but if I am allocated any >> chardonay in the future I will most assuredly buy it all. The Zin was >> the single most unusual Zin I have ever tasted. I still cannot decide >> whether I liked it or not, it was that different. I think with a steak >> or some big food that Zin would be incredible, but as a drinking wine, >> I'm not so sure. > >I didn't even realize they made Chardonnay until I got my >allocation notice (altho all I get are pinots this go-round). I >enjoy big, dense Calif. chardonnays, but my old lady prefers >real white burgundy, preferably Louis Latour. Which way do the >W-S chards tend? French it would be. Less fruit more butter. > >> > >> >I just placed my first order (I did take you advice and got into >> >the queue back then) and am looking forward to adding to my >> >stash sometime in late March. >> > >> >Moo-oo-oo-oo!!!1! >> >> I was allocated 11 bottles the first go round. I bought them all. >> I was allocated 14 bottles this time. I bought them all. > >I only ordered one bottle each of three of the four pinots on my >first list. I'm starting to run out of rack space... I wish I had a real cellar. I am up to 3 of those damn fridges. >> >> Add to the list: > >> Sea Smoke (same deal as W-S, sign up, wait...) South/Central coast >> Pinots. Had one a while back, WOW it was good. Right up there with >> W-S. > >Sea Smoke is readily available here - I know two shops that have >allocations. I think its a bit over rated, at least the last >vintage was. Maybe I'm just not as big a fan of Santa Barabara >pinots as I am of central coast / Russian River wines They are different. As are the Oregon Pinots (still not a big fan there). > >> Armida - Long list of wines, ALL of them really good and available. >> Especially the Stuhmiller Cabernet and the Bacigalupi Pinot Noir. Just >> down Westside Road from W-S. >> >> Another one that makes some good wines was Bevedere (between W-S and >> Armida). Not vintage stuff but a great list of good drinkable wine. > >I'll have to look these two up and locate samples. (Gee, lifes >rough) > >I think that Siduri makes the most consistantly outstanding >pinots I've run into, almost every wine they release is 90+ in >Parker etc. Their house style tends towards the very big, in- >your-face side of the grape. As of very recently there was no >waiting for their list, or you can order thru K&L. Adds "siduri" to old palm tungsten e wine list. > >Lucia pinots are also great, altho a much more limited number of >vineyards. Its owned by Gary Pisoni. Yeah I like Pisoni stuff. Did some consulting for a board designer that is a friend of Pisoni. For some reason I kept having to go by his house to discuss issues with his design... > >The two 'newcomers' that I'm hooked on are Walter Hansel (mostly >various Russian River vineyards) and Sonnet (owned by the former >winemaker for David Bruce, offering a variety of central coast >and RR vineyards). They are both generally priced in the $30-40 >range and are outstanding values compared to some of the 'cult' >names. I get over on Westside Road there in RR valley and just go nuts. Everyone has something I like and 500 or more dollars later I come home. I've got to ignore Westside and hit Eastside one of these days.
In article <84ebr31pn3r2thg6nmsphb3v2a5q4n4pgq@4ax.com>, Aratzio says... > On Fri, 15 Feb 2008 07:23:12 -0800, in > alt.alien.vampire.flonk.flonk.flonk, PsychoChicken > <bawkbawkbawkbawk@heseverywhereheseverywhere.com> bloviated: > > >In article <26n8r3dn87rgnljrv0t0bidfs7o71l37d1@4ax.com>, Aratzio > >says... > > > >> On Thu, 14 Feb 2008 06:45:36 -0800, in > >> alt.alien.vampire.flonk.flonk.flonk, PsychoChicken > >> <bawkbawkbawkbawk@heseverywhereheseverywhere.com> bloviated: > >> > >> >Hey, Ratz... > >> > > >> >The last time I was around these parts (albeit probably wearing > >> >leather rather than feathers) we were discussing Williams-Selyem > >> >pinots. At that point you said you were on the list to get on > >> >THE LIST. > >> > > >> >I see from subsequent poasts that you did indeed score, and I'm > >> >wondering what your impressions were, both of the process and, > >> >of course, especially of the wines. I was lucky enough to score > >> >a bottle of their 04 Central Coast pinot over at K&L a couple of > >> >months ago, and thought it was pretty damn good, and less > >> >expensive than I had feared. > >> > >> I picked up a bottle online, except it was a 2004 Allen Vineyards. WOW > >> WOW WOW that is some good wine. > >> > >> I actually cellared all of my fall purchases. The way they do the > >> releases is Blends (drinkables) in the Spring, Vineyard designate > >> (cellarable) in the Fall. So I will be a month behind you as I will > >> drive up on the 26 or 27th of April and pick this shipment up myself. > > > >I'd certainly like to get by there at some point, but as I've > >recently 'unretired' to sort out some data security issues for > >an old friend's bank, I've kinda got my hands full right now. > > > >> When up there in the fall got to taste some of their other wines, > >> Pinot, Chard & Zin. I am NOT a chardonay fan but if I am allocated any > >> chardonay in the future I will most assuredly buy it all. The Zin was > >> the single most unusual Zin I have ever tasted. I still cannot decide > >> whether I liked it or not, it was that different. I think with a steak > >> or some big food that Zin would be incredible, but as a drinking wine, > >> I'm not so sure. > > > >I didn't even realize they made Chardonnay until I got my > >allocation notice (altho all I get are pinots this go-round). I > >enjoy big, dense Calif. chardonnays, but my old lady prefers > >real white burgundy, preferably Louis Latour. Which way do the > >W-S chards tend? > > French it would be. Less fruit more butter. I'll certainly try a bottle once they show up on my allocation. My personal favorites are Rombauer and Testarossa. And speaking of Testarossa, that's the other pinot list I belong to. They're out of Los Gatos, and do mostly central coast and Santa Barbara single vineyard bottlings. I opened a bottle of their '06 Rosella's pinot Friday night. Quite nice, if a touch bitey for pinot. Two-three years downstairs and it should be a winner. A few years ago I took a bottle of their Bien Nacido chardonnay to a wine tasting over at the Stanford faculty club, and it was the hit of the evening. > >> >I just placed my first order (I did take you advice and got into > >> >the queue back then) and am looking forward to adding to my > >> >stash sometime in late March. > >> > > >> >Moo-oo-oo-oo!!!1! > >> > >> I was allocated 11 bottles the first go round. I bought them all. > >> I was allocated 14 bottles this time. I bought them all. > > > >I only ordered one bottle each of three of the four pinots on my > >first list. I'm starting to run out of rack space... > > I wish I had a real cellar. I am up to 3 of those damn fridges. When I bought this place six years ago a cellar or something close was on the 'must have' list. Ended up with a downstairs bedroom with a walk-in closet dug into the hillside. Temps aren't quite as stable as with climate control - it gets down to 50 in the winter, and up to 65 in the summer in there, but the change is gradual, and the results so far have been pretty good. > >> Add to the list: > > > >> Sea Smoke (same deal as W-S, sign up, wait...) South/Central coast > >> Pinots. Had one a while back, WOW it was good. Right up there with > >> W-S. > > > >Sea Smoke is readily available here - I know two shops that have > >allocations. I think its a bit over rated, at least the last > >vintage was. Maybe I'm just not as big a fan of Santa Barabara > >pinots as I am of central coast / Russian River wines > > They are different. As are the Oregon Pinots (still not a big fan > there). Oregon pinots seem closer to French burgundy. Do you try many french reds? The wines from Gevrey-Chambertin and Nuits-St- Georges seem to be the closest to the 'new world' style in my experience. And I'm starting to see a lot of New Zealand pinots - that seems to be the current trendy 'outsider'. > >Lucia pinots are also great, altho a much more limited number of > >vineyards. Its owned by Gary Pisoni. > > Yeah I like Pisoni stuff. Did some consulting for a board designer > that is a friend of Pisoni. For some reason I kept having to go by his > house to discuss issues with his design... Cool! So tell me, are the rumors that his primary vineyard was planted with cuttings from DRC true? > >The two 'newcomers' that I'm hooked on are Walter Hansel (mostly > >various Russian River vineyards) and Sonnet (owned by the former > >winemaker for David Bruce, offering a variety of central coast > >and RR vineyards). They are both generally priced in the $30-40 > >range and are outstanding values compared to some of the 'cult' > >names. > > I get over on Westside Road there in RR valley and just go nuts. > Everyone has something I like and 500 or more dollars later I come > home. > > I've got to ignore Westside and hit Eastside one of these days. The only time I get up that way is passing through on my way up to my b-i-l's in Humboldt for intoxicants of a somewhat greener nature. -- "Tis an ill wind that blows no minds" ....PK
On Sun, 17 Feb 2008 09:25:02 -0800, in the land of alt.alien.vampire.flonk.flonk.flonk, PsychoChicken <bawkbawkbawkbawk@heseverywhereheseverywhere.com> got double secret probation for writing: >Cool! So tell me, are the rumors that his primary vineyard was >planted with cuttings from DRC true? No idea. -- Does the name Pavlov ring a bell? Aratzio - Usenet ruiner #2
