From Bodega Contador . . .
2008 La Viña de Andres Romeo, a 100% Tempranillo from a single vineyard, “La Liende,” in San Vicente de la Sonsierra in the Rioja, Spain. Amazing!
2008 La Viña de Andres Romeo, a 100% Tempranillo from a single vineyard, “La Liende,” in San Vicente de la Sonsierra in the Rioja, Spain. Amazing!
My friend first introduced me to this wine before had kids and could spend quite a lot on one bottle. This was not as good but a lovely wine for the money. Decided to spend a little more than usual. With duty and VAT being what they are in the UK an extra £4-£5 spend can make a fair bit of difference.
Who is the producer? I don’t see one on the label – looks like it might be from a co-op, but it’s hard to tell.
It’s Sainsbury’s on their Taste the Difference range. All their stuff in the £10 - £ 15 range has been decent. Carry some of the less than obvious Italian varietals as well.
Opened this last night. Blah…past its time. Tasted a lot like raisin water. Oh well, can’t win them all.
New Year’s Eve dinner party
With appetizers, a bottle of n.v. Francis Boulard Extra Brut, Grand Cru Champagne (2010 harvest, with 30% reserve wines from 2008 and 2009; 60/40 Pinot Noir and Chardonnay; disgorged March 2014)
With oysters, n.v. Gaston Chiquet Brut Blanc de Blancs d’Aÿ, grand Cru Champagne (100% Chardonnay; disgorged March 2014)
With a paella containing chicken thighs, clams, shell-on shrimp, chorizo, artichoke hearts, piquillo peppers, freshly shelled peas, a bottle of 2005 R. Lopez de Heredia Viña Gravonia Crianza (100% Viura).
More wines on New Year’s Day . . .
n.v. Champagne Pierre Moncuit Brut Blanc de Blancs, Grand Cru (magnum)
n.v. Champagne Pierre Peters “Cuvée de Réserve” Brut Blanc de Blancs, Grand Cru (750ml)
2014 Ameztoi Getariako Txokolina (two bottles)
2010 CVNE Crianza, Rioja
n.v. Ferriera “Quinta do Porto” 10-Year Tawny Porto, Douro
Sunday, with homemade lasagne . . .
2010 Barbaresco “normale” from the Produttori del Barbaresco – still youthful, but incredibly delicious!
Monday, with lamb chops . . .
1999 David Bruce Syrah, Estate Bottled, Santa Cruz Mountains AVA.
This is the “partner” wine to the bottle we opened 2-1/2 weeks ago (i.e.: the 1999 Petite S[i]rah; see above), and at 16 years of age, was simply beautiful. Less surprising, perhaps, than the Petite (which doesn’t necessarily age as well as “true” Syrah), this opened beautifully with about 20 minutes in the decanter to provide a spicy, flavorful wine with great depth and a long finish, able to cut through the richness of the Sonoma lamb . . .
These are from New Years weekend…
This Pinot was my favorite of the bunch.
Pink bubbles are always fun.
And this was a gift…just okay.
A bottle from this year’s allotment. A really nice, rich, juicy Pinot. Plan is to put the rest of the bottles away for a few years…but I have impulse control issues so we shall see! 
2010 Black Slate Priorat, produced from a single village (Porrera). An amazing wine – and a great value! Served with a variety of cheeses and charcuterie . . .
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1988 Château Les Justices, Sauternes (375ml) – a beautiful accompaniment to a pear tart . . .
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Am I really the only one posting here?
Last night, with some light goat cheeses as an appetizer course:
2013 Sancerre-Chavignol, “Les Monts Damnés,” Thomas-Labaille (Loire, France) – just delightful!
With the main course of roasted leg of lamb, with whole roasted heads of cauliflower and romanesco broccoli (served with a romesco sauce), we started with
2005 Niepoort “Batuta” Vinho Tinto (Douro, Portugal) – still youthful but very tasty.
And followed that up with a bottle of
1994 L’Ecole No. 41 “Apogée,” Pepper Bridge Vineyard (Walla Walla Valley AVA, Washington State) – very tight and shy immediately after decanting, this needed about an hour to open up and when it did, it was stunning!
And concluded with
1994 Ramos Pinto Vintage Porto (Douro, Portugal) – at 21 years of age, this wine was amazing, but still has years to go before reaching its peak.
Well, pretty much… yes. But don’t stop. One of these days you’ll post a wine I can find near me at a price I’m OK with. My daily drinkers are under $10 these days. When I find one I like I tend to repeat often, so nothing nearly as interesting as yours.
Same here. Bottles of TJ’s central coast red blends are about all I can afford these days.
OK. You got me. The Sancerre was around $24, but of my other recent posts . . .
The 2010 Black Slate was under $20 when I bought it, and I just acquired some 2013 for $19.99 (but I’ve seen it in the $22-24 range, too). That will be opened once I’ve finished the 2011 and 2012 vintages . . .
The 2009 Capcanes Mas Donis (which I just realized was auto-corrected above to “Cupcakes”!) was under $15 when I bought it. The current vintage (2013) can be found for between $11.99-$14.99.
The Sauternes is a bit of a cheat – it’s a 1988 and I bought it at release. At the most, I think it cost $11.99, and was probably under $10 – but that was in 1990 or '91, so . . .
So, too, is the bottle of L’Ecole No. 41 – IIRC, I think it was about $30 or so suggested retail, but I worked for the wholesaler at the time, and so paid $20. (If it had been corked or OTH, I had a 1985 Château de Beaucastel CdP waiting in the wings, so to speak; the price tag on the bottle reads $15.95).
The 2005 Batata from Niepoort was certainly more money. I don’t remember for sure, but I think it was around $50-60, less discounts.
And finally, the 1994 Ramos Pinto Vintage Porto was actually a relatively recent purchase, when I realized – much to my surprise – that I had no bottles of Vintage Porto from 1994, and my stepdaughter was turning 21! I think I paid $79 or so – the wine was superb, and considering what bottles of '94 Taylor, Fonseca, or Noval are running these days¹ . . .
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I’ll confess I haven’t had a great deal of luck when I’ve tried <$10 bottles, but to be fair, I’ve also given up for the most part on them, so I haven’t tried very many of late. My “sweet spot” is $20 – say $15.99-$24.99, though I’m not opposed to spending more, particularly if I can find something on sale or even on close-out. For example, I’m a big fan of the table wines from Quinta do Crasto – I’ve seen their 2012 Vinas Velhas for as much as $44.99 in Northern California, so when I found it for $29.99, I grabbed it.
Cheers!
¹ According to wine-searcher, Taylor’s and Fonseca average about $205/btl., while the average price for a bottle of 1994 Noval – the “regular,” not the Nacional – is $240!
