Rhône wine Puns

I’ve been drinking a lot of Cotes du Rhône and CdP wines and I’m getting a sweet aftertaste that reminds me of Coca Cola or milk chocolate depending on the wine. Is this characteristic from the Syrah? Would a pure Grenache wine not have this note?

I’ve been trying to explore Old World wines and decided to venture into cru Southern Rhône through this bottle, which turned out to be my first experience with brettanomyces. It smelled and tasted strongly of Band-Aid. I actually got used to it and eventually enjoyed the wine somewhat on my second glass, but it really stood in the way of detecting any other aromas or flavors.

I have a couple of questions:

• Is this characteristic of Southern Rhône wine? I.e. does most Southern Rhône have at least some hint of Brett?
• What confused me is that none of the expert or amateur reviews (Vivino/CellarTracker) mentioned this at all. If one bottle is heavy on Brett, will all bottles of the same vintage have the same? Or does it vary bottle to bottle, or barrel to barrel?
• Are some people more sensitive to Brett than others?

I live in NYC, so if you have a recommendation for something I can get locally, even better! One example that I love is J.L. Chave's Crozes-Hermitage, which I'm aware is over $20.

Wife and I will be in the Southern Rhône Valley for 4 days in September.

Any recommendations on particular AOCs and vineyards? We're visiting Châteauneuf-du-Pape but looking at other subs as well.

Also, any recommendations on B&Bs to base from?

1-year in wine

So I started my wine journey almost one year ago in February of 2021. Before then, I would maybe have a glass of wine once every couple of years. The pandemic pushed me to drink I guess. Since then, I have tried more than 170 different wines across as many different grapes, regions, styles, and price points as I could find, within reason. Here are my takeaways and highlights:

Takeaways:

I can’t tell much of a difference in quality once I hit about $60. $23-$36 is the sweet spot for me.

Your local independent wine store is an indispensable resource. Although when they get nerdy and excited about stuff, I end up buying more than I should. They know me by name and have started making recommendations based on what’s new in the store and my palate. It’s pretty cool.

For reds I like lean red fruit, medium body, acidic, and elegant wines. For whites I like ripping acidity, medium aromatics, clean citrus notes, and minerality. I trend towards cool climates, but sometimes you need a big bold tannic behemoth to stand up to a particular meal.

Don’t be afraid of sweet, especially with spicy or exotic fare.

Most wine should be consumed with food.

Tasting notes are subjective and about labeling/naming a flavor or characteristic so you can recognize it later. I don’t find other people’s tasting notes helpful unless I know them and their palate.

Expensive does not always equal good. Less than $10 usually means bad.

Highlights and recommendations by geography:

France is a great, if not expensive, place to start. The benefit of starting with France is that there are clearly delineated regions with specific grape and style specialities in each region. It’s a great way to get a sense of grape character, terroir, and how much influence a winemaker can have. There are some really overpriced wines out of the big regions, but some truly amazing values coming out of Alsace, the Loire, and the Languedoc. French wines are food wines first and foremost. Drinking a burgundy pinot noir is 1000% better with chicken in a dijon cream sauce. That being said, they are way too expensive, even at the village level. Alsace rieslings are well made, inexpensive, and incredibly versatile. Beaujolais are the bomb and I have tried wine from 9/10 crus (just missing chenas).

Favorites (in no particular order): Lapierre Morgon (Beaujolais) Chanteleuseurie Bourgueil Cabernet Franc (Loire) Chateau Kirwan Margaux (Bordeaux) Domaine Noelle Bachert Riesling (Alsace) Chate

Hi, I will make Coq au Vin this Christmas but I am struggling to select the best wine for this dish (to brine the meat with, not to pair the dish with). Is it necessary to use a 'quality' wine for this or does it more about the acid in the wine that has it effect on the meat?

If anyone in this community could advise a perfect coq au vin wine that would be very much appreciated.

Edit: thanks all

Does anyone make a sparkling wine in Chateauneuf du Pope? I don't think so but someone here might know for sure.

Let's talk about Cognac, or grape brandy, rather. I've seen several questions lately for recommendations for a good mixing Cognac. Brandy is perhaps my favorite spirit to mix with. Not only is it delicious. It can be very affordable. I also like to keep my mixing spirits under $30, if possible, both at home and the office. I mean, who wants to pay $17+ for a Sidecar, right? Can we actually get a good mixing Cognac for <$30? Yes, we can. Let me suggest that the best mixing brandy, however, isn't a Cognac at all...

Brandy is spirit distilled from a fermented fruit wine or mash. Some may make a distinction between eaux-de-vie and brandy. The former being new distillate. The later aged. Others group them together, simply, as brandy. Brandy can be made anywhere in the world, from practically any fruit. Cognac must be made in the Cognac region of France, under strict processes, from locally grown white grapes. Ugni blanc is the primary varietal used.

Cognac was once a preferred spirit in the States. The European phylloxera blight of the mid-to-late 19th century destroyed 40% of France's vineyards, including most of the Cognac region, essentially ending Americans' love affair. American whiskey (mostly rye at first) did its best to take its place. By the time the Cognac industry truly rebounded, Prohibition had reared its ugly head.

In 1886, Rémy Martin's Cognac vineyards were destroyed by phylloxera. Paul-Emile Rémy Martin II looked elsewhere in France for a supply of grapes to keep his business operating. He landed 120 miles NW of Cognac, in the Loire Valley. By this time, the legal Cognac definition and protection had long been established, forcing Paul-Emile to produce humble brandy. However, this allowed him to source both white and red grapes from France’s finest wine-growing regions, such as Burgundy, Champagne, the Rhône, Languedoc-Roussillon, Loire Valley, Bordeaux and Beaujolais. Freed of the strict Cognac regulations, St-Rémy distillery was born, focusing on a product, rather than a strict process.

Martine Pain was Cellar Master/Master Blender at St-Rémy for 35 years. She was responsible for the creation of St-Rémy XO, St-Rémy Réserve Privée, and St-Rémy Small Batch Reserve. In 2016, Cécile Roudaut succeeded Martine. Cécile first makes her mark on the brand in 2018, in the form of St-Rémy's Cask Finished Collection, followed by St-Rémy Signature in 2020. St-Rémy XO is typically adjudicated higher than the VSOP Cognacs most commonly found in the

I'm a wine drinker but not a fancy one at all. A $13 bottle of Côtes du Rhône is all I need. I've always been able to rely on Underwood's pinto noir as a drinkable cheap bottle. The last few months the taste has dramatically shifted into an oak-y, burnt, almost a peet like flavor like scotch. Does anyone have any information about why this is? I've tried to look it up but can't find anything about it. Does anyone know if this is a permanent change? I find it nearly undrinkable now.

It’s a Christmas gift. Red wine lover, on the drier, spicier side

Thanks!

So I am new to wine, and hoping to learn more, I went to a couple local wine shops and picked out a variety of bottles. I took notes, and feel like I got much better at drinking after just 10 bottles.

Methodology: None, really. I picked out wines based on shelf talkers, wine store recommendation, what I already knew I liked, and varieties that generally sounded interesting from my reading. I know very very little about wine and what I write is mainly informed by my moment-to-moment impressions. I’ve watched a few videos and read a few articles, but that’s all. Sometimes I try to figure out if an industry term is what I’m detecting. My partner, whose name I’ve censored here, has absolutely no training in food or booze but has one of the most precise and perceptive noses and palates I’ve ever encountered, so this was a fun project to do together and I’ve included some of their notes as well. My partner can taste something blind and basically tell you what the shelf-talker says, it’s absolutely wild.

Guidobono Barolo – 2015 Opened and let rest for 20ish minutes per instructions of the man at the wine shop. Smoothed out wonderfully. Lots of dried cherries, a little hint of acetone on the nose, not too sticky in the mouth. Color was a pale red, hints of brown or brick at times but deeper, garnet tones, and it became notably brick at the edges rather than watery. I loved this one. Was purchased to celebrate the occasion of ®#$%&@’s promotion at work. I chose this one because we tried their Langhe Nebbiolo last Christmas and loved it. Eaten with chicken nuggets from Popeyes…

Dila-O, Rkatsiteli Mtsvane – 2020 Obviously this is a white wine, but as someone coming at this new, I might expect it to be something different because of the color. But this was very much a white. Nose was hard to detect or be specific about, but obviously very fruity, ®#$%&@ smelled pears. I couldn’t get that specific. I had a little honey on the nose and in the taste. It had a quality I can’t quite name (maybe that’s minerality?), a touch of salinity, not sweet, a slight pepperiness. Color was a pale amber. Really, really gorgeous in the glass. This was eaten with hand pulled noodles and cut through the fat nicely with its crispness.

Oddero Barbera d'Alba Superiore – 2019 Dark, dark red. Very strong notes of dried sour cherry on the nose. Very fruity flavors. A lot of tartness in this one, was not terribly smooth, even after sitting open an hour or so. A

Hello everyone,

For my birthday I'd like to get a bottle of my birthyear (1995) wine. I live in France so I'm more used to french wines and they are accessible. I was thinking of village or premier Cru burgundy, left bank Bordeaux or northern Rhône. My budget is 150 €. Looking over at idealwine and comptoir des millésimes I found the following bottles:

Bordeaux:

La tour haut Brion 1995 - 94€ https://www.comptoirdesmillesimes.com/mission-haut-brion/chateau-la-tour-haut-brion-1995.html

Château Pichon Longueville Baron 1995 - 148€ https://www.comptoirdesmillesimes.com/chateau-pichon-longueville-baron/chateau-pichon-longueville-baron-1995.html#product-detail

Château Gruaud Larose 1995 - 104€ https://www.comptoirdesmillesimes.com/chateau-gruaud-larose/chateau-gruaud-larose-1995.html

Château Haut Batailley 1995 - 74€ https://www.comptoirdesmillesimes.com/haut-batailley/chateau-haut-batailley-1995.html

Bourgogne :

NSG 1er cru les vallerots - 49€ (auction) https://www.idealwine.com/fr/acheter-vin/B2205529-3048-1-Bouteille-Nuits-Saint-Georges-1er-Cru-Les-Vallerots-Charles-Antonin-1995-Rouge.jsp

MOREY SAINT-DENIS J.M AUJOUX 1995 - 60€ (auction) 2 bottles https://www.idealwine.com/fr/acheter-vin/B2205529-3076-2-Bouteilles-Morey-Saint-Denis-J.M-Aujoux-1995-Rouge.jsp

CHAMBOLLE-MUSIGNY CHARLES ANTONIN 1995 - 73€ (auction) 2 bottles https://www.idealwine.com/fr/acheter-vin/B2205529-2969-2-Bouteilles-Chambolle-Musigny-Charles-Antonin-1995-Rouge.jsp#descriptif

I couldn't find any Rhônes at that price point, maybe for another birthday!

So what do you guys think? Is the Chateau Pichon Longueville (2nd cru classé) worth the 2x over the 5th Cru haut batailles?

Is la tour haut Brion a nice choice? Or I'm just biased because of the label?

For the Bourgogne, can a village-level wine withstand 27 years of aging?

Edit: also if anyone knows of any other french/European website selling vintage wines please do tell me :)

Any suggestions or comments are welcome! Thanks !

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Long time enjoyer of wine is looking to build a collection to enjoy with the next generation. I'd like to find a single wine that I can acquire every year and start to enjoy over the next 5-40 years. Conventional wisdom states: buy what you enjoy drinking (obviously). We are fortunate enough to live 30-90 minutes away from the entirety of Napa & Sonoma counties so we have a few favorites. I most enjoy Sonoma (Dry Creek) Rhône-style red blends & Pinot's...but I want to pick something I know will not only be magnificent in 20-30 years, but will also be befitting of life's most special occasions, like a First Growth wine (but from CA). I'm thinking along the lines of Opus One and Insignia but I tend to shy away from the macro-wineries (my favorite wineries to visit neither allow busses/limo's nor sell bedazzled "it's wine o'clock somewhere" items). At the same time, i'd like to be able to acquire 6-12 bottles every year without much of a hassle and remain in the neighborhood of $200/bottle (for current release or futures) so that excludes the Screaming Eagles of the world. Net-Net, I know wine preferences are subjective but i'd like to pick your brain on what may be considered an objectively great wine fitting this profile. I'll be doing some tasting trips over the holidays and would love to build a short list. Thank you!

A few weeks ago, someone on this subreddit asked whether a 2003 Côte dû Rhône from Guigal was still drinkable. A lot of the answers said it wouldn't be enjoyable or even vinegar.

Then again, the are people who consider drinking young Châteauneuf du Pape as infanticide. It has more or less the same grape varieties as a CdR.
In other words: If a variety is suitable for aging per se, is it "only" the initial grape quality that determines if a wine is going to be age worthy? Or are other factors - such as the use of oak - even more important?

Thanks!

I've gotten hooked on Paso Cabs lately and love those, but no shade to Napa (and Sonoma as well), but realized that as a server I should probably have a good pithy blurb for why they should choose given Napa Wine vs. given Paso Wine that I recommend them when I like both similarly.

I usually glean the best info from side by side, just haven't had the chance to do this with a bottle of each yet, but for work purposes, what's my best short answer for the guest? As in, I can tell them the different terroirs and general platitudes those bring, but I'm looking for broad distinctions they might find useful.

Any insight will be appreciated!

Hi r/wine!

I am very new to wine (have only been exploring it in-depth for a few months) but I am making a Cottage Pie (or maybe a Shepherd’s Pie if I can find good lamb) and am looking for some pairing suggestions. So far, I’ve been thinking of maybe a Spanish Garancha or a (Cote du) Rhône blend and I was wondering if I am headed in the right direction or if there are other varietals that might be even better. (Also, it is currently 10°F/-12°C where I am, so I am definetely thinking of trying to pair a more hearty wine.)

Bottle porn without notes, random musings, off topic stuff