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Mr Riggs is a brand that made a splash when it first appeared a few years ago but – as much sub-consciously as anything – I always thought it would hit and run pretty fast, and disappear after a few vintages. I say this even though the wines have generally been very good. And well packaged. And reasonably priced. Maybe it’s just me, but the brand name itself just seemed to have gimmick written all over it.
Or it did. Now it doesn't. It’s good to see that the brand is still alive and going strong. In terms of quality, the following wines are the strongest bunch I have seen under this label.
As we enter the holiday season, I thought it time to up the caliber of my wine recommendations, to put the focus on some truly outstanding wines, which are somewhat costlier than those I have recently recommended. For many, they are special occasion wines, and they can help make those occasions that much more special.
This is a dry, slightly sparkling wine, with a pleasent, rich, complex aroma. A pleasure to sniff and taste, there’s a fruity note and there’s quite an undefined spicy note, definitely requires another bottle of researching . The producer specifies it as a wine “with characteristic Muscat taste and smell carrying combination of spicy tones of incense, cinnamon, basil and fruit tones of pine apple and strawberry”.
Although it does have the muscaty taste it’s a dry wine, but still does go well with desserts such as nutty cakes. Also goes well with lighter meat dishes and on it’s own.
The Ivanovi? winery is a winery with a long tradition, one of those where the younger generation has embraced it’s ancestry recipes and combined it with modern trends. Some of the details are available online. It is located in the ?upa region in southern Serbia.
Woo hoo! I'm thrilled to announce my contribution to this month's issue of Maxim, that venerable publication of scantily clad pretty young things and useful man tips on everything from screws to booze. Cue moi - I selected the wines and did much of the writing for the "Quaff On the Cheap!" piece in the Expert section of the March issue. I chose my fav five widely-available inexpensive reds, which they photographed for the very cool piece, and wrote up my thoughts on why they'll appeal to the mag's readers. Read on for the list of wines and a link to check it out! ;)
This is another great wine from the WinEco winery (Podrum Radenkovi?) from Southern Serbia. It is a not-very-dry Chardonnay, without a strong nose, but with an exceptional balance of fruity and barrique aromas. It is easy going, with a full taste, definitely one of the wines to accompany your lighter meals. It’s barrique traces make it a great complement to slightly smoked fish or cheeses, but it’s also great on it’s own.
In general, Chardonnay is particularly suited for the barrique (oak aged) treatment. Chardonnay Barrique develops a pronounced cognac aroma and becomes a truly full-bodied wine - all hints of fruity flavours become very subdued.
Score 9/10 Price: 800 RSD (?10) Retailer: Super Vero
2002 Grosset Watervale Riesling ? A little bit shy on the nose, but some citrus and floral characters can be noted. Palate has racy acid but is beautifully balanced. Full and long. Lovely wine, drinking well now. 91/100
1989 Jeffrey Grosset Polish Hill Riesling ? Honey, toast and ginger on the nose. Palate is tired, with some prickly acid and rapidly fading intensity. 81/100
1995 Penfolds Yattarna Chradonnay ? Honey, butter, some caramel and pine aromas. Nice richness to the palate with good carry across the palate. 88/100
2003 Te Kairanga Reserve Pinot Noir ? Stalk, liquorice, raspberry and sour cherry. Interesting texture, with lots of rich fruit leading into a dry finish. Not really my preferred style. 86/100
1968 Lindemans Reserve Bin 3820 Auburn Burgundy Hunter Coonawarra Clare ? Sweet perfume, leather, earth and raspberry. Soft, delicate palate. A lovely, fully mature wine. 89/100
1996 Henschke Lenswood Abbotts Prayer Merlot ? Briary, ash, graphite and chocolate. Medium bodied, with medium length but some alcohol sticks out and disrupts the line of the wine. 85/100
2001 Domaine Bruno Clavelier Chambolle-Musigny 1er Cru La Combe d’Orveaux Vieilles Vignes ? Lovely perfumed nose, black fruits, some earth, cherry and floral notes. The acid on the palate stands out a bit, although the structure seems good otherwise. Short to medium length, probably just struggled among the bigger wines surrounding it tonight. 87/100
2001 Brokenwood Graveyard Shiraz ? Sultana, smoke and earth. Palate is dry and spicy, with the acid sticking out over the fruit somewhat. Disappointing. 85/100
1996 Leasingham Cabernet Sauvignon Classic Clare - Mint, blackberry, vanilla and blackcurrant. Rich fruit to the palate, long and bright. Very young still. 88/100
2004 Henry of Pelham Riesling Icewine ? Nice nose of peach, apricot, citrus peel and mandarin. Palate is rich and very sweet. Quite simple, but enjoyable as long as the massive sweetness isn’t an issue for you. 89/100
NV Buller?s Rare Muscat ? Raisin, spice, tea leaves and some alcohol showing. Softly sweet on the palate, not as complex as previous bottles but still very nice. 90/100
The scientific method is a great tool for examining assumptions. You postulate a theory, you develop a way to test your hypothesis and then you analyze the data. Eventually you publish your findings in a peer review journal. Then it is rinse and repeat.
In the world of wine the requisite experimentation that is the crux of scientific study can take a long time. A very long time in the case of vineyards. To observe a change in a vineyard often takes decades, and in the case of vineyard to well aged wine, a lifetime may easily pass.
This leads to many theories being put into practice before they have been tested. The real world is the laboratory of wine. It is easy to understand why one might be hesitant to experiment in their vineyard, a vineyard that may be the sole source of one?s livelihood.
The result are beliefs that remain in place without a great deal of study or scientific foundation to back them up. This was the subject of a speech given recently at the American Society of Enology and Viticulture conference by UC Davis? Michael Anderson. The title ?Busting Wine Myths? neatly sums up one of my own reoccurring themes. If you are so inclined, the link above makes a good read.
Anderson and others at the conference cited various well held beliefs as being facetious. They included the theory of removing fruit from the vine to help increase the concentration of flavor in the remaining berries, as well as checking assumptions regarding long held irrigation practices.
Myths persist in any field, but the mystique surrounding wine helps to perpetuate and maintain dogmatic points of view. Few are immune from this practice. I have seen my own convictions fall prey when tested. I have every reason to assume there are others yet to be toppled.
What is the lesson to be learned? That believing is easier than knowing, to be sure, but more than that it is important to remember that everyone gets it wrong now and then. Conventional wisdom changes with fashion and embraces fads, but empirical evidence stands the test of, well.. testing.
Monolithic wine beliefs seem to be overturned with each new vintage. New data, new experiments, and better testing models help us understand wine in a way not possible just a decade earlier. As this trend continues, and as technology continues to solve problems, I fully expect wine to become more consistent and of higher general quality.
I am not sure that the high end of quality will ever budge, a great wine is a great wine by any standard. What we will continue to see is the bar being raised on the low end. Bulk wines may someday be better than what was bought as special occasion wine a generation ago.
Through it all a few voices cry out warnings. ?Beware that we do not lose site of ?place? in wine, terroir is what makes wine special.? Listen to the voices, it is variety that makes wine fun. Most of all, as always, listen to your own voice and drink what you enjoy. Busting myths make for great TV and we pundits love how it makes us sound when we espouse on the latest discovery, but it is, always has been, and always will be, just about the juice.
*Wave* Hi! I'm just getting into the wonderful world of vino, and I can safely say that my experience is fairly limited. My fiance got me into wines, more specifically red wines. I've had my share of Merlots and Cabernets, but those always tended to have too strong of a finish for me (I do love me a good Merlot from Blackstone winery though...YUM.) More recently, however, we went out to dinner at the Tasting Room with some friends, and ordered a Speri Valpolicella ripasso. I was in HEAVEN. Not too sweet, with a light finish.
On the white side, I like 'em sweet...Gewurtztraminers and Rieslings. I had a Pinot Grigio once...too dry. Chardonnay is middle-of-the-road to me, and champagne is just NOMMY.
However, there is a point to all of my ramblings...this is my wine experience so far, and I have a dillemma. My Blackstone Merlot, for example, is described as having "rich fruit aromas, elegance, supple oak characters and soft tannins. With lifted dark cherry and berry aromas and a touch of spicy clove, this wine is sure to be a crowd-pleaser. The texture is ripe and soft in the mouth, with bright cherry fruit flavors and a soft, lingering finish." However, I don't taste ANY of that. My mouth goes "hmmm....strong, heavy with a mouthpuckery finish." I don't taste the "lifted dark cherry" or the "bright cherry". How, then, can I develop my palate? (Or is the wine description merely a longwinded way of saying "hey, this is a Merlot"?)
*Edit* I just realized I missed a "t" in the Tasting Room link...the Tasing Room sounds like a restaurant I'd want to avoid. ;)
Of hundreds entered, just 27 Cabernet Sauvignons earned top-honor Gold Medals at the recently completed 2008 Dallas Morning News Wine Competition,...
[04/20/2008, 15:24]
Hi!
So, I know this is really only exciting to me because you don't know me, but I had to shout it off somewhere. I got into university! In September I start a degree in Oenology and Viticulture, at Plumpton college. I can't wait!
Also, UK wine fans, LoveThatWine is a great site for looking up wines, prices, styles, reviews etc. Enjoy :)
If you?re interested in designing your own custom wine cellar there are a number of options available to you. The best news is that there are wine cellar designs for everyone from the avid do-it-yourselfer to the complete woodworking novice.
There are modular wine racks that are available in different grains and finishes, with the least expensive generally being a wood such as pine. Most modular wine rack dealers will offer other materials such as red cedar or finished wood as well. Of course you can always save some money and finish the wood yourself if you desire a particular type of finish or color for your wine cellar racks.
There are many wine racking companies that offer crown molding and skirting pieces so that you can easily combine different styles of wine cellar racking materials and types. This approach can yield some very unique custom wine cellar designs.
There are built in glass racks that are made to fit snugly within a rack system. A good place for one of these individual units would be above the table top piece mentioned above. This would add to the ambience as well as functionality of your custom modular wine racking system.
If you want something a little different than the traditional wood wine cellar racks, there are attractive metal trellis rack pieces that are very economical, yet stylish. These tend to look classier than the wood modular wine racking pieces, especially for placement in bar areas that will be viewed by visitors.
If you would like to add a table area to your wine cellar while increasing the storage capacity of your cellar at the same time, a wine bin table may be the best addition to your modular racking system. There are taller, wine tasting tables that hold just over 100 bottles or about 180 bottles of wine, and there are shorter wine rack tables that hold more than 200 wine bottles in case bins.
There are many online dealers and manufacturers of wine cellar racking pieces that also offer custom computer design services to help you achieve the exact wine cellar layout that you have in mine. With many of these professional services you can then have the plans sent to you and decide if you will build them yourself or have someone else build them for you.
With all of the wine cellar design options available to you, there are many ways to accomplish the perfect wine cellar design for you and your situation. There are many wine enthusiasts online communities and the like where you can find others interested in the same things that you are and maybe gain some other ideas about wine cellars and the design aspect of creating your own wine cellar.
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Frankly, we were disappointed with our first visit to the Restaurant at Auberge du Soleil. There are many good choices for an expensive dinner in Wine County; this one doesn't make our list.
Nearly every day in San Francisco there is a farmers? market to check out, offering not only plenty to taste and buy, but sights, sounds and people-watching.
Set your sights on wine, and you?ll set your eyes on some of the most incredible scenery in BC?s three main wine regions. Here are ten of the best scene-stealing sights and activities that insiders guarantee will tempt your palate...
This $10 sparkling wine from Vouvray France is really very nice! Made from Chenin Blanc, it is pale straw in color with a lemony melon bouquet that is understated. It is somewhat thin on flavor but is crisply made and refreshing.
Somewhat non-descript but I tell you this is a "best buy" sparkler and worth seeking out! I'll buy more if given the chance. Raise a glass!
For $11 you should be trying any and all 05 Bordeaux you find; many of them will be bargains.
This one is a pretty plum purple with a wowing bouquet of sweet fruit that if I was blind folded I would say it was a rose with sweet fruity strawberry and cherry aromas.
Palate has some structure with forthright tannins and skimpy fruit that is a bit hollow with charcoals notes. This is just light bodied, easy to drink but is weird since it is 80% Merlot and 20% Cabernet yet tastes like a Beaujolais Cru. It is an easy drinking wine but very weird for Bordeaux. Let this one pass.
Tasted by TashNYC. Jen said this was extremely tight / closed, and needed a few years. But had potential. I didn't have the wine. At Bob Tarjan's 60th birthday party in Princeton, NJ (88 pts.) - Tasted 5/9/2008. [FIND IT!]
A magnificent Malbec! It picked up a trophy at the inaugural Wines of Argentina Awards held in Mendoza in 2007, having wowed the international panel of judges - included among them wine expert Jancis Robinson, who gave it an impressive 17 out of 20. This mulberry and spice-flavoured red wine was made by Herve Fabre, who was originally involved in the Bordeaux wine trade, before he and his wife fell in love with Argentina and moved there to establish a boutique winery. Herve's experience in producing top quality wines shines through in this tremendously rich, silky-smooth wine. Ripe blackberry and bramble aromas merge seamlessly with spicy oak and vanilla flavours. Full bodied, yet seriously smooth and warming. This 89 Parker point wine is sure to survive for many years to come. Definitely a wine to enjoy with fine food ... try it with rare roast beef or a juicy steak.
"Wonderfully succulent, rich berry fruit with hints of spice box." (Parker). A must-have wine from this superb estate, once provider of the second wine of Cos d'Estournel. "Blackberries ... herbs ... hints of spices." (Wine Spectator)
As fans of this famed winery will know, Cheval Blanc is the benchmark in great St Emilion. Awarded a near-perfect score of 99 points by Wine Magazine, this 2001 vintage doesn't disappoint. A wealth of concentrated fruit and a subtle use of oak make this a wine of accomplishment that will continue to evolve for years to come. "Silky, pure-fruited and smoothly (violet) perfumed with high ripe, silky tannins. Fabulously serious wine that grows on the palate." Wine Magazine
As fans of this famed winery will know, Cheval Blanc is the benchmark in great St Emilion. Awarded a near-perfect score of 99 points by Wine Magazine, this 2001 vintage doesn't disappoint. A wealth of concentrated fruit and a subtle use of oak make this a wine of accomplishment that will continue to evolve for years to come. "Silky, pure-fruited and smoothly (violet) perfumed with high ripe, silky tannins. Fabulously serious wine that grows on the palate." Wine Magazine
Awarded a perfect 100 points by both Robert Parker and the Wine Spectator, this is a rare opportunity to possess a wine that would top any wish list! Benefiting from a stellar vintage and the majestic touch of Lafite, this is the epitome of perfection. "Subtle aromas of currants, leather, tobacco and cedar. Classic cigar box nose, with fruit. Full-bodied, with an amazing texture of silky, ripe tannins. This wine completely coats your palate, but caresses it at the same time. A triumph." James Suckling, Wine Spectator
Tecnorati
This is a dry, slightly sparkling wine, with a pleasent, rich, complex aroma. A pleasure to sniff and taste, there’s a fruity note and there’s quite an undefined spicy note, definitely requires another bottle of researching 
. The producer specifies it as a wine “with characteristic Muscat taste and smell carrying combination of spicy tones of incense, cinnamon, basil and fruit tones of pine apple and strawberry”.
Woo hoo! I'm thrilled to announce my contribution to this month's issue of Maxim, that venerable publication of scantily clad pretty young things and useful man tips on everything from screws to booze. Cue moi - I selected the wines and did much of the writing for the "Quaff On the Cheap!" piece in the Expert section of the March issue. I chose my fav five widely-available inexpensive reds, which they photographed for the very cool piece, and wrote up my thoughts on why they'll appeal to the mag's readers. Read on for the list of wines and a link to check it out! ;)
This is another great wine from the 
