Dropped off some case boxes, with Styrofoam inserts, at a local wine shop. I have no use for them and I don’t want them going into a landfill. For my gratitude they gave me a bottle of 2014 Alta Pavina Selecto (tempranillo/pinot noir blend). Extremely tasty and went very well with grilled burgers.
Had friends to dinner on the 4th… After Aperol Spritzes (I know, SWMBO is going with the fad…) we had a 2009 Dry Creek Heritage Vines Zinfandel (purchased on the 2012 rpm Tour). Tourists will remember I gushed over this wine at the time as a textbook perfect example of the bright-red fruit, medium body, low(ish) alcohol Zinfandel that was the ideal of California winemakers from the 19th century through the beginning of the fashion for high extract, overripe fruit, high alcohol Zins (which started in the mid-1970s and is still with us). It was, and it has aged beautifully without losing the balanced brightness that made it so charming in youth. The perfect accompaniment for grilled salmon - which was our main course. This Zinfandel is at its peak now, and will probably hold another 5 years. This in a wine that was ~10 a bottle on the Tour. Always listen to the little old wino, rpm. Your patience with this wine is rewarded.
@rpm
Speaking of “list to rpm”: the 2013 McCay Lot 13 Zin was also doing very well. I should have bought a couple more for further ageing. 13.8% from a Lodi Zin!
Leftover(s) night, so I decided to open a Garagiste 2010 Piers Saffran. Drinks well above the $20 price point. Great qpr. Glad I have a few more of this one and some other Piers.
2013 Wellington Syrah, Sonoma County.
Likewise, glad I overbought on the Wellingtons.
OK, not a lot…a quick scan shows 43, including some
ports, but I did find a Shafer Merlot while I was
looking, so there’s that.
Oh, the Syrah is nice, excellent nose, jumped out
of the bottle at me. Fresh and flavorful on pop-n-pour.
@CorTot@rjquillin Yeah, this year we didn’t even have beer at ours! But I think we did in the past. Also nothing as amazing as tritip or smoked whole pig, but then again we only have about 25 people come to the picnic.
@klezman We also took the easy way out tonight. Hummus and crackers with the last of a Floodgate Rose, then I opened a 2013 Windrun PN, to go with surprisingly excellent microwaveable rigatoni with ragu, and pretty enjoyable microwaveable chicken meatballs.
Lest anyone question my patriotism, I had a hot dog on Sunday.
@InFrom Sounds nice and easy
Although being in CA, I have to make my own Buffalo wings if I want them to be enjoyable. Frank’s Red Hot + butter + some additional spices, usually garlic, onion, coriander, smoked paprika, and habanero sauce.
@klezman that sounds yummy. Last night, the thought of starting to cook dinner from scratch was more than I could contemplate.
Tonight, at beautiful Tanglewood, for the start of the Symphony’s summer season. We’re not up to the level of bringing a candelabra to the lawn, but we do ok. I bough a lawn cart last summer for all the stuff we drag along.
We started tonight’s festivities with a can of Rosé bubbles from Underwood, now we’re onto a bottle of 2015 Onesta Grenache Blanc. Watching the lawn gradually full up with music students, summer home dwellers, urban escapees, etc. A wonderful place to be, especially on a warm New England evening.
@InFrom Sounds nice!
Buffalo wings pass for “semi-slacker” dinner in our house. Mostly unattended waiting for the wings to crisp up in the oven.
Full on slacker dinner is more like ordering in, freezer food, or just slicing up some meat and cheese.
Sometimes the cook (me) needs a break!
@InFrom Sounds like Ravina in Highland Park, IL. I’ve been to a number of concerts there. Some people really go all out (candelabras, etc.). Last time I was there was for the Moody Blues (with a couple of bottles of rose between my wife, daughter, and I).
2014 Navarro Gewurtztraminer, Dry
As Alsatian as any California wine I’ve tasted (especially now that I have more reference from having been to Alsace!)
2012 Wellington Grenache estate with grilled pork chops.
Scott was right, this is a bad example of Wellington Grenache. A rare miss from Peter. Hot, jammy, reminded me of a medium bodied Syrah if anything.
@CorTot@ScottW58 That was three years ago for the Grenache. The nearly undrinkable '11 Noceto improved over that time to something consumable. I need to sample the Wellington again. Send you a bottle?
@CorTot@rjquillin
No cortot just tried the Grenache yesterday and confirmed my thoughts! And don’t send me any 11 Noceto thanks I have enough just consumable wine
@CorTot@ScottW58 I do try to find something to like about most bottles, it’s true. Which is not the same as liking everything
But I’m not opening another of those 2012 Wellingtons until (probably) early next year in the hopes that the sappiness keeps ebbing.
Drank a 2010 Iron Horse Ocean Reserve over the weekend… in between visiting 19 wineries and 1 brewery in the Finger Lakes over 3 days! More on that later.
1995 Chateau Fontesteau, Haut-Medoc
Seemed a little tired, we’ll see how the second half does tomorrow. Worth the $23 at K&L, but not much more than that.
You got me thinking about wines from the Rocks so…2016 Sleight of Hand Syrah Psychedelic Stoney Vine Vineyard. Clocks in at 13.8 abv and is delicious! I wouldn’t normally buy a wine with a music based theme and rock and roll labels but a friend talked me into trying these and i’m glad I did. As good a syrah as you can get from anywhere imho.
@klezman I kinda wondered why I even had one, as all four CT thinks I own are up there.
Tired, thirsty; it fulfilled it’s duty.
40% gone, must have been pretty decent.
@rjquillin Pretty darn good, but seems to have lost a bit from day one, and gained a bit of VA.
Seems like this needs some attention, sooner than later.
@klezman How’s this doing, I seem to remember Peter commenting a year or so? ago that this should be drank in the next 2 - 3 years. Still have several left.
@hscottk@Mark_L@rc70@rjquillin Yeah, it’s good. My recollections from last year were that it was a little more interesting, but not a large enough difference to think it’s anywhere near the end of its life. I’ve got the second half tonight after being under air/cork the last day. I’m expecting some slightly oxidized flavours.
Last night, 2015 Franny Beck Pinot Noir Armstrong Vineyard, a purchase from last year’s Berserker Day. Opened up into a beautiful, lush Pinot. With Jamie Oliver’s Chicken in Milk, an odd-sounding but fantastic and easy recipe.
Looking at the Franny Beck label, I learned they’re located in Rickreall, OR, a place I knew nothing about until I looked it up.
@chipgreen I’m glad you enjoyed it!!! I had fun planning it. I knew it was pretty transparent, but it was a giggle anyway. And that town name – impossible to resist.
Made grilled shrimp with a garlic olive oil and calabrian chili marinade sauce with some roasted duck fat potatoes. Spicy and light on a hot damn day. Well the shrimp and wine was anyways
2013 Peterson Vignobles. This is going down real well. I’m thinking maybe I should have gotten two cases-- I expect it will continue to drink well for several years.
@ScottW58
Can’t edit my initial comment but should add that it’s crisp and clean, very refreshing, etc…but probably overpriced at $39 (but the Limestone Ridge/Vista Verde designation likely commands price).
2011 Ca’ de’ Rocchi (Tinazzi) Ripasso della Valpolicella Superiore Monterè. Cellartracker gives it 90 - 93 points, and I agree. Glad I have another. Amarone fan from way back, and Ripassos usually don’t do it for me…but this is excellent!
@InFrom That’s too funny, also, a bit too close to home. But no, at home. Finally moved the multiple cases blocking access to the doors. Still need to populate the new one I got from CL.
@hscottk Drinking quite nicely. They still have a shelf life, but why wait? They are enjoyable now. Finished yesterday’s bottle tonight and no evidence of it declining.
2010 Saint Siffrein Chateauneuf-Du-Pape.
Pretty good on Pop-N-Pour…we’ll see later.
SWMBO really likes it, given that she prefers Syrah/Shiraz.
I had the Le Cigar Volant the other day, and decided that my wheelhouse might include the Rhone varietals now.
So, you guys rave about Flannery dry aged steaks, and I’ve never had one. So, I stopped by my local meat purveyor and asked if he had any dry aged steaks. He said; “No, I do them to order. You buy a chunk of meat and I’ll dry age it for 3 weeks at no charge”. We discussed it a while, and I ended up ordering a whole Rib Roast, and asked him to cut the bones off so I could smoke them, and dry the rest. He says a whole roast is about 14 lbs., and has 7 ribs, and loses about 30% in drying and trimming. I assume that he’ll cut them into steaks, wrap them and I’ll freeze what I don’t eat immediately. So, fellow Woo…uh Casemates, am I going in the right direction, and do you have any suggestions for me.
I plan to grill them on my natural gas Weber, and pop the 2006 Chappellet Pritchard Hill or some such wine.
@FritzCat
Super important: dry age the whole rib, then remove the bones and cut the steaks. The bones protect the meat and result in a lot less trim waste. That might be what you meant, but just in case…
You can also do this at home, like I do, with an old chest or upright freezer that you just modify to maintain the right temperature (a few degrees above freezing).
You also don’t get much flavour change with only 3 weeks ageing, at least not without a room full of microbes ready to make it more tasty. With 2-3 weeks, you’ll get a more tender and dense steak with a bit more flavour intensity. The aged and more complex flavours start coming out around 4 weeks and improve/intensify from there. Almost all the moisture loss is in the first week or so, and contrary to populate belief, only affects the air-exposed edges.
I did a whole rib in my home setup for 49 days, and there was almost no microbial growth on the outside and not much funk.
@FritzCat
I’ve done two slabs - a “tester” that was a boneless (whole) striploin and a bone-in rib.
For the strip, the part that would have been against the bone needed about 1/16" to 3/8" of trimming to remove the dried “jerky”-ish portion. The fat cap on top protects most of the meat on that side (and adds a ton of flavour). Then it’s just the ends of the piece that need trimming.
The boneless striploin lost about 35-40% post-trim with 35 days of age. The bone-in rib lost 26% total from moisture and trim with 50 days of age.
Now what you can also do is ask your butcher to grind the trim up along with some chuck or sirloin to make a burger blend. Then you don’t lose all that tasty beef. Another play out of the Flannery playbook!
@klezman Thanks for the info. I knew you guys could hook a brothah up. (We’ve got us some interesting math here too. I suspect that the bone won’t lose mass, so the loss would be less with bone (been drinking, won’t write the algebraic equation). And (although I value your advice), I did get kinda excited about the possibility of smoking those bones next weekend, at the beginning of the process.)
@FritzCat
Oh, smoked beef ribs are amazing. (As are smoked pork ribs for that matter.) I kind of want to make them now, but I’m having some 56- and 70-day Flannery tonight that are taking a nice warm bath in the sous vide before hitting the cast iron. Life is hard, I know.
The ribs had more fat that I trimmed off than did the striploin, too, so that’s another variable. But yeah, the expected loss should definitely be lower with the bone in, but the best way to get the differential estimate would be:
a) buy two bone-in sub-primals
b) cut the meat off the bones for one of them
c) age both for the same amount of time in the same chamber
d) take the meat off the bone for the second one
e) weigh them pre-trim (the one aged with bones will definitely have lost less here)
f) trim, then weigh again
With those Flannerys I’m having a York Creek 2001 Willow Block Cabernet. Not sure if Cathy was still making their wines by then, but it’s a solid property. Same source as Ridge’s York Creek Cab and Zin.
Impromptu get together with old friends.
2016 Hawley Wine Zinfandel Old Vine
2015 Cornerstone Cellars Syrah Mendocino County Ram’s Horn Vineyard
2016 Benevolent Neglect Syrah Las Madres Vineyard Carneros
Red
2013 World’s End Wavelength Stagecoach Vineyard
Thanks, I was just about to do that… happy July!
SakéOne Moonstone Asian Pear - paired well with mowing 2+ acres!
2006 Winesmith Cab Sauv Lodi Mokelumne River
@rc70 totally jealous
2013 Wellington Vineyards Cabernet Sauvignon
I think I may have too much Wellington, if that’s possible.
@rjquillin
I doubt that there is anyone, including Peter himself, who has more Wellington wines than you.
@chipgreen At least I got to help him vacation; hopefully…
@chipgreen @rjquillin Vacation? You’ve fully funded his retirement!
@chipgreen @rjquillin Though a lot of us pitched in for that…
@InFrom @rjquillin
Yes, 280 bottles for me if I include Denier-Handal. Still holding 220.
2008 WineSmith Pinot Noir
2005 WineSmith Pinot Noir Second Fiddle Fiddlestix Vineyard
With tri-tip, corn and scalloped potato’s
2014 LBT zin by Pedroncelli
Slow cooking some Saint Louis ribs with baked potatoes and watermelon salad.
Dropped off some case boxes, with Styrofoam inserts, at a local wine shop. I have no use for them and I don’t want them going into a landfill. For my gratitude they gave me a bottle of 2014 Alta Pavina Selecto (tempranillo/pinot noir blend). Extremely tasty and went very well with grilled burgers.
@jmdavidson1
Good on you!
@jmdavidson1 That’s a nice idea! How many boxes is “some”?
@InFrom 20. +1 finally agreed that the wine should come out of the boxes, so I bought a couple of racks at IKEA.
@InFrom @jmdavidson1
Well done, got a free bottle of wine and some Swedish meatballs out of the deal!
Continuing a Virage 2016 Cab Franc Rose and starting a 2015 Wind Gap Syrah Nellessen Vineyard
And Flannery burgers
@klezman
Nice Tuesday night!
@ScottW58 we do what we can!
2001 Ardente CS Grande Rsv Atlas Peak
2009 David Arthur Old Vine CS
Had friends to dinner on the 4th… After Aperol Spritzes (I know, SWMBO is going with the fad…) we had a 2009 Dry Creek Heritage Vines Zinfandel (purchased on the 2012 rpm Tour). Tourists will remember I gushed over this wine at the time as a textbook perfect example of the bright-red fruit, medium body, low(ish) alcohol Zinfandel that was the ideal of California winemakers from the 19th century through the beginning of the fashion for high extract, overripe fruit, high alcohol Zins (which started in the mid-1970s and is still with us). It was, and it has aged beautifully without losing the balanced brightness that made it so charming in youth. The perfect accompaniment for grilled salmon - which was our main course. This Zinfandel is at its peak now, and will probably hold another 5 years. This in a wine that was ~10 a bottle on the Tour. Always listen to the little old wino, rpm. Your patience with this wine is rewarded.
@rpm
Speaking of “list to rpm”: the 2013 McCay Lot 13 Zin was also doing very well. I should have bought a couple more for further ageing. 13.8% from a Lodi Zin!
2011 Law Estate Beguiling with chicken stuffed poblanos, corn/black bean salad and Spanish rice.
@jmdavidson1
Not familiar with the wine but sure like your dinner!
@jmdavidson1
Well I’m lightly familiar with the wine what did you think? Food sounds great!
@ScottW58 85% grenache, 15 % syrah. Bin Sale item, otherwise overpriced at msrp. But…delicious.
Leftover(s) night, so I decided to open a Garagiste 2010 Piers Saffran. Drinks well above the $20 price point. Great qpr. Glad I have a few more of this one and some other Piers.
@jmdavidson1 Good to hear, will make a note on mine and move one to the drink area.
2013 Wellington Syrah, Sonoma County.
Likewise, glad I overbought on the Wellingtons.
OK, not a lot…a quick scan shows 43, including some
ports, but I did find a Shafer Merlot while I was
looking, so there’s that.
Oh, the Syrah is nice, excellent nose, jumped out
of the bottle at me. Fresh and flavorful on pop-n-pour.
Ordered 6 more
@ScottW58 It was rather warm today.
Source?
@rjquillin
From the winery.
@rjquillin @ScottW58 I didn’t know Joe released anything that young!
@klezman @rjquillin
Ha! Just rose I think
2007 Agharta Red Label
2013 Woot Cellars Revelry
Company picnic
2013 Bailiwick Wines Pinot Noir Borderline
2013 Bailiwick Wines Vermentino
2013 Château Bianca Riesling
2015 Farmstrong Field White
2013 Iron Horse Vineyards Wedding Cuvée
2016 Kent Rasmussen Pinot Noir Esoterica
2017 Nervi Gattinara Rosa
2017 Pedroncelli Dry Rosé of Zinfandel Dry Creek Valley
2015 Scott Harvey Barbera Mountain Selection
2015 Scott Harvey Zinfandel Winemakers Reserve
2016 Tercero Mourvedre Rosé
2013 Wellington Vineyards Roussanne
2014 Windrun Pinot Noir Lafond Vineyard Sta. Rita Hills
2018 WineSmith Grenache Dry Rosé Bates Ranch
2014 WineSmith Pinot Gris Meador Estate
With a ~55# roasted pig and more tri-tip than we could eat.
@rjquillin oye!
My company doesn’t do any alcohol at the picnic.
Stupid liability
@CorTot @rjquillin Yeah, this year we didn’t even have beer at ours! But I think we did in the past. Also nothing as amazing as tritip or smoked whole pig, but then again we only have about 25 people come to the picnic.
@rjquillin
Nice! Love me some roasted pig
@rjquillin Goodness gracious! Can i intern over there?
2007 Notre Vin Cabernet Sauvignon Cuvée L’Etrier
2013 Engracia Syrah Deerfield Vineyard
Last night;
2013 Iron Horse Estate Chardonnay
2013 Iron Horse Unoaked Chardonnay
N.V. Dosnon Champagne Recolte Rose
NV Gruet Brut
It’s Friday again…well Friday for me
Hangers and Chimichurri
@ScottW58 You’re gonna run outta those bottles…
@rjquillin
That may be but I love them so I drink them and I’m pretty sure I bought them to drink
@rjquillin @ScottW58 JD is a happy camper. In my stash of 20 boxes (see previous post), I found 6 2010’s and 6 2013’s. Congruence lives on!
@jmdavidson1 @rjquillin
Yeah baby! I have 4 08’s 3 09’s and 3 11’s I think
@jmdavidson1 @ScottW58
CT thinks I have 2 each, with Klez
but I know there are more, just not how many…
Need to visit the locker
2012 Black Cat Family Cuvee.
The Pennsylvania LCB had my favorite on clearance, Red Newt Circle Riesling (2016). Too good a price to pass up, got me some. Enjoying me some!
@enville Red Newt is excellent stuff! I prefer their dry bottlings more, but nonetheless…
2013 Keller Estate Syrah Rotie
Last night cooked up some Flannery Dry Aged Shortloin Tail’s, wow they are good and a hell of a deal
@ScottW58 Any chance of you visiting with some Brunello di Montalcino? Recently read “My Italian Bulldozer”…
@ScottW58 @TimothyB If you two want to meet “in the middle” I’ve got some good Italians to open also…
@klezman @TimothyB
This is a very good idea! People don’t drink enough Italian wine and I have a ton of it
Did you read that book because you need a reset in life??
Last night
2013 Bianchi Geste GSM Paso Robles
Uninspired on the cooking front tonight, so we’re making Buffalo wings.
Opened a 2013 McCay Faith Lot 13 Zinfandel
@klezman We also took the easy way out tonight. Hummus and crackers with the last of a Floodgate Rose, then I opened a 2013 Windrun PN, to go with surprisingly excellent microwaveable rigatoni with ragu, and pretty enjoyable microwaveable chicken meatballs.
Lest anyone question my patriotism, I had a hot dog on Sunday.
@InFrom Sounds nice and easy
Although being in CA, I have to make my own Buffalo wings if I want them to be enjoyable. Frank’s Red Hot + butter + some additional spices, usually garlic, onion, coriander, smoked paprika, and habanero sauce.
@klezman that sounds yummy. Last night, the thought of starting to cook dinner from scratch was more than I could contemplate.
Tonight, at beautiful Tanglewood, for the start of the Symphony’s summer season. We’re not up to the level of bringing a candelabra to the lawn, but we do ok. I bough a lawn cart last summer for all the stuff we drag along.
We started tonight’s festivities with a can of Rosé bubbles from Underwood, now we’re onto a bottle of 2015 Onesta Grenache Blanc. Watching the lawn gradually full up with music students, summer home dwellers, urban escapees, etc. A wonderful place to be, especially on a warm New England evening.
@InFrom Sounds nice!
Buffalo wings pass for “semi-slacker” dinner in our house. Mostly unattended waiting for the wings to crisp up in the oven.
Full on slacker dinner is more like ordering in, freezer food, or just slicing up some meat and cheese.
Sometimes the cook (me) needs a break!
@klezman
@InFrom Sounds like Ravina in Highland Park, IL. I’ve been to a number of concerts there. Some people really go all out (candelabras, etc.). Last time I was there was for the Moody Blues (with a couple of bottles of rose between my wife, daughter, and I).
2015 Apriori Pinot Noir, Sonoma Coast with Bracoline all’Agra over linguine, extra saucy…and my new dinner partner, Mr. July.
@karenhynes Well done on the pic post.
@rjquillin
Aren’t you proud of me?
@karenhynes @rjquillin
Karen rocks the Italian restaurant yet again.
I am very proud of you!!
2015 Decero Malbec, 2012 Wellington Meeks Hilltop Zinfandel, along with (charcoal) grilled Costco Steakhouse Tri-tip. Everything was delicious.
Last night 2010 Agharta Black Label Syrah w/ NY strips
Tonight 2009 Wellington Victory w/pork tenderloin medallions
2016 Villa Wolf Pinot Noir Rose Pfalz
2008 Wellington Victory
2016 Reif Estates Vidal Icewine
2012 Mount Eden CS Domaine Eden with branzino alla griglia, parm risotto, fresh garden t’s and sautéed green beans.
@jmdavidson1 Tasty.
You visit BWG today?
@rjquillin I thought I sent out a reply, but now I see there is none. This Bin Sale looked like the unsold wines from the two previous Bin Sales.
@jmdavidson1 While I can’t cite which bottles, I do think some were re-slotted into lower priced bins.
@jmdavidson1 @rjquillin A decent number of Turleys went down into the $35 and $45 bins. If I was buying there was plenty to snap up.
2014 Halleck Pinot Noir Hillside Cuvée
2007 Sullivan Vyds Estate Merlot Rutherford
2014 Navarro Gewurtztraminer, Dry
As Alsatian as any California wine I’ve tasted (especially now that I have more reference from having been to Alsace!)
2012 Wellington Grenache estate with grilled pork chops.
Scott was right, this is a bad example of Wellington Grenache. A rare miss from Peter. Hot, jammy, reminded me of a medium bodied Syrah if anything.
@CorTot
I always said you didn’t have the palate of a yak
@ScottW58
I really liked other vintages but not this one. It’s possible it’s improved like Klez said but I never tasted it before.
@CorTot
Yeah I agree it was the one vintage I didn’t like. Much like the 11 Noceto but klez likes everything and we know he has the palate of a yak
@CorTot @ScottW58 That was three years ago for the Grenache. The nearly undrinkable '11 Noceto improved over that time to something consumable. I need to sample the Wellington again. Send you a bottle?
@CorTot @rjquillin
No cortot just tried the Grenache yesterday and confirmed my thoughts! And don’t send me any 11 Noceto thanks I have enough just consumable wine
@CorTot @ScottW58 I do try to find something to like about most bottles, it’s true. Which is not the same as liking everything
But I’m not opening another of those 2012 Wellingtons until (probably) early next year in the hopes that the sappiness keeps ebbing.
Drank a 2010 Iron Horse Ocean Reserve over the weekend… in between visiting 19 wineries and 1 brewery in the Finger Lakes over 3 days! More on that later.
Gruet, gruet and, um, gruet.
2010 Wellington Syrah - Estate Vineyard
2012 Twisted Oak Syrah
both drinking very well.
Can’t say enough good things about Kelley Fox pinots, even made a uggh turkey burger taste great
@ScottW58 who in the world keeps making these turkey burgers that you frequently rave about!?
@CorTot @ScottW58 good point
I think he’s trying to keep the youngsters happy for some reason. Or just saving the good stuff for himself!
@CorTot @ScottW58 When did Flannery start selling turkey burgers?
@CorTot @klezman
Yeah stupid kid’s want healthy every once in a while
@CorTot @rjquillin
When hell freezes over!
1995 Chateau Fontesteau, Haut-Medoc
Seemed a little tired, we’ll see how the second half does tomorrow. Worth the $23 at K&L, but not much more than that.
You got me thinking about wines from the Rocks so…2016 Sleight of Hand Syrah Psychedelic Stoney Vine Vineyard. Clocks in at 13.8 abv and is delicious! I wouldn’t normally buy a wine with a music based theme and rock and roll labels but a friend talked me into trying these and i’m glad I did. As good a syrah as you can get from anywhere imho.
2011 Notre Vin Cabernet Sauvignon Howell Mountain
These just keep improving, love them.
@rc70
+1
2013 Roche Winery Merlot Reserve Carneros
@rjquillin What’d you think?
@klezman I kinda wondered why I even had one, as all four CT thinks I own are up there.
Tired, thirsty; it fulfilled it’s duty.
40% gone, must have been pretty decent.
@rjquillin Pretty darn good, but seems to have lost a bit from day one, and gained a bit of VA.
Seems like this needs some attention, sooner than later.
2016 Tercero Mourvedre Rosé
@klezman my parents randomly pulled one of these out last night. Was delicious!
finishing up a 2016 Pedroncelli Sangiovese
Great Lakes Elliot Ness Amber Lager
2013 WineSmith Meritage
2013 Kendric Pinot noir with sushi. Sad I only have 2 left.
2017 ÆRENA Wines “Crown in Shadow” Rosé. Mourvedre/Carignan blend. The opposite of an insipid Rosé. Another score from WD,
2010 Wellington Meeks Hilltop Zinfandel
@klezman How’s this doing, I seem to remember Peter commenting a year or so? ago that this should be drank in the next 2 - 3 years. Still have several left.
@klezman @rc70 If only we still had access to the forums of yore.
@klezman @rc70 @rjquillin Sometimes we do have access!
https://forums.woot.com/t/wellington-mystery-case-re-mix/165254/205
At the time, Peter did say the ‘10 Meeks was best enjoyed within a year. But he also said he was very conservative with predicted aging potential.
@hscottk @klezman @rc70 @rjquillin There is a thread here on Wellingtons.
@hscottk @Mark_L @rc70 @rjquillin Yeah, it’s good. My recollections from last year were that it was a little more interesting, but not a large enough difference to think it’s anywhere near the end of its life. I’ve got the second half tonight after being under air/cork the last day. I’m expecting some slightly oxidized flavours.
2006 Harvest Moon Estate & Winery Zinfandel Russian River Valley
2011 Tenor 2:2
2010 Martín Códax Albariño Rías Baixas Burgáns
@chipgreen
Yum any good? Haven’t had one of those in a while.
@ScottW58
Has held up well. Bright acidity, lemon meringue palate with some lime zest. Very refreshing before, during and after cutting the lawn.
NV Noceto Rosso
@rc70 Yeah, been powering thru those we picked up on tour and from the offer here…
Last night was 2015 NNW Rose (have a lot of it down here in Missouri – I think I’ll tote a few bottles back to Illinois).
Last night, 2015 Franny Beck Pinot Noir Armstrong Vineyard, a purchase from last year’s Berserker Day. Opened up into a beautiful, lush Pinot. With Jamie Oliver’s Chicken in Milk, an odd-sounding but fantastic and easy recipe.
Looking at the Franny Beck label, I learned they’re located in Rickreall, OR, a place I knew nothing about until I looked it up.
@InFrom
I knew what that was going to be and I clicked on it anyway!
@chipgreen I’m glad you enjoyed it!!! I had fun planning it. I knew it was pretty transparent, but it was a giggle anyway. And that town name – impossible to resist.
The two highlights of Thursday: (i’m a little late i know)
2006 Nicolas Feuillatte Brut Millesime
1983 Ramos Pinto Porto
Intermixed was some decent Burgundy, a terrible Sonoma Pinot, and a solid young CdP. But the two above were a fantastic bookend to the evening.
Made grilled shrimp with a garlic olive oil and calabrian chili marinade sauce with some roasted duck fat potatoes. Spicy and light on a hot damn day. Well the shrimp and wine was anyways
NV TJs Brut Rose. A touch sweet, but enjoyable nonetheless.
2013 Peterson Vignobles. This is going down real well. I’m thinking maybe I should have gotten two cases-- I expect it will continue to drink well for several years.
2016 Treves Canavese Nebbiolo
2008 Arbor Bench Reflections
With some Flannery New Yorks while thinking about their black out, well, a little bit, perhaps.
@rjquillin Blackout?
@klezman @rjquillin
Heh I was going to ask the same thing
@klezman @rjquillin @ScottW58
NYC Blackout 2019
@catcoland @klezman @rjquillin
Clearly I need to get out more
@rjquillin
You should have had an Argentina Malbec with the Flannery New Yorks.
Belle Glos Clark & Telephone Pinot Noir with grilled salmon and kale salad
Pedroncelli 2008 Dry Creek Valley, Family Vineyard Petite Sirah.
2016 Paetra Riesling K
2011 Podere Poggio Scalette Il Carbonaione
Over the past couple of nights…
Williams Selyem 2016 RRV Pinot Noir and 2016 Chenin Blanc
@karenhynes
Ohhh I’m sure the pinot was good but how about the chennin? I didn’t know they made that?
@ScottW58
Delicious. I don’t think they make it every year, but I could be wrong. They also make a lovely Rosé.
@ScottW58
Can’t edit my initial comment but should add that it’s crisp and clean, very refreshing, etc…but probably overpriced at $39 (but the Limestone Ridge/Vista Verde designation likely commands price).
@karenhynes
Sounds like it’s worth it to me
2000 Corison CS. Can’t believe how young this is. In hindsight, should have waited a few more years.
@jmdavidson1
Corovin
@rjquillin Yes. This would have been a good instance where one would have been beneficial.
@jmdavidson1 If that’s your Monday night wine, I want to be around on a Saturday!
@Mark_L LOL. Depending on the week’s schedule, a weekend wine can move to Monday, etc.
2008 Grattamacco Bolgheri Superiore, with spaghetti & meatballs.
2012 Cocquerel Petite Sirah
This is solid…nice buy, @WineDavid49!
2010 Esterlina Riesling Dry
from the old days
The grilled shrimp went over so well the other night that I was instructed by SWMBO to do it again with…
@ScottW58 That was a good Riesling!
2017 release of NV Trader Joe’s Brut Rose
2012 Iron Horse Pinot Noir
2014 Domaine Guion Bourgueil
some mevushal Spanish Tempranillo
What an amazing group of wines tonight! I wasn’t sold on the Large Bold Text in youth, but with a few extra years it’s getting good!
On a very hot night in the northeast, 2013 Iron Horse estate chard followed by 2007 Moran Manor Anagram. Not a bad night!
Some recent heatwave bottles;
2011 Gundlach Bundschu Gewurztraminer
NV Van Ruiten Rose SP
2011 Stone Hill Winery Vignoles
2013 Pedroncelli Rose
Made some crab cakes and caprese salad with some Sancerre yum!
2012 Hunt Country Seyval Blanc
So far the list is as follows (I’d love your thoughts if you’ve tried any):
@petelivingston
Is it even possible to drink too many bottles of Iron Horse sparklings?
@chipgreen I will do the hard-hitting research and let you all know!
2011 Ca’ de’ Rocchi (Tinazzi) Ripasso della Valpolicella Superiore Monterè. Cellartracker gives it 90 - 93 points, and I agree. Glad I have another. Amarone fan from way back, and Ripassos usually don’t do it for me…but this is excellent!
2013 Wellington Chardonnay
2009 Domaine Puydeval Rouge
found in a cellar I can finally access with little difficulty
@rjquillin Your neighbor’s?
@InFrom That’s too funny, also, a bit too close to home. But no, at home. Finally moved the multiple cases blocking access to the doors. Still need to populate the new one I got from CL.
@rjquillin Sounds like it was a worthwhile effort.
Just making some tacos tonight with…very good but tannins are still a bit firm.
2017 Leoni Zin
Finished the open bottle of 2014 Hook & Ladder Merlot.
2011 Stillman PS…still tastes a little off (and this is day 2).
2013 Le Cigare Volant
2010 Wellington cab, Handal. This is singing right now.
2010 Talisman Pinot Noir Wildcat Mountain Vineyard
2013 Wild Horse Cheval Sauvage Pinot Noir Santa Maria Valley
2013 Campesino Grenache.
@jmdavidson1 How is that doing? Still have one somewhere.
@hscottk Drinking quite nicely. They still have a shelf life, but why wait? They are enjoyable now. Finished yesterday’s bottle tonight and no evidence of it declining.
2014 Gehricke RRV Pinot Noir
The Jorge cut is salted and resting and doing some crab legs
it’s going to be a good night!
@ScottW58 I got two of those when the sale hit. Need a non-preggers wife to enjoy it with! I’m going to cook a Flannery tomorrow, not sure which one.
@klezman
Well they are all good, I’m excited to try this beast!
@ScottW58 We’re starting off the “old guys” set from BD this year. One 56-day and one 70-day NY Strip. Yum! (yeah, yeah…too old for you)
@klezman
Yeah 30 day=yum 50 or 70 day = rotten fermented meat imho
2014 Kynsi Pinot Noir Precious Stones Stone Corral Vineyard after a loooong week.
Did I mention my 4 year old broke his leg…
@CorTot
Oh no!!! Poor little guy.
I hope he heals quickly and isn’t in too much discomfort.
@CorTot Saw the photo on FB. Quite the cast he got! Hope he’s doing ok.
@klezman he’s a trooper.
He’ll probably work his way through whole kids section on Netflix over the rest of the summer though…
2010 Saint Siffrein Chateauneuf-Du-Pape.
Pretty good on Pop-N-Pour…we’ll see later.
SWMBO really likes it, given that she prefers Syrah/Shiraz.
I had the Le Cigar Volant the other day, and decided that my wheelhouse might include the Rhone varietals now.
So, you guys rave about Flannery dry aged steaks, and I’ve never had one. So, I stopped by my local meat purveyor and asked if he had any dry aged steaks. He said; “No, I do them to order. You buy a chunk of meat and I’ll dry age it for 3 weeks at no charge”. We discussed it a while, and I ended up ordering a whole Rib Roast, and asked him to cut the bones off so I could smoke them, and dry the rest. He says a whole roast is about 14 lbs., and has 7 ribs, and loses about 30% in drying and trimming. I assume that he’ll cut them into steaks, wrap them and I’ll freeze what I don’t eat immediately.
So, fellow Woo…uh Casemates, am I going in the right direction, and do you have any suggestions for me.
I plan to grill them on my natural gas Weber, and pop the 2006 Chappellet Pritchard Hill or some such wine.
@FritzCat
I think you got it right
@FritzCat
Super important: dry age the whole rib, then remove the bones and cut the steaks. The bones protect the meat and result in a lot less trim waste. That might be what you meant, but just in case…
You can also do this at home, like I do, with an old chest or upright freezer that you just modify to maintain the right temperature (a few degrees above freezing).
You also don’t get much flavour change with only 3 weeks ageing, at least not without a room full of microbes ready to make it more tasty. With 2-3 weeks, you’ll get a more tender and dense steak with a bit more flavour intensity. The aged and more complex flavours start coming out around 4 weeks and improve/intensify from there. Almost all the moisture loss is in the first week or so, and contrary to populate belief, only affects the air-exposed edges.
I did a whole rib in my home setup for 49 days, and there was almost no microbial growth on the outside and not much funk.
@klezman That was not what I meant…Thanks for the info. This will be my first experience, and I hope to become more educated as time goes on.
@FritzCat
I’ve done two slabs - a “tester” that was a boneless (whole) striploin and a bone-in rib.
For the strip, the part that would have been against the bone needed about 1/16" to 3/8" of trimming to remove the dried “jerky”-ish portion. The fat cap on top protects most of the meat on that side (and adds a ton of flavour). Then it’s just the ends of the piece that need trimming.
The boneless striploin lost about 35-40% post-trim with 35 days of age. The bone-in rib lost 26% total from moisture and trim with 50 days of age.
Now what you can also do is ask your butcher to grind the trim up along with some chuck or sirloin to make a burger blend. Then you don’t lose all that tasty beef. Another play out of the Flannery playbook!
@klezman Thanks for the info. I knew you guys could hook a brothah up. (We’ve got us some interesting math here too. I suspect that the bone won’t lose mass, so the loss would be less with bone (been drinking, won’t write the algebraic equation). And (although I value your advice), I did get kinda excited about the possibility of smoking those bones next weekend, at the beginning of the process.)
@FritzCat
Oh, smoked beef ribs are amazing. (As are smoked pork ribs for that matter.) I kind of want to make them now, but I’m having some 56- and 70-day Flannery tonight that are taking a nice warm bath in the sous vide before hitting the cast iron. Life is hard, I know.
The ribs had more fat that I trimmed off than did the striploin, too, so that’s another variable. But yeah, the expected loss should definitely be lower with the bone in, but the best way to get the differential estimate would be:
a) buy two bone-in sub-primals
b) cut the meat off the bones for one of them
c) age both for the same amount of time in the same chamber
d) take the meat off the bone for the second one
e) weigh them pre-trim (the one aged with bones will definitely have lost less here)
f) trim, then weigh again
@FritzCat And with all that, I had beef ribs on the brain. So when I saw them at the store yesterday they became dinner last night. Yum!
@klezman You’re welcome. I’ve been dwelling on this subject too, but with no consummation.
With those Flannerys I’m having a York Creek 2001 Willow Block Cabernet. Not sure if Cathy was still making their wines by then, but it’s a solid property. Same source as Ridge’s York Creek Cab and Zin.
Last night at Andrea’s favorite French restaurant.
@ScottW58 corkage?
@rjquillin
Naw being a regular has its advantages
2015 Pedroncelli Sangiovese
2013 Wellington Roussanne on day #2. It’s still a good wine, but getting less floral as the time slides by.
2012 Pedroncelli Merlot Bench Vineyards
Drinking nicely - good cellar saver - kept me out of the “good stuff” on a Monday night.
2009 Woodward Canyon Artist Series CS
Charles Smith K Syrah, Milbrandt Vineyard, 2015 Nice.
2012 Laura Michael Cab Sauv Rutherford
2013 Trust riesling
2008 Iron horse Brut rosé
The end of a 2011 Paul Croses Burgundy
End of a 2016 Featherstone Rose
And sushi and fun times with a visiting casemateer/wooter
2014 R. Merlo Family Estates Chardonnay
2017 Nervi Gattinara Rosa
2013 Wellington Meeks Zinfandel
Impromptu get together with old friends.
2016 Hawley Wine Zinfandel Old Vine
2015 Cornerstone Cellars Syrah Mendocino County Ram’s Horn Vineyard
2016 Benevolent Neglect Syrah Las Madres Vineyard Carneros
Red
2013 World’s End Wavelength Stagecoach Vineyard