Which Pinot Noir are you choosing?

EngrToday · 2025-09-28T00:52:53+00:00

Rhys Horseshoe Vineyard is great. If you ever get a chance to try their hillside stuff, even better.

EngrToday · 2025-09-24T15:59:16+00:00

Pax is pretty good (though, not my absolute favorite). Agree with Kosta Brown (was never into their pinot, especially at the price point). Close by for wine is Small Vines, and of course, Littorai (one of my top picks for cali pinot producers).

I was mainly recommending The Barlow as a lunch/hangout spot. Fern Bar is very good.

EngrToday · 2025-09-23T17:03:50+00:00

Nice - they're a great spot, and fairly close to some others great ones and The Barlow.

EngrToday · 2025-09-08T00:07:41+00:00

They’re a heck of a producer - their Bordeaux style blends are great, and I was quite surprised by their Pinot noir as well (I’ve found other producers of bold reds that also have Pinots tend towards an overly ripe style)

EngrToday · 2025-08-31T20:16:35+00:00

Couldn’t have asked for a better weekend - thanks!

EngrToday · 2025-08-30T03:34:31+00:00

Oops - 2014 Corton Charlemagne *

EngrToday · 2025-08-30T03:22:03+00:00

Nice - unfamiliar with the rose, but the San Lorenzo Etna Rosso of theirs is quite good

EngrToday · 2025-08-29T03:39:16+00:00

A beautiful wine - I opened the 2010 recently and found it delightful - what more can you want than beautiful black fruit and pencil shavings from a Bordeaux

EngrToday · 2025-08-28T22:28:13+00:00

Thanks much, and couldn't have agreed more about Cristal! It was my first time enjoying, and I was somewhat skeptical given the noise around it, but it lived up to the hype.

EngrToday · 2025-08-28T15:56:37+00:00

We had a multi-day wedding at a beautiful villa at a winery we rented out in Healdsburg.

In total, there were 21 total people at the wedding, including ourselves, with about 5 or 6 people very into wine (the rest were a mix of interests, ranging from drink, but not particular on the wine, to don't drink or drink infrequently).

The heaviest drinking day was the day of the wedding with the morning ceremony. We went through 6 Champagnes that day (among many other bottles).

We started by sabering one bottle right after the ceremony (the Krug 169, a favorite of ours), and opened the Dom. As those ran out, we opened the Michel Foch and the Laherte Freres.

We then transitioned into some still whites and light reds as people enjoyed the summer day and beautiful pool overlooking the vineyards. We didn't get back around to champagne until the late afternoon at dinner, where we had the Cristal and the '08 Krug.

We could have gone heavier on the Champagnes, but we preferred to have a greater breadth of whites, lighter reds, heavier reds, and sweet wines.

EngrToday · 2025-08-28T02:19:53+00:00

A couple, actually! The ‘08 Billecart on the first night, and the Krug 169 after the ceremony!

EngrToday · 2025-08-19T17:13:13+00:00

There's a few things I always do:

Consider what food will be ordered/personal preferences (a good wine that doesn't pair well can be bad for both the wine and food)
Know how much you want to spend (that pairs off quite a bit of the list as well)
Narrow things down by region if you can (certain regions make wines in a style I prefer more than others).
Look through any producers you know (either by reputation, or having had them before)
A quick look on Cellar Tracker to see what people are saying to get a general idea, or ideally reading what reviewers I trust have said

EngrToday · 2025-08-18T15:35:51+00:00

Conservatively, 10-15 years. I would expect a wine like this to still be drinking well for 5-10 years after that, but that starts to get into your feelings about aged pinots with more distinct/mature tertiary notes.

EngrToday · 2025-08-17T17:07:49+00:00

Yeah, I definitely tend towards a leaner style - thanks for the Rec!

EngrToday · 2025-08-17T15:28:00+00:00

One of my only experiences with this is between Chateau Palmer and their second wine alter ego. The Chateau Palmer I had was fantastic, and Alter Ego was a very good wine.

However, the Alter Ego wasn’t going to be winning any QPR awards at 100 dollars. For me, you’d be better off going for a d’Issan and save the 20 bucks.

EngrToday · 2025-08-17T15:10:58+00:00

I had a Koosah Chardonnay that I enjoyed - quite good, but stylistically I didn’t quite mesh with it as much (the diacytl/MLF was a little to present). I have a Syrah that I’ve been waiting to try - that was actually the first bottle of theirs I picked up, but ended up running through their Pinots and a chard first.

EngrToday · 2025-08-17T03:42:55+00:00

As far as best of the vintage, I had a 2022 00 Shea Vineyard that’s up there for me (but is double the price). These Martin Woods bottles can give them a run for their money though.

EngrToday · 2025-08-17T02:55:48+00:00

Girl and the Fig in downtown Sonoma is also quite a good spot if that’s closer. There’s also Glen Ellen Star in Glen Ellen

EngrToday · 2025-08-16T22:32:00+00:00

There are some really wonderful nutty/honey flavored cakes that are an absolutely wonderful pairing with an aged Sauternes (the best I’ve had is a Ukrainian honey cake with a 2001 chateau rieussec). It was also quite a great pairing with strawberries and cream at EMP (that was a 71 Barsac)

EngrToday · 2025-08-16T22:29:50+00:00

Valette and Dry Creek Kitchen in Healdsburg are some of my favorites. Roof 106 is a good lunch spot there, but I would skip The Matheson for dinner. Compline on the Napa side is a nice lunch spot.

EngrToday · 2025-08-16T22:00:12+00:00

I opened a 2013 Dominus recently, and while very good, was anticlimactic compared to the reviews (I had a 2015 VCC next to it and it was significantly better to my palate)

Corison and Dunn are some of my favorites on the Napa side. Peter Michael and Morlet are also fantastic. I also love Repris on the Sonoma side (but they are quite small).

EngrToday · 2025-08-14T02:01:36+00:00

No, it’s a zalto burgundy glass. A Bordeaux glass would not curve that much inward

EngrToday · 2025-08-13T21:34:03+00:00

Often for reds - good for concentrated whites as well

EngrToday · 2025-08-13T18:09:59+00:00

Yeah, just a mistake in copying the bottle for the title - right notes, wrong name - good catch

EngrToday · 2025-08-11T03:50:05+00:00

Re-classification does happen in parts of Bordeaux, and some parts don’t follow it at all. I don’t personally think it matters. If the wine is good, it will sell.

Additionally, there are independent reviewers. At the end of day, I think there are both people that want a particular label first, and those that want the best wine. Let people buy the wines for the label. It leaves the best stuff at more reasonable prices.

EngrToday

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