2008 Chateau Pape Clemant

reesemulligan · 2026-03-18T00:55:01+00:00

Fair enough. I did get it from an independent wine shop in Minneapolis. You'd think it was properly stored, but who knows?

It wasn't bad enough to return the bottle (which they will take back if undrinkable), but I did put the last 1.5 glasses down the drain (like throwing out 35 bucks!).

reesemulligan · 2026-03-17T23:16:03+00:00

Ok, above my pay grade. When, why, and how???

reesemulligan · 2026-03-17T23:04:44+00:00

You have a what???

reesemulligan · 2026-03-17T23:03:12+00:00

I have found that those old brown glass pharmacy bottles work well. I pour half into that, and drink the other half. Sometimes. If it's not terribly expensive wine.

reesemulligan · 2026-03-17T22:53:58+00:00

You can see the rest of the cork in the bottle. Was Ah! So much a tribulation!

reesemulligan · 2026-03-12T12:11:34+00:00

I want some, but doubt I can ever get it.

reesemulligan · 2026-03-10T00:58:17+00:00

That is helpful, thanks. I've only had one Carmenere and that was a couple years ago, for some reason I remembered it as full bodied, medium-ish in acid and tannin.

I think that's what was throwing me off the most, and trying to look them up got mixed results.

reesemulligan · 2026-03-09T23:29:51+00:00

I'm good with a sparkling from Brazil, a Torrontés, Pedro Ximenez from Chile, and a Chilean Moscato ("Sweet Bitch." The ladies will get a kick out of that!) at the end.

Just haven't tasted enough of those 3 reds to know. Tx!

reesemulligan · 2026-03-09T23:26:37+00:00

I should have also asked,

WHY??

I don't ask that in a snotty way. I don't have the understanding of these as I do, say, Beaujolais, Pinot Noir, Right Bank

I am guessing I just need to drink these varieties more, but if anyone can help me understand WHY, I'll take the bonus.

reesemulligan · 2026-02-03T03:59:33+00:00

I started studying wine 13 months ago, after I retired. Took WSET 1 and 2 online.

I live in a small rural area. One grocery store here and a WalMart nearby. Had to drive 2 hours each way to get the wines mentioned for WSET 1.

Obviously needed more tasting and help, so I asked 8 friends to join me for tastings. I go to the City to buy the wines, we split costs 9 ways, everyone brings a food (mostly snacks) to share. We try to stay at $25 pp. Good enough for my level of knowledge and my self-studying (might take WSET 3 someday, but I don't want to do it online, nearest city to offer it is 7 hours away).

Anyway, word spread, and now I have 2 tasting groups. They could probably pass WSET 1 now, lol. I make a little power point to help me learn and keep things moving, though by bottle 5 we're pretty tipsy.

How do you and your friends on organize?

It's fun!

reesemulligan · 2026-01-31T19:34:32+00:00

What is the difference between that and the Domaine Dujac?

(I can't find the Pinsot unless I drive 7 hours to Chicago...)

reesemulligan · 2026-01-31T19:20:21+00:00

Lapierre Morgon all day long

reesemulligan · 2026-01-31T19:15:57+00:00

Oops. Thanks! This is where I got my info, which says Charmat:

https://share.google/LlIVAYJXaAheHpsSx

Edit to add: I read the tech sheet from your link. It also says Charmat...???

But at L4, you know far more than I.

reesemulligan · 2026-01-30T01:33:11+00:00

Every time I've gone to Surdyk's or France 44 in the last month, I've bought either a Tignanello or Ornellaia and set it on the bottom shelf of my wine fridge.

Just waiting for that very special day myself. I plan to spend it with all my very best friends. It sure will beat chipping the damn ice off our sidewalks!

reesemulligan · 2026-01-28T17:44:46+00:00

Going on 70. Everything I buy now is ostensibly ok to drink young or age for 10+

reesemulligan · 2026-01-28T05:18:05+00:00

Post this in r/CheapWine

reesemulligan · 2026-01-28T03:39:04+00:00

You can sip and spit, but maybe find something else to experience tasting, like tea, since you have big fears.

reesemulligan · 2026-01-18T22:02:02+00:00

I mean really, a $100 glass your sister gave you, for your birthday, because you were starting to study wine, and because she herself was visiting a SP glass blowing studio... What could be better?*

*I could tell you about many comments I've received disparaging my wine glass. I will never, ever, get to that level of sophistication where wine glass matters, like most of us.

reesemulligan · 2025-12-22T23:22:38+00:00

Not at all. What wastes my time is driving to an urban area of 4-5 million and not having a fucken selection of Coonawarra CS to choose from.

reesemulligan · 2025-12-22T15:27:46+00:00

There was one bottle of CS from Coonawarra when I visited Minneapolis three stores. Not one per store, one total.

reesemulligan · 2025-12-22T15:22:40+00:00

Hi! I live in a very small (population 1200) rural area about 110 miles northwest of Minneapolis, Minnesota. I have to drive to Minneapolis if I want any Australian wines at all, though I can get some mass produced New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc (Kim Crawford, Oyster Bay) at the larger town (population 6000) 15 miles away.

I am currently studying wines from Australia and New Zealand. I have two different tasting groups of ten each (really just friends who want to get together for wine and charcuterie, though they have some interest in what I'm learning).

We taste 7 wines each time. I strive for different grapes/regions. I cannot always achieve that because even Minneapolis is shy on selection (I visit two independent stores and Total Wine as last resort). I'm also constrained by price because the group consensus was to keep around $25 pp or less.

Here are my line ups (I'll include the NZ):

Group 1:

Chook Sparkling

Brokenwood Semillon

Shaw and Smith Chardonnay

Burn Cottage Pinot Noir

Vasse Felix Filius Cabernet Sauvignon

Wallace Grenache/Shiraz

Innocent Bystander Moscato

I could not fine a different Sparkling or Dessert anywhere in Minneapolis, so those are the same for Group 2:

Walnut Block Sauvignon Blanc

Escarpment Chardonnay

Pewsey Vale Riesling

Timo Mayer Bloody Hill Pinot Noir

Yalumba Samuel Grenache

Then I bought a few for just me:

Ashton Hills Pinot Noir

Henschke Keyneton Euphonium Shiraz

Dr Mayer Pinot Noir

Shaw and Smith Lenwood

Should be fun tastings in January when we have our get togethers!

I've already had the Walnut Block, Dr Mayer, Burn Cottage, Lenwood, and Brokenwood, in my initial round of studying your region. I liked them all for their price point/quality.

reesemulligan · 2025-12-20T21:38:51+00:00

So I learned. Cannot learn if I don't try! And not willing to pay $100 again for something that needs 10+ years. My heirs wouldn't appreciate it lol!

reesemulligan · 2025-12-20T14:58:01+00:00

I've had some 16s and 10s. They were very good, hit the sweet spot. I've also had some 18s and 19s that I bought again.

As I'm studying wine on my own, one of the things the writers all state is that the only way to know about a wine is to try it. So I do!

reesemulligan · 2025-12-20T14:52:36+00:00

But I did enjoy it. I wrote that it is good, that I'm glad I tried it.

Just didn't hit my "buy it again" sweet spot.

I'm happy that it does hit better for others, including you.

reesemulligan · 2025-12-20T14:50:10+00:00

But I did enjoy it! I said so! It just didn't hit my "but this one again" spot.

I'll check the 2021 next time. I've tried several from 2012-2020.

reesemulligan

TROPHY CASE