r/wine

I'm pretty much new to wine. I've seen a few YouTube shorts on people serving extremely old wines that really intrigued me into this rabbit hole of a hobby. Picked up a couple bottles the other day and would like to know people's opinions on how they taste and what the experience was like. Yes my basement is unfinished and I plan to make a proper wine celler. Right now I'm just using a wine fridge.

We have visted Arnot Roberts and I had the time of my live. It was the first winery I habe visited in the US and enjoyed the whole range. The staff was lovely and they opened a few very special bottles incl. ages Syrah and ages Cab.

What I liked most about Arnot Roberts was the focus on very fresh and loe alcohol wines. I have addes tasting notes of all wines we tried below

Chardonnay Watson Ranch 2024
Very atypical Napa Chardonnay. Very fresh, with restrained oak. Slightly reductive. Apple, pear, lemon and a mineral character. Aged in used oak.

2025 Falanghina, Las Cimas Vineyard, Russian River Valley
Fantastic Falanghina. Peach, salty minerality, pineapple, a touch of oak and lemon zest.

2024 Trousseau, North Coast
Brownish red in the glass. Very light-bodied red wine, typical of Trousseau. Strawberry, cherry, earth and a touch of oak.

2024 Zinfandel, Kirschmann Vineyards, Mokelumne River
Powerful Zinfandel. At 13% ABV, it is not overly extracted. No residual sweetness. Cherry, strawberry and rustic oak. Grippy tannins. Medium to high acidity.

2024 Syrah, Clary Ranch, Petaluma Gap
Very elegant and lean. Extremely precise. Blackberry, dark cherry, pepper, a touch of leather and spices, with a slightly rustic character. Grippy tannins.

2016 Cabernet Sauvignon, Clajeaux Vineyard, Chalk Hill
Wow, what a wine. Cassis, blackberry, tobacco and a slight green character. Medium to high acidity. Grippy tannins.

2017 Syrah, Clary Ranch, Petaluma Gap
A wonderful wine. Right in its perfect drinking window. Dark cherry, blackberry, cellar notes, leather, a touch of smoke and pepper. Medium to high acidity. Velvety tannins.

Our current new home has a wine cellar and I would request some ideas where do we begin. While buying the house I assured my wife we will convert it into some storage area. Now I have turned tail and told my wife it is sacrilegious to convert this cellar . The problem is none of us are wine drinkers but I am ready to be the change but at the same time don’t want this to be a costly hobby . Where do I begin how do I fill this up and ensure the cellar meet its purpose. Attached a few photos

Had this a few months ago and thought it was a good example of why I don't necessarily shy away from so-called "off vintages", especially when it comes to great producers.

Roberto Voerzio Cerequio 2014 – 95/100

Despite 2014 being a difficult vintage, Roberto Voerzio managed to make a stunning wine here. It's initially still pretty tight and high in acidity, but with some air it opens up to reveal a surprisingly chewy and concentrated core, supported by an immensely long finish. 95/100 for me, with potential for another 1–2 points with more age.

I've actually had pretty good experiences with lesser vintages from top producers. In many cases they seem to become approachable earlier than the highly rated years while still delivering most of what I'm looking for.

With Barolo in particular, I've found this quite useful. I'd often rather drink a great producer from a supposedly weaker vintage that's entering its window than open one of the great vintages while it's still completely shut down.

Curious what everyone else thinks. Do you actively look for off-vintage wines from great producers, or would you rather spend more and wait longer for the great vintages?

100% Syrah from parcels in Tournon, Mauves and Saint-Jean-de-Muzols in the Saint-Joseph appellation. Partially destemmed, spontaneously fermented in open vats with pigeage and remontage. 16–18 months in large used demi-muids (600 L). No fining or filtration. Minimal use of sulphur.
🏠 Pierre Gonon founded his domaine in Mauves in 1956. In the 88/89 season, his sons Jean and Pierre Gonon took over the domaine after their father fell ill.
But from what I’ve been able to sniff out, it was actually only in the mid-2010s that prices for the domaine’s wines really started to take off. From 2011, the brothers began destemming a much smaller proportion, between 0–20%, so the vast majority of their wines are made with 80–100% whole bunches.
Today, the brothers farm 10.5 hectares. The domaine is certified organic.
Super perfumed and ethereal wine. I fucking love Syrah when it has this kind of lift and you can completely lose yourself in the glass.
Violets, dried lavender, dark cherries, Ribena, blackberries, butcher’s shop, anise, pepper and bonfire smoke. Velvety medium+ tannins that coat the mouth so beautifully, and a brisk medium+ acidity.
So tightly packed and intense, yet at the same time so juicy! 🥤🥤🥤

Did a blind tasting of 6 Pinots / Nebbiolos with some friends, tasted 2 at a time side by side.

The 2010 Roty Marsannay vs 2010 Williams Selyem Westside Road were interesting to compare side by side, as were the 2005 Santa Barbara Nebbiolo (from Jim Clendenen of Au Bon Climat) vs. a 2023 Langhe Nebbiolo from a solid producer (Voerzio)

Overall was a great tasting with some great friends. Tasting notes in the comments.

Notes in post below.

Questa è una foto di qualche tempo fa: lavaggio accurato, sterilizzazione con lampada UV, asciugatura e sigillatura a mano della portella con il mastice per una grande botte da 30 ettolitri. Un rito antico che rispetto e che conosco fino all'ultimo dettaglio tecnico.

Eppure, a un certo punto del mio percorso da produttore, mi sono reso conto che stavo usando il legno più per abitudine e per conformarmi a un certo gusto di mercato che per reale necessità del vino.

Il legno trasforma il vino. Spesso gli regala un abito rassicurante, note tostate, vaniglia, spezie dolce, ma rischia di mascherare l'impronta del vitigno e del suolo, soprattutto quando si lavora su terroirs con forti spiccate note calcaree o saline (come nel nostro caso negli Iblei, in Sicilia).

Per questo ho scelto di abbandonare il legno e virare completamente su tre materiali "neutri":

• Terracotta (Anfora): per ottenere la micro-ossigenazione e la maturazione del tannino, ma con impatto aromatico zero.
• Cemento: per la stabilità termica e una maturazione lenta senza interferenze.
• Acciaio: per cristallizzare la freschezza e la fragranza della materia prima nuda.

Non voglio dire che il legno sia il male assoluto, ma credo che l'ossessione per l'affinamento in botte abbia spesso uniformato il gusto dei vini.

Come la vedete voi qui dentro? Preferite quando il legno si sente come "spezia" strutturale o cercate vini totalmente spogliati dalla matrice dell'affinamento in legno?

Everything was super good, really enjoyed the comparison between the wines!

We tasted blindly 2 wines at a time comparing grapes produced in different areas of the world before going on with champagne, burgundy's chardonnay and spur beers!

Something about aged Napa just hits different.

Brought this bottle for a lunch at Kokkari with a friend who was visiting from London.

Stood this up a few days ahead of time and brought to the restaurant.

Cork needed a Durand but was surprisingly intact and didn't break.

Decided to let this open up in the bottle and glass, no decanting (and used a filter at the end to get rid of the sediment).

This is in a lovely spot right now.

Great acidity, nice structure, tannins seem fully integrated.

Dried cherries, red plums, blackberry notes, with dried herbs, slight tobacco, some leather.

This actually opened up nicely over the course of lunch.

In a great spot, but will probably hang on for a while.

92 points.

Started in 2016 in Hautes-Côtes de Beaune by Morgane and Christian, Dandelion works very hands on around 4 hectares in the higher altitude parts of HCdB, following biodynamics with no machinery but the help of their horses Safran and Reine.

The winemaking follows the same minimalist approach, no additions, no pumping, no filtration, delicate small batch pressing using a vertical basket press and aging in old barrels only.

Corail is one of the rarer cuvées, a whole cluster fermentation field blend from a single vineyard planted with Pinot Noir, Aligote and Gamay.

Strikingly beautiful ruby colour and a vibrant, open nose full of red berries, stone fruits, and fresh herbs. The palate is a masterclass in tension, balancing high alcohol, decidedly ripe body with chalky, mineral backbone and surprising acidity.

It’s easily my favourite cuvee of theirs, unfortunately Corail has only been released in 2019 and 2022, and only around 600 bottles each vintage.