Looking for the original Bar Towel blog? You can find it at www.thebartowel.com.

We have a trivia question in order to register to prevent bots. If you have any issues with answering, contact us at cass@bartowel.com for help.

Introducing Light Mode! If you would like a Bar Towel social experience that isn't the traditional blue, you can now select Light Mode. Go to the User Control Panel and then Board Preferences, and select "Day Drinking" (Light Mode) from the My Board Style drop-down menu. You can always switch back to "Night Drinking" (Dark Mode). Enjoy!

Uncorked-Wine and Spirits Appreciation

Discuss beer or anything else that comes to mind in here.

Moderators: Craig, Cass

User avatar
Belgian
Bar Towel Legend
Posts: 10033
Joined: Sun Jul 04, 2004 7:15 pm
Location: Earth

Post by Belgian »

Château Puygueraud 2016 Francs - Côtes de Bordeaux 2016

This is a St-Emillion Style blend of mostly Merlot and not far from that AOC geographically. Has the nice plum skin texture and some mineral elements. blueberry, blackberry and black currant, woodsy earth, vanilla, spice and tannins. Kind of juicy and approachable. Not super-exciting to me for $36 but that's partly down to me, I'd prefer with more firm structure and character and less easy-going.

This is good stuff. The scrapy tannins are nice, a decent Bordeaux.
In Beerum Veritas

User avatar
Belgian
Bar Towel Legend
Posts: 10033
Joined: Sun Jul 04, 2004 7:15 pm
Location: Earth

Post by Belgian »

Mas des Bressades Cuvée Tradition Rouge 2018

This is a very respectable Southern Rhone red blend (55% Grenache and 45% Syrah) that has some youthful approachability as well as some solid depth. I like the dark berry and damson plum fruit and wild herbals... good dry tannins and acid structure.

Costières de Nîmes is an extraordinary wine region nestled between France’s southern Rhône and Languedoc appellations. And the best wines from the Costières de Nîmes tell a sensory story about this privileged geography, delivering value reminiscent of their neighbours in Languedoc to the west, while showcasing rustic garrigue-inspired complexity with bold, rich and ripe fruit flavours. Originally classified as a part of the Languedoc, growers in the Costières de Nîmes banded together in the late 80s to have their wines reclassified as members of the more prestigious Rhône AOC.

So it's up-and-coming, or kind of a sleeper wine, at least so far. Decent value for the price point.

Image
In Beerum Veritas

User avatar
Belgian
Bar Towel Legend
Posts: 10033
Joined: Sun Jul 04, 2004 7:15 pm
Location: Earth

Post by Belgian »

Michele Chiarlo Le Orme 16 Months Barbera d'Asti 2018

A decent Barbera red from the Piedmont, Northern Italy. The Asti subregion has lighter style Barbera than the Alba region Barbera. Has dark berries and light herbs with the cherry acidity, some tart cherry candy... licorice, and the violet florals and lightly perfumey notes are nice.

I think the wine first comes across a little simple yet the tangy solid cherry and hint licorice gradually makes it more sophisticated and serious. For 11.25 on sale - it was worth trying one but maybe I'd still look out for Nebbiolo-grape wine as a preference! I will re-visit various Barbera (not to be confused with Barbaresco.)
In Beerum Veritas

User avatar
Craig
Seasoned Drinker
Posts: 1941
Joined: Wed Apr 10, 2013 10:23 am

Post by Craig »

I tried this tonight: https://www.lcbo.com/webapp/wcs/stores/ ... HzfAYZE2Nw

This isn't a style I know much about, and this bottle was not at all what I normally drink. It was sweet, but not overly so. I had a glass with dinner and didn't think much of it, but the glass I had well after, after it had been breathing for maybe 3 hours, was quite good. It has a nice cherry, plum and tobacco thing going on. I'd call this great value for 17 bucks, but I think the 97 rating on the sticker is a bit much.

User avatar
Belgian
Bar Towel Legend
Posts: 10033
Joined: Sun Jul 04, 2004 7:15 pm
Location: Earth

Post by Belgian »

Craig wrote:I tried this tonight: https://www.lcbo.com/webapp/wcs/stores/ ... HzfAYZE2Nw

... but the glass I had well after, after it had been breathing for maybe 3 hours, was quite good. It has a nice cherry, plum and tobacco thing going on. I'd call this great value for 17 bucks, but I think the 97 rating on the sticker is a bit much.
Yes, that Luca Marone character has a, *ahem* 'reputation' to say the least... he's not well-liked or respected for slapping crazy 97 scores on wines nobody else would - and the LCBO seem to play right along and exploit the rather blind consumer response to numbers*. I believe he is also tied to personal interests in the wine industry. shame on him. What perfect bedfellows... the LC and the LM! :roll:

And thanks for the review since I generally skip Luca-promoted wines at the LCBO on principle. That's not entirely fair (and *bleep* you, Luca!) To your point: it's very true many wines benefit from aeration but it doesn't really help the average wine consumer who just drinks the stuff an hour after buying it. That's not right or wrong, but to me it's kind of throwing away the value of the purchase... and aeration is always a smart way to improve any wine you don't like when opening it, even cheap wines. Cheers.

* (the LC also smugly misquotes RateBeer percentiles as 'Ratebeer Scores' which is total BS. - percentiles are simply not scores out of 100! This is badly misread / misinformation. PS I don't totally hate the LCBO but guys... you have some work to do.)
Last edited by Belgian on Mon Apr 19, 2021 11:32 pm, edited 2 times in total.
In Beerum Veritas

User avatar
Belgian
Bar Towel Legend
Posts: 10033
Joined: Sun Jul 04, 2004 7:15 pm
Location: Earth

Post by Belgian »

Rémy Ferbras Terre de Mistral Plan de Dieu Côtes du Rhône-Villages 2017

Here's a nice, everyday CDR red with a classic blend of grapes. Definitely little better than the cheapest stuff as from Chenet. Côtes du Rhône is a great solid go-to for value & quality (I think this wine should really be $15 but ehh. Decent value.)

I'm cooking some Coq au Vin with a cup of this. Yesterday I got this weird Sherry Vinegar from Spain so I'm throwing a dribble in the pot as well. As well as a dash of the excellent Lustau Don Nuño Oloroso Seco that I put in nearly every braised dish. Complexity is where it's at...
In Beerum Veritas

User avatar
Craig
Seasoned Drinker
Posts: 1941
Joined: Wed Apr 10, 2013 10:23 am

Post by Craig »

I'll admit if I'm in a hurry and not looking for anything more specific than "red for drinking" I'm likely to just take a quick look through vintages and grab something with a high score and a reasonable price tag. Sucks the LCBO would use ratings from unreliable sources, I'll keep an eye out for Marone in the future.

I always aerate, unless I forget. I forget a lot, but what am I gonna do? Not drink? C'mon.

In fairness, ratebeer call their percentages scores too. It's not strictly a percentage, they weight the scores by number of reviews too.

User avatar
Belgian
Bar Towel Legend
Posts: 10033
Joined: Sun Jul 04, 2004 7:15 pm
Location: Earth

Post by Belgian »

Craig wrote:[but what am I gonna do? Not drink? C'mon.
If you grab a carafe, do a high-pour into that thing and shake it around... might expedite the oxygen getting in that juice! :D That's life... nothing good is easy.
Last edited by Belgian on Thu Apr 22, 2021 11:57 am, edited 1 time in total.
In Beerum Veritas

User avatar
Belgian
Bar Towel Legend
Posts: 10033
Joined: Sun Jul 04, 2004 7:15 pm
Location: Earth

Post by Belgian »

Barros 10-Year-Old Tawny Port

This is a powerful drink. Black dried fruit, caramel, subtle layers and looong flavors. Nutty dryness is pleasant. Expect to feel the punch but it's not too hard on the palate at all. Nice contrast to the Burmester I've often enjoyed.
In Beerum Veritas

User avatar
Craig
Seasoned Drinker
Posts: 1941
Joined: Wed Apr 10, 2013 10:23 am

Post by Craig »

Belgian wrote:
Craig wrote:In fairness, ratebeer call their percentages scores too. It's not strictly a percentage, they weight the scores by number of reviews too.
OK, they do? At any rate I believe a percentile ranking divides all the beers eg. of a specific 'style' into 100 groups ('percentiles') - so if there are 18,000 Witbiers then divide that / 100, and there are 180 top-rated Witbiers in the 100th percentile, the next best 180 in the 99th percentile etc... That's all it is, so '100' doesn't even mean it's among the best or highest-rated beer on the site if a lot of people on RB care far less for Witbier than, say Imperial Stout. It's misleading.

Ratebeer 'Scoring' is based on a scale from 0.5 to 5.0 points. This is probably more direct & meaningful data, and scrupulous vendors should quote this instead of cool-looking high Percentile numbers out of context. Nobody should care that your Belgian Quad is a style in a high overall percentile compared to Pilsner.

And to rehash, 'overall' percentiles on RB mean that styles which attract more interest get higher Percentiles relative to all other beers on the site - irrespective of style. Less popular styles get beat up when comparing apples to oranges this way. So you can't look at 'overall' percentile rankings of Kölsch and Helles lager because it likely won't tell the meaningful story of those beers.
but what am I gonna do? Not drink? C'mon.
If you grab a carafe, do a high-pour into that thing and shake it around... might expedite the oxygen getting in that juice! :D That's life... nothing good is easy.
https://www.ratebeer.com/our-scores

User avatar
Belgian
Bar Towel Legend
Posts: 10033
Joined: Sun Jul 04, 2004 7:15 pm
Location: Earth

Post by Belgian »

Chateau Meyney 2017 Saint-Estephe

Certainly glad I tried this one, a straggler (abandoned Futures wine?) found at Cooper Street LCBO. Both 'chalky' tannins and silkiness, with a solid curtain of black fruit - cassis and blackberry, plum and cherry. Some light oak, spice, full on persistent flavors. St Estéphe!
In Beerum Veritas

User avatar
Belgian
Bar Towel Legend
Posts: 10033
Joined: Sun Jul 04, 2004 7:15 pm
Location: Earth

Post by Belgian »

2016 Château 2016 Chateau Ormes de Pez, St-Estèphe (Bordeaux)

A big full Bordeaux red with weight, right now showing a lot of dark berry and blackberry, a little spicy oak and sandalwood. The tart and dense cherry comes out with some oxygen, and this wine can take some more air (or more cellaring) to open up.

Some graphite and cedar pencil shavings, tannic structure, wild herbals. Love the firm palate.
Blend: 52% Merlot, 42% Cabernet Sauvignon, 5% Cabernet Franc, 1% Petit Verdot

Image
Last edited by Belgian on Sat Jul 10, 2021 1:25 pm, edited 2 times in total.
In Beerum Veritas

User avatar
Craig
Seasoned Drinker
Posts: 1941
Joined: Wed Apr 10, 2013 10:23 am

Post by Craig »

Nice, I've got a few bottles of the 2011 Pez in the cellar that I'm excited to try.

Tonight I'm drinking a 2012 Le Conseiller which has held up well. It's got a nice fruity thing going on that I can't quite nail down, some vanilla and oak, especially on the finish. I think I paid $19 for this way back when, which is a steal. I was worried I'd kept this too long, so I'm happy.

User avatar
Belgian
Bar Towel Legend
Posts: 10033
Joined: Sun Jul 04, 2004 7:15 pm
Location: Earth

Post by Belgian »

Yes still very young, was expecting even more tough tannins but got very bold fruit. Could have decanted for a very long time.

It's cool when an affordable ($20-30-ish) red is not only reliably amazing but only gets better... then can stash away several to open for years to come. I've got a number of Vacqueyras and some relatively affordable good Nebbiolo which can just sleep there for years, no hurry...
In Beerum Veritas

Ukie
Bar Fly
Posts: 763
Joined: Tue Oct 20, 2009 7:56 pm
Location: Hamilton

Post by Ukie »

The Foreign Affair The Conspiracy
Cabernet Sauvignon/Merlot/Cabernet Franc

750 mL bottle | VINTAGES#: 149237
$16.95
$19.95 Save $3.00 Limited Time Offer
Until October 10, 2021

https://www.lcbo.com/webapp/wcs/stores/ ... UqM4Lj0nIU

Very nice , very smooth, I don't believe I have seen it on sale before.

I usually buy Passi Reali Appassimento Montepulciano Organic VDT but this is much better.

Post Reply