About Me: I will try any and all wines. I tend to really enjoy Cab or Meritage/Rhone (well any!) red blends, any Sauv Blanc and vintage Porto the best. I live in the Bay Area near many great regions for wine and grew up in the Napa Valley.
I am the West Coast Ambassador for WineLog.net and I work at Genentech developing drugs for oncology. I have an intelligent and gorgeous wife and a fat, furry pug. I occasionally DJ breaks and progressive house and often play golf.
You can usually find me sipping wine and enjoying a lot of great music and great friends. Unfortunately, I often geek out on things more than I should...like wine, for instance.
Bought at BevMo to drink at Spoontonic, 07/02/09.
DBR: "After a normal winter and an exceptionally mild month of April 2007, the months of June to August were cool with less sun than average. Once in a while does no harm and the wonderful sunny, warm months of September and October improved the harvest. Réserve Spéciale Bordeaux White is selected exclusively from the Entre-Deux-Mers region.
Crystal-clear straw-yellow colour. Powerful and aromatic on the nose, with the dominant exotic aromas (citrus, lychees) of Sauvignon Blanc. Full-bodied attack, developing a lively fresh taste with intense aromas of grapefruit and lime on the finish. Both lively and full of flavour." Color: Light golden yellow
Nose: Good fruit blossom aromas then very tart grapefruit and lychee in the background
Palate: Very zesty and racy, with tons of the grapefruit in the fore, finishing with some slightly creamier peach and fruit blossoms from the nose. - 07/04/2009
Bought at BevMo to drink at Spoontonic, 07/02/09.
DBR: "After a normal winter and an exceptionally mild month of April 2007, the months of June to August were cool with less sun than average. Once in a while does no harm and the wonderful sunny, warm months of September and October improved the harvest. Réserve Spéciale Bordeaux White is selected exclusively from the Entre-Deux-Mers region.
Crystal-clear straw-yellow colour. Powerful and aromatic on the nose, with the dominant exotic aromas (citrus, lychees) of Sauvignon Blanc. Full-bodied attack, developing a lively fresh taste with intense aromas of grapefruit and lime on the finish. Both lively and full of flavour."
Tasting Notes & Comments
Color: Light golden yellow
Nose: Good fruit blossom aromas then very tart grapefruit and lychee in the background
Palate: Very zesty and racy, with tons of the grapefruit in the fore, finishing with some slightly creamier peach and fruit blossoms from the nose. - 07/04/2009
Had at movie night at Heff's, courtesy of him, 06/08/09.
LRW: "Alcohol . . . . . . . . . 14.7%
pH . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3.46
TA . . . . . . . . 0.64g/100ml
RS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Dry
t’s 9:46 in the morning on a Friday in early October, and I find myself at the Winery
in front of my computer and two glasses of the next Club La Rochelle release: 2005
Pinot Blanc, Distant Bay Vineyard, Arroyo Seco.
The theme song from Deliverance is running through my brain, duh, duh, DUM, duh,
duh…as I experience this wonderful wine from both a Riedel “Magnum” and Riedel
Pinot Noir glass (my own version of “Dueling Banjos”.) The differences are quite
remarkable.
My family has been making Pinot Blanc from
Monterey County for decades both in the style
of barrel-fermented, sur-lie aged seriousness
and as part of a more fruit-forward blend. Tom
Stutz has kept up the tradition of the former
style with this vintage.
In both glasses, the wine is a beautiful pale
golden color, perfectly clear. It is in the nose
that the first dramatic differences show. In the
Magnum glass (we use this glass for Cabernet
in the Steven Kent Barrel Room) aromas of
tropical fruit and orange marmalade come to
the fore. In the Pinot glass, those tropical notes
become much more defined…ripe Pineapple—
with just the slightest candied edge—orange oil, and the most subtle aroma of Savory
lingering in the background.
From the Magnum glass, the wine has a satisfyingly unctuous texture to it; it really coats
the tongue. From the Pinot glass, the wine’s balancing acidity is expressed fully
providing very clean fruit-centric flavors. The wine feels bigger to me from the Magnum
glass—bigger, with a hint of barrel on the finish.
The Distant Bay Vineyard which has also served as a source of Syrah for La Rochelle in
the past is located in the Arroyo Seco appellation. The cool climate there is perfect for
the growing of great Pinot Blanc (a genetic mutation of the more widely grown Pinot
Noir).
After harvest, the 2005 Pinot Blanc was barrel-fermented in a combination of older
French and American oak barrels. Because we wanted to emphasize the round, ripe fruit
notes, the wine saw limited sur-lie aging, being racked off the lees and back into barrel
after about 60 days. The absence of malo-lactic fermentation was a wine-making decision
intended to emphasize the balancing acidity with which
Arroyo Seco blessed the fruit.
Only 156 cases of this wine were made first for members of
Club La Rochelle. The wine will be released at the end of
October and will cost $26 per bottle." Color: Slightly oxidized gold with green highlights
Nose: Good light florals with a fuller vanilla blossom underlay and slight lemon and some tropical with pear.
Palate: Oak and lemon custard are in the fore, with a very silky full round mouth but with good sparkly acidic edges and great savory baking spices & cinnamon. Long lemon/lime finish with more vanilla blossom. - 06/30/2009
Had at movie night at Heff's, courtesy of him, 06/08/09.
LRW: "Alcohol . . . . . . . . . 14.7%
pH . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3.46
TA . . . . . . . . 0.64g/100ml
RS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Dry
t’s 9:46 in the morning on a Friday in early October, and I find myself at the Winery
in front of my computer and two glasses of the next Club La Rochelle release: 2005
Pinot Blanc, Distant Bay Vineyard, Arroyo Seco.
The theme song from Deliverance is running through my brain, duh, duh, DUM, duh,
duh…as I experience this wonderful wine from both a Riedel “Magnum” and Riedel
Pinot Noir glass (my own version of “Dueling Banjos”.) The differences are quite
remarkable.
My family has been making Pinot Blanc from
Monterey County for decades both in the style
of barrel-fermented, sur-lie aged seriousness
and as part of a more fruit-forward blend. Tom
Stutz has kept up the tradition of the former
style with this vintage.
In both glasses, the wine is a beautiful pale
golden color, perfectly clear. It is in the nose
that the first dramatic differences show. In the
Magnum glass (we use this glass for Cabernet
in the Steven Kent Barrel Room) aromas of
tropical fruit and orange marmalade come to
the fore. In the Pinot glass, those tropical notes
become much more defined…ripe Pineapple—
with just the slightest candied edge—orange oil, and the most subtle aroma of Savory
lingering in the background.
From the Magnum glass, the wine has a satisfyingly unctuous texture to it; it really coats
the tongue. From the Pinot glass, the wine’s balancing acidity is expressed fully
providing very clean fruit-centric flavors. The wine feels bigger to me from the Magnum
glass—bigger, with a hint of barrel on the finish.
The Distant Bay Vineyard which has also served as a source of Syrah for La Rochelle in
the past is located in the Arroyo Seco appellation. The cool climate there is perfect for
the growing of great Pinot Blanc (a genetic mutation of the more widely grown Pinot
Noir).
After harvest, the 2005 Pinot Blanc was barrel-fermented in a combination of older
French and American oak barrels. Because we wanted to emphasize the round, ripe fruit
notes, the wine saw limited sur-lie aging, being racked off the lees and back into barrel
after about 60 days. The absence of malo-lactic fermentation was a wine-making decision
intended to emphasize the balancing acidity with which
Arroyo Seco blessed the fruit.
Only 156 cases of this wine were made first for members of
Club La Rochelle. The wine will be released at the end of
October and will cost $26 per bottle."
Tasting Notes & Comments
Color: Slightly oxidized gold with green highlights
Nose: Good light florals with a fuller vanilla blossom underlay and slight lemon and some tropical with pear.
Palate: Oak and lemon custard are in the fore, with a very silky full round mouth but with good sparkly acidic edges and great savory baking spices & cinnamon. Long lemon/lime finish with more vanilla blossom. - 06/30/2009
Bought at a huge discount off of the private client list of JJ Buckley's Alex Shaw, 06/03/09.
MdC: "80% Temp, 20% Gar" Color: A beautiful strawberry juice pink, with slight orange highlights
Nose: Great juicy strawberry here, with a few fresh, wet garden herbs scents, drifting towards rosemary.
Palate: Crisp, yet with a touch of body from some very slight RS, but this is a dry Rosado. Great juicy strawberry and Bing cherry here too, with a medium-body and fruity baked cherry in the dry finish. - 06/27/2009
Bought at a huge discount off of the private client list of JJ Buckley's Alex Shaw, 06/03/09.
MdC: "80% Temp, 20% Gar"
Tasting Notes & Comments
Color: A beautiful strawberry juice pink, with slight orange highlights
Nose: Great juicy strawberry here, with a few fresh, wet garden herbs scents, drifting towards rosemary.
Palate: Crisp, yet with a touch of body from some very slight RS, but this is a dry Rosado. Great juicy strawberry and Bing cherry here too, with a medium-body and fruity baked cherry in the dry finish. - 06/27/2009
Nose: Outstanding florals and balanced apple, hops, green apple and lemon peel
Palate: Almost full mouth with lemon blossom in first, followed by zippy lemon, but some more sweeter apple bread underneath. Long lemon zest and blossom finish. Quite good. - 06/27/2009
Nose: Outstanding florals and balanced apple, hops, green apple and lemon peel
Palate: Almost full mouth with lemon blossom in first, followed by zippy lemon, but some more sweeter apple bread underneath. Long lemon zest and blossom finish. Quite good. - 06/27/2009
Nose: Great big florals here on the front of citrus blossom and then good yellow apple with some some hops.
Palate: Very good, with great yellow and then more tarter green apple, sweetness to balance the good acid and more of spicier baked apple and lemon blossom finish. - 06/26/2009
Nose: Great big florals here on the front of citrus blossom and then good yellow apple with some some hops.
Palate: Very good, with great yellow and then more tarter green apple, sweetness to balance the good acid and more of spicier baked apple and lemon blossom finish. - 06/26/2009
Nose: Big, spicy green apple, even some cinnamon with huge Summer florals, as well.
Palate: Medium to full, with a nice sinuous mouth, great balance of sweet, good acid that isn't zesty and great floral finish with good lemon blossom and sweeter green apple. - 06/26/2009
Nose: Big, spicy green apple, even some cinnamon with huge Summer florals, as well.
Palate: Medium to full, with a nice sinuous mouth, great balance of sweet, good acid that isn't zesty and great floral finish with good lemon blossom and sweeter green apple. - 06/26/2009
Nose: Spicier, with some definite diesel here and even some strangely wasabi-type aromas.
Palate: Medium full here, with medium acid, as well. Apples here and grapefruit on the finish, but definite sweetness here. Great with spicy Thai, probably. - 06/26/2009
Nose: Spicier, with some definite diesel here and even some strangely wasabi-type aromas.
Palate: Medium full here, with medium acid, as well. Apples here and grapefruit on the finish, but definite sweetness here. Great with spicy Thai, probably. - 06/26/2009
Nose: Good aromas here of lemon, slight sweetness underneath, but also some great tart apple, as well
Palate: Medium full, with grapefruit zesty acid, yellow apple surrounding that and some sweetness on top, nicely balanced by the acidity. Long lemon finish. - 06/26/2009
Nose: Good aromas here of lemon, slight sweetness underneath, but also some great tart apple, as well
Palate: Medium full, with grapefruit zesty acid, yellow apple surrounding that and some sweetness on top, nicely balanced by the acidity. Long lemon finish. - 06/26/2009
Nose: Slight diesel smoke here, with mild lemon underneath
Palate: Medium-full with crisp acid here too, but less than the others before it. Good lemon and grapefruit on the middle palate and at the end, diesel in the finish too, slight RS. - 06/26/2009
Nose: Slight diesel smoke here, with mild lemon underneath
Palate: Medium-full with crisp acid here too, but less than the others before it. Good lemon and grapefruit on the middle palate and at the end, diesel in the finish too, slight RS. - 06/26/2009
Nose: Much more rounder nose here with more of a tinge of diesel and tropical fruits surrounded by yellow/green apple.
Palate: Medium full, with juicy green and yellow apple here too, slight tinge of RS but comes off very zesty in the Granny apple finish with good acid. - 06/26/2009
Nose: Much more rounder nose here with more of a tinge of diesel and tropical fruits surrounded by yellow/green apple.
Palate: Medium full, with juicy green and yellow apple here too, slight tinge of RS but comes off very zesty in the Granny apple finish with good acid. - 06/26/2009
Nose: Good citrus here as well, with some Meyer lemon/lemon blossom and steely minerality
Palate: Interesting palate here, medium-full but with some nice viscosity, yet very dry and crisp, with some hoppiness, wet slate and green apple finish. - 06/26/2009
Nose: Good citrus here as well, with some Meyer lemon/lemon blossom and steely minerality
Palate: Interesting palate here, medium-full but with some nice viscosity, yet very dry and crisp, with some hoppiness, wet slate and green apple finish. - 06/26/2009
Dear Drxeno,
I really appreciate your kindness. Your opinion should be very helpful to my survey.
If you know the people who have an experience buying wine online, could you pass my survey to them.
Once again, thank you for your kindness and consideration.
This is Daniel Shin, studying in MSc Food Management at University of Surrey.
I am studying the consumer's wine buying behaviour online.
This research seeks the opinion of people who have had an experience purchasing wine either online or from other sources to investigate factors influencing customers’ wine purchasing behaviour in online shopping.
I have to find at least 100 people who have an experience of buying wine online.
If possible, could you send the questionnaire to members and ex-members?
It is linked to http://FreeOnlineSurveys.com/rendersurvey.asp?sid=jj73z5zbvz3kxvj61060... and it just takes 5 min to answer the questionnaire.
I would be most grateful, if you could spare your time to send the questionnaire.
If you want to see research results, then I will send you after analysing the survey.
The research will contribute to a MSc dissertation in Food Management at the University of Surrey.
Any information provided will ONLY be used for research purposes.
All responses will be treated with the strictest confidence.
I am only in interested in obtaining consumers' views.
I am looking forward to hearing from you soon.
Kind Regards,
Daniel Shin
The University of Surrey
MSc in Food Management
ss00098@surrey.ac.uk
hey, saw you were into DJ'ing breaks. Not exactly the same thing, but I did a guest set recently and you can see the setlist here. Hopefully you see something new you like in there:
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Posted by Seungman on Jul. 2, 2009
Dear Drxeno,
I really appreciate your kindness. Your opinion should be very helpful to my survey.
If you know the people who have an experience buying wine online, could you pass my survey to them.
Once again, thank you for your kindness and consideration.
Best regards,
Daniel Shin.