Tell me about my "found wine"! [General]
2008 Jul 10
as far as wine goes, i'm a David Carradine grasshopper in the shadows of OFers like Momomoto and Food & Think, insolent enough to think i can beat them to a response ... but if you're a neophyte, i'd try them all without too many preconceptions. And then report back and tell us what you liked or what people at the Summer wine tasting liked!
One issue might be the storage: do you know if they were properly stored? For example, were there temperature fluctuations, etc.? The wine might be off by now.
But, to your question, i might go for the Serego Alighieri Possessioni Rosso 2002 next. No real reason other than i lean toward Italian wines and they tend to age well.
One issue might be the storage: do you know if they were properly stored? For example, were there temperature fluctuations, etc.? The wine might be off by now.
But, to your question, i might go for the Serego Alighieri Possessioni Rosso 2002 next. No real reason other than i lean toward Italian wines and they tend to age well.
2008 Jul 11
Whoa... nice find!
First off generally red wine keeps better over a long period of time, than if you had found white wine. So even though these are in the 10 year range, they should be ok if they were stored properly (or even half-right). I say open them up, and enjoy. These should all go well with steaks off the BarB.
I personally would say the JT Proprietor's Reserve Meritage would be the one I'd be most interested in. This wine most likely was bought at the winery, Reserve refers to the fact that it is either in limited release, or comes from wines from a select vineyard property (or both). Mertigage is a Canadian word to signify a specific blend of grapes (similar to how Heritage is registered apellation in France). Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc and Merlot are some of my favourite reds, and combined in Meritage, they compliment each other nicely.
The Italian and the Chilean are a little more uncertain. They could be great, or they could be standard red table wine. It is however possible that the one from Chile could be a real gem... with Chile it is hard to tell, because the region is just now coming on gang busters, so quality may or may not have been there in the grapes 8 years ago.
Cheers!
EDIT: I looked the JT up on the Web and found it was a Canadian Gold Medal winner in 2002. Wine notes say drinkable 2004 thru 2010.
First off generally red wine keeps better over a long period of time, than if you had found white wine. So even though these are in the 10 year range, they should be ok if they were stored properly (or even half-right). I say open them up, and enjoy. These should all go well with steaks off the BarB.
I personally would say the JT Proprietor's Reserve Meritage would be the one I'd be most interested in. This wine most likely was bought at the winery, Reserve refers to the fact that it is either in limited release, or comes from wines from a select vineyard property (or both). Mertigage is a Canadian word to signify a specific blend of grapes (similar to how Heritage is registered apellation in France). Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc and Merlot are some of my favourite reds, and combined in Meritage, they compliment each other nicely.
The Italian and the Chilean are a little more uncertain. They could be great, or they could be standard red table wine. It is however possible that the one from Chile could be a real gem... with Chile it is hard to tell, because the region is just now coming on gang busters, so quality may or may not have been there in the grapes 8 years ago.
Cheers!
EDIT: I looked the JT up on the Web and found it was a Canadian Gold Medal winner in 2002. Wine notes say drinkable 2004 thru 2010.
2008 Jul 11
Pam you are indeed lucky to be gifted with such nice wines! Food&Think gave you some pretty comprehensive advise as to keeping wines. The only thing I can add is that if the wine is truly off it will have an unmistakeably musty taste to it. Congratulations on the new home BTW. Looks like you have cause to open one of those bottles and celebrate!
2008 Jul 11
Congrats on the new house, Pam!
As for the Concha Y Toro... well, they can make really great high-end wines, this one should be okay, but sadly it's not as exciting as your gold medal Méritage. As F&T mentioned, Chile was just cutting its teeth on making quality wine in 2000. Some of the newer ones have scored relatively well, but I couldn't find any info on score from a quick look.
But hey, FREE WINE! :D
As for the Concha Y Toro... well, they can make really great high-end wines, this one should be okay, but sadly it's not as exciting as your gold medal Méritage. As F&T mentioned, Chile was just cutting its teeth on making quality wine in 2000. Some of the newer ones have scored relatively well, but I couldn't find any info on score from a quick look.
But hey, FREE WINE! :D
2008 Jul 14
I can't add much more to the conversation (although thanks to all for having faith in my ability to blather about wine), except to say that it's probably best to drink the wine as soon as you can. You know, just in case it's poisoned or something ;)
That Meritage is calling out for a grilled filet mignon. Actually, they all are desperately crying for steak.
That Meritage is calling out for a grilled filet mignon. Actually, they all are desperately crying for steak.
Pam
Wine #1 is Wolf Blass Brown Label 1999 Classic Shiraz. This is the only one I've opened. It's a real kick-in-your-face shiraz, not sure if I like it yet (two sips into the first glass).
#2 is a 1998 Jackson-Triggs Proprietor's Reserve Meritage (never heard of this variety before). The back says it's a mixture of Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc and Merlot.
#3 is a Serego Alighieri Possessioni Rosso 2002...
#4 is a 2000 Concha Y Toro Casillero del Diablo Cabernet Sauvignon (Chile)
Let me know what you think, and which one I should drink next ;)
Or, I was thinking it might be fun to bring the bottles to one of Summer's wine tastings...