AFWE confessions - aka let us make Alfert feel better

[Alan_Rath]

Termanthia. 2001 or 2002. A great inky wine made from pre-phyloxera grapes. I have another bottle if you want to try some more.

It’s a great bottle! Large and heavy, I use one as my double decanting bottle. The wine is not really my style, but the bottle is great

[Pat_Martin]

This is a safe space, right? No (real) names (come on, Owlfert?), no judgement? Okay then…

I still really enjoy 1995-2000 Monbousquet. I am not sure I think of them as wine per se, they’re more like a delicious and surprisingly complex/exotic daiquiri. But fun to drink.

[Marcus_Goodfellow]

We have all had a wonderful time making fun of Ovid Alfert and his recent foray into the land of Rolland. But, I have to believe that most of us have had similar transgressions. Time for confession.

1. I visited Martinelli in the late 1990s or early 2000s and bought their wines for a couple of years. Thought their Chardonnay was pretty good and their pinot was tasty young, but did not age. After a couple of years of so, I decided I would rather buy more burgundy and stopped buying this.

2. I used to go every year to Bassin’s California Barrel Sample tasting. On year, I really liked a Peter Michael les Pavots 1997 and bought some. After finding zero signs of maturation in the wine over time, I eventually got rid of what I had left.

I also was buying Phelps Insignia in the 1990s but I put this in a different class. I used to love the way Phelps Cabs from the 1970s and 1980s aged. Until I saw it for myself, I was surprised that changes they made in how they made the wines meant that the wines just stayed in suspended animation over time and no longer aged.

Other confessions?

I bought Peter Michael Les Pavots in 1992-1995, and had a similar reaction to you. (Paid $28.99/btl for ‘92, $35 for ‘93, $50 for ‘94)

I sold it along with all of the other 90s Napa wines in my cellar, and my Beaucastel and other CdP. Bought Champagne, Riesling, and some Burgundy(and perhaps a bit of Cru Beaujolais).

I did not sell any of my Lytton Springs and Geyserville Zinfandels as I drank all of them…and quite a few others. Same goes for the Edmunds St Jean Syrahs.

[Marcus_Goodfellow]

This is a safe space, right? No (real) names (come on, Owlfert?), no judgement? Okay then…

I still really enjoy 1995-2000 Monbousquet. I am not sure I think of them as wine per se, they’re more like a delicious and surprisingly complex/exotic daiquiri. But fun to drink.

Awesome…

[J_a_y_H_a_c_k]

This is a safe space, right? No (real) names (come on, Owlfert?), no judgement? Okay then…

I still really enjoy 1995-2000 Monbousquet. I am not sure I think of them as wine per se, they’re more like a delicious and surprisingly complex/exotic daiquiri. But fun to drink.

If you enjoy the 2000, you should try the 2005. I am making my way through a case, but the wood treatment is still a bit harsh, even for me. If you come to New York, I will let you try a bottle to see if you like it.

[Robert.A.Jr]

This is a safe space, right? No (real) names (come on, Owlfert?), no judgement? Okay then…

I still really enjoy 1995-2000 Monbousquet. I am not sure I think of them as wine per se, they’re more like a delicious and surprisingly complex/exotic daiquiri. But fun to drink.

If you enjoy the 2000, you should try the 2005. I am making my way through a case, but the wood treatment is still a bit harsh, even for me. If you come to New York, I will let you try a bottle to see if you like it.

No. No. That 2005 is horrid!

I am putting Pat on ignore after this post. I will now only follow “Blanquito”. Jay, I follow, so that I can roll my eyes, as my palate flops, and stomach groans.

[Warren_Taranow]

Leonetti Cab, Pride Merlot, and Newton Unfiltered Chardonnay were my gateway wines in the early 2000’s. They’re all long gone, so I’ll never know if the rambunctious fruit settled down or the oak integrated.

[Jonathan_Loesberg]

Anyone can confess to liking anti-AFWE wines if, in fact, that’s what they like. Or recount once liking them now that they no longer do. Or even liking wines that other AFWE people don’t like, even though they think of themselves as AFWE (taste being screwy in the way that it is). If we want to make Alfert feel better, we should confess to oaky alcoholic montrosities that we liked despite thinking of ourselves as AFWE people. I, for instance, have had more than one Cambie wine get past me at large tastings. I don’t remember their names, though, no doubt as a matter of defense mechanisms exerting themselves.

[Jay_Miller]

This is a safe space, right? No (real) names (come on, Owlfert?), no judgement? Okay then…

I still really enjoy 1995-2000 Monbousquet. I am not sure I think of them as wine per se, they’re more like a delicious and surprisingly complex/exotic daiquiri. But fun to drink.

Who said anything about no judgement? Still, perhaps you are more sinned against than sinning. I saw the best palates if my generation ruined by…

The 1995 Monbousquet was the very last time I took Parker’s advice on a wine. Fortunately I only bought one bottle.

[Greg_K]

This is a safe space, right? No (real) names (come on, Owlfert?), no judgement? Okay then…

I still really enjoy 1995-2000 Monbousquet. I am not sure I think of them as wine per se, they’re more like a delicious and surprisingly complex/exotic daiquiri. But fun to drink.

Who said anything about no judgement? Still, perhaps you are more sinned against than sinning. I saw the best palates if my generation ruined by…

I’ve seen things you people wouldn’t believe. Barrels of new oak on fire off the shoulder of Michel Rolland. I watched reverse osmosis filters glitter in the dark near Chateau Pavie. All those moments will be lost in time, like tears in rain. Time for my palate to die.

[Anton_D]

If it makes you feel better, I drove past The Prisoner winery yesterday and forgot to flip them off or break my empties on their driveway.

I guess I’m going soft.

As Dre said, “Don’t let me slip, ‘cause if I slip then I’m slippin’.”

[Robert.A.Jr]

If it makes you feel better, I drove past The Prisoner winery yesterday and forgot to flip them off or break my empties on their driveway.

I guess I’m going soft.

As Dre said, “Don’t let me slip, ‘cause if I slip then I’m slippin’.”

Which of course, with Prisoner, or Martenelli for that matter, would be apropos:

Gin and Juice - Dr. Dre & Snoop Doggy Dog

Gin and juice.

[Richard_T_r_i_m_p_i]

I, for instance, have had more than one Cambie wine get past me at large tastings. I don’t remember their names, though, no doubt as a matter of defense mechanisms exerting themselves.

Plausible deniability.

RT

[Jay_Miller]

This is a safe space, right? No (real) names (come on, Owlfert?), no judgement? Okay then…

I still really enjoy 1995-2000 Monbousquet. I am not sure I think of them as wine per se, they’re more like a delicious and surprisingly complex/exotic daiquiri. But fun to drink.

Who said anything about no judgement? Still, perhaps you are more sinned against than sinning. I saw the best palates if my generation ruined by…

I’ve seen things you people wouldn’t believe. Barrels of new oak on fire off the shoulder of Michel Rolland. I watched reverse osmosis filters glitter in the dark near Chateau Pavie. All those moments will be lost in time, like tears in rain. Time for my palate to die.

[Charlie_Carnes]

The thought of the Alferts hooking up in the Martinelli parking lot gives me the willies.

It did read that way, didn’t it?

[Robert.A.Jr]

The thought of the Alferts hooking up in the Martinelli parking lot gives me the willies.

It did read that way, didn’t it?

The lady has me hooked!

[Keith_A_k_e_r_s]

I’ll happily admit that I really dig a lot of Priorat and that’s turned into my go to when I want a bigger wine. It may not be full on AWFE, but it’s a region that seems to be thrown into the purple drank category when that isn’t the case for a lot of wines IMO

[Mark_Thompson]

I’ll happily admit that I really dig a lot of Priorat and that’s turned into my go to when I want a bigger wine. It may not be full on AWFE, but it’s a region that seems to be thrown into the purple drank category when that isn’t the case for a lot of wines IMO

+1… Clos Erasmus…Guilty.

[Mark_Thompson]

Folks, there is a solution to still owning certain monstrosities acquired in our less considered youth: charity auctions.

Last year one got $1,000 for my 3L of 2003 Bellevue Mondotte. The reviews said it all: mocha, caramel, nougat. I hope the buyer (donor) likes it. A win/win/win.

Reminds me of a confession: I bought and consumed a 2003 Bellevue Mondotte. I’n my defense, back in 2005, I had been out of the wine game for 5-6 years, and had no clue what had happened to Parker’s palate and that once wonderful region called St Emilion. That wine was horrid.

Here is a confession for you: I really liked the ‘03 Bellevue Mondotte a few years ago and I’ve bought more of various vintages since then. I opened a bottle of the ‘03 bottle last night and could barely swallow it. I thought my palate was still very “open-minded” with respect to modern vs traditional styles, but perhaps that has changed a lot since then. Or maybe the oaky mess will in come together in 20 years!

[Marc_Frontario]

Last year I visited DC to go to a good friend’s Halloween party (he posts here on occasion). To celebrate, he popped a bottle of 2009 Pavie and told me it was a Robert Owlfert wine. When I explained that Bobby hates on Pavie, he said without a trace of irony, “yeah, but if you read his tasting notes, you’d see he secretly likes big, oaky wines.”

True story.

This Napa trip confirms his inclinations…brilliant slueth work from your buddy

Hell, I drink with Bobby yet was never enlightened to his true deep dark desires…wait, I take that back, I am very aware of his deep dark desires, just not when it came to wine.