Thanks! I’d agree with what Benjamin said that I think it’s fairly ready to go, but I’m also a fan of that initial bright acidity that the Syrah provides in the wine. Some folk have told me they want a softer presentation so they’ll let it breathe for a couple hours. I think that if folks are expecting it to perform like a typical Paso wine they might have to wait quite a while - it was always meant to be more lively.
I’m doing better, thank you for asking. I’d say I’m at about 70% percent. Recovery is slow (annoyingly so) but trending in the right direction.
Drank my first BD15 bottles - 2021 T. Berkley Ophelia (cab franc) and Norgard (chenin blanc).
Really enjoyed both - I had them under Repours for a couple weeks and they only got better over time. The Norgard had tropical fruit and floral aromas and had a nice honey/waxy/saline palate. The Ophelia had a lot of blue fruit upfront followed by tannins and definitely needed air to bring out earthiness. Planning on holding my other bottle for a long time to give it time to integrate.
The only thing I dislike is how heavy these bottles are - would love to see them in lighter bottles.
Has anyone received Ladd Cellars wines? I’ve sent a few emails to Eric without response. I’m concerned. That is unlike him as he’s normally very responsive. @Eric_Lundblad
Opened a 2017 Walter Scott Viticole bottling (one of the special Monopole Cru offers). This wine is really stunning. Performs at that Pemier Cru white Burgundy level with ease (PYCM doppelgänger if you ask me). This doesn’t quite have the site signature of say X-Novo or Freedom Hill or Soejau (which makes sense I presume it’s a blend of multiple sites), but it’s just damn good wine.
Washing down a couple of Morgan Ranch New York Strips (not a BD purchase) with a 2018 Sylvie Estate Cabernet Sauvignon and a 2018 Stellareese Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon. Wines are solid purchases and of course the Morgan Ranch beef is heavenly.
After my BD order website site blew up on me, I switched to email based order taking, which is a terrifically slow method of taking orders…I’m convinced that this should be in consideration as an Olympic Sport! I’m sure this can give Curling a run for its money . (sorry, I know Curling gets a lot of unfair grief! From what I’ve read, the sweeping position requires a lot of skill. Akin to being a great baseball pitcher?)
Last weekend I took another pass covering the emails from Jan 24 to the first couple of weeks of April to make sure nothing was missed (one was and the details of several weren’t translated properly). The sad thing is I searched primarily for email subject lines with “BD15”… missing Gregg’s emails . So I’ll go over the “BD” emails this weekend. Thanks for bringing this up Gregg!
The predicted temps next week in So Cal look good.
My plan is to get the SoCal orders, and orders for a couple of areas, shipped next week
Tonight, I am enjoying a 2022 Sabelli-Frisch “New Gold Dream” Riesling Zabala Vineyard. Honestly, I am running out of superlatives for Sabelli-Frisch wines. Every one I have tried has been unique, well made and, above all, interesting. This is no exception. It is relatively dry and very clean, but it is bursting with tropical (green mango) flavor that stays on the palate.
I bought a case of S-F wines on Berserkerday, and I would be surprised if any of them survive the summer.
I can relate my friend - there always seem to be a few that may fall through the cracks each year (just had a customer reach out about just this today).
Thanks for the LA temps info, and will do re shipping your wine.
The temps I was referring to was by WeatherUnderground for Irvine, as a rough gauge of shipping viability…I used to use LA for this, but it seemed that LA tended to be reliably warmer than other surounding cities, but I’d be happy to defer to you/folks that live there think/observe) . I check the predicted temps of the actual delivery city before shipping.
I’ve recently received Vincent (BD15 & spring release) and Perkins Harter. Goodfellow (BD15 & spring release I believe) are on the way. My Cabot BD14 order is also on the way - really looking forward to those aged Zins.
Hopefully some of these shipments will arrive when my wife is away from the house. I’m supposed to be moderating my purchases for a while.
One option is to have the shipment redirected to a UPS store (or to the FedEx equivalent). That way you can pick it up at your leasure. Of course if your wife asks who this Eric Character is…
. (sorry, I know Curling gets a lot of unfair grief! From what I’ve read, the sweeping position requires a lot of skill. Akin to being a great baseball pitcher?)
. So I’ll go over the “BD” emails this weekend. Thanks for bringing this up Gregg!
