Two Very Disappointing, $75 California Wines

[Stan_Y]

I think we’ve all experienced this

Like a wine not tasting quite as good after you buy a case as it did when you tried it before buying.

[Marc_Frontario]

No wonder I received a text photo 2nite of Alfert hogging a bottle of Levet while Mrs. Alfert is glass-less in the background

[Robert.A.Jr]

Class-less?

That poor soul. That’s her penance for buying such crap. I’m guess crunk purchase.

Now that said, she just said Levet is horrible, lol.

[Mark_Y]

The Chardonnay was varietally correct,

Anytime a TN says xyz is varietally correct, it’s game over…

[Robert.A.Jr]

The Chardonnay was varietally correct,

Anytime a TN says xyz is varietally correct, it’s game over…

He/She has a great personality…

[Al_Osterheld]

Should be xyzzy. Works better.

-Al

[Sean_S]

Lambert Bridge makes a killer Petit Verdot, not so much on the Chardonnay. Always been pricey for what they are. Paying for the atmosphere. Not so hot on most of their new wines but I buy 20 year old ones of WB for cheap and they have been consistent successes. Its a beautiful place with manicured grounds that just draw’s you in while you drive by. My wife proudly loves their wines. I think the beauty and environment make the wines seem better than they are.

Certainly not AFWE but their Petit Verdot was an ah ha moment wine for me. The nose is just beguiling

Sean

[Eric_Lundblad]

Should be xyzzy. Works better.

-Al

Uh, from what I interpret the ‘xyz’ comments above…‘xyzzy’ would more likely be the opposite.

[David_Glasser]

Should be xyzzy. Works better.

-Al

Uh, from what I interpret the ‘xyz’ comments above…‘xyzzy’ would more likely be the opposite.

I save “xyzzy” for wines that transport me.

[JBucholz]

I have all but sworn off buying wine at a winery. Apart from the fact that I’m almost certainly paying more than I need to pay, I find that the romance of tasting the wine at the winery adds three to five points to what I would normally score the wine if I were drinking it at home.

[Victor_Hong]

I have all but sworn off buying wine at a winery. Apart from the fact that I’m almost certainly paying more than I need to pay, I find that the romance of tasting the wine at the winery adds three to five points to what I would normally score the wine if I were drinking it at home.

Time to re-model.

[John_Morris]

I have all but sworn off buying wine at a winery. Apart from the fact that I’m almost certainly paying more than I need to pay, I find that the romance of tasting the wine at the winery adds three to five points to what I would normally score the wine if I were drinking it at home.

I’d say you suffer only a mild form of this affliction, which is so familiar to us all.

[Thomas_Keim]

Yikes! I couldn’t sell the Lambert Bridge wines for $15 a bottle when I was a retailer. They now sell for $75 each?

[Robert.A.Jr]

I have all but sworn off buying wine at a winery. Apart from the fact that I’m almost certainly paying more than I need to pay, I find that the romance of tasting the wine at the winery adds three to five points to what I would normally score the wine if I were drinking it at home.

I’d say you suffer only a mild form of this affliction, which is so familiar to us all.

I think the boozing adds another few points. I saw some videoclips from the ladies. Let’s just say, I wish I had been there . . . . And not for vino.

[Al_Osterheld]

I save “xyzzy” for wines that transport me.

Or, moments when you need to be transported to a better place. But, some folks thought magic should be eliminated.

-Al

[Arv_R]

This often happens, and as much in Europe and elsewhere as in California. You’re on vacation, you’re in a great mood, you’re well rested, you’re in a gorgeous place, the people serving it to you are treating you well and you like them and want to support them. The wine tastes glorious. Though it later turns out to be forgettable or worse on Tuesday night after a hard day at the office.

I think we’ve all experienced this a few times in our lives. And although it’s good to be aware of, and correct for, those strong biases, it’s also not always bad just to roll with them.

+1 to all that.

I don’t think they’re around any more, but a long time ago I thought Stonefly made a quite good California version of Cab Franc. There were better on the young side though, I put one away, and years later it didn’t seem to have the same initial vibrancy.

[JBucholz]

I have all but sworn off buying wine at a winery. Apart from the fact that I’m almost certainly paying more than I need to pay, I find that the romance of tasting the wine at the winery adds three to five points to what I would normally score the wine if I were drinking it at home.

I’d say you suffer only a mild form of this affliction, which is so familiar to us all.

I think the boozing adds another few points. I saw some videoclips from the ladies. Let’s just say, I wish I had been there . . . . And not for vino.

You’re assuming that I’m not boozing while at home.

[Chris_Seiber]

This is a horrible tangent, but we seem to be getting near the end of this thread, so what the hell:

The “wine seems so much better on vacation / while touring wine country” thing also leads some people down the mistaken belief that sulfites are a big issue for them in drinking wines and what reactions and hangovers they get.

I’ve heard a number of people (non wine collector people, and ones who probably drink mostly domestic supermarket wines) come back from Europe and say “those wines are so much better because they don’t have sulfites, I felt so much better after drinking wine there.”

First off, it’s not true that European wines don’t have sulfites, but even if it were true, the difference is almost certainly the vacation effect. You’re on vacation, in beautiful places in Europe, you’re well rested, you’re not working, you’re in a great mood . . . that is why the wines aren’t making you feel bad, the way it does the morning after you down three glasses of Apothic on a weeknight and you try to slog to get the kids off to school and get to the office.

[James_Sanders]

Yikes! I couldn’t sell the Lambert Bridge wines for $15 a bottle when I was a retailer. They now sell for $75 each?

IIRC, Lambert Bridge was one of the wineries that got dumped by its distributor in the late 80s or early 90s and their wines were selling for under $5 for a brief time. If it’s the same owner still, I’m happy for them that they have recovered.

Victor is right, though. If you are paying $75 for a generic California wine like this, you are basically helping to pay down someone’s loan.

[David_Glasser]

This is a horrible tangent, but we seem to be getting near the end of this thread, so what the hell:

The “wine seems so much better on vacation / while touring wine country” thing also leads some people down the mistaken belief that sulfites are a big issue for them in drinking wines and what reactions and hangovers they get.

I’ve heard a number of people (non wine collector people, and ones who probably drink mostly domestic supermarket wines) come back from Europe and say “those wines are so much better because they don’t have sulfites, I felt so much better after drinking wine there.”

First off, it’s not true that European wines don’t have sulfites, but even if it were true, the difference is almost certainly the vacation effect. You’re on vacation, in beautiful places in Europe, you’re well rested, you’re not working, you’re in a great mood . . . that is why the wines aren’t making you feel bad, the way it does the morning after you down three glasses of Apothic on a weeknight and you try to slog to get the kids off to school and get to the office.

The other thing that gets blamed for the apparent difference is trans-Atlantic shipping.