That's a very well regarded producer. I visited it in 2009. Mainly made up of Merlot but also has some Franc and sometimes Cab.
2006 is an average year, quality wise.
I think now that it is 10+ years old I might not wait toooo long to drink it. It's not a vintage you want to hand down to your kids and I suspect it has good fruit flavors at this point.
If you have a decanter, decant it in the morning, keep in a cool place away from heat and sun, and have it for dinner with some red meat.
That's a very well regarded producer. I visited it in 2009. Mainly made up of Merlot but also has some Franc and sometimes Cab.
2006 is an average year, quality wise.
I think now that it is 10+ years old I might not wait toooo long to drink it. It's not a vintage you want to hand down to your kids and I suspect it has good fruit flavors at this point.
If you have a decanter, decant it in the morning, keep in a cool place away from heat and sun, and have it for dinner with some red meat.
Should be very enjoyable.
Thanks for the advice, I usually decant for an hour, will take your advice and leave it all day
That's a very well regarded producer. I visited it in 2009. Mainly made up of Merlot but also has some Franc and sometimes Cab.
I think Figeac is unusual for St Emillion as they more or less split a third each merlot, franc and cab so it's more similar to a medoc wine than a St Em.
It was 2002 Clark-Claudon Cabernet Sauvignon Estate Grown.
Now look, this is the wine thread ,so don't be modest, I am sure I am not the only one who wants to know how an Addick ends up as a Napa Valley winemaker (or perhaps the other way round). Another amazing CL story, I reckon...
Great thread this, as others have said I thought i knew a bit about wine until reading this!
Best red i've ever drunk was a Barolo Riserva Special, bought & drunk around 1989 from a vintage of around 6 years previous - memorable you could say! All i remember about the grower was a family of brothers. Only red I have ever needed to decant through linen to remove the crystals.
In the 1970s and 80s being single and solvent, unlike now, can remember paying around £3 a bottle for excellent Nuit st George. Now I'm sometimes reduced to paying £3 a bottle (2 bottles for £6 ) in my local corner shop for 'drinkable' white Pinot Grigio. From many growers all coming from the area East of lake Garda. The red at £3 is undrinkable! No surprises.
My red of choice these days is a decent Chianti Classico, find Chianti goes really well with any pasta dish, only drink vino with food nowadays.
Sadly, have started on the last bottle of my case of Chianti Classico Riserva 2009 from the Sunday Times wine club.
It was 2002 Clark-Claudon Cabernet Sauvignon Estate Grown.
Now look, this is the wine thread ,so don't be modest, I am sure I am not the only one who wants to know how an Addick ends up as a Napa Valley winemaker (or perhaps the other way round). Another amazing CL story, I reckon...
Yes, come on Napa, give us some tips on west coast vino. I am a fan anyway but would love some recommendations, especially if they are available here....
Anyone drink Pieroth wines? I bought some at the Grand Designs and bought a follow-up order but am unsure if I am really a fan. Wines tend to be on the light side, occasional a little sweet with little or no aroma.
I have a bottle of Grande Provence Cabernet Sauvignon 2007 from Franschhoek, South Africa bought on honeymoon after wine tasting. Don't think it was very expensive and not been kept all that well- just in a wine rack in the kitchen. Kept waiting for a special occasion to open but since then we have had 2 kids and not opened. I think this thread has persuaded me to do so soon and even if it is not as good as we remembered the memories of the honeymoon will be.
That's a very well regarded producer. I visited it in 2009. Mainly made up of Merlot but also has some Franc and sometimes Cab.
I think Figeac is unusual for St Emillion as they more or less split a third each merlot, franc and cab so it's more similar to a medoc wine than a St Em.
They use more Cabernet than Merlot. As I'm a Cabernet Franc fan I love it, but rarely can afford it. Tried it twice. It can be too muscular when young, fruit and tannins are too big for me to truly judge. It's on gravel soils in NW of St Emilion, something that the Medoc and Pessac Leognan have: So it makes absolute sense that Figeac planted a majority of Cabernet vines.
In 2006 if memory serves me right Figeac was one of Jancis's favourite in St Emillion. If it is the first wine you have, as they diffused a lot of cases into different labelled 'third' wines to artificially justify their huge jump in prices, I'd say leave a few years. I've tasted the 2006 a year and a half ago and it was still too intense. If you do want to drink it make sure you decant for at least two hours, then it should relax a little and be delightful. Some people prefer more of a punch in their wines, if so decant and drink now.
Oh and should say whether it's the first, second or 'third' wine they're bloody awesome. Get the best bit of beef you can afford, make some home made gravy and open your bottle when it suits you.
I have a bottle of Grande Provence Cabernet Sauvignon 2007 from Franschhoek, South Africa bought on honeymoon after wine tasting. Don't think it was very expensive and not been kept all that well- just in a wine rack in the kitchen. Kept waiting for a special occasion to open but since then we have had 2 kids and not opened. I think this thread has persuaded me to do so soon and even if it is not as good as we remembered the memories of the honeymoon will be.
@Athletico Charlton yep, open it at the first flimsy excuse. May be OK on its own but maybe best with some lamb, or does anyone else have any other suggestions of what to drink it with?
Beef or Boerwoers.... those spicy SA sausages: That'll only work if the fruit still tastes fresh not stewed/dried, but that's the case with lamb as well. The wine may be OK, may be not.
When I first got into wine I had countless good and bad experiences with storing 'holiday' wine. I often find South African red's respond better to home storage than equivalent Bordeaux. But don't worry quite a bit of Franschhoek wine comes over here now.
Best red i've ever drunk was a Barolo Riserva Special, bought & drunk around 1989 from a vintage of around 6 years previous - memorable you could say!
Around the fag-end of the last millennium I went to Florence. A bloke I worked with said he knew a really nice restaurant and I must go there. I asked the hotel concierge to book me a table, said it had been recommended and asked him if it was one of the better restaurants in Florence. He said, no sir, it's the best restaurant in Italy. At that restaurant I had probably the best wine I have ever tasted and it was a Barolo. Absolutely divine. Frankly the food was a bit meh, and nothing I thought I couldn't have cooked at home, which is a bit sad. I'll remember it for the wine though and the fact it was the first and only time I slapped something that cost over a million on my credit card. (Lire was still around then - still, in the 1990s as it still is now - £330 was a lot of money for a meal for two. When I got back to work I told the bloke who had recommended it he could have warned me! He said he didn't know, his wife had paid on expenses!)
The restaurant carries a very fine wine list. Although list is a strange word for something with a huge quantity of wines on offer and over 70,000 bottles in its vast cellar. The restaurant is called Enoteca Pinchiorri if anyone is interested. It's a three star Michelin jobbie with five knife & forks (whatever the latter means). https://viamichelin.co.uk/web/Restaurant/FIRENZE-50122-Enoteca_Pinchiorri-134313-41102
I see that prices have gone up a bit since I was there. Now around €300 per head plus the cheapest wine at €75 with most over €150. So, an expensive night, but an experience that's for sure.
Beef or Boerwoers.... those spicy SA sausages: That'll only work if the fruit still tastes fresh not stewed/dried, but that's the case with lamb as well. The wine may be OK, may be not.
When I first got into wine I had countless good and bad experiences with storing 'holiday' wine. I often find South African red's respond better to home storage than equivalent Bordeaux. But don't worry quite a bit of Franschhoek wine comes over here now.
Didn't have a bad bottle in SA. On the other hand we went to Italy last year to Chianti region for half the holiday and didn't pick a single nice one! Two ended up straight down the sink!!
Best red i've ever drunk was a Barolo Riserva Special, bought & drunk around 1989 from a vintage of around 6 years previous - memorable you could say!
Around the fag-end of the last millennium I went to Florence. A bloke I worked with said he knew a really nice restaurant and I must go there. I asked the hotel concierge to book me a table, said it had been recommended and asked him if it was one of the better restaurants in Florence. He said, no sir, it's the best restaurant in Italy. At that restaurant I had probably the best wine I have ever tasted and it was a Barolo. Absolutely divine. Frankly the food was a bit meh, and nothing I thought I couldn't have cooked at home, which is a bit sad. I'll remember it for the wine though and the fact it was the first and only time I slapped something that cost over a million on my credit card. (Lire was still around then - still, in the 1990s as it still is now - £330 was a lot of money for a meal for two. When I got back to work I told the bloke who had recommended it he could have warned me! He said he didn't know, his wife had paid on expenses!)
The restaurant carries a very fine wine list. Although list is a strange word for something with a huge quantity of wines on offer and over 70,000 bottles in its vast cellar. The restaurant is called Enoteca Pinchiorri if anyone is interested. It's a three star Michelin jobbie with five knife & forks (whatever the latter means). https://viamichelin.co.uk/web/Restaurant/FIRENZE-50122-Enoteca_Pinchiorri-134313-41102
I see that prices have gone up a bit since I was there. Now around €300 per head plus the cheapest wine at €75 with most over €150. So, an expensive night, but an experience that's for sure.
Have a Portuguese white in the fridge called "Lobo e Falcao". It doesn't give much more away than that other than its from "the banks of the Tagus north of Lisbon". Hopefully that is prime wine growing! From laithwaites so hoping it's ok
Have a Portuguese white in the fridge called "Lobo e Falcao". It doesn't give much more away than that other than its from "the banks of the Tagus north of Lisbon". Hopefully that is prime wine growing! From laithwaites so hoping it's ok
Let us know how you get on. I find Laithwaites whites so disappointing that I've given up.
NapaAddick......I'm thoroughly intrigued.....it's the first time I've come across you on CL. Are you American or English, where abouts are you in Napa, what's the name of your winery, what took you there and when, and finally, how come you support the Addicks? Would you care to tell us a little about yourself.
I use to be in finance, worked for a huge money manager in Los Angeles and then quit in 2005 and moved to Napa with no experience and started all over "at the bottom" at age 38 for just 10 dollars per hour. After two years I was assiatant winemaker and after four years ran the winery. After six years started my own winery and now make a small amount of Cabernet at $150 dollars per bottle. It's named after myself, "Roy Piper."
It's been quite the journey. A couple of winemakers and growers here in Napa are into football and over the last 10 years I have gotten into it more and more and lately it has become an obsession. I decided to really search far and wide for a team to follow and decided that following any team already in the PL was just too.... easy. And that those who claim to be fans of ManU or Arsenal just have no character.
So I decided to look in the lower leagues. I flirted with following Wolves (still have a soft spot for them and find their fans to be "quality" and then considered Leeds (but just can't stand their fans I met online) and started lurking on this board about a year ago. I like the idea of becoming a fan of CAFC's because...
1. I like the history and the story of coming back to The Valley. 2. It's in London so if I ever come there, I can actually attend a match. (no way I am driving to Wolverhampton or some far off place like Newcastle) 3. I would be more interested in getting into a team that has a struggle on it's hands rather than whiney fans who lament they are "only top 4 for 12 straight years". In other words, I hate Arsenal. Few things are more fun than going to Arsenal fans' message boards after yet another loss and watching them lose their collectve minds.
I have become a big fan of mining football data for clues to success. I think the book "Soccernomics" is a real eye opener as to what really causes a team to win or not. And I think the fact that the Oakland A's, led by Billy Beane, are just down the freeway, has made me more interested in "data." But unlike baseball, football is too fluid to ever find a single stat that gauges success. But large-scale data for success at the club level is amazingly clear and wish RD had a clue.
I am obsessed with the transfer market and have a unique way to gauge which players to get or not. I think RD and KM are evil. I think instant replay is needed no matter how much it slows down the game. I think English teams can learn from my favorite childhood American Football team, the "Green Bay Packers" about how to build a loyal following, and in general, I like any stadium designed by Archibald Leitch. To me, no football stadium should have filled-in corners.
I still have a LOT to learn but am opinioned about both wine and football. And I like this board. Also really like (retroactively) SCP and think the "Getting To Know The Network" is just an amazing podcast.
Great story Napa. You sound like a really interesting bloke.
Your wine has a great reputation (beyond my price range unfortunately). Sadly, we don't get many top level Cali wines over here, presumably the demand in the States is high enough that there's no need to export.
Can I ask why top level Napa wines have much earlier and shorter drinking windows than Bordeaux equivalents? Is it simply because the climate is warmer?
its amazing when bods from far flung places pick up on the unique story of CAFC. its lovely (and not in the least bit weird KM!)
Soccernomics is decent, check out the Signal and the Noise by Nate Silver which I also think is great for stats analysis in sports. No doubt you already have I imagine.
charlton life sideways trip? perhaps we can scout some new owners
That's wicked Napa. I've never chatted to a garagista! If ever I'm over I'd buy one but I'm an old world wine lover..... Not that I don't love a Napa Cabernet when I can get a decent one over here for £20-£30. I love most Oregon Pinot Noirs I've tried, might switch as can't afford red Burgundy anymore.
What a fascinating story.....thanks for the info. Looking forward to hearing from you for many years to come. I'm a Raiders fan for my sins...have been since the mid 70's when I was living in Palo Alto.
Best red i've ever drunk was a Barolo Riserva Special, bought & drunk around 1989 from a vintage of around 6 years previous - memorable you could say!
Around the fag-end of the last millennium I went to Florence. A bloke I worked with said he knew a really nice restaurant and I must go there. I asked the hotel concierge to book me a table, said it had been recommended and asked him if it was one of the better restaurants in Florence. He said, no sir, it's the best restaurant in Italy. At that restaurant I had probably the best wine I have ever tasted and it was a Barolo. Absolutely divine. Frankly the food was a bit meh, and nothing I thought I couldn't have cooked at home, which is a bit sad. I'll remember it for the wine though and the fact it was the first and only time I slapped something that cost over a million on my credit card. (Lire was still around then - still, in the 1990s as it still is now - £330 was a lot of money for a meal for two. When I got back to work I told the bloke who had recommended it he could have warned me! He said he didn't know, his wife had paid on expenses!)
The restaurant carries a very fine wine list. Although list is a strange word for something with a huge quantity of wines on offer and over 70,000 bottles in its vast cellar. The restaurant is called Enoteca Pinchiorri if anyone is interested. It's a three star Michelin jobbie with five knife & forks (whatever the latter means). https://viamichelin.co.uk/web/Restaurant/FIRENZE-50122-Enoteca_Pinchiorri-134313-41102
I see that prices have gone up a bit since I was there. Now around €300 per head plus the cheapest wine at €75 with most over €150. So, an expensive night, but an experience that's for sure.
Similar to that - I was in New York on business for a couple of months and one night we went to a Bring Your Own Bottle restaurant. My boss chucked me the corporate card and told me to go to the liquor store down the road and get whatever I wanted. I opted for 3 bottles of Barolo at $100 a bottle (this was in 2005 or 2006). I joined my boss and our colleague and proceeded to have the most incredible evening eating a proper Italian meal, chatting and laughing and burying a bottle each of the most amazing wine. No effort at all - it just slid down the throat and left me wanting more. It was one of those nights I will always remember because it ended with me staggering back to your apartment as the sun was rising over Manhattan and I got some brilliant photos.
Since then I'll always look for a Barolo if I get the chance but as I'm the only one in my family that drinks red I find a whole bottle is usually a bit much for me so some goes to waste.
Comments
Was given a bottle of this for my birthday. I like a drop of red, but not come across this before. Is it a decent drop and is it worth saving or just drinking now ?
Thanks
2006 is an average year, quality wise.
I think now that it is 10+ years old I might not wait toooo long to drink it. It's not a vintage you want to hand down to your kids and I suspect it has good fruit flavors at this point.
If you have a decanter, decant it in the morning, keep in a cool place away from heat and sun, and have it for dinner with some red meat.
Should be very enjoyable.
It was 2002 Clark-Claudon Cabernet Sauvignon Estate Grown.
Now look, this is the wine thread ,so don't be modest, I am sure I am not the only one who wants to know how an Addick ends up as a Napa Valley winemaker (or perhaps the other way round). Another amazing CL story, I reckon...
Best red i've ever drunk was a Barolo Riserva Special, bought & drunk around 1989 from a vintage of around 6 years previous - memorable you could say!
All i remember about the grower was a family of brothers. Only red I have ever needed to decant through linen to remove the crystals.
In the 1970s and 80s being single and solvent, unlike now, can remember paying around £3 a bottle for excellent Nuit st George. Now I'm sometimes reduced to paying £3 a bottle (2 bottles for £6 ) in my local corner shop for 'drinkable' white Pinot Grigio. From many growers all coming from the area East of lake Garda. The red at £3 is undrinkable! No surprises.
My red of choice these days is a decent Chianti Classico, find Chianti goes really well with any pasta dish, only drink vino with food nowadays.
Sadly, have started on the last bottle of my case of Chianti Classico Riserva 2009 from the Sunday Times wine club.
In 2006 if memory serves me right Figeac was one of Jancis's favourite in St Emillion. If it is the first wine you have, as they diffused a lot of cases into different labelled 'third' wines to artificially justify their huge jump in prices, I'd say leave a few years. I've tasted the 2006 a year and a half ago and it was still too intense. If you do want to drink it make sure you decant for at least two hours, then it should relax a little and be delightful. Some people prefer more of a punch in their wines, if so decant and drink now.
Oh and should say whether it's the first, second or 'third' wine they're bloody awesome. Get the best bit of beef you can afford, make some home made gravy and open your bottle when it suits you.
When I first got into wine I had countless good and bad experiences with storing 'holiday' wine. I often find South African red's respond better to home storage than equivalent Bordeaux. But don't worry quite a bit of Franschhoek wine comes over here now.
At that restaurant I had probably the best wine I have ever tasted and it was a Barolo. Absolutely divine. Frankly the food was a bit meh, and nothing I thought I couldn't have cooked at home, which is a bit sad.
I'll remember it for the wine though and the fact it was the first and only time I slapped something that cost over a million on my credit card. (Lire was still around then - still, in the 1990s as it still is now - £330 was a lot of money for a meal for two. When I got back to work I told the bloke who had recommended it he could have warned me! He said he didn't know, his wife had paid on expenses!)
The restaurant carries a very fine wine list. Although list is a strange word for something with a huge quantity of wines on offer and over 70,000 bottles in its vast cellar. The restaurant is called Enoteca Pinchiorri if anyone is interested. It's a three star Michelin jobbie with five knife & forks (whatever the latter means). https://viamichelin.co.uk/web/Restaurant/FIRENZE-50122-Enoteca_Pinchiorri-134313-41102
I see that prices have gone up a bit since I was there. Now around €300 per head plus the cheapest wine at €75 with most over €150. So, an expensive night, but an experience that's for sure.
Had this today and was perfectly drinkable
Are you American or English, where abouts are you in Napa, what's the name of your winery, what took you there and when, and finally, how come you support the Addicks?
Would you care to tell us a little about yourself.
It's been quite the journey. A couple of winemakers and growers here in Napa are into football and over the last 10 years I have gotten into it more and more and lately it has become an obsession. I decided to really search far and wide for a team to follow and decided that following any team already in the PL was just too.... easy. And that those who claim to be fans of ManU or Arsenal just have no character.
So I decided to look in the lower leagues. I flirted with following Wolves (still have a soft spot for them and find their fans to be "quality" and then considered Leeds (but just can't stand their fans I met online) and started lurking on this board about a year ago. I like the idea of becoming a fan of CAFC's because...
1. I like the history and the story of coming back to The Valley.
2. It's in London so if I ever come there, I can actually attend a match. (no way I am driving to Wolverhampton or some far off place like Newcastle)
3. I would be more interested in getting into a team that has a struggle on it's hands rather than whiney fans who lament they are "only top 4 for 12 straight years". In other words, I hate Arsenal. Few things are more fun than going to Arsenal fans' message boards after yet another loss and watching them lose their collectve minds.
I have become a big fan of mining football data for clues to success. I think the book "Soccernomics" is a real eye opener as to what really causes a team to win or not. And I think the fact that the Oakland A's, led by Billy Beane, are just down the freeway, has made me more interested in "data." But unlike baseball, football is too fluid to ever find a single stat that gauges success. But large-scale data for success at the club level is amazingly clear and wish RD had a clue.
I am obsessed with the transfer market and have a unique way to gauge which players to get or not. I think RD and KM are evil. I think instant replay is needed no matter how much it slows down the game. I think English teams can learn from my favorite childhood American Football team, the "Green Bay Packers" about how to build a loyal following, and in general, I like any stadium designed by Archibald Leitch. To me, no football stadium should have filled-in corners.
I still have a LOT to learn but am opinioned about both wine and football. And I like this board. Also really like (retroactively) SCP and think the "Getting To Know The Network" is just an amazing podcast.
Your wine has a great reputation (beyond my price range unfortunately). Sadly, we don't get many top level Cali wines over here, presumably the demand in the States is high enough that there's no need to export.
Can I ask why top level Napa wines have much earlier and shorter drinking windows than Bordeaux equivalents? Is it simply because the climate is warmer?
its amazing when bods from far flung places pick up on the unique story of CAFC. its lovely (and not in the least bit weird KM!)
Soccernomics is decent, check out the Signal and the Noise by Nate Silver which I also think is great for stats analysis in sports. No doubt you already have I imagine.
charlton life sideways trip? perhaps we can scout some new owners
Looking forward to hearing from you for many years to come.
I'm a Raiders fan for my sins...have been since the mid 70's when I was living in Palo Alto.
Since then I'll always look for a Barolo if I get the chance but as I'm the only one in my family that drinks red I find a whole bottle is usually a bit much for me so some goes to waste.