Where to find fancy wine on S-class, now that Cellar Masters is disappearing?

[drakes2]

32 minutes ago, canderson said:

Would be glad to have some additional info ('tasting notes'?) on this one.  I never know what to think of these co-branded promotions.  IIRC, X used to be tied in with KJ, and those weren't all that memorable.

 

Do they put a year on this bottle?  Am guessing whatever it is, it's out of the latest (2017) public release, which was pretty oaky and could use another few years in the bottle.

How much extra is the opulence cab above the PBP?  Also could someone suggest a wine to pair with an Indian curry? No meat just veggies and parathas.  Tried it once in the MDR and was delicious.

[canderson]

15 minutes ago, drakes2 said:

How much extra is the opulence cab above the PBP?  Also could someone suggest a wine to pair with an Indian curry? No meat just veggies and parathas.  Tried it once in the MDR and was delicious.

They're asking $25 a glass for the Opulence cab, which means $12 a glass including the 20% tip.

 

As for your curry, not offered by the glass, but just for grins, try pairing it with a reasonably priced bottle of Gewurztraminer.  Celebrity shows that they have one from Navarro for $54 (less your 20% PBP discount).

 

[FLCruiser97]

16 hours ago, canderson said:

By the bottle?

Sorry canderson.....didn't mean to ghost you. My log in was not working.

By the glass probably.

[zitsky]

1 hour ago, drakes2 said:

@zitskylove the Belle Glos pinot; tastes like a cab but they are rarely on the shelves long enough for a markdown and of late I've been mostly purchasing wines at 20 to 30 off retail.

 

I've had Belle Glos with burgers and steak.  It really stands up well.  Salmon is good too.

[steveweese]

59 minutes ago, canderson said:

They're asking $25 a glass for the Opulence cab, which means $12 a glass including the 20% tip.

 

As for your curry, not offered by the glass, but just for grins, try pairing it with a reasonably priced bottle of Gewurztraminer.  Celebrity shows that they have one from Navarro for $54 (less your 20% PBP discount).

 

I second this!

[canderson]

36 minutes ago, FLCruiser97 said:

Sorry canderson.....didn't mean to ghost you. My log in was not working.

By the glass probably.

Ain't a whole bunch that look all that interesting, but everyone's tastes are different.  Now that CC loves you again, you might look back over the last page or so to see that part of the discussion.  Big reds + ready to drink seems to be the conundrum (not that I'm necessarily recommending it with my pun!).  With no vintages listed, it's hard to tell for sure what's what.

 

With a PBP, I would try out the Conundrum and Decoy to see what you think of those two.  We're wondering whether the Grgich/Celebrity offering is really ready to drink, but plan to pop the extra $12 at least once while aboard to find out.  It's possible that this special procurement from Grgich was worked in the cellar to create a cabernet that is drinkable sooner than the normal Grgich offerings.  If so, it will undoubtedly be a big red from a good vintner.

 

 

 

 

[markeb]

2 hours ago, zitsky said:

I have said that Caymus is overpriced.  Still I think it worth trying for someone with a Premium drink package.

 

Is anyone a fan of Joe Wagner wines?  Belle Glos, Copper Cane, Meiomi (sold)?  Those are at a much better price point $20-$50.

 

2 hours ago, drakes2 said:

@zitskylove the Belle Glos pinot; tastes like a cab but they are rarely on the shelves long enough for a markdown and of late I've been mostly purchasing wines at 20 to 30 off retail.

 

This is where individual taste really comes into play. I'm "OK" with Belle Glos' standard offerings, but I don't find them to be classic Pinot Noirs. drakes2's comment is pretty telling; a Russian River Pinot Noir absolutely SHOULDN'T taste like a cab, but the Dairyman is pretty red, heavy, and jammy, and I don't completely disagree with her description. It's just not my preferred style of Pinot Noir. 

 

Belle Glos periodically does a completely different style of Pinot Noir from the Taylor Lane Vineyard. I believe they only release them in magnums, at $150+ retail. Much subtler style of Pinot Noir.

 

Meomi is fine for what it is.

[Naplesgolfer]

2 hours ago, canderson said:

Would be glad to have some additional info ('tasting notes'?) on this one.  I never know what to think of these co-branded promotions.  IIRC, X used to be tied in with KJ, and those weren't all that memorable.

 

Do they put a year on this bottle?  Am guessing whatever it is, it's out of the latest (2017) public release, which was pretty oaky and could use another few years in the bottle.

I can't remember the vintage of the Opulence cab. I only had it by the glass.( many glasses admittedly)  It was $25 so I paid 10 with the premium package. I had this most nights with my meat or robust pasta dishes. It is full  deep red with very good balance of fruit, acid and tannin. It didn't need more than 30 minutes to open up. I find standard Caymus cab a little too sweet and overly plush, without enough balancing acid for my taste.  I enjoyed the Selbach riesling and Opulence chard as well. I had a sauvignon blanc and a pinot gris that were pleasant as well, just don't remember the brands.

[zitsky]

25 minutes ago, markeb said:

 

 

This is where individual taste really comes into play. I'm "OK" with Belle Glos' standard offerings, but I don't find them to be classic Pinot Noirs. drakes2's comment is pretty telling; a Russian River Pinot Noir absolutely SHOULDN'T taste like a cab, but the Dairyman is pretty red, heavy, and jammy, and I don't completely disagree with her description. It's just not my preferred style of Pinot Noir. 

 

Belle Glos periodically does a completely different style of Pinot Noir from the Taylor Lane Vineyard. I believe they only release them in magnums, at $150+ retail. Much subtler style of Pinot Noir.

 

Meomi is fine for what it is.

 

I lived in Oregon and California.  I'm not a big fan of see-through kool-aid style Oregon Pinot.  Except for Samuel Robert.  I much prefer old style jammy, heavy California Pinot.  Just my taste.  Does not need to taste like a cab.  Just needs to have some body.

[FLCruiser97]

52 minutes ago, canderson said:

Ain't a whole bunch that look all that interesting, but everyone's tastes are different.  Now that CC loves you again, you might look back over the last page or so to see that part of the discussion.  Big reds + ready to drink seems to be the conundrum (not that I'm necessarily recommending it with my pun!).  With no vintages listed, it's hard to tell for sure what's what.

 

With a PBP, I would try out the Conundrum and Decoy to see what you think of those two.  We're wondering whether the Grgich/Celebrity offering is really ready to drink, but plan to pop the extra $12 at least once while aboard to find out.  It's possible that this special procurement from Grgich was worked in the cellar to create a cabernet that is drinkable sooner than the normal Grgich offerings.  If so, it will undoubtedly be a big red from a good vintner.

 

 

 

 

Thanks. I will be sailing in 3 weeks. I'll take your recommendation on the Grgich. I have tried the Decoy on our EQ cruise last month. 

[zitsky]

3 minutes ago, Naplesgolfer said:

I can't remember the vintage of the Opulence cab. I only had it by the glass.( many glasses admittedly)  It was $25 so I paid 10 with the premium package. I had this most nights with my meat or robust pasta dishes. It is full  deep red with very good balance of fruit, acid and tannin. It didn't need more than 30 minutes to open up. I find standard Caymus cab a little too sweet and overly plush, without enough balancing acid for my taste.  I enjoyed the Selbach riesling and Opulence chard as well. I had a sauvignon blanc and a pinot gris that were pleasant as well, just don't remember the brands.

 

I will give Opulence cab a try based on your suggestion.  I don't pay a lot of attention to vintages right now.  I did when I lived in California and Oregon where I had the space to store a few cases for a few years.

[canderson]

11 minutes ago, Naplesgolfer said:

I can't remember the vintage of the Opulence cab. I only had it by the glass.( many glasses admittedly)  It was $25 so I paid 10 with the premium package. I had this most nights with my meat or robust pasta dishes. It is full  deep red with very good balance of fruit, acid and tannin. It didn't need more than 30 minutes to open up. I find standard Caymus cab a little too sweet and overly plush, without enough balancing acid for my taste.  I enjoyed the Selbach riesling and Opulence chard as well. I had a sauvignon blanc and a pinot gris that were pleasant as well, just don't remember the brands.

I rarely order wine before sorting out the dinner, and as fast as it comes, anything approaching 30 minutes means that I'd better stick with my habit of sorting out dinner before sitting down!  I'm with you on the Caymus.  The Conundrum hits me exactly the same way, only more so.

 

Speaking of acid, the Riesling from Selbach gets it right most of the time.  In their area of the world, they don't have the problem of the acidity dropping fast while the sugar increases.  It varies by with the weather by year, of course, but the cool nights really help.  I gotta have enough acidity to balance out the residual sugar in anything but a trocken, or it's just grape syrup to me. 

 

Interesting story about that.  Met Mdm. Selbach back in 1995.  The house is a fair bit up off the river.  You would think that it wouldn't be impacted by the periodic Mosel floods, but she pointed out just how high up the sitting room wall the water had risen in the flood prior.  It's a pretty crazy place to own a vineyard or real estate!  It got pretty bad this year again.  A friend shot me over a couple of photos of the bridge at Traben-Trarbach, and the water was clear up on the elevated coast highway there.

 

[markeb]

43 minutes ago, zitsky said:

 

I lived in Oregon and California.  I'm not a big fan of see-through kool-aid style Oregon Pinot.  Except for Samuel Robert.  I much prefer old style jammy, heavy California Pinot.  Just my taste.  Does not need to taste like a cab.  Just needs to have some body.

 

Which is a perfectly acceptable matter of preference; I'm pretty much the opposite. Although arguably truly old style is actually Burgundy 😀, and that's much more like Oregon, or the lighter Russian River Pinot Noirs.

 

That's part of what makes Pinot Noir so interesting to me. There are a lot of different styles and different preferences. From one crazy stupid grape to grow! 

[emmas gran]

What does anyone think of Carmenere that is another favourite fromChile

[canderson]

7 minutes ago, emmas gran said:

What does anyone think of Carmenere that is another favourite fromChile

Once in a while, if I've got something peppery flavored.  Would I offend if I also mentioned it alongside BBQ ribs?

[zitsky]

17 minutes ago, emmas gran said:

What does anyone think of Carmenere that is another favourite fromChile

 

I really like it.  I tried a cheap one from Trader Joe's.  It's good but really inconsistent.  So I've looked for others $15-20.  Still learning what a good one tastes like.

[JL87]

19 hours ago, FLCruiser97 said:

I have to agree with you JL87. We were on the EQ last month and had a couple glasses of Caymus and I wasn't all that impressed. I do like full bodied reds, cab savs, burgundy. With that said, what is a good full bodied red from the wine list on X.

I'm really not familiar enough with the wines on the BTG list to make a recommendation. Just not the kind of wines I normally drink. I end up trying a few and can usually find a couple I like well enough. My default for pairing with food is Champagne so we drink quite a bit on the ship just as we do at home. Haven't had the new BTG offering so hope it's OK.  

[emmas gran]

10 minutes ago, canderson said:

Once in a while, if I've got something peppery flavored.  Would I offend if I also mentioned it alongside BBQ ribs?

Sounds great to me👍👍

[spokanlilac]

On 10/30/2021 at 7:27 AM, zitsky said:

 

After moving to NC, I joined the Opolo wine club (Paso Robles).  Stopped for 10 years and restarted a year ago.  Just got a shipment of Zinfandel wines (3x2), all from a different part of the winery.  A little too much tobacco for my taste, but my partner seems to like them.

We used to belong to Opolo years ago and went to one of their wine dinners, I think during Zinfandel weekend. Many of their wines are fruit bombs to us now. However, we do continue to like their Montagna Mare as a good red blend wine. 

[zitsky]

3 minutes ago, spokanlilac said:

We used to belong to Opolo years ago and went to one of their wine dinners, I think during Zinfandel weekend. Many of their wines are fruit bombs to us now. However, we do continue to like their Montagna Mare as a good red blend wine. 

 

I've had them tweak wine club shipments. The MM is good.  I liked it the first time.  Not as much the second time but still good.  Not sure if I'll stay in the wine club because I have limited storage space now and don't feel like buying another wine refrigerator. 

[spokanlilac]

Just now, zitsky said:

 

I've had them tweak wine club shipments. The MM is good.  I liked it the first time.  Not as much the second time but still good.  Not sure if I'll stay in the wine club because I have limited storage space now and don't feel like buying another wine refrigerator. 

I know what you mean. We are somewhat limited with our space too, but at the moment have over 120 bottles in our inventory and really can’t fit anymore. Course, a significant chunk of that is due to our membership with Tablas Creek. 

[zitsky]

2 minutes ago, spokanlilac said:

I know what you mean. We are somewhat limited with our space too, but at the moment have over 120 bottles in our inventory and really can’t fit anymore. Course, a significant chunk of that is due to our membership with Tablas Creek. 

 

Yes I know them.  Have been in the wine club or do special orders.

[drakes2]

8 hours ago, emmas gran said:

What does anyone think of Carmenere that is another favourite fromChile

I love Carmenere wines also Malbecs from Argentina. Paired with the right meal -- fabulous. Try with spicy tacos or quesadillas.