Trek Wine
W. & J. Graham's
Vintage Port Blend 1985
Another very fine 1985 vintage Porto as we continue our trek through them, the Taylor had a little more depth and balance, but this Graham’s is quite fine, nice sweetness, medium-long, sweet finish. — 4 years ago
de Trafford
Elevation 393 Red Blend 2007
This Stellenbosch Cabernet blend gets its name from being 393 metres above sea level. Deep Ruby in colour. Aromas of coal dust, liquorice, Tomato Bush, Capsicum and stalky green Notes. On the palate initial impressions were lacking in fruit. More austere than expected. Certainly very different to most Napa Valley Cabernets that I’ve had. Medium bodied. I bought this wine in 2012 at the cellar door and it was quite the trek to drive to de Trafford over many dirt roads. One of the 1001 wines. — 7 years ago
Gambino Vini
Feu d'O Terre Siciliane White Blend 2017
Envinate
Táganan Vinos Atlánticos White Blend 2016
Trek Wine
Switchback Blend Dry Creek Valley Red Blend 2015
Elliott had this 4 years ago
E2 Family Winery
Star Trek Special Reserve United Federation Of Planets Old Vine Zinfandel
Surprisingly good. — 6 years ago
Domaine de la Madone
Le Perreon Beaujolais Gamay 2017
Domaine de la Trek Madrone — 7 years ago
St. Clement Vineyards
Armstrong Ranch Cabernet Sauvignon 2013
Nice wine...too bad I only purchased one bottle. Close out so nice price as there won’t be any more St. Clement from Treasury group. Too bad the system won’t allow you to insert location. I’m home after a nearly two month trek. — 7 years ago
Château Ducru-Beaucaillou
Saint-Julien Red Bordeaux Blend 2012
Rather suddenly, and without much explanation, Bordeaux found itself in the middle of my crosshairs as being the next place I wanted to conduct a deep dive in. With this shift in my general attention from New World to Old World I began to do more research on the various appellations, prominent chateaus, and nuances of Left Bank and Right Bank, as well as compile a spreadsheet highlighting specific bottles I wanted to seek out. For a reason unbeknownst to me, Château Ducru-Beaucaillou was the producer I wanted to start my deep dive with. I researched the history of the chateaux, learned about their wines, priced out vintages that were immediately available for my acquisition, and added it to my Bordeaux spreadsheet, waiting for the time to pull the trigger and purchase a bottle (or two) to start the trek with. As far as wines are concerned it was all I could think about: Ducru-Beaucaillou. Apparently, the mere act of researching a chateau left me beguiled, craving a wine I had never even had before! With all of this research in mind I’ve learned over the years that as much as I thoroughly enjoy researching and trying wine, it’s certainly more enjoyable to share the knowledge and the experiences with others. Enter @codyuzzel, who has heard more than his fair share of my wine ramblings over the years. One day we began discussing Bordeaux, Left Bank v. Right bank, and changes in our thought patterns about the region over the years, which eventually lead him to asking the million-dollar question: Are there any producers you’ve highlighted that you’re particularly interested in? I told him that Ducru-Beaucaillou was in my crosshairs, along with a handful of other producers that I’d explore once I’d tried Ducru. That’s when he texted me the picture; a picture of him holding a glorious bottle of 2012 Ducru-Beaucaillou. “I took this pic before we started this conversation.” Given the serendipitous nature of this occurrence he extended an invitation to pop the cork upon our next meeting, which is interesting in and of itself given that I had been thinking about visiting him at the wine bar just earlier that day. It’s moments like these that truly make the wine journey a sweet and rewarding one. Thanks, Cody, for your generosity and epic invitations.
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Anise, graphite, plums, and blackberries. Very polished and very delicious. — 7 years ago
Domaine Arretxea
Cuvée Haitza Irouléguy Tannat Blend 2014
Huge wine in flavor. Dark cherries, a meatiness to it, went great with steak but it is really funky. Seems a bit too biodynamic or the trek across the sea hindered this one. — 8 years ago
Castiglion del Bosco
Riserva Millecento Brunello di Montalcino 2010
Surprise! Still haven’t opened it so rating it is a “hope”…think I may have opened a bottle previously…was too soon but hints of greatness linger. These need 10 yrs+ but I think it’s time...2010 Brunello by a famed better winery…bought in Cortona, Italy, next door town to the Montalcino-Montepuciano twin towns of great Italian wine. Resisting the temptation is like resisting “The Borg”. (A Star Trek reference…where are you Capt’n Kirk?) — 5 years ago
Flora Springs
Reserve Rutherford Hillside Cabernet Sauvignon 2012
Annual guys WTF Christmas party with spouses. Lots of great wine. I’ll post my highlights with pics I got.
Undoubtedly the best Flora Springs wine I’ve had to date. Always a special place in my heart for FS as their Trilogy wine was the wine that opened my eyes to the world of wine (and we trek out to Napa every year for the Trilogy Release party...6 weeks from today!). This offering, along with Rennie’s Reserve, are my favorites out of their single vineyard offerings. With 7yrs of age, this has really gotten compact and structured. So much sweet and dense fruit here...very dark fruit profile, along with creme de cassis, sandalwood and dust. Fig, nutmeg, with mixed berry pie toward the finish. Pop and pour! Thanks @Benjamin Keator . — 7 years ago
@Keith Fisher : Yes, the ‘09 Turn Upside Down Grenache! It’s been opened a time or two at Classic (probably by you). Richard brought this one. A few people poured some heavy handed pours so I missed out on it this time.
Billecart-Salmon
Brut Rosé Champagne Chardonnay Blend
After being gone for 23 days, it was a race to get all the work done to open up our backyard or as we call it, the D&S Lounge.
5 full days of; planting, power-washing the house & patio, cleaning furniture, setting up 60 candles & torches and the endless odds and ends. It’s all finally done.
It’s the best room in the house!
It’s opening weekend and looking forward to a long summer and fall weekend nights in our own slice of heaven!
This tastes so good tonight. Showing more tangerine and blood orange tonight. I am in my version of the “Nexus”, Star Trek reference.
Cheers to everyone doing what they enjoy doing with their weekends and opening a good bottles with good friends and or family! 🥂🍾🍷 — 7 years ago
Domaine de la Jaufrette
Gigondas 2009
Frédéric Chastan gave me this on a cellar visit in Orange last July. A great guy who makes some of my favorite wines in the Southern Rhône. So happy to see this survived its long trek back to CA from FR. ‘09 has some great plushness to it, still a earth driven wine, but the warm mid-palate of grenache is really giving this some charm. Has so many notes of aged Gigondas that I love like tar, garrigue, dried and medicinal herbs, olives, licorice , stewed raspberries, and a melange of brown spices. Nuanced brett that adds allure. This has drying tannins and plenty of weight without losing too much focus. — 8 years ago
Maine Beer Company
Another One India Pale Ale
This is amazing! Right up there with Pliny for me. So well balanced and complex. Would love to try one fresh in Maine as the trek to California probably has some negative influence on taste. — 8 years ago
JKT
During Dolomites trek. This one was very good. No notes. — 2 years ago