August 8, 2025 • 40 mins
From linens to wines
@Ehlersestate @societydelarassi @champagnetelmont #napa #napawines #wine #podcast #radioshow #host
Co hosts : Good ol Boy Harmeet, Good ol Boy Justin, Made Man Bob
SIPS –Wines Worth Sipping: A Deep Dive into Ehlers Estate
Join us for an exhilarating episode of Sips, Suds, & Smokes as we explore a selection of exquisite wines from Ehlers Estate and beyond! Our hosts, Good ol Boy Bob, Good ol Boy Justin, and Good ol Boy Harm, gather to share their thoughts on a variety of wines, including sparkling champagnes and robust reds, all while engaging in their signature banter.
In this episode, we kick off with the Society De La Rassi Neue Brut, a non-alcoholic sparkling wine that surprises our hosts with its vibrant flavors and refreshing profile. We then transition to the Champagne Telmont Reserve de La Terre, where the unique blend of grapes and organic farming practices sparks a lively discussion about its complex tasting notes.
As we delve into the Ehlers Estate wines, including their Sauvignon Blanc, Cabernet Franc, and a delightful Portrait Red Blend, our hosts provide insight into the history of the vineyard and the artistry behind each bottle. Expect a range of ratings as they sip and savor these exceptional wines, highlighting the nuances that make each one special.
With tales of caviar pairings and spirited debates on flavor profiles, this episode promises to be both entertaining and educational. Whether you're a wine connoisseur or just starting your journey, there's something here for everyone! We will be discussing these wines and rating them from 1-5 with 5 being the best:
6:00 Society De La Rassi Neue Brut Sparkling Chardonnay 2023 3 SIPS
12:13 Champagne Telmont Reserve De La Terre 2024 4 SIPS
18:46 Ehlers Estate Sylviane Estate Blanc 2023 4 SIPS
27:03 Ehlers Estate Cabernet Franc 2022 5 SIPS
30:51 Ehlers Estate Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon 2022 4 SIPS
34:10 Ehlers Estate Portrait Red Blend 2022 5 SIPS
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Wine Tasting, Champagne, Sparkling Wine, Non-Alcoholic Wine, Ehlers Estate, Napa Valley, Cabernet Franc, Sauvignon Blanc, Wine Reviews, Wine Ratings, Caviar Pairing, Organic Vineyards, Wine Education, Wine Enthusiasts, Wine Podcast, Wine Culture, Ewers Estate, Wine And Food Pairing, Wine History, Wine Tasting Notes
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
>> Announcer (00:00):
On the next episode of Sips, Suds and
Smokes.
>> Brent (00:03):
Here's the wines we're going to be discussing today.
We have the Society de la Rossi Neuve
Brut, uh, sparkling champagne 2023,
the.
>> Harm (00:14):
Champagne Telmont Sparkling Chardonnay.
Uh, said champagne you have been drinking, Bob?
>> Brent (00:20):
Yeah, well, I threw that in. Champagne Tellemont, um,
Reserve de Letter 2024. And
from Eeyore's estate, we have the Ewers Stilt
sylvain Estate Blanc 23,
the Ewers Estate Cabernet Franc
2022, the Ubers Estate Napa Valley
Cabernet Sauvignon 2022, and the
Ewers Estate Portrait Red blend.
>> Harm (00:42):
Is it Ehlers or. Ehlers?
>> Brent (00:44):
I'm not exactly.
>> Harm (00:45):
I heard you say eelers. You guys went right, I think Ehlers.
>> Brent (00:48):
I say eelers because I'm a redneck. So, you know, it
just. Everything's kind of high.
>> Announcer (00:53):
We'll be right back after this break.
(01:17):
Brought to you almost live from the dude in the
basement studios.
>> Harm (01:21):
Why?
>> Announcer (01:22):
Because that's where the good stuff is. It
sips, suds and smokes with your
smoke and host the good old boys.
(01:50):
And now it's sipping.
>> Brent (01:59):
Hey. Yes. It's simple time again. Welcome to this Sips episode
where everything good in life is worth discussing.
>> Harm (02:04):
Except Coldplay concerts.
I thought. I'm talking about the meme. Everybody's talking about this.
>> Brent (02:10):
Yeah. Don't go back there.
What are you more embarrassed about? That you got caught or that you got
caught at a Coldplay concert?
Yeah, I think it's the second one, honestly. You know, if
you got caught like, you know, the Red Zeppelin union. Okay,
that's one thing, but it.
>> Harm (02:29):
Red Zeppelin leaving Led Zeppelin.
>> Brent (02:30):
I've been drinking.
>> Harm (02:31):
You have been drinking, sir.
>> Brent (02:32):
Yeah, but Coldplay, Good God, no.
Was made, man. Bob. Joining me today are
good old boy Justin.
>> Bob (02:41):
Pleasure to be here, Bob.
>> Brent (02:42):
And good old boy Harm.
>> Harm (02:43):
You forgot who was here, didn't you, Bob?
>> Brent (02:45):
Um, no, I'm waiting for him to stop crunching
over there, waffing down chips and
caviar.
>> Harm (02:51):
Thanks for having me, Bob.
>> Brent (02:52):
Yes. Mental patient over here. So, yeah,
our sip segments are all about distilled spirits, tea,
coffee, and anything else you can sip.
>> Harm (03:00):
And.
>> Brent (03:00):
And here's the wines we are going to be discussing today.
We have the Societe de la Rossi Nu
Brut. Uh, sparkling champagne 2023,
the champagne.
>> Harm (03:12):
Sparkling Chardonnay. You, uh, said
champagne you have been drinking, Bob?
>> Brent (03:17):
Yeah.
>> Bob (03:17):
Wow.
>> Brent (03:17):
I threw that in. Champagne Telmont Reserve de
La Terre 2024. And from
Ewers Estate. We have the Ewers Stilt
Sylvain Estate Blanc 23,
the Ehlers Estate Cabernet Frank
2022, the Lewis Estate Napa Valley
Cabernet Sauvignon 2022, and the
Ewers Estate Portrait Red Blend.
>> Harm (03:39):
Is it Ehlers or Ehlers? It's E, H, L, E,
R, S. And I've always pronounced it Ehlers.
>> Brent (03:44):
I'm not.
>> Harm (03:44):
I heard you say Ehlers. You guys went right.
>> Bob (03:46):
I think Ehlers.
>> Brent (03:48):
I say ewers because I'm a redneck. So, you know, it
just. Everything's kind of high.
>> Harm (03:52):
But you guys were there in Napa, right?
>> Brent (03:53):
Yes, I believe it's actually Ehlers.
>> Harm (03:56):
Ehlers. Yeah. All right, well. Well, whatever,
dude. He's. He's just the producer of the show. Yeah, I
don't really care anything right now. We've been. This is the second
show we recorded today. Yeah.
>> Bob (04:06):
We can put it in the Google.
>> Brent (04:07):
All that. All that really matters is what's in.
>> Bob (04:09):
The glass in front, and it comes to us
Ehlers. Thank you guys for that.
>> Harm (04:13):
Thank you guys for sending it to us. Yeah.
>> Brent (04:16):
All right, so we're going to be tasting, uh, and
discussing these wines, rating them with our sip sounds.
Uh, we rate these on a one to five sip scale. So let's
play one of our sounds. Pick one.
>> Harm (04:26):
Pick number. Number three. Number two.
>> Brent (04:29):
Number two.
>> Harm (04:31):
We're not gonna hear number two this show.
>> Brent (04:33):
Yeah. Oh, no, not on this.
>> Harm (04:34):
There's not gonna be a number two. There's gonna be a watership play.
>> Bob (04:36):
Do a number five.
>> Brent (04:37):
Do number five.
>> Bob (04:38):
We might hear that.
>> Harm (04:41):
We might hear a fight this show. I think we might.
>> Brent (04:44):
You never know anything.
>> Harm (04:45):
Hey, number two. Just do it for S. For S and giggles.
>> Brent (04:48):
Okay.
>> Harm (04:48):
Well, isn't that nice?
>> Brent (04:50):
There you go.
>> Harm (04:50):
Two sips. There you go.
>> Brent (04:52):
All right, so we're going to have
Justin tell us about our first wine
society.
>> Bob (04:59):
De la Rossi is a non alcohol
sparkling.
>> Harm (05:02):
What? What?
>> Brent (05:03):
What? What?
>> Harm (05:03):
Did you say what?
>> Bob (05:04):
Non alcohol.
>> Harm (05:05):
This is horrible.
>> Brent (05:06):
Yeah, it's made from broken
shame. Wait, um, let's give it a
second. Let's. Let's try. Okay, let's try it.
>> Bob (05:15):
It's made from 100% Chardonnay grapes
grown in La Mancha, Alcazar
in San Juan.
>> Brent (05:22):
Okay, you got my attention.
>> Bob (05:24):
After vinification, the wine, the
alcohol is removed by vacuum distillation.
>> Brent (05:30):
Okay.
>> Bob (05:31):
Then a small portion of grape must be
reintroduced.
>> Harm (05:34):
Great.
>> Bob (05:35):
Add a touch of sweet.
>> Harm (05:36):
Grape must. Yeah, yeah.
>> Bob (05:38):
Grape m. Must.
>> Harm (05:38):
Grape must. Is the pumice okay?
>> Brent (05:40):
Yeah.
>> Bob (05:40):
It's reintroduced so we're going to be
reviewing Societe de la Rossi new
brute sparkling Chardonnay
2023. It's got a nice
light, pretty color. The
nose has um, citrus fruits
like lemon, green apples.
>> Harm (06:00):
And green apples are citrus. But whatever, I'll give you that
reminds.
>> Bob (06:04):
Me of like spring water.
And then the palettes, refreshing and
zippy. And uh, the finish,
it's um, surprisingly long for a non alcohol
finish. It's got like a nice sweet mid palate that
goes for quite a while.
What did you think, Bob?
>> Brent (06:24):
Honestly, when I was offered this, I
thought, well, it's non alcohol
sparkling wine.
>> Harm (06:30):
Do we renew, review, non alcoholic stuff. Why do we
have.
>> Brent (06:34):
And I'm like. But
I was stunned at how good this was.
It's not your traditional, it's certainly
not champagne.
Um, I mean, first off,
Grazer's from Spain. Anyway, um, but
the flavor on this is
(06:55):
startlingly good.
>> Harm (06:57):
It's amazingly robust. I was not expecting
this.
>> Brent (07:00):
It jumps up and grabs you by the throat and shakes you like a
dog. I mean the lime on that
is insane. The lime green
apples, there's a tartness to it. There's a
really nice minerality to it.
Kind um, of a dry stone to it really.
The flavor on this thing is they made
(07:22):
up for it, for taking the alcohol out by
amping up the flavors on it. Damn,
it's. Damn, it's nice.
>> Bob (07:29):
They made this like they made wine. Not Sprite.
>> Harm (07:32):
Yeah, yeah. Okay, so look, I've been reading and
um, hearing about these de
alcoholized wines, like wines that have been. They've taken the
alcohol out. They're not making something non
alcoholic. They're making something with alcohol and then
removing the alcohol. So you're getting
organic compounds from the yeast.
You're getting all these complex molecules that are
(07:55):
coming out with the fermentation. So
you're getting all that. But then they take the ethanol out, which has a lower
boiling point. So you vacuum distillation and
you remove the ethanol so you believe the
heavier compounds. So you're getting all these
wonderful organics and um,
what do you call them? Um,
uh, in the grapes you get the. These,
(08:17):
uh. I can't think of the name. I'm so
tired. Anyway, but you're getting all these
wonderful complex organic compounds, polyphenols,
that's what.
>> Brent (08:25):
There you go.
>> Harm (08:26):
You know, these polyphenols you're not going to get otherwise. You're not
making something non clock. You're making a wine with alcohol
with the full yeast, fermentation, everything. Like
you make a real wine okay.
>> Brent (08:37):
And you're not producing heat. It's
vacuum distillation. So you're literally moving it without
the benefit of heat. So you're not cooking anything.
So.
>> Harm (08:46):
And you're not. So nothing's being cross polymerized. Everything's
great. It's got a great straw color. It looks like real
champagne. Uh, the mousse didn't last quite as long.
There's not enough bubble. But on the nose,
like you said, Bob, green apples and there's
citrus and there's floral notes and there's a hint of
saltiness. The salinity is great.
>> Brent (09:05):
You get all the terroir, saltiness,
a big minerality to it.
>> Harm (09:10):
When I tasted. Bob didn't tell me there was no
alcohol in this. I didn't read the thing beforehand. It's
my first time tasting one of these de alcoholized
wines.
>> Brent (09:19):
I did it on purpose.
>> Harm (09:20):
He's a devious.
>> Brent (09:22):
I wanted to see his. I wanted to see his response. And he's like,
damn, I like this. I'm like, there's no alcohol in it.
>> Harm (09:28):
It is a big hit. A punch in the
face of lime peel.
>> Bob (09:32):
So would you get the hangover line if you drank too much or
not?
>> Harm (09:35):
No, no, no angover.
>> Bob (09:37):
So it's the alcohol that makes the hangover?
>> Harm (09:39):
Yeah, the alcohol gets in your liver, it comes,
becomes, uh, converted to, um.
Ethanol becomes converted to acetaldehyde and
acetone.
>> Brent (09:47):
Yeah, yeah, it's
acetaldehyde.
>> Harm (09:50):
Acetyl. I don't. Who says acetaldehyde? It's
acetaldehyde. It's
acetaldehyde and acetone. So when you
have methmol, it becomes formaldehyde, formic
acid. That's what makes you go blind.
But anyway, it's the same, um, same liver
enzymes. But anyway, the hit
of lime and raspberry here was
(10:12):
overwhelming.
>> Brent (10:13):
Uh-huh.
>> Harm (10:13):
The finish is short. There's no alcohol
here. It's not champagne. It's
not real sparkling wine, but it's so good. It would have
fooled me. So it's low alcohol, but it's
really good. No, it's. No, there's zero alcohol here. I was
surprised.
>> Brent (10:28):
Yeah. Yeah.
>> Harm (10:30):
We got a rating for this, Sir.
>> Brent (10:33):
Justin, what did you think?
>> Harm (10:35):
We already talked about it.
>> Bob (10:36):
I talked about it. It was good.
>> Brent (10:37):
All right.
>> Harm (10:38):
You're drunk.
>> Brent (10:39):
Yeah.
>> Harm (10:40):
With the zero call wine.
>> Brent (10:41):
Well, we're going to be giving the society
Delarasi. You brute. Sparkling
Chardonnay 2023 a well
deserved. And I can't believe this from
alcohol freaks like us three
simps.
>> Harm (10:55):
Interesting.
>> Brent (10:56):
And we'll be back.
>> Harm (11:02):
Hey.
>> Brent (11:02):
And we're back. And we were, uh, just finishing up
discussing these, uh, Sciente de la Rossi,
New Brute sparkling Chardonnay.
Three sips on a non alcoholized
sparkling wine. Shocking.
So let's go into the next one to have Harm tell us about that.
>> Harm (11:19):
Oh, thanks, Bob. Before I go on the next one to say one thing.
You guys talked me into a three sips on
that. If I had not known there was no alcohol, I would have
given to four.
>> Brent (11:29):
Mhm.
>> Harm (11:30):
So do we. We go down because there's no alcohol or should we give it a
extra rating because they fooled me?
>> Brent (11:35):
Oh, I'd go down because there's no alcohol. That's just me.
>> Harm (11:39):
There you go. So, uh, anyway, our next one.
>> Bob (11:41):
Alcohol. You're much less likely to go down.
>> Brent (11:43):
M. Okay then.
>> Harm (11:47):
In the toilet. Justin.
>> Brent (11:48):
Thank you. Moving on.
>> Harm (11:50):
I don't need alcohol to go down.
>> Brent (11:52):
Moving on. Good to know.
>> Harm (11:55):
Our next champagne. Our next. Our next.
>> Brent (11:57):
Waste my time outwitting morons.
>> Harm (12:03):
Our next. Our next sip today is the
Champagne Telmont. And Champagne Talmont
can grace its trace, uh, its origins back to 1912,
when Henri L', Hopital, uh,
created his own champagne house under the name.
Under his name. In 1937, his son Andre became the
cellar master following the death of his father. After
(12:24):
several years off of World War II, Andre returned to
Champagne to develop his father's legacy
and name. The Champagne brand
detail Mont. And after the of, uh, his.
Of his vineyard. After the name of one of his best vineyard
plots. And in 83, Andre's son
Serge takes over the Champagne de Tomont, where he continues his father's
(12:44):
legacy. There's a lot of history here
which I don't want to read. Man, this is too long.
>> Brent (12:49):
But that's fine.
>> Harm (12:49):
I'm gonna skip all through this anyway.
In 2022, Leonardo DiCaprio invested in the
minority shareholder and became a
Telmont Champagne House shareholder. And is
that important really?
>> Brent (13:02):
I'll still drink it. Even though he's involved.
>> Harm (13:05):
I mean, I liked Titanic, but there was
room on the.
>> Brent (13:09):
Not so much. Yeah, whatever. Moving on.
>> Harm (13:11):
She let him die.
>> Brent (13:13):
Yeah, there was room on the door.
>> Harm (13:15):
There was room on the door.
>> Brent (13:16):
Selfish woman.
>> Harm (13:16):
So this is the Reserve de La Terre 2024 from
12. It's a 12% ABV. This is
different because it's 44%, uh, Pinot
Meunier Minier,
44% Pinot Meunier, 34%
Chardonnay and 22% Pinot Noir.
That's inverse to what we normally get. Normally
get more Chardonnay with norm Pinot Noir.
>> Brent (13:38):
This is always at the end.
>> Harm (13:40):
Monier is usually added for backbone. So this
is starting differently. Completely. It's aged for
36 months. It's a blend of,
uh, 20, 20, 70%, 20, 19,
15%. 20, 18, 15%. And
made with organic grapes without herbicides, pesticides,
or fungicides, no synthetic
(14:00):
fertilizers, and a low dosage.
And it's extra brut cuvee, so
only 2.5 grams per liter of sugar versus other
brut champagnes, which is like 6 to 12.
Uh, back in the day, extra brut used to mean
zero dosage, but now that's become brut
nature. So extra brut is less than
(14:22):
that 6 grams per liter. It's a beautiful
straw color. The nose on this is
all about spice. It just hits me with
anise, uh, citrus anise,
raspberries, and
notes of, like, pie crust. To
me, this is like raspberry pie with anise
(14:43):
on the palate.
Crisp apple, lots of
mineral flavors. The spice is coming
out. Tons of citrus. The
bubbles are subtle,
and there's a smoky note that I get to
a lot of champagnes from the yeast that really comes out
(15:05):
here. Um, it's gorgeous.
I love this. Justin, what do you think?
You didn't like this as much as.
>> Brent (15:13):
I know.
>> Harm (15:13):
I know.
>> Bob (15:14):
Uh, the anise hit me the wrong way. I
thought it was too heavy a note.
>> Harm (15:18):
You prefer a nephew.
>> Brent (15:22):
Apparently.
>> Harm (15:23):
So I was sitting on.
>> Bob (15:25):
That was good.
>> Brent (15:26):
That was good. Been holding that one for about half an hour
now.
>> Bob (15:30):
The. The viscosity is. Is
pleasant, and the finish is
balanced. But
the pallet with the.
>> Harm (15:39):
You don't like the spice too much? I love the spice here.
Bob, what do you think?
>> Brent (15:45):
Well, I thought it was wonderful. I. We've. We've done
chantel Mont before. I was. That's what I was trying to
do was look up. The last time we did it,
um.
>> Harm (15:54):
I don't remember having. I remember having shopping Talmont.
But not the reserve.
>> Brent (15:59):
No, I don't think we did the reserve. I think we did
have to look.
>> Harm (16:05):
Don't. Dude, we're in the middle of a show. Don't Google
stuff.
>> Brent (16:09):
Uh, we did the reserve brute, uh,
back in 2022. So,
um.
>> Harm (16:15):
So this was a reserve.
>> Brent (16:17):
Yeah.
>> Harm (16:17):
But this is extra brute. Extra
brute Deleter.
>> Brent (16:22):
I love the nose on it. The citrus and the nice
on there is really nice. Like you said, there's. There's like, a
pastry shortcrust.
>> Harm (16:30):
Yeah.
>> Brent (16:30):
Kind of like a, uh. It's.
>> Harm (16:32):
It's a raspberry or, uh, some sort of mixed berry pie
for me. But the spice is for.
In the forefront, which is. Turns Justin off
because he's a white boy who can't take spices.
>> Brent (16:43):
Fair enough. Yeah, that's true. Yeah.
>> Harm (16:45):
Oh, but.
>> Brent (16:47):
But on the palette.
>> Harm (16:48):
Hold on.
>> Brent (16:48):
I. I love this
M.
There's that green apple note. There's a nice
minerality to it. There's a nice salinity to it.
The salinity really gets you back in the. In the
jowl. In the back palette.
There is a slight.
(17:10):
Just the slight little bit of smokiness to it as well.
But very, very bright,
very energetic, very in your
face, you know, very lively kind of champagne.
>> Harm (17:23):
Yeah. There's a great tasting note. I
love what some of the other reviewers talk about.
How about attention? This wine has that tension.
>> Brent (17:31):
Yeah. Oh, 100 tension.
Yeah. Beautiful. Really, really pretty wine. I.
I enjoyed this a lot.
>> Harm (17:39):
Uh, and you guys, we. We've downplayed the
review. The points on this review because of Justin.
>> Brent (17:47):
Okay.
>> Harm (17:47):
Not liking a niece. It's all about a nephew.
>> Brent (17:50):
It's all about Jeff.
>> Harm (17:54):
Sexist.
>> Bob (17:55):
Like a nephew.
>> Brent (17:56):
Better, I guess. 100%. I m. Don't know where you go with that.
Okay, so we're going to be giving the Champagne Telmont, um,
Reserve de La Terra 2024. A, uh,
well deserved. Four sips.
>> Harm (18:07):
It deserves higher.
>> Brent (18:09):
I. I think it's lovely. Really. I mean.
>> Harm (18:11):
But you know what? I have to say thank you to Justin because he brought
caviar today.
>> Brent (18:14):
Yeah.
>> Harm (18:15):
And what we're doing, instead of doing blini, we're
doing the Cape Cod, salt and pepper chips,
creme fraiche, and the caviar, fresh
caviar. You want the creme fraiche on the caviar.
I mean, on the chip. To put the. To stick the caviar on
there. The pairing is perfect. And
so I will forgive you for not liking any.
>> Brent (18:37):
Nothing better than caviar and sparkling wine.
>> Harm (18:39):
They pay for the caviar.
>> Brent (18:42):
All right, well, let's move on to our next one. So,
uh, Ewers Estate is an organically
farmed 42 acre vineyard located just
north of St. Helena, uh, at the base of the
Mayacamas Mountains. Uh, the original stone
winery building, dating back to 1886, was
built of tough and basalt by Bernard
Ewers, a Sacramento grocer
(19:05):
who made his fortune selling tools to miners that had
traveled to California and searched gold. In
1885, he relocated his family to Napa
Valley and established.
>> Harm (19:14):
I didn't debate the joke about miners.
>> Brent (19:16):
Yeah.
>> Bob (19:18):
Uh, I didn't think about it.
>> Harm (19:19):
Yeah, uh, I thought about it, too.
>> Brent (19:21):
So he relocated to Napa Valley and established his winery
on Ellers Lane. After buying the property from a
viticulturist who'd lost his vines to phylloxera,
he replanted the vineyard along with olive trees
that continue to bear fruit today. We've been there. We've seen
the olive grove right next to the winery. Very, very cool.
>> Harm (19:38):
Uh, the black olive notes here. Oh, yeah.
>> Brent (19:40):
Fantastic. So after passing in
1901, his wife, Ann Ellers, uh,
continued to make wine in the stone building. After
prohibition, a series of differing owners, Jean
and Sylvain Leduc, purchased some blocks of the
vineyard. 1987. And we'll be back.
>> Harm (20:01):
Hey.
>> Brent (20:01):
And we're back, and we were just talking about the wine from
Ehlers estate.
>> Harm (20:06):
I remember where you left off.
>> Brent (20:08):
So Bernard's wife and Ehlers continue making wine
in the stone building. After probation and a series
of differing odors, Jean and Sylvain Leduc
purchased some blocks of the vineyard in 1987,
aiming to create a winemaking legacy like the old, great
chateau of, uh, Bordeaux.
(20:30):
In 2001, they acquired the surrounding
acres and the historic stone building to create
the estate and restore the Ellers name.
Today, the Ehlers estate is owned by the Ladoke,
uh, charitable trust and was
established by them in 1996.
Here's the amazing thing about this winery. These
(20:51):
folks came in and paid, you know. You know what it cost? Millions
and millions an acre of land in that
valley, assembled all this,
rebuilt this winery, and then turned
around and put it into a charitable trust so it can raise money for
charity. That's amazing. Yeah,
I mean, that's. That's awesome. I mean,
(21:12):
forget the wine. It's like you put all that money together.
>> Harm (21:15):
Tax deduction. I'm. I'm
leery of you billionaires, man.
>> Brent (21:20):
I don't know what you're looking at Me.
>> Harm (21:22):
I'm not looking at you.
>> Brent (21:23):
Yeah, that ain't happening.
>> Harm (21:24):
I'm just looking in general direction. Whatever.
>> Brent (21:26):
So let's move on to their first.
>> Harm (21:27):
One, which is let's forget about the charitable trust. Let's.
>> Brent (21:30):
Oh, no. Again. Do a lot of really great
charitable work. So that's.
>> Harm (21:34):
I agree.
>> Brent (21:35):
And you know me. I mean, I. I spent a lot of time working
for a charity, raise.
>> Harm (21:39):
A lot of money for charity. I help you, too, and I can.
>> Brent (21:42):
So, the Ellis Estate,
sylvania Estate, Block
2023. This is 13.9
ABV Napa Valley, 80% Sauvignon
Blanc. 13% Simeon,
uh, fermentation, 50% grunt concrete.
>> Harm (21:58):
Uh, egg, which I freaking love. Not enough people doing
concrete egg.
>> Brent (22:01):
Every winery we go to a Napa, there's always
a couple of them in the back.
>> Bob (22:06):
Yeah, they're hardly ever used.
>> Brent (22:08):
There's a guy who, like, invented these.
In my head, I'm thinking, who went around Napa and went, hey, I
got these. And everybody went, okay, I'll buy two or three and put them in the
bag. Everybody's got a
couple, but nobody seems to be committing to them
full time or anything.
>> Harm (22:23):
There are a bunch of wineries in Europe, they're using concrete
egg that are doing amazing things. And I'm glad Napa's
experimenting too.
>> Brent (22:30):
50% concrete egg, 40% neutral, and
10%, uh, new French oak. Age 14 months
in 10 new French oak. So
gorgeous. Let's get here to the.
Oh, the nose is leaping out of the glass.
White flowers.
>> Harm (22:50):
Oh, so amazing.
>> Brent (22:52):
Green tea.
There's a minerality to it that just leaps out of the
glass.
A minerality, a salinity to it. Definitely a
salinity.
And on the palette, let's see.
Mhm.
(23:18):
Very m mineral up front,
but there's a fruitiness there. There's
big thyme, citrus, a little bit of
lime, a little bit of lemon zest.
There's, um, um, a little bit of white pear and a little
bit of green apple behind it.
Mmm. M. Wow. That lemon and
(23:40):
lime just carries through. Really nice finish. Really
long finish. This is fantastic. What
do you think?
>> Harm (23:46):
Arm? I agree with you, Bob. This is
gorgeous. The citrus was there, but
what really hit me was the green tea note and
the saltiness, the salinity. Yeah,
salinity is gorgeous. Like, it's like you're
on the ocean, you're out, you're
sea spray. Uh, you're on the deck of a ship
and fresh sea air is
(24:08):
hitting your nose. That oyster
shell, that jazz, the jasmine green tea is a
different thing, but you get that oyster shell, you're getting that sea salt,
you know, that green tea. And there's a hint of
lemon blossom in the. In the background. So it's
all there. And on the palette, it's just
unfolds with this gorgeous fruit and pear.
(24:29):
You said pear, right? Pear.
Come m back to it. Pear. Pear and lemon
zest, tons of seawater, like,
saltiness. Uh, and,
uh, just gorgeous. And the
finish is long. I cannot believe this is a California
Sauvignon Blanc. M and it's, uh, there's What?
(24:52):
Tell me 10 oak on this one.
>> Brent (24:54):
I think 10 new 10.
>> Harm (24:57):
I. You. I usually hate cow. Not, uh,
hate, but disdain. I usually
disdain California Sauvignon Blanc where they
use too much oak. These guys hit the right balance.
>> Brent (25:08):
Yeah.
>> Harm (25:09):
The absolute right balance. I prefer stainless steel
aged Sauvignon Blanc. I want to taste the mineral.
I don't taste the oak at all. The oak is such a
great balance here. It just blows me away.
>> Brent (25:20):
I like the stainless steel, but I also like the oak.
When it's 100% stainless steel, you get more of that
asparagus kind of herbal.
>> Harm (25:27):
That's. That depends on where it's grown.
>> Brent (25:29):
Yeah, but you get more of that when I get the oak.
That. That downplays. But usually when you get the
oak mellow, you don't get the minerality
and the salinity that we're getting. So.
>> Harm (25:39):
No. This is a great bal. Is perfectly balanced.
>> Brent (25:42):
Yeah. What you think, Jess?
>> Harm (25:43):
Yeah.
>> Bob (25:44):
This reminds me of being a teenager eating at a
seafood restaurant on the pier in San Francisco.
Crisp, clean nose,
amazing seafood,
fruit. It's like a seafood, ah. Restaurant next
to a, uh, fruit market. And then the
palate, it's crisp, it's clean.
(26:05):
You know, if you're having something really savory like
oxtail or something like that, and you want to clean
out between bites of that, this would be
amazing.
>> Harm (26:14):
This is a seafood wine for me.
>> Brent (26:16):
Yeah. Oysters.
>> Harm (26:18):
I understand what you're saying about cleansing your palate. I understand what you're saying about
that, but this, to me, is a perfect seafood wine.
>> Bob (26:24):
It would go really good. I want this Fried oysters.
>> Harm (26:26):
Oh, yeah. All day. You know what I want? I want a
half, uh, and half. I want a fried oyster shrimp.
Poboy.
>> Brent (26:33):
Yeah, yeah.
>> Harm (26:33):
Fully dressed.
>> Bob (26:34):
Uh, I think you found the perfect pairing for the.
>> Brent (26:36):
This.
>> Harm (26:37):
Dude, give me a poboy in this.
>> Brent (26:38):
Well, we're gonna give the Ellers Estate, uh,
Sylvain Estate Block 2023, a well
deserved four sips.
>> Harm (26:46):
It's close to five. Yeah, it's so close.
>> Brent (26:48):
Yeah, it's. It's almost there. And. And
for a California Sauvignon for me to get.
>> Harm (26:54):
And they used oak and they didn't kill it.
>> Brent (26:56):
Yeah.
>> Harm (26:57):
Such great balance, guys.
>> Brent (26:59):
All right, well, Justin, tell us about our next one.
>> Bob (27:01):
So now we're going to talk about
Ellers estate cabernet franc
2022. It's 14 and a half percent
alcohol by volume.
It's, um, appellation of St.
Helena, Napa Valley 90 Cobb
franc, 6% cabernet
sauvignon, 4% merlot
(27:22):
fermentations done in stainless steel tanks for
14 days. And it's aged 21 months
and 65% new
oak. So tasting
this, you know, the color is dark.
Like Harmeet's soul.
>> Harm (27:41):
It's not quite as dark as my soul.
>> Brent (27:43):
He has no soul.
>> Harm (27:43):
There's more redness here.
>> Brent (27:44):
There's no soul.
>> Harm (27:46):
My soul's closer to black. This is closer to
garnet.
>> Brent (27:50):
Fair enough.
>> Harm (27:50):
Yeah.
>> Bob (27:51):
On the nose I got like violets.
I got like my whiskey room with the cedar
and the.
>> Harm (27:57):
Definitely. Yes, yes. Right?
>> Brent (27:59):
Yeah.
>> Harm (27:59):
Uh, feels like home aged tobacco.
>> Bob (28:02):
Yeah, it really cigars my
whiskey room too. So, yeah, it really feels like home.
And the palette,
you get a nice bright fruit hit right on
your mid palate.
Um, you get some dark chocolate as it
fades off. And, uh, some
(28:23):
like, terroir elements that are
really specific to their estate, like crushed
rock and gravel. And
reminds me of, um, we drove up the
gravel driveway at Ellers because they were kind enough to host
us and the, the kind of smell you would
get from the fresh stirred rocks
(28:43):
there.
>> Harm (28:44):
Well, I didn't get to go with you guys, so, like,
excuse me, you weren't invited.
>> Brent (28:49):
There's a reason.
>> Harm (28:50):
But I understand what you're talking about. That terroir, there's such great
gravelly note to it.
>> Bob (28:55):
You don't get a better Cobb franc, you might have a different one.
>> Harm (28:58):
I love what you said to me. It's about violets
and the black cherries. But you didn't say cherries. I'm getting
more of that fruit. Okay.
But the violets are, uh, there. Gorgeous.
Violets and leather. And
there's that umami note to
it. It's like a soy note. Uh,
there's some tea, there's some bergamot,
(29:23):
um, marmalade. And that, that's mineral.
Bob, you were there. Is that. Where's that umami
coming from?
>> Brent (29:31):
I wish I could tell you. I mean, I get a
graphite on the nose.
>> Harm (29:35):
It's not quite graphite for me.
>> Brent (29:36):
I definitely get the graphite on the palate. I get the
cherries, the burger bone,
m, a little bit of
cocoa, there's a smoke and then that
minerality. Uh, this is one of the better cap francs
I've had out of Napa in the last couple of years.
>> Harm (29:51):
Fruitier than that than most cap francs I get.
And commercial. Yeah.
>> Brent (30:00):
Hey, and we were just finishing up our discussion of the
Ellers Estate. 2022 Cabernet
franchise. Again, I, I get
a. I get the cherries, I get the
bergamot, I get a Little bit of
smoke, I get a little bit of cocoa on this and the
minerality just shows through. But this is truly one
of the better cob francs I've had in Appa in quite some
(30:23):
time.
Mhm.
Really delicious. We're going to be giving the Ellers estate
cabernet frank 2022 a
well deserved five sips.
>> Harm (30:36):
Oh my goodness.
All right, I agree with you on five sips, but I want to
say this is not like your traditional cab frog
that you get from Not.
>> Brent (30:48):
That's why I like it.
>> Harm (30:49):
It does not have the green notes.
>> Brent (30:51):
No.
>> Harm (30:51):
100 ultra ripe cab franc.
>> Bob (30:54):
Well, tell us about our francs, Daddy.
>> Brent (30:56):
Tell us better on X wine from Ellers.
>> Harm (30:58):
Thank you, Bob. So our next wine, our penultimate
wine for the episode is a big word,
I think multi syllabic,
baby. I took my SATs.
>> Brent (31:08):
The penultimate supper. Not the Last Supper. The penultimate
supper.
>> Harm (31:15):
So, uh, all right. The Ehlers Estate Napa Valley Cabernet
Sauvignon 2022 is 14.2point. 14.2%
ABV. Uh, 80% Cabernet
Sauvignon, 20% Merlot, fermented 14 days in stainless
steel tanks and aged for 20 months at 60
in 69% French oak.
>> Brent (31:32):
It's your favorite number.
>> Harm (31:33):
They could have gone 70%.
>> Brent (31:35):
They could have do it 69.
>> Bob (31:37):
69 feels so much better for that.
>> Harm (31:40):
Yeah, totally. So this is a gorgeous
opaque ruby color. Uh, almost
a garnet. This is just dark and gorgeous
with just clear to violet edges. We're drinking
a little bit young at 2025.
>> Brent (31:54):
Yeah.
>> Harm (31:55):
Uh, this nose, it's a 20. It's
2025 now when we're reviewing it. So it's only three years old.
So, um, the nose is
juicy. Plum cigar box
incense. And there's
a hint of candle wax here. So to me,
I love this wine. But it's not your
(32:16):
standard Cabernet. No, just
like that previous Cabernet franc was not your standard Cabernet franchise.
Yeah, it's a little bit off the standard for the varietal,
so.
>> Brent (32:27):
And I'm cool with that.
>> Harm (32:28):
Yeah, no, that's fine. I understand that. But it's
not your standard Cabernet that you expect from Napa Valley. It's
got more depth, it's got. It's a little
off the normal palate.
On the palate. Beautiful,
dry, great tannins,
(32:48):
very well integrated, wonderful
mouthfeel, high acidity. Enough to
bring your mouth watering. Uh, bring
your mouth to watering. You want to have this with
a steak? I like this wine. A Lot.
The flavor profile is just a little bit different from your
standard cap, but I enjoy it. Justin, what do you think?
(33:09):
And it's got great finish, too.
>> Brent (33:10):
Nice crusty steak. Yeah.
>> Bob (33:12):
So I agree with what you said,
and I think it's a bridge wine. I think once you go
from steak, you're finishing your steak, you're going to cherries
jubilee. This will carry you through to both
until you switch to the dessert wine.
>> Harm (33:25):
No, um, I don't need the dessert wine. I want to do this with dessert.
Do this cow with the chocolate.
>> Bob (33:30):
You do both.
>> Brent (33:31):
You have.
>> Bob (33:32):
You finish your steak and you start with your dessert
before you.
>> Harm (33:36):
Okay, all right. You're not gonna order an extra bottle.
You're wrong. You're. You're ripping off the restaurant
Now, Bob, what do you think?
>> Brent (33:44):
I think it's fantastic. Again, I agree with you.
It's a little off of what I would consider standard
profile, but nonetheless, a delicious
wine. Great berries, very silky
texture. The tannins are there, the
mineralities there. We're going to giving
the Ellers Estate Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon
2022 a, uh, well deserved. Four sips.
(34:07):
That's classified. So that's going to take
us to our last wine, which is the Ellis
Estate Portrait Red Blend 2022.
14.5% ABV. Uh,
St. Helena Napa Valley 66%
Cabernet Sauvignon, 16.4 Cabernet Franc,
16.3 Merlot, and 1.3
Petit Verdot. Fermented for 14 days
(34:29):
in stainless steel, aged 21 months and
65% new French oak.
Beautiful color.
>> Harm (34:36):
Dark, dark, dark purple like my heart, baby.
Dark like my heart.
>> Brent (34:40):
Blackberries.
A slight tint of mint. Just
that little coolness of mint. A little
bit of sage. A little morality on the nose
on the palette.
>> Harm (34:59):
I could drink this all day long.
>> Brent (35:01):
Blueberries, blackberries,
plums. A really nice
minerality to it.
Like a dry stone.
Got a great finish. Sticks with you.
Not, uh, and. And it sticks with you, but not overpowering.
Not climbing over you and just covering up your palette.
(35:25):
Wow. This is pretty good. What do you think, Justin?
>> Bob (35:28):
I really enjoyed this wine. I
think it would. It's, like, sweet and
savory all at once. I would pair this
with pastizio, which is like Greek lasagna.
>> Harm (35:40):
I love heavy.
>> Bob (35:42):
Wish I had pasta and cinnamon influence.
This would be the perfect pair.
>> Harm (35:47):
Miss Greek Fest this year. Greek Festival May.
>> Brent (35:49):
Yeah. What's going on right now? We just missed it.
>> Harm (35:51):
No, this July. Down. Uh,
I missed m. It okay. Okay. So this
wine, like Justin said,
this is sweet and savory
in the perfect balance. And
whereas the difference between this wine and the
previous wine. I could get
(36:12):
sick of the previous wine after a couple glasses. This
one I don't think it's sick of. I could come back to this and
that. What? That's what the difference between, uh,
for me, for a four sips. Right. And a five steps rating. I
don't get sick of this wine. I will come back to this.
>> Bob (36:26):
Could take you through the whole Greek dinner.
>> Harm (36:28):
The whole dinner.
>> Bob (36:29):
Baklava, uh, pastitzio.
>> Harm (36:31):
It doesn't have to be Greek. It could be Italian here.
>> Brent (36:33):
Could be.
>> Harm (36:34):
Yeah. You've got some of the same herbal.
>> Brent (36:35):
Notes, nice juicy steak.
>> Harm (36:37):
Yeah, I do. I love this. I will
go here all day long.
>> Brent (36:41):
So you're saying this is a little bit elevated?
>> Harm (36:43):
Oh, yeah.
>> Brent (36:44):
So it's not. It's not what you normally drink.
I know the unusual flavor of Thunderbird
wine. It's an exceptionally good drink for every
occasion. Thunderbird has an unusual
flavor all its own. Not quite like anything I've
ever tasted. I suggest that you try Thunderbird.
It's really delightful. James Mason
(37:04):
selling Thunderbird. Is there anything cooler? Yeah.
>> Harm (37:07):
I just want to say, while he was playing the Thunderbird thing, I'm eating
caviar.
>> Brent (37:10):
Yeah.
>> Harm (37:11):
So, you know, whatever, dude. Make fun of me. I'm have
caviar.
>> Brent (37:15):
Here's the thing. When I put these in order, I thought, oh, my. Putting the
red blend last of the cab last. I'm glad I
put the red blend last.
>> Harm (37:22):
I'm glad you put the again last, too.
>> Brent (37:24):
The cab's fantastic. But the red blend.
>> Harm (37:27):
Wow. Just elevates it.
>> Brent (37:28):
Just wow. Yeah. This one is next level.
>> Harm (37:31):
Next level, my friend. So
for me, this is. This is five steps. Do
we have a rating for the whole show? For the both of us? All
three of us. So we're missing Maury today. What happened to
Maury?
>> Brent (37:43):
Are we really missing him?
>> Harm (37:45):
Are we? No. Are we really missing Maury?
>> Brent (37:48):
Okay.
>> Bob (37:48):
We love you hunting in the Great White North.
>> Harm (37:50):
There's more wine for us today because you couldn't make it.
>> Brent (37:53):
So the Ellis State Portrait Red Blend.
20, 22, 100%.
Five sips.
>> Harm (37:59):
Oh, my goodness.
>> Brent (38:03):
And again, um, we know the folks at Edwards,
really great people, but that doesn't affect the ratings
here. If they give us lousy wine or good wine, we rate
it how it is. And wow. Just
compared to the last batch we did. And the last batch was
great. This is just elevator. Yeah. Elevated. So
100%. So,
(38:23):
uh, want to thank you guys for
coming to the show and joining me on this
one. So thank you, Justin.
>> Bob (38:30):
Such a pleasure to be here.
>> Brent (38:32):
Thank you, Harm.
>> Harm (38:34):
You know, Bob, I really want to thank you for inviting me and I
really want to thank Maury for missing out today.
>> Brent (38:39):
Yeah. Because there's more wine.
>> Harm (38:40):
There's more wine for us.
>> Brent (38:41):
More wine and caviar for us.
>> Harm (38:44):
I miss your face and I miss making fun of you on the
radio, but there was more wine for
us.
>> Brent (38:50):
Okay, we'll make fun of him behind his back, so don't worry about
it. For sips, Suds and
smokes, this is Made Man. Bob, thanks for joining us.
Remember, life is too short, drink bad wine, and
thankfully on this show, we.
>> Harm (39:03):
Rarely ever have not a single one, my friend.
>> Brent (39:06):
So, yeah, it's a pretty good day,
boys. Yeah, thanks to the folks at
Awares. So thank you.
>> Announcer (39:14):
We hope you enjoyed this episode. If
you're listening to us online, do yourself a favor
and tap. Just tap it in the subscribe button.
>> Harm (39:23):
Give it a little tappy. Tap, tap, taparoo.
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(39:47):
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(40:08):
Come back, join us for another episode and
keep on sipping.
This has been a one tan hand production of
Sips, Suds and Smokes, a program devoted
(40:30):
to the appreciation of some of the finer slices
of life. From the dude in the basement studios,
your host, the good old boys. We'll see you all
next time.
On the next episode of Sips, Suds and
Smokes.
>> Brent (00:03):
Here's the wines we're going to be discussing today.
We have the Society de la Rossi Neuve
Brut, uh, sparkling champagne 2023,
the.
>> Harm (00:14):
Champagne Telmont Sparkling Chardonnay.
Uh, said champagne you have been drinking, Bob?
>> Brent (00:20):
Yeah, well, I threw that in. Champagne Tellemont, um,
Reserve de Letter 2024. And
from Eeyore's estate, we have the Ewers Stilt
sylvain Estate Blanc 23,
the Ewers Estate Cabernet Franc
2022, the Ubers Estate Napa Valley
Cabernet Sauvignon 2022, and the
Ewers Estate Portrait Red blend.
>> Harm (00:42):
Is it Ehlers or. Ehlers?
>> Brent (00:44):
I'm not exactly.
>> Harm (00:45):
I heard you say eelers. You guys went right, I think Ehlers.
>> Brent (00:48):
I say eelers because I'm a redneck. So, you know, it
just. Everything's kind of high.
>> Announcer (00:53):
We'll be right back after this break.
(01:17):
Brought to you almost live from the dude in the
basement studios.
>> Harm (01:21):
Why?
>> Announcer (01:22):
Because that's where the good stuff is. It
sips, suds and smokes with your
smoke and host the good old boys.
(01:50):
And now it's sipping.
>> Brent (01:59):
Hey. Yes. It's simple time again. Welcome to this Sips episode
where everything good in life is worth discussing.
>> Harm (02:04):
Except Coldplay concerts.
I thought. I'm talking about the meme. Everybody's talking about this.
>> Brent (02:10):
Yeah. Don't go back there.
What are you more embarrassed about? That you got caught or that you got
caught at a Coldplay concert?
Yeah, I think it's the second one, honestly. You know, if
you got caught like, you know, the Red Zeppelin union. Okay,
that's one thing, but it.
>> Harm (02:29):
Red Zeppelin leaving Led Zeppelin.
>> Brent (02:30):
I've been drinking.
>> Harm (02:31):
You have been drinking, sir.
>> Brent (02:32):
Yeah, but Coldplay, Good God, no.
Was made, man. Bob. Joining me today are
good old boy Justin.
>> Bob (02:41):
Pleasure to be here, Bob.
>> Brent (02:42):
And good old boy Harm.
>> Harm (02:43):
You forgot who was here, didn't you, Bob?
>> Brent (02:45):
Um, no, I'm waiting for him to stop crunching
over there, waffing down chips and
caviar.
>> Harm (02:51):
Thanks for having me, Bob.
>> Brent (02:52):
Yes. Mental patient over here. So, yeah,
our sip segments are all about distilled spirits, tea,
coffee, and anything else you can sip.
>> Harm (03:00):
And.
>> Brent (03:00):
And here's the wines we are going to be discussing today.
We have the Societe de la Rossi Nu
Brut. Uh, sparkling champagne 2023,
the champagne.
>> Harm (03:12):
Sparkling Chardonnay. You, uh, said
champagne you have been drinking, Bob?
>> Brent (03:17):
Yeah.
>> Bob (03:17):
Wow.
>> Brent (03:17):
I threw that in. Champagne Telmont Reserve de
La Terre 2024. And from
Ewers Estate. We have the Ewers Stilt
Sylvain Estate Blanc 23,
the Ehlers Estate Cabernet Frank
2022, the Lewis Estate Napa Valley
Cabernet Sauvignon 2022, and the
Ewers Estate Portrait Red Blend.
>> Harm (03:39):
Is it Ehlers or Ehlers? It's E, H, L, E,
R, S. And I've always pronounced it Ehlers.
>> Brent (03:44):
I'm not.
>> Harm (03:44):
I heard you say Ehlers. You guys went right.
>> Bob (03:46):
I think Ehlers.
>> Brent (03:48):
I say ewers because I'm a redneck. So, you know, it
just. Everything's kind of high.
>> Harm (03:52):
But you guys were there in Napa, right?
>> Brent (03:53):
Yes, I believe it's actually Ehlers.
>> Harm (03:56):
Ehlers. Yeah. All right, well. Well, whatever,
dude. He's. He's just the producer of the show. Yeah, I
don't really care anything right now. We've been. This is the second
show we recorded today. Yeah.
>> Bob (04:06):
We can put it in the Google.
>> Brent (04:07):
All that. All that really matters is what's in.
>> Bob (04:09):
The glass in front, and it comes to us
Ehlers. Thank you guys for that.
>> Harm (04:13):
Thank you guys for sending it to us. Yeah.
>> Brent (04:16):
All right, so we're going to be tasting, uh, and
discussing these wines, rating them with our sip sounds.
Uh, we rate these on a one to five sip scale. So let's
play one of our sounds. Pick one.
>> Harm (04:26):
Pick number. Number three. Number two.
>> Brent (04:29):
Number two.
>> Harm (04:31):
We're not gonna hear number two this show.
>> Brent (04:33):
Yeah. Oh, no, not on this.
>> Harm (04:34):
There's not gonna be a number two. There's gonna be a watership play.
>> Bob (04:36):
Do a number five.
>> Brent (04:37):
Do number five.
>> Bob (04:38):
We might hear that.
>> Harm (04:41):
We might hear a fight this show. I think we might.
>> Brent (04:44):
You never know anything.
>> Harm (04:45):
Hey, number two. Just do it for S. For S and giggles.
>> Brent (04:48):
Okay.
>> Harm (04:48):
Well, isn't that nice?
>> Brent (04:50):
There you go.
>> Harm (04:50):
Two sips. There you go.
>> Brent (04:52):
All right, so we're going to have
Justin tell us about our first wine
society.
>> Bob (04:59):
De la Rossi is a non alcohol
sparkling.
>> Harm (05:02):
What? What?
>> Brent (05:03):
What? What?
>> Harm (05:03):
Did you say what?
>> Bob (05:04):
Non alcohol.
>> Harm (05:05):
This is horrible.
>> Brent (05:06):
Yeah, it's made from broken
shame. Wait, um, let's give it a
second. Let's. Let's try. Okay, let's try it.
>> Bob (05:15):
It's made from 100% Chardonnay grapes
grown in La Mancha, Alcazar
in San Juan.
>> Brent (05:22):
Okay, you got my attention.
>> Bob (05:24):
After vinification, the wine, the
alcohol is removed by vacuum distillation.
>> Brent (05:30):
Okay.
>> Bob (05:31):
Then a small portion of grape must be
reintroduced.
>> Harm (05:34):
Great.
>> Bob (05:35):
Add a touch of sweet.
>> Harm (05:36):
Grape must. Yeah, yeah.
>> Bob (05:38):
Grape m. Must.
>> Harm (05:38):
Grape must. Is the pumice okay?
>> Brent (05:40):
Yeah.
>> Bob (05:40):
It's reintroduced so we're going to be
reviewing Societe de la Rossi new
brute sparkling Chardonnay
2023. It's got a nice
light, pretty color. The
nose has um, citrus fruits
like lemon, green apples.
>> Harm (06:00):
And green apples are citrus. But whatever, I'll give you that
reminds.
>> Bob (06:04):
Me of like spring water.
And then the palettes, refreshing and
zippy. And uh, the finish,
it's um, surprisingly long for a non alcohol
finish. It's got like a nice sweet mid palate that
goes for quite a while.
What did you think, Bob?
>> Brent (06:24):
Honestly, when I was offered this, I
thought, well, it's non alcohol
sparkling wine.
>> Harm (06:30):
Do we renew, review, non alcoholic stuff. Why do we
have.
>> Brent (06:34):
And I'm like. But
I was stunned at how good this was.
It's not your traditional, it's certainly
not champagne.
Um, I mean, first off,
Grazer's from Spain. Anyway, um, but
the flavor on this is
(06:55):
startlingly good.
>> Harm (06:57):
It's amazingly robust. I was not expecting
this.
>> Brent (07:00):
It jumps up and grabs you by the throat and shakes you like a
dog. I mean the lime on that
is insane. The lime green
apples, there's a tartness to it. There's a
really nice minerality to it.
Kind um, of a dry stone to it really.
The flavor on this thing is they made
(07:22):
up for it, for taking the alcohol out by
amping up the flavors on it. Damn,
it's. Damn, it's nice.
>> Bob (07:29):
They made this like they made wine. Not Sprite.
>> Harm (07:32):
Yeah, yeah. Okay, so look, I've been reading and
um, hearing about these de
alcoholized wines, like wines that have been. They've taken the
alcohol out. They're not making something non
alcoholic. They're making something with alcohol and then
removing the alcohol. So you're getting
organic compounds from the yeast.
You're getting all these complex molecules that are
(07:55):
coming out with the fermentation. So
you're getting all that. But then they take the ethanol out, which has a lower
boiling point. So you vacuum distillation and
you remove the ethanol so you believe the
heavier compounds. So you're getting all these
wonderful organics and um,
what do you call them? Um,
uh, in the grapes you get the. These,
(08:17):
uh. I can't think of the name. I'm so
tired. Anyway, but you're getting all these
wonderful complex organic compounds, polyphenols,
that's what.
>> Brent (08:25):
There you go.
>> Harm (08:26):
You know, these polyphenols you're not going to get otherwise. You're not
making something non clock. You're making a wine with alcohol
with the full yeast, fermentation, everything. Like
you make a real wine okay.
>> Brent (08:37):
And you're not producing heat. It's
vacuum distillation. So you're literally moving it without
the benefit of heat. So you're not cooking anything.
So.
>> Harm (08:46):
And you're not. So nothing's being cross polymerized. Everything's
great. It's got a great straw color. It looks like real
champagne. Uh, the mousse didn't last quite as long.
There's not enough bubble. But on the nose,
like you said, Bob, green apples and there's
citrus and there's floral notes and there's a hint of
saltiness. The salinity is great.
>> Brent (09:05):
You get all the terroir, saltiness,
a big minerality to it.
>> Harm (09:10):
When I tasted. Bob didn't tell me there was no
alcohol in this. I didn't read the thing beforehand. It's
my first time tasting one of these de alcoholized
wines.
>> Brent (09:19):
I did it on purpose.
>> Harm (09:20):
He's a devious.
>> Brent (09:22):
I wanted to see his. I wanted to see his response. And he's like,
damn, I like this. I'm like, there's no alcohol in it.
>> Harm (09:28):
It is a big hit. A punch in the
face of lime peel.
>> Bob (09:32):
So would you get the hangover line if you drank too much or
not?
>> Harm (09:35):
No, no, no angover.
>> Bob (09:37):
So it's the alcohol that makes the hangover?
>> Harm (09:39):
Yeah, the alcohol gets in your liver, it comes,
becomes, uh, converted to, um.
Ethanol becomes converted to acetaldehyde and
acetone.
>> Brent (09:47):
Yeah, yeah, it's
acetaldehyde.
>> Harm (09:50):
Acetyl. I don't. Who says acetaldehyde? It's
acetaldehyde. It's
acetaldehyde and acetone. So when you
have methmol, it becomes formaldehyde, formic
acid. That's what makes you go blind.
But anyway, it's the same, um, same liver
enzymes. But anyway, the hit
of lime and raspberry here was
(10:12):
overwhelming.
>> Brent (10:13):
Uh-huh.
>> Harm (10:13):
The finish is short. There's no alcohol
here. It's not champagne. It's
not real sparkling wine, but it's so good. It would have
fooled me. So it's low alcohol, but it's
really good. No, it's. No, there's zero alcohol here. I was
surprised.
>> Brent (10:28):
Yeah. Yeah.
>> Harm (10:30):
We got a rating for this, Sir.
>> Brent (10:33):
Justin, what did you think?
>> Harm (10:35):
We already talked about it.
>> Bob (10:36):
I talked about it. It was good.
>> Brent (10:37):
All right.
>> Harm (10:38):
You're drunk.
>> Brent (10:39):
Yeah.
>> Harm (10:40):
With the zero call wine.
>> Brent (10:41):
Well, we're going to be giving the society
Delarasi. You brute. Sparkling
Chardonnay 2023 a well
deserved. And I can't believe this from
alcohol freaks like us three
simps.
>> Harm (10:55):
Interesting.
>> Brent (10:56):
And we'll be back.
>> Harm (11:02):
Hey.
>> Brent (11:02):
And we're back. And we were, uh, just finishing up
discussing these, uh, Sciente de la Rossi,
New Brute sparkling Chardonnay.
Three sips on a non alcoholized
sparkling wine. Shocking.
So let's go into the next one to have Harm tell us about that.
>> Harm (11:19):
Oh, thanks, Bob. Before I go on the next one to say one thing.
You guys talked me into a three sips on
that. If I had not known there was no alcohol, I would have
given to four.
>> Brent (11:29):
Mhm.
>> Harm (11:30):
So do we. We go down because there's no alcohol or should we give it a
extra rating because they fooled me?
>> Brent (11:35):
Oh, I'd go down because there's no alcohol. That's just me.
>> Harm (11:39):
There you go. So, uh, anyway, our next one.
>> Bob (11:41):
Alcohol. You're much less likely to go down.
>> Brent (11:43):
M. Okay then.
>> Harm (11:47):
In the toilet. Justin.
>> Brent (11:48):
Thank you. Moving on.
>> Harm (11:50):
I don't need alcohol to go down.
>> Brent (11:52):
Moving on. Good to know.
>> Harm (11:55):
Our next champagne. Our next. Our next.
>> Brent (11:57):
Waste my time outwitting morons.
>> Harm (12:03):
Our next. Our next sip today is the
Champagne Telmont. And Champagne Talmont
can grace its trace, uh, its origins back to 1912,
when Henri L', Hopital, uh,
created his own champagne house under the name.
Under his name. In 1937, his son Andre became the
cellar master following the death of his father. After
(12:24):
several years off of World War II, Andre returned to
Champagne to develop his father's legacy
and name. The Champagne brand
detail Mont. And after the of, uh, his.
Of his vineyard. After the name of one of his best vineyard
plots. And in 83, Andre's son
Serge takes over the Champagne de Tomont, where he continues his father's
(12:44):
legacy. There's a lot of history here
which I don't want to read. Man, this is too long.
>> Brent (12:49):
But that's fine.
>> Harm (12:49):
I'm gonna skip all through this anyway.
In 2022, Leonardo DiCaprio invested in the
minority shareholder and became a
Telmont Champagne House shareholder. And is
that important really?
>> Brent (13:02):
I'll still drink it. Even though he's involved.
>> Harm (13:05):
I mean, I liked Titanic, but there was
room on the.
>> Brent (13:09):
Not so much. Yeah, whatever. Moving on.
>> Harm (13:11):
She let him die.
>> Brent (13:13):
Yeah, there was room on the door.
>> Harm (13:15):
There was room on the door.
>> Brent (13:16):
Selfish woman.
>> Harm (13:16):
So this is the Reserve de La Terre 2024 from
12. It's a 12% ABV. This is
different because it's 44%, uh, Pinot
Meunier Minier,
44% Pinot Meunier, 34%
Chardonnay and 22% Pinot Noir.
That's inverse to what we normally get. Normally
get more Chardonnay with norm Pinot Noir.
>> Brent (13:38):
This is always at the end.
>> Harm (13:40):
Monier is usually added for backbone. So this
is starting differently. Completely. It's aged for
36 months. It's a blend of,
uh, 20, 20, 70%, 20, 19,
15%. 20, 18, 15%. And
made with organic grapes without herbicides, pesticides,
or fungicides, no synthetic
(14:00):
fertilizers, and a low dosage.
And it's extra brut cuvee, so
only 2.5 grams per liter of sugar versus other
brut champagnes, which is like 6 to 12.
Uh, back in the day, extra brut used to mean
zero dosage, but now that's become brut
nature. So extra brut is less than
(14:22):
that 6 grams per liter. It's a beautiful
straw color. The nose on this is
all about spice. It just hits me with
anise, uh, citrus anise,
raspberries, and
notes of, like, pie crust. To
me, this is like raspberry pie with anise
(14:43):
on the palate.
Crisp apple, lots of
mineral flavors. The spice is coming
out. Tons of citrus. The
bubbles are subtle,
and there's a smoky note that I get to
a lot of champagnes from the yeast that really comes out
(15:05):
here. Um, it's gorgeous.
I love this. Justin, what do you think?
You didn't like this as much as.
>> Brent (15:13):
I know.
>> Harm (15:13):
I know.
>> Bob (15:14):
Uh, the anise hit me the wrong way. I
thought it was too heavy a note.
>> Harm (15:18):
You prefer a nephew.
>> Brent (15:22):
Apparently.
>> Harm (15:23):
So I was sitting on.
>> Bob (15:25):
That was good.
>> Brent (15:26):
That was good. Been holding that one for about half an hour
now.
>> Bob (15:30):
The. The viscosity is. Is
pleasant, and the finish is
balanced. But
the pallet with the.
>> Harm (15:39):
You don't like the spice too much? I love the spice here.
Bob, what do you think?
>> Brent (15:45):
Well, I thought it was wonderful. I. We've. We've done
chantel Mont before. I was. That's what I was trying to
do was look up. The last time we did it,
um.
>> Harm (15:54):
I don't remember having. I remember having shopping Talmont.
But not the reserve.
>> Brent (15:59):
No, I don't think we did the reserve. I think we did
have to look.
>> Harm (16:05):
Don't. Dude, we're in the middle of a show. Don't Google
stuff.
>> Brent (16:09):
Uh, we did the reserve brute, uh,
back in 2022. So,
um.
>> Harm (16:15):
So this was a reserve.
>> Brent (16:17):
Yeah.
>> Harm (16:17):
But this is extra brute. Extra
brute Deleter.
>> Brent (16:22):
I love the nose on it. The citrus and the nice
on there is really nice. Like you said, there's. There's like, a
pastry shortcrust.
>> Harm (16:30):
Yeah.
>> Brent (16:30):
Kind of like a, uh. It's.
>> Harm (16:32):
It's a raspberry or, uh, some sort of mixed berry pie
for me. But the spice is for.
In the forefront, which is. Turns Justin off
because he's a white boy who can't take spices.
>> Brent (16:43):
Fair enough. Yeah, that's true. Yeah.
>> Harm (16:45):
Oh, but.
>> Brent (16:47):
But on the palette.
>> Harm (16:48):
Hold on.
>> Brent (16:48):
I. I love this
M.
There's that green apple note. There's a nice
minerality to it. There's a nice salinity to it.
The salinity really gets you back in the. In the
jowl. In the back palette.
There is a slight.
(17:10):
Just the slight little bit of smokiness to it as well.
But very, very bright,
very energetic, very in your
face, you know, very lively kind of champagne.
>> Harm (17:23):
Yeah. There's a great tasting note. I
love what some of the other reviewers talk about.
How about attention? This wine has that tension.
>> Brent (17:31):
Yeah. Oh, 100 tension.
Yeah. Beautiful. Really, really pretty wine. I.
I enjoyed this a lot.
>> Harm (17:39):
Uh, and you guys, we. We've downplayed the
review. The points on this review because of Justin.
>> Brent (17:47):
Okay.
>> Harm (17:47):
Not liking a niece. It's all about a nephew.
>> Brent (17:50):
It's all about Jeff.
>> Harm (17:54):
Sexist.
>> Bob (17:55):
Like a nephew.
>> Brent (17:56):
Better, I guess. 100%. I m. Don't know where you go with that.
Okay, so we're going to be giving the Champagne Telmont, um,
Reserve de La Terra 2024. A, uh,
well deserved. Four sips.
>> Harm (18:07):
It deserves higher.
>> Brent (18:09):
I. I think it's lovely. Really. I mean.
>> Harm (18:11):
But you know what? I have to say thank you to Justin because he brought
caviar today.
>> Brent (18:14):
Yeah.
>> Harm (18:15):
And what we're doing, instead of doing blini, we're
doing the Cape Cod, salt and pepper chips,
creme fraiche, and the caviar, fresh
caviar. You want the creme fraiche on the caviar.
I mean, on the chip. To put the. To stick the caviar on
there. The pairing is perfect. And
so I will forgive you for not liking any.
>> Brent (18:37):
Nothing better than caviar and sparkling wine.
>> Harm (18:39):
They pay for the caviar.
>> Brent (18:42):
All right, well, let's move on to our next one. So,
uh, Ewers Estate is an organically
farmed 42 acre vineyard located just
north of St. Helena, uh, at the base of the
Mayacamas Mountains. Uh, the original stone
winery building, dating back to 1886, was
built of tough and basalt by Bernard
Ewers, a Sacramento grocer
(19:05):
who made his fortune selling tools to miners that had
traveled to California and searched gold. In
1885, he relocated his family to Napa
Valley and established.
>> Harm (19:14):
I didn't debate the joke about miners.
>> Brent (19:16):
Yeah.
>> Bob (19:18):
Uh, I didn't think about it.
>> Harm (19:19):
Yeah, uh, I thought about it, too.
>> Brent (19:21):
So he relocated to Napa Valley and established his winery
on Ellers Lane. After buying the property from a
viticulturist who'd lost his vines to phylloxera,
he replanted the vineyard along with olive trees
that continue to bear fruit today. We've been there. We've seen
the olive grove right next to the winery. Very, very cool.
>> Harm (19:38):
Uh, the black olive notes here. Oh, yeah.
>> Brent (19:40):
Fantastic. So after passing in
1901, his wife, Ann Ellers, uh,
continued to make wine in the stone building. After
prohibition, a series of differing owners, Jean
and Sylvain Leduc, purchased some blocks of the
vineyard. 1987. And we'll be back.
>> Harm (20:01):
Hey.
>> Brent (20:01):
And we're back, and we were just talking about the wine from
Ehlers estate.
>> Harm (20:06):
I remember where you left off.
>> Brent (20:08):
So Bernard's wife and Ehlers continue making wine
in the stone building. After probation and a series
of differing odors, Jean and Sylvain Leduc
purchased some blocks of the vineyard in 1987,
aiming to create a winemaking legacy like the old, great
chateau of, uh, Bordeaux.
(20:30):
In 2001, they acquired the surrounding
acres and the historic stone building to create
the estate and restore the Ellers name.
Today, the Ehlers estate is owned by the Ladoke,
uh, charitable trust and was
established by them in 1996.
Here's the amazing thing about this winery. These
(20:51):
folks came in and paid, you know. You know what it cost? Millions
and millions an acre of land in that
valley, assembled all this,
rebuilt this winery, and then turned
around and put it into a charitable trust so it can raise money for
charity. That's amazing. Yeah,
I mean, that's. That's awesome. I mean,
(21:12):
forget the wine. It's like you put all that money together.
>> Harm (21:15):
Tax deduction. I'm. I'm
leery of you billionaires, man.
>> Brent (21:20):
I don't know what you're looking at Me.
>> Harm (21:22):
I'm not looking at you.
>> Brent (21:23):
Yeah, that ain't happening.
>> Harm (21:24):
I'm just looking in general direction. Whatever.
>> Brent (21:26):
So let's move on to their first.
>> Harm (21:27):
One, which is let's forget about the charitable trust. Let's.
>> Brent (21:30):
Oh, no. Again. Do a lot of really great
charitable work. So that's.
>> Harm (21:34):
I agree.
>> Brent (21:35):
And you know me. I mean, I. I spent a lot of time working
for a charity, raise.
>> Harm (21:39):
A lot of money for charity. I help you, too, and I can.
>> Brent (21:42):
So, the Ellis Estate,
sylvania Estate, Block
2023. This is 13.9
ABV Napa Valley, 80% Sauvignon
Blanc. 13% Simeon,
uh, fermentation, 50% grunt concrete.
>> Harm (21:58):
Uh, egg, which I freaking love. Not enough people doing
concrete egg.
>> Brent (22:01):
Every winery we go to a Napa, there's always
a couple of them in the back.
>> Bob (22:06):
Yeah, they're hardly ever used.
>> Brent (22:08):
There's a guy who, like, invented these.
In my head, I'm thinking, who went around Napa and went, hey, I
got these. And everybody went, okay, I'll buy two or three and put them in the
bag. Everybody's got a
couple, but nobody seems to be committing to them
full time or anything.
>> Harm (22:23):
There are a bunch of wineries in Europe, they're using concrete
egg that are doing amazing things. And I'm glad Napa's
experimenting too.
>> Brent (22:30):
50% concrete egg, 40% neutral, and
10%, uh, new French oak. Age 14 months
in 10 new French oak. So
gorgeous. Let's get here to the.
Oh, the nose is leaping out of the glass.
White flowers.
>> Harm (22:50):
Oh, so amazing.
>> Brent (22:52):
Green tea.
There's a minerality to it that just leaps out of the
glass.
A minerality, a salinity to it. Definitely a
salinity.
And on the palette, let's see.
Mhm.
(23:18):
Very m mineral up front,
but there's a fruitiness there. There's
big thyme, citrus, a little bit of
lime, a little bit of lemon zest.
There's, um, um, a little bit of white pear and a little
bit of green apple behind it.
Mmm. M. Wow. That lemon and
(23:40):
lime just carries through. Really nice finish. Really
long finish. This is fantastic. What
do you think?
>> Harm (23:46):
Arm? I agree with you, Bob. This is
gorgeous. The citrus was there, but
what really hit me was the green tea note and
the saltiness, the salinity. Yeah,
salinity is gorgeous. Like, it's like you're
on the ocean, you're out, you're
sea spray. Uh, you're on the deck of a ship
and fresh sea air is
(24:08):
hitting your nose. That oyster
shell, that jazz, the jasmine green tea is a
different thing, but you get that oyster shell, you're getting that sea salt,
you know, that green tea. And there's a hint of
lemon blossom in the. In the background. So it's
all there. And on the palette, it's just
unfolds with this gorgeous fruit and pear.
(24:29):
You said pear, right? Pear.
Come m back to it. Pear. Pear and lemon
zest, tons of seawater, like,
saltiness. Uh, and,
uh, just gorgeous. And the
finish is long. I cannot believe this is a California
Sauvignon Blanc. M and it's, uh, there's What?
(24:52):
Tell me 10 oak on this one.
>> Brent (24:54):
I think 10 new 10.
>> Harm (24:57):
I. You. I usually hate cow. Not, uh,
hate, but disdain. I usually
disdain California Sauvignon Blanc where they
use too much oak. These guys hit the right balance.
>> Brent (25:08):
Yeah.
>> Harm (25:09):
The absolute right balance. I prefer stainless steel
aged Sauvignon Blanc. I want to taste the mineral.
I don't taste the oak at all. The oak is such a
great balance here. It just blows me away.
>> Brent (25:20):
I like the stainless steel, but I also like the oak.
When it's 100% stainless steel, you get more of that
asparagus kind of herbal.
>> Harm (25:27):
That's. That depends on where it's grown.
>> Brent (25:29):
Yeah, but you get more of that when I get the oak.
That. That downplays. But usually when you get the
oak mellow, you don't get the minerality
and the salinity that we're getting. So.
>> Harm (25:39):
No. This is a great bal. Is perfectly balanced.
>> Brent (25:42):
Yeah. What you think, Jess?
>> Harm (25:43):
Yeah.
>> Bob (25:44):
This reminds me of being a teenager eating at a
seafood restaurant on the pier in San Francisco.
Crisp, clean nose,
amazing seafood,
fruit. It's like a seafood, ah. Restaurant next
to a, uh, fruit market. And then the
palate, it's crisp, it's clean.
(26:05):
You know, if you're having something really savory like
oxtail or something like that, and you want to clean
out between bites of that, this would be
amazing.
>> Harm (26:14):
This is a seafood wine for me.
>> Brent (26:16):
Yeah. Oysters.
>> Harm (26:18):
I understand what you're saying about cleansing your palate. I understand what you're saying about
that, but this, to me, is a perfect seafood wine.
>> Bob (26:24):
It would go really good. I want this Fried oysters.
>> Harm (26:26):
Oh, yeah. All day. You know what I want? I want a
half, uh, and half. I want a fried oyster shrimp.
Poboy.
>> Brent (26:33):
Yeah, yeah.
>> Harm (26:33):
Fully dressed.
>> Bob (26:34):
Uh, I think you found the perfect pairing for the.
>> Brent (26:36):
This.
>> Harm (26:37):
Dude, give me a poboy in this.
>> Brent (26:38):
Well, we're gonna give the Ellers Estate, uh,
Sylvain Estate Block 2023, a well
deserved four sips.
>> Harm (26:46):
It's close to five. Yeah, it's so close.
>> Brent (26:48):
Yeah, it's. It's almost there. And. And
for a California Sauvignon for me to get.
>> Harm (26:54):
And they used oak and they didn't kill it.
>> Brent (26:56):
Yeah.
>> Harm (26:57):
Such great balance, guys.
>> Brent (26:59):
All right, well, Justin, tell us about our next one.
>> Bob (27:01):
So now we're going to talk about
Ellers estate cabernet franc
2022. It's 14 and a half percent
alcohol by volume.
It's, um, appellation of St.
Helena, Napa Valley 90 Cobb
franc, 6% cabernet
sauvignon, 4% merlot
(27:22):
fermentations done in stainless steel tanks for
14 days. And it's aged 21 months
and 65% new
oak. So tasting
this, you know, the color is dark.
Like Harmeet's soul.
>> Harm (27:41):
It's not quite as dark as my soul.
>> Brent (27:43):
He has no soul.
>> Harm (27:43):
There's more redness here.
>> Brent (27:44):
There's no soul.
>> Harm (27:46):
My soul's closer to black. This is closer to
garnet.
>> Brent (27:50):
Fair enough.
>> Harm (27:50):
Yeah.
>> Bob (27:51):
On the nose I got like violets.
I got like my whiskey room with the cedar
and the.
>> Harm (27:57):
Definitely. Yes, yes. Right?
>> Brent (27:59):
Yeah.
>> Harm (27:59):
Uh, feels like home aged tobacco.
>> Bob (28:02):
Yeah, it really cigars my
whiskey room too. So, yeah, it really feels like home.
And the palette,
you get a nice bright fruit hit right on
your mid palate.
Um, you get some dark chocolate as it
fades off. And, uh, some
(28:23):
like, terroir elements that are
really specific to their estate, like crushed
rock and gravel. And
reminds me of, um, we drove up the
gravel driveway at Ellers because they were kind enough to host
us and the, the kind of smell you would
get from the fresh stirred rocks
(28:43):
there.
>> Harm (28:44):
Well, I didn't get to go with you guys, so, like,
excuse me, you weren't invited.
>> Brent (28:49):
There's a reason.
>> Harm (28:50):
But I understand what you're talking about. That terroir, there's such great
gravelly note to it.
>> Bob (28:55):
You don't get a better Cobb franc, you might have a different one.
>> Harm (28:58):
I love what you said to me. It's about violets
and the black cherries. But you didn't say cherries. I'm getting
more of that fruit. Okay.
But the violets are, uh, there. Gorgeous.
Violets and leather. And
there's that umami note to
it. It's like a soy note. Uh,
there's some tea, there's some bergamot,
(29:23):
um, marmalade. And that, that's mineral.
Bob, you were there. Is that. Where's that umami
coming from?
>> Brent (29:31):
I wish I could tell you. I mean, I get a
graphite on the nose.
>> Harm (29:35):
It's not quite graphite for me.
>> Brent (29:36):
I definitely get the graphite on the palate. I get the
cherries, the burger bone,
m, a little bit of
cocoa, there's a smoke and then that
minerality. Uh, this is one of the better cap francs
I've had out of Napa in the last couple of years.
>> Harm (29:51):
Fruitier than that than most cap francs I get.
And commercial. Yeah.
>> Brent (30:00):
Hey, and we were just finishing up our discussion of the
Ellers Estate. 2022 Cabernet
franchise. Again, I, I get
a. I get the cherries, I get the
bergamot, I get a Little bit of
smoke, I get a little bit of cocoa on this and the
minerality just shows through. But this is truly one
of the better cob francs I've had in Appa in quite some
(30:23):
time.
Mhm.
Really delicious. We're going to be giving the Ellers estate
cabernet frank 2022 a
well deserved five sips.
>> Harm (30:36):
Oh my goodness.
All right, I agree with you on five sips, but I want to
say this is not like your traditional cab frog
that you get from Not.
>> Brent (30:48):
That's why I like it.
>> Harm (30:49):
It does not have the green notes.
>> Brent (30:51):
No.
>> Harm (30:51):
100 ultra ripe cab franc.
>> Bob (30:54):
Well, tell us about our francs, Daddy.
>> Brent (30:56):
Tell us better on X wine from Ellers.
>> Harm (30:58):
Thank you, Bob. So our next wine, our penultimate
wine for the episode is a big word,
I think multi syllabic,
baby. I took my SATs.
>> Brent (31:08):
The penultimate supper. Not the Last Supper. The penultimate
supper.
>> Harm (31:15):
So, uh, all right. The Ehlers Estate Napa Valley Cabernet
Sauvignon 2022 is 14.2point. 14.2%
ABV. Uh, 80% Cabernet
Sauvignon, 20% Merlot, fermented 14 days in stainless
steel tanks and aged for 20 months at 60
in 69% French oak.
>> Brent (31:32):
It's your favorite number.
>> Harm (31:33):
They could have gone 70%.
>> Brent (31:35):
They could have do it 69.
>> Bob (31:37):
69 feels so much better for that.
>> Harm (31:40):
Yeah, totally. So this is a gorgeous
opaque ruby color. Uh, almost
a garnet. This is just dark and gorgeous
with just clear to violet edges. We're drinking
a little bit young at 2025.
>> Brent (31:54):
Yeah.
>> Harm (31:55):
Uh, this nose, it's a 20. It's
2025 now when we're reviewing it. So it's only three years old.
So, um, the nose is
juicy. Plum cigar box
incense. And there's
a hint of candle wax here. So to me,
I love this wine. But it's not your
(32:16):
standard Cabernet. No, just
like that previous Cabernet franc was not your standard Cabernet franchise.
Yeah, it's a little bit off the standard for the varietal,
so.
>> Brent (32:27):
And I'm cool with that.
>> Harm (32:28):
Yeah, no, that's fine. I understand that. But it's
not your standard Cabernet that you expect from Napa Valley. It's
got more depth, it's got. It's a little
off the normal palate.
On the palate. Beautiful,
dry, great tannins,
(32:48):
very well integrated, wonderful
mouthfeel, high acidity. Enough to
bring your mouth watering. Uh, bring
your mouth to watering. You want to have this with
a steak? I like this wine. A Lot.
The flavor profile is just a little bit different from your
standard cap, but I enjoy it. Justin, what do you think?
(33:09):
And it's got great finish, too.
>> Brent (33:10):
Nice crusty steak. Yeah.
>> Bob (33:12):
So I agree with what you said,
and I think it's a bridge wine. I think once you go
from steak, you're finishing your steak, you're going to cherries
jubilee. This will carry you through to both
until you switch to the dessert wine.
>> Harm (33:25):
No, um, I don't need the dessert wine. I want to do this with dessert.
Do this cow with the chocolate.
>> Bob (33:30):
You do both.
>> Brent (33:31):
You have.
>> Bob (33:32):
You finish your steak and you start with your dessert
before you.
>> Harm (33:36):
Okay, all right. You're not gonna order an extra bottle.
You're wrong. You're. You're ripping off the restaurant
Now, Bob, what do you think?
>> Brent (33:44):
I think it's fantastic. Again, I agree with you.
It's a little off of what I would consider standard
profile, but nonetheless, a delicious
wine. Great berries, very silky
texture. The tannins are there, the
mineralities there. We're going to giving
the Ellers Estate Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon
2022 a, uh, well deserved. Four sips.
(34:07):
That's classified. So that's going to take
us to our last wine, which is the Ellis
Estate Portrait Red Blend 2022.
14.5% ABV. Uh,
St. Helena Napa Valley 66%
Cabernet Sauvignon, 16.4 Cabernet Franc,
16.3 Merlot, and 1.3
Petit Verdot. Fermented for 14 days
(34:29):
in stainless steel, aged 21 months and
65% new French oak.
Beautiful color.
>> Harm (34:36):
Dark, dark, dark purple like my heart, baby.
Dark like my heart.
>> Brent (34:40):
Blackberries.
A slight tint of mint. Just
that little coolness of mint. A little
bit of sage. A little morality on the nose
on the palette.
>> Harm (34:59):
I could drink this all day long.
>> Brent (35:01):
Blueberries, blackberries,
plums. A really nice
minerality to it.
Like a dry stone.
Got a great finish. Sticks with you.
Not, uh, and. And it sticks with you, but not overpowering.
Not climbing over you and just covering up your palette.
(35:25):
Wow. This is pretty good. What do you think, Justin?
>> Bob (35:28):
I really enjoyed this wine. I
think it would. It's, like, sweet and
savory all at once. I would pair this
with pastizio, which is like Greek lasagna.
>> Harm (35:40):
I love heavy.
>> Bob (35:42):
Wish I had pasta and cinnamon influence.
This would be the perfect pair.
>> Harm (35:47):
Miss Greek Fest this year. Greek Festival May.
>> Brent (35:49):
Yeah. What's going on right now? We just missed it.
>> Harm (35:51):
No, this July. Down. Uh,
I missed m. It okay. Okay. So this
wine, like Justin said,
this is sweet and savory
in the perfect balance. And
whereas the difference between this wine and the
previous wine. I could get
(36:12):
sick of the previous wine after a couple glasses. This
one I don't think it's sick of. I could come back to this and
that. What? That's what the difference between, uh,
for me, for a four sips. Right. And a five steps rating. I
don't get sick of this wine. I will come back to this.
>> Bob (36:26):
Could take you through the whole Greek dinner.
>> Harm (36:28):
The whole dinner.
>> Bob (36:29):
Baklava, uh, pastitzio.
>> Harm (36:31):
It doesn't have to be Greek. It could be Italian here.
>> Brent (36:33):
Could be.
>> Harm (36:34):
Yeah. You've got some of the same herbal.
>> Brent (36:35):
Notes, nice juicy steak.
>> Harm (36:37):
Yeah, I do. I love this. I will
go here all day long.
>> Brent (36:41):
So you're saying this is a little bit elevated?
>> Harm (36:43):
Oh, yeah.
>> Brent (36:44):
So it's not. It's not what you normally drink.
I know the unusual flavor of Thunderbird
wine. It's an exceptionally good drink for every
occasion. Thunderbird has an unusual
flavor all its own. Not quite like anything I've
ever tasted. I suggest that you try Thunderbird.
It's really delightful. James Mason
(37:04):
selling Thunderbird. Is there anything cooler? Yeah.
>> Harm (37:07):
I just want to say, while he was playing the Thunderbird thing, I'm eating
caviar.
>> Brent (37:10):
Yeah.
>> Harm (37:11):
So, you know, whatever, dude. Make fun of me. I'm have
caviar.
>> Brent (37:15):
Here's the thing. When I put these in order, I thought, oh, my. Putting the
red blend last of the cab last. I'm glad I
put the red blend last.
>> Harm (37:22):
I'm glad you put the again last, too.
>> Brent (37:24):
The cab's fantastic. But the red blend.
>> Harm (37:27):
Wow. Just elevates it.
>> Brent (37:28):
Just wow. Yeah. This one is next level.
>> Harm (37:31):
Next level, my friend. So
for me, this is. This is five steps. Do
we have a rating for the whole show? For the both of us? All
three of us. So we're missing Maury today. What happened to
Maury?
>> Brent (37:43):
Are we really missing him?
>> Harm (37:45):
Are we? No. Are we really missing Maury?
>> Brent (37:48):
Okay.
>> Bob (37:48):
We love you hunting in the Great White North.
>> Harm (37:50):
There's more wine for us today because you couldn't make it.
>> Brent (37:53):
So the Ellis State Portrait Red Blend.
20, 22, 100%.
Five sips.
>> Harm (37:59):
Oh, my goodness.
>> Brent (38:03):
And again, um, we know the folks at Edwards,
really great people, but that doesn't affect the ratings
here. If they give us lousy wine or good wine, we rate
it how it is. And wow. Just
compared to the last batch we did. And the last batch was
great. This is just elevator. Yeah. Elevated. So
100%. So,
(38:23):
uh, want to thank you guys for
coming to the show and joining me on this
one. So thank you, Justin.
>> Bob (38:30):
Such a pleasure to be here.
>> Brent (38:32):
Thank you, Harm.
>> Harm (38:34):
You know, Bob, I really want to thank you for inviting me and I
really want to thank Maury for missing out today.
>> Brent (38:39):
Yeah. Because there's more wine.
>> Harm (38:40):
There's more wine for us.
>> Brent (38:41):
More wine and caviar for us.
>> Harm (38:44):
I miss your face and I miss making fun of you on the
radio, but there was more wine for
us.
>> Brent (38:50):
Okay, we'll make fun of him behind his back, so don't worry about
it. For sips, Suds and
smokes, this is Made Man. Bob, thanks for joining us.
Remember, life is too short, drink bad wine, and
thankfully on this show, we.
>> Harm (39:03):
Rarely ever have not a single one, my friend.
>> Brent (39:06):
So, yeah, it's a pretty good day,
boys. Yeah, thanks to the folks at
Awares. So thank you.
>> Announcer (39:14):
We hope you enjoyed this episode. If
you're listening to us online, do yourself a favor
and tap. Just tap it in the subscribe button.
>> Harm (39:23):
Give it a little tappy. Tap, tap, taparoo.
>> Announcer (39:26):
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(39:47):
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(40:08):
Come back, join us for another episode and
keep on sipping.
This has been a one tan hand production of
Sips, Suds and Smokes, a program devoted
(40:30):
to the appreciation of some of the finer slices
of life. From the dude in the basement studios,
your host, the good old boys. We'll see you all
next time.
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