Too busy and too tired to get into another one of these, Walt. But since Such

Too busy and too tired to get into another one of these, Walt. But since Such pointed me to your post and I should take a break from my backbreaking toil, here go a few thoughts:

(1) Whenever I speak against ";new oak,"; I do so proposing the use of neutral containers in which to allow wine to develop. Mind you, by no stretch of the imagination should this be construed as advocacy for ";old"; oak. I’m trying to resist reading in your post that you think I recommend such a thing and will clarify at the risk of redundancy. I always state that used barrels, as long as they are CLEAN and of good quality, provide as close to a neutral receptacle as one can wish for. Of ocurse, they are not COMPLETELY (How I wish the tech side of this forum could figure out a ";Bold"; and ";Italics"; function so one didn’t have to look like one was hollering...) neutral, since some wood-related aromatics are imparted upon the wine, but they are a far cry from the aggressiveness of the high-toast François-Frères furniture so in vogue today among the point-seeking. Remember, CLEAN wood. And don’t even think of trying to portray me as a defender of the old ";carrilero"; industrial Riojas made by despicable megabodegas with the backing of banks and breweries. At every extreme, excrement occurs.

(2) That ";Rocas de San Alejandro"; was tasted biten into at a jeebus by a group including Chris Coad, Joe Dressner, Denise Louis, Jeff Connell, radKane, Jeff Grossman, Jay Miller and myself. I believe Coad poted one o his usual riotous chronicles on Wine Therapy under the title ";The Last of the Red-Hot Jeebi,"; Not ver well received by the audience, I’m afraid. Now, you speak of an ";upgraded"; and ";old vines"; version of the wine you claim I tasted. Wha? Are you on some VIP list to which we plebs and Parker-bashers have no access? I thought that Calatayud wine, which retails for $8.99 at Garnet, was the one that got all the points from the Fat Man. Oh well... But at least we agree somewhat on that Solanera. I believe it to be one of the most abject examples of Parker’s influence that I know. Nasty stuff that stinks of burnt rubber, bubble gum and industrial fruit jam.

(3) Don’t get me started on that Eneas horror... They use OLD oak? Just one more thing to hold against that dreck.

If I sound irritated, it’s because I am. This reply was typed with one hand, as the other tries to balance the ";To Do"; pile of stuff that needs finishing before this awful week is over.

M.