Grand Panax Brut?

Does anyone know anything about this Chairman's Selection? It's supposedly made with the "unparrelled sought after herb Ginseng" (HA! From the lcb description. They also say it has "Unpeccable balance.")

I can't find anything about it on the web. It was bottled by a company called Holmbru Limited in California which has no web site. The only thing I've found on them is a set of meeting minutes from a county in Canada from 1993 where the company put in a license application.

I'm worried that this stuff may have been sitting in a warehouse somewhere (presumably not temperature controlled) for the last decade.

If anyone knows anything, or has tried it, please share.

Thanks

From what I can see through the the licensee section:

Carillon Importers

PLCB Vendor # - 6230

That's all I can see, hope it helps on the search.

At least it's not a hoax. There's a 1996 wine article from the SF Chronicle in which a Gerald Boyd writes of the Holmbru (sounds like homebrew?) introducing the wine at $45. His take is that it's pleasant but the ginseng detracts, especially adding bitterness at the finish. Panax is a ginseng name & is supposed to have powers to cure/improve things like low libido & ED. That may explain the $35 price.

I saw this at my local store. The... creative spelling, combined with the ginseng, made me wonder whether this might be some of that emergent Chinese wine industry I keep hearing about. On the other hand, the fact that it sounds absolutely disgusting went a good way towards quelling my curiosity.

If you decide to try it, do let us know how it is.

I bought a bottle @ a local store Saturday and opened it yesterday...seems corked to me. I fear Mark's comment about the storage conditions might be an issue here. Tread carefully, IMHO.

There's some debate about how exactly corking happens, but storage conditions are not something I've ever heard mentioned.

I forgot to post an e-mail I received from Steve Pollack at the PLCB regarding this:

The Grand Panax was a project, in which, Mr. Steve Rose, a herbalist, believed that addition of Ginseng can add complexity to both food and wine. This did happen in the 90's. I was skeptical when first approached with this product, for the same reasons [you] stated... I did taste several samples before deciding on the wine. I do recommend that upon opening, let sit a minute or two. There is a hint of rootiness initially but it quickly dissipates and the sparkler shows its true character. This was in the market for 140.00 a bottle. There [are] only 90 cases left. Hope this helps.

This apparently being a PLCB-sponsored site, I'm not surprised that my post a few minutes ago is not attached to this forum.

In brief, this product is being foisted on an unsuspecting public;-- who knew I had to scrutinize labels to avoid herbal enhanced (Ginseng extract in sparkling wine) products in Chairman's Selections?

Unbelievable.

By the bye, this product tastes like Brut married with burnt hair.

raffja:

Obviously new to the site! I am assuming you are referring to your review as the first post. Just click on the Ratings tab and scroll down to the bottom of the page. Your review stands proudly, just as written!

Raffja,
Thanks for contributing! As stated on the About page, PAWineTalk is neither affiliated with nor sponsored by the PLCB. You will find plenty of less-than-positive reviews on the Ratings page, yours among them. You will also find a link to your rating on the Chairman's Selection page, just scroll down to find the wine you rated and click on it.

Experience shows that if you take your bottle back with the unconsumed portion remaining, tell your story and show your receipt, you will get a refund. (If you drink it all then it's harder to argue that it wasn't any good.)

There are plenty of folks here who would be happy to provide recommendations next time around.

Cheers!

Raffja

One of the great things about this forum is that you can get info from people who care about or are nerdy about wine, so when the next Panax POS comes along you can be forewarned about the less-desirable qualities. I hope the alleged benefits of ginseng helped you and wife celebrate after dinner!