Three Wine Guys podcasted about the Donati wines http://www.digg.com/podcasts/3_Wine_Guys/135831. They loved the Merlot (2003) and Cab, and quite liked the Meritage and Syrah they tasted. Worth a listen.

Hello wine wooters. I too have been selected as one of the lucky "lab rats."
The shipping department at my office informed me that I had a package delivered this morning (which I wasn't expecting ) and I was pleasantly surprised to find out that it had a single bottle of the Donati Family Vineyard 2004 Merlot inside. I hope to try it tonight and report my findings ASAP.

I went ahead and purchased this one based on the comments here, but I have a newbie question that I was wondering if the community could help me out with.

The first wine I purchased here was the Wellington 4-pack that I enjoyed immensely. So the question I have is, based on that tiny shred of information, can someone generalize, in simple terms, what type of reds I like. Would this current woot qualify as a "similar" wine? I am new to the Reds and basically just purchase blindly. Thanks for any comments.

Mike

So I walked into my office this afternoon and saw the prototypical Wine Country Connect shipping box. It's a small one. "They couldn't possibly fit all three of the Polyphemi in such a small box. Aw shucks, did they ship separately? What happened to the other two?!?! There must be a VERY drunk UPS driver out there somewhere....." Of course upon further inspection the box is clearly labeled "Donati lab rats." w00t indeed!

So I've got a nice bottle of Donati cabernet ready to be cracked open tonight..... sadly I have to work the rest of the afternoon. Let me just say thanks do WineDavid and the woot staff. I never would have guessed they'd give us East Coasters some lovin'.

WD, are these labrats chosen for their eloquence? I hope they keep posting, seems a shame that at least for one this is a first post. Sounds like they have an awful lot to contribute to the forum!!!

mshilko wrote:I went ahead and purchased this one based on the comments here, but I have a newbie question that I was wondering if the community could help me out with.

The first wine I purchased here was the Wellington 4-pack that I enjoyed immensely. So the question I have is, based on that tiny shred of information, can someone generalize, in simple terms, what type of reds I like. Would this current woot qualify as a "similar" wine? I am new to the Reds and basically just purchase blindly. Thanks for any comments.

Mike

so, at the risk of putting words in your mouth, i too really liked the wellingtons. the reason i liked them (which may also be what you're looking for in reds) is their earthy old-world characteristics. my tasting notes were:

aste: rich and complex bordeaux-style. chocolate, plum, a hint of vanilla. fresh cut grass and sawdust make up part of this complex taste. some heat on the finish. a bit tart on the beginning, but opened up nicely. some dryness associated with it. very earthy.

finish:- long and lingering, though with some heat and dryness.

maybe someone familiar with the donati's could tell you if these types of notes match up with their bordeaux-style wines.

darn, i went to my front door hoping for a package. Instead of a small box of wine.. i see a giant overnight shipping box from UPS for my roommate. /TEAR

Was recently in Paso, great place and wine. Didnt see you guys at WESTFEST though. Looking forward to my vino
Remember napa is for car parts, paso is for wine
george, a cluster member

ERMD wrote:Remember napa is for car parts, paso is for wine

That's funny. Where did you go while you were there and what did you try??

As a total flyer here, anyone in the SF Bay Area want to sell me or trade me one or two of their bottles of Monkey Prize? I missed it the first time around and would like to down a bottle just for kicks. I can pay up or give you a bottle of something you like or whatever.

NatalieW wrote:WD, are these labrats chosen for their eloquence? I hope they keep posting, seems a shame that at least for one this is a first post. Sounds like they have an awful lot to contribute to the forum!!!

Please don't be put off by my lack of forum posts (if you were referring to me). I have been lurking here ever since I created my profile over a year ago, and I check into the wine woot forums religiously as they are a great source of wine info and entertainment for me. My actual wine woot purchases have been few because, alas I am a poor (wine-loving) graduate student.

Perhaps the lab rat selections have something to do with geographic location.
One from Sonoma, one from the east coast, and I'm from the midwest. Just a guess.

eja11950 wrote:Please don't be put off by my lack of forum posts (if you were referring to me). I have been lurking here ever since I created my profile over a year ago, and I check into the wine woot forums religiously as they are a great source of wine info and entertainment for me. My actual wine woot purchases have been few because, alas I am a poor (wine-loving) graduate student.

Perhaps the lab rat selections have something to do with geographic location.
One from Sonoma, one from the east coast, and I'm from the midwest. Just a guess.

Not put off, hope you will stay! So I can be a labrat by-proxy : ) (I think MA will never have a labrat)

NatalieW wrote:Not put off, hope you will stay! So I can be a labrat by-proxy : ) (I think MA will never have a labrat)

Now now, Natlie, they said that about World Series and Superbowls also. You just gotta be patient. Like 80 years patient, but MA will get one.

For the winemakers, how long does crush last? The corn and the beans are mostly out of the fields here, but you can't exactly rip through on a combine either.

bhodilee wrote:That's funny. Where did you go while you were there and what did you try??

Was there 7 days.My favorites but maybe not in order are Windward(pinot noir)Chateau Margene(cab),Norman,Justin,Eberle and of course Donati. Can only carry back to Florida so many bottles though. Flat out (in my opinion) best wine area in CA.

ERMD wrote:Was there 7 days.My favorites but maybe not in order are Windward(pinot noir)Chateau Margene(cab),Norman,Justin,Eberle and of course Donati. Can only carry back to Florida so many bottles though. Flat out (in my opinion) best wine area in CA.

So what do you think of this deal than? Is it a no brainer for you? I'm going to track down teh Windward Pinot Noir, I just recently found I enjoy that and would like to try a better version.

bhodilee wrote:So what do you think of this deal than? Is it a no brainer for you? I'm going to track down teh Windward Pinot Noir, I just recently found I enjoy that and would like to try a better version.

Try their wine club

ERMD wrote:
Remember napa is for car parts, paso is for wine

I've been chuckling for about 5 minutes after reading that. Thanks. (It may explain a bottle I had recently that reminded me a bit of transmission fluid... thank goodness it wasn't a Woot offering)

docklink wrote:I've been chuckling for about 5 minutes after reading that. Thanks. (It may explain a bottle I had recently that reminded me a bit of transmission fluid... thank goodness it wasn't a Woot offering)

Honestly, if you havnt been there, you gotta go. Its not congested/commercial like others(with their car parts) Great people and the best wine. No I dont live there, live in Florida

ERMD wrote:Remember napa is for car parts, paso is for wine

My God, man! Are you trying to start a holy war?!

Its not congested/commercial like others(with their car parts)

Oh, OK, fair swipe there, especially Hwy. 29. It's worth learning the back roads to avoid that. But seriously, for Carneros, etc., it's pretty much worth it.

ERMD wrote:Honestly, if you havnt been there, you gotta go. Its not congested/commercial like others(with their car parts) Great people and the best wine. No I dont live there, live in Florida

paso is nice. I just dont know if it has an identity yet. What varietal does the regions terrior support the best? I think too many winemakers are making too many varietals with nothing really sticking out.
edit: This is not saying i dont like wine from Paso. I do. Saxum/Talbus are great stuff. ACtually i take it back, i really like all the rhone style grapes from Paso, i think that's their strong point, just not enough of the small producers are concentrating on it.

dnarayanan wrote:
maybe someone familiar with the donati's could tell you if these types of notes match up with their bordeaux-style wines.

I haven't tried the Donatis, but based on the stats and the description from the winemaker, it would seem that these are on the other end of the spectrum from the wellingtons (Which I also loved, particularly the 2002 "lower label" cab, if only for its earthiness).

The wellingtons being more subtle, earthy, more of an old-world-ish kind of wine, and these being a very big, fruity, high-alcohol, concentrated new-world-ish kind of wine.

There's nothing wrong with either of those, but it would appear that these would be quite different from the wellingtons.

Hey folks! To paraphrase Jim Halpert (yet again!!! -- see my sig!), "Who has two thumbs and is one of this week's lucky labrats? THIS GUY!"

I was very pleasantly surprised to see that a Wine Country Connect package showed up just now, containing some very nice paperwork from WD (which I will be posting), and a bottle of the Donati '04 Merlot.

So, it looks like I'll be having steak for dinner and posting tasting notes this evening. I'm assuming that travel shock shouldn't be too much of a factor, but somebody should tell me sooner rather than later if that's not the case. From what I remember, the only effects should be muting of the nose and flavors, maybe a bit of disjointedness, and I can account for that.


It's actually golden, but the copier-scanner at work is B/W only.

Loweeel wrote:

That is OUTSTANDING! I guess I am just going to have to continue buying whatever wine.woot offers every week (before 10 am Monday, of course) so that I can get a golden ticket, too!

what is the furthest state from CA, that someone has been chosen as a labrat?

dynersooner wrote:what is the furthest state from CA, that someone has been chosen as a labrat?

I've only seen I think 4 labrats so far. As far as I can tell I'm the furthest in North Carolina.

Corrado wrote:Begging your pardon, but I believe that's a Scrubs reference.

"What's got two thumbs & doesn't give a crap?"

"Who has 2 thumbs and hates Todd Packer?" -- when the clock says 4:13

As for labrat distance, well, I'm in DC (shipped to work) and dukeusul is in NC. Depends where in NC he is, and whether you go by driving distance or Oblate Sphereoid Geodesic

Corrado wrote:Begging your pardon, but I believe that's a Scrubs reference.

"What's got two thumbs & doesn't give a crap?"

Corrado, I guess it depends on which episode aired first.

"Todd Packer"

Doh. Too late. It's a shorter clip though.

Loweeel wrote:"Who has 2 thumbs and hates Todd Packer?" -- when the clock says 4:13

As for labrat distance, well, I'm in DC (shipped to work) and dukeusul is in NC. Depends where in NC he is, and whether you go by driving distance or Oblate Sphereoid Geodesic

Let's see Google says Sonoma, CA to Washington, DC..... 2,799 mi – about 1 day 17 hours.

Sonoma, CA to Durham, NC ..... 2,833 mi – about 1 day 18 hours

I win. :-P

(I'm using sonoma since it's in the return address on the shipping for WCC... not sure if these really get shipped from WCC's address or the vineyard)

"As a recent expansion-team addition to the California Wine League, the Donatis knew they had to land a big-name superstar to propel them to the top of the standings. These would-be Steinbrenners found their A-Rod in winemaker Dan Kleck, whose widely-known reputation and talent brought instant credibility to the winery. And they’ve given him nothing but estate-grown fruit to work with."

newbie question:

What does "estate-grown" mean and what implications does that have for quality, price, etc. for a wine?

T-minus 15 minutes until I crack open the Donati. I came home from work early to meet the AC repairman, and I just can't bring myself to crack it open before 5pm (I know, I know it's 5pm somewhere in the world....)

schuey wrote:"As a recent expansion-team addition to the California Wine League, the Donatis knew they had to land a big-name superstar to propel them to the top of the standings. These would-be Steinbrenners found their A-Rod in winemaker Dan Kleck, whose widely-known reputation and talent brought instant credibility to the winery. And they’ve given him nothing but estate-grown fruit to work with."

newbie question:

What does "estate-grown" mean and what implications does that have for quality, price, etc. for a wine?

AFAIK, "estate grown" means that all the fruit is grown by the winemakers and/or the winemakers have significant control over the grapes -- see http://tablascreek.typepad.com/tablas/2006/11/the_significanc.html

Alrighty here we go.....

I just opened the Donati 2003 Cabernet Sauvignon. It's been in the fridge a couple hours - I don't have one of those nifty touchless thermometer thingies some people have. It's definitely cool but not cold. I'm gonna taste this over the next hour to see how it changes over time.

It's got a bright ruby color, with very nice legs. It's very bright on the nose, fruity. I'm getting a lot of black cherries on the nose. Medium-bodied mouthfeel. It starts out much milder than I expected. It's mostly dark fruits, cherries and plums. I'm not getting any spice or earthiness up front at all. The fruit fades and tapers off into a very long licorice finish. Definitely not the fruit-bomb some on here had me expecting. It's actually rather well-balanced. Medium fruits, medium body, moderate tannins. I'm gonna let this get some oxygen and post more over the next hour. Stay tuned.....

schuey wrote:"As a recent expansion-team addition to the California Wine League, the Donatis knew they had to land a big-name superstar to propel them to the top of the standings. These would-be Steinbrenners found their A-Rod in winemaker Dan Kleck, whose widely-known reputation and talent brought instant credibility to the winery. And they’ve given him nothing but estate-grown fruit to work with."

newbie question:

What does "estate-grown" mean and what implications does that have for quality, price, etc. for a wine?

First time post-er...

As another poster mentioned, Estate Grown means that the grapes are gown on land owned and maintained by the winery. This is generally viewed favorably as it means that the winery controls the whole process from growing to bottling.

It is generally viewed as a negative when a winery buys grapes from another vineyard to make the wine, as they then cannot quality control the growing process. A lot of plonk wine is not estate grown. However, some respected wines are not estate grown. Ravenswood, for example, has no vineyards and buys all its grapes. They make some very good wines, though nothing spectacular in my opinion.

I cannot, however, speak to the economics of estate grown vs. not estate grown.

-EJR

EJRothman wrote:First time post-er...

As another poster mentioned, Estate Grown means that the grapes are gown on land owned and maintained by the winery. This is generally viewed favorably as it means that the winery controls the whole process from growing to bottling.

It is generally viewed as a negative when a winery buys grapes from another vineyard to make the wine, as they then cannot quality control the growing process. A lot of plonk wine is not estate grown. However, some respected wines are not estate grown. Ravenswood, for example, has no vineyards and buys all its grapes. They make some very good wines, though nothing spectacular in my opinion.

I cannot, however, speak to the economics of estate grown vs. not estate grown.

-EJR

Well, yes and no. Single Vineyard wines, even if not estate, can be pretty fantastic. They can also be complete plonk.

Loweeel wrote:Well, yes and no. Single Vineyard wines, even if not estate, can be pretty fantastic. They can also be complete plonk.

...I said generally

dukeusul wrote:Let's see Google says Sonoma, CA to Washington, DC..... 2,799 mi – about 1 day 17 hours.

Sonoma, CA to Durham, NC ..... 2,833 mi – about 1 day 18 hours

that would work for normal shipping via truck. Shipping via next day would be air.

STS-DCA = 2448
STS-RDU = 2412

http://gc.kls2.com for a Great Circle Mapper

Could someone from the winery please comment on a descrepency I noticed about the make-up of the 2004 Merlot?

The Donati website indicates that the Merlot was made of 91% Merlot and 9% Syrah. The wine.woot description of the Merlot states 91% Merlot and 9% Cabernet Sauvignon.

2004 DFV Merlot, Estate Vineyard, Paicines
Retail: $22.00 / Wine Club: $17.60

Finding an ideally suited microclimate for growing Merlot is a significant challenge, for often, this varietal falls short of its expectations. In the Paicines hills above Hollister, along the San Andreas faultline, the Donati Family has truly found a perfect home for this grape.

91% Merlot / 9% Syrah
14.9% Alcohol / 1,500 Cases Produced


Which description is accurate? If you did indeed use the Syrah, why did you use that varietal instead of the Cab. Sav?

Thanks!