TrippingOverDogs wrote:

LAB RAT REPORT!

This is my first rat, so thanks for giving me the opportunity. And for those of you who think you may never get the chance, don’t despair. I signed up to rat a year and a half ago at the same time I bought my first Woot, and then I forgot all about it. I have enjoyed staying in the background, reading all of your notes, and buying wines when I simply couldn’t resist. So it was a complete surprise when I received an email saying that I’d been chosen to write a review, and although we’d planned on driving home today, anyway, I like to think of it as Karma that my first rat brought me home. Now I’m bringing it home to you. This is for the 2009 Karma Cabernet:

Pop and pour, or rather, screw and pour. (Did I just say that?):

Wine is bright and clear. Color is medium red, actually a little lighter than most cabs I am used to. With a swirl and sniff, there is no “explosion,” but a light to medium intensity on the nose, and, rather than red fruits, I detect some blackberry. My husband kept thinking there was some cocoa in there somewhere, and on subsequent sniffs, I found something else very light in the background, not exactly mushroom, but close. This is not a powerhouse cabernet. It is medium bodied, but with a definite tannin kick in a good way, something I was not expecting.

After an hour or so in the glass:

I came back in from the garden to have another go and was pleasantly surprised. I am sure I had preconceived ideas of an $8 bottle of wine, and normally, I probably wouldn’t bother to pay that much attention to the difference an hour later. This one had opened up. There was much more fruit, more sour cherry now, and some licorice, but balanced by the very noticeable tannins, not soft, but not harsh or astringent, with finish under two minutes. If you have the room and are in need of some inexpensive wine to tide you over until that $60 bottle is at its peak, or you have a backyard summer barbeque coming up and don't want to waste the Barbera on Uncle Bubba, for 8 bucks a bottle I don’t think you’ll go wrong here.

TrippingOverDogs wrote:

Lab Rat Report #2: Karma Chardonnay

Put the lime in the coconut and drink it all up . . . The California Karma Chardonnay has fresh fruity aromas, actually more pineapple than lime, but with citrusy overtones and coconut. Definitely no fruit bomb here, rather dry and crisp. I don’t drink a lot of white wine, especially chardonnay, and am loath to spend more than $10-15 a bottle, so this one is right up my alley. I can’t speak for true chardonnay lovers, but for red wine drinkers who want an occasional cool summer alternative this could be your deal.

greggarcia wrote:

Greetings fellow Wootophiles and Oenophiles,

After 18 months of faithful Wooting, and having earned my Black Box in Wootery, a Golden Ticket hath blown my way. First time Rat and I’ll admit that I've never been much of a tasting note keeper, preferring to simply relax and enjoy. In order to establish a baseline, I would say that my taste in wine tends to be about 90% + Dry Red Wine with an occasional Dry White and on a rare occasion a Dessert Wine. Within the Dry Red category, I especially enjoy nice Pinot Noir (I liked the Davis Family PN and the Expression 44), or other varietals such as a good Cabernet Sauvignon or Zinfandel (Pedroncelli Pedroni-Bushnell) or Sangiovese (Vino Noceto).

FedEx arrived at 2:45 PM and the bottle temperature measured 73 degrees, so they both spent a few minutes in the fridge to achieve more proper temperatures. The Chardonnay was chilled to 55 degrees and the Cabernet was pulled out at 62 degrees.

Tasters included myself, and friends Jim and Jennifer.

We paired the wines with some Barely Buzzed Cheese, Dr. Kracker Classic Crackers, TJ's Mixed Raisins and Raw Almonds. Both bottles were simply unscrewed and poured.

As regards the Chardonnay, I got some floral notes and a definite tropical fruit nose and taste of pineapple and enjoyed the crispness. The Cabernet had some tannin, but was pretty smooth… I can’t place the fruit, but I would say a mix of raisin perhaps, though not in a stewed fruit sense, and maybe some sour cherry notes, but not too distinct to my nose and taste buds.

Jennifer detected a bitter aftertaste in the Cabernet, which I think was her interpretation of the tannins. Though not a fan of Chardonnay, she enjoyed it and found it to be crisp and clean… a summer delight she said.

Jim found the Cabernet to be fairly smooth, and thought that it became smoother over time. He was surprised upon learning of the price and felt it was better than the price would have suggested.

I thought I would be passing on this offer, in part because my two small wine fridges are filled with the "good stuff" and there are cardboard boxes stacked under and around my bed with the everyday drinkers, so another dozen bottles I don't need, but after trying them both I may be splitting a case with my neighbors. I would say that this wine really offers a very good QPR and if you are in the market for some less expensive wines for general entertaining or as an everyday drinker, these wines offer a better bang for the buck than expected.

EDIT: After reading some of the other Lab Rat Reports, I realized that I had neglected to answer the oft asked questions when dealing with Chardonnay... Oak? Butter? So, I concur with others that this Chardonnay was lightly oaked, and sans butter.

Offer of 5/20/2011 -- JanKris Estate Mixed Red Case



3 JanKris 2006 Cabernet Sauvignon
3 JanKris 2005 Riata
3 JanKris 2005 Picaro
3 JanKris 2005 Crossfire

This offer's pack:
jenkinsm02 (Picaro)
MichaelWB (Crossfire)
embee44 (Riata)
boxbenson (Picaro)
sonofzeppo (Cabernet Sauvignon)
jveauthier (Picaro)
bbebop (Riata)
sdailyjr (Cabernet Sauvignon)

cheron98 wrote:
This thread is designed to be a one-stop-shop for all your LabRat report needs.

My lab rat report never counnnnntssssssss!!! My rat is too old? My rat was raised by foster-rats? woe to my rat. woe

http://wine.woot.com/Forums/ViewPost.aspx?PostID=1696847&PageIndex=6&ReplyCount=517#post1700906

unixrab wrote:My lab rat report never counnnnntssssssss!!! My rat is too old? My rat was raised by foster-rats? woe to my rat. woe

http://wine.woot.com/Forums/ViewPost.aspx?PostID=1696847&PageIndex=6&ReplyCount=517#post1700906

Rats that happened prior to the start of this thread (in mid-2008) were never transferred. There were too many and I never had time to even think about transferring them over. Sorry.

jenkinsm02 wrote:

Another Lab Rat Reporting for Duty...

This is my first golden ticket, and first post to the message board. Thanks, Woot! I am a long-time lurker, and feel like I have learned a great deal from the knowledgeable folks that post to the board. I am still kind of new to the whole talking/writing about wine thing, so here goes...

I received a bottle of the Picaro zinfandel, merlot, cab blend. I generally like each of these varietals, but have never had a blend of the three in these proportions. I have, however, tasted a whole lot of wine in this price range having spent my 20s toiling away at a non-profit with a salary and palate that combined to find me looking for decent wine on the cheap. The bottle of Picaro stands up, but does not soar among that class.

It's color shows some age with a slight hint of rust on the edges. The nose didn't give me a whole lot other than the alcohol. Maybe there was a little oak, and on one swirl I thought I caught a good sort of barnyard that reminded me of queso de cabrales.

On tasting the wine, I caught some fruit on the front. There wasn't much in the middle of my palate, but the finish had the spiciness that I would expect from a zinfandel. The tannins were fairly mild, but certainly there.

On the whole, I thought the wine was reasonably pleasant. It would go well with pork or lamb on the grill. I imagine it would go nicely with a red sauce also.

While it wasn't the harmonious experience of some of the better zins that I have bought on Wine.Woot (I do love the Peachy Canyon Snow Vineyard), it was pretty good for a sub-$8 bottle of wine. If I hadn't bought the Pedroncelli case last week, I would be in for this case.

MichaelWB wrote:

Lab Rat Reporting in....

First off, I received my bottle of Crossfire while at work today so I knew I would not be able to taste it until I got off work at 10:30 tonight.
Let me preface by saying Im just coming around on liking Cabernet Sauvignon a lot more over the past year or so and still mixed on Syrah. The GF who gave it a valiant try on tasting is not much of a fan of drier red wines and is much more of a white wine drinker.


2005 Crossfire
50% Cabernet Sauvignon, 25% Merlot, 25% Syrah

*Note* All tasting was done without Food.

Pop and Pour

Smell:
First thing I get is the smell of oak and high alcohol. The gf noticed a dark cherry note.

Color: Appears closer to a ruby red than garnet.

Taste: on the initial pour for both of us we found a hint of rasberry fruit, Dark Cherry, Pepper, and an earthy taste likely from the syrah. Oak was pretty prevalent also.

Finish/Mouthfeel - Tannins were very firm with a short finish from the wine still being pretty tight.



After an hour sitting out:

Smell: *Hmm I just did what we have all done once in our life...get too deep in and suck some juice up the nostril* - More bright fruit (Red Cherry vs Black earlier) , currant, alcohol has tamed a good bit.


Color : Pretty close to the same.

Taste: Brighter fruit as experienced in smell, blackberry, cherry, earthy syrah has been tamed. Oak is still very much there but mellowed out.

Finish/Mouthfell - The wine has really changed, it is not tight any more but really shows it is pretty thin on the mouth. The tannins that were drawing at the side of my tongue and cheeks have mellowed to a smoother feel only on my tongue now. The finish is longer and contains a bright finish but not from harsh alcohol. But still, it leaves me wanting more from it.


I have to say I'm VERY thankful to Wine.Woot for allowing me the chance to experience this wine but I won't be going in for this case. The gf is not a fan of this wine and I'm not big on Zin. Again, I'll enjoy this bottle and maybe make some more notes tomorrow at lunch/dinner with some food if that would help with anyone's decision.

Hope to get to rat again in the future, and can't wait till my orders from the woot-off get in!!!

embee44 wrote:

Another Lab Rat here…

First chance to be a lab rat. I’ve been a wine.woot fan/customer for about two years and have had a number of very good wines at great prices.

Received the Riata this afternoon, and just got a chance to try it. I note that it’s a blend of Cabernet, Sangiovese, and zinfandel in uncommon proportions, but sounded good since I like them all.

My experience echoes some of the prior comments: Smell – mostly alcohol, a little fruit. Color – paler than I expected. Taste – a bit watery, strong tannins, and not much like any of its component varietals. Let's just say that I wasn't in a hurry for a refill.

Maybe this was just a bad bottle, and I’ll probably be "fired" as a lab rat, but the gold card said “We want to hear it!”

boxbenson wrote:

Another Lab Rat Reporting for Duty...

Another first time Lab Rat...what a surprise! I took delivery of a bottle of the Picaro.

The rain let up long enough this evening (it is monsoon season here in North Texas) to allow me to grill a pork tenderloin with a black pepper sauce. I put the wine in the frig for about 20 minutes to try to get it down closer to cellar temp, and then popped the cork.

The color seemed somewhat light for a blend of these grapes. The nose (I am not good at describing what I smell with a wine) did not offer much other than perhaps a bit of oak. The taste was OK...it worked well with the pork, but I was not able to pick up much in the way of fruit. My wife observed that it seemed to be an "earthy" taste.

I am a long-time fan of zins and zin blends, but I was not blown away by this wine. Certainly, for the price point, it is OK. However, there are many wines around this price point that I would buy at Costco before I would buy a bottle of the JanKris.

Thanks again for the golden ticket.

sonofzeppo wrote:

Lab Rat Reporting:

$90 for 12 bottles. There's an old saying "ya gets what ya pay for." This is an average table wine.

We drink a lot of red wines, although we are not technically-oriented oenophiles. We received the 2006 Paso Robles Cabernet. Initial pouring reactions: light color, limited taste and bouquet. The aerator and time improved the wine.

After "opening up" the wine became a bit creamier. The good news: not very tannic; no after taste. However the wine is not complex. We had a difficult time identifying specific taste "notes." A bit of blackberry? Likewise our senses were not inspired by the bouquet.

I hope this is of help to those of you pondering your purchase. The least I can do is the return the favor to the WineWoot'ers whose advice I regularly integrate into my buying decisions.

NYC Wooter

jveauthier wrote:
Labrat reporting in...

First, thank-you for the golden ticket honors, I just opened the Picaro 2005. Was happy to receive this selection as I enjoy zins alot and this one is 50% zin (+25% merlot and 25% cab sav - sounds like a good combination to me).

I plan to drink this at various intervals tonight... hubby has food poisoning from eating out last night so he won't be chiming in but may have a couple of friends stop in. On initial opening and pour it seems to have a pretty mild nose. I smell some oak (toasted marshmallow as I like to refer to it) buts pretty muted and fades quickly. So far it seems pretty light and not too complex in my opinion still fairly smooth and I imagine it would go well with a light pasta dish or other light food.

Will report again later, cheers!

PS - how do I post an image of the wine?


Continued here

jveauthier wrote:Ok, here are some next day impressions on the Picaro I received. The wine definitely tasted its best - most fruit (which wasn't a whole lot but OK) and "creamiest" a couple hours after opening. Today its still drinkable but not at its best for sure. Overall all do I think this is a great wine, no but I do think its a good wine for the price. Will it hold a couple more years, I don't really know or have experience judging that but it sounds like its near or past its prime, from other postings.

I have to keep reminding myself this wine is priced around $8 here... I think that is a very good price for this wine, am I saying its worth $20 a bottle, no I don't think so but I think it would hold up well to other blends in the $10-$15 ($15 being max) range. I can't think of a similar blend I have had recently in this range but I have had a couple zinfandels I can compare. I do like the Peachy Canyon Zins and like it alot and no its not as good and one of my more favorite Zin wineries is Four Vines - The Maverick is definitely better but more at the $20 price point but I recently tried the Four Vines Old Vine Cuvee Zinfandel (2008) on a suggestion from the wine store that didn't currently have the Maverick, the cuvee was about $11-12 a bottle. I think I would buy the JanKris Picaro over this Four Vines Cuvee right now.

Infact, I may purchase the case because I am thinking there isn't a red wine I could buy in my local store that would be better at this price (granted the store doesn't have a great selection and I wouldn't typically buy an $8 red) but I also think this wine would fit nicely into the category of a good wine when the hubby asks, "what wine can I open" when he is wanting just a glass of wine and I don't want any and all the wines in our wine cooler our my coveted Ty Caton's, Corison, etc.

OK - hope this helps sway a few people - remember its a $8/bottle wine - would be really hard to get it to perform as a $20+ bottle or we might really have to worry about the end of the world!

bbebop wrote:

Diary of a Failed LabRat!

my first, and probably last, chance to be a lab rat. received a bottle of JanKris' 2005 "Riatta" to review just as a major head cold was neutralizing my taste buds. with a desire for fairness, decided to wait before reviewing, and — with everything tasting between "blah" and "blech" — ask for a little help.

since the riatta is a blend of 50% sangiovese, 25% zinfandel and 25% cabernet sauvignon, it should be right up my alley, and consistent with some of my other favorite woot offerings. and the holy grail, for me at least, is finding wine that tastes far better than its cost would suggest.

set up to disappoint, right? exactly! to me, the riatta tastes thin. there's fruit there, just not enough of it. while you can taste the tannins, the wine isn't tight at all. rather than tasting too young, it seems past its prime.

i wish i could attribute this reaction to my cold, but my companion felt pretty much the same way. given the price for a case, and assuming the other wines are consistent, this offering may be a good deal, but doesn't seem like a great value.

sdailyjr wrote:Lab rat reporting in... albeit LATE! Thank you Fedex for leaving a note that you missed me and not returning until today.

For all you wooters out there I apologize.

I received the 2006 Cabernet and upon opening smelled the bouquet of earth/ dust with a hint of currant. Basically what I would expect. Took a sip and was uninspired. I think it needed to breathe, so I waited. After an hour or so the wine did open up and I tasted hints of blackberry with some tannin. Not too harsh. There was also a hint of oak. I waited another half hour or so and the wine did smooth out even more. Very drinkable but not complex. Definitely blackberry and currant.

Again, apologies for the tardy rat report. Thanks woot for giving me the opportunity. Maybe Fedex will be better the next go round.

Offer of 5/26/2011 -- Woot Cellars 2010 Triacipedis and the Minotaur’s Chalice - 6 Pack



This offer's pack:
Kailadriel
cheron98
runtlee
justinpincar
Rockhawks1
wrighai
rmruesch
gtlemming

Kailadriel wrote:My time has come. Wednesday night, I received the email. Thursday afternoon, I received my golden ticket. Yes, I have become one of the few, the chosen…the lab rats.

I received the Triacipedis – The Minotaurs Chalice, a 2010 California white. After squealing with delight, I sat down to the onerous task of finding people to drink with me. I came up with the brilliant idea of taking this wine to girls’ night. So, as a plus, you get the reviews of FOUR different drinkers! We paired this wine with some New York pizza, (pineapple pizza, to be specific). Names have been changed to protect the identities of the innocent.

To start, we chilled the wine for an hour or two in the fridge, and then took the plunge....

Kailadriel’s tasting notes: The wine is a pale gold color, with just a light tinge of green. When just out of the bottle, it smells strongly of apple and grass. A quick taste reaffirms this, hitting the middle of your tongue with a strong burst of sweet apple, but that fades into a strong, tart grassy finish in the back and sides of your mouth.
As it continues to bloom, a bit of honeysuckle comes through. The wine comes across as not quite sweet, but definitely leaning towards it.

Paired with the pineapple pizza, the wonderful flavors of apple and honeysuckle disappear, being overwhelmed by the food. The flavors of grass and a hint of honeysuckle remain, which makes this okay to eat by, but I definitely preferred it chilled and alone.

Thirty minutes after opening, the apple fades away, leaving behind grassy, herbal notes, and the floral notes are starting to become a lot more prominent. A hint of citrus appears as well.

An hour after opening, the floral notes overwhelm, and the wine is much looser, the flavors feel fully developed. A touch of grass and herbal notes remains, but it reminds me more of lemongrass than a fresh cut lawn.

Poop Sandwich’s tasting notes: The color is almost like champagne. Like the crayola color champagne. I would most definitely drink this. Often. When I took a sip straight out of the bottle, it was almost bubbly, with a zesty tang to it. An hour after we popped the cork, it’s an extremely floral wine.

Cuddlemonger’s tasting notes: It is a clear golden color. I have a floral nose right off the bat. A sip right after corking it gives a sweet beginning with a mild bloom. It is similar to a White French Riesling. An hour after opening, it had a very strong bloom.

Language and Literature’s tasting notes: It is pear colored. It smells like wine. A fruity wine, kind of like a juicy pear or apple. It tastes like green apple, kind of tart. It’s pretty damn good wine – and that’s coming from someone who doesn’t usually like wine. The bottle is hilarious and awesome and I would buy it just for that.

A final review:
Language&Literature and Poop Sandwich: I would drink this *insert curse word of your choice here* 8/10 times.
Cuddlemonger: I greatly enjoyed this wine. I would drink it again.
Kailadriel: I am regretting purchasing 6 bottles of white wine earlier this week because it means I cannot buy this awesome wine. If you like floral/fruity whites that have a nice tart balance, you must buy this wine. I’d give it a 8.5 out of 10.

cheron98 wrote:Well hi everyone! I had a feeling this would be showing up today. WD exceedingly kindly sent us a couple of bottles for the Detroit gathering this past Saturday. So theomach, tommythecat78, Zoomba77, and cyborgdo11 and I all got to try this (along with all the others who were tagalongs).

It was a mixed bag of which was preferred - the original Triacipedis or this one. The label's much more awesome, hands down. Me, personally, I preferred the new one. We tasted them side-by-side, so bear in mind that the original is now a few years in the bottle. Some were saying that they enjoyed the original Triacipedis better when it was new but side-by-side right now, this one is better.

It has a good clear color, very pale as is to be expected from a new white. There was a very aromatic component to hit, honey and apricot, some floral. The acid hit the palate like a refreshing splash of water - not effervescent, but fresh as if it were. The flavor of apricot hit first, settling into peach and green apple with a touch of minerality and grassiness. We couldn't figure out at the time what was in it (it's not listed on the label), but seeing the composition now makes a lot of sense.

The finish was clean, and the first bottle went fast. We had so much wine to go through that we never got around to opening the second bottle, so it is currently happily residing in my cellar, likely to be pulled out this weekend. Excellent summer wine - I heartily recommend serving it nicely chilled to get that refreshment from it, and then sipping your way through it as it warms up, for the full experience.

Everyone was asking when this would show up - I'd told them that generally when WD starts handing them out to gatherings, it's typically within a week or two. Here it is a week later! Now the only question is - 1 or 2...?

Edit: 2% RS? Really? Wow. Doesn't come across as "sweet" at all. Crisp, fresh, fruity... not sweet.

Also: For up to 4 players, level 21 and over.

runtlee wrote:

LABRAT REPORT

Color is pale yellow, very clear, no sediment at all.
I allowed about 2 hours chill time before I plunged into this bottle. Initially I get fresh cut green apple on the nose, maybe a hint or two of pear, not much on the floral side. First sip again reveals sour green apple. It’s a bit tart up front, but really smooths out mid-palate, and finishes with just the right amount of sweetness.
As it warms to room temp, it really starts to open up. Kiwi, honeysuckle, and just a touch of hyacinth join the party. The chard blossoms a bit as well, adding its distinct creamyness to the blend.
This is gonna be a great summer sipper. The 2% residual sugar is a bit misleading, as this is not as sweet as I thought it might be. It’s balanced well. Tart up front, creamy mid-palate, with a crisp, just sweet enough finish to make you go right back to the glass for another sip!
Definitely a bit tight right out of the bottle, but 30 min or so does this wine wonders. Although I'm not pairing it with any food right now, there is no doubt in my mind that it would hold its own with a nice piece of grilled fish, or something spicy.
WD, it’s been almost 2 years since I’ve purchased wine on the net… but you got me with this one… sneaky devil! I’ll be in for a case. Any of you still on the fence? Jump! You won’t be disappointed. I just pray that this case lasts longer than its predecessor.
Thank you, again, for the opportunity to lend my amateur hand to the awesome WW community

justinpincar wrote:

1st ever lab rat review here...

I know very little about wine, but I know a lot about drinking. And this wine, friends, is an excellent choice for an everyday drink.

This review is a bit biased as well - I'm a huge fan of whites, and a gigantic fan of these cheap, "summertime", white blends. But I do think it's fair to say that this wine is objectively very tasty, and has solid quality for the price.

Like the other folks mentioned, it smells totally floral. Each sip tastes as good as it smells, bursting out with bright, juicy, and slightly tart apple, which stays with you throughout the drink. Also like the others described, I think lemongrass is a good way to describe the finish. It's slightly grassy... but not lawn clippings grassy... definitely smooth and still a bit of light, balanced sweetness.

I'm buying a case. :-)

Rockhawks1 wrote:

Lab Rat...Checking in. Better late than never. I apologize that I am so late with my post. Duty calls.

I decided to share this bottle with a few friends. Next up, we are opening the 2008 to see if it still has any life yet.

This wine was very tart at first taste. We all thought the wine was dominated by Sauv Blanc possibly being at least 60%. As it slowly warmed to room temperature, we all really noticed the chardonnay take over.

During the beginning we could smell some apple, grapefruit, and citrus. Taste started with grapefruit with some late buttery taste. As the wine warmed, the butter taste became stronger.

Our observation, if you like Sauv Blanc, serve chilled. If you prefer a more buttery chard, serve closer to room temperature.

Overal, this wine is ok. If this wine was more like $7, I think I would be in. $10 a bottle might be a little too much...

I am still on the fence if I am going to buy any. I will probably drink too much wine tonight and end up buying some anyways!!!

wrighai wrote:

LAB RAT REPORT

First...apologies for the late post. Between being stuck in the Cincinnati airport last night and fumbling around with FedEx all day (I nearly chased the FedEx guy down the street - he admired my "enthusiasm" to get my package), I didn't get the wine until this afternoon.

It's been quite a week for me, between the announcement of a big promotion AND my first golden ticket I feel like I have won the lottery!

Three of us tasted: Mom, Dad, and me. Mom and Dad both thought a little too sweet for their tastes - although all glasses did end up empty. I thought it a bit sweeter than I normally drink (for whites, I am a sauv blanc fan) but a lovely summer sipper for drinking poolside if it ever gets above 50* here in Chicago.

My first impression was more citrus - namely grapefruit then some apple. It was acidic and had an almost effervescent feel. All agreed that it had a great, smooth finish. As the wine warmed up I did note more of the buttery finish that another rat mentioned.

All in all, I thought it was quite tasty and bought a case. Thanks wine.woot for the chance to rat! On with the celebration!

rmruesch wrote:

Another Lab Rat checking in…hooray! Though I received the bottle on Thursday, I was super busy so my apologies on the late post.

I was having dinner with a few co-workers tonight so I thought that would be a fun way to get a few opinions on the wine. The group varied from one or two big time wine drinkers to a couple who have an occasional glass or two. Overall, I’d say the wine got good ratings. The one main thing EVERYone pointed out was that the wine was sweet, but not too sweet, just sweeter than they expected. Personally, I thought the acidity cut the sweetness extremely well which made for a very nice, balanced finish.

There was not a strong nose on it, but what you could smell at first was some light citrus, heavy on the grapefruit. The acidity really came through in the taste, giving the nod to the Sauv Blanc varietal. With a bite of food, I lost the flavor almost completely so I would definitely have this as a standalone wine. It really would make a great party wine (though personally I’d probably pour myself a glass and sit outside on a nice summer evening with a good book).

After letting it sit out for close to an hour, I retasted it. I definitely think the chardonnay started to become more pronounced and there was a much rounder feel to it. Once again, it washed out with food so I still stand by the fact that the wine would probably go best by itself.

To summarize, it was a crowd-pleaser with a sweet, but not too sweet taste. I think I would prefer it straight from the fridge, without letting it sit out too long. I’d say that if you are interested in a pleasant summer sipper, for a good price, you can’t go wrong with this one. I’ll definitely be purchasing some.

gtlemming wrote:

Another Lab Rat checking in! Sorry all for the lateness of the post, but the fiance and I cracked open the bottle last night and I hadn't had a second to sit down to post until now. We chilled the bottle for about an hour and opened it for a pre-dinner glass and then drank the rest with a cheese pizza.

I am a fan of the sweeter whites but the fiance not so much. She did not love it pre-dinner although after we started eating she liked it better. She commented that it was better at room temperature than straight from the fridge. I liked it from first sip. Definitely a summer one, and, we live in Florida, so it was perfect for the weather we have been having. I really liked it with the pizza, but I can see drinking this throughout the summer with all manner of summer foods (picnic food would be great). I could also see drinking this by itself (although I typically prefer wine with food), but it is a sweet, light wine that would be nice to sip by the pool.

When we first opened it, we both could taste the citrus notes and the taste of grapefruit. The smell was citrusy and bright. As the wine warmed, the buttery finish came through but when it was straight from the fridge it ended very clean and bright.

Woot wines are always an auto-buy for me and this was no exception. I would recommend this to those looking for a summer wine, something bright and clean and a little sweet that is perfect to enjoy during the summer heat!

Offer of 6/3/2011 -- Truchard Vineyards Tempranillo Mixed - 12 Pack



This offer's pack:
swmbo (2004)

swmbo wrote:

Lab Rat Right Before Bed

When I got the email letting me know I was a rat on Wednesday I was absolutely thrilled and more than a little terrified. What if my darling neighbor, who signs for my wine and mocks me when she thinks I'm ordering too much, isn't home to receive it? What if I get something I utterly hate? What if I utterly FAIL at giving an accurate description?! It's enough for Rat to need a glass of wine just to cope.

Fortunately at least on the first and second points, I was safe ... my neighbor signed with only minimal mockery and the wine was the 2004 Truchard Tempranillo. I haven't had a TON of Tempranillos, but I've enjoyed most of those that I've had, so I was very pleased.

It's been ridiculously hot, so when I got home, I put the bottle in the fridge for a short while, taking it out when it hit 66 degrees. I popped and poured. The first thing I noticed was it smelled absolutely delicious - a lot of red fruit on the nose, a hint of spice and cedar. Very heart-warming smelling to me, it made me think of Christmas. The wine's also a really gorgeous color, a deep red with a hint of purple.

I let it sit for about 15 minutes before trying it, mostly because I was sniffing it and typing up the above description before I tasted it and lost track of my impressions! The aromas faded over that time, still nice, but just a ghost of themselves.

On the first sip, I could taste a little vanilla, some red fruit (less than I expected, actually) There's very little heat in this wine, too, it's medium bodied and fairly smooth - the tannins are pleasantly mouth puckering at the finish but nothing overwhelming that suggests it needs a long decant or cellar time. Good, since I don't have that option!

Deceptively easy to drink, actually, because as I take a sip of it I am realizing it's the sort of wine I could keep refilling my glass with and next thing I know, the glass is empty. It's not a complicated wine, but it's balanced.

I had a couple of glasses over the space of the evening. With dinner - roasted chicken and vegetables - it was fine, but nothing exceptional. It didn't overwhelm the food and the food didn't overwhelm it.

An hour or two later on its own, it had really mellowed out and the fruit came forward, so it felt sweeter and slightly richer.

Drinking it toward the end of the evening, I'd basically decided that even though I was informally trying to avoid buying anything during summer shipping, if it ended up around 10 dollars a bottle, I'd seriously consider it. I figured it would be a great wine to drink when I didn't have anything particular in mind.

So I was pretty much shocked when it showed up for less than 7 w/shipping and snagged my case instantly. The other years would have to be *significantly* off for it not to be an amazing deal.

I have just under half the bottle left and I'll finish it up tomorrow - if there's any major change, I shall report back! I hope that helps *somebody*

swmbo wrote:Labrat PS

It's super ridiculously hot here (I don't understand why we couldn't have a spring this year!) so I turned the rest of the bottle into an impromptu post-work sangria.

And I can confirm that while it drinks wonderfully straight, it makes a very yummy sangria!

But now my bottle is gone and I am sad, my life, it is so hard Grats to all who snagged some, I hope you enjoy it! And if you don't, I'll take it off your hands :p

linygal76 wrote:Just had the 2005 Tenpranillo and poured some for my roommates. 1 gave a strange face but had ice cream right before. My other roommate with a more discernible pallet described it as sharp and has a long finish.

I can see why my roommate described it as sharp it since it's acidic and has a really long finish.

I was enjoying this with my cabbage salad and soft-shell crab dinner. Probably not the best pairing in the world for this wine but it worked well with the fatty part of the crab.

This wine would go GREAT with a creamy pasta or a nice fatty juicy cut of steak. The acidity of the wine would cut through the rich foods delightfully.

Man I need to get my hands on a nice juicy steak now.

zenisu wrote:A couple people were still asking about the labrats so I decided I had to post. Unfortunately, unlike SWMBO, my neighbor that signs for wine must have been out jogging because I didn't get it on Thursday. I was working from home on Friday, but the offering was sold out a couple hours before I even had it in my hands. I don't know how many labrats they pick for these, but I assume everyone else decided it wasn't needed anymore. The main point is to help convince other people to purchase, and if it sells out in record time, obviously we aren't needed to help convince people anymore. I hope you will see more of us reporting back on Monday's offering.

I was happy to be picked as a rat even though we don't drink wine all that often, so I can't add much that hasn't already been said. I'll give you a bit of background on our preferred drinks so you can weigh what I have to say. Flavored Rums and Vodka's are much more my speed. Wife doesn't drink often, but we do both like rieslings and other sweeter wine's. The dry reds aren't really our thing. I obviously picked up the Triacipidis that put me in the running for the labrat, but my previous woots were basically all the desert wines they have offered from esoterica, paeonia, v sattui riesling, and the hunt country late harvest/ice wine set.

So we are newbies to wine, and rarely drink more than one glass that somebody else brought. I can't give a lot of insight to this wine as it isn't really my style. I can concur on the vanilla notes, as well as it opens up a bit after sitting for a while. It is a very dark red and a little smoky/leathery/earthy. But it doesn't have so much going on in it that it would overpower whatever you're eating it with.

We both thought it was fine, but again both of us like sweeter white wines. If you like medium bodied slightly dry/acidic reds, then I'm sure you'll love this one.

Offer of 6/10/2011 -- Pellegrini Family Vineyards Mixed Case



3 2009 Pellegrini Family Russian River Pinot Noir
3 Pellegrini North Coast Family Blend (non vintage)
3 2007 Cloverdale Ranch Merlot
3 2009 Pellegrini Eight Cousins Zinfandel

This offer's pack:
sccr64472 (Family Blend - Flu Fail)
ablickle (Merlot)
jrebeccat (Family Blend)
scallywak (Pinot Noir)
Praxspop (Pinot Noir)
sftbll10 (Zinfandel)
firedan (Merlot)

ablickle wrote:

Novice lab rat comments - though "seasoned" wine drinkers.

WINE: 2007 Cloverdale Ranch Merlot, Alexander Valley

smells like wine - slight oak & berries... earthy scent. dark red; at first pour through our ever present wine aerator the wine seems to be more complex in flavor - not necessarily a drinking wine - more a sipping wine

we are big fans of Merlot and for me, the Alexander Valley in particular.

but very quickly the wine seems to be opening up and becoming smoother to drink, the complex earthy flavors are still there, just a little more blended.

We are not patient wine drinkers - we do not cellar or want to wait years to drink the wine...

And seriously within 30 minutes of opening and pouring this is excellent drinking wine not sipping wine.

What does fruit forward and other terminology mean - we don't know. But the wine is not too sweet, not too dry - really, just perfect (how cliche is that?!)


The wine goes really well with a variety of food even from milder fish to heartier meats. We are having french bread, salami (woot salami of course), fairly sharp cheese...

and sadly, the wine is now gone... in for 1 no room in the cellar, otherwise in for 3...

According to our notes we bought the last Pellegrini offering and very much enjoyed the Zinfandel 2008...

btw ablickle says "I really like the wine", but it's my awesome wife who runs the show... and in the end, it's good wine...

jrebeccat wrote:New Lab Rat here with a review of the Family Blend. Sorry it took so long, we lost power in the hail storm and just got it back.

4 out of 5 tasters said they liked this wine. We are a mix of red and white wine drinkers and the only hold out was a seriously tannin loving guy.

The initial bouquet is invitingly fruity. After pouring, the entire dining room filled with the rich berry scent. Light on the tannins, a bit on the sweet side, tons of berry flavor. It is a very smooth, easy drinking wine. Great for a mixed group of wine drinkers.

Edited to add- Reviews I'm now looking at say it would be good with grilled food and I totally agree. It would match very well.

scallywak wrote:*official lab rat report* for Pellegrini 2009 Pinot Noir.

Although I'm not really trained to "taste" wine, I can tell when I'm drinking a nice glass of wine, and when I'm NOT. So here goes:

Upon opening the bottle, there was a slightly yeasty smell, almost like an "aftersmell". Then I poured it into a glass and waited a few minutes. Took a whiff and it smelled very fruity - I can't say which fruit, but berries came to mind.

Then the first sip - wow, I really liked it, and I didn't expect to, because I usually enjoy Cabernets, or the Tuscan blends of sangiovese-cab-merlot.

So I can say that this is not a bold, strong wine with those peppery, spicy aftertastes, but it is still had a nice "after flavor".

And yes, I would buy this wine again. Thanks woot!

Praxspop wrote:2009 Pellegrini Family Russian River Pinot Noir

Long time Lurker, First time LabRat!! Thank you very much for LabRat-ing us. On hearing the news, the wife upgraded our dinner from leftovers-with-the-kids to ciabatta-and-manchego-for-adults-only. For what its worthy, my wife and I are casual wine consumers and we prefer Cabs to Pinots and Reds to Whites. The closest thing to a cellar in our home is the hall closet where a bottle of our favorites might, at the extremes, go a year without being drunk (e.g. Monkey Prize).

Upon opening the Pellegrini, our initial impressions were: light rosy coloring, woody aroma, an acidic but otherwise muted flavor, and a terrible head-ache inducing ambiance (the kids were in full-psycho mode).

Everything improved with time and aeration. We read several accounts on line that indicate “strawberries drizzled with balsamic vinegar” but our best guess for the pleasantly deepening aroma would have been cherries and something floral, perhaps roses. The flavor also seemed to mature, becoming bolder over 30-40 minutes. The kids went to bed.

Our second glass was enjoyable despite the moody return of our sleep-deprived three year old. I think this is just about the right price point (~10$/bottle) where we would be consider buying it in the future, although its not something we would rate among our favorites.

Gatzby wrote:Check your inbox -- cheron's famous!

I have not gotten a newsletter from woot in probably over a year. And yes, the box is checked in my account settings and it's not in my junk folder. Seems something is broken....hope you didn't try to send me any coupons.

Gatzby wrote:Check your inbox -- cheron's famous!

There's nothing from woot in my inbox.

Gatzby wrote:You might try unchecking, saving, logging out, back in, and adjusting preferences. I had that happen at some point too. I'm not sure the logging out is entirely necessary, but it can't hurt.

And they're still sending -- lotta people gotta get email!

Cool, thanks. Ill give it a try.

**Edit** Whoops....sorry for mucking up your forum If you really want I can edit this out and paste someone's lab rat for an upcoming woot. Just let me know

Gatzby wrote:Check your inbox -- cheron's famous!

Hey hey hey, quit messin' up my thread! Tryin' to keep it clean and organized in here, y'know.

sftbll10 wrote:
LAB RAT REPORT--------

Pellegrini Eight Cousins Vineyard, Russian River Zinfandel

Put it in my wine fridge for a bit, popped it and poured through the Vinturi...

I'm not very experienced with Zins, so I called a friend to come over, who just so happens to collect Zins. Here are our collective notes: Very tight, and we're not getting much on the nose at first other than alcohol. Eventually it opens up a bit, and I'm getting some cherry's on the nose and friend is getting cherry and "other" fruit as well. I take my first sip and I'm shocked that the mouth feel is so smooth, and surprisingly there is very little spice/pepper on the mid pallat. I'm getting flavors of cherry, raisins/figs, and although there is hardly any finish, I'm pleasantly surprised with this wine. I have never really liked Zins, but this one is so easy to drink. Does it compare to a top of the line Zin? Of course not. Is it a great deal for the price? YES! My only knocks on it are that it was a little bit disjointed, but despite that, it's a very drinkable wine.

We had some meats and cheeses with it, but honestly this is a Zin you could sip by itself, although I can picture pairing this with BBQ or something like that. It's not super spicy or over the top. It's a subtle wine, and most importantly it's not too sweet. Overall I thought it was ok, but I'm sure there are plenty of peeps out there that will really enjoy this wine. I wanted to try another glass last night, but I have to wait until tonight to give it another go...training for a triathlon, so I can only have one glass a night. I'll let you guys know if the wine is any different tonight.

Thank You Woot for letting me be a rat ;-)

firedan wrote:

Lab Report here

Pellegrini Cloverdale Ranch 2007 Merlot

So sorry for the delay but between work, and a computer problem I have been unable to report any sooner.

So this is my first lab rat offering, so I decided to cook dinner for my mother and sister due to the fact that my mother is kind enough to wait for Fedex to delivery my many wine woot shipments and thought it was time to include her in my love of wine.

So upon opening the wine, it was a dark beatiful shade of deep red and had a very strong alcohol smell to it, really not all that surprising.
Not really wainting to wait I did taste it right away and all I could really taste was the alcohol. My mother, and I should add who is not a wine drinker, was shocked by how strong the wine was and said she could feel it burn going down, like it was a shot of liquor. I told here we should let it set and it would be better.

After 30 to 45 minutes my sister arrived and we tried the wine again, by now it was good to go.
It was a fully bodied wine, will a earthy, oaky taste to it and a very smooth finish. I though it wsa by far one of the better reds I have gotten from wine woot. At this point my sister, who is also not a wine drinker, nor my mother could add any comments about the wine, but while I cooked my sister read a book about wine I had brought up for her.

My goal really was to see if my mother and sister could see how wine can go with food. So i made them cheeseburgers, I know very classy here, and sweet potato fries. And I have to say that they did taste a differnece with food, but at this point still there were no really good coments from them.

It was not untill we finished the meal with some chocolate cake, personally I think they were a little drunk at this point, that they both really started to like the wine. Upon eathing the cake with the wine they both looked up amazed that wine and food could really complement one another. They said that the wine made the chocolate so much better and the wine smoother.

After dinner they were both much more talkative and both came to the same conclusion that the wine was earthy and oaky, my sister also said that it was not a dry wine and she said she could taste rosemary in it. While not wine drinkers, I think that they both enjoyed it and my mother has even commented on buying some wine herself.

I had another friend just try it and he said that he has had worst but he has also had better, however I also came to the conclusion that he is a white or rose wine drinker and would have a glass of the merlot but its not something he would but on his own.

Bottom line, I was sold on the wine with the first taste, a nice earthy, oaky full bodied red wine. It was must better then others I have gotten here and for me worth the price. So thank you wine woot for the chance and I am really excited to try more wines from this company.

Offer of 6/17/2011 -- Meyer Family Port 500ml - 2 Pack



This offer's pack:
stills75
madpoet