oppsie wrote:I'm now really regretting going in for Twisted Oak last week -- the wallet is screaming. And yet it only took me about ten minutes of convincing myself to go in for two before I did it. I am pathetic. But at least I can drown my sorrows in SB juice now.

This post almost got my $$$!

Never underestimate the power of positive peer pressure.

Must. Stop. Reading.

yonj46 wrote:The 2000 Zin was the one that has me checking wine.woot every Monday.

That being said, I have been less than impressed with some of the more recent red offerings from Saxon, Zinfandels excluded. Still good solid wines, possibly a little on the high side price wise for the value delivered. If I wasn't sharing a wine club membership already I would pull the trigger as Jeff's Zinfandels are some of the best and what drove me deeper into wine.

Also to whoever is sitting on the 2000. I would crack it ASAP.I popped the original on Thanksgiving 06 and it rocked my world. However I waited over a year to crack the next one and it was on its way down.

Also for fans of Armida Poizin Jeff is a consulting wine maker there as well too, if I remember correctly. Not sure of the day to day activities and what wines he's involved in.

The 2000 also drove me into looking into the history of ZIN. I would highly recommend this book. Really gives you some insight into the grape and especially its history in CA

Zin: The History And Mystery Of Zinfandel

Also maybe the offering Thursday will include some of Saxon's Field Blended Semillon, Jeff other Label Black Kite Pinot, or maybe a nice bottle of 1996 Cinq Cepage from his days at Chateau St Jean?

Jeff, Could you speak to the 2005+ vintages. Rumors out of ZAP etc are that overall ZIn's are being made in a more restrained classical style, like Saxon and with lower alcohols. Seems like the marketplace is catching up with your approach.

Yonj46
I wish more Zins were made in a more classical style and not late harvest Zin calling itself by another name. I think a lot of the 2005s had a hard time being the big LH Zin and the many winemakers really don’t know how to make Zin any other way so many 05 are just odd.
Cheers
Jeff Gaffner
Saxon Brown Wines

HitAnyKey42 wrote:Looks like you need to update your spreadsheet Jwhite.

I think he's doing it now.

darisgin wrote:This post almost got my $$$!

Never underestimate the power of positive peer pressure.

Must. Stop. Reading.

Tell me about it. I never should have started reading the thread, and I need to stop before my willpower gives out. I can't afford it, it's way out of my normal price range, and I have no space for them. Maybe if I get busy enough this week, I'll just forget and delay often enough and before I know it Wednesday will pass by and the offer will be over....

HitAnyKey42 wrote:Tell me about it. I never should have started reading the thread, and I need to stop before my willpower gives out. I can't afford it, it's way out of my normal price range, and I have no space for them. Maybe if I get busy enough this week, I'll just forget and delay often enough and before I know it Wednesday will pass by and the offer will be over....

Keep reading and buy some.. your palette will thank you.

So will Jeff and the credit card of your choice.

jgaffner wrote:Hey Andy,
The 2001 Casa Santinamaira will be offered later this year to wine club members at $45 per btl plus discount.
Cheers
Jeff Gaffner
Saxon Brown Wines

Perfect, that's what I figured. You'll probably get more money from me then :-)

yonj46 wrote:Jeff could speak to the production, but in regards to finesse vs a punch in the mouth. Saxons style while powerful from a fruit point of view, is subtle and velvety. They exhibit all the characteristics of a great zin, strong black and blue fruit pepper etc but very well balanced.

His Zin's are one's not worth wasting on a summer bbq of short ribs.

So...what would you waste it on?

jgaffner wrote:Hey Andy,
The 2001 Casa Santinamaira will be offered later this year to wine club members at $45 per btl plus discount.
Cheers
Jeff Gaffner
Saxon Brown Wines

No! NO! Nononononononono! Do NOT appeal to my innate, uh, "frugalité" (a.k.a. value oriented, tightwad, cheapazz...), no do NOT appeal to the DEAL!

Must. Stop. Reading!

fairnymph wrote:If I loved PoiZin, am I likely to love this Zin?

I haven't had the 2001, but the '99 and '00s are a different style than the Poizin, the remarks when the '00 was offered on here was that it was "Cab-like" in structure. It's less fruit-forward than the Poizin. In my opinion, it's a much more interesting wine.

The age on this bottle is also going to affect it: Jeff remarked at one point that the '00 was beginning to remind him of an aged Italian wine like a Brunello or a Barolo. Perhaps he can talk about the '01, but back in January PencilThief and I had the '99, the '00 and a late '90s Brunello and Barolo one wonderful, wonderful evening to test Jeff's assertions. There were definitely some similarities, and the Zins were terrific (I loved the '99, PencilThief loved the '00).

jgaffner wrote:Yonj46
I wish more Zins were made in a more classical style and not late harvest Zin calling itself by another name. I think a lot of the 2005s had a hard time being the big LH Zin and the many winemakers really don’t know how to make Zin any other way so many 05 are just odd.
Cheers
Jeff Gaffner
Saxon Brown Wines

Jeff, Thanks. I 100% agree with you. I think what also turns people off/makes it tough to sell, is that alot of wine rags prefer that style an score accordingly. Thus driving the retailers to push those high zins.

I know TIm Fish Likes the over the top Zins and has issued a " If I want elegance I'll drink Pinot". Which is fine but not when scoring and affecting sales. However hope he is objective enough to recognize a great Zin yet not like it. However he was less than kind to th 04 Saxon Parmalee

Any thoughts? Also have you had either of the 2 classic scoring ones? Carlisle or linn calodo.

As an aside, I don't love the point system, just a point of reference.

oppsie wrote:So...what would you waste it on?

I would waste it on a nice tri-tip. Sear it, grill it over indirect heat

put a nice rub on it. not too much spice as to overwhelm the wine.

this is one I've made in the paste. 86 the sauce, maybe use a dash of your favorite steaksauce and 86 waygu beef. Also add a dash of maybe smoke paprika or cayenne to the rub for a slight kick.

Tri-Tip

I can vouch for that book as well, great for summertime cooking.

welcome back to the nuthouse Jeff.

Can we have some specifics on these guys, specifically the zin. Alcohol %, Brix, appelation, what color sneakers you were wearing during harvest. You know, the usual.

OK, everyone has convinced me that the zin is the eighth wonder of the world. It sounds terrific, and in the style I prefer for zins.

But how about the Syrah?

I'll throw my voice into the common song of getting the 2000 zin and being blown away and thus jumping in for two on this offering - but my wallet doesn't thank you at all. No sir. ;)

jmanlp wrote:This spreadsheet is very helpful. Doesn't look like a very good deal to me, I come her to save some cash money.

OK -- I have updated the spreadsheet to include shipping costs (some assumptions are necessary for this, and these are called out in the spreadsheet).

You can find the new version of the spreadsheet here.

As already suspected, when shipping is included, the numbers become much more in line with what we are used to seeing around here. Considering that both of these wines were made in such small quantities, and that at least the Zin is only available through w.w right now, shipping from Saxon Brown is even more relevant than offers for which the wines may be more widely available.

As always, comments welcome.

Saxon Brown - Two Pack
Current numbers (updated each minute):
First sucker: mill
Speed to first woot: 0m 5.703s

Last wooter to woot: hockeyhabit

In for 2 only because there is more coming this week. Can't wait to see what is next. I love Saxon Brown!

jgaffner wrote:Hey Andy,
The 2001 Casa Santinamaira will be offered later this year to wine club members at $45 per btl plus discount.
Cheers
Jeff Gaffner
Saxon Brown Wines

Thanks Jeff ... once more, updated the spreadsheet to reflect this price. This has quickly turned from a "really, woot, this is just about retail price," to "Holy cow! How do you make any money on this?"

yonj46 wrote:Jeff, Thanks. I 100% agree with you. I think what also turns people off/makes it tough to sell, is that alot of wine rags prefer that style an score accordingly. Thus driving the retailers to push those high zins.

I know TIm Fish Likes the over the top Zins and has issued a " If I want elegance I'll drink Pinot". Which is fine but not when scoring and affecting sales. However hope he is objective enough to recognize a great Zin yet not like it. However he was less than kind to th 04 Saxon Parmalee

Any thoughts? Also have you had either of the 2 classic scoring ones? Carlisle or linn calodo.

As an aside, I don't love the point system, just a point of reference.

Who are you?

Really, I must know!

Hi Jeff,

Thanks for bringing Saxon Brown back. I am in for three. I am planning on being up in Sonoma on July 4th, Napa the week after. I hope to be able to stop by during my jaunt.

Kevin

yonj46 wrote:Jeff, Thanks. I 100% agree with you. I think what also turns people off/makes it tough to sell, is that alot of wine rags prefer that style an score accordingly. Thus driving the retailers to push those high zins.

I know TIm Fish Likes the over the top Zins and has issued a " If I want elegance I'll drink Pinot". Which is fine but not when scoring and affecting sales. However hope he is objective enough to recognize a great Zin yet not like it. However he was less than kind to th 04 Saxon Parmalee

Any thoughts? Also have you had either of the 2 classic scoring ones? Carlisle or linn calodo.

As an aside, I don't love the point system, just a point of reference.

ah carlisle carlisle carlisle, my zin arch nemesis.

jwhite6114 wrote:Who are you?

Really, I must know!

The details of my life are quite inconsequential.... Very well, where do I begin? My father was a relentlessly self-improving boulangerie owner from Belgium with low-grade narcolepsy and a penchant for buggery. My mother was a 15-year-old French prostitute named Chloe with webbed feet. My father would womanize; he would drink. He would make outrageous claims like he invented the question mark. Sometimes, he would accuse chestnuts of being lazy. The sort of general malaise that only the genius possess and the insane lament..

No one. Just an avid wine drinker, big time woot lurker. It sure does seem like I work for ZAP or Jeff but I don't.

yonj46 wrote:The details of my life are quite inconsequential.... Very well, where do I begin? My father was a relentlessly self-improving boulangerie owner from Belgium with low-grade narcolepsy and a penchant for buggery. My mother was a 15-year-old French prostitute named Chloe with webbed feet. My father would womanize; he would drink. He would make outrageous claims like he invented the question mark. Sometimes, he would accuse chestnuts of being lazy. The sort of general malaise that only the genius possess and the insane lament..

No one. Just an avid wine drinker, big time woot lurker. It sure does seem like I work for ZAP or Jeff but I don't.

Chestnuts are lazy, but your recent (only) posts sound like you have more than a casual connection to "things wineish". Whatever your heritage, your input is appreciated!

yonj46 wrote:The details of my life are quite inconsequential.... Very well, where do I begin? My father was a relentlessly self-improving boulangerie owner from Belgium with low-grade narcolepsy and a penchant for buggery. My mother was a 15-year-old French prostitute named Chloe with webbed feet. My father would womanize; he would drink. He would make outrageous claims like he invented the question mark. Sometimes, he would accuse chestnuts of being lazy. The sort of general malaise that only the genius possess and the insane lament..

No one. Just an avid wine drinker, big time woot lurker. It sure does seem like I work for ZAP or Jeff but I don't.

Dr. Evil?? Is that you?

andyduncan wrote:I haven't had the 2001, but the '99 and '00s are a different style than the Poizin, the remarks when the '00 was offered on here was that it was "Cab-like" in structure. It's less fruit-forward than the Poizin. In my opinion, it's a much more interesting wine.

The age on this bottle is also going to affect it: Jeff remarked at one point that the '00 was beginning to remind him of an aged Italian wine like a Brunello or a Barolo. Perhaps he can talk about the '01, but back in January PencilThief and I had the '99, the '00 and a late '90s Brunello and Barolo one wonderful, wonderful evening to test Jeff's assertions. There were definitely some similarities, and the Zins were terrific (I loved the '99, PencilThief loved the '00).

Thanks for this reply - very helpful! I definitely loved the heavy fruit in PoiZin, but I'm also a fan of Cabs. Not quite as much as Zins; my top ranking of reds sort of goes Petit Verdot, Petite Sirah, Zin, Montepulciano Di Vino Nobile, Cab...but there is not a lot of space between my those, it's tight at the top!

I am by no means anything resembling knowledgeable with the exception of Tuscan reds (cooking school overviewed them when I was there)...so those comments couldn't be more useful for me! I mean, you combine Supertuscan with a Zin - something a bit hard for me to imagine, but fascinating - and wow, it's gotta be good!

*hmm, should I order another set?*

yonj46 wrote:The details of my life are quite inconsequential.... Very well, where do I begin? My father was a relentlessly self-improving boulangerie owner from Belgium with low-grade narcolepsy and a penchant for buggery. My mother was a 15-year-old French prostitute named Chloe with webbed feet. My father would womanize; he would drink. He would make outrageous claims like he invented the question mark. Sometimes, he would accuse chestnuts of being lazy. The sort of general malaise that only the genius possess and the insane lament..

No one. Just an avid wine drinker, big time woot lurker. It sure does seem like I work for ZAP or Jeff but I don't.

Ahaahahhaaha! I love you! <3 Dr. Evil/Austin Powers/absurdity <3

jwhite6114 wrote:Chestnuts are lazy, but your recent (only) posts sound like you have more than a casual connection to "things wineish". Whatever your heritage, your input is appreciated!

Thanks.I can only dream of having bigger connections. I am fortunate enough to live in Texas with its liberal shipping policy. Also I worked in Fine dining for awhile and now my brother owns a restaurant. Lastly I have a great local wine shop called Farpointe Cellars that has a great bar and some highly allocated wines. Other than that its lost productivity reading blogs etc and watching WLTV.

I'll try to stay more involved, though I don't like posting when i am not familiar with scene

hmmm. Saxon Brown. the only wine.woot-introduced winery that has blown me away to the point that i joined (& am still a member of) its Moon Valley Wine Club. (*) yet i have neither of these lovelies in my cellar. so the real question is:

in for 1?
in for 2?
in for 3?

decisions, decisions, decisions...

(*) Wellington also fits this bill, but isn't w.w essentially the equivalent of having joined SB's wine club? were that ever to change...

Kinda disappointed, absolutely no Wooters in my state, Arizona, bought this!

Jeff or whomever knows about the 2001 zin:

What makes this zin worth the cost? This would be the most expensive zin I've purchased (Im more of a Cab, PS and Pinot fan) and I don't really know what I would be getting into.

Thanks in advance.

yonj46 wrote:Thanks.I can only dream of having bigger connections. I am fortunate enough to live in Texas with its liberal shipping policy. Also I worked in Fine dining for awhile and now my brother owns a restaurant. Lastly I have a great local wine shop called Farpointe Cellars that has a great bar and some highly allocated wines. Other than that its lost productivity reading blogs etc and watching WLTV.

I'll try to stay more involved, though I don't like posting when i am not familiar with scene

Do you mostly hang at the Frisco or Southlake store?

jwhite6114 wrote:Chestnuts are lazy, but your recent (only) posts sound like you have more than a casual connection to "things wineish".

heh.

Tehh4x wrote:Kinda disappointed, absolutely no Wooters in my state, Arizona, bought this!

And what's up with IDAHO?

And CT heat comes from us New Englanders having to make new friends... no ship to MA, ME, or NH (?!)...

yonj46 wrote:Thanks.I can only dream of having bigger connections. I am fortunate enough to live in Texas with its liberal shipping policy. Also I worked in Fine dining for awhile and now my brother owns a restaurant. Lastly I have a great local wine shop called Farpointe Cellars that has a great bar and some highly allocated wines. Other than that its lost productivity reading blogs etc and watching WLTV.

I'll try to stay more involved, though I don't like posting when i am not familiar with scene

We have no scene, we're pretty much come as you are, as you were, as I want you to be around here. Post frequently, our one rule being if you're gonna be off topic try to be so in the Cyberpub. Though obviously we don't do the best job of being on topic round these parts.

darisgin wrote:And what's up with IDAHO?

And CT heat comes from us New Englanders having to make new friends... no ship to MA, ME, or NH (?!)...

I am so pathetic at geography I thought ID was COLORADO. *headdesk*

At least I knew VA was VA. I am sad to see NY so poorly underrepresented.

Btw, I need to buy an 18-30 bottle wine cooler for under $200 that is decent - is that possible and any suggestions?

Hot diggety daffodil! Saxon Brown Zin! But.. only a deal when considering shipping. My liver and my wallet are hurting right now.

In for two.

fairnymph wrote:I am so pathetic at geography I thought ID was COLORADO. *headdesk*

At least I knew VA was VA. I am sad to see NY so poorly underrepresented.

Btw, I need to buy an 18-30 bottle wine cooler for under $200 that is decent - is that possible and any suggestions?

Someone posted a link to one in the pub at Target. Take a peek over there.

fairnymph wrote:I am so pathetic at geography I thought ID was COLORADO. *headdesk*

At least I knew VA was VA. I am sad to see NY so poorly underrepresented.

Btw, I need to buy an 18-30 bottle wine cooler for under $200 that is decent - is that possible and any suggestions?

Stalk craigslist. Or check the World of w.w forums, there was a thread the other day on something being clearanced at Target.

bhodilee wrote:Someone posted a link to one in the pub at Target. Take a peek over there.

I've got that one, and it's pretty darn good.

oppsie wrote:Stalk craigslist. Or check the World of w.w forums, there was a thread the other day on something being clearanced at Target.

I have emailed FIVE people in the past 3 days on CL posting quality coolers at good prices and NOT A SINGLE ONE has responded.

Since I don't have a car and live in NYC, transport outside of boroughs/cabs is a problem, too. There is a Target in Brooklyn though I think.

paryb wrote:I've got that one, and it's pretty darn good.

Which brand/bottle size is it? *goes to search for this 'pub' thing*