Krugsters wrote:(PS Vinturi was also from Shamer, Cesare & Kttest )

Well the Shamer half of that comment was implied. And no one told me Cesare & Ktest also contributed towards it. So....THANK YOU X4!!

jwhite6114 wrote:Slick ... starting the begging before the next order!

I'm a man with a plan.

llo

spdrcr05 wrote:Wow... what's the line about never following a better comedian? With my extreme lack of tech savvy, my lack of pictures is going to seem VERY anti-climactic.

Overall, a very good wine that IMHO shows some great aging potential. I'm glad I'm in for 3, especially considering the number sold here, the lack of availability from the winery, and the demonstrated rising prices from some of the retailers as discussed earlier in the thread.

Loweeel... not that my opinion matters much... tomorrow, forget 30 minutes... take a taste at 60... and go from there.

This was a very good rattage as well, spdrcr. I very much was happy to see that a lot of the things I got out of the wine were the same things you guys said about it. I couldn't place raspberries, but I did know there was something more than just blackberry and just couldn't figure it out. Probably because I don't really eat raspberry much as it's a fruit I don't really care for.

And yes, I agree. Decant for 60 before truly starting.

HitAnyKey42 wrote:Well the Shamer half of that comment was implied. And no one told me Cesare & Ktest also contributed towards it. So....THANK YOU X4!!

It was on the card, babe.

I do not know how I can follow up these excellent reviews. When it comes to wine knowledge, I am just a pauper, but I shall try my best. First off I would like to thank spdrcr for his hospitality and generosity. As tripgrad and spdrcr mentioned the bottle was decanted for an hour before the first pour. It had a powerful deep black fruit nose to it and maybe a little bit of licorice on it and was a beautiful deep garnet color. Also noted already the wine had great legs but a little deceptive with it being so early. The first sip also pulled at my tongue and cheeks. With the great legs and puckering action I felt as if I was being embraced by Okoi from Basilisk. I tasted dark cherry and black pepper. The cheese that was provided by tripgrad helped to tame the tannins a bit. After the kabobs were done we were ready for our second glass. The wine had decanted now for an hour and a half. It was much tamer than the first glass. The wine was now a bit smoother and the bouquet was more pronounced. The raspberries were pronounced now but the black pepper was still there. The licorice had seemed to subside. Overall it was a very good red and for those that were able to buy I do not think you’ll be disappointed.

Now I’ll attempt to do some pairings with this wine. Food is so overdone so I’ll continue with what I started with SakeGuy2 and do movies and music.
Pairings:
Decanted after only 1 hour:
Music: Because of the tannic nature and my personal preference for low to no tannins I would have to go with something somewhat annoying but still catchy and likeable. So I’ll go with jwhite’s favorite band – Hanson - mmmbop. If you are a lover of the tannins then I would suggest Tool – Forty Six & 2.
Movie: Initially it’s a grinding assault on your mouth so I would select Robocop: Unrated Director’s Cut.

Decanted after an hour and a half:
Music: I would suggest Soundgarden – 4th of July. I have no valid reason it just seems to go with it.
Movie: The movie selection is also based on the 1 hour taste. The movie had to be about a guy who personified bravado and failed initially but in the end after another half-hour of decanting came back and overcame his trial and tribulations. So I am selecting The Hustler for the movie to pair this best with.

Krugsters wrote:It was on the card, babe.

Uhhh, woops! Guess I didn't fully read the last few words on the card. There was a bit of chaos going on at the start of the tasting, so I only skimmed it at that time I guess. llo

aces219 wrote:Hey, Friday is my bday too! Only I will be 27.

Sunday is my 27th.

Winedavid39 wrote:noted..

and Loweel, take your time and enjoy this one..... this may be it for a while.

damn right it ought to be. I was a labrat for Donati and then never again. People left and right are labratting multiple times.

Loweeel wrote:This is #3, I believe -- I was a beta labrat with the donati merlot, then PSPS, now this. To be fair, if I get it on every other PS, and nothing else, I'm deliriously happy.

Not to toot my own horn too much, but when it comes to PS, I have a bit of exPertiSe. If my oPinionS on the offering help sell more wine, then it's a rational decision by WD to help move an offering, or to get an early take on how it stands up to other PS.

I'm in fairly August company, as it often happens with RPM, though he's not more-or-less confined to one variety like I am.

i should be getting a labrat for every single cab i purchase then under this basis.

clayfu wrote:i should be getting a labrat for every single cab i purchase then under this basis.

Every? Check your math. I've gotten each and every PS offering since the program, and been ratted on 2 of the 7.

You should also check your logic, as you're comparing apples to rocky mountain oysters. I'm probably the most knowledgeable about and experienced with this variety on here (with the possible exception of rpm, but he doesn't post much about it), followed closely by TMR and Sparky. In addition to those two, I've inspired quite a number of others to start drinking it, in part due to my good recommendations on "gatewa6 PS" and in part because it's not a particularly widely-consumed variety nor one with which most people are familiar. Even most of the people I know who drink a fair bit of red wine of various types from a number of areas--like my parents, until about 18 months ago--are more likely to say "what's that?" or "isn't that the same thing as shiraz?" when I mention that I like Petite Sirah. Most people don't know what it is, what it tastes like, where it comes from, or how good the QPR is.

I don't think you fit either of those criteria -- there are a number of people much more versed than you in the ways of cab (nallie, rpm, just the first 2 to pop into mind). I don't deny that you have a special and sensitive palate; but that's not what I'm saying. I'm saying that I have, at least among the people who frequent this board, a unique set of comparators. Cabernet doesn't fit the criteria of PS -- I can compare this PS to the others that are widely available, others that I've had, and all the others that woot has offered.

But in contrast, I daresay that everybody who drinks red wine has heard of Cab (along with Pinot and Merlot), and that just every non-newbie red drinker has a decent grasp of the cab characteristics and has had a few, even if they go onto other things. They might not know its QPR, but they know what it is. Due to its ubiquity, popularity, and traditional pairings, most people "cut their wine teeth" on cab, me being among them. But nobody *starts* with PS.

Nor am I saying that an endorsement from you won't sell quite a bit of wine -- we've all seen what happens on the rare occasion that you have something positive to say about an offering. But at least compared to me and ps, you're making a qpr/value/quality statement in your notes; I feel like I'm pushing a grape.

In short: You may be a pretty big fish in the ocean, but I'm a small fish in a smaller pond (or perhaps a particularly large aquarium), and I'm damn near the top of the food chain. I can say a lot more about my environment, due to its smaller scope and the lack of company in it, than you can about yours.

clayfu wrote:damn right it ought to be. I was a labrat for Donati and then never again. People left and right are labratting multiple times.

Most of them also purchase from wine.woot more frequently than you do.

I don't think you fit either of those criteria -- there are a number of people much more versed than you in the ways of cab (nallie, rpm, just the first 2 to pop into mind). I don't deny that you have a special and sensitive palate; but that's not what I'm saying.

so not true. We're doing new world cab here, that's all we're doing... we aren't doing aged cab from pre-prohibition (RPM) but wines produced in california in the past 3-4 years. I will put my hand down right now that there is no one on this board as well versed when it comes to the wide spectrum of california cabernet from the last 5 years, and that's not trying to attack the knowledge or experience of the people you listed. Drinking, exchanging thoughts and comments with people about Cali Cabs constantly. From Cult cabs to amazing QPR to.. plonk I've invested huge amounts of money and time. No one, i mean NO ONE is more in tune on this board with great new world cabs.

I dare say i've drank over 100 bottles of California Cabernet this summer (albeit mostly higher end $100+ cabs, but there were definitely $40-100 wines in there as well)

btw 2 out of 7 is better than my 0-4 for cabs.

okay... I'm snickering as I type this... In the immortal words of one Rodney King, "Can't we all just get along?"

spdrcr05 wrote:okay... I'm snickering as I type this... In the immortal words of one Rodney King, "Can't we all just get along?"

ah rodney king.

Wow. Just wow. Mad props, WD. This is an I HAVEN'T BATHED IN DAYS, utterly inspired selection.

Details forthcoming.

9/24/08 -- Titus Lot 1 -- 65/30/5

45 mins in decanter. Nose: predominantly black raspberry liqueur, with white flowers, hints of molasses, vanilla, and nutmet on the nose.

Very dense. No heat. AMAZINGLY dense -- more impenetrable than the Ursa. Incredibly structured, initiall hint of confectionary, then some smoky meat.

This wine frakking COATS THE frakking GLASS. Legs nicer than Tricia Helfer's. Wawaweewa!

The tannins are very noticeable, but they're very integrated and chewy, not stand-alone liquid sandpaper.

Very distinct transitions between attack, mid-palate, and finish. this wine is something special, folks.

65 mins: the nose is jammier, more liqueur, more blackberry. White pepper and black pepper on the finish balancing the nutmeg and molasses, with hints of baking spice. This is getting more complex and awesome.

90 mins: The finish turns to black cherry.

105 mins: here come the tannins.

This is a massive, elegant, integrated wine. It will pair wonderfull with things with a hint of sweetness like bbq ribs or burgers or brisket. I would give this at least 2 more year; it isn't quite ready yet. Though it got very well integrated, and is excellent, it will only get better.

if you bought this, hang on for a few years.

HitAnyKey42 wrote:So I got home just before 4:30 pm EST...popped open the bottle as we started to get the steaks and other things ready. After a few minutes, poured the first two glasses through my nice new Vinturi aerator (thanks again Krugsters! ).....


Then even before doing the first sniffy-sniff or tasting, I prepared the steaks. Rubbed on a mix of crushed fresh garlic and a garlic/rosemary mix, then coated the steaks with Kosher salt to sit for the next half hour...


Then poured about half the bottle into my lovely WD Decanter...


While my mom was slicing up an eggplant, a pepper, and an onion...I quickly prepared a simple cheese/quince platter from the leftovers from the Sat tasting party:


As Cheron asked me to state exactly how it was prepared, this is what we did for the eggplant to be grilled. Put the slices of eggplant and pepper in a baggie and sprinkled with ground garlic sea salt and some olive oil and a dash of balsamic vinaigrette dressing. Shook it up in the bag and then put it on the grill.
Then in a frying pan, we sauteed some homegrown red & white onions and mushrooms in a little olive oil.
The steaks had the kosher salt washed off, then dried, then tossed on the grill. And I put a little bit of McCormick's Montreal seasoning on them while they were cooking.
Sliced up the steak, poured the onion/mushrooms over it, served up the eggplant/pepper mixture and viola!!


So the steak turned out absolutely amazing, tasting great and being one of the most tender steaks any of us had ever had. Mom was blown away at how much the Kosher salt did for it (and now plans to do the same thing for some lamb she has).

But anyway, on to the important thing and why you are all reading this lovely novel/picturebook I'm writing....THE WINE!!!

The color is a nice deep garnet red, though when held up directly to the light brings out a nice glowing bright red. Interesting contrast between light directly behind it or not. The legs of this wine are long long stretching beautiful legs that you would love to have wrapped around you in a loving embrace of bodily flesh (too graphic?...well, too bad...that's what you get from my mind ).
I took my first sniff-sniff and taste of the wine probably after it had been in my glass (after going through the Vinturi) for at least 15-20 minutes. There was some initial heat and very little fruit on the nose, which I expected with it still being so soon. I was surprised however, that it only had moderate tannins. Yes, the cheeks did pucker up a bit with some swishing in the mouth, but not as much as some other wines I've had that were decanted even longer. Must be the Petit Verdot that helps balance it.
Some fruit started surfacing after about an hour (I think I was still on that first glass and hadn't moved onto the decanter'd wine yet, but I could be wrong as I didn't mark that in my notes). It's not blueberry, that much I could tell. I'm thinking more a dark blackberry. Definite hints of spice on both the nose and palate. Maybe a slight floral bouquet, and the heat has subsided almost entirely. It has a very nice long finish.
While finishing up with some of the last bits of dinner, still had a bit of the Manchego cheese & quince and this was rather tasty with the wine. It would certainly go great paired with some nice sharp cheese and quince.

After a bit over two hours or so, the wine was really opening up. Still quite robust and smooth, flavors and nose integrating nicely and still having a nice long finish.

This was a fabulous bottle (which I still have almost half left for tomorrow...and half a steak...maybe a stir fry tomorrow) and I'm so very thankful for WD sending it over to me. I personally plan to wait at least a year and a half or two before I open up my first bottle, and will try to hold onto my other bottle to see how well it's doing 6-10 years from now. I now wish I had gone in for 3 AND gifted myself some.

BRAVO TITUS!!!

Phenomenal effort! I'm thrilled to hear that the LOT 1 met your expectations and hope you continue to have fun with your Vinturi aerator. We have one at the Titus family Ranch House that we play with from time to time, I'm not sure I'm completely down with the noise, it can kind of be distracting, but LOVE the outcome.

Loweeel wrote:9/24/08 -- Titus Lot 1 -- 65/30/5

45 mins in decanter. Nose: predominantly black raspberry liqueur, with white flowers, hints of molasses, vanilla, and nutmet on the nose.

Very dense. No heat. AMAZINGLY dense -- more impenetrable than the Ursa. Incredibly structured, initiall hint of confectionary, then some smoky meat.

This wine frakking COATS THE frakking GLASS. Legs nicer than Tricia Helfer's. Wawaweewa!

The tannins are very noticeable, but they're very integrated and chewy, not stand-alone liquid sandpaper.

Very distinct transitions between attack, mid-palate, and finish. this wine is something special, folks.

65 mins: the nose is jammier, more liqueur, more blackberry. White pepper and black pepper on the finish balancing the nutmeg and molasses, with hints of baking spice. This is getting more complex and awesome.

90 mins: The finish turns to black cherry.

105 mins: here come the tannins.

This is a massive, elegant, integrated wine. It will pair wonderfull with things with a hint of sweetness like bbq ribs or burgers or brisket. I would give this at least 2 more year; it isn't quite ready yet. Though it got very well integrated, and is excellent, it will only get better.

if you bought this, hang on for a few years.

Impressive patience and detail, I'm glad the wine delivered all along the way and hope you continue to enjoy this wine over the years. It's great that you have a record of these notes/experience to refer to whenever the next go around occurs - again, cheers!

HitAnyKey42 wrote:Emily, I wanted to chime in with everyone else thanking you for your participation (what is your actual area of involvement with the winery, btw, as I don't think I saw an "official" introduction ) and all the great information you've provided so far. I couldn't help but go in on this offer, after holding back on the previous month's worth of woots, for multiple reasons. The main one being that I kept telling WD to put up a great offer for my birthday week, and he apparently listened as PS has become one of my favorite varietals and this one sounds simply sublime. I very much look forward to trying it, and then cellaring one for awhile.

I do have one additional followup question with regards to cellaring. Now I know you don't have a long enough history (this only being your 7th year of it) to know for sure, but do you and the winemakers believe that Petite Sirah wines have a dumb period where the wine declines for a handful of years before coming out of it's shell to become extra superb? I believe it was Kent Rasmussen who feels that happens right around the 10 year mark, and then really opens up again after another 3-5 years?

Eric and I discussed this for a bit and the take home message is that Petite Sirah has inherently powerful tannins and is more acidic than other red varietals. It can only benefit from extended aging because of this. Depending on the winemaking style and/or growing season this may be the necessary amount of time needed to have the tannins and acid come into balance with all the other parts of the wine. Because the tannins are so massive, Eric and Phillip have slightly departed from perhaps the traditional way of making Petite Sirah by removing the juice from the skins earlier than "normal," before fermentation is complete. It's kind of a less is more approach so that the fruit can shine through more and the finish gets some extra length and complexity. It's the Titus version of finessing this varietal. As for waiting for the 10 year mark exactly, of course you're going to taste a different wine than you would now but I don't feel that the wine will be shut down at times or too overpowering before then. Thanks for your patience with this reply and hope you enjoy the wine whenever you decide to open it.

HitAnyKey42 wrote:

...believe that Petite Sirah wines have a dumb period where the wine declines for a handful of years before coming out of it's shell to become extra superb? I believe it was Kent Rasmussen who feels that happens right around the 10 year mark, and then really opens up again after another 3-5 years?

I was so curious about this comment from the recent tasting we had in NY/LI I brought this up in a discussion at the International Wine Center. Thus ensued a lively debate.
Quickly, I'll share a bit of what was discussed:
KR was acknowledged by all to be an exceptional winemaker and extremely reputable source but the jury is still out on this one.
Since 98% of wine out there is meant to be consumed young, most wines are not meant to be cellared for a considerable amount of time. They just don't have the structure to hold up to aging. Only wines like the best Bordeauxs, Burgundies, Riojas, etc do. Basically that's 20 years and sometimes longer than that.
As for the dumbing down this is usually only referred to the best Bordeauxs and there is still disagreement even about them whether they do in fact have a dumb period.
The director of the Center personally does not believe in the dumbing down theory. All wines whether young or old move on a upward rise, level off and then start to fall. She said that most likely the bottle that KR was referring to was most likely the exception rather than the rule.

HitAnyKey42 wrote:

...believe that Petite Sirah wines have a dumb period where the wine declines for a handful of years before coming out of it's shell to become extra superb? I believe it was Kent Rasmussen who feels that happens right around the 10 year mark, and then really opens up again after another 3-5 years?

I was so curious about this comment from the recent tasting we had in NY/LI I brought this up in a discussion at the International Wine Center. Thus ensued a lively debate.
Quickly, I'll share a bit of what was discussed:
KR was acknowledged by all to be an exceptional winemaker and extremely reputable source but the jury is still out on this one.
Since 98% of wine out there is meant to be consumed young, most wines are not meant to be cellared for a considerable amount of time. They just don't have the structure to hold up to aging. Only wines like the best Bordeauxs, Burgundies, Riojas, etc do. Basically that's 20 years and sometimes longer than that.
As for the dumbing down this is usually only referred to the best Bordeauxs and there is still disagreement even about them whether they do in fact have a dumb period.
The director of the Center personally does not believe in the dumbing down theory. All wines whether young or old move on a upward rise, level off and then start to fall. She said that most likely the bottle that KR was referring to was most likely the exception rather than the rule.

Krugsters wrote:I was so curious about this comment from the recent tasting we had in NY/LI I brought this up in a discussion at the International Wine Center. Thus ensued a lively debate.
Quickly, I'll share a bit of what was discussed:
KR was acknowledged by all to be an exceptional winemaker and extremely reputable source but the jury is still out on this one.
Since 98% of wine out there is meant to be consumed young, most wines are not meant to be cellared for a considerable amount of time. They just don't have the structure to hold up to aging. Only wines like the best Bordeauxs, Burgundies, Riojas, etc do. Basically that's 20 years and sometimes longer than that.
As for the dumbing down this is usually only referred to the best Bordeauxs and there is still disagreement even about them whether they do in fact have a dumb period.
The director of the Center personally does not believe in the dumbing down theory. All wines whether young or old move on a upward rise, level off and then start to fall. She said that most likely the bottle that KR was referring to was most likely the exception rather than the rule.

KR based his comment on not just one bottle, but instead his consumption of a large amount of very well-aged PS. He detailed it in the first of his threads on here, IIRC.

EDIT: found it!

Loweeel wrote:KR based his comment on not just one bottle, but instead his consumption of a large amount of very well-aged PS. He detailed it in the first of his threads on here, IIRC.

EDIT:
found it!

Thanks for that link, very interesting read.

For me, personally, I can't speak either way about the dumbing phase for wines, I don't have enough years/experience on this issue.
So far, I've heard from 2 credible sources on this but would like to test this out myself.
I don't dwell in the realm of theory but tend to hang out on the practical side.
I guess the only way to do this is to buy a case or two of the same wine and taste a bottle every 2 years or so.
So, working the numbers, I'll be about 80. Then I'll know for sure.

Winedavid39 wrote:Told you it would be worth the wait...

As usual, you were right. And found a great value to boot, even at that price.

Just want to ask what is going on with the shipping on this one. I still haven't received a tracking number. Not in a real rush, just want to know what is up.

damightyanteater wrote:Just want to ask what is going on with the shipping on this one. I still haven't received a tracking number. Not in a real rush, just want to know what is up.

Haven't gotten one either yet. And unless they shipped today, since I will be out of town (in Seattle) over the weekend (Fri - Mon), I hope they don't ship until next week.

YAY!!! I'm so happy!!! I just received my Titus. Oh, and I never got an e-mail from Woot about the delivery and it just showed up at my door this morning. Now to put it away and forget about it for a year.

Mine is out for delivery today... woo! (Austin)

I received my wine today - but both bottles were leaking out of the corks - anyone have any suggestions for what to do?

I emailed the rma address, but I really wanted to taste the wine.

Thanks!

dbl421 wrote:I received my wine today - but both bottles were leaking out of the corks - anyone have any suggestions for what to do?

I emailed the rma address, but I really wanted to taste the wine.

Thanks!

I got an email from the RMA crew and all will be good!

First off I've got to admit to being utterly naive when it comes to wine. I didn't really start enjoying wine until about 2 years ago, so I know my palate and taste level are no where near as refined as some of you... Lately I've been enjoying unoaked chard and slowly expanding my wine experience...

I got the wine because of the description, the flavor profiles seem right up my alley (I'm a foodie at heart); so I jumped in and purchased a single bottle... Now I am left with a connundrum...

DO i throw caution to the wind , pop the cork and enjoy? or do I restrain myself and hold off for a while??? Suggestions anyone? What would you do?

trex81 wrote:First off I've got to admit to being utterly naive when it comes to wine. I didn't really start enjoying wine until about 2 years ago, so I know my palate and taste level are no where near as refined as some of you... Lately I've been enjoying unoaked chard and slowly expanding my wine experience...

I got the wine because of the description, the flavor profiles seem right up my alley (I'm a foodie at heart); so I jumped in and purchased a single bottle... Now I am left with a connundrum...

DO i throw caution to the wind , pop the cork and enjoy? or do I restrain myself and hold off for a while??? Suggestions anyone? What would you do?

I'm not very experienced, but after reading the rat reports, I decided to wait at least a year. It's hard because I really really want to try it, but I figured my taste buds will be rewarded in a year. So my plan is to wait. But that's just my perspective.

And the next vintage will be sampled (and paired!) live on video tomorrow night, 2/11!

http://www.openwineconsortium.org/events/event/show?id=2000748%3AEvent%3A89813