artulo wrote:Gift of Tøøthstejnn the Red, initial report.

Box received at around 11AM by the ultra-friendly FedEx man who was surprised I was signing for my own package. Nonetheless the box arrived in good condition and the wine was already chilled to perfection, if not a bit on the cool side because the outdoor temp here in Madison was a comfortable 50 degrees.

Opened at around 8pm today. Color is a wonderful ruby-orange-pink. I did not decant the bottle and poured a glass for myself and my wife. Initial nose is earthy with ripened fruits. First taste is very cranberry with light sweetness and great acidity. Not hot at all (low alcohol), with a smooth mouth feel and light finish on the back end. So far the bottle has been open about 25 minutes and my initial reaction is very good! This is a definite food wine, and I'm envious that I don't have a gourmet pizza to go with this.

More to come as it opens up! Thanks WD and please forgive the first time labratter here.

And the color of your teeth and lips?

It's harvest time in Western New York. The new vintage of Wild Irish Rose will be on the shelves soon. But in Sweden Township there are more interesting crops. Cabbage! Yes, huge stainless steel dump trucks are making their way to the produce markets of America.

The Irish and Swedes have always had a "special" relationship. Where do you think the Vikings went to snuffleupagus and pillage? The same place as the English and the defeated Spanish Armada went for their raping and pillaging. No, not Western New York. That was the Dutch.

And so I'm sitting calmly at my computer contemplating Leprechauns and Dullahans* when "[DING] you've got mail" announces that my internet connection has been raped by AOL. Typical, thinks I. Gosh darn - an email from winedavid39. Whoa! It's not the sweepstakes, but darned close. And, a knock at the door - did I mention that it is a dark and stormy day? The wee lass with the Volvo truck - again the Swedes and Irish - was knocking, talking on the cell, waving her official FedEx hand computer and laughing at my "Angry Day" Shirt. Whoa! (again) That's multitasking.

Yes, the Leprechauns left gold. Well, gold colored ink on cardstock. I'll take it before the Nac Mac Feegle wake up. And the Swedes delivered a shiny . . . (hummm, "shiny" - what was I doing - darned internet mimes) Oh yes. A shiny bottle of Tøøthstejnn The Red.

OK, is this enough labored creative writing? After all, the wine is the thing. snuffleupagus and pillage is always amusing - sure; but this isn't the time and place. Is it?

Bottle temp is 55° at opening. "Swedish" steel "cork" screw. (I'm sorry about that one - I'll stop soon . . .) On the side a plate of olive corn chips and a plate of Fontana, Gorgonzola, Parmesan and Gouda cheese along with some kalamata and green olives. Well, look for your selves;



Your tasters; Lighter, Ms. Dancer, and our Irish guest; O'Einstein. (GBS was busy tonight.)

Swirling in the glass.
Wine is a brownish red much like Tøøthstejnn's beard. Translucent with delicate legs. Rather pretty change from the darker reds that we commonly drink. Not too sure about staining teeth, but the name alone required Ms Dancer to use a straw beyond the first drink. Pricy, white dental work.

Breathing.
We used the big honker glasses so that we could work the aromatics. Mild without much alcohol on the nose. Woody and corn chippy. Looks and smells smooth. We couldn't figure on a fruit beyond a ripe red currant whiff. I thought a bit dry cherry; Ms Dancer told me I was wrong. I put forth cranberry, but was met with currant. I like currants so be it. Not a fruit bomb by any means.

Little gulp.
Ms Dancer: "Ghastly!"
Lighter: "[silently] I'm going to have to do a Clayfu and all my future lab rat duties will go to Loweeel."
O'Einstein: "Wowser!"

The taste was not what the smells seemed to promise. Tannic and not ready for prime time as a solo drink. Moderate heat that quickly goes away.

BUT, food was to come and everything turned around, big time.

Ms Dancer: "Lightly assertive like a ladies pearl handle chromed purse revolver."
Lighter: "Not much back pallet and it doesn't linger in a cloying manner."
O'Einstein: "Crivens!"

As we continued nibbling it was obvious to us that this is a wine for food. Not a surprise with the blend. Despite the cuteness of the label I don't think this is a smörgåsbord wine. The salt from the cheese and the oily brine from the olives really mellowed out the surprise notes. Pizza would be great - but it better be a good pizza with some subtlety.

Each sip got easier. A lot easier.

After an hour I gave another taste from the early pour. But it had gone alcohol and tannic bite.



Like the Humbug this needs some time in the cellar but is worth a pop and pour with some Mediterranean chow. But not to drink thorough your evenings snuffleupagus and pillage.

*Very seasonal in New York


Lighter
Ms Dancer
Shamus O'Einstein

polarbear22 wrote:Nice bike in the background. Steel frame?

and you neglected to point out the suicide bars?
(the extended brake levers, to the rest of us.)

artulo wrote:Gift of Tøøthstejnn the Red, initial report.

Packed! Love the pics, thanks for the back of the bottle!! Sounds like this'll be an AWESOME Thanksgiving wine.

Lighter wrote:It's harvest time in Western New York.

Packed! Thanks!! And I guess this clears up the question of whether or not you were ratted

Lab rat report continued.

Just about an hour in now, and halfway through the bottle between two people. The wine has really opened up with a bit of floral on the nose taking the place of some of the earthiness. Still lots of cranberry on the palate, but much less acidity now. It's mellowed quite a bit but the flavors themselves seem to have moved so that it's not so forward and has a longer finish that is definitely bringing out some chocolate.

Lighter wrote:Little gulp.
Ms Dancer: "Ghastly!"
Lighter: "[silently] I'm going to have to do a Clayfu and all my future lab rat duties will go to Loweeel."
O'Einstein: "Wowser!"

The taste was not what the smells seemed to promise. Tannic and not ready for prime time as a solo drink. Moderate heat that quickly goes away.

BUT, food was to come and everything turned around, big time.

Ms Dancer: "Lightly assertive like a ladies pearl handle chromed purse revolver."
Lighter: "Not much back pallet and it doesn't linger in a cloying manner."
O'Einstein: "Crivens!"

As we continued nibbling it was obvious to us that this is a wine for food. Not a surprise with the blend. Despite the cuteness of the label I don't think this is a smörgåsbord wine. The salt from the cheese and the oily brine from the olives really mellowed out the surprise notes. Pizza would be great - but it better be a good pizza with some subtlety.

Each sip got easier. A lot easier.

After an hour I gave another taste from the early pour. But it had gone alcohol and tannic bite.



Like the Humbug this needs some time in the cellar but is worth a pop and pour with some Mediterranean chow. But not to drink thorough your evenings snuffleupagus and pillage.

*Very seasonal in New York


Lighter
Ms Dancer
Shamus O'Einstein

Wow, feel like I'm trying to understand the bail-out legislation reading your expert notes!
Not too good at reading between the lines - Belabor the obvious for me, please! I should go back to politics, where everything seemed logical. Follow the money. Yadda yadda... Reading about wine is just not that easy for some of us.
Got a simplistic bottom line for the simple?
Thanks.


Edit, just overlapped your follow up. Starting to get it.
2nd edit: I'm just trying to figure out if you liked it, aside from the more tech notes.

Mainly what I took away from his very entertaining review was it's a young wine that's good with food and would pair excellent with pizza.

tomatillo wrote:Wow, feel like I'm trying to understand the bail-out legislation reading your expert notes!
Not too good at reading between the lines - Belabor the obvious for me, please! I should go back to politics, where everything seemed logical. Follow the money. Yadda yadda... Reading about wine is just not that easy for some of us.
Got a simplistic bottom line for the simple?
Thanks.


Edit, just overlapped your follow up. Starting to get it.

All this 'RAT' talk is making me a little paranoid...hehe

Love the reviews, I'm having some pizza tonight just to practice for when my delivery finally gets here. Thought I would gift most of the six, but it's starting to sound like I'll be having a lot of pizza and wine in the near future!

PghRiverRat wrote:All this 'RAT' talk is making me a little paranoid...hehe

Love the reviews, I'm having some pizza tonight just to practice for when my delivery finally gets here. Thought I would gift most of the six, but it's starting to sound like I'll be having a lot of pizza and wine in the near future!

I definitely think this is a food wine. It does stand well on its own (and is much better after having been open now for 1.5 hours) but pairing it with some pizza or italian sausages/cured meats would be perfect. Also it was mentioned about thanksgiving dinner - yes absolutely!

Daystar wrote:Looking to plan a trip to Italy next year. Can anyone recommend some good regions/wineries to visit for wine?

We're going to Venice, Tuscany, and Rome Nov 12-29, I'll keep notes and try to remember to PM you when I get back. Although it might help if you remind me;)

Come to think of it, I'm willing to listen to any and all suggestions as well!!

thanks for the offer but sadly I am no where near DC.

Loweeel wrote:Where are you located? I have a case, and if you're in/near DC I can make a few bottles available to you.

Corrado wrote:That actually surprises me. Most of the Central Coast wines I've had have been very fruity and jamified to the point of being almost candied. Few, if any, of the wines I've had would fall into the realm of 'food friendly.'

It's really a shame we couldn't get the wine maker here to comment a bit about the fruit, the blend, and the vision for this wine.

I'd really like to hear from the winemaker as well!

Fruity, jammy, or candied is not at all what I would call this wine. It does have fruit, don't get me wrong. But it's definitely not fruit forward.

On a more personal side, though, I'm not a sommelier or wine expert but have experienced enough to know what I like. I like this wine very much. It's pleasant to drink, not overwhelming, and very well blended.

polarbear22 wrote:Nice bike in the background. Steel frame?

Oh yes. Good frame. good commuter bike. solid and classy too. Steel is wonderful.

tomatillo wrote:and you neglected to point out the suicide bars?
(the extended brake levers, to the rest of us.)

yes! I have those too! Can't go wrong. *giggles*

cheron98 wrote:Awesome report! Packed!

kyle83uw wrote:Great report- sounds delish- glad I was in for 2

Thank you! Don't miss Fedex! you'll love it!

penmana wrote:thanks for the offer but sadly I am no where near DC.

Are you in So Cal?

kylemittskus wrote:Are you in So Cal?

Or Oregon or WA?

GA?

thrawn1020 wrote:

ARgh....trying to decide whether or not to buy a case of the Duke...I know I don't have the space, but it's a Wellington! how is it resistable?

$125/shipped to MN... tempting at only $10/bottle...

Corrado wrote:That actually surprises me. Most of the Central Coast wines I've had have been very fruity and jamified to the point of being almost candied. Few, if any, of the wines I've had would fall into the realm of 'food friendly.'

It's really a shame we couldn't get the wine maker here to comment a bit about the fruit, the blend, and the vision for this wine.

I certainly think it is a food wine. Went Great with dessert too! Enjoy!

Manos, the Hands of Fate!! missed out!!!

I was up in Napa, moving my son up there.

We didn't even have time to do any tastings.

Such self-control to have one of each of these (left).

Impression #1 : please be using artificial corks in the future, I had a most difficult time getting the cork out w/o pieces of it falling in!

Color is a beautiful deep ruby.

My first impression of the nose was peachy.

Taste was very muted. No heat. no tannin. Crisp, with subdued fruit. Small finish.
You could drink a lot of this.

...a few minutes pass...

I got out some cheddar, seems like a pretty nice pairing.
Wine has a little more snappy finish now.

...imagine the final jeopardy theme...

Now tried it with some chocolate. Didn't like that so much, back to the cheese.

A likable wine, but in my mind, close, not quite up there with Monkey Prize or Humbug.
I am imagining this with a nice baked marinara pasta dish. Waiting eagerly for my real order.

Lighter wrote:

Breathing.
We used the big honker glasses so that we could work the aromatics. Mild without much alcohol on the nose. Woody and corn chippy. Looks and smells smooth. We couldn't figure on a fruit beyond a ripe red currant whiff. I thought a bit dry cherry; Ms Dancer told me I was wrong. I put forth cranberry, but was met with currant. I like currants so be it. Not a fruit bomb by any means.

Little gulp.
Ms Dancer: "Ghastly!"
Lighter: "[silently] I'm going to have to do a Clayfu and all my future lab rat duties will go to Loweeel."
O'Einstein: "Wowser!"

The taste was not what the smells seemed to promise. Tannic and not ready for prime time as a solo drink. Moderate heat that quickly goes away.

BUT, food was to come and everything turned around, big time.

Ms Dancer: "Lightly assertive like a ladies pearl handle chromed purse revolver."
Lighter: "Not much back pallet and it doesn't linger in a cloying manner."
O'Einstein: "Crivens!"

Each sip got easier. A lot easier.

After an hour I gave another taste from the early pour. But it had gone alcohol and tannic bite.



Like the Humbug this needs some time in the cellar but is worth a pop and pour with some Mediterranean chow. But not to drink thorough your evenings snuffleupagus and pillage.

I take it you didn't like it. It's okay not to like a wine =P.

I've found that this blend of grapes is actually a very powerful wine, not meant to be thin but a bruising tannic backbone with an over wash of tart cherries. But I found the Poly mag very thin and I'm thinking this might be kind of similar. (no evidence, still waiting for my singular bottle)

edit: did you find it had a good acid balance? thin might not be a food wine necessarily
edit: glad you were honest in your review, thank you!

Viking Invasion Thwarted (TMM News Wire)

Department of Homeland Security officials are tight lipped about an unusual attack on American soil today, but anonymous sources confirm a sizeable attempt against US economic interests. Known only as Tøøthstejnn, the attack follows the legendary Saga Of Tøøthstejnn The Red - a Viking warrior dreaded for his southpaw pillaging of pails of Sangiovese from the Bartender to the Gods.

"I was petrified," witness The Masked Marvel almost cried out in the dark. "Thankfully, I noticed his equipment failure, and brought along a few friends for backup."

The Masked Marvel's companions were in complete agreement - the light cherry red colour, light red cherry nose, firm acidity with cherry and cranberry notes hinting at a buttery, mildly spicy finish - this invader was living up to the legend in full.

"I was quite shocked at how easily he went down," TMM added. "All it took was a few grilled kielbasas, some roasted tomato and mozzarella crostinis, and a greek rice recipe. Perhaps it was the acid in the tomatoes, but there were almost no tannins to come to his defense... Quite shocking, indeed."

Forensics experts have the plain cork, devoid of all markings indicating origin, and are running the usual tests.

Sources speculate Tøøthstejnn arrived today to take over the red fruit market in order to beef up his somewhat light body at pennies on the Hack-Silver. Thankfully he lacked the fruit bomb needed to survive, as he was he was easily defeated in under an hour.

Marvel continued, "The Saga was spot on - exactly as we saw him. Now we can put a face with the name. I'd like to take on six or twelve of him at a time. In fact, I'd consider it a gift to have 24 invade at once..."

While quiet on the identity of his friends, TMM News has acquired this photograph of the invader, moments before the fight broke out...



...keep tuned to this station for updates on events as they unfold.

clayfu wrote:I take it you didn't like it. It's okay not to like a wine =P.

I've found that this blend of grapes is actually a very powerful wine, not meant to be thin but a bruising tannic backbone with an over wash of tart cherries. But I found the Poly mag very thin and I'm thinking this might be kind of similar. (no evidence, still waiting for my singular bottle)

edit: did you find it had a good acid balance? thin might not be a food wine necessarily
edit: glad you were honest in your review, thank you!

"Ambivalent" is a good summary for me. After an initial negative reaction, my wife warmed up to it, a lot. Yes, I'd jump on it again. It's ten dollar wine, folks. Young but workable with food. Much as I recall the Humbug. I think my expectations were for a "bigger" first taste. I expected a bit more pronounced dried fruit. The rest of the rats seem satisfied with the fruit, so I may have had an off evening.

I liked the acid balance quite a lot. It made my saliva ooze in quest for deli salami. I'm wondering here in the predawn if this would be a great antipasto wine. To be followed by something more traditional with later courses. The best of the cheese pairs was the Gorgonzola.

Well, more rambles! I'll go back to terse in a day!

Lighter wrote:
... Nac Mac Feegle...
O'Einstein: "Crivens!"

Great review, but now I have to go read A Hat Full of Sky and The Wee Free Men again. Not that that is a bad thing, ya ken.

tomatillo wrote:Not too good at reading between the lines - Belabor the obvious for me, please! I should go back to politics, where everything seemed logical. Follow the money.

[INSERT BIG GRINNING SMILEY HERE]

It's about the stories, you see. Maybe five of them mashed together with some wine dot w00t mimes. Traditional stories. Searching for relevance.

Oh yeah, the wine. Ambivalent, but would jump again without reservation. It needs bottle time for me to be eager for each sip. But, it's certainly drinkable right now for folks who may like more bite than I like.

Look to all four lab rats. Four reactions. Big circulation wine mags only give you one guy's opinion. Here you get many reactions that are contradictory, supportive and reflective of real user lives.

Sometimes the answer is about the stories.

Lighter wrote:

Awesome pic!

Lighter wrote:

jwhite6114 wrote:Awesome pic!

Lens flare FTW!

Labrat checking in here...
First let me start off by saying that it's an honor to be chosen and thank you WD.
Second, While I have bought many a wine here at wine.woot I still consider myself a novice when it comes to drinking wine. So don't expect a whole lot and some of you more experienced oenophiles are more than welcome to disagree and offer your own opinions. Now, down to the business at hand....

After getting home from work yesterday I let the bottle rest on the counter for about an hour. The bouquet was, well, red fruity I guess. Sorry I can't be more specific on that one. I poured a glass for me and my companion and we each tasted it. The wine had a pleasant fruit taste which my companion described as cherry, (for a few moments it tasted like green apple to me) and a mild heat. Oak barrel was also a prominent flavor.

My plan was to serve the wine with some leftover red beans and rice. But we had to run an errand and came back with chicken fingers instead. The wine does NOT pair well with Raising Cane's chicken fingers and sauce. Ugh...the combination was like pine tar in the mouth.

After the wine breathed for an hour after initial opening, we had our final taste. There was less oak flavoring. I tasted more of the cherry and vanilla. And the wine left a taste of smooth chocolate as it went down.

Overall, it's not swill. On the contrary, I really enjoyed this wine and am glad I have more bottles coming!

these are all very well written reports and i like the fact that they all don't follow the same "wine line", the contrasting opinions really helped me imagine what the wine could be.............i am glad,now, that i at least went in for one...........thanks to all the lab rats for their time..........

Sold out, son of a B. This is what I get for not checking on Monday.

Will there be Humbug and Polyphemus again this year?

I was sort of curious as to whether or not the Polyphemus in MM's picture was part of the labrat, or if a bottle was just pulled out of storage for effect. Lots of labrats on this one.

Awesome writeup though.

holy cow, 6 rats... well i guess we know where that other 1/2 case went!

MM, j-o-h-n, and rabbit, you're all packed.

tommythecat78 wrote:Great review, but now I have to go read A Hat Full of Sky and The Wee Free Men again. Not that that is a bad thing, ya ken.

*shakes angry fist at TtheC* Now I'm going to have to also (again)!

winefarm wrote:Well, and get rid of that Nike contract! Damn Nike bats. The downfall of many a great baseball team. BTW, I saw a license plate "BOWTIES" yesterday. Would have taken a picture if I hadn't been driving about 70 on a bridge.

The scary thing is. That doesn't stop me. I can be going down the interstate at 80 and if I see something I wanna pic of - I pull that camara out and take it while driving!

Great job, rats! You guys are definitely setting the bar higher! (no, not that kind of bar...)

auggie24 wrote:$125/shipped to MN... tempting at only $10/bottle...

Got a case shipped to OH yesterday. 125 as well. Looking forward to trying this. While I'm sure it wont be overly stunning I'm sure it'll be a nice everyday drinking wine.

Peter, maybe you can elaborate on some tasting notes for us (if you have the time, I know your busy ATM!)

Oh and worth noting that the prices goes up from 8$ to 10$ per bottle starting tmrw.