kurtswa wrote:awesome answer! I have hit a few shows at the Gorge in Washington, unfortunately I wasn't as much into wine back then to appreciate the area. I can imagine Walla Walla having an impression for sure.

So what does the "K" singify in your naming?

thanks again for all the info

Well, we make 14 different single vineyard syrahs, so K Syrah, Syrah. Also--i don't know about you, but if I go out and get drunk at dinner, have a few bottles of wine I love, and try to remember them the next day, sometimes it's a challenge. K is easy to spell, easy to pronounce, and easy to remember. Any wino can remember K syrah.

in view of the distinct terrior and wine making process, any food pairing recommendations going beyond the traditional syrah/shiraz matches? while perhaps more rhone-based instead of california/australia syrah styles, maybe there are a few foods that go particularly well with this offering (don't think i saw this point addressed earlier but sorry if it's been asked/responded). and thanks for any input!

I'm a rat! The box came today!

I'm stoked. Charles Smith makes great wine and is a local hero (I'm in Kirkland, WA). I love everything I've drunk from his wideranging wine offerings, like the Holy Cow Riesling, the Steak House Red, etc. but have never experienced the Genuine Article: K Syrah. This Woot seemed like the perfect time to go for it. Being a labrat is a fantastic bonus!

The Mrs. is making a lamb stew tonight that should go well with a big Syrah. I'll post more once I get myself around a glass or two.

Don

Completely Off Topic - need help

As part of my basement (wine cellar) excavation project, I have finally gotten around to setting up the first (of several) wine racks and started to get my load of wine out of boxes. I have gotten wine as gifts over the years and have forgotten about a bunch of it. This morning I unpacked a box of wine given to me years ago. It is Domaine Laroche 1985 Clos du Chateau. I thought - this stuff is probably undrinkable so I brought one up and put it in the fridge just to make sure. Turns out, it is quite wonderful. Thought I would search the net to see what this stuff is (still not sure - white Burgundy?) I think I found a link to a German wine list that had it at 500 of some denomination. For those in the know about this stuff, please tell me that I am not quaffing some expensive bottle of wine.

Thanks for your help.

BTW - It was actually the site was actually in Swedish.

I'll own up to being a moron having only now seeing the pun in K Syrah.

woopdedoo wrote:Completely Off Topic - need help

As part of my basement (wine cellar) excavation project, I have finally gotten around to setting up the first (of several) wine racks and started to get my load of wine out of boxes. I have gotten wine as gifts over the years and have forgotten about a bunch of it. This morning I unpacked a box of wine given to me years ago. It is Domaine Laroche 1985 Clos du Chateau. I thought - this stuff is probably undrinkable so I brought one up and put it in the fridge just to make sure. Turns out, it is quite wonderful. Thought I would search the net to see what this stuff is (still not sure - white Burgundy?) I think I found a link to a German wine list that had it at 500 of some denomination. For those in the know about this stuff, please tell me that I am not quaffing some expensive bottle of wine.

Thanks for your help.

Yes, a white Burgundy, chardonnay grape. I've enjoyed Chablis that were still holding their own 10-12+ years deep but not as old as what you have. However, if its been in a temp-controlled cellar, why not? This producer likely has multiple lines of wine so hard to say where it is in their pecking order without seeing the label for more info such as village, cru, etc. The recent standard issue vintage Domaine Laroche appears to run in the mid to upper $20s.

Now, back to your regular programming...

Labrat! lucky me!!!

Been awhile since I wine wooted, guess I picked a good week.

first impressions on the nose are sweet red fruit, candied even, then onto peppery blueberry jam.

the nose tries to trick the palate, this is not a sweet wine, what you have is a mixed bag of red and dark fruit (currents, cherry, blackberry ect.) in a medium weight ending with a touch of vanilla and oak, silky smooth tannins!

very enjoyable and not over the top Shirazzz style.

It's a drink now or hold for a couple years kinda wine.

0U812 wrote:Yes, a white Burgundy, chardonnay grape. I've enjoyed Chablis that were still holding their own 10-12+ years deep but not as old as what you have. However, if its been in a temp-controlled cellar, why not? This producer likely has multiple lines of wine so hard to say where it is in their pecking order without seeing the label for more info such as village, cru, etc. The recent standard issue vintage Domaine Laroche appears to run in the mid to upper $20s.

Now, back to your regular programming...

Thanks.

I went to school in Walla Walla (Whitman College) as the wine country was developing there. It's certainly some of the best wine I've had. Cougar Crest ranks second (also a Walla Walla vineyard).

Winedavid39 wrote:What honesty.

Allright I'll be honest too, I still don't get the pun... ??

This should help...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xZbKHDPPrrc

kurtswa wrote:Allright I'll be honest too, I still don't get the pun... ??

jalanwest wrote:This should help...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xZbKHDPPrrc

A beautiful lady, and the answer to those who didn't get the pun.
~A Classic~

dammit... hit a double post again.

edit, since this double post... anyone know how this would compare/contrast with Wellington's Sonoma Valley Estate 2006 Syrah offered last August?

Labrat report:

There's a lot going on with this wine, but it's quite accessible. It seems like a lot of modern Syrahs are either Australian-style fruit bombs or have the oak cranked up to 11. Not this one. The first sip had plenty of fruit, but not jammy. There's minerality, there's oak, there are traces and hints of a bunch of other flavors. Nothing is overpowering.

I can say for sure that it goes well with a hearty potato and lamb stew. It's not a conventional "big wine" but there's a lot of flavor in there. Restrained tannins. As I finished the glass, the minerals seemed quite prominent, but still well balanced. "Balanced" is probably my one-word review.

Overall I couldn't be more pleased. It's not like every other Syrah on the block and it doesn't intend to be. What it is, is darned good.

Don

jalanwest wrote:This should help...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xZbKHDPPrrc

Hilarious... that's great. thanks

My St. Paddy's Day gift was an e-mail telling me to be on the lookout for an early bottle of K-Syrah. Lab Rat...Woo Hoo!! I actually had a bottle of the 2004 vintage of this wine last year and loved it, so when I saw this pop up Sunday night, I was all over it.

I took the bottle over to a friend's house, who prepared a nice corned beef and cabbage. I'm not sure if it was the best meal to pair with the wine, but what else are you gonna have on March 17th???

At first, the nose wasn't giving up much of anything, so we poured it in a decanter for a while. After an hour, there was quite a bit more going on. Lots of smoke and red fruits.

The wine tasted fantastic! Again with red fruits and smoke, maybe a little blueberry, and some earthy characteristics as well. It had a nice, full flavor that you would almost expect to be over the top, but it wasn't. Very nice balance, and long soft finish. Enough tannins to reveal its youth, but very drinkable right now.

I noticed a couple of posts saying they didn't want a "three of a kind". Lemme tell ya...if you like Syrah, you'll be glad to have three bottles of this.

Thanks for the rattage,
Over and out!

Hat tip to the photo dept. for not showing three front labels on this particular Woot.

mexmexmex2000 wrote:Hat tip to the photo dept. for not showing three front labels on this particular Woot.

Seconded.

Rats - You've been packed.

first woot purchase. this offering is just too interesting to pass up. someone brought a jan-kris riatta to this weekend's blended red tasting. it was quite a hit and several of our members were turned on to wine woot.

Well I'm in for 2 I probably won't tell the wife about the foot stomping part since she seems to have a real distaste for feet.

Is KVINTNERS the winemaker? I didn't see a role avatar under the name.

edit: okay, read the earlier posts first ask questions after

Can't wait to try K.. Excited to taste "FEET" pressed wine. No one is doing that anymore.

Hey Winedude! What other factors (besides increased tannin) do you see that can either enhance, suppress, or alter the taste/flavor when you implement feet vs. machine?

Thanks!

IUnknown wrote:Well I'm in for 2 I probably won't tell the wife about the foot stomping part since she seems to have a real distaste for feet.

Literally or figuratively?

i do not see the size of the bottles. are these 1.5?

cheron98 wrote:Rats - You've been packed.

Great reports this week.
Very excited to try this.

Is it too early to ask for a clue?

As delicious as this wine sounds (and it really sounds delicious!), I just can't justify spending $60 that I don't have on 3 bottles of the same wine. If it was 3 bottles of different wines, I would have bought long ago.

burrnini wrote:As delicious as this wine sounds (and it really sounds delicious!), I just can't justify spending $60 that I don't have on 3 bottles of the same wine. If it was 3 bottles of different wines, I would have bought long ago.

Really? that's weird, because I can't stand not having at least 2, and really 3 bottles of something. I like to taste one really soon after buying it, to know what I have, then a second one, if I'm having the perfect food that I thought of from the first one, or even better, whatever friend I thought it would be a perfect wine for is over, and the third guy to hang out in the wine cabinet until it gets old and yummy.


Takes all kinds though!

paryb wrote:Really? that's weird, because I can't stand not having at least 2, and really 3 bottles of something. I like to taste one really soon after buying it, to know what I have, then a second one, if I'm having the perfect food that I thought of from the first one, or even better, whatever friend I thought it would be a perfect wine for is over, and the third guy to hang out in the wine cabinet until it gets old and yummy.


Takes all kinds though!

I wish I could that! but I have several things working against me.

1) I live off of $60k/year in student loans. $40k of which goes to tuition, another $14k goes to housing, and after factoring in other required expenditures (including food), i don't have much in disposable income. i prefer to spend my wine budget on as wide of a variety as i can rather than a few bottles.

2) The last time i got together with a group of friends and actually drank was about 6 months ago. We average about 60-80 hours/week in the hospital (up to 100 or so for my intern friends) with much of the remainder spent studying (which I should be doing now...haha).

3) my "cellar" consists of a dozen poorly stored bottles in my not temp or humidity controlled closet. i don't see a point in investing in anything better when i move around once every 1-2 years and i'll be moving yet again in a little over a year. i won't even know where i'll be moving to until a year from tomorrow!

maybe in 5 years or so i'll be able buy wine like you do. until then, i'll just keep working on my palate.

jonstrib wrote:very intriguing regarding variations such a small difference in even the same vineyard make. is such a micro-concept of terrior applicable to most wineries? or is it somewhat unique to your vineyards based on the variety of geopgraphical differences within each particular vineyard? with respect to this offering, what are the elements that grapes from various rows bring to the overall wine? thanks in advance for any insight and in general for your participation.

Joy of Iron Horse talked about splitting up the existing vineyard blocks into many smaller micro-blocks as part of the vineyard reorganization, and then treating each micro-block differently because of terrior.

burrnini wrote:
maybe in 5 years or so i'll be able buy wine like you do. until then, i'll just keep working on my palate.

ahhh...gotcha. Sometimes I forget that I'm an old boring sedintary dude :-)

Keep it up though!

boaz38 wrote:Is it too early to ask for a clue?

It certainly isn't now! Hint! Especially so I can try for First Sucker since it's my bday tomorrow. (Or pm me so I know & can decide, I promise I won't tell!)

First Woot Ever for me! K Vintners is one of my all-time favorites. Every K Syrah I've ever had has been fantastic, so imagine my surprise when I see that big friendly "K" show up on wine.woot! I've already got too many bottles of wine and need to find more room, but I just couldn't pass this up!

They also do some other labels - if you're looking for a daily drinker, check out their "House Wine" label.

If it's from K Vintners, it's pretty much a can't miss. Trust me. Or don't trust me - that way there's more for me.

Looking forward to "calling in afraid"...