I am without regular internet right now and am reduced to viewing my online world through my tiny phone screen. I recognized that little mini M on the little mini bottle right away. I knew I was in for 3, but I wanted to read the woot description anyway. It gave me a chuckle because it reflected how I felt when I was introduced to Andrew Murray's wines back in 2003.

We had the pleasure of meeting Andrew Murray at a wine dinner back then. We loved some of the chefs involved and were going because of them, and were unfamiliar with Andrew Murray Vineyards. It was an excellent introduction. The wines were featured very nicely, and we have purchased many bottles since then. But, yes, there was definitely an sense, of "Wow, he is young" and a hint of jealousy.

I am really looking forward to this shipment. I wish I could send some as a gift to our chef friends from that wine dinner, but they are living in a unfriendly shipping state.

Nice pricing.

winelawyer wrote:I will simply warn you that the Jonata wines are a whole different price range. I am actually a pretty serious QPR buyer, so i have mainly tried these with the Vintner. I love the Stolpman wines as well, and I am a fan of the 2007 Estate Syrah that they just released. You will have to suggest these wines to the bosses around here.

I think you just did!

AndrewMurray wrote:Wow...you have much more experience with our region's wines than I do...I was only born in 1972, so any perspective on these wines from my end would be bottles that people have shared with me...I assume that you are speaking about Paso Robles (which is in San Luis Obispo County) with regards to the Zinfandel, because precious little is (or has ever been to my knowledge) grown around the Santa Ynez Valley. There are some wonderful old(er) vine Zinfandel and Carignan up in Paso Robles, the best in my opinion coming from the west side of the 101, where the soils are chalk-laden and the climate is significantly cooler. There was also a bit planted south of there in the Templeton Gap, that enjoyed cooler weather as well. I would trust your judgment that perhaps the jug wines of the 1970's are better than today...(BTW, our Federal Government (and State) would never allow you to come to our winery and fill your jug today (this is the ultimate Green answer to wine bottling...re-using your own jug...like a Growler from a Brewery)) Further, I would never argue against your palate or your beliefs...if you say it so, then it is so. I may disagree with you and my palate may be too inexperienced to argue, but you are your own best judge about what they like...as a matter of fact, each of are our own best judge...it just comes down to trusting what you like and enjoying it. I personally love Zinfandel...I have lots of it my cellar. I must confess that I know very few winemakers that truly appreciate Zinfandel (the ones that do not make it themselves obviously). They can go on for hours about how a thin, acidic Pinot Noir is the only wine for them, while disregarding the hedonistic delight that can be Zinfandel. I never thought about it before...but I have no Zinfandels from the San Luis County area in my cellar...only North Coast stuff...maybe you are on to something...

I am still in harvest, so I will leave this one here and go start my press...

Thank you for the interesting conversation,

Andrew

And what's your feeling on PS? It is the king of the Rhone varieties, perhaPS the one best adapted to Cali's climate. And you can't spell PaSo (or PeSenti) without it! Good for you for getting the Michael-David package. :-)

I too jumped in as soon as I saw the label.
I joined the AM wine club years ago after happening into their winery (failing to note the by appt only sign -they now have a tasting room) on what I will remember as my favorite day of wine tasting ever. After briefly living in Napa and used to crowded tasting rooms, I found the Santa Ynez tasting experience wholly different. At Andrew Murray we were able to taste everything, and then he (not sure if it was Andrew himself) took us back for some barrel tasting. That was a first for me.
I discovered Viognier there. And that I was a Rhone fan, and modeled a barrel I help make at Crushpad after memories of Andrew's wine from the late '90s, and always want to go to the Rhone Rangers tasting events in SF but seem to miss them.
I sadly quit my wine club membership after 9/11, but always feel sentimental about Andrew Murray. Excited to get some back in my cellar again.

Doh! I debated on ordering this all morning and finally decided to get it for gifts for the holidays. However, I live in South Carolina, and the state isn't available for me to choose: I'm guessing South Carolina doesn't allow wine to be shipped? Anyone have any insight for me?

Actually, just looked, SC apparently allows 24 bottles of wine per person per year. Does anyone know why wine.woot won't ship to SC?

Jadis wrote:Doh! I debated on ordering this all morning and finally decided to get it for gifts for the holidays. However, I live in South Carolina, and the state isn't available for me to choose: I'm guessing South Carolina doesn't allow wine to be shipped? Anyone have any insight for me?

Actually, just looked, SC apparently allows 24 bottles of wine per person per year. Does anyone know why wine.woot won't ship to SC?

It's not wine.woot, it's the winery that has to follow the rules of your state. Usually the problem is that your state government has made it too expensive in money or time to make it worth jumping all the hurdles the state forces on them to be approved to ship there.

About 15-20% of the wineries that show up on wine.woot can't ship to my state for this reason. Unfortunately Andrew Murray is one of them.

PetiteSirah wrote:And what's your feeling on PS? It is the king of the Rhone varieties, perhaPS the one best adapted to Cali's climate. And you can't spell PaSo (or PeSenti) without it! Good for you for getting the Michael-David package. :-)

Not Andrew here, but I'll pipe in about the potential for PS in our area . . .

There is not a lot planted as of now, but more coming on line. The best in our area is Jaffurs which comes from the Thompson Vineyard - a stellar wine year in and year out and one of the best in the state IMNO.

Epiphany, whom you may have heard of (-:, also produces a great one from Rodney's Vyd, 20 year old PS vines planted on Foxen Canyon Road at the winery. Year in and year out, a great wine . . . and the 07 is off the charts!!!

I got into the PS game myself, and produced a 100% PS from Rodneys in 07 that I'll release in the Spring and a 50%PS/50% Thompson Syrah blend I call The Climb which I am releasing now . . . exciting stuff!

We grafted some syrah over to Petite Sirah at our Camp 4 Vineyard, taking cuttings both from Rodneys (Palisades clone) and cuttings from the Rockpile AVA (!!!). I got some of the Rockpile fruit this year and all I can say is - WATDH OUT! I think that the climate at Camp 4 is pretty darn great for PS - let's give it a bit of time and see for sure!

Sorry for the hijcck - but I know Andrew does not mind (-:

Cheers!

larry schaffer
tercero wines
www.tercerowines.com

Just want to add a personal and professional comment here:

Andrew and Kristen are two of the kindest, most supportive folks you will ever meet - Period. They set examples for all of us in the Valley, and I am truly honored to call them friends, as well as colleagues.

I also cannot endorse their wines enough as well. The 05 was the last wine made from their estate, IIRC, and the 06 and 07 both come from interesting vineyards - Great Oaks is in Santa Ynez and produces fruit forward syrahs that have a ton of 'guts' to them. The McGinley Vyd is in the Happy Canyon area IIRC, and thus will brign something entirely different to the table!

My advice - get at least two sets - one bottle of each to open now side by side with friends and family to compare and contrast and one to lay down for at least, say, a week or two (-:

Cheers!

airjesse123 wrote:Andy,

Could you comment if any of these were produced with gelatin as a fining agent.

Thanks

Jesse

No fining agents were used...To be honest, I have never used gelatin...

Andrew

sciara wrote:I mean, we need to make you a regular fixture here. You appear insightful. We've got a couple of winemakers that are regulars on the site and 1) they really give us a lot of insight into the wine making/drinking process; and 2) When their wines are offered they sell and usually sell out fast.

Would be fun...I usually describe myself as a wine consumer first and a winemaker second...so I am more like you all than not. I, too, take recommendations and take chances on wine purchases. I, too, sometimes purchase terrible wine on accident. But, I always relish the experience...I always learn something...

cheers

Andrew

PetiteSirah wrote:And what's your feeling on PS? It is the king of the Rhone varieties, perhaPS the one best adapted to Cali's climate. And you can't spell PaSo (or PeSenti) without it! Good for you for getting the Michael-David package. :-)

I truly enjoy Petite Sirah...I found a new favorite if only because it is made by such a nice guy...Have you had the Retro Petite? It is made by Randy Dunn's son...Randy is famous for being not so nice, but his son is super cool and he has found some really old vines with which to craft this wine...Seek it out. It is sort of funny (and I am sure that it has been discussed before), but there is absolutely nothing petit about Petite Sirah...

Andrew

winelawyer wrote:I will simply warn you that the Jonata wines are a whole different price range. I am actually a pretty serious QPR buyer, so i have mainly tried these with the Vintner. I love the Stolpman wines as well, and I am a fan of the 2007 Estate Syrah that they just released. You will have to suggest these wines to the bosses around here.

I have enjoyed Stolpman wines at their tasting room a few times and I have been impressed. Any chance of getting them on Woot? Here's my vote in favor.

rhinothewino wrote:I have enjoyed Stolpman wines at their tasting room a few times and I have been impressed. Any chance of getting them on Woot? Here's my vote in favor.

I really enjoy the Stolpman wines as well, and they generally are great QPR's. Their winemaker, Sashi Moorman, is a true 'tinkerer', always pushing the envelope to see if he can make a good thing even better. I truly respect that philosophy!

I love the Ballard Canyon area in general where Stolpman's vineyard is, and really dig the diversity of the vineyards that are there - from the almost cool climate aspects of Larner in the south to the much warmer climate Tierra Alta in the North . . . and it's a beautiful drive ta boot!

Cheers!

fyi: detour is up

AndrewMurray wrote:I truly enjoy Petite Sirah...I found a new favorite if only because it is made by such a nice guy...Have you had the Retro Petite? It is made by Randy Dunn's son...Randy is famous for being not so nice, but his son is super cool and he has found some really old vines with which to craft this wine...Seek it out. It is sort of funny (and I am sure that it has been discussed before), but there is absolutely nothing petit about Petite Sirah...

Andrew

I have a bottle of the '04 Retro Old vines resting after coming from winebid, actually. My recommendation is to actively seek out anything from Vincent Arroyo -- especially the Rattlesnake Acres. Don't forget a steaming hunk of rare meat and a toothbrush!

etherealotaku wrote:fyi: detour is up

But you can still get to the AM offering via wine.woot.com/monday

lmacschaf wrote:Not Andrew here, but I'll pipe in about the potential for PS in our area . . .

There is not a lot planted as of now, but more coming on line. The best in our area is Jaffurs which comes from the Thompson Vineyard - a stellar wine year in and year out and one of the best in the state IMNO.

Epiphany, whom you may have heard of (-:, also produces a great one from Rodney's Vyd, 20 year old PS vines planted on Foxen Canyon Road at the winery. Year in and year out, a great wine . . . and the 07 is off the charts!!!

I got into the PS game myself, and produced a 100% PS from Rodneys in 07 that I'll release in the Spring and a 50%PS/50% Thompson Syrah blend I call The Climb which I am releasing now . . . exciting stuff!

We grafted some syrah over to Petite Sirah at our Camp 4 Vineyard, taking cuttings both from Rodneys (Palisades clone) and cuttings from the Rockpile AVA (!!!). I got some of the Rockpile fruit this year and all I can say is - WATDH OUT! I think that the climate at Camp 4 is pretty darn great for PS - let's give it a bit of time and see for sure!

Sorry for the hijcck - but I know Andrew does not mind (-:

Cheers!

larry schaffer
tercero wines
www.tercerowines.com

Thanks for the update, Larry! I'll post this over on my blog tonight.

I had the '05 Jaffurs Thompson vineyard (somehow manged to get 3 bottles for $25/ea shipped on ebay 2 years back), and loved it. The 2 other bottles are waiting and resting in my storage unit...

Can't wait to try the great new PS coming online in PaSo!

PetiteSirah wrote:Thanks for the update, Larry! I'll post this over on my blog tonight.

I had the '05 Jaffurs Thompson vineyard (somehow manged to get 3 bottles for $25/ea shipped on ebay 2 years back), and loved it. The 2 other bottles are waiting and resting in my storage unit...

Can't wait to try the great new PS coming online in PaSo!

Not is Paso my friend - in Santa Ynez!!!!

Cheers!

exlaxer wrote:But you can still get to the AM offering via wine.woot.com/monday

You didn't get a 404 error with that? I was thinking maybe it needed to wait until the detour ended.

edit: never mind, tried it again and it was fine.

I know nothing about wine, but after watching this community beat up on the chocolate, chocolate dude, I figure this community must know a thing or two about wine. Since this is my first major wine purchase, I bought 2 sets. One for now when I know nothing. And another for 3 to 5 years from now.

When will a new wine be posted?

rhinothewino wrote:I have enjoyed Stolpman wines at their tasting room a few times and I have been impressed. Any chance of getting them on Woot? Here's my vote in favor.

Here's another vote for Stolpman! I always have one of their syrahs on hand for a special occasion! Would buy 3 sets no-questions-asked on woot!

Hey Andrew--

It doesn't look like we've talked much about food pairings. What do you like to drink these wines with?

rockdawg9 wrote:Hey Andrew--

It doesn't look like we've talked much about food pairings. What do you like to drink these wines with?

Syrah loves lamb, stews, bbq, even Pizza...these are fairly full-throttle wines, yet they are balanced. These are definitely made for the table.

Cheers

Andrew

twowootthree wrote:I know nothing about wine, but after watching this community beat up on the chocolate, chocolate dude, I figure this community must know a thing or two about wine. Since this is my first major wine purchase, I bought 2 sets. One for now when I know nothing. And another for 3 to 5 years from now.

Right on! Thanks.

Andrew

Labrat: Recommended by two out of three photo staffers - Full to overpowering in the mouth at first taste. Wonderful blackberry notes and a hint of green pepper. Lots of tannins that suck the moisture out of your tongue at first. One of the tasters felt his mouth freak out from overload but as the wine breathed it opened up with a softer touch. The blackberry notes transform into more rounder and fuller blueberry finish. The wine tastes young to me but appears to have a future with the tannins. Definitely goes with a piece of beef and could stand up to a dab of blue cheese. Very pleased I purchased and plan to hold a while.

Ufotoaster wrote:Labrat: Recommended by two out of three photo staffers - Full to overpowering in the mouth at first taste. Wonderful blackberry notes and a hint of green pepper. Lots of tannins that suck the moisture out of your tongue at first. One of the tasters felt his mouth freak out from overload but as the wine breathed it opened up with a softer touch. The blackberry notes transform into more rounder and fuller blueberry finish. The wine tastes young to me but appears to have a future with the tannins. Definitely goes with a piece of beef and could stand up to a dab of blue cheese. Very pleased I purchased and plan to hold a while.

Thanks for the report. Which one did you try?

When someone drinks a six pack a day, some would call him an alcoholic..

Beautiful thing about wine?

You can pretty much drink a bottle a night and get away with it!

InFrom wrote:Thanks for the report. Which one did you try?

2007 McGinley Vineyard

egzgg wrote:When someone drinks a six pack a day, some would call him an alcoholic..

Beautiful thing about wine?

You can pretty much drink a bottle a night and get away with it!

Maybe in your house. If I put away a bottle in one night, I will definitely hear about it the next morning.

schuey wrote:Maybe in your house. If I put away a bottle in one night, I will definitely hear about it the next morning.

Well you gotta share obviously...

Marinate some chicken in italian dressing/salt/pepper. Chop some potatos up, boil, then add velveta/butter/small amount of pepper and boom! You got some dank chicken and even danker smashed potatos! Put it on the grill and share a bottle of wine with whoever your hearing it from the next day :D

Or, cut some cheese and other wine snack goodies, and share those with the same person along with the bottle of wine while watching a good movie...

There! No ones complaining anymore!

AndrewMurray wrote:No fining agents were used...To be honest, I have never used gelatin...

Andrew

Thanks for this--

One will be a gift for my mother and she does not eat pork products.

lmacschaf wrote:
Epiphany, whom you may have heard of (-:, also produces a great one from Rodney's Vyd, 20 year old PS vines planted on Foxen Canyon Road at the winery. Year in and year out, a great wine . . . and the 07 is off the charts!!!

20 Years? What stocks are those on?

cheron98 wrote:Yeah, I'm sitting here going "hmmm... I could probably squeeze this into the budget, but dangit I don't feel like jumping through the wootlegging hoops".

Andrew - any particular reason why you're not shipping to Michigan? Can't imagine it's a lack of interest

No hoops here, Darlin'. Just say the word, and I'll take good care of it until I see you again, which can't possibly be soon enough.

schuey wrote:Maybe in your house. If I put away a bottle in one night, I will definitely hear about it the next morning.

DITTO!!!

Let me just say that this is my first legitimate wine purchase, and I am very excited. I can't say I have ever had any good wine either, not that I would know if someone had me taste a random one. Regardless, this seems like an absolute great deal so I had to take advantage...plus, everyone seems to like it and Andrew seems like a good guy.

On a side note, it says that my order should ship within 5 days and arrive in about 2-3 weeks or possibly sooner. I was really hoping to get this in time for Thanksgiving, but it doesn't appear this will happen. I was wondering if the arrival is generally much sooner or if someone could provide a more accurate estimate? I live in Illinois for what it's worth.

Labrat Thoughts: The 2005 Andrew Murray Syrah was very good but it definitely needed to breathe. On pop and pour I thought it was very tight. After decanting for about 30 minutes it had still not opened up. I thought about putting it back in the bottle for the next day but instead let it decant for 2 hours. Was I glad I did! It really flourished in that time. I found it had a chalky rather than peppery flavor profile - not what I expected. I can only imagine how good this wine will be with a little more bottle time. I highly recommend it.

airjesse123 wrote:20 Years? What stocks are those on?

It's on St. George rootstock, something that was more commonly used two decades ago but continues to be used to this day . . .

Cheers!

lurcher wrote:Monday wines, yes

Re-read the description...

What is that supposed to mean? It's certainly not helpful. The blurb on the front page doesn't mention "rat" ANYWHERE. So, it's still a fair question, "Was this available to rats?" I guess I should figure out where the rat thread is and go check.

Question for Andrew or the wine.woot crew - I ordered this on Monday and live in GA. Do I have any chance in the world of getting this by Thanksgiving? Can I pay a few bucks more and expedite the shipping?

Thank you!