Received my shipment yesterday with the 2005 mix. Opted to try the 2003 first, and wow! What a smooth wine. The winery insert states it's a wonderful food wine, but we are finding it ideal for sipping.

Anybody in Northeast Ohio with the 2006s interested in trading two for the '05s?

I'll be watching for this to Woot again as I doubt it will last long in our house.

Enjoy!

arrScott wrote:Anyone in DC/Northern Virginia interested in swapping a couple of your 2006s for a couple of my 2005s?

Happy to. Check your PMs.

I received 2006. If anyone in the Bay Area (I'm near San Jose) wants to swap two bottles of '05 for '06, send me a PM.

Got mine today and I received the 2006 as the variant........looking forward to drinking my $25 bottle that cost me $6.25......:-)

Anybody in the San Diego area I am willing to swap for a few of the 2005s.

I received mine yesterday as well, and popped one of the 2003s with dinner. It's nice, smooth and flavorful but not overpowering. I'm enjoying it with dinner. Will probably go well with a cigarette later as well.

I got the 2006, so if anyone in the Portland metro area that got the 2005 wants to trade two for two, I'm in...

melbasher wrote:
Anybody in Northeast Ohio with the 2006s interested in trading two for the '05s?

Myself and another NE Ohioan also got the 05s; the 06 seems to have evaded our region

fieldt wrote:Did you find someone willing to split the 2005/2006? I live in Mason, south of Lansing and received my case today with 4 of the 2005's. This is my first wine.woot and I'll give the 2006's a chance if you are still looking.

pm for you

mkottman08 wrote:Myself and another NE Ohioan also got the 05s; the 06 seems to have evaded our region

Same's true for Michigan - a lot of the 2005. I'm still looking for someone with the 2006 to swap if there's anyone out there. PM me.

EDIT: Lansing -> Detroit area

Anyone in Rochester, NY or Finger Lakes areas want to trade 2 of their '06 for 2 of my '05?

Received mine the other day. '06 as the random. Opened a bottle of the '03, very nice. Smooth and a nice spicy finish. Went well with beef and a cigar.

mkottman08 wrote:Myself and another NE Ohioan also got the 05s; the 06 seems to have evaded our region

Same situation in SW Ohio... everyone I spoke with down this way received the '05.

I got the 06's in the Chicago area. Anyone willing to trade 2 05's send me a pm.

Just a note--if you don't have a solution for storing open bottles, plan on drinking all of this pretty immediately. After roughly 12 hours recorked at room temperature for the 2003 (and 24 for the 2004 in the fridge), it was overpoweringly vinegary.

Which is, again, not detracting from my enjoyment as I usually finish a bottle in a night, just a note for those "glass at a time" drinkers...

Just opened a bottle of the 2004. I knew I would be happy as soon as I poured my first glass.

Smell is strong and peppery when you let the wine open up a bit.

First taste was full of blackberry and spice, but not overwhelming. Finish was smoother on the second sip than the first.

Tiny amount of sediment in my first glass out of the decanter.

I've had $25 bottles of wine that I didn't like as much as this one. And for $6 it can't be beat.

Can't wait to try the 2003 and 2005.

I received '06 looking to trade 2 for 2 '05 in southern WI, send PM

So my housing this summer is an apartment with two window AC units for a rather large apartment (about 1000 sq.ft.) and I don't have any wine storage solutions (cellar, cooler, etc). Currently I'm storing the case in the box it came in about 5 feet to the side of the AC unit so that the styrofoam can keep the wine at a somewhat stable temperature and the AC won't hit it directly but will keep the area cooler than the fridges. I set the AC to 'economy' so it goes between 'high' and 'off' every 5 or so minutes.
Would you recommend continuing with this, and do you have other suggestions? Unfortunately, I don't have enough money to buy any pricey storage solutions, so my options are pretty limited.

mkottman08 wrote:So my housing this summer is an apartment with two window AC units for a rather large apartment (about 1000 sq.ft.) and I don't have any wine storage solutions (cellar, cooler, etc). Currently I'm storing the case in the box it came in about 5 feet to the side of the AC unit so that the styrofoam can keep the wine at a somewhat stable temperature and the AC won't hit it directly but will keep the area cooler than the fridges. I set the AC to 'economy' so it goes between 'high' and 'off' every 5 or so minutes.
Would you recommend continuing with this, and do you have other suggestions? Unfortunately, I don't have enough money to buy any pricey storage solutions, so my options are pretty limited.

Cool and dark = good solution. Just make sure your case doesn't get direct sunlight. Even a styrofoam cooler will heat up when exposed to the sun's mighty rays.

I had a bottle of the 2003 open over the course of three nights, and I noticed only very slight breakdown by the third night open. It wasn't vinegar, or anything near it, but the fruit notes were fading on the palette and it was a bit more acidic on the finish. That was at about 48 hours open; at 24, I noticed no difference.

mkottman08 wrote:So my housing this summer is an apartment with two window AC units for a rather large apartment (about 1000 sq.ft.) and I don't have any wine storage solutions (cellar, cooler, etc). Currently I'm storing the case in the box it came in about 5 feet to the side of the AC unit so that the styrofoam can keep the wine at a somewhat stable temperature and the AC won't hit it directly but will keep the area cooler than the fridges. I set the AC to 'economy' so it goes between 'high' and 'off' every 5 or so minutes.
Would you recommend continuing with this, and do you have other suggestions? Unfortunately, I don't have enough money to buy any pricey storage solutions, so my options are pretty limited.

Honestly, browse craigslist for a small wine cooler. Don't go too high up, like 100+ bottles. Look for something like 20 or so and see if it's in your price range. Craigslist allows you to haggle a bit on the price too. Just try and find an actual individual and not some company selling them. I'd imagine there are plenty of small coolers on there where people have upgraded to something larger.

Edit: I'm definitely *not* well versed in wine storing, however. I do know that craigslist had decent wine cooler options when I browsed for one.

jaredmac11 wrote:Honestly, browse craigslist for a small wine cooler.

Thanks for the suggestions, I hadn't thought to look on Craigslist but I'll keep an eye out for one on there

Update: I found a 32-bottle Kenmore thermoelectric wine cellar right off the bat for $100, seems like a good deal to me

Received my case last week. Opened a 2003 bottle and the cork just slip right through (no friction). There's usually a tight fit that take some force to pull the cork. Tasted really sour, and somewhat bitter. Had to dump the bottle.

I opened a second bottle (also 2003) this week and it's the same. I'm not a seasoned wine drinker but I think I can tell good wine from bad wine. This is really bad. Dumped the 2nd bottle. Didn't find the wine "smooth" as everybody said.

Please see the picture below. Is this what you'd call a "corked" wine?

Just opened the 2003. Threw it in a decanter, and a tiny bit into the glass. After a few minutes, there is a good bit of menthol and anise. Fruits are muted, but some red berries are present. After a sip, I tasted some vanilla, and more berries. Very smooth and approachable. I will get into the decanter with dinner in an hour. For a first impression, this is an amazing deal for a good wine.

Edit: My cork also looked like that, and this is not a corked wine. So, you can't judge from that. Also, some of my favorite Wellington's had similar looking corks.

Hungry wrote:

Please see the picture below. Is this what you'd call a "corked" wine?

We opened one of the 2003 and the cork looked like that. The wine tasted fine though. Perhaps someone can offer more insight.

I just opened my first bottle from the case, a 2003, and it was definitely worth the buy. The tannins are very mellow and I think it would make a great sangria. Its not very 'earthy' and definitely has some strong fruit undertones, but I couldn't place them. I had it with a spiced steak and my tasting partner had a spicy black bean burger and we both agreed it went well with spicy foods. If it comes up again in a year I'd buy it again without a thought, but the 12 bottles will likely last me quite a while.

mkottman08 wrote:I just opened my first bottle from the case, a 2003, and it was definitely worth the buy. The tannins are very mellow and I think it would make a great sangria. Its not very 'earthy' and definitely has some strong fruit undertones, but I couldn't place them. I had it with a spiced steak and my tasting partner had a spicy black bean burger and we both agreed it went well with spicy foods. If it comes up again in a year I'd buy it again without a thought, but the 12 bottles will likely last me quite a while.

I'd just like to second what mkottoman98 says. Had my first 2003 last night. Held up nicely to beef stew and garlic bread. I'm thrilled.

The crystals on the cork are tartaric acid that has precipitated out of the wine. Depending on the winemakers process, the wine may go through a -4C process to get most of the acid out.
When I make my own wine, I don't have fancy equipment to chill etc, so after the carboy (aka tank) it gets bottled. I get lots of crystals on the cork.

Nothing to worry about. Corked Wine on the other hand can be attributed to a bad cork in general. Google corked wine and read the wikipedia entry, very informative.