Holly's Hill Vineyard Grenache - 2+2 Pack
$54.99 + $5 shipping
CONDITION: Red
PRODUCTS:
2 2009 El Dorado Petit Patriarche
2 2009 El Dorado Grenache Noir
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A wine.woot only woot off. Interesting.

And the labrats for the other wineries are supposed to do what exactly? Sit on wine.woot all day?

bobbyb0322 wrote:A wine.woot only woot off. Interesting.

I would have never imagined such a thing. F5ing for a new aerator!

It's a wine-off! Or in some cases, a whine-off.....

Lab Rat at last! We love Rhones (GSMs and Petite Syrahs, mostly), so this was a pleasant surprise (got the Petit Patriarche)

Mild musty earth nose.

Has a bit of a sting at first—almost like carbonation, but not unpleasant.

Once past the odd nose and sharp start, however, the flavors are great. Super chewy with strong red fruit—I thought it was like strawberry preserves, Mrs. Doctorclark tasted cherry and vanilla. Tastes great on its own, or with food.

Finishes are what I find most interesting in wines, and although this one has a nicer length finish, it is more alcohol flavored than the 14.3% would lead me to believe (maybe this is the acidity?).

After trying and taking notes, I did some homework and am now eager to try a single varietal Counoise, as that is where I think I picked up the strawberries from. It would be cool if some crazy vintner somewhere made a Counoise-Sangiovese blend…

bobbyb0322 wrote:A wine.woot only woot off. Interesting.

They did this for Tempranillo day a few months back. I'm suspecting all the offerings will be Grenache today and maybe tomorrow as well.

My only disappointment is no cool Woot Grenache Day graphic like we had on Temp day.

Hi all, Josh from Holly's Hill here. Ready to answer any questions unless I fall asleep after five days of bottling and one more tomor

Cesar already got 'em...

hollyshilljosh wrote:Hi all, Josh from Holly's Hill here. Ready to answer any questions unless I fall asleep after five days of bottling and one more tomor

Did you fall asleep mid sentence?

hollyshilljosh wrote:Hi all, Josh from Holly's Hill here. Ready to answer any questions unless I fall asleep after five days of bottling and one more tomor

Ha! Good night/morrow, Josh. Thanks for visiting.

tiger7610 wrote:And the labrats for the other wineries are supposed to do what exactly? Sit on wine.woot all day?

I just emailed that same question.

Oh no... And just a few days after I discovered my affection for the Grenache (particularly the Rhones).

Fare thee well, fall bonus check. I hardly knew ye...

Cesare wrote:Did you fall asleep mid sentence?

Not Josh here, but Larry Schaffer from tercero wines . . . and a member of the Rhone Ranger Board of Directors. We're psyched to be taking part in an International Grenache Day Woot Off celebrating a great varietal, and hope wooters will be on board for a long and fun ride today!

The wines Josh makes are beautifully elegant - you will NOT be disappointed whatsoever . . .

Cheers!

tercerowines wrote:Not Josh here, but Larry Schaffer from tercero wines . . . and a member of the Rhone Ranger Board of Directors. We're psyched to be taking part in an International Grenache Day Woot Off celebrating a great varietal, and hope wooters will be on board for a long and fun ride today!

The wines Josh makes are beautifully elegant - you will NOT be disappointed whatsoever . . .

Cheers!

Hi Larry, I tasted one of your wines (I was lab ratted that bottle), any idea when you are going to be up on woot, so I can make sure to post my review?

doctorclark wrote:

Lab Rat at last! We love Rhones (GSMs and Petite Syrahs, mostly), so this was a pleasant surprise (got the Petit Patriarche)

Mild musty earth nose.

Has a bit of a sting at first—almost like carbonation, but not unpleasant.

Once past the odd nose and sharp start, however, the flavors are great. Super chewy with strong red fruit—I thought it was like strawberry preserves, Mrs. Doctorclark tasted cherry and vanilla. Tastes great on its own, or with food.

Finishes are what I find most interesting in wines, and although this one has a nicer length finish, it is more alcohol flavored than the 14.3% would lead me to believe (maybe this is the acidity?).

After trying and taking notes, I did some homework and am now eager to try a single varietal Counoise, as that is where I think I picked up the strawberries from. It would be cool if some crazy vintner somewhere made a Counoise-Sangiovese blend…

Two questions, doctor C--1) which of the two did you lab rat? and 2) whenever I hear "vanilla" I start to turn off on a wine, especially at this reasonable but a bit high price point for something completely foreign. How prominent is that vanilla flavor?

And if you had it (or anyone else who has had both), how does this compare the the Meeker forklift from a few weeks back? I was surprised how much I loved that one...

Sure on Grenache Day you have a Grenache-Off....on Cabernet day all we got was a crappy battery powered corkscrew.

tiger7610 wrote:And the labrats for the other wineries are supposed to do what exactly? Sit on wine.woot all day?

I think Woot just assumes we're doing that anyways.

I always thought the like a good wine and cheese, woot-offs and wine-offs went together... my bad XD

redwinefan wrote:I think Woot just assumes we're doing that anyways.

I can just see myself asking my instructor if I can have my computer on during an exam because I'm supposed to be watching a wine.woot off

tiger7610 wrote:Hi Larry, I tasted one of your wines (I was lab ratted that bottle), any idea when you are going to be up on woot, so I can make sure to post my review?

I don't know the exact time - perhaps David should get on here and post a schedule - or at least email you guys and gals one . . .

Let's just say I've got a whole bunch of Trader Joe's French Roast brewing, the kids are sleeping, and I'm PSYCHED to be taking part in my first wine.woot experience for my wines . . . .

But nuf said about that - let's get back to the Holly Hill wines - they really are wonderfully elegant renditions of Grenache. My advice? Purchase them plus an assortment of other grenaches from around the state as the day goes on - this will give you a great overview of the what's happening with the variety these days . . .

Cheers!

tiger7610 wrote:I can just see myself asking my instructor if I can have my computer on during an exam because I'm supposed to be watching a wine.woot off

I resemble that remark - I'm teaching an Intro to Winemaking course at the local Junior College - and I think I'd give extra credit points if you were tuned in to a grenache woot off all day long!!!

Just to verify my sanity, is Petit Patriarche the 2008?

The label on the bottle in the picture seems to say 2009. Either that or I'm starting to get late night hallucinations...

jplamb wrote:Sure on Grenache Day you have a Grenache-Off....on Cabernet day all we got was a crappy battery powered corkscrew.

Every day is cabernet day in my house.

texacaliali wrote:Honored to have Josh on the boards tonight to kick of the Grenache Woot Off! Thanks for your Vintners Voicemail, looking forward to learning about this killer line-up of Rhone style producers.

We were talking Cali Rhone varietals back in May http://wine.woot.com/Blog/ViewEntry.aspx?Id=17743

Did I meet you at HdR this year?!?!?!?

tiger7610 wrote:I can just see myself asking my instructor if I can have my computer on during an exam because I'm supposed to be watching a wine.woot off

Write up your review and send it to me and I will post it.

tercerowines wrote:I resemble that remark - I'm teaching an Intro to Winemaking course at the local Junior College - and I think I'd give extra credit points if you were tuned in to a grenache woot off all day long!!!

Sadly my class is Intro to Plant Pathology so probably would not flow well. I'm hoping I can catch you tomorrow, because I had some weird flavors from your wine, so maybe you can share what it was supposed to taste like

greyday wrote:Two questions, doctor C--1) which of the two did you lab rat? and 2) whenever I hear "vanilla" I start to turn off on a wine, especially at this reasonable but a bit high price point for something completely foreign. How prominent is that vanilla flavor?

And if you had it (or anyone else who has had both), how does this compare the the Meeker forklift from a few weeks back? I was surprised how much I loved that one...

We got the Petit Patriarche, and the vanilla wasn't super strong to me. But from my wife's comments and the "candy" and "sweet tarts" comments in the writeup, I would think that all three refer to a general fruit-sweetness that my tongue just figures as preserves (but not necessarily the "jamminess" of Zins that are like that)

Didn't have the Meeker, alas..

LAB RAT REPORT-- Holly's Hill 2009 Grenache Noir

Long time wine.wooter, first time rat! Clearly that earlier rat is much smarter or drank less of his bottle cause I cannot make a cute pic, sorry.

Dark cardinal in color, with LEGS on the glass

Bright smell -- tobacco-berry?

Very bright flavor but dark tastes -- not deep flavor, but dark like earth or wood.

Dry finish, I think from high alcohol content? I shared with 2 friends. One hated it, the other really liked it and I did too!

redwinefan wrote:They did this for Tempranillo day a few months back. I'm suspecting all the offerings will be Grenache today and maybe tomorrow as well.

That's what I was thinking.

Going to be too busy to spend much time on here this weekend. Probably a good thing for my wallet...

doctorclark wrote:We got the Petit Patriarche, and the vanilla wasn't super strong to me. But from my wife's comments and the "candy" and "sweet tarts" comments in the writeup, I would think that all three refer to a general fruit-sweetness that my tongue just figures as preserves (but not necessarily the "jamminess" of Zins that are like that)

Didn't have the Meeker, alas..

If you like the tart but fruity/black fruit tasting wines, I highly HIGHLY recommend the Meeker if it comes back up during this 'off. I'll be picking up more if it shows it's pretty cartoon-labeled face...

As for this one I'm still on the fence, but I appreciate your report and response, its definitely helped narrow it a bit.

tiger7610 wrote:And the labrats for the other wineries are supposed to do what exactly? Sit on wine.woot all day?

Maybe there is a way to post now and have it show up when it is time? Would the moderator know?

Whenever they come up, please send me 3 cases of Pedrocelli Rose or mixed case. Thanks.
ps. If I am sleeping, I will make it up when I arise.

tiger7610 wrote:Sadly my class is Intro to Plant Pathology so probably would not flow well. I'm hoping I can catch you tomorrow, because I had some weird flavors from your wine, so maybe you can share what it was supposed to taste like

Hel-lo? Botrytis? I am 100% confident my intro plant path class had discussions of wine grapes! Back to studying for you!

Caesar, I pmed you my labrat review. I'm going to bed, but I look forward to following the grenache day

Hi, are the grapes organically grown?