Mouton Noir 2008 Montgomery Place Red - 3 Pack
$54.99 + $5 shipping
CONDITION: Red
PRODUCT: 3 Mouton Noir Wines 2008 Montgomery Place
CT link above

Winery website

Hours after witnessing the miracle of life as demonstrated through the birth of my 2nd child, I lit up a stogie, had a sit, and thought I ought to email the rest of my clan the good news about the new baby.

Upon the loading of the backed up messages, my wandering eyes spied an email from Wine
Country Connect! My first Labrat, upon the birth day of my son? Truly an unexpected gift! My thanks to Woot for (what I am sure was) this completely intentional and thoughtful surprise.

Now, to the wine:

pop and pour:
red blend wine. nice rich purple color, have I bought wines from Orcutt, CA before? minerally and thick in my mouth, pleasantly tannic, maybe red berry... but not too fruity so far. the bottle says 14.5 alcohol, but I'm not blown away by booze, which for me is a good thing. sniff: nose not doing a lot for me here.

one hour later:
so with the newborn I didn't have a lot going on for dinner. pork tamales that I had in the
fridge, with some good cheddar cheese. pairs well- the tamales aren't too spicy, but I am
starting to notice some spice in this wine. ginger-y? not sure- maybe I'm referring to that type of spice level as opposed to the flavors, if that makes any sense. wine coats the glass, nice mild acid, yet i would consider it pretty punchy (strong) for a red blend (in my experience i find those mild... but I don't often reach for these red blends, so your mileage may vary). i think i smell the spice, but still the nose is not blowing me away. maybe i need a special glass...


30 min after dinner:
spicy, spicy! i smell the alcohol now, too. minerals are also stronger. maybe blackberry, too. brought out some See's dark chocolate truffles to try with it. it cuts the richness of the truffle well, and doesn't have much of the thickness from earlier. with the chocolate i get more berry. wait, is that the booze? I'm 1/2 bottle in now, and while I could easily polish this off I've got children and wife to tend to...

overall:
a pretty tasty beverage I would say! i definitely would not call it your Friday-night special occasion wine, but it is above a Tuesday nighter! Maybe after that rough Monday, or the Thursday you wish was Friday. It is something you could easily drink with roast beast, cheese or dark chocolate. for me, I probably would not sip on its own.

thank you, Woot, for the opportunity- i hope I gave you guys something to work with!

First time lab rat, reporting for duty. I got the email yesterday and unfortunately didn't have time to prepare an appropriate meal. Therefore, pepperoni and Italian sausage pizza accompanied my tasting.

I don't have an experienced palate, so you'll just have to do with generalizations, I'm afraid. I typically enjoy syrah, cab sav and tempernillo, as far as reds go.

Also, I wrote this review prior to the wine coming up and woot! and therefore am surprised how little of the blend merlot constituted in the wine. I felt like it really dominated this wine. And while I'm not a big merlot fan, I enjoyed this wine. I think the price point is reasonable for the juice and am considering going in for one.

Montgomery place, 2008 California Red Wine 
Opened at 7:45
Color: garnet color, somewhat cloudy though, almost opaque
Smell: strong tannins
First taste: very structured wine, merlot backbone, chewy (though I hate that term)
Finish: lingering finish due to texture

Deeply structured, complex wine. Delicious on the first taste. 

30 mins in glass
Wine has softened a lot with time in glass. Merlot elements coming through more. 

With pizza:
Dry finish does not pair well with food. Doesn't really bring out anything in the wine, except the alcohol. 

An hour in glass:
Continues to open up. A very good wine. Fruit has now taken over and tannins mellow. 

Two hours in bottle:
Hasn't softened much more. Continues to be well structured. 

Conclusion:
This is a good wine with a lot of complexity. Good tannin backbone that will provide for aging another 3-5 years. Very drinkable now with some time in the decanter. I would say it's a good value at $25 a bottle or so. Probably an 89 on a ratings scale. 

Wow, another Af-Am winemaker! Definitely in for one here. (under my pseudonym, of course).

iByron

And there it is, my minute of fame!!

Mouton Noir 2008 Montgomery Place Red - 3 Pack
Current numbers (updated each minute)
First sucker: mill
Speed to first woot: 1m 24.127s
Last wooter to woot: MalcolmPX

MalcolmPX, CSW

just wanted to let everyone know that I'm excited to be apart of Wine. Woot! and I will be on the board all weekend chatting it up and answering any questions anyone might have

Cheer,

Andre Mack aka Mouton Noir

moutonnoir wrote:just wanted to let everyone know that I'm excited to be apart of Wine. Woot! and I will be on the board all weekend chatting it up and answering any questions anyone might have

Cheer,

Andre Mack aka Mouton Noir

Welcome!
I wonder if this weekend has a theme?

evillica wrote:

Hours after witnessing the miracle of life as demonstrated through the birth of my 2nd child, I lit up a stogie, had a sit, and thought I ought to email the rest of my clan the good news about the new baby.

Upon the loading of the backed up messages, my wandering eyes spied an email from Wine
Country Connect! My first Labrat, upon the birth day of my son? Truly an unexpected gift! My thanks to Woot for (what I am sure was) this completely intentional and thoughtful surprise.

Now, to the wine:

pop and pour:
red blend wine. nice rich purple color, have I bought wines from Orcutt, CA before? minerally and thick in my mouth, pleasantly tannic, maybe red berry... but not too fruity so far. the bottle says 14.5 alcohol, but I'm not blown away by booze, which for me is a good thing. sniff: nose not doing a lot for me here.

one hour later:
so with the newborn I didn't have a lot going on for dinner. pork tamales that I had in the
fridge, with some good cheddar cheese. pairs well- the tamales aren't too spicy, but I am
starting to notice some spice in this wine. ginger-y? not sure- maybe I'm referring to that type of spice level as opposed to the flavors, if that makes any sense. wine coats the glass, nice mild acid, yet i would consider it pretty punchy (strong) for a red blend (in my experience i find those mild... but I don't often reach for these red blends, so your mileage may vary). i think i smell the spice, but still the nose is not blowing me away. maybe i need a special glass...


30 min after dinner:
spicy, spicy! i smell the alcohol now, too. minerals are also stronger. maybe blackberry, too. brought out some See's dark chocolate truffles to try with it. it cuts the richness of the truffle well, and doesn't have much of the thickness from earlier. with the chocolate i get more berry. wait, is that the booze? I'm 1/2 bottle in now, and while I could easily polish this off I've got children and wife to tend to...

overall:
a pretty tasty beverage I would say! i definitely would not call it your Friday-night special occasion wine, but it is above a Tuesday nighter! Maybe after that rough Monday, or the Thursday you wish was Friday. It is something you could easily drink with roast beast, cheese or dark chocolate. for me, I probably would not sip on its own.

thank you, Woot, for the opportunity- i hope I gave you guys something to work with!

what an outstanding rat report. i like the way you drink!
Er... think!

Congratulations on your new ratlet too!!

I'm in for a case. Viva La Chaine!

Brooklyn! Seeing how I'm the guy who created this wine in CT, consider me onboard. Great wine, fun story, cool winemaker, and awesome tshirts. Too bad it's not a package deal with some schwag

evillica wrote:

Hours after witnessing the miracle of life as demonstrated through the birth of my 2nd child, I lit up a stogie, had a sit, and thought I ought to email the rest of my clan the good news about the new baby.

Upon the loading of the backed up messages, my wandering eyes spied an email from Wine
Country Connect! My first Labrat, upon the birth day of my son? Truly an unexpected gift! My thanks to Woot for (what I am sure was) this completely intentional and thoughtful surprise.

Now, to the wine:

pop and pour:
red blend wine. nice rich purple color, have I bought wines from Orcutt, CA before? minerally and thick in my mouth, pleasantly tannic, maybe red berry... but not too fruity so far. the bottle says 14.5 alcohol, but I'm not blown away by booze, which for me is a good thing. sniff: nose not doing a lot for me here.

one hour later:
so with the newborn I didn't have a lot going on for dinner. pork tamales that I had in the
fridge, with some good cheddar cheese. pairs well- the tamales aren't too spicy, but I am
starting to notice some spice in this wine. ginger-y? not sure- maybe I'm referring to that type of spice level as opposed to the flavors, if that makes any sense. wine coats the glass, nice mild acid, yet i would consider it pretty punchy (strong) for a red blend (in my experience i find those mild... but I don't often reach for these red blends, so your mileage may vary). i think i smell the spice, but still the nose is not blowing me away. maybe i need a special glass...


30 min after dinner:
spicy, spicy! i smell the alcohol now, too. minerals are also stronger. maybe blackberry, too. brought out some See's dark chocolate truffles to try with it. it cuts the richness of the truffle well, and doesn't have much of the thickness from earlier. with the chocolate i get more berry. wait, is that the booze? I'm 1/2 bottle in now, and while I could easily polish this off I've got children and wife to tend to...

overall:
a pretty tasty beverage I would say! i definitely would not call it your Friday-night special occasion wine, but it is above a Tuesday nighter! Maybe after that rough Monday, or the Thursday you wish was Friday. It is something you could easily drink with roast beast, cheese or dark chocolate. for me, I probably would not sip on its own.

thank you, Woot, for the opportunity- i hope I gave you guys something to work with!

Congrats on the birth of your child. You should stock up now for those late nights.
Then you "WILL" consider it a Monday, Tuesday,Wednesday....Wine.

Welcome Andre. I noticed you can't purchase the wine directly from your website. What's the retail price for this wine?

(note to self: I find it humorous that I'm asking this question, as I consider myself someone who constantly preaches that the measure of a good deal is not the discount from retail, but rather the price you are getting as it relates to the quality of the wine. Damn you self! )

Well, after doing a bit of searching I can say this wine is quite HARD TO FIND, and impossible to find here in ATL. Looks like there are a few places in NYC where you can get a bottle. If scarcity is your thing, then I would snap this offer up. Looks to be available WITHOUT SHIPPING for $25-$30/bottle, so a GREAT deal here at $18/bottle with $5 shipping.

jhkey wrote:Welcome Andre. I noticed you can't purchase the wine directly from your website. What's the retail price for this wine?

(note to self: I find it humorous that I'm asking this question, as I consider myself someone who constantly preaches that the measure of a good deal is not the discount from retail, but rather the price you are getting as it relates to the quality of the wine. Damn you self! )

We do have it on our site:
http://www.moutonnoirwines.net/store/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=4&products_id=15

I'll offer up some fancy words again...


The label on this Mouton Noir

can be seen from afar,

It reminds me of an ink blot test

and I don't say that in jest,

But if you listen to the Cellar that Tracks

along with the man himself Mr. Andre Mack,

You know you'll be getting super candied purple fruit

and that's just what you'd expect here at Wine Woot!

This is a strong fruity California blend with some oak. On the palate, this wine is medium bodied, balanced, and easy to drink but with a slight taste of tannins. This is a strong candidate to purchase for aging in the bottle. Thanks wine.woot for the opportunity to taste this offering I'm buying one.

beefytaco wrote:Brooklyn! Seeing how I'm the guy who created this wine in CT, consider me onboard. Great wine, fun story, cool winemaker, and awesome tshirts. Too bad it's not a package deal with some schwag

This from CT:Tasted by beezer6 on 1/3/2011 & rated 89 points: Super heady candied purple fruit. Cassis with a touch of grape soda with vanilla and oak.Screams New World Cabernet. Solid.

Are you also beezer6? If so, can you further clarify your review on CT?

jmdavidson wrote:This from CT:Tasted by beezer6 on 1/3/2011 & rated 89 points: Super heady candied purple fruit. Cassis with a touch of grape soda with vanilla and oak.Screams New World Cabernet. Solid.

Are you also beezer6? If so, can you further clarify your review on CT?

No, I'm Beefytaco on CT. According to the site, I left no notes - apologies!
My Consumption (edit...)
Consumed Size Cost Refund/Resale Type Consumption note
10/7/2010 750ml n/a n/a Drank from my cellar

I tasted this with Andre sometime last year at an event at Brooklyn Wine Exchange, and walked out with a bottle.

I recently drank his 2007 Faux Originale pinot though, and it was an incredibly balanced Oregon pinot. Unfortunately those were different grapes from a different state, but still a testament to his winemaking techniques.

I'm suffering from woot off withdrawal here. ;-(

fredrinaldi wrote:I'm suffering from woot off withdrawal here. ;-(

It's only been three weeks....I'm sure within the next couple of weeks a new one will occur

---Thread Hijack ---

For those of you in the Minneapoois/St. Paul area looking for a way to dispose of your summer shipping styrofoam (if you don't plan to create a backyard model of a Winter Carnival Ice Castle), I found a place that will recycle them. PosiPack at 7180 Northland Circle in Brooklyn Park.

Now back to what looks like a very interesting offer!

Cheers!

moutonnoir wrote:just wanted to let everyone know that I'm excited to be apart of Wine. Woot! and I will be on the board all weekend chatting it up and answering any questions anyone might have

Cheer,

Andre Mack aka Mouton Noir

Welcome Andre,

I'm curious about the reasoning behind a pre-fermentation cold soak when you're also doing extended maceration. Can you explain the pros and cons?

SonomaBouliste wrote:Welcome Andre,

I'm curious about the reasoning behind a pre-fermentation cold soak when you're also doing extended maceration. Can you explain the pros and cons?

Pre-Ferm Cold Soak:
adds finesse, vibrant color, lift in flavor & aromas

cons: reduce longevity


Extended Maceration:
fuller mouth feel, softer tannins from more skin contact

cons: loss of fruit

fredrinaldi wrote:I'm suffering from woot off withdrawal here. ;-(

I would check back on the 8th.

moutonnoir wrote:We do have it on our site:
http://www.moutonnoirwines.net/store/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=4&products_id=15

Thanks for the linkage, this allowed me to find your other wines as well (besides the 2 featured on the main page).

For those who are interested in checking out the rest of Mouton Noir's wine selections, CLICK HERE.

I noticed that the 2007 Montgomery Place is described as predominantly Cab Franc whereas the 2008 offered on Woot is only 20% Cab Franc. I have been itching for a Cab Franc deal but they are few and far between on Woot (and I missed the most recent one 2 months ago, wahh!). I'm curious as to why the 2008 blend was changed to feature Cab Sauv and Merlot over the Cab Franc?

texacaliali wrote:Hey Andre, so now that you've crossed over to "the other side", what do you think makes a good food pairing with this wine...that we can all cook at home?

I recall reading about you years ago in Food & Wine magazine about a NYC reps on sales calls with Lettie Teague, you were still at Per Se. You were nice & respectful to the sales rep, so I became an instant fan.

Well the best thing about "Crossing Over" is having the time to cook at home!! Monty Place is pretty versatile anything from roast chicken, pizza to steak, being that I'm from TX I would say that I'm partial to Brisket!

I've always found that its always pays to be nicer to everybody. its just so much easier to be respectful peeps!!

Hi Andre,

I was unfamiliar with you and your wine project until today's Woot. After digging a little deeper I saw the tee-shirts your company makes (genius!!) http://www.moutonnoirwines.net/store/ My question is; do you come up with all the hysterically funny & witty concepts, do you have a design team, or none of the above? Thanks Andre, cant wait to try Montgomery Place!!

dawgdave99 wrote:Thanks for the linkage, this allowed me to find your other wines as well (besides the 2 featured on the main page).

For those who are interested in checking out the rest of Mouton Noir's wine selections, CLICK HERE.

I noticed that the 2007 Montgomery Place is described as predominantly Cab Franc whereas the 2008 offered on Woot is only 20% Cab Franc. I have been itching for a Cab Franc deal but they are few and far between on Woot (and I missed the most recent one 2 months ago, wahh!). I'm curious as to why the 2008 blend was changed to feature Cab Sauv and Merlot over the Cab Franc?

each year I want to make the "best wine" possible from the fruit that comes in and not to be beholden to percentages, so in 07 the Cab Franc was just stunning and we used it to make up 45% of the blend. 08 Cab Franc was good but didn't floor me.

alcjb wrote:This is a strong fruity California blend with some oak. On the palate, this wine is medium bodied, balanced, and easy to drink but with a slight taste of tannins. This is a strong candidate to purchase for aging in the bottle. Thanks wine.woot for the opportunity to taste this offering I'm buying one.

Unmarked rattage?

moutonnoir wrote:each year I want to make the "best wine" possible from the fruit that comes in and not to be beholden to percentages, so in 07 the Cab Franc was just stunning and we used it to make up 45% of the blend. 08 Cab Franc was good but didn't floor me.

Thanks for the reply, makes sense and sounds like the best approach to making a quality Meritage.

ltstdcw wrote:Hi Andre,

I was unfamiliar with you and your wine project until today's Woot. After digging a little deeper I saw the tee-shirts your company makes (genius!!) http://www.moutonnoirwines.net/store/ My question is; do you come up with all the hysterically funny & witty concepts, do you have a design team, or none of the above? Thanks Andre, cant wait to try Montgomery Place!!

Ha! I have no design team just me and insomnia (I only sleep about 3 hours a night). for my design work I call myself "Get Fraiche Cru" and I've done some design for other wine clients. Glad you enjoy the tee's! I just wanted to have fun with it. enjoy Monty Place!

dawgdave99 wrote:Unmarked rattage?

It struck me that way, too.

moutonnoir wrote:for my design work I call myself "Get Fraiche Cru"

Haha, nice! 6 minutes.... 6 minutes....

cortot20 wrote:I would check back on the 8th.

OK Nostradamus I'll be there 4:30 am L.A. Time... credit card in hand.... Thanks