Zeppelin Winery Chateau d' Abalone
$49.99 + $5 shipping
CONDITION: White
PRODUCT: 3 2011 Chateau d' Abalone, Stillman Brown, Zeppelin Winery
CT link above

Winery website


[Thunderthighs: Fixed winery link by request]

Stillman Brown is not only a wonderful human being, with brilliant ideas, he's also a fantastic winemaker.

He is one of just 2 winemakers on woot who I will buy anything they offer (the other being Kent Rasmussen). THIS IS AN AUTO-BUY for me.

Buy this wine. I haven't had it, but I've had a number of Stillman's others, and you won't be sorry.

beautiful!

See, you have to read the whole creative rant - that I wish I'd written, only I use different creative writing drugs - to find out that the wine's a Paso Grenache Blanc (rhone style white, its own grape) with Viognier, and bone dry. It's almost all stainless - the Viognier was in a neutral for a few months.

I'm going to have to make a blush! (gee whiz)

PetiteSirah wrote:Stillman Brown is not only a wonderful human being, with brilliant ideas, he's also a fantastic winemaker.

He is one of just 2 winemakers on woot who I will buy anything they offer (the other being Kent Rasmussen). THIS IS AN AUTO-BUY for me.

Buy this wine. I haven't had it, but I've had a number of Stillman's others, and you won't be sorry.

stillmanbrown wrote:See, you have to read the whole creative rant - that I wish I'd written, only I use different creative writing drugs - to find out that the wine's a Paso Grenache Blanc (rhone style white, its own grape) with Viognier, and bone dry. It's almost all stainless - the Viognier was in a neutral for a few months.

Sounds right up my alley for a white wine. Seriously considering....

So, I eat zero fish but do enjoy a nice wine with fruit undertones. Would this work well with a steak? Pasta? The right up has me drooling, but I fear I am mostly a red wine drinker. The pear is what has my eyebrow raised... Please, help...

This is a first for me. The first time I ever took the plunge without first reading several hours worth of comments to help me decide. Judging by PS' comment above, looks like I had the right instinct.

We tried gluing baby abalone shells from the abalone farm just north of town onto the bottle shoulder, but they didn't ship well. Too bad, I like the glue.

Oh, and the idea of this wine (this is the second vintage, didn't have enough of the 2010 for WW) is seafood compatibility. Abalone is pretty expensive, so alternatives abound . . . Grenache Blanc is moderate to high acid, green apple and some peach, but not a floral explosion.

mattryan wrote:So, I eat zero fish but do enjoy a nice wine with fruit undertones. Would this work well with a steak? Pasta? The right up has me drooling, but I fear I am mostly a red wine drinker. The pear is what has my eyebrow raised... Please, help...

Pasta and cream or cheese, yes. A sourdough cold steak sandwich, but not a hot spiced steak. Listen to me blather, as though I was a chef or somm . . . just going on my own taste here . . .

Volunteer Labrat Report:

2011 Chateau d'Abalone Grenache Blanc
Paso Robles Hall Ranch
Alc. 13.4%
Winemaker: Stillman Brown


Stillman sent me a bottle of this dry Rhone wine so I could labrat it for Wine.Woot. I shared it with zTimothyBz and a friend on Saturday night.


Summary: Very satisfying (especially to German palate) to all, fine by itself. Didn't need any food, but would go well with fish. Refreshing. Rated 89-90 pts.


Tasted at the appropriate temperature, right after opening, and at the same time using the Vinturi White (just to see), then again about an hour after opening, and the next day.

Bright, clean nose with some floral notes and light overtones of citrus. Tim's friend (the one with the German palate) really enjoyed this wine. As did Tim and I. Tim compared it to a Swedish/German wine.

There was a hint of the taste of a sparkling wine to it. Very refreshing.


The initial pour thru the Vinturi White didn't really help, rather muted the wine. However, after waiting about 30 minutes, and then re-pouring it thru the VW, it opened up again. So pretty much worthless for this wine.

It was fine without the VW pours. The next day was still very good, even without using a vacuum pump.

Not sweet at all, nice and dry.

Tasted on it's own, and with some nice apricot spread on Irish Cheddar and crackers. Yummy.


We all Highly Recommend this dry white wine.

You may notice the lack of a VV (Vintners Voicemail). Well, I was on a road trip last week . . . Sedona, Telluride, Vegas, the cities of the plain . . . and was at our friend the mini-minion's bungalow in Vegas when Wine Woot said it was time, and my improvisation might have been more eccentric than usual. If you want to hear it, I'll have to email you the MP3. It's not bad, though mini-minion's a lot funnier than I am.

My email's on the wine bottle, it's my first name and the letter B@aol.com

PetiteSirah wrote:Stillman Brown is not only a wonderful human being, with brilliant ideas, he's also a fantastic winemaker.

He is one of just 2 winemakers on woot who I will buy anything they offer (the other being Kent Rasmussen). THIS IS AN AUTO-BUY for me.

Buy this wine. I haven't had it, but I've had a number of Stillman's others, and you won't be sorry.

Ditto. And darn you for beating me to First Sucker!!!!

I for one am another fan of Stillman's wines! Can't say he is a good man because I have never met him....but I do love the wacked out emails he sends with every release

Last wooter to woot: tytiger58

Ok. I gotta ask, "What's the drinking window on this?" Drink sooner or later? Or both?

How does New Mexico fit in?

"LOCATION: New Mexico and San Miguel, CA"

MarkDaSpark wrote:Volunteer Labrat Report:

2011 Chateau d'Abalone Grenache Blanc
Paso Robles Hall Ranch
Alc. 13.4%
Winemaker: Stillman Brown


Stillman sent me a bottle of this dry Rhone wine so I could labrat it for Wine.Woot. I shared it with zTimothyBz and a friend on Saturday night.



Summary: Very satisfying (especially to

German palate) to all, fine by itself. Didn't need any food, but would go well with fish. Refreshing. Rated 89-90 pts.


Tasted at the appropriate temperature, right after opening, and at the same time using the Vinturi White (just to see), then again about an hour after opening, and the next day.

Bright, clean nose with some floral notes and light overtones of citrus. Tim's friend (the one with the German palate) really enjoyed this wine. As did Tim and I. Tim compared it to a Swedish/German wine.

There was a hint of the taste of a sparkling wine to it. Very refreshing.


The initial pour thru the Vinturi White didn't really help, rather muted the wine. However, after waiting about 30 minutes, and then re-pouring it thru the VW, it opened up again. So pretty much worthless for this wine.

It was fine without the VW pours. The next day was still very good, even without using a vacuum pump.

Not sweet at all, nice and dry.

Tasted on it's own, and with some nice apricot spread on Irish Cheddar and crackers. Yummy.


We all Highly Recommend this dry white wine.

Have you thought about being a wine judge?

Winedrew

jmdavidson wrote:Ok. I gotta ask, "What's the drinking window on this?" Drink sooner or later? Or both?

Good question, and the short answer is, I'm not sure. Long, blathering winemaker reply: I expect it to last longer than my non CC clone Chards or Viognier, but I don't know if it will last as long as the dry pink Zeppelins have (4+ years!) even though the chemistry is similar - especially the lack of oxidation, moderate CO2, and of course decent if not blistering acidity. If I only had 3 bottles, as this offer is, I'd down two this year and hold one to compare with the 2012 next year . . .

silent7seven wrote:How does New Mexico fit in?

"LOCATION: New Mexico and San Miguel, CA"

Office location for silent partner! I made wine in NM for a while during summers (and CA in the fall of course) but it got to be too much travel, though it was fun consulting in AZ on the way back and forth . . .

Thanks for the trial! Rather thorough . . . I may have to climb out of bed, go downstairs, and try to beat the wine up a bit myself! Also, there's just a bit of snoring going on here . . .


2011 Chateau d'Abalone Grenache Blanc
Paso Robles Hall Ranch
Alc. 13.4%
Winemaker: Stillman Brown


Stillman sent me a bottle of this dry Rhone wine so I could labrat it for Wine.Woot. I shared it with zTimothyBz and a friend on Saturday night.

stillmanbrown wrote:Good question, and the short answer is, I'm not sure. Long, blathering winemaker reply: I expect it to last longer than my non CC clone Chards or Viognier, but I don't know if it will last as long as the dry pink Zeppelins have (4+ years!) even though the chemistry is similar - especially the lack of oxidation, moderate CO2, and of course decent if not blistering acidity. If I only had 3 bottles, as this offer is, I'd down two this year and hold one to compare with the 2012 next year . . .

With summmer coming and all, you convinced me. Now how do I get some more Red Zeppelin Winery, 2009 Black Zeppelin, Monterey? That was great wine.

In for one. My first wine.woot!
Paso Robles does some pretty good white wines, not as well as the whites from santa barbara or SLO, but when things freeze over like this good things tend to happen. I hope this does not disappoint!

There is a very famous Grenache Blanc - well, to CA Rhone fiends - that has discernable sweetness to it, closing in on Kendall Jackson Chardonnay range, no matter how some tasting room staff or trade cogs deny it. The Viognier in the Chateau d'Abalone adds some viscosity as well as floral/honey notes, the wine is actually DRY.

jmdavidson wrote:With summmer coming and all, you convinced me. Now how do I get some more Red Zeppelin Winery, 2009 Black Zeppelin, Monterey? That was great wine.

Um, keep your eyes open. That was an early release version, some of the appellation designate 2009 Black Zeppelin Petite was kept in barrel longer, and just might appear in this space. WW will spank me if I say when, though.

stillmanbrown wrote:Um, keep your eyes open. That was an early release version, some of the appellation designate 2009 Black Zeppelin Petite was kept in barrel longer, and just might appear in this space. WW will spank me if I say when, though.

Hope springs eternal. Thanks for the (wink, wink) maybe heads up.

Thanks be! A woot white!! And a yummy Rhone style dry white. Keeps me in the ABC club, too!

If the German dude-in {edited to add correct feminie suffix} likes it, I'm in! Exactly my taste as well.

With all the reds we've been seeing lately, I predict this gem will go fast. 111 cases = 444 woot packs.
{edited after coffee this morning to correct my math}

stillmanbrown wrote:There is a very famous Grenache Blanc - well, to CA Rhone fiends - that has discernable sweetness to it, closing in on Kendall Jackson Chardonnay range, no matter how some tasting room staff or trade cogs deny it. The Viognier in the Chateau d'Abalone adds some viscosity as well as floral/honey notes, the wine is actually DRY.

I thought grenache blanc comes mostly from SLO?
the addition of the viognier is also really enticing to me, I really like a good clean dry white, but one with a good body and very little oak. They are very hard to find - thanks for wooting this one for us!

I'm on for a pack tomorrow morning. Now, I sleep.

Is there any meaning to 'Red Zeppelin' or just a tribute to the band?

I don't eat seafood, but the cheese and crackers makes this sound good.

firstpancake wrote:I thought grenache blanc comes mostly from SLO?
the addition of the viognier is also really enticing to me, I really like a good clean dry white, but one with a good body and very little oak. They are very hard to find - thanks for wooting this one for us!

My pleasure!
Tablas Creek says a third of the GB in CA is in SLO. They're also Vermentino pioneers, btw, though of course it's not a rhone varietal. I just might have the first Verdejo in Paso, not to be confused with Verdelho of course!

While I have an abundance of abalone, I sport dive, I have a wine collection that is bereft of white wine and this might be the wine to break that trend. However, my wife is a fan of dry whites that exhibit quite a bit of minerality, would this work for her?

Craig234 wrote:Is there any meaning to 'Red Zeppelin' or just a tribute to the band?

I don't eat seafood, but the cheese and crackers makes this sound good.

It was actually meant to be a parody of the Bonny Doon flying cigar label . . . idea being that the UFO is just the Germans coming to steal wine. The pun was irresistible, however.

Grabbed my set now, actually (in case 111 cases is correct). Stillman, only 111 cases?!

sdfreedive wrote:While I have an abundance of abalone, I sport dive, I have a wine collection that is bereft of white wine and this might be the wine to break that trend. However, my wife is a fan of dry whites that exhibit quite a bit of minerality, would this work for her?

It's not particularly 'mineral' nor grassy, even though it's dry. Mineral covers a lot of different aromas, some are 'good' mercaptans, others from barrel. Some wines develop some of these characters with age, though the previous vintage hasn't. Sorry for the anti sales pitch!!!!

kylemittskus wrote:Grabbed my set now, actually (in case 111 cases is correct). Stillman, only 111 cases?!

Yes, though that's a case of 12 of course. I set a limit for WW, and don't know how well white wine sells in the summer, but I'm certainly not going to sell all of it and leave myself up the Armagosa without a paddle, as it were. I have locals, local restaurants, my email list, and the Siren to supply.

Cesare wrote:Zeppelin Winery Chateau d' Abalone
$49.99 + $5 shipping
CONDITION: White
PRODUCT: 3 2011 Chateau d' Abalone, Stillman Brown, Zeppelin Winery
CT link above

Winery website

The winery website is ZEPPELINWINERY.COM not REDZEPPELINWINERY.COM even though both are mine, the former is for my special small lots. Gotta keep my trademarks defended, you know!

stillmanbrown wrote:Um, keep your eyes open. That was an early release version, some of the appellation designate 2009 Black Zeppelin Petite was kept in barrel longer, and just might appear in this space. WW will spank me if I say when, though.

It's SO f'ing good. Stillman sent us a bottle or the D&D afterparty. I will be in for 3 when it appears.

stillmanbrown wrote:The winery website is ZEPPELINWINERY.COM not REDZEPPELINWINERY.COM even though both are mine, the former is for my special small lots. Gotta keep my trademarks defended, you know!

Technically, that should be my job. You can pay me in PS for the next 13 days until I start the new job...