Monticello Vineyards 15 Year Anniversary Jefferson Cuvée Cabernet 3-Pack
$64.99 $̶1̶1̶5̶.̶0̶0̶ 43% off List Price
1998 Monticello Vineyards Jefferson Cuvée Cabernet Sauvignon, Napa Valley

Ardente 1997 Espressione Cabernet Sauvignon 3-Pack
$67.99 $̶1̶4̶8̶.̶0̶0̶ 54% off List Price
1997 Ardente Espressione Cabernet Sauvignon, Atlas Peak Napa Valley

Slingshot Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon 6-Pack
$89.99 $̶1̶5̶6̶.̶0̶0̶ 42% off List Price
2010 Slingshot Cabernet Sauvignon

Tara Bella Russian River Cabernet Sauvignon Black Tie Buy 2-Pack
$69.99 $̶1̶6̶0̶.̶0̶0̶ 56% off List Price
2010 Tara Bella Estate Cabernet Sauvignon, Russian River Valley
2009 Tara Bella Estate Cabernet Sauvignon, Russian River Valley

Ty Caton Sonoma Valley Ballfield Syrah 3-Pack
$59.99 $̶1̶2̶7̶.̶0̶0̶ 53% off List Price
2011 Ty Caton Ballfield Syrah, Sonoma Valley Caton Vineyard

What's the drinking window on the '98 Monticello? Think it would still be good, in say 2019?

"Cab Said Fred Fredrinaldi is a man who knows what he wants, and what he wants is Cabernet. Nothing less. Nothing more. He's so stead-fast in his love for all things Cab that he will not be swayed by the good-natured prodding of his Wine.Woot peers - except for that time he did cave for a particularly good Syrah, which we have included. So we gotta ask... In for one, Fred? How about five? XOXO"

All I can say is....awesome.

This is awesome. Fred, you should be proud.

mikeyg83 wrote:What's the drinking window on the '98 Monticello? Think it would still be good, in say 2019?

CT says through 2013 but the folks who have had it seem to think it will go another five years and then start declining. So maybe with excellent storage.

North316 wrote:"Cab Said Fred Fredrinaldi is a man who knows what he wants, and what he wants is Cabernet. Nothing less. Nothing more. He's so stead-fast in his love for all things Cab that he will not be swayed by the good-natured prodding of his Wine.Woot peers - except for that time he did cave for a particularly good Syrah, which we have included. So we gotta ask... In for one, Fred? How about five? XOXO"

All I can say is....awesome.

+1 - very cool tribute indeed

Cab Said Fred needs to host the next So Cal gathering...quickly becoming a legend around here

Does anyone have any tasting notes on the Monticello? I see Cortot20's very detailed review on CT and from the previous offer - thank you for posting.

I was interested in this deal when it came up a while back and still am, hoping that a few people have received their orders from the previous offer and have had a chance to taste. If there is anyone else with any insight to help push me over the edge, that would be great! For my spirit, not my wallet.

North316 wrote:"Cab Said Fred Fredrinaldi is a man who knows what he wants, and what he wants is Cabernet. Nothing less. Nothing more. He's so stead-fast in his love for all things Cab that he will not be swayed by the good-natured prodding of his Wine.Woot peers - except for that time he did cave for a particularly good Syrah, which we have included. So we gotta ask... In for one, Fred? How about five? XOXO"

All I can say is....awesome.

I'll add absolutely hilarious.

Awesome. Fred, you should be proud, and I'm hoping to meet you at the gathering on the 30th!

I've got a bottle of 97 Ardente to open up at happy hour. Stay tuned for notes later today. Hopefully I can get everybody from work to chime in.

tdedek wrote:Does anyone have any tasting notes on the Monticello? I see Cortot20's very detailed review on CT and from the previous offer - thank you for posting.

I was interested in this deal when it came up a while back and still am, hoping that a few people have received their orders from the previous offers and have had a chance to taste. If there is anyone else with any insight to help push me over the edge, that would be great! For my spirit, not my wallet.

Your welcome. I wish more people would post detailed notes in CT, simple scores and flavor profiles don't cut it. I am sure it is a time thing. Even on my best days My notes or are only 3 or 4 sentences.

Very awesome title!

FRED!!!

BTW, I am in for some Ardente

klezman wrote:Awesome. Fred, you should be proud, and I'm hoping to meet you at the gathering on the 30th!

I've got a bottle of 97 Ardente to open up at happy hour. Stay tuned for notes later today. Hopefully I can get everybody from work to chime in.

Yea Fred you should stop by on the 30th...and don't worry we will open some cabs for you to make you feel at home.

The Ty Caton Syrah is an autobuy! I finished off the first three from a while back in record time so this time I got 6!

Where's the man of the hour?!

Is the Ty the 2011 or the 2010? The 2010 appears to have the medal, while the 2011 is a new release.

Cheers to a legend in his own time!

I just popped a '97 Ardente on Saturday. It is impressive that the cork is in such good shape - it is easy to pull and shows no signs of even beginning to dry out.

I carefully poured the cab into a decanter. Pop and pour the wine tastes of bottle funk and tannin. I took the steaks out of the fridge and had a glass of white wine with my wife as we set the table, made salad and did our best to insure that our kids didn't accidentally kill them selves by falling off of the train table or figuring out how to open a second story window. Cooked the steaks and had some cab with them about an hour after opening the bottle. The bottle funk was almost entirely gone, and the cab tasted as a Atlas Peak cab should. Varietal appropriate black fruits with plenty of muscular tannic backbone left, even though this juice has been bottled up for more than a decade. Poured the rest into an 375ml and corked. The next day, a Sunday, our water heater died and it's shut off valve had corroded such that we had to turn the water off at the street. We went to the local hotel and did not bring with us any open containers of boozy juice. Monday evening, I expected the Ardent from Saturday to be over the hill and oxidized. To my pleasant surprise, it was still great. More fruit and less muscular tannin, but didn't show any sign of turning as many wines would after being left on the counter for 2 days.

And yes, I very briefly thought of Fred while sipping this wine, entertained by the knowledge that he was probably out there somewhere drinking cab.

Yes, I understand that Cabs are more expensive than other veritals, and the Slingshot is priced in the $15-18 per bottle range, however the number of Cabs offered by Woot is few and far between. And most Cabs are in the higher price bracket - $20-30 per bottle.
I do wish Woot would offer more by way of Cabs in the $15 range. I, for one, can't afford the more expensive wines, and love Cabs.

North316 wrote:"Cab Said Fred Fredrinaldi is a man who knows what he wants, and what he wants is Cabernet. Nothing less. Nothing more. He's so stead-fast in his love for all things Cab that he will not be swayed by the good-natured prodding of his Wine.Woot peers - except for that time he did cave for a particularly good Syrah, which we have included. So we gotta ask... In for one, Fred? How about five? XOXO"

All I can say is....awesome.

Ah what do you think? The Slingshot as a bonus

hiten900 wrote:Yes, I understand that Cabs are more expensive than other veritals, and the Slingshot is priced in the $15-18 per bottle range, however the number of Cabs offered by Woot is few and far between. And most Cabs are in the higher price bracket - $20-30 per bottle.
I do wish Woot would offer more by way of Cabs in the $15 range. I, for one, can't afford the more expensive wines, and love Cabs.

Look for some from Hahn family winery or any of their sub brands. The cabs are typically in the $10 range and very drinkable.

Wow I feel the love,

hiten900 wrote:Yes, I understand that Cabs are more expensive than other veritals, and the Slingshot is priced in the $15-18 per bottle range, however the number of Cabs offered by Woot is few and far between. And most Cabs are in the higher price bracket - $20-30 per bottle.
I do wish Woot would offer more by way of Cabs in the $15 range. I, for one, can't afford the more expensive wines, and love Cabs.

The problem with that is that it isn't very easy to find decent cab in the $10-15 range, let alone for WD to find good $15-25 that he can work a deal on and sell it to us for $10-15. Try going to your local store and finding a $15-20-25 cab that you really really enjoy and then consider the fact that an additional deal has been made by WW to procure, discount and sell that wine.

As cortot said, there are some decent cheap ones around here, but they don't pop up real often. Something you will see more during wootoffs.

The Hahn Chillean cabs are great at $10-12 bucks, Healsburg ranches was pretty good. There are some others that have been offered here (White Cottage or something?) but it's just hard to get quality cab at a low price that everyone here won't turn their nose up at.

hiten900 wrote:Yes, I understand that Cabs are more expensive than other veritals, and the Slingshot is priced in the $15-18 per bottle range, however the number of Cabs offered by Woot is few and far between. And most Cabs are in the higher price bracket - $20-30 per bottle.
I do wish Woot would offer more by way of Cabs in the $15 range. I, for one, can't afford the more expensive wines, and love Cabs.

We enjoyed the Slingshot when offered last year. Angling to get more now, as the last set didn't linger.

cortot20 wrote:This is awesome. Fred, you should be proud.

I am, A Woot Plus" named after me?
my wife just saw it and to quote her " YOU NEED HELP "

hiten900 wrote:I do wish Woot would offer more by way of Cabs in the $15 range. I, for one, can't afford the more expensive wines, and love Cabs.

Here's one strategy that might help keep you under budget.

Look for relatively large producers with a variety of cabs at different price points. Try a few of their wines (at tastings, friends' houses, or by-the-glass at restaurants). Don't be discouraged if their bargain-priced cabs don't impress. When you find a producer that makes cabs that tend to appeal to your palate, even if the ones that appeal are their more expensive cabs, make a note of it. Many of the bigger producers do pretty well with their more expensive cabs regardless of the vintage, but the quality of their bargain cabs is highly dependent on the vintage.

The strategy is to wait for a great vintage and then stock up on the bargain priced cabs.

Here's a real-world example that worked for me. A couple years after I first got into wine, a friend of mine recommended the Louis M. Martini bargain-priced cab. At the time it was selling for around $9 per bottle at my local wine discounter. That was a great bottle of wine considering the $9 cost, and I bought several bottles and stuck them in my wine rack in the basement. Another surprisingly good, inexpensive wine I got around the same time was the Gallo of Sonoma cab. I bought three or four bottles and added them to my wine rack. Both of these were 1997 vintage.

What I didn't know back then (as I was just getting into wine and hadn't really learned a lot yet) was that 1997 was a fantastic vintage in California, and especially good in Napa.

I assumed that the 1998 Martini and Gallo of Sonoma cabs would be equally good. But 1998 was NOT a great vintage due to bad weather, and the bargain-priced Martini and Gallo of Sonoma cabs did not compare to the 1997s.

So I made a point to buy one bottle when each new vintage came available and try it, while also paying more attention to the reported quality of each vintage. I ended up buying a case of the 2001 Louis M. Martini. (I still have one bottle left of it that I'm reluctant to open, because then it will all be gone.)

So that's it in a nutshell. Buy bargain-priced cabs in the best vintages, and store them. Be careful with other vintages, and don't assume a disappointing bargain cab in a so-so year means the same disappointment in another (better) year.

2012 looks to be another great year for California -- we'll see when the 2012 cabs start rolling out.

Obviously this method is not going to get you cabs that will equal Woot cabs costing $20-$30, since those are already discounted from regular retail of around $35-$50. But it can result in some very nice-drinking cabs under your $15 budget.

hiten900 wrote:Yes, I understand that Cabs are more expensive than other veritals, and the Slingshot is priced in the $15-18 per bottle range, however the number of Cabs offered by Woot is few and far between. And most Cabs are in the higher price bracket - $20-30 per bottle.
I do wish Woot would offer more by way of Cabs in the $15 range. I, for one, can't afford the more expensive wines, and love Cabs.

It is possible that the labor and time and quality of grapes that go into making a good cab, may tend to require the price to be a little higher...... but I could be wrong

moondigger wrote:Here's one strategy that might help keep you under budget.

Look for relatively large producers with a variety of cabs at different price points. Try a few of their wines (at tastings, friends' houses, or by-the-glass at restaurants). Don't be discouraged if their bargain-priced cabs don't impress. When you find a producer that makes cabs that tend to appeal to your palate, even if the ones that appeal are their more expensive cabs, make a note of it. Many of the bigger producers do pretty well with their more expensive cabs regardless of the vintage, but the quality of their bargain cabs is highly dependent on the vintage.

The strategy is to wait for a great vintage and then stock up on the bargain priced cabs.

Here's a real-world example that worked for me. A couple years after I first got into wine, a friend of mine recommended the Louis M. Martini bargain-priced cab. At the time it was selling for around $9 per bottle at my local wine discounter. That was a great bottle of wine considering the $9 cost, and I bought several bottles and stuck them in my wine rack in the basement. Another surprisingly good, inexpensive wine I got around the same time was the Gallo of Sonoma cab. I bought three or four bottles and added them to my wine rack. Both of these were 1997 vintage.

What I didn't know back then (as I was just getting into wine and hadn't really learned a lot yet) was that 1997 was a fantastic vintage in California, and especially good in Napa.

I assumed that the 1998 Martini and Gallo of Sonoma cabs would be equally good. But 1998 was NOT a great vintage due to bad weather, and the bargain-priced Martini and Gallo of Sonoma cabs did not compare to the 1997s.

So I made a point to buy one bottle when each new vintage came available and try it, while also paying more attention to the reported quality of each vintage. I ended up buying a case of the 2001 Louis M. Martini. (I still have one bottle left of it that I'm reluctant to open, because then it will all be gone.)

So that's it in a nutshell. Buy bargain-priced cabs in the best vintages, and store them. Be careful with other vintages, and don't assume a disappointing bargain cab in a so-so year means the same disappointment in another (better) year.

2012 looks to be another great year for California -- we'll see when the 2012 cabs start rolling out.

Obviously this method is not going to get you cabs that will equal Woot cabs costing $20-$30, since those are already discounted from regular retail of around $35-$50. But it can result in some very nice-drinking cabs under your $15 budget.

Totally agree on vintage. 2007 was a great year.. in fact, it's been said, if you couldn't make good wine in 07, then you just couldn't make good wine. 2008 & 2009 also good growing years. 2010 & 11 are going to be a little more difficult... but all of us are looking at the 2012s to develop into something special.

It was such a textbook growing season

fredrinaldi wrote:I am, A Woot Plus" named after me?
my wife just saw it and to quote her " YOU NEED HELP "

Congrats, Fred

fredrinaldi wrote:Wow I feel the love,

I guess we have to call you Sir Fred from now on.

tarabellawine wrote:Congrats, Fred

Whats funny I didn't notice until the wife was looking, that these are all wines I have bought in the past, I feel like a rock star,

and to the Ty "auto buy" lovers, your welcome.

fredrinaldi wrote:Whats funny I didn't notice until the wife was looking, that these are all wines I have bought in the past, I feel like a rock star,

and to the Ty "auto buy" lovers, your welcome.

If I remember correctly the Ty syrah sold out last time so this should make some folks happy.

tarabellawine wrote:Totally agree on vintage. 2007 was a great year.. in fact, it's been said, if you couldn't make good wine in 07, then you just couldn't make good wine.

Agree about 2007. I did well with my bargain California cab buys for 2004 and 2005 vintages too.

tuerkish wrote:Is the Ty the 2011 or the 2010? The 2010 appears to have the medal, while the 2011 is a new release.

This is the 2011, a new release! The wooters ran me dry on the 2010! I like the 2011 very much

Not sure if my Cab is selling here or not, it's confusing Fred!

This wine is accentuated by aromas of blackberry and mocha, and intensified on the mid-palate with flavors of boysenberry and subtle pepper spice. The smooth finish leaves silky, lingering tannins.

Varietal | 100% Syrah | Farming Practices| Sustainable | Appellation | Sonoma Valley | Region | Estate Grown, Caton Vineyard | Alcohol | 14.7% | Production | 250 Cases | Vintage | 2011 | Released| February 2013

Time for Ardente! PnP just a touch at 4:25pm PDT. Colour is a beautiful brick. Amazing bottle bouquet and plenty of life. Lots of tannin stuck to the bottle shoulders. Flavours are a faint background of cassis with a foreground of eucalyptus, menthol, and a hint of olive. Excellent. Finish evolved over 15 seconds or so into menthol.


Let it sit in the bottle for an hour then poured a few glasses at the office. Comments from people in no particular order:
-"I like it, kind of light"
-"I'm the last person you should ask about wine, but I like it. Tastes slightly fruitier than I'm used to."
-"From start to finish, this wine was smooth and well balanced."
-"Rich and balanced despite being open for a less than an hour. I'd like to taste this wine a couple of hours from now."


My comments after 1.5 hours open: Evolving very nicely. The tannin has reasserted itself slightly and the fruit has come back out. Excellent wine for the money and I'm actually kind of shocked it's still around for us to enjoy. If I didn't have a few bottles of this already from a previous wooting I'd be in for more.