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

No it's your Syrah, one of the only Non Cab's I really like, But if you insist please give us an offering

In honor of this offering I popped open a 97 Ardente, and wouldn't you know it, a bad bottle, decanting to see if it helps, but a weird color and after taste. Oh well on to a 2002 Ardente

WWFD? I have bought the 97 Ardente 3 times, and love it. I am contemplating the Monticello. Ok Fred, you can only afford one.

WWFD?

emmabean2000 wrote:WWFD? I have bought the 97 Ardente 3 times, and love it. I am contemplating the Monticello. Ok Fred, you can only afford one.

WWFD?

I was a little disappointed with the Monticello, not as robust as I like, That being said tonights 97 Ardente was a bad bottle. If it helps I ordered the 97 and slingshot today, tomorrow will try the "Black Tie" Tara Bella Russian River Cabernet Sauvignon, expensive yes but might be ready for anothe buy or two... stay tuned, we have 4 more days.

fredrinaldi wrote:I was a little disappointed with the Monticello, not as robust as I like, That being said tonights 97 Ardente was a bad bottle. If it helps I ordered the 97 and slingshot today, tomorrow will try the "Black Tie" Tara Bella Russian River Cabernet Sauvignon, expensive yes but might be ready for anothe buy or two... stay tuned, we have 4 more days.

Fair enough. As long as the Ardente does not sell out. I keep thinking that "this will be the last time on Woot", but like a Dyson Vacuum, it keeps reappearing...

In honor of Fred on his momentous day, I'm in for a pack of the 97s.

kylemittskus wrote:In honor of Fred on his momentous day, I'm in for a pack of the 97s.

Awwww thanks Kyle (Hey WW do I get a commission on all sales?
)

emmabean2000 wrote:Fair enough. As long as the Ardente does not sell out. I keep thinking that "this will be the last time on Woot", but like a Dyson Vacuum, it keeps reappearing...

Tyson Vac's......
LOL

fredrinaldi wrote:I was a little disappointed with the Monticello, not as robust as I like, That being said tonights 97 Ardente was a bad bottle. If it helps I ordered the 97 and slingshot today, tomorrow will try the "Black Tie" Tara Bella Russian River Cabernet Sauvignon, expensive yes but might be ready for anothe buy or two... stay tuned, we have 4 more days.

I had six bad bottles in tow shipments, all horrible. (Ardente)

In for Ardente, Ty, and Monticello.
Pass so far on Slingshot since tasting notes found online (CellarTracker) did not sound promising.
Tara Bella - so far a bit beyond my budget for something with no tasting notes to be found.

http://www.vinopedia.com/wine/Monticello+Vineyards+Cabernet+Sauvignon+Jefferson+Cuvee
The 1998 vintage supposedly 'only' got 81 on WS.

cortot20 wrote:Look for some from Hahn family winery or any of their sub brands. The cabs are typically in the $10 range and very drinkable.

I agree about the Hahn, except I would recommend to avoid the Cycles Gladiator cab.

Wow Fred, you get your own woot plus offer..... Are you getting a kickback? Hheheh

Congrats, you're famous (infamous) and your name is now forever written in the Book of Woot ;)

the ardente is a crap shoot....one great bottle, one corked...

has anyone had the tara bella???

noslensj wrote:I agree about the Hahn, except I would recommend to avoid the Cycles Gladiator cab.

I liked the CG cab at $8, the zin was undrinkable though. Down the drain.

andreaserben wrote:http://www.vinopedia.com/wine/Monticello+Vineyards+Cabernet+Sauvignon+Jefferson+Cuvee
The 1998 vintage supposedly 'only' got 81 on WS.

Go to the original Monticello thread for a great discussion on this.

emmabean2000 wrote:Fair enough. As long as the Ardente does not sell out. I keep thinking that "this will be the last time on Woot", but like a Dyson Vacuum, it keeps reappearing...

The '97 keeps appearing but the 2002 sold out last wootoff and the 2001 the wootoff before that.

My favorite sub-$10 Cab is Columbia Crest Two Vines Cabernet Sauvignon.

chipgreen wrote:The '97 keeps appearing but the 2002 sold out last wootoff and the 2001 the wootoff before that.

There appears to be a limitless supply of these. Despite sell outs.

fogtower wrote:I had six bad bottles in tow shipments, all horrible. (Ardente)

Did ya get a hold of WW Customer service, they are VERY good about refunding or replacing.
BTW the 97 never got better last night, down the drain, had an orange color to it, however the 2002, delicioso!

joseph1951 wrote:has anyone had the tara bella???

Extensive notes here: http://wine.woot.com/forums/viewpost.aspx?postid=5343516

Long story short: very classic cab, "boutique winery" with great participation, worth the $$ if you enjoy restrained, classic CS.

cortot20 wrote:I liked the CG cab at $8, the zin was undrinkable though. Down the drain.

I found the cab only marginally better than the zin. Both of them had flavor notes that were very similar to what ripened cat piss smells like, the cab less so than the zin.

noslensj wrote:I found the cab only marginally better than the zin. Both of them had flavor notes that were very similar to what ripened cat piss smells like, the cab less so than the zin.

"ripened cat piss smells"

now thats a description I haven't ever heard, But it can't be good

chipgreen wrote:The '97 keeps appearing but the 2002 sold out last wootoff and the 2001 the wootoff before that.

selling out at wine woot/wootoff does not mean that the winery sold out - just means that the allotted capacity for that specific deal sold out.
but I agree - it would make sense to get an idea about the production run of the 1997 - it is getting a bit weird that it seems to be so widely available.

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

Stephen Corley checking in from Monticello Vineyards - Drink window is wide open on our 1998, I'd say years to go depending on your penchant for aged wines. 5 years or longer is realistic so 2019 is within reach.

Keep in mind our brother Kevin's words 'you can't really lose drinking a wine too early but you can by drinking it too late".

Having said that, I recently drank our 1982 Corley Reserve Cabernet and it was still a solid wine at 30 years old!

Best way to find out is to buy some wine and start pulling corks!

Sat. night, a nice Ribeye and a Bottle of Ty's Ballfield Syrah, The wife tasted it and said "this is good what is it"? Damn I love her but don't want her into my "Good stuff"

BTW just bought 3 more of the Ballfield's , That makes 3 of the 5 darn u woot. no thank you woot.

fredrinaldi wrote:Sat. night, a nice Ribeye and a Bottle of Ty Battlefield Syrah, The wife tasted it and said "this is good what is it"? Damn I love her but don't want her into my "Good stuff"

BTW just bought 3 more of the Battlefield's , That makes 3 of the 5 darn u woot. no thank you woot.

Now Fred one of the unspoken commandments of wine church is thou shalt learn to share.

cortot20 wrote:Now Fred one of the unspoken commandments of wine church is thou shalt learn to share.

thats why I bought 3 more.

andreaserben wrote:selling out at wine woot/wootoff does not mean that the winery sold out - just means that the allotted capacity for that specific deal sold out.
but I agree - it would make sense to get an idea about the production run of the 1997 - it is getting a bit weird that it seems to be so widely available.

The back label and offer specs list production at 1050 cases.

tdedek wrote:The back label and offer specs list production at 1050 cases.

thanks, must have missed the 1050 cases part. interesting. that seems to beyond subsequent vintages and this is on 5 acres? hmmmz

andreaserben wrote:selling out at wine woot/wootoff does not mean that the winery sold out - just means that the allotted capacity for that specific deal sold out.
but I agree - it would make sense to get an idea about the production run of the 1997 - it is getting a bit weird that it seems to be so widely available.

Granted, I was making an assumption based upon the fact that the 2001 last showed up for a very brief stint in the wee hours 2 wootoffs ago and has not returned while the 2002 was available for the past 2 wootoffs but not as part of the current plus deal. I would say it's a pretty safe bet that the 2001s are gone but perhaps there are a few '02s rolling around in the back of WDs truck.

I'm not great at tasting notes nor have I been drinking quality wine for very long, so I'll just give this tidbit out.
Opened up a bottle of the '97 Ardente Cab tonight from the last offering. Decanted for 1 hour before tasting. Strong fruit and tannins, but tight. Smoothed out a bit after another hour. Major change after 3 hours in the decanter. Smoothed out dramatically. Moderate tannins with a shorter finish. Much less fruit forward and lighter bodied.
Overall a very interesting cab that changes a lot as it opens up.

Pulled a cork on the '97 last Friday when we had that 2001 Barolo at Prado. Thought it tasted a bit off at the time, but after that Barolo that was just sooo smooth and wonderful I dismissed it and brought it home to the tank of Ar. All this talk I poured a glass, and while I don't think it's 'bad', it isn't as good as the two or three I've poured earlier. A bit of funk and the leather just isn't as I recall. Guess there is some bottle/bottle variation in these.

fredrinaldi wrote:"ripened cat piss smells"

now thats a description I haven't ever heard, But it can't be good

I've written a bit about the CG zin and cab. Perhaps that registers my disappointment in those purchases.

After opening the zin there was a most foul (to me) flavor component that seemed familiar, but I just wasn't able to place. Then one time I remembered. We used to have a cat that for some ungodly reason would eschew a perfectly fine and clean litter box and instead urinate down one particular floor heating vent. During a warm spell the piss would remain there until a cold spell arrived that would cause the furnace to turn on. And then the aged cat piss aroma would fill the house.

And I realized that smell was what I was detecting in that CG zin, as well as the cab. I mentioned that over at CT and someone nicely referenced an article that linked cat urine odor with a known mercaptan-related flaw in wine making.

From reviewing comments by others, it was clear that I was not alone in my sentiments. But laid against that are a number of people whose comments are consistent with what has been noted about Hahn wines in general.

At this point I think it's likely that some batches went bad (due to lack of nitrogen causing reduction of sulfur compounds), and that it affected both the zin and the cab. If one was lucky enough to receive one of the good batches, you received typical Hahn quality juice. If you got one of the bad batches, you got something that might be good for irrigation water if you have neighbors who delight in odor of freshly spread manure and compost.

andreaserben wrote:In for Ardente, Ty, and Monticello.
Pass so far on Slingshot since tasting notes found online (CellarTracker) did not sound promising.
Tara Bella - so far a bit beyond my budget for something with no tasting notes to be found.

Check the comments from the previous wooting of the Tara Bella. Extensive notes from a few folks there. I bought it then, but haven't tasted yet. Sounded like it needed a few years to get to my palate preference.

Is this gonna start a new trend of Wooter themed Woot+ boutiques?

andreaserben wrote:In for Ardente, Ty, and Monticello.
Pass so far on Slingshot since tasting notes found online (CellarTracker) did not sound promising.
Tara Bella - so far a bit beyond my budget for something with no tasting notes to be found.

Did not realize there were no tasting notes posted..... will remedy that...
2009/Clone 7 Cab/Total Production: 564 cases.
When pouring this wine into the glass, the deep velvety darkness of purple dances to garnet edges. A richness of chocolate and vanilla fills the nose and is layered only by the finest cherries and blackberries and intertwined with a delicate oak accent. On the pallet it is rich and fruity, coating the tongue with delicious raspberries. At the end, you will be struck with a tart and tannic finish that leaves you beckoning for the next sip.

2010/Clone 7 Cab/Total Production:384 cases...
The aroma is gentle but focused with fine notes of green olive & truffle. A hint of smokiness greets your senses for a lasting impression.

Ripe cherry with subtle layers of leather, tobacco and cocoa laced with mocha gives this wine a richness that fills your mouth with velvety lusciousness, echoing elegant tannins and a brooding finish.

Pour tonight with grilled meats and savory sauces or lay down for well over a decade.

Hope this helps....

klezman wrote:Check the comments from the previous wooting of the Tara Bella. Extensive notes from a few folks there. I bought it then, but haven't tasted yet. Sounded like it needed a few years to get to my palate preference.

The 09 is drinking great right now... but you'll be able to lay that one down for at least a decade.....

joseph1951 wrote:has anyone had the tara bella???

me..... I have....... in my glass right now....