Winery Website

Previous Offers:
8/19/2007: Blog and Forum
5/25/2009: Blog and Forum

Price seems good... Lets see some reviews.

Honestly not a Merlot fan though...

How good is this deal?

From the back yard to the front porch ... what an easy drinking (and sweet dealin') week.

Click the link above for all of the normal details.

You said yesterday that your merlot (I assume this one) drinks like a cab. Can you explain that comment a bit more for me?

Also, is this a bordeaux style or a fruit-forward style merlot?

I'm loving the price point.

So does the Merlot source from different appellations, or is the Merlot from one and the Cabernet Sauvignon from the other?

Trent, congrats on the chard sellout. Can you share the "story behind the story" for what appears to be two or three wines blended for this final product. Maybe a good story about the "deal" you made to make it happen as well?

PS-Geography (distance) will make it difficult to be on the same golf course...how did round two go?

jwhite6114 wrote:
How good is this deal?

Someone's on the ball tonight...

yumitori wrote:Someone's on the ball tonight...

Trent kinda gave us a good lead, and most of the extra details did not have to change.

Corrosive wrote:
Honestly not a Merlot fan though...

Uh huh...

... if anyone orders Merlot, I'm leaving. I am NOT drinking any baking Merlot!

Setting aside one's prejudices is one of the great things about Wine.Woot! It's entirely possible to find Merlots that drink like shining examples of the varietal, and ones that drink like .... Cab Sauvs, wasn't it?

I'm glad you're keeping an open mind; I suspect this is some serious Quality vs. Price...

kylemittskus wrote:You said yesterday that your merlot (I assume this one) drinks like a cab. Can you explain that comment a bit more for me?

Also, is this a bordeaux style or a fruit-forward style merlot?

I'm loving the price point.

Based on the tasting notes on the C&T site, sounds like it's fruit-forward:

"The 2005 Front Porch Merlot is very dark in color and has a fabulous merlot aroma of chocolate, coffee, blackberry and hints of vanilla. On the palate the wine is big and rich with nicely balanced tannins. The wine is fruit driven with lots of blackberry and black cheery flavors, on the mid palate and finish, the wine show nice spice, mocha and mouth watering acidity. - Trent Moffett"

Sounds yummy.
I'm in!

vwap wrote:Based on the tasting notes on the C&T site, sounds like it's fruit-forward:

"The 2005 Front Porch Merlot is very dark in color and has a fabulous merlot aroma of chocolate, coffee, blackberry and hints of vanilla. On the palate the wine is big and rich with nicely balanced tannins. The wine is fruit driven with lots of blackberry and black cheery flavors, on the mid palate and finish, the wine show nice spice, mocha and mouth watering acidity. - Trent Moffett"

This sounds very good and I'm very tempted based on these notes, but this is the owner of the winery speaking. I want to hear from some more objective critic.

vwap wrote: blahblahblah I'm drooling now

I don't usually like merlot although I haven't paid enough attention to articulate why. However, at the price point and based on the tasting notes, I may be in. Napa grapes, $13 a bottle shipped, really cool owner, pressure from fellow enabl... I mean wooters...

Trent-

Could you comment on the oak regimen for the components in this wine? Age of barrels, time in barrels, cooperage, etc. roughly estimating where needed. I'd like to know if the aromatics and flavors are more heavily oak influenced or if it's more about the fruit expression.

Are there any chemistry numbers you can provide (pH, ABV, TA)?

How do Oak Knoll and St. Helena differ? Are they cool, hot, or somewhere in-between?

edwinguz wrote:This sounds very good and I'm very tempted based on these notes, but this is the owner of the winery speaking. I want to hear from some more objective critic.

Hopefully the rats'll have a chance to report back this time!

In for 1! I hope to be lab rat for the first time! Im Ready!

Edit: I see WD's post above and looks like he included 3 bottles in the six labbie's on Tues. Maybe next time unless you got more WD?

Well I read the description to SWMBO, as well as provided the background info on negociants, and she gave me the green light! We are in for 1, wine is good medicine after all.

This is the first time (~5 wine woots in) that I have been able to commit early enough to be considered for rat duty. So please consider my request, WD. I'll go to the local farmer's market Friday morning and hope for the best!

kylemittskus wrote:I don't usually like merlot although I haven't paid enough attention to articulate why. However, at the price point and based on the tasting notes, I may be in. Napa grapes, $12.50 a bottle shipped, really cool owner, pressure from fellow enabl... I mean wooters...

That's pretty much my rationale. I think a couple posters nailed it in the Chard forums regarding the sellout, that the price point played a huge amount, and I think it certainly did.

Being such a wine n00b, I can pick up what's likely (though obviously not guaranteed) going to be a great $13 Merlot off Wine.Woot, or just as easily head down to the grocery store and pick up a random bottle of Merlot for that same $13, and have a terrible bottle of juice (though it could just as easily be a great bottle). At least here, with the forum, I can read about what others' experiences are with that particular wine, and compare with what I taste, and maybe learn something along the way!

Winedavid39 wrote:very confident in this one that we doubled up on the Chard rats and included a Merlot in their package AND will have 3 more rats.

Very cool! Love the preparation on the last couple Woots, with the Merlot being sent early, decanters being sent with the Cabs and those gadgets.. It's like you're trying to get us to click that ridiculously large button or something...

Ok, I've bought the cab from the Woot Off, the Russian River Chard, and now one of this merlot. Ok, CT, you'd better be great, as I've tasted none of your wines yet and am going off your sight and comments. Sigh.... Love the fruit forward reds, and drinks like a cab implies full, rich, possibly oaky flavor, instead of watered down red that merlots can seem to be after drinking reds over time. Shame on you, Woot, for enabling my addiction! ;}

Winedavid39 wrote:(oops, was i not suppose to divulge?).

If you are going to be channeling Hagrid from the Harry Potter films as a vacation from Princess Bride, I think the phrase is closer to "I shouldn't of said that - should not have said that." (But that would be a stretch, because Hagrid is tall and you're... WineDavid.)

If you look at the timing, the wine was secured during the hey day of the "Sideway's witch trials". Some very good Merlot floating around for rediculous per gallon pricing.

Okay, Merlot is a favorite varietal of mine. But I still need to be sold. As a blast from the past, how would this wine compare to the St. Supery that was on woot way back when? I still have fond memories of that.

-- T

...de de didee didee didee... we interupt this important thread to bring you a public service announcement....

Last chance to get in on Colorado Wine.Woot #3 Come join the fun!

.... we now return you to your regularly scheduled programming...

/shameless plug

Would I be a bad person if I were to cook with this wine? I would be curious to hear from any vintners what they think about people cooking with their wines.

You had me at Merlot. In for 3.

First sucker: vwap
Speed to first woot: 0m -20.-803s
Last wooter to woot: denise4080

Winedavid39 wrote:
If you look at the timing, the wine was secured during the hey day of the "Sideway's witch trials".

... if anyone orders Merlot, I'm leaving. I am NOT drinking any baking Merlot!

The trends in wine snobbery are absolutely ridiculous sometimes. I bet you wouldn't see any of these people turn down a glass of Chateau Petrus if you offered to share. In for 1.

Ready to labrat. My wife is a serious merlot fan. Please bless her with this fruit. She will be home with a sick child and will be able to give a detailed day long commentary.

Er, the Napa Valley on the label should answer your question about different appellations, no?

Dear woot:

Please stop with the good offerings. My cc can't handle it anymore. I have too much on the way already.


Had to break the WBM for it - in for 1. I used to be "oh I'm not a merlot fan" but have had some amazing ones lately that have made the scales fall from my eyes. Don't blame the grapes, blame the winemakers (side note - syrah is the new merlot)

Would love to labrat

Checking in from staycation to purchase this one as well! Looks promising!

Last wooter to woot: deaconbluez

Missouri is not on the list? Missouri is always on the list! I'm hoping that is a mistake, since woot took my order without a glitch and I wanted to get in on this in time to have a chance to be a lab ROUS.

I don't care what Miles thinks, Merlot done well is a beautiful thing!

deaconbluez wrote:Last wooter to woot: deaconbluez

Missouri is not on the list? Missouri is always on the list! I'm hoping that is a mistake, since woot took my order without a glitch and I wanted to get in on this in time to have a chance to be a lab ROUS.

I don't care what Miles thinks, Merlot done well is a beautiful thing!

deaconbluez-I tried to order as well and the state (in my address) popped up as California. Check your order.

I checked the winery website and they ship to Missouri. Was that mistakenly left off this list?

chefjess wrote:deaconbluez-I tried to order as well and the state (in my address) popped up as California. Check your order.

I checked the winery website and they ship to Missouri. Was that mistakenly left off this list?

Sounds like you're out of luck.
From the previous wine.woot:

CTmasterblender wrote:
I'm sorry about that, but I believe our Missouri license wasn't renewed this year for direct shipping.

zTimothyBz wrote:Okay, Merlot is a favorite varietal of mine. But I still need to be sold. As a blast from the past, how would this wine compare to the St. Supery that was on woot way back when? I still have fond memories of that.

-- T

Or how does it compare to some other Sonoma wine.woot "favorite" vintners, such as Wellington or Ty Caton (both of whom have Merlot's that I love)?

http://www.dandm.com/product_info.php?cPath=22_43_54&products_id=10818&cat=wine&osCsid=a2e21db263425000bbf6e4f31277a564

nopple wrote:

Yep, I might be SOL. Missouri still isn't lit up on the map.

gwpriester wrote:
Er, the Napa Valley on the label should answer your question about different appellations, no?

Well, yes, and Trent could just put 'California Wine' on the label instead.

But my question is regarding the Oak Knoll District and the St. Helena appellations, and what percentages came from each.