First, I want to thank Scott for giving us a chance to get the Riesling at the old Woot price. I've been impressed with his posts and efforts to provide excellent customer service. I called to order it and a couple other bottles of wine. Carla had call waiting going and at least one cell phone going off but was very patient with my questions.

I hope he will come back to Woot with a wonderful selection of Reds. I love the smooth ones that slide down the throat like silk and linger gently on the tongue.

joshaw wrote:I was one of the lucky 10 and I did receive an email.

I also was one of the lucky 10. Hope to have my review posted tonight or tomorrow if my wife wants to get in on the tasting.

coursair wrote:I also was one of the lucky 10. Hope to have my review posted tonight or tomorrow if my wife wants to get in on the tasting.

Three rats checked in. Looking forward to your reports!

cheron98 wrote:Well for a little while, they were sending email notifications if you got ratted so you knew something was coming, but I dunno if they did that this time, what with there being 10 rats and all.

Might not be a good day to leave early

I got an email notifying me of my ticket yesterday - bottle arrive about an hour ago - wine is in the wine cellar resting - will pop and report in a couple of hours

Hey, the good news is, I just got a bonus from work (woo-hoo!) and didn't have to wait 'til Friday, fearing all the delicious Zin would sell out.

The bad news is my husband is absolutely going to kill me.

In for one and looking forward to it after enjoying the Rieslings so much.

Scott - I need to say thank you for agreeing to offer the former riesling woot offering - just called and ordered 2 as well as weel as a bottle of your Port - Jana could not have been sweeter - your customer service is more than great - you have a new fan!! Thanks a million

Also got an email, and my bottle is here and waiting for the trip home. Plan on having my comments up later this evening if all goes well.

cheron98 wrote:Well for a little while, they were sending email notifications if you got ratted so you knew something was coming, but I dunno if they did that this time, what with there being 10 rats and all.

Might not be a good day to leave early

Ah, good (just seen above mail).. I was assuming rats get emails. so if you're all getting mail this might not mean a trip to the mailbox today.

Because something got delivered today, though I think it was the olives. Although clusterFedex delivered it to the wrong place, who fortunately being nice, (and USC) phoned me (didn't get a good description of the package, sadly.. wan't thinking) and I told them where to take it. Really needs UPS...

eviggraves wrote:Isn't that Black Star (not Stone)? *grin* I just did a good bit of research on Michigan wineries over the weekend because I'm planning on going to the Traverse City Wine and Art Festival on August 21st. Thanks for the recommendations!

We love Traverse City! Our favorite winery is 2 Lads on the Old Mission Peninsula. We bought a bottle of Pinot Noir and Pinot Grigio. By the time we drank them at home and called to see if we could order more, they were already sold out. They're a newer winery but a lot of folks I've talked to now say it's their favorite too.

The bounty has arrived!!! I'm guessing that I may have been chosen to labrat based on the fact that I am getting surgery tomorrow and may be able to post an interesting review while on pain meds. However, I feel it is my duty to also post a coherent review, which I plan on doing tonight. If this picture is any clue, I'm guessing that the '07 will taste less dusty than the '06. ;-)

This is a lab rat report. I opened the bottle early this afternoon so that I could get a report in before the end of the offering.


Caveat - my kitchen was painted with oil-based paint today, so anything I say is suspect (just sayin...)

Normally my wine anylysis goes something like "yum!" or "meh" or "ick!" I tried a little harder for you guys. The wine looked great and tasted good. It wasn't so great for sipping before dinner. I wished I had a nice bison steak thawed or something to eat with it. It needs to be paired with food. I wouldn't just crack a bottle of this to sip with friends who were visiting or a date, unless food was also involved.

There were no off-notes however and I'm glad I ordered some yesterday.

Appearance (2/2) - No murkiness or sediment.

Color (2/2) - Approaching storm, so not a lot of light. But the wine is a lovely purple color, not see-through in the glass. Once I went outside, I could see that it was a clear, dark red and I could just barely see my fingers on the other side of the glass.

Aroma - (3/4) I admit, I smelled it right after uncorking and thought I'd made a mistake. But once I poured it and swirled, it had a nice aroma, lightly fruity and some other scents. There were no negative scents. I went outside at this point to get away from any paint fumes that might be influencing things. The aroma was very light. I had to swirl to get it travel to the edge of the glass. I would have enjoyed a bit more intensity.

Volatile Acidity (2/2) - no vinegars here

Total Acidity (2/2) - It gave my upper palate a nice tingle
Sweetness (1/1) - seemed fine to me. No obvious sugar (to me).
Body (1/1)
Flavor(1/1) - nice
Astringency (2/2) - a little tannic but didn't pucker me or suck all the moisture from my mouth. I'm a fan of tannic.

Lab Rat Report.

First, thank you wine.woot gods for my golden ticket. It will be suitably framed and placed next to my DeLong's wine chart.

I shared the bottle with 3 of my colleagues in my office within minutes of the doors closing. I opened the bottle about an hour ahead of time and used the vinerator on each glass.

The immediate response was so-so. It was a bit hot and closed. But shortly it opened up to better aromas and taste.

Bottle: I was oddly attracted to the super hero, although not normally into the muscle heads. The bottle neck reminded me of either a tube sock or a headband worn by Bjorn Borg back in the day.

Color: Very dark cherry

Aromas: Originally cherry and finally opened to a mix of light raspberry and violet.

Taste: After the original heat it warmed up to a fairly smooth tannin with a medium long finish. Smooth and yummy.

I brought some Dairy Vale Australian Cheddar that was recent purchase. It is fairly sharp and paried well with the Zin. The last few sips were paired with dove dark chocolate, also a great marriage.

The overall impression was a great drinkable wine that would pair well with hearty foods. To me it would be something I would have on hand to go with anything from burgers to lamb. A winner in my book!

This is a Lab rat report

Thanks you for selecting me to rat this one

I have to say I am very glad I went all in on this one - actually thinking of getting my sister to order another case for me for my annual holiday party -its a great wine for a great price

It was a little warm when it arrived so I put it in the cellar and went to the gym

When I returned home I uncorked and let it breath for a while while showerig

Great pairing with some fresh tomatoes

The color is a very dark ruby and the aroma is pleasing dry enough but not overly dry

I very much enjoyed this and would highly recommmend

This was my 1st rat report so I hope I did OK

It sure is nice to finally hear rats reporting in! Thanks Rats! and future rats

Cheers!

Scott Harvey 2007 InZINerator - 4 Pack
Lab Rat Report From McLonghorn



Bottle arrived in Texas around 1 pm. Cool to the touch upon opening the fed ex package. You actually do get a golden ticket – pretty cool!!! Put the bottle in the wine fridge for a couple of hours then couldn’t wait any longer. I tasted the wine three ways – first I popped and poured (no swirl) then poured through a rabbit, and finally poured through a rabbit into a crystal decanter.



Upon opening I immediately smelled dark fruits & jam – it made my mouth water. Let me preface my report by saying I am no RPM, Wine David, Richardhod, etc. Heck I even like some FRUIT BOMBS AND BUTTERY CHARDS!!! (Gasp!) - But I am learning and upon the suggestion of RPM I will be using the UC Davis Scoring. This could get pretty funny as again – I am still learning. This could possibly be the first perfect 20 $15 bottle of wine. If I was more computer savvy it would be at this point to post a link to the scoring system but I grew up prior this nutty computer craze so use Google - www.google.com if you want to follow along – it’s pretty easy as I have mastered it!!



So without any further adieu – my review is respectfully submitted as follows:
Appearance (2 points possible) - I found the wine to be clear and the light did flash with light reflections.
MY SCORE – 2 points
Color (2 points possible) – Found the color to be a medium deep purple - it seemed to be more of a Pinot Noir tilt (slight transparency) than a Zin so I docked a point (Sorry Scott!!)
MY SCORE – 1 Point
Aroma & Bouquet (4 points possible) – Upon 1st pour (pop & pour no swirl) found the wine to be a bit tightly wound but after a few swirls the Bouquet began to open nicely. Detected a bit of spice and possibly a little heat at first taste but that went away especially after a pour through the rabbit. I wouldn’t call this a fruit bomb (at least by my terms but I did detect what I would call grape jelly from both the Aroma & Bouquet). I would rate the intensity as medium and I must say that as the wine was poured from the decanter it really spread its wings. Remember here that I am not an expert but also got rich chocolate on the nose & the jammyness has really mellowed, A little syrah spice comes through as well. I still get a little heat in the background but it is way in the back. I wish my nose was more educated so I could describe this properly but there is something in the nose I LOVE – a full rich smell that hits my nasal cavities and just screams dark fruits – it is a relaxing fulfilling smell!
MY SCORE 3 Points
Volatile Acidity (2 points possible) – No vinegar smell whatsoever
MY SCORE – 2 Points
Total Acidity (2 points possible) – Felt the acidity around the edges of my tounge – it was sharp maybe just a bit of bitterness but really nice
MY SCORE – 1 Point
Sweetness/Sugar (1 point possible) – Not overly dry or sweet – If I had to make a call here I would say a 6.5 to 7 on a 10 point scale of 1 being really sweet and 10 being really dry. At first I believe I detected a slight Port sweetness at the back of the tongue before swallowing but that too over the last couple of hours mellowed and blended nicely. This is my first time trying the InZin but I did read comments that the 2006 was too sweet – I didn’t find that to be the case here - possibly a little sweeter than some zins I have had but hey- this isn't a true Zin right??
MY SCORE – 1 Point
Body (1 point possible) – The mouth feel of this wine is what I would call full and velvety – The acidity of the wine does show through on the tounge. I get a little alcohol but the heat is not nearly as present as some of the blends I have tried. Because the wine has evolved so much in just the last couple of hours I have to believe that this will become more subtle over time – I am getting a little alcohol on the roof of my mouth (I think that’s alcohol – remember not an expert here) but it isn’t offensive – just there in a way that can be slightly detected.
MY SCORE – 1 Point
Flavor (1 point possible) – The flavor corresponds almost perfectly with the bouquet and aroma – it is very well balanced and I found no offensive characters
MY SCORE – 1 Point
Astringency (2points possible) – Tannins were definitely detected but something seemed to mellow out the bitterness – I can guess (a not very well educated guess mind you) this will only make the wine better with a year or 2 in the bottle. Don’t get me wrong – it is ready to drink now but my comment here is that I believe it can even get better as the tannins are predominate on the finish (or was that alcohol heat??? Wish I knew for sure!!
MY SCORE – 1 POINT
General Quality (2 points possible) – I have to tell you that I now know what all the buzz has been about regarding Scott Harvey wines – I loved this juice. It is relaxing, mellowing, sexy and just plain fun to drink. I believe it would pair great with any pizza or pasta dish (begs for Marinara Sauce) – I drank it by itself and really liked it a lot. Is it as complex as a 95 point Zin – no – is it now one of my favorite under $20’s – HELL YES! You are making a big mistake if you don’t order three – I am formally requesting that Woot increase my order to three instead of the one I purchased on Monday. Hope I haven’t looked too much like a neophyte with my review but hey …I gave it the old Longhorn Effort!! Oh yea – MY Score for General Qualities – 1Point

DRUM ROLL PLEASE ………………………………………………… TOTAL SCORE – 15 Points

Just got myself an email from the winery... they're looking for a new name for their One Last Kiss wine and want suggestins from their customers. That's the (red) wine which is like InZin but a bit sweeter, like the 06.


I think that includes us! So, I've just started a thread on the One LAst Kiss name change, for our suggestions, and some nice summery light whites and rosés. Maybe whoever comes up with the right suggestion might get a bottle.. you never know! ;) But it sounds fun anyway.



So, Just phoned up to thank them for a great dinner (Jana's cooking... yum!) and went in for a case of the Rieslings. And I sent a case of One Last Kiss to some friends who will be getting married. Oh, I just realised... Oops, sending thsat as a gift.. maybe I'd better say to my friends that the name doesn't mean anything too much! Maybe that's why the name's changing.

Loving the lab rat reports. You're all describing the wine well. Thanks

mclonghorn wrote:Scott Harvey 2007 InZINerator - 4 Pack
Lab Rat Report From McLonghorn

SNIP
DRUM ROLL PLEASE ………………………………………………… TOTAL SCORE – 15 Points

Great rat, Thank you! and very kind, but I'm no rpm.. all the old hands and connoisseurs should be way before me on any list. I learned heaps from them on here! Anyway, I have a secret weakness for blackberries boysenberries and blackcurrants, so I'm sure there are many fruit forwards definitely get through my quality filter!
And I just used up my month's quota of exclamation marks|

fmfbrestel wrote:Thanks for the info Emmy. I knew it was raised, didnt realize it was a X5 increase though.
*hangs head in shame*

I can hardly believe the same Heineman who wants to pass a "Nevada like" immigration bill initially Vetoed the measure. I guess it didn't come up close enough to election time.

thinking of wootlegging- interested in a split? The state of NE gets nothing and likes it!

otolith wrote:Anyone from MN want to split an order?

Yes. We'll send the order, since I'm not sure if you'll be online tonight, and I don't trust this one to stick around. We can figure out details on Saturday (hint, hint, MN wine wooters--check out the MN #13 thread if you want in...).

Labrat Part Eins:

Fffft-pop. - I like the bottle, it seems like a slimmed down version of the '06. Maybe the extra sugar was causing the '06 to climb a little on the heavy side.

Glug, glug. - Looks good in the glass. Not the prettiest color I've seen, but still appetizing.

Sniff. - The initial nose on this wine was the melding of the sweet smell of a dense forest and the smell of picking weeds after a rainstorm. It is very pleasant, one of the better noses on a zin. It took me a long time to figure out how to describe this but it's the best I can do.

Sip. - Nice entry. Dark cherry but not a fruit bomb. Almost like a Luden's cough drop without the sugar. There is some sweet there but nothing like the '06. There is a subtle hint of oak and decent acid.

Swish. - Some chocolate now. Decent tannins but not enough for my palate. A little more oak.

Gulp. - Pretty smooth going down.

Mmmmm. - Pleasant medium finish.

First impression: a good-natured zin.



Part Zwei:

Sniff. - After decanting for an hour or two, there is now a little more alcohol on the nose. The initial aroma is nearly gone but there is now a little more fruit there. Pleasant but not as nice as initially.

Sip. - Still some dark cherry, a little chocolate, and some lighter fruits. The wine seems a little jammier now.

Swish. - The alcohol is showing up a bit more now. The chocolate is amplified on the back of the tongue.

Gulp. - Still pretty smooth going down.

Mmmmm. - Still a pleasant medium finish.

Second impression: I like the wine. I don't have an '04 to compare to but I seem to remember it being a little more complex (maybe this '07 could use a few more months in the bottle?).


Part Drei - OxyContZIN!!!

This wine does not pair well with surgery. The anesthesia taste coupled with the dry throat from the breathing tube make the pairing nauseating. If you are looking for a post-surgery wine I would suggest a light, crisp wine, such as the Jana riesling.

Rat report:
I like this wine.
I opened it with a friend who "drinks pinot grigio" and that's about it. She actually enjoyed it.
Color is beautifully purple with a ruby red glint.
Sorry I knew more wine vocabulary before we polished off the bottle...but...
not oaky (as one would expect)
good zing on the side of the tongue and the palate
not sweet
not puckery dry
bouquet was not overly strong.
using generic wine glasses with a small pour.
Anything I forgot?
I give it A and I look forward to receiving the rest of it.
We ate some genoa salami and provelone and dates and pita chips in a totally random fashion.
Here goes the last sip.

Great rat reports! Glad I bought some.

Y.A.R.R. (Yet Another Rat Report)

First timer here, so I'm going over this as carefully as I can (thanks WD/selection committee!).

As I start, I include a quick hat tip to my wife for providing what commentary she could. Seeing as she's pregnant, smell was the extent of her contribution (a loss given that she's got a better palette than myself).

My wife's nose detected fruit and vanilla on opening, pinpointing on plum or cherry. I poured a glass and then dumped more in a decanter to rest for the following couple of hours (finishing my last glass now, about 2.5 hours later). Oak came through over time, becoming the strongest point by the end.

There was a very strong alcohol smell from the wine poured directly into the glass. This tapered off fairly reasonably (was acceptable 10-15 minutes later) but means you definitely want to aerate it some straight out of the bottle. The RS content was noticeable on the glass after a swirl.

The first few tastes had a nice fruit flavor, but without the sweet bomb from the previous year. After the previously mentioned 10-15 minute period, the heat kicked up. This hot/spicy bite is what really attracts me to Zins; early on it really stuck to my palate, lasting for a good few deep breaths after a sip. This seemed to mellow out in the later glasses though; I won't say that's disappointing per se, but it left the wine a little fruity without an equally appealing counter to finish. My hope is that time will help.

I feel that the wine does need more time to age. It can be an enjoyable wine now, but it will likely require a suitable food pairing to complement it this early. (I'm not going to advise there due to being fairly n00bish in pairings. I had a steak dinner beforehand, but I'm Texan and like steak regardless of wine inclusion.) I'm not certain this wine stands on its own just yet. I've got my fingers crossed for the future though; it shows promise with beautiful color and (when it showed its best stuff) a nice finish.

PS - The bottle I received had the "Z" design. I like it a lot. The emblem does feel a little small on the bottle, but then again it just looks damn good in its simplicity.

PPS - In relation to the downside of not having my wife's contribution, the upside is that I've got some leftover for tomorrow. I'll be interested to see if a day in the wine fridge has any major influence.

ScottHarveyWines wrote:Loving the lab rat reports. You're all describing the wine well. Thanks

Scott, any chance I could make some alternate arrangements to get this wooting? I'm in Canadia until nearly the end of the month so no way I can order it this week.

ThunderThighs wrote:The first link in my signature will take you to an easy-to-follow guide on posting pictures, links, and other goodies.

Nice report!

Thanks so much for the info - my pics are on!!

merbill wrote:Got some grapey questions here. What's the appellation for this wine? Where were the grapes sourced from? Are the port varietals included for sweetness or because they're mixed in the vineyard like a Field blend?

Scott sources all his zins from Amador County, CA. He started the tradition at Renwood ...

mclonghorn wrote: - my pics are on!!

Mr McLonghorn -
You are too cool to put a little glass in the bulls hoof with a minizin bottle. Cracked me up! And great report to boot! Thanks!

Lab Rat report...

First off, THANK YOU WOOT for selecting me to Rat. First time Rat, so I hope I do ok...

OK, so the wine arrived around 11:00am - which is good because I was a bit worried about it sitting on the truck all day here in South Florida... Luckily for me, my neighbor owns a business and gets LOTS of stuff delivered daily, so Fedex always comes here pretty early in the day.

First impression? I really liked the bottle. Not that a bottle makes a wine, but an attractive bottle can't hurt. So after checking out the bottle, I placed it in my wine fridge to cool off for a few hours.

Time to start dinner, so I opened the wine and put it in the oh-so-cool looking decanter I bought from Woot a few months back - you know the one, the funky shaped decanter that looks kinda like an esophagus and a stomach. Lol, ok, so it doesn't really look like an esophagus / stomach, but that's what it reminds me of... Anyway, I let the wine decant for about an hour, and it was served slightly cool.

My parents happen to be in town this week, and they helped me Rat, so you'll get three Rats for the price of one in this report! Oh, and I probably should mention that my parents don't drink at all anymore, although they did drink a little when they were younger. Just something to keep in mind... Also, we all tasted the wine first with no food, then with sharp cheddar cheese, and I also ate steak cooked on a cedar plank (woot!) and chicken, also cooked on a cedar plank.


First up, my mom's review:

Smell: Robust, rich, pleasant, inviting. It smells sweeter than it tastes.

Taste: Strong with pleasant aftertaste, slightly bitter.

Taste after eating sharp cheddar cheese: Mellows taste and brings out flavor. She tastes what she thought was cherry and blue grapes.

Like wine?: Yes, and mom doesn't like red wine, but she said it was actually good and much better than she expected.


Next up, dad:

Smell: Dry, fruity.

Taste: Dad thought it had a bitter aftertaste.

Taste after eating sharp cheddar cheese: Mellows the taste. Dad liked it much better with the cheese.

Like wine?: Yeah, from a 1 to 10, he'd give it a 7.


OK, now for me:

Smell: Fruity, with a mild alcohol smell.

Taste: I though it tasted somewhat strong at first, but had a good flavor, with a nice aftertaste.

Taste after eating sharp cheddar cheese: I thought it really brought out the fruity flavor, mellowed the alcohol taste, and it had a very pleasant aftertaste. To me, a pepper flavor comes out after eating the cheddar cheese which I didn't really notice before I ate some cheese.

Taste after eating steak cooked on cedar plank: Brings out the pepper and fruit flavor, tastes slightly more alcoholic than after cheddar cheese. Really brings out the contrasting flavors between each bite of steak and sip of wine. Very good!

Taste after eating chicken cooked on cedar plank: Wine tastes less fruity and more peppery with chicken than with the steak, also more alcoholic taste than with cheddar cheese. Flavor also contrasts well, but not as well as with the steak.

Like?: Yes, very good wine. I like both reds and whites, and I think this is one of the better reds I have tasted. I have to say that to me it tasted best with the cheese and the steak. It was good with the chicken too, but my favorite would be the wine with the steak!

Oh, one last thing... My 5 year old daughter also wanted to be a Rat, so I let her smell the wine. She said it smelled like grapity grape juice - which to her is good - so there you go, it must be good wine!

Once again, thanks woot for letting me Rat, and I hope this report was helpful.

gregorylane wrote:Bard,
Not quite sure what you're asking! I was going to order today, but if you just don't want your order I guess I could take them off your hands. PM me.

I was actually asking whether others in S. Florida were taking a chance with the heat (sorry that wasn't more clear). I had three spoiled shipments last year, including the Ty Caton (the Roessler BlueJay was another casualty); I can't stand to think of four bottles of Scott Harvey being spoiled when they could be drunk and enjoyed by someone who lives where it's not quite so oppressively hot. I truly cannot remember a summer ever being this consistently HOT!

If others have had luck, perhaps I will, as well....

Thanks, though!

k1avg wrote:I'd love to buy and love to rat, but I've still got the willpower to hold fast to my WBM and will hopefully get to try this at a gathering or something.

Rat reports, along with an abiding love of zin and a distinct shortage of it on the rack (two of my Pedroncelli's are already gone!), are slowly whittling away my already weak resistance. Probably best to put the computer away before having any wine tonight.

OK...can't get a reply elsewhere. I want to order the InZin today! Where do I find that button??

...ah the misadventures of trying to mass-pack 9 rats...

Yes, we're missing one. But hey, that's a 90% report rate! Woot!

Edit: Correction. 80%. coursair has checked in but hasn't actually reported yet. And there's a 10th rat completely MIA.

But that's OK!

Rats are packed

gregorylane wrote:OK...can't get a reply elsewhere. I want to order the InZin today! Where do I find that button??

http://wine.woot.com/Monday

cheron98 wrote:http://wine.woot.com/Monday

Thanks Cheron. Where is this listed? Just in case I forget again.

gregorylane wrote:Thanks Cheron. Where is this listed? Just in case I forget again.

Usually if you look at the first post of the thread, the one by wootbot, it's listed there as "ongoing sale".

I'm the missing rat, it seems. I checked in yesterday via email : ( I've learned much this morning about the reporting process. Please bear with me - tasting thoughts are forthcoming . . .