kurter wrote:Not really in relation to this wine, but, is there a place where we discuss what lives/doesn't live up to expectations. I have purchased a fair amt of wine here (yes in for 2) but what have you all found out after we have purchased theses wines? some excite some disappoint but I haven't really seen a site or link about this. Not a newbie to wine, I have been drinking for 25 plus yrs now don't really care if you get the cedar box but has it lived up to what you expect or gone beyond?

We had a tasting notes thread started at one point. It died. We had a funeral and everything. Perhaps a "What are you drinking right now?" thread would be appropriate.

resmithson wrote:Facebook - No information has been provided... yet.

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/galantevineyards
Yelp: http://www.yelp.com/biz/galante-vineyards-tasting-room-carmel

Just heading off to dinner with my lovely wife Dawn and our son Evan (one of the five kids) who I am proud to say was just accepted to the Berkelee School of Music. I'll be back on line in a little while to answer any of your questions.

wine rat here. Very much appreciate the nod from the gods for the chance to review. Once I found out I was definately running down the street like charlie with his golden ticket!

Want to apologise for the late post - we missed fedex yesterday!

Wifey and I got the opportunity to sample the 2006 Blackjack Pasture Cabernet Sauvignon. We're no experts at describing wine, but we're definately pros at drinking it! So please bear with us...

First thoughts: cool looking bottle. +1. Busted it open and noticed a heavy alcohol on the first whiff - no surprise. Sampled a bit and felt a tang, heavy alcohol. Wifey says oaky (sp?). I'm thinking sharp

+30 mins in glass: definately much smoother. Noticed a heavy, chewy twang. Where's the cheeseburger or steak? Would likely taste great!

Will post further notes as the night progresses...

2hr edit: first off, bummed im not seeing the rat eating the smelly cheese on my post. I always envied the woot rat.

Now that im over that... 1.5 hr notes: even smoother and softening up. A bit of tangy berry? Currant?

2 hrs in: really mellow and almost pillow soft. Touch of jammy smell. Not sweet on the nose, though. Even body and tasty.

Beddy bye time now with the kiddo.

Overall, very nice and elegant. Sophisticated for our tastes (we like fruitier, jammier wines, but we were impressed with the overall strength of the
wine.

tylerm wrote:wine rat here. Very much appreciate the nod from the gods for the chance to review. Once I found out I was definately running down the street like charlie with his golden ticket!

Want to apologise for the late post - we missed fedex yesterday!

Wifey and I got the opportunity to sample the 2006 Blackjack Pasture Cabernet Sauvignon. We're no experts at describing wine, but we're definately pros at drinking it! So please bear with us...

First thoughts: cool looking bottle. +1. Busted it open and noticed a heavy alcohol on the first whiff - no surprise. Sampled a bit and felt a tang, heavy alcohol. Wifey says oaky (sp?). I'm thinking sharp

+30 mins in glass: definately much smoother. Noticed a heavy, chewy twang. Where's the cheeseburger or steak? Would likely taste great!

Will post further notes as the night progresses...

2hr edit: first off, bummed im not seeing the rat eating the smelly cheese on my post. I always envied the woot rat.

Now that im over that... 1.5 hr notes: even smoother and softening up. A bit of tangy berry? Currant?

2 hrs in: really mellow and almost pillow soft. Touch of jammy smell. Not sweet on the nose, though. Even body and tasty.

Beddy bye time now with the kiddo.

Overall, very nice and elegant. Sophisticated for our tastes (we like fruitier, jammier wines, but we were impressed with the overall strength of the
wine.

Thanks for your comments. I don't think that the scent you had was "heavy alcohol." Probably more just full bodied wine. The alcohol is pretty moderate in the Blackjack. The wine absolutely does much better after decanting or simply sitting in the opened bottle. Most younger and bolder wines will do well with a little air. After all, it's been cooped up in that tight space for 4 years or so! Thanks again, ENJOY!

texacaliali wrote:Berkelee School of Music - a BIG DEAL! Huge Congrats to Evan.

Thanks so much - we are really proud of him. The last one off to college: one just graduated from Lake Forest, the next is at Cal Poly, then Kenyon College, Puget Sound and now Berkelee. We are REALLY proud of them all.

kurter wrote:Not really in relation to this wine, but, is there a place where we discuss what lives/doesn't live up to expectations. I have purchased a fair amt of wine here (yes in for 2) but what have you all found out after we have purchased theses wines? some excite some disappoint but I haven't really seen a site or link about this. Not a newbie to wine, I have been drinking for 25 plus yrs now don't really care if you get the cedar box but has it lived up to what you expect or gone beyond?

Here are two suggestions, make sure you post notes in Cellar tracker, and back in the original WW thread for the wine. Both of those are linked to at the start of each offer with repeat wines and wineries.

That's about all I can think of though.

neilfindswine wrote:Nicely done Jack! And nicely done on these 3 solid Cabs... Thanks for your participation today. I look forward to seeing you again in Carmel!

Neil, I thoroughly enjoyed my interaction with the Wine Wooters. The service you guys provide is also exceptional and I know your customers are appreciative of that. Please let Wooters know that they can feel free to contact me after they receive their wines with any questions. I look forward to seeing you at our Open House on October 15th and until then, remember, ALWAYS DRINK UPSTREAM FROM THE HERD!

cortot20 wrote:Here are two suggestions, make sure you post notes in Cellar tracker, and back in the original WW thread for the wine. Both of those are linked to at the start of each offer with repeat wines and wineries.

That's about all I can think of though.

Thanks for that info!

tylerm wrote:

wine rat here. Very much appreciate the nod from the gods for the chance to review. Once I found out I was definately running down the street like charlie with his golden ticket!

Want to apologise for the late post - we missed fedex yesterday!

Wifey and I got the opportunity to sample the 2006 Blackjack Pasture Cabernet Sauvignon. We're no experts at describing wine, but we're definately pros at drinking it! So please bear with us...

First thoughts: cool looking bottle. +1. Busted it open and noticed a heavy alcohol on the first whiff - no surprise. Sampled a bit and felt a tang, heavy alcohol. Wifey says oaky (sp?). I'm thinking sharp

+30 mins in glass: definately much smoother. Noticed a heavy, chewy twang. Where's the cheeseburger or steak? Would likely taste great!

Will post further notes as the night progresses...

2hr edit: first off, bummed im not seeing the rat eating the smelly cheese on my post. I always envied the woot rat.

Now that im over that... 1.5 hr notes: even smoother and softening up. A bit of tangy berry? Currant?

2 hrs in: really mellow and almost pillow soft. Touch of jammy smell. Not sweet on the nose, though. Even body and tasty.

Beddy bye time now with the kiddo.

Overall, very nice and elegant. Sophisticated for our tastes (we like fruitier, jammier wines, but we were impressed with the overall strength of the
wine.

galanteblackjack wrote:You got it! Our Texas customers are FABULOUS. I will be in Houston being honored by the Knights of the Vine in October. Looking forward to some great food and tequila!

No need for a coat... Spec's down here in Houston still has the 2004 blackjack. What can you tell us about that one?

I'm a little late to post, I didn't understand the whole lab rat thing (well I didn't know when to post).

The wine definitely was not my favorite, it wasn't as full bodied as I expected for the vintage of wine it was. It was very acidic and almost carbonated at the first few sips. I did enjoy the second glass more than the first, it seemed to have quite a low surface tension... In my experience, the better wines have a higher surface tension, the whole "legs" things-- this wine just didn't have it. The flavor wasn't bad though.

A quick note here, I bought two and had the Rancho Galante last night. It was nice and smooth (no acid indigestion), but I won't give a full review here since I opened it after eating at a Brazilian Novilhos and having a few stiff Caipirinha. I will review it when I open the second bottle as a starter for the evening.

With that said, I opened the Blackjack about 40 minutes ago and smelled vinegar/vomit upon sniffing the cork. I poured a little bit and had a sip, spoiled. Let it sit 10 minutes in the glass and tried again, definitely spoiled.

Since I bought two, I cleaned out my mouth and my glass and then cracked open the second bottle of the Blackjack. Same experience.

I am now drinking the Rose Hill as I type this and it is quite bright and fruity, but not fruit-forward. My wife didn't like it and I think that is because of the Blackjack bottles both being bad. Good, because that means more for me. :-)

I am posting this as a heads-up to the other wooters that purchased this in case they think the vinegar/sour/rotten/vomit taste and scent is them, it isn't.

Who do we contact at woot about bad bottles?

Also, I hope we can give a heads-up to the winemaker since two bottles from the same batch tells me there may be an issue somewhere in the process prior to shipment. Both bottles have been recorked with the remaining wine in the event they request that I ship it back to them (label please).