Clos LaChance Petite Sirah Vertical
$49.99 + $5 shipping
CONDITION: Red
PRODUCTS:
1 2007 Clos LaChance Estate Petite Sirah
1 2008 Clos LaChance Estate Petite Sirah
1 2009 Clos LaChance Reserve Petite Sirah
CT links above

Winery website

Previous offer:
1/24/12

never mind

moosezilla wrote:never mind

Well was it or wasn't it?

if you look carefully at the bottles, you'll notice you get less wine with the 2009. I hope it's better than the others to make up for it!

These wines tasted FABULOUS when I bought them during the last woot off, but I had an issue with some weird crystallization on the corks and the rim of the bottle, was very strange. Looked like purple rock candy. Anyone know what that might have been? I thought maybe it was from temperature change during shipping since it was present on 2 of the 3 bottles (haven't opened the 2007 yet). Either way, the wines were delicious

WaltW wrote:Well was it or wasn't it?

no. it wasn't. sorry.

I'd be more persuaded by the description that each bottle is 750ml. That's
"milliliters", not "more or less."

It appears the 2008 was harvested and bottled AFTER the 2009 (says the writeup)?

That one was "Wines Gone Wild Redhead and Blondie" I believe...

This one looks legit. I bought this last time it was up and have been doing everything I can to not open them right now. Great reviews from previous years. I may give in an open one tonight...

tabednar wrote:That one was "Wines Gone Wild Redhead and Blondie" I believe...

This one looks legit. I bought this last time it was up and have been doing everything I can to not open them right now. Great reviews from previous years. I may give in an open one tonight...

Let me know if yours has the weird rock candy on the cork like mine did.

richardhod wrote:if you look carefully at the bottles, you'll notice you get less wine with the 2009. I hope it's better than the others to make up for it!

Well...it IS the reserve...

Bendial80 wrote:These wines tasted FABULOUS when I bought them during the last woot off, but I had an issue with some weird crystallization on the corks and the rim of the bottle, was very strange. Looked like purple rock candy. Anyone know what that might have been? I thought maybe it was from temperature change during shipping. Either way, the wines were delicious

just crystals of tartaric acid, or tartrates- they were dark because the wine is dark. Doesn't affect taste.
Did anyone ever find out the drinking window on these? Good candidate for cellar??

Bendial80 wrote:These wines tasted FABULOUS when I bought them during the last woot off, but I had an issue with some weird crystallization on the corks and the rim of the bottle, was very strange. Looked like purple rock candy. Either way, the wines were delicious

the crystals are tartrate and are not a problem with the wine. I had some on the Gazzi chardonnay and it didn't affect the wine.

Bendial80 wrote:These wines tasted FABULOUS when I bought them during the last woot off, but I had an issue with some weird crystallization on the corks and the rim of the bottle, was very strange. Looked like purple rock candy. Anyone know what that might have been? I thought maybe it was from temperature change during shipping. Either way, the wines were delicious

Tartrates. Totally harmless.

animi wrote:Tartrates. Totally harmless.

Bah! Beaten x3.

stillwingy wrote:just crystals of tartaric acid, or tartrates- they were dark because the wine is dark. Doesn't affect taste.
Did anyone ever find out the drinking window on these? Good candidate for cellar??

Thanks guys I may go in for a 2nd run then lol, they were oh so delicious

Bendial80 wrote:These wines tasted FABULOUS when I bought them during the last woot off, but I had an issue with some weird crystallization on the corks and the rim of the bottle, was very strange. Looked like purple rock candy. Anyone know what that might have been? I thought maybe it was from temperature change during shipping. Either way, the wines were delicious

I believe those would be tartrate crystals, which to me is always a good sign. I don't think I've ever had a bottle with a crystal-ly cork that I didn't end up liking. In fact, I think your comment just convinced me to buy!

hookajoe wrote:I believe those would be tartrate crystals, which to me is always a good sign. I don't think I've ever had a bottle with a crystal-ly cork that I didn't end up liking. In fact, I think your comment just convinced me to buy!

I just bought another run too, I was a little concerned by the crystals but after seeing the comments here and researching that they're actually a sign of quality, I couldn't pass it up these were some seriously delicious wines I can't wait to get my next 3 haha

Bendial80 wrote:These wines tasted FABULOUS when I bought them during the last woot off, but I had an issue with some weird crystallization on the corks and the rim of the bottle, was very strange. Looked like purple rock candy. Anyone know what that might have been? I thought maybe it was from temperature change during shipping. Either way, the wines were delicious

So, to go all nerd on you....

This is basically the tartrates, or what happens when potassium and tartaric acid (both naturally found in wine) combine together in cold temperatures and form a precipitate (crystals). This is quite common in many reds if the producer didn't do something to cold-stabilize.

You typically don't see it in whites because part of the process is to cold-stabilize the wine for a period of time so these crystals form and then can get filtered before bottling.

Many wine makers don't do this in Red because you can mask them with the red color whereas in Whites, you see them floating in the bottle. It doesn't mean anything, but impressions are everything.

One thing to note is many red wine producers are now cold-stabilizing their wines, especially if their wines have the potential to be sold as a glass-pour wine. Restaurant customers get mad when sediment is in there and don't want that last glass of wine. Hard to make your money when 1/4-1/5 of a bottle won't be accepted by your customers (even if the wine is just fine).

How to cold stabilize? Put the barrels outside for the winter for a month or so in cold areas. Or, chill the reds down a ways in a tank so they can settle. Do this all before bottling and you'll avoid crystals!

I haven't tried the Clos LaChance PS (maybe I missed them at Dark & Delicious?), but this looks like a nice vertical.

I really enjoyed the Handal Denier PS (apparently Wellington makes the wine/and uses the same vineyard in their PS?)...I hope this comes up during the wine.woot-off

This seems to be a very slow moving woot-off, no?

loreelu wrote:This seems to be a very slow moving woot-off, no?

No. Not to me.

What does "vertical" mean?

So are all three bottles 750ml or is the 2009 500ml ??

Never mind - On the top of the post if you scroll by the bottle picture, its all 750ml bottles.

singlespeed20 wrote:What does "vertical" mean?

Consecutive vintages of the same wine - in this case 2007, 2008 & 2009

I opened the 2007 from last offer last night.

I can say that this is solidly good wine. (Take a look for my cellar tracker note.)

It is fruity(Dark and lush) with a solid tannin backbone (Though not one that will attack you) The finish is quite tasty if you like sweet oak (I do! This isn't a harsh woody oak, it's a sweet almost vanilla character).

I Recommend it at the price if it seems to be your style.

2008 Clos LaChance Estate Petite Sirah

Blend: 100% Petite Sirah
Alcohol: 14.5%
Appellation: Central Coast
pH: 3.61
Harvest Dates: October 8, 2009
TA: 0.61
Bottling Dates: July 18, 2011
Total Cases: 406

I'm a little confused about the Harvest date on this one.

animi wrote:Tartrates. Totally harmless.

unless you get caught by the fuzz