mibuwolf83 wrote:I've been following Ardente Winery for a year now after seeing the '01 and '02 at Shoppers Vineyard and the '04 at Wine Library. Was Phillipe Melka the winemaker for the '97, '01 and '02 vintages and is he currently making wine for the upcoming vintages as well? Is the winery closing out the above vintages to make room for newer ones? You guys are staying in business, right?

Well, pay day is Thursday so I think I will be making a purchase of the vertical then. I can't wait to try 'em! It's a great opportunity to experience an aged wine from California and learn more about my palate.

Ardente IS NOT GOING OUT OF BUSINESS! They are just trying to catch up so that they can release some newer wines. They're next release will be the 2007. They age 2 years in barrel and another 2 years in the bottle...not your typical CA Cab style. This is part of the reason they age so well. So drink up and enjoy! Thanks for your support and if you are ever in Napa make an appointment for a private tasting at the estate Cheers, Angela

rjquillin wrote:WD, you are killing me!

Angela,
Aged is good...
Can you estimate how much life is left in the three?

I would say you have another 5 years on the 01 and 02. My suggestion would be to drink the 97 in the next1-2 years. It is lovely right now though and quite impressive to share over a special occasion!

bkarlan wrote:I will be in for 1 woot of the 97 tomorrow when the new offers go up across the board to maximize my $5 shipping.

Thanks for being so helpful on the boards today.

Awesome! I am here as much as I can be, and again am so grateful for your support. I truly believe in these wines because I know the passion that goes into each bottle. Carlo takes his businesses very seriously and gives his all. These cabs are some of the best from the valley, which is why I chose to work so closely with the winery. Hope you can enjoy some of these with your closest friends and family in the upcoming holiday season. Cheers!

ardentevintner wrote:I would say you have another 5 years on the 01 and 02. My suggestion would be to drink the 97 in the next1-2 years. It is lovely right now though and quite impressive to share over a special occasion!

I believe Robert Parker said another 10 years on the 01...

ardentevintner wrote:I believe Robert Parker said another 10 years on the 01...

Not a ton of love here for RP, more of the school of rpm. In for three woots here.
This may get mod'ed out, but can we get a winery comment from Angela on the '04 up on WL?

rjquillin wrote:Not a tone of love here for RP, more of the school of rpm. In for three woots here.
This may get mod'ed out, but can we get a winery comment from Angela on the '04 up on WL?

I hear ya loud and clear! Looks like the 04 is being sold through an east coast distributor...nothing I can do or say about that one. Woot!

Just purchased the Mix. And it's my 100th purchase!!!

CAGrl wrote:Just purchased the Mix. And it's my 100th purchase!!!

Congratulations!! Do you win a trip to Disneyland or something?! ;) I bet you have purchased a lot of cool stuff on here. What was your first purchase??

Just cracked a bottle of the 97 that was a prize from the Hallowoot blind tasting. Damn. No space, but I wants more. The finish was long and excellent. Just a few sips in, and I'm expecting this to keep getting better.

How quickly will these ship? I am leaving in a week and a half and would like to bring a bottle or two with me.

ardentevintner wrote:Thanks for your support and if you are ever in Napa make an appointment for a private tasting at the estate Cheers, Angela

Where is the estate located? I'd love to come by. I ordered 3 sets of the library last time they were offered. Hopefully this will be offered again!

ROGETRAY wrote:per the Wine.Woot FAQ:

How long is shipment going to take?
You should get your wine in 2-3 weeks, often sooner. We know the wait is kind of a drag. But it's still gonna taste good (maybe even better), and since we leave it to the wineries to get the wine to you, you can count on their experience to send their wine using their expert methodologies.

I love the cut and paste job. I have read the FAQ just as the other members have. I guess the real question is, is this shipping WCC or through the Winery?

Some of us have had wine take 2 months to ship (Peller) and other ones show up within the week.

Edit: in for the 97 set at 230am

I popped a bottle of the 2002 Ardente Estate Cab Sauv tonight. My pop'n'pour notes:

Color: Deep crimson with slight bricking.
Nose: Floral/capers, kalamata olive, cherry and tea.
Palate: The first couple sips had a viscous, palate coating feel which I did not enjoy. This did go away after breathing in the glass for about an hour. Black cherry, ripe plum and tea on the mid-palate which holds through the finish. Still has some tannins holding on.

I sealed the bottle and will give an update, tomorrow, on how it has developed 24 hours later.

I bought the mix a few offerings ago. I opened the 2002 and was very happy. One of the best woot buys I had. I Think I'm going to spring for another, but would like to hear someone's view on the 2001 and 1997 compared to the 2002.

cmaldoon wrote:These have AT Least 5 years of prime left before they will have fallen off greatly. The 2001 had significant fruit and some tannin, it likely has 10 years at least. Once again, based on preferences. I'm recommending these to all of my friends and getting more myself.

You put me over the edge. I'm in for 2. I love aged Cabernet, but I literally have no space. My 5 cases from the rpm tour haven't yet been moved to the cellar... SWMBO is going to kill me!

true559 wrote:I bought the 97,01,02 library last time. The 97 was absolutely repulsive. It had an aroma of some sort of decayed matter, almost as if it had been in the bottle too long. The 01 and 02 were good.

My experience too. I haven't tried the other two.

cmaldoon wrote:At this age, wines will start showing more and more variation. There will be more flawed bottles out there.

Additionally, some wines need to breathe a while after being in the bottle for 10+ years. The bottle funk often blows off within 30 min but I have known it to take an hour or two.

Lastly, depending on one's experience, an old bottle tastes funny just because it is old. Not everyone will like it. It is not going to be young and packed with fruit.

I have had both the 1997 and the 2001 from when this was up before. The 97 was good solid aged cab. Tons of leather and spice with not much fruit left. The 01 was beautiful with a fantastic balance of fruit to spice to leather. We drank half a bottle over each of 2 days and it was better the second day!

Hmmmm... How many am I in for? Another 2 sets? CAgirl... Are you interested? I'd love to split shipping...

I'm well aware of the need for allowing something this old to breath as this is not exactly my first aged cab. Trust me when I tell you the flavor profile was nothing like you've ever experienced...or want to.

ardentevintner wrote:Wow. This is truly disappointing to hear! I am so sorry that your experience was not a positive one. Unfortunately, I have not had that experience with any of the 97s I have opened. This does not mean anything though because the wine is older and some bottles may have gone array I suppose. Is there anything we can do to make this right with you? Thanks, Angela

Well, I would like to try an untainted 97.

true559 wrote:Well, I would like to try an untainted 97.

Let me see what I can do, and I will get back to you. Thank you!

bkarlan wrote:I love the cut and paste job. I have read the FAQ just as the other members have. I guess the real question is, is this shipping WCC or through the Winery?

Some of us have had wine take 2 months to ship (Peller) and other ones show up within the week.

Edit: in for the 97 set at 230am

WCC does ship the wine for us. As long as we get it to them on time there should be no reason it doesn't arrive in said time frame. Hope that helps! Thanks, Angela

It's so quiet today. Hmm...wonder why? I guess people are actually out VOTING! Hope we get some more action on here once polls are closed

this is one of the most active Woot Plus boards I have seen.

ardentevintner wrote:It's so quiet today. Hmm...wonder why? I guess people are actually out VOTING! Hope we get some more action on here once polls are closed

after all the talk and ordering a case of your fine Vino yesterday, I popped open one of your 2002 Cabernet Sauvignon's purchased last month,
Fantistico !!

bkarlan wrote:this is one of the most active Woot Plus boards I have seen.

Agree, good wines bring out a lot of Dialog.

PemberDucky wrote:hopefully! i know later on i'll hop on to sip a little red. or white. (but prolly not blue.)

LOL

fredrinaldi wrote:Agree, good wines bring out a lot of Dialog.

Additionally, this wine has been up before and there has been long enough for people to have tried it. Lots of information here.

For those who say the '97 is undrinkable, did you decant or at least pour a glass and wait an hour? It is more often the case than not with a 15 year old cabernet that it will have some funk upon first opening. This goes away with some breathing.

fredrinaldi wrote:after all the talk and ordering a case of your fine Vino yesterday, I popped open one of your 2002 Cabernet Sauvignon's purchased last month,
Fantistico !!

Wonderful! Thank you again and cheers!

ardentevintner wrote:Thanks for your feedback and support! I have a feeling some of the unpleasant feedback is merely a difference in taste. Older wines are not for everyone's palate and that is OK Glad that you will enjoy again! Cheers, Angela

This is not a difference in taste. The wine was truly bad. Bad corks or something. Not complaining as woot corrected the problem, but you may want to check those '97s before they're shipped.

melaniestl wrote:This is not a difference in taste. The wine was truly bad. Bad corks or something. Not complaining as woot corrected the problem, but you may want to check those '97s before they're shipped.

I am happy to hear that Wine Woot made things right with you. I suppose that is all that can be done at this point! We are still very grateful that you supported Ardente and gave us a try

So far I've tried the 97 and an 04 (from a different site) and I can state with confidence that both were fantastic! I still have the 01 and 02 from the last deal, but I've had enough to know I'm definitely in for one more vertical. Nice work.

Drinking the 97 right now, actually. It's wonderfully mild and subtle, and wayyyy more complex on day 2 (opened last night, left open and breathing in a carafe until just now). Would buy more now, but went in for three if the vertical before, think I'm good with that. Still, HIGHLY recommend the 97.

Notes: day 1 wasn't all that impressive, almost no fruit but a good, if slightly thin, mouth feel and some solid earth and pepper. Day two is smoothed out, still a bit of pepper, but some plum, apricot, and cherry bleeding through (but not in ANY way forward or overbearing). I'm a bigger fan of jammy wines, but this albeit mellowed juice has definitely won me over. I would say, however, to drink now. Something tells me that it is on the beginning of its decline.

EDIT TO ADD: it is also a beautiful shade of...blood red?

Went in for 1 mixer last night. This will be fun to share over the holidays with my family that is FINALLY getting an appreciation for wine! All it took was a trip to Bordeaux Wish I could have gone.

Does the standard 4(+) week rest period after shipping apply to these bottles? Or should it be longer?

Went for the (3) pack of '97 & the Library Cab Mix. My wine.woot shopping has been Uh-gress-ive lately!

forumc40 wrote:So far I've tried the 97 and an 04 (from a different site) and I can state with confidence that both were fantastic! I still have the 01 and 02 from the last deal, but I've had enough to know I'm definitely in for one more vertical. Nice work.

Awesome! That's what we like to hear Thanks for your feedback and support. Cheers to you and yours! -Angela

greyday wrote:Drinking the 97 right now, actually. It's wonderfully mild and subtle, and wayyyy more complex on day 2 (opened last night, left open and breathing in a carafe until just now). Would buy more now, but went in for three if the vertical before, think I'm good with that. Still, HIGHLY recommend the 97.


Notes: day 1 wasn't all that impressive, almost no fruit but a good, if slightly thin, mouth feel and some solid earth and pepper. Day two is smoothed out, still a bit of pepper, but some plum, apricot, and cherry bleeding through (but not in ANY way forward or overbearing). I'm a bigger fan of jammy wines, but this albeit mellowed juice has definitely won me over. I would say, however, to drink now. Something tells me that it is on the beginning of its decline.

EDIT TO ADD: it is also a beautiful shade of...blood red?

Niiice notes! I love how detailed you al get on here and so grateful that you share. I completely agree that the 97 is better with some time on the counter. I revisited it day two with my husband and we truly enjoyed every last sip! Cheers, Angela

lassow wrote:Went in for 1 mixer last night. This will be fun to share over the holidays with my family that is FINALLY getting an appreciation for wine! All it took was a trip to Bordeaux Wish I could have gone.

Does the standard 4(+) week rest period after shipping apply to these bottles? Or should it be longer?

Your family is lucky that you will share Seriously, these are awesome wines for the holidays! Hmmm...what do you all think about the resting period? Since I am in Napa I never personally deal with that...Thanks again for your support!

dwisner1 wrote:Went for the (3) pack of '97 & the Library Cab Mix. My wine.woot shopping has been Uh-gress-ive lately!

Good buy! I love samplers of anything. That way you don't feel like you are missing out on anything;) Cheers, Angela