Alderbrook Dry Creek Valley Carignane 4-Pack
$79.99 (Normally $152.60) 48% off List Price
2006 Carignane, Dry Creek Valley, School House Creek Vineyard
2007 Carignane, Dry Creek Valley, School House Creek Vineyard
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Winery website

The only Carignane I have had was in the adequate gift which was a blend. Can someone describe a typical Carignane. Flavors, aromas, weight, etc.

cortot20 wrote:The only Carignane I have had was in the adequate gift which was a blend. Can someone describe a typical Carignane. Flavors, aromas, weight, etc.

I think of it as mid-weight. It's normally used as a blending grape, although occasionally you'll find some in the Rhone that are largely Carignane. I'd love to try this, but SIWBM dictates otherwise. The one I have form CA is actually Twisted Oak from the Twisted Freak pack of a year ago...but I've not popped one open yet.

cortot20 wrote:The only Carignane I have had was in the adequate gift which was a blend. Can someone describe a typical Carignane. Flavors, aromas, weight, etc.

From the Carignane I've tasted, I say it's flavor profile is similar to Zinfandel (cherry, raspberry, strawberry). It can be quite tannic, though, and has deep color concentration; which is why it's used in a lot of blends. It takes a good winemaker to bring the finesse of this varietal forward.

Very little if any new plantings of Carignane these days. I think it makes a beautiful deep red wine with nice briary characteristics. My grandfather tells of the days during prohabition when all the home winemakers wanted Zinfandel. He said they planted Zinfandel, Mataro (Mouvedra today) and Carignane. They shipped them in the rail cars east all as Zinfandel. This way they extended their selling season since they all ripen at different times. I'm in, be fun to have some in the cellar.

ScottHarveyWines wrote:Very little if any new plantings of Carignane these days. I think it makes a beautiful deep red wine with nice briary characteristics. My grandfather tells of the days during prohabition when all the home winemakers wanted Zinfandel. He said they planted Zinfandel, Mataro (Mouvedra today) and Carignane. They shipped them in the rail cars east all as Zinfandel. This way they extended their selling season since they all ripen at different times. I'm in, be fun to have some in the cellar.

d.ago red?

I'd be happier if it were a 2 pack. If it's not very good, it still costs $20/bottle.

ajrod27 wrote:From the Carignane I've tasted, I say it's flavor profile is similar to Zinfandel (cherry, raspberry, strawberry). It can be quite tannic, though, and has deep color concentration; which is why it's used in a lot of blends. It takes a good winemaker to bring the finesse of this varietal forward.

I've found it has some overlap, but it pretty distinct. To my mind, it's less briary than Zin (I don't think I've ever had a strawberry Zin -- I normally associate that flavor with Grenache), less concentrated and extracted, and more acidic.

It's a wine I like, but rarely find alone or enough to be varietally-labeled, and shows very well from old vines. I think these will be drinking perfectly at these ages as well.

Oh, and in for one.

I had a bottle from a Twisted Oak woot a while back, and it was quite a hit with the Wife and I. Lovely fruit, not too bold, smooth drinker, went well with beef. I would hope this was as good!

Just a request for help from some of the long timers, how do you get refund/return product in the event the wine you receive is corked?

I have been having difficulties getting customer support for undrinkable wine I purchased here in September! This was an $80 purchase.

Think before you buy.

ruzil wrote:Just a request for help from some of the long timers, how do you get refund/return product in the event the wine you receive is corked?

I have been having difficulties getting customer support for undrinkable wine I purchased here in September! This was an $80 purchase.

Think before you buy.

I haven't had to do it lately but on one occasion the winery replaced the bottle.

ruzil wrote:Just a request for help from some of the long timers, how do you get refund/return product in the event the wine you receive is corked?

I have been having difficulties getting customer support for undrinkable wine I purchased here in September! This was an $80 purchase.

Think before you buy.

Just to be clear, just because you don't like the wine doesn't mean it's bad. I'm saying this because you're last line is "Think before you buy." If the bottle is defective (corked), thining before you bought would have done nothing. It's also pretty unbeleivable that the entire order ($80, I'm assuming, was 3-5 bottles). If the wine is corked or cooked (from heat in travel), email support@woot.com.

Good day woot-ers. To answer some of the post aboot the Carignane... Phonic spelling- Karen-Yawn. It is , typically a blending grape that you would see blended in with varietals such as Zinfandel, Syrah, Petite Syrah.

It is light in body like a Pinot Noir, but with a completely different flavor profile. You will get a good amount of tannin, red fruit such as deep cherry, and I like to tell people that if it is 100 degrees outside and you would still like to drink red wine, this is what you would open...

ruzil wrote:Just a request for help from some of the long timers, how do you get refund/return product in the event the wine you receive is corked?

I have been having difficulties getting customer support for undrinkable wine I purchased here in September! This was an $80 purchase.

Think before you buy.

I have had only one shipment that was bad over the past few years that I have been buying from woot. Emailed support and they had the winery send out a replacement. It was fast and efficient. If support has not emailed you back, I’d send them another email and see what’s going on. You always have the option of disputing the credit card charge with your credit card company if you do not get a response from woot.

PetiteSirah wrote:I've found it has some overlap, but it pretty distinct. To my mind, it's less briary than Zin (I don't think I've ever had a strawberry Zin -- I normally associate that flavor with Grenache), less concentrated and extracted, and more acidic.

It's a wine I like, but rarely find alone or enough to be varietally-labeled, and shows very well from old vines. I think these will be drinking perfectly at these ages as well.

Oh, and in for one.

Well said up top. These Carignanes are old vine varietals, at around 55 years old from School house vineyard in Dry Creek, Sonoma County. We are also one of only a few wineries that make a full Carignane.

What The Hay?,in for one. Next get together,I'll a bottle to change up the regular fare. X

alderbrookmanager wrote:Well said up top. These Carignanes are old vine varietals, at around 55 years old from School house vineyard in Dry Creek, Sonoma County. We are also one of only a few wineries that make a full Carignane.

I remember Isabel Haigh back in the day, at Simi, telling customers to "be a man, drink Carignane" -- and how she often required those who wanted to buy the 1935 Cabernet (at the then astronomical sum of $35 a bottle) to buy several bottles of Carignane for each bottle of the '35 they wanted.

She was a contemporary (more or less) of my father and they knew each other as kids.

Ok...I'm game...in for one

kylemittskus wrote:Just to be clear, just because you don't like the wine doesn't mean it's bad. I'm saying this because you're last line is "Think before you buy." If the bottle is defective (corked), thining before you bought would have done nothing. It's also pretty unbeleivable that the entire order ($80, I'm assuming, was 3-5 bottles). If the wine is corked or cooked (from heat in travel), email support@woot.com.

Perhaps poor wording by me, but the wine's cork crumbled while opening. The wine was badly oxidized and undrinkable.

I realize that not everyone has your voluminous knowledge of wine, but I do have enough experience to know a bad wine when confronted with it. Thanks for your interest in my post.

hiten900 wrote:I have had only one shipment that was bad over the past few years that I have been buying from woot. Emailed support and they had the winery send out a replacement. It was fast and efficient. If support has not emailed you back, I’d send them another email and see what’s going on. You always have the option of disputing the credit card charge with your credit card company if you do not get a response from woot.

Well this has been going on since September. I have emailed support at least 3 times and each time they ask me for my order number which I then provide, they thank me and then I never hear anything back. It's not like I am a first timer with Woot. I have been buying wines from them since 2005 and spent quite a bit of money with them. My purchase history spans 9 pages, compared to most, is that a significant amount of purchases.

I would hate to dispute the charge with the Credit Card company. Maybe it's come to that.

ruzil wrote:Well this has been going on since September. I have emailed support at least 3 times and each time they ask me for my order number which I then provide, they thank me and then I never hear anything back. It's not like I am a first timer with Woot. I have been buying wines from them since 2005 and spent quite a bit of money with them. My purchase history spans 9 pages, compared to most, is that a significant amount of purchases.

I would hate to dispute the charge with the Credit Card company. Maybe it's come to that.

ThunderThighs

inkycatz

ROGETRAY

WD39

Trying to get you some attention, ruzil (even though you were {seemed to be} unnecessarily sarcastic in your reply to me).

kylemittskus wrote:Just to be clear, just because you don't like the wine doesn't mean it's bad. I'm saying this because you're last line is "Think before you buy." If the bottle is defective (corked), thining before you bought would have done nothing. It's also pretty unbeleivable that the entire order ($80, I'm assuming, was 3-5 bottles). If the wine is corked or cooked (from heat in travel), email support@woot.com.

It was actually 4 bottles, 2 or them (same variety)were fine, the other two (different variety) were obviously badly oxidized. Now I don't know anything about the logistics of how these wines were shipped but two were bad.

No sarcasm here, I simply responded to your post which I found a bit condescending, but maybe I just took it the wrong way.

Thanks for your assistance.

ruzil wrote:Well this has been going on since September. I have emailed support at least 3 times and each time they ask me for my order number which I then provide, they thank me and then I never hear anything back. It's not like I am a first timer with Woot. I have been buying wines from them since 2005 and spent quite a bit of money with them. My purchase history spans 9 pages, compared to most, is that a significant amount of purchases.

I would hate to dispute the charge with the Credit Card company. Maybe it's come to that.

I find that's the quickest way to get the attention of any retailer.
I do it whenever I am dissatisfied and want my money back but the retailer hasn't done it in a timely manner.

What typically happens is that I get the credit and then immediately get a credit by the retailer once they realize whats happened. It all works out in the end but it is a hassle.

Check your spam folder too. The woot support emails sometimes find there way into there.

cortot20 wrote:I find that's the quickest way to get the attention of any retailer.
I do it whenever I am dissatisfied and want my money back but the retailer hasn't done it in a timely manner.

What typically happens is that I get the credit and then immediately get a credit by the retailer once they realize whats happened. It all works out in the end but it is a hassle.

Check your spam folder too. The woot support emails sometimes find there way into there.

You can also try and contact the winery directly. They should be able to replace it for you with ease depending on whether or not they have any left. I deal with this issue alot at the winery. Corked wine happens, its just a fact of life when dealing with cork. Nobody is at fault and the only guard against it is to not use cork.

alderbrookmanager wrote:You can also try and contact the winery directly. They should be able to replace it for you with ease depending on whether or not they have any left. I deal with this issue alot at the winery. Corked wine happens, its just a fact of life when dealing with cork. Nobody is at fault and the only guard against it is to not use cork.

So why don't you use screw tops? Perception? Or do you think that cork provides some benefit?

In light of this offer, I decided to open the one bottle of Carignane that I have in my cellar. Granted it's a completely different year and completely different winery, but I thought it was a delicious wine and it has caused me to go in on one of this offer. My notes if you are interested:

Belvedere (now defunct winery) Alexander Valley Carignane 2006:
Color dark red / light purple. Nose of ripe and sour cherries, minerals/stone and a slight good vegetal (interesting). I'm not very familiar with Carignane except in blends, but this reminds me of a ripe Cali Sangiovese. The tannin remnants from the wine covered the entire outside of the bottle, literally 360 degrees top to bottom. I imagine this wine was quite tannic in its early years, but it is very balanced now. It's a delicious wine which hung tight with the curry venison cube steaks, roasted purple potatoes and arugula salad, although I feel its sweet spot would have been something slightly less rich, like pork chops or a hearty pasta dish. I need to buy more Carignane when I find it.

Sorry to chime in late here, but I happened to find a bottle of the 2006 Alderbrook Dry Creek Carignane that I brought to a party tonight. It was well received by everyone who tried it.

This Alderbrook is a nicely balanced, medium weight wine. It's more in the Pinot Noir/Grenache wheelhouse than the Zin/Syrah camp, but it has more meatiness to back it up than a Pinot Noir.

I don't have a strong memory of the Twisted Oak Carignane, but I remember it being more of a showy, fruity monster than this wine.