Clayhouse Estate Rhone 2011 White Blend 750ml 4-Pack
$64.99 $̶1̶1̶7̶.̶0̶0̶ 44% off List Price
2011 Estate Cuveé Blanc, Red Cedar Vineyard Paso Robles
CT link above

Winery website

Previous offer:
11/2/12

Clayhouse Estate Rhone White Blend
Speed to first woot: 10m 33.550s
First sucker: MarkDaSpark
Last wooter to woot: MarkDaSpark
Last purchase: 2 minutes ago


Never met a Clayhouse I didn't like.

Had this last week. Transferred my CT note to Cesare's link (wine created with slightly different name).

Will someone from the winery be stopping by?

If so, I have a question unrelated to this wine... A few years ago I purchased a case of late harvest Zinfandel from you...375 ml bottles...fantastic dessert wine. I see you no longer have it on your website. Is there any chance you have a few library bottles rolling around? I'd love to buy another case or two.

HMM similar blend to yesterday! people should buy both and compare so i can buy the best one next time

MarkDaSpark wrote:
Never met a Clayhouse I didn't like.

Agreed. The consistency and quality of their estate wines is impressive.

Courtesy of CJ:

cjsiege wrote:List of previous WW gatherings by area. Great reading and great examples of how to set up a Get-Together Thread.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Upcoming Woot Wine Gatherings…All The News for the week of March 3rd.

Welcome Atlanta Wooters! Hope you get a good group on March 30th.

There has been a lot of recent activity in the "looking for helping hands" threads. Anyone willing to put a stake in the ground and spend some time talking it up with friends? Time to get a move on!

March
3/16: NYC #21: Cupcakes
3/22: Minnesota #20: Visitors from Afar
3/23: NorCal Vintage Merlot Night
3/30: SoCal #24: Aged Zins
3/30: Atlanta #1

April
4/6: Colorado/Wyoming #?
4/6: Missouri: April 6 - Jefferson City
4/19: Ohio Wine.Woot Table at the Wine Dinner

Pending
TBD: SeaTac & Western Washington Interest Thread.
TBD: Mid-May Somewhere Between Western NY and Cleveland
TBD: NYC Tasting #??: A Tribute (interest thread)
TBD: NorCal: Volcanic Terroir and/or Eastern European Finds
TBD: NorCal: Wheelbarrow o' Wine
TBD: Dallas #11
TBD: Arizona Verde Valley Winery Weekend

Looking for some helping hands:

• Omaha, NE Area Interest Thread
  
• South Florida Interest Thread
  
• NorthEast Florida Interest Thread
  
• Missouri Interest Thread
  
• Central NC Interest Thread
  
• Albuquerque Interest Thread
  
• Lake County/Chicago Interest Thread

No events in your area??? Start one! Create an interest thread in the World of Wine Woot Community Tab.

SPARKY!!!

So join or create a WW Gathering!

mbuffy wrote:Will someone from the winery be stopping by?

If so, I have a question unrelated to this wine... A few years ago I purchased a case of late harvest Zinfandel from you...375 ml bottles...fantastic dessert wine. I see you no longer have it on your website. Is there any chance you have a few library bottles rolling around? I'd love to buy another case or two.

I wasn't aware that Clayhouse made zin
They do however make an awesome Petite Sirah port. As Mark would say.... nom nom!

trifecta wrote:I wasn't aware that Clayhouse made zin
They do however make an awesome Petite Sirah port. As Mark would say.... nom nom!

I think we missed opening it over the D&D Weekend!

MarkDaSpark wrote:

So join or create a WW Gathering!

Don't foget NorCal Vintage Merlot Night! March 23rd!

MarkDaSpark wrote:I think we missed opening it over the D&D Weekend!

We had it at the Clayhouse table though. Their new vintage. First in a while.

trifecta wrote:I wasn't aware that Clayhouse made zin
They do however make an awesome Petite Sirah port. As Mark would say.... nom nom!

This was a long time ago -- vintage was 2004. I believe it was indeed fortified. Only web image I could find:

mbuffy wrote:This was a long time ago -- vintage was 2004. I believe it was indeed fortified.

Wish I could get my hands on one too.

trifecta wrote:Don't foget NorCal Vintage Merlot Night! March 23rd!

I won't foget!


(Added to the Gatherings Post)

trifecta wrote:Agreed. The consistency and quality of their estate wines is impressive.

really?

Bahwm and I had a bottle of this with dinner last night. The initial impression of the nose was grass with some herbal notes, maybe cilantro, but not the kind of grassiness I don't like in Sauvignon Blanc. Then I got a distinct floral character, reminding me this is 30% Viognier.
Entry is smooth, not a trace of heat, plenty of fruit up front, a nice mouthfeel with a lingering finish. We paired it with sea bass and asparagus, a perfect choice. The fish was topped with lime juice, ginger, shallots, soy sauce and cilantro, and the wine held up beautifully to the mélange of strong flavors. There was enough left to have with a spinach and pine nut salad we nearly always pair with red, but this wine was a great match for the olive oil, lemon juice, and garlic dressing.
I could see this as an aperitif, a great choice for sitting on the front porch on a summer evening, or the accompaniment for a wide variety of foods. This, from a mainly red wine drinker: I wish I'd bought more when it was offered last fall, but with the summer coming, I won't make that mistake again.

Also had a bottle of this recently, and I found that it evolved significantly as it warmed from fridge temperature towards room temp.

When cold I found the whole experience a bit lacking- not much nose or interesting things going on.

As it warmed up the typical rhone white notes appeared in the nose- I'd call it honeysuckle and apricot?
At this point it had a prominant citrus mid palate, and a juicey lychee on the finish. I found this immensly enjoyable with the Peking Duck I was eating- particularly the interaction of the unctuous duck fat and the hoisin with the wine.

After dinner at room temperature the wine was full on citrus, with a long finish of same.

As it warmed the mouthfeel got very silky and tongue coating... Which you would think wouldn't go well with the duck fat, but it really did.

Nice interesting white that a primarily red drinker enjoyed. I think I might order some just to have this exact pairing again, as it was "port and chocolate" kind of amazing...

trifecta wrote:Had this last week. Transferred my CT note to Cesare's link (wine created with slightly different name).

And my notes are the other review seen in the CT link.

mother wrote:Also had a bottle of this recently, and I found that it evolved significantly as it warmed from fridge temperature towards room temp.

When cold I found the whole experience a bit lacking- not much nose or interesting things going on.

As it warmed up the typical rhone white notes appeared in the nose- I'd call it honeysuckle and apricot?
At this point it had a prominant citrus mid palate, and a juicey lychee on the finish. I found this immensly enjoyable with the Peking Duck I was eating- particularly the interaction of the unctuous duck fat and the hoisin with the wine.

After dinner at room temperature the wine was full on citrus, with a long finish of same.

As it warmed the mouthfeel got very silky and tongue coating... Which you would think wouldn't go well with the duck fat, but it really did.

Nice interesting white that a primarily red drinker enjoyed. I think I might order some just to have this exact pairing again, as it was "port and chocolate" kind of amazing...

I neglected to mention in my earlier post how the wine evolved as it warmed up to room temperature by the time we finished the bottle. This is very similar to our experience, except that, in a rare departure from my usual clumsy practice, I actually had it warm up a bit from fridge temperature to a better drinking temp before opening.

Hey, Woot. You may want to change the initial offering page to include that this is a 4 pack. Until you click the picture or "I want one" it only shows one bottle in the picture and no (4) or 4-pack. I thought it was just for one bottle.

In fact, I was reading the comments under that impression and was shocked that everyone routinely had 80 dollar bottles of wine for porch sipping and weekday drinking. That is what caused me to go back and look at the specs page more carefully.

keithnowak7 wrote:... In fact, I was reading the comments under that impression and was shocked that everyone routinely had 80 dollar bottles of wine for porch sipping and weekday drinking.

Not everyone. Just some of us.

mbuffy wrote:Will someone from the winery be stopping by?

If so, I have a question unrelated to this wine... A few years ago I purchased a case of late harvest Zinfandel from you...375 ml bottles...fantastic dessert wine. I see you no longer have it on your website. Is there any chance you have a few library bottles rolling around? I'd love to buy another case or two.

Hello, Stacey here from Clayhouse. Unfortunately that late harvest Zin was a one-of-a-kind. We've been sold out of that one for a few years now. We've since made a killer late harvest Petite Sirah which is still available on the website. We will have another late harvest Petite/Tannat coming out in a year or so.

keithnowak7 wrote:Hey, Woot. You may want to change the initial offering page to include that this is a 4 pack. Until you click the picture or "I want one" it only shows one bottle in the picture and no (4) or 4-pack. I thought it was just for one bottle.

In fact, I was reading the comments under that impression and was shocked that everyone routinely had 80 dollar bottles of wine for porch sipping and weekday drinking. That is what caused me to go back and look at the specs page more carefully.

I will second this, I also thought it was a $65 bottle.

David Hance from Clayhouse: We don't make any $65 bottles of wine!

jawlz wrote:I will second this, I also thought it was a $65 bottle.

Add me as well. This was an issue woot had taken care after they did their last "upgrade" to the site. It was noted by some us that the number of bottles shown in the photo did not match the number in the offering. Thereafter woot always started indicating the title of the offering the number of bottles in the offering.

When they didn't this time and I saw the solo bottle, that's what I though was in this offering. I only went to the comments to try to figure out what people thought was so spectacular about the wine to justify the price.

dahance wrote:David Hance from Clayhouse: We don't make any $65 bottles of wine!

Hi, David,

How sweet is this? Also, how long will it keep (assuming that I even have any come summer)?

creekhounds wrote:Hi, David,

How sweet is this? Also, how long will it keep (assuming that I even have any come summer)?

I don't have final analysis in front of me, but I'd guess around 3 g/L ... below threshold for tasting sweetness. Our intention is to bottle a very dry white wine for this cuvee.

dahance wrote:I don't have final analysis in front of me, but I'd guess around 3 g/L ... below threshold for tasting sweetness. Our intention is to bottle a very dry white wine for this cuvee.

Wow! Not $65, and dry and delicious-sounding. Thank you, I'm in.

saved a lot of $$$ last two weeks, my CC thanks you wine woot

ddeuddeg wrote:I neglected to mention in my earlier post how the wine evolved as it warmed up to room temperature by the time we finished the bottle. This is very similar to our experience, except that, in a rare departure from my usual clumsy practice, I actually had it warm up a bit from fridge temperature to a better drinking temp before opening.

David Hance from Clayhouse: My wife laughs that I never chill whites. Not entirely true, but I do MUCH prefer most complex whites just slightly cool, rather than cold. The cold mutes aromas and numbs flavors, just like it does with red wines (where it also makes tannins a key feature). Thanks for letting this cuvee come in from the cold!

I had this wine back in October at a friend's house and last night with dinner with ddeuddeg. What a totally different experience last night! There was an issue with the bottle in October. It had started to undergo a secondary fermentation. And so, it was basically, bleh!

I am extremely happy to say that last night's bottle was a very rewarding experience! The fresh herbal & floral notes upon opening were very pleasant. There was a little grassiness, but it was good. On the palate was some nice citrus and mango. It worked perfectly with the lime and soy sauce that was part of the topping for the sea bass. There was a bit of crispness to this wine, but it was very smooth with a pleasant lingering finish. It even held up to our Spinach Salad with Roasted Garlic and Toasted Pine Nuts, which we would normally pair with a red. Time to get some more of this gem!

dahance wrote:David Hance from Clayhouse: My wife laughs that I never chill whites. Not entirely true, but I do MUCH prefer most complex whites just slightly cool, rather than cold. The cold mutes aromas and numbs flavors, just like it does with red wines (where it also makes tannins a key feature). Thanks for letting this cuvee come in from the cold!

LOL with you. Long an issue with DW and I. All I can say is that she just likes her white wines cold.

For myself I've been mostly a red wine drinker, but I'm now learning to appreciate the subtleties and complexities of those well-crafted whites and dry rosés served slightly chilled.

bahwm wrote:I had this wine back in October at a friend's house and last night with dinner with ddeuddeg. What a totally different experience last night! There was an issue with the bottle in October. It had started to undergo a secondary fermentation. And so, it was basically, bleh!

I am extremely happy to say that last night's bottle was a very rewarding experience! The fresh herbal & floral notes upon opening were very pleasant. There was a little grassiness, but it was good. On the palate was some nice citrus and mango. It worked perfectly with the lime and soy sauce that was part of the topping for the sea bass. There was a bit of crispness to this wine, but it was very smooth with a pleasant lingering finish. It even held up to our Spinach Salad with Roasted Garlic and Toasted Pine Nuts, which we would normally pair with a red. Time to get some more of this gem!

If (hopefully never again) you have problems with any of our wines, please contact us (see www.clayhousewines.com). We want to bring any issues of concern to our winemaker, and we want you to be happy with our wines.

neilfindswine wrote:Welcome back Clayhouse!

This one has become a favorite here at the office. A solid white with a lot going on. We first tasted at the Hallowoot tasting and it was a hit there as well (there are notes posted in the prior offering).

Good stuff.

We're happy to be here, and happy you're enjoying our Clayhouse wine. Interesting side note: The winemaker, Blake Kuhn, thinks this wine shows better after time in the bottle. We used to shoot for a late-spring release for the new vintage. Now we wait until autumn.

dahance wrote:If (hopefully never again) you have problems with any of our wines, please contact us (see www.clayhousewines.com). We want to bring any issues of concern to our winemaker, and we want you to be happy with our wines.

PM for you.

dahance wrote:David Hance from Clayhouse: My wife laughs that I never chill whites. Not entirely true, but I do MUCH prefer most complex whites just slightly cool, rather than cold. The cold mutes aromas and numbs flavors, just like it does with red wines (where it also makes tannins a key feature). Thanks for letting this cuvee come in from the cold!

I agree!

MarkDaSpark wrote:Clayhouse Estate Rhone White Blend
Speed to first woot: 10m 33.550s
First sucker: MarkDaSpark
Last wooter to woot: MarkDaSpark
Last purchase: 2 minutes ago


Never met a Clayhouse I didn't like.

Or a sheep!