Customer will receive 4 bottles of Twisted Oak Cockamamie California Red Wine and 2 bottles from this assortment:
2014 Twisted Oak Bearded Dragon
2014 Twisted Oak Ol’ Chumbucket
2015 Graciano
2015 Touriga Naçional
For Case:
Customer will receive 8 bottles of Twisted Oak Cockamamie California Red Wine and 4 bottles from this assortment:
2014 Twisted Oak Bearded Dragon
2014 Twisted Oak Ol’ Chumbucket
2015 Graciano
2015 Touriga Naçional
Twisted Oak Cockamamie California Red Wine:
Tasting Notes
A Cockamamie blend of 30% Monastrell (aka Mourvedre, but so much easier to say!), 30% Syrah, 30% Grenache, and 10% Petite Sirah! With this blend you might expect a similarity with our *%#&@! - but the Petite Sirah is in the house and demands a seat at the table. So you’ll pick up similar aromas of strawberries and flavors of cherries, but PS: there’s blueberries too!
Twisted Few members Bonnie & Don recently reported a delicious menu they served with the Cockamamie: “grilled pork chops with grilled asparagus and grated Parmesan, sautéed garlic scapes with fava beans, herbed potatoes, and leftover mixed greens.” (Who needs Chianti?) I think they nailed it!
Winemaker Notes
At Twisted Oak, we don’t give a cluck whether you’re bi-coastal, bi-sected or strapped to a bi-lane. What’s so freakin’ Cockamamie about that? You may think we’ve flown the coop or crossed the road for the last time, but we are the winemakers here, and this Twisted chick is a true ace! So grab a bottle, strap yourself in, and hold on for the ride!
Specifications
Blend: 30% Mourvedre, 30% Syrah, 30% Grenache, 10% Petite Sirah
Appellation: Sierra Foothills
Alcohol: 14.2%
Twisted Oak Special Blends:
2014 Twisted Oak Ol’ Chumbucket, Calaveras County:
Tasting Notes
Look for that Tempranillo cherry and tobacky, bright strawberry and rhubarb from the Garnacha and Carignane, smoky Mourvedre, and undertones of Petite Sirah. Pair this with Tapas and Grilled Stuff! spicy sausages & salumi - steaks - salmon or any ol’ chum-in-a-bucket you find laying around!
Vintage and Winemaker Notes
Avast! Dead men tell no tales, and the scurvy dogs who concocted this blend ain’t talking either. It may be the finest grog that ever graced the Spanish Main, or bilge water not even fit for swabbin’ the poop deck. Ask me parrot if ye wants to know. (Arrrr! This be the last time Cap’n Slappy be writin’ the tasting notes.)
Named after Ol’ Chumbucket, who with his zany sidekick Cap’n Slappy, are the founders of International Talk Like a Pirate Day. (And if ye know not what that is, be gettin’ yer landlubberin’ behind over thar to check it out!)
A blend of (get ready) Tempranillo, Garnacha, Carignane, Mourvedre, and Petite Sirah. If ye be wantin’ ta know the percentages, you’d be barkin’ up the wrong poop deck! Aged, not in oaken buckets, but regular ol’ barrels - 20% new French and American oak, 80% neutral.
Specifications
Vintage: 2014
Appellation: Sierra Foothills
Alcohol: 13.5%
Blend: Tempranillo, Garnacha, Carignane, Mourvedre, and Petite Sirah
2014 Twisted Oak Bearded Dragon, Calaveras County:
Tasting Notes
Toro is an earthier relative of Tempranillo, so expect to find those same cherry and leather flavors, but with a dark fruit undertone. You’re going to want to pair this with stronger flavors, like grilled game meats, or maybe even a fine boeuf bourguignon - just skip the Burgundy and use this Toro instead! And for dessert, how about a 70% dark chocolate, because you deserve it!
Vintage and Winemaker Notes
Nobody knows how this native of Australia ended up in the winery landscaping, but there he was catching rays under the butterfly tree. Since then “Ralphie” has become the lab mascot. Wish we could tell you if Ralphie was a boy or girl dragon, but reptile sexing is not in our skill set.
(And who needs yet another boring bottle shot when you have a cool lizard photo?)
100% Tinta de Toro from Metate Vineyards. Finished in 25% new American oak, 75% neutral oak.
Specifications
Vintage: 2014
Varietal: 100% Tempranillo
Appellation: Sierra Foothills
Alcohol: 13.5%
2015 Twisted Oak Touriga Nacional, Calaveras County:
Tasting Notes
Touriga Naçional is a bit different than anything else you may have tasted. It has a nice character of blueberries, plums, and lilac, but it is layered with a sort of savory bacon layer dusted with cocoa. So, we heartily recommend this with any sort of rich cured pork products and their ilk, but especially with thick, slow cooked, smoky bacon. Mmm.
Vintage and Winemaker Notes
I always thought Touriga Nacional was some sort of South American political movement. I pictured a great Revolucion with El Comandante Mortagua leading his grape people to freedom. Imagine my relief to find it is a native Portugese grape. And now we grow it. And so you should drink it. It’s yummy!
You would traditionally find Touriga Naçional as the major component of Port wines. And you would indeed find that at Twisted Oak! But that’s not all…
100% Touriga Naçional from the Oruuuuuuuga Block at Twisted Oak Winery
Specifications
Vintage: 2015
Alcohol: 13.4%
Varietal: 100% Touriga Naçional
2015 Twisted Oak Graciano, Calaveras County:
Tasting Notes
It may be Graciano but it’s not a boxer and it ain’t Italian either. Still, you’ll find punchy aromas of plums, blackberries and jam with a wallop of dried spicy characters. Then a powerful jab of deep sweet blackberries and a one-two finish with dried herbs and spices. Come to think of it, this Twisted Freak is quite the knockout, isn’t it?
Duck Duck Goose! Or pair with ham, Manchego, anchovies, roast pork, and all sorts of hearty, legume filled stews. And of course, slooooow-roasted lamb shoulder.
Vintage and Winemaker Notes
Rarezitas Torcidos (rah-ruh-ZEE-tas tor-SEE-dos), [SP] n pl., 1. literally, Twisted Little Freaks.
You’re holding one of those Freaks in your hand. A Freakish wine so Freakishly rare, only a few dozen Freakish cases were made.
This chewy Graciano partly comes from our own Estate vineyard on Red Hill at the winery in Vallecito. The Willow block also grows the Graciano used for our Spaniard program, but we are always thrilled to have a little left over. The logical thing to do is bottle a small amount for the wine club so we developed the Twisted Freaks club just for occasions like this!
60% Graciano from Metate Vineyard, 40% Graciano from the Willow Block, at Twisted Oak Winery.
Specifications
Vintage: 2015
Blend: 60% Graciano from Metate Vineyard, 40% Graciano from the Willow Block
Winery: Twisted Oak Winery
Owners: Jeff and Mary Stai
Location: Murphys, CA
Twisted Oak* Winery was founded at the turn of the century, as the culmination of a long string of momentous decisions, including leaving a successful technical career, leaving the city life to move to a town of barely 2000 people, buying some really cool vacant land nearby, ripping our children out of high school, and deciding that starting a winery would be a really cool and fun thing to do.**
That vacant land with amazing views at 2000 feet in the Sierra Nevada Foothills turned out to be just the ticket for planting the Mediterranean varieties that we love: Tempranillo, Garnacha, Graciano, and most recently, Touriga Naçional***. And just for good measure we built a state-of-the-art, no-pumpover, four-level gravity flow winery, with open tank, stainless steel fermenters along with our own 300-foot barrel cave. So while we love to have fun, when it comes to wines, we mean business!
The name? That comes from a real 350 year old California Blue Oak tree next to the crush pad. You can’t miss it!
** I will leave it to you to choose which decisions were good and which were poor!
*** It’s not just for Port any more!
Available States
AZ, CA, CO, DC, FL, ID, IL, IA, KS, MI, MN, MO, MT, NV, NH, NY, NC, OH, OR, TN, TX, VA, WA, WI, WY
IMPORTANT: we had to raise the upgraded summer shipping prices effective with this offer. Case upgrade now $40.00. turns out that’s even a bargain! please be sure to factor in if you upgrade.
@chipgreen@shrimp74
I’d have to agree with shrimp74 here. Increasing the cost to almost triple and then calling it a bargain is a bit of a stretch. YMMV
@chipgreen@pseudogourmet98@shrimp74 The regular shipping works so well for me, in the summer. I ship to my worksplace in northern virginia, delivery happens about 9:00AM. Which means my package only spends one (the previous) day in the heat, in Styrofoam, starting from refrigerated truck. I not even close to having a problem.
Previously I had it shipped to my house, which delivers around 5:30PM, which meant a 2nd day in the truck to raise temperature. And if I happened to miss the delivery, then a 3rd day in the heat, starting from already-warm. I never had any ruined wine because I was lucky with the weather. I switched to delivery to my local Walgreens, also afternoon delivery, which that at least removed the chance of more than 2 days exposed to elements.
@chipgreen@PatrickKarcher@pseudogourmet98@shrimp74 Same here PK, I agree. The regular shipping has been ok, so far. Having the FED-X driver on your side helps too. The one time I had summer shipping it arrived warm…just saying.
How much more are you saving by buying a full case?
(Note: Tax & Shipping not included in savings calculations)
Twisted Oak Cockamamie + Blends - $30 = 15.00%
@losthighwayz I generally don’t disclose cases but the Cockamamie is one of our higher production wines (several hundred cases) and the others are lower, under 200. All of these wines are dry with very low RS. For wines above that don’t show a specific oak program, our standard program is to go easy on the oak, with about 2/3 neutral and the balance a mix of French, American, and Hungarian oak. For the rest I’ll need to get back to you (notes at the winery.)
@losthighwayz That earlier Cockamamie was a situation where we had a customer that contracted for a bunch of bulk wine that later decided not to take it (I’ll spare the biz details but we’re cool). So we had a bunch of low cost bulk wine to bottle up and move out, and we set the price accordingly at $11 SRP. This version is a new stab at the brand but with a different cost situation. We also think it is a better wine because we made it our way and not to the spec of a 3rd party.
@eljefetwisted@losthighwayz@rjquillin I was thinking about this last night before I fell asleep and thought there must have been a glut of wine that you had to get rid of based on the previous pricing structure from of old.
Oh joyous reporting, i’ll jump right in, this is for the 2015 Graciano
Visually: Beautifully dark purple & opaque, could not see that much past the wine when held up to white cabinets. Has nice slow legs suggesting strong alcohol but label says otherwise. Can’t wait to dive in.
Nose: A mild sweet sensation hits the nose, berries and raspberries, followed by mild licorice and the slightest hint of grapefruit. Oh, I really can’t wait to dive in!
Taste: Upon first sip I get hit with acidic grapefruit notes but not the sweet pink kind. The bold appearance lead me to believe a complex swarm of flavors will hit my taste buds but it fell short of it. The combination of medium tannins and acidity round out the wine making it easy to drink.
The next day, the wine definitely opened up a lot more providing stronger hints of licorice (but not overwhelming) and grapefruit.
So about a week ago I get email from FedEx that I have a shipment on the way that requires a signature. Yeah wine! But wait, I did not order anything? About an hour later I got an email from Ariana that I was chosen to be a lab rat. Yeah wine and it is free!
My wife and I live in Phoenix AZ and as summers normally are it has been quite warm (110+ last week) recently. So when I received the bottle of 2014 Twisted Oak Ol’ Chumbucket, it went straight to the wine cooler for three days to acclimatize. Let the tasting begin! Nice dark red/purple color with some legs. Big Jammy nose with some earthy undertones. Pleasant taste, slightly dry. Not as big as the nose would suggest to me.
So we let the bottle breathe for about an hour and had full glasses with dinner which was a spicy chicken parmesan. The wine got better with time and paired nicely with dinner. It is a good drinkable red blend. I wanted to like it more but I am a fan of bigger reds like Syrahs from Stillman or Cabernets from Canton.
Twisted Oak Touriga Nacional (twîst-ed ohk tor-ee-gah nah-see-un-nawl) 2015, the year of our lord.
Their website showed a $39 bottle with a screw top. The one I have is corked. No rubber chicken was included with the wine. I had the wine in my wine fridge over a day and started the tasting at around 60 degrees f.
Deep ruby and violet color. It has a violet nose that doesn’t seem overly acidic, too young, or with high alcohol content. In other words, ready to drink without decanting for an extremely long period of time.
Bold, and tannin apt with depth.
It’s a dry wine- nothing like a port which the grapes are often used for. Dark berry flavors but again not really sweet, balanced with what I’d call pebble dust tannins (my girlfriend said it was more like wet slate to her) that are more apparent if you lash your tongue around with it in your mouth. Still it’s less earthy than a typical Cab Franc. Notes of cocoa and black currant hit me deeper into the tasting which is a nice backdrop to the fruit and floral aspects of the wine. Later I got a bit more plum. It’s concentration seems to open up over the tasting and while complex, it isn’t schizophrenic. It has a lingering finish that’s velvety and makes it taste elegant and expensive to me.
There’s almost no sediment at the bottom of my bottle.
I’d probably pair this with a fatty meat dish, but I think their site suggested bacon & cured pork.
If you are a Cabinet drinker and are unfamiliar with this varietal, you should probably get this offering (I bought it, even with the forum chatter- legit or not). Consider that your arm twist.
You’ll, no doubt, be proud to break one of these out at your next dinner party or if you do tastings with friends.
@ecue
Just looking at this thread and I saw this…having a gathering at my place in West LA next Saturday night if you’re interested in meeting up with a bunch of weirdos from the internet and drinking wine with us!
I’m going to see if I can engineer a split with the office: happy hour wine for there and at least one bottle of Touriga Nacional for me! Fingers crossed!
Was lucky enough to get a bottle of the 2014 Bearded Dragon to try out. Let it hang out in the fridge for a few days and let it come up to room temp basically before opening and drinking with dinner.
Color was lighter than I expected coming out of the bottle, as I expected it more like a new world tempranillo based on what I read. I was pleasantly surprised that it was a few shades lighter and not nearly heavy.
White pepper and vanilla on the nose out of the bottle, though the pepper mellowed a bit as it breathed. The oak stayed with it the whole time, probably a bit more than I’d usually like, but not offensive by any means.
First taste had a lot of oak and a lot of tannins, but it smoothed out nicely as it opened up to more of those earthy leather, graphite flavors. The fruit was not there as much comparatively.
In general, I think I’d say this is a solid every day wine, though in summer I prefer things that are more fruit forward. I’d plan on holding this until the heat breaks, but drink it before you’re huddled in front of a fire struggling to stay warm.
One issue in the ordering today - I tried to go in for a case, but it says that Twisted Oak can’t ship to NJ, just FYI.
Ahhhh… can you please offer this again when it’s not 100 degrees outside? I’m trying out the ice packs (shipment not arrived yet) but I still don’t trust summer shipping on account of the fact that I’ve gotten hot bottles before.
LW and I had a chance to give the Cockamamie a try last week, and I really loved it. As always, we made a point of opening it and having a taste before the aromas and flavors of dinner colored our palates. My first impression on opening was a bouquet of muted dark fruits, cherry, cassis. The same profile was exhibited with the first taste, and not a hint of heat, just soft, smooth tannins. By the time we got dinner ready, the wine had opened up a bit, and the flavors were less muted, but still the luscious dark fruits that mated beautifully with the meal, as listed by Jeff the winemaker at the top of the page: grilled pork chops, etc. (BTW, if you’re ever in Calaveras County, Jeff and his wife, Mary, are excellent dinner companions, as are all of his wines.). A case that’s two-thirds this wine, with a dollop of those others, is a “screaming deal” for some terrific wines, even when taking into account the $40 summer shipping that some are whining (yes, not wining) about. It’s still less than the typical winery charge for regular shipping, but we’ve gotten too spoiled by the giveaway prices for shipping here. Buy a case, you won’t be disappointed!
One fine afternoon a few weeks ago, we heard a knock at the back door, and low and behold, there was a delivery guy holding a single-banger box, wanting a signature! We knew immediately what it was. Excitement and worry set in. We had no previous knowledge of its expected arrival date and had a super-busy schedule for the next several days on the horizon, which did not include eating at home.
We opened the box and were quite happy to see that it was a Twisted Oak Cockamamie. For the record, since Jeff outted me: Ariana sent the wine to ddeuddeg and she had no way of knowing that I am a Twisted Few Wine Club member. ddeuddeg is a member by means of association. But, my CC gets these bills! No favoritism was employed here. I did have some internet discussion with Jeff regarding our food and wine pairing, which, obviously, he loved. But that discussion was after my/our impressions had already been formed.
First off, ddeuddeg and I liked the Cockamamie a lot. Upon first sniff, I didn’t get a lot of complexity on the nose. But, it was pleasant. Maybe some sweet cherries and other dark fruits, blueberries. I got an explosion of sweet cherries with my first taste, and maybe even a bit of those blueberries. It was very pleasant and not jammy—a lighter style drinking wine. Perfect for a hot summer day! After the first taste with food, ddeuddeg decided to put a chiller jacket on the bottle for a bit, maybe 5-7 minutes, even though the bottle had been in AC for several days. I thought I liked the little bit of a chill in the wine, but then, as it warmed up again during dinner, I preferred it a bit warmer, but not at total room temperature! (Complicated, I know. And the house temp was probably at 75-76 degrees.)
Our dinner included grilled pork chops with grilled asparagus and freshly grated Parmesan cheese, garlic scapes (from our garden) sautéed in EVOO with fresh fava beans added for a few minutes after the scapes began to caramelize, herbed potatoes with freshly chopped mint, chives, and butter, and leftover mixed greens which included turnip and radish greens, and Swiss chard. The Cockamamie held up to every bite on that dinner plate! So, let’s add that this is a well-balanced wine, too. It had a lot of competition here, and it was able to hold its own and even complement the meal.
@rmm989 I would love to ship to NJ. The permit and everything else is just so darn expensive. And then I have to have this “corporate nexus” there to get legal, which means I get to pay corporate taxes. Please do write to your state reps about this.
@rmm989 I understand NY may not be convenient, but if it is there are many businesses that will accept packages for you now. UPS calls them Access Points and FedEx calls them Hold At Locations. Check it out.
Aging: I can’t tell you about the Cockamamie since it is a new wine (reborn with a completely different blend). So I’m going to call it a drink now until further notice. On the other hand similar blends have aged very nicely for us under those twist off caps, so who knows. For the other wines (yes, all under corks) all previous vintages have aged very nicely up to 8 or 9 years from vintage (a 2009 Chum opened recently was amazeballs). But again, as I always say, it is not a mistake to drink them now. Better a little too soon than a little too late.
@scott0210 Not many that I know of. St. Amant from Lodi for sure. I’ve seen just one or two others but the names escape me. We originally put in the Touriga to support our Pig Stai Port program but it’s pretty darn yummy as a dry red.
@eljefetwisted@scott0210 I think Fenestra (also Lodi) had the Portuguese varieties bottled as varietal wines as well. CT shows me having had their Alvarelhao from Silvaspoons Vineyard. Their Port was also one of our favourites right next to Pig Stai.
I truly understand that for small wineries shipping licences are challenging/pain in the a>/. Please gave MA another chance as times are a changing. As a collective whole we are crusty N. Englanders, but still appreciate fine wine at a fine price.
@foxrunner I hear you. I should give MA another chance. The way the permitting works I pretty much need to get it in January though. In the meantime, can we find you an address in NH or NY?
@eljefetwisted On the Cape that is a long haul. The Boston market has been pretty active on CS but check with WineDavid, he can give you the inside skinny. I want to support quality small wineries within my limited budget, but for the winery the economics don’t always compute. We need to go West this Summer and why not have a twisted stop!
This arrived last week, picked it up today. I was surprised that the 4 random bottles were 2 each of the Touriga Nacional and Graciano rather than one of each. But then again, if I had to pick two to double up on, those would have been them! Thanks WD!
@klezman I was so tempted, but I have too many bottles, and not enough help, already. I powered thru both the Cockamamie bottlings, well, it took a year+, but that’s quick for me…
Chicago here
Got 6- with a chumbucket and a bearded dragon today. Really enjoyed the last twisted oak- looking forward to trying this batch! Thx casemates
@eljefetwisted when will the cockamamie be released for sale on your website?
I forgot to notify a friend it was on sale here and I’m being threatened with violence
Got the case last week! Got two bearded dragon and two Ol chumbucket. Was hoping for a mix of the blends but will undoubtedly enjoy them nonetheless. Cheers!
For 6-pack:
Customer will receive 4 bottles of Twisted Oak Cockamamie California Red Wine and 2 bottles from this assortment:
2014 Twisted Oak Bearded Dragon
2014 Twisted Oak Ol’ Chumbucket
2015 Graciano
2015 Touriga Naçional
For Case:
Customer will receive 8 bottles of Twisted Oak Cockamamie California Red Wine and 4 bottles from this assortment:
2014 Twisted Oak Bearded Dragon
2014 Twisted Oak Ol’ Chumbucket
2015 Graciano
2015 Touriga Naçional
Twisted Oak Cockamamie California Red Wine:
Tasting Notes
A Cockamamie blend of 30% Monastrell (aka Mourvedre, but so much easier to say!), 30% Syrah, 30% Grenache, and 10% Petite Sirah! With this blend you might expect a similarity with our *%#&@! - but the Petite Sirah is in the house and demands a seat at the table. So you’ll pick up similar aromas of strawberries and flavors of cherries, but PS: there’s blueberries too!
Twisted Few members Bonnie & Don recently reported a delicious menu they served with the Cockamamie: “grilled pork chops with grilled asparagus and grated Parmesan, sautéed garlic scapes with fava beans, herbed potatoes, and leftover mixed greens.” (Who needs Chianti?) I think they nailed it!
Winemaker Notes
At Twisted Oak, we don’t give a cluck whether you’re bi-coastal, bi-sected or strapped to a bi-lane. What’s so freakin’ Cockamamie about that? You may think we’ve flown the coop or crossed the road for the last time, but we are the winemakers here, and this Twisted chick is a true ace! So grab a bottle, strap yourself in, and hold on for the ride!
Specifications
Twisted Oak Special Blends:
2014 Twisted Oak Ol’ Chumbucket, Calaveras County:
Tasting Notes
Look for that Tempranillo cherry and tobacky, bright strawberry and rhubarb from the Garnacha and Carignane, smoky Mourvedre, and undertones of Petite Sirah. Pair this with Tapas and Grilled Stuff! spicy sausages & salumi - steaks - salmon or any ol’ chum-in-a-bucket you find laying around!
Vintage and Winemaker Notes
Avast! Dead men tell no tales, and the scurvy dogs who concocted this blend ain’t talking either. It may be the finest grog that ever graced the Spanish Main, or bilge water not even fit for swabbin’ the poop deck. Ask me parrot if ye wants to know. (Arrrr! This be the last time Cap’n Slappy be writin’ the tasting notes.)
Named after Ol’ Chumbucket, who with his zany sidekick Cap’n Slappy, are the founders of International Talk Like a Pirate Day. (And if ye know not what that is, be gettin’ yer landlubberin’ behind over thar to check it out!)
A blend of (get ready) Tempranillo, Garnacha, Carignane, Mourvedre, and Petite Sirah. If ye be wantin’ ta know the percentages, you’d be barkin’ up the wrong poop deck! Aged, not in oaken buckets, but regular ol’ barrels - 20% new French and American oak, 80% neutral.
Specifications
2014 Twisted Oak Bearded Dragon, Calaveras County:
Tasting Notes
Toro is an earthier relative of Tempranillo, so expect to find those same cherry and leather flavors, but with a dark fruit undertone. You’re going to want to pair this with stronger flavors, like grilled game meats, or maybe even a fine boeuf bourguignon - just skip the Burgundy and use this Toro instead! And for dessert, how about a 70% dark chocolate, because you deserve it!
Vintage and Winemaker Notes
Nobody knows how this native of Australia ended up in the winery landscaping, but there he was catching rays under the butterfly tree. Since then “Ralphie” has become the lab mascot. Wish we could tell you if Ralphie was a boy or girl dragon, but reptile sexing is not in our skill set.
(And who needs yet another boring bottle shot when you have a cool lizard photo?)
100% Tinta de Toro from Metate Vineyards. Finished in 25% new American oak, 75% neutral oak.
Specifications
2015 Twisted Oak Touriga Nacional, Calaveras County:
Tasting Notes
Touriga Naçional is a bit different than anything else you may have tasted. It has a nice character of blueberries, plums, and lilac, but it is layered with a sort of savory bacon layer dusted with cocoa. So, we heartily recommend this with any sort of rich cured pork products and their ilk, but especially with thick, slow cooked, smoky bacon. Mmm.
Vintage and Winemaker Notes
I always thought Touriga Nacional was some sort of South American political movement. I pictured a great Revolucion with El Comandante Mortagua leading his grape people to freedom. Imagine my relief to find it is a native Portugese grape. And now we grow it. And so you should drink it. It’s yummy!
You would traditionally find Touriga Naçional as the major component of Port wines. And you would indeed find that at Twisted Oak! But that’s not all…
100% Touriga Naçional from the Oruuuuuuuga Block at Twisted Oak Winery
Specifications
2015 Twisted Oak Graciano, Calaveras County:
Tasting Notes
It may be Graciano but it’s not a boxer and it ain’t Italian either. Still, you’ll find punchy aromas of plums, blackberries and jam with a wallop of dried spicy characters. Then a powerful jab of deep sweet blackberries and a one-two finish with dried herbs and spices. Come to think of it, this Twisted Freak is quite the knockout, isn’t it?
Duck Duck Goose! Or pair with ham, Manchego, anchovies, roast pork, and all sorts of hearty, legume filled stews. And of course, slooooow-roasted lamb shoulder.
Vintage and Winemaker Notes
Rarezitas Torcidos (rah-ruh-ZEE-tas tor-SEE-dos), [SP] n pl., 1. literally, Twisted Little Freaks.
You’re holding one of those Freaks in your hand. A Freakish wine so Freakishly rare, only a few dozen Freakish cases were made.
This chewy Graciano partly comes from our own Estate vineyard on Red Hill at the winery in Vallecito. The Willow block also grows the Graciano used for our Spaniard program, but we are always thrilled to have a little left over. The logical thing to do is bottle a small amount for the wine club so we developed the Twisted Freaks club just for occasions like this!
60% Graciano from Metate Vineyard, 40% Graciano from the Willow Block, at Twisted Oak Winery.
Specifications
Included In The Box
Price Comparison
For Cockamamie: $264/case at Twisted Oak Winery (not yet available online)
For Bearded Dragon: $529.13/case at Twisted Oak Winery
For Ol’ Chumbucket: $529.13/case at Twisted Oak Winery
For Graciano: $529.13/case at Twisted Oak Winery
For Touriga Naçional: $529.13/case at Twisted Oak Winery
About The Winery
Winery: Twisted Oak Winery
Owners: Jeff and Mary Stai
Location: Murphys, CA
Twisted Oak* Winery was founded at the turn of the century, as the culmination of a long string of momentous decisions, including leaving a successful technical career, leaving the city life to move to a town of barely 2000 people, buying some really cool vacant land nearby, ripping our children out of high school, and deciding that starting a winery would be a really cool and fun thing to do.**
That vacant land with amazing views at 2000 feet in the Sierra Nevada Foothills turned out to be just the ticket for planting the Mediterranean varieties that we love: Tempranillo, Garnacha, Graciano, and most recently, Touriga Naçional***. And just for good measure we built a state-of-the-art, no-pumpover, four-level gravity flow winery, with open tank, stainless steel fermenters along with our own 300-foot barrel cave. So while we love to have fun, when it comes to wines, we mean business!
** I will leave it to you to choose which decisions were good and which were poor!
*** It’s not just for Port any more!
Available States
AZ, CA, CO, DC, FL, ID, IL, IA, KS, MI, MN, MO, MT, NV, NH, NY, NC, OH, OR, TN, TX, VA, WA, WI, WY
Estimated Delivery
Thursday, August 22nd - Monday, August 26th
Twisted Oak Cockamamie + Blends
6 bottles for $99.99 $16.66/bottle + $1.33/bottle shipping
Case of 12 for $169.99 $14.17/bottle + $1/bottle shipping
2013 Twisted Oak Cockamamie
2014 Twisted Oak Bearded Dragon
2014 Twisted Oak Ol’ Chumbucket
2015 Graciano
2015 Touriga Naçional
Almost have to get the case…
With the expectation the four additional will most assuredly be one of each.
'cause, if they’re not…
@rjquillin likely all mixed, but not assured.
IMPORTANT: we had to raise the upgraded summer shipping prices effective with this offer. Case upgrade now $40.00. turns out that’s even a bargain! please be sure to factor in if you upgrade.
Bargain? Cover page says $169.99 for the case. Case upgrade? What the bleep is that? Going the way of the airlines charging for a bag… haha
@shrimp74
The upgrade refers to shipping. 2-day shipping with ice packs = $40 upcharge. Was previously $15.
@chipgreen @shrimp74
I’d have to agree with shrimp74 here. Increasing the cost to almost triple and then calling it a bargain is a bit of a stretch. YMMV
@pseudogourmet98 @shrimp74
Definitely keeping me on the sidelines for the foreseeable future.
@chipgreen @pseudogourmet98 @shrimp74 It’s easy. June July August September = No Ship Months
@chipgreen @pseudogourmet98 @shrimp74 The regular shipping works so well for me, in the summer. I ship to my worksplace in northern virginia, delivery happens about 9:00AM. Which means my package only spends one (the previous) day in the heat, in Styrofoam, starting from refrigerated truck. I not even close to having a problem.
Previously I had it shipped to my house, which delivers around 5:30PM, which meant a 2nd day in the truck to raise temperature. And if I happened to miss the delivery, then a 3rd day in the heat, starting from already-warm. I never had any ruined wine because I was lucky with the weather. I switched to delivery to my local Walgreens, also afternoon delivery, which that at least removed the chance of more than 2 days exposed to elements.
@chipgreen @PatrickKarcher @pseudogourmet98 @shrimp74 Same here PK, I agree. The regular shipping has been ok, so far. Having the FED-X driver on your side helps too. The one time I had summer shipping it arrived warm…just saying.
@chipgreen @kaolis @pseudogourmet98
Just like the stock market. Sell in May and go away!
How much more are you saving by buying a full case?
(Note: Tax & Shipping not included in savings calculations)
Twisted Oak Cockamamie + Blends - $30 = 15.00%
They advertise a bacon wine and won’t ship to my state. I’m aggrieved.
Hey Jefe, can you address PH, TA, RS, oak treatment and case production for each? Por favor
@losthighwayz I generally don’t disclose cases but the Cockamamie is one of our higher production wines (several hundred cases) and the others are lower, under 200. All of these wines are dry with very low RS. For wines above that don’t show a specific oak program, our standard program is to go easy on the oak, with about 2/3 neutral and the balance a mix of French, American, and Hungarian oak. For the rest I’ll need to get back to you (notes at the winery.)
I seem to recall the cockamamie being around $10 per bottle on the former site
@losthighwayz I see it as being $22 per bottle.
@bahwm @losthighwayz
9 (750ml) purchased with 7 remaining from Woot on 11/25/2016, delivered 12/14/2016
Cost Per Bottle: $5.22, Purchase note: Order Number: #57108902 http://wine.woot.com/forums/viewpost.aspx?postid=6999047
@bahwm @losthighwayz @rjquillin
$5.22? Mine is recorded as $10 and the CT average is $9.45.
@bahwm @chipgreen @losthighwayz
http://wine.woot.com/offers/twisted-oak-cockamamie-re-mixed-red-case-3
$62.63 after tax
Those were the dayz.
@losthighwayz your right we got a nice deal on those s few years back. Nice wine too.
@losthighwayz That earlier Cockamamie was a situation where we had a customer that contracted for a bunch of bulk wine that later decided not to take it (I’ll spare the biz details but we’re cool). So we had a bunch of low cost bulk wine to bottle up and move out, and we set the price accordingly at $11 SRP. This version is a new stab at the brand but with a different cost situation. We also think it is a better wine because we made it our way and not to the spec of a 3rd party.
@eljefetwisted @losthighwayz @rjquillin I was thinking about this last night before I fell asleep and thought there must have been a glut of wine that you had to get rid of based on the previous pricing structure from of old.
@eljefetwisted @losthighwayz El Jefe, did you stop producing the geek sheets?
@klezman @losthighwayz We did stop doing the geek sheets. There just wasn’t the demand for them. Except you guys
@eljefetwisted @losthighwayz Yeah, we’re nerds. That’s part of why you love us
@klezman @losthighwayz true dat!
@eljefetwisted @losthighwayz Back in '16…Good dealio, lucky for us.
Oh joyous reporting, i’ll jump right in, this is for the 2015 Graciano
Visually: Beautifully dark purple & opaque, could not see that much past the wine when held up to white cabinets. Has nice slow legs suggesting strong alcohol but label says otherwise. Can’t wait to dive in.
Nose: A mild sweet sensation hits the nose, berries and raspberries, followed by mild licorice and the slightest hint of grapefruit. Oh, I really can’t wait to dive in!
Taste: Upon first sip I get hit with acidic grapefruit notes but not the sweet pink kind. The bold appearance lead me to believe a complex swarm of flavors will hit my taste buds but it fell short of it. The combination of medium tannins and acidity round out the wine making it easy to drink.
The next day, the wine definitely opened up a lot more providing stronger hints of licorice (but not overwhelming) and grapefruit.
Decent table wine at a good price.
So about a week ago I get email from FedEx that I have a shipment on the way that requires a signature. Yeah wine! But wait, I did not order anything? About an hour later I got an email from Ariana that I was chosen to be a lab rat. Yeah wine and it is free!
My wife and I live in Phoenix AZ and as summers normally are it has been quite warm (110+ last week) recently. So when I received the bottle of 2014 Twisted Oak Ol’ Chumbucket, it went straight to the wine cooler for three days to acclimatize. Let the tasting begin! Nice dark red/purple color with some legs. Big Jammy nose with some earthy undertones. Pleasant taste, slightly dry. Not as big as the nose would suggest to me.
So we let the bottle breathe for about an hour and had full glasses with dinner which was a spicy chicken parmesan. The wine got better with time and paired nicely with dinner. It is a good drinkable red blend. I wanted to like it more but I am a fan of bigger reds like Syrahs from Stillman or Cabernets from Canton.
Twisted Oak Touriga Nacional (twîst-ed ohk tor-ee-gah nah-see-un-nawl) 2015, the year of our lord.
Their website showed a $39 bottle with a screw top. The one I have is corked. No rubber chicken was included with the wine. I had the wine in my wine fridge over a day and started the tasting at around 60 degrees f.
Deep ruby and violet color. It has a violet nose that doesn’t seem overly acidic, too young, or with high alcohol content. In other words, ready to drink without decanting for an extremely long period of time.
Bold, and tannin apt with depth.
It’s a dry wine- nothing like a port which the grapes are often used for. Dark berry flavors but again not really sweet, balanced with what I’d call pebble dust tannins (my girlfriend said it was more like wet slate to her) that are more apparent if you lash your tongue around with it in your mouth. Still it’s less earthy than a typical Cab Franc. Notes of cocoa and black currant hit me deeper into the tasting which is a nice backdrop to the fruit and floral aspects of the wine. Later I got a bit more plum. It’s concentration seems to open up over the tasting and while complex, it isn’t schizophrenic. It has a lingering finish that’s velvety and makes it taste elegant and expensive to me.
There’s almost no sediment at the bottom of my bottle.
I’d probably pair this with a fatty meat dish, but I think their site suggested bacon & cured pork.
If you are a Cabinet drinker and are unfamiliar with this varietal, you should probably get this offering (I bought it, even with the forum chatter- legit or not). Consider that your arm twist.
You’ll, no doubt, be proud to break one of these out at your next dinner party or if you do tastings with friends.
@ecue
For some reason the background in this picture looks familiar
@ScottW58 Sherman Oaks, CA- represent.
@ecue
So you live like next door to me and we have never met!? Wtf
@ecue @ScottW58
We need more west(-ish) LA people to join in!
@ecue, we’re having a gathering at my place on Aug 17. You should join us! Looks like you and Scott could carpool
https://casemates.com/forum/topics/socal-54-its-been-too-long
@ecue
Just looking at this thread and I saw this…having a gathering at my place in West LA next Saturday night if you’re interested in meeting up with a bunch of weirdos from the internet and drinking wine with us!
I’m going to see if I can engineer a split with the office: happy hour wine for there and at least one bottle of Touriga Nacional for me! Fingers crossed!
/giphy withered-wild-earth
Bummer. no shipping to GA – but the expedited shipping is now $40???..
so, never mind.
Hey, lab rats get an email now, that was fun.
Was lucky enough to get a bottle of the 2014 Bearded Dragon to try out. Let it hang out in the fridge for a few days and let it come up to room temp basically before opening and drinking with dinner.
Color was lighter than I expected coming out of the bottle, as I expected it more like a new world tempranillo based on what I read. I was pleasantly surprised that it was a few shades lighter and not nearly heavy.
White pepper and vanilla on the nose out of the bottle, though the pepper mellowed a bit as it breathed. The oak stayed with it the whole time, probably a bit more than I’d usually like, but not offensive by any means.
First taste had a lot of oak and a lot of tannins, but it smoothed out nicely as it opened up to more of those earthy leather, graphite flavors. The fruit was not there as much comparatively.
In general, I think I’d say this is a solid every day wine, though in summer I prefer things that are more fruit forward. I’d plan on holding this until the heat breaks, but drink it before you’re huddled in front of a fire struggling to stay warm.
One issue in the ordering today - I tried to go in for a case, but it says that Twisted Oak can’t ship to NJ, just FYI.
Ahhhh… can you please offer this again when it’s not 100 degrees outside? I’m trying out the ice packs (shipment not arrived yet) but I still don’t trust summer shipping on account of the fact that I’ve gotten hot bottles before.
LW and I had a chance to give the Cockamamie a try last week, and I really loved it. As always, we made a point of opening it and having a taste before the aromas and flavors of dinner colored our palates. My first impression on opening was a bouquet of muted dark fruits, cherry, cassis. The same profile was exhibited with the first taste, and not a hint of heat, just soft, smooth tannins. By the time we got dinner ready, the wine had opened up a bit, and the flavors were less muted, but still the luscious dark fruits that mated beautifully with the meal, as listed by Jeff the winemaker at the top of the page: grilled pork chops, etc. (BTW, if you’re ever in Calaveras County, Jeff and his wife, Mary, are excellent dinner companions, as are all of his wines.). A case that’s two-thirds this wine, with a dollop of those others, is a “screaming deal” for some terrific wines, even when taking into account the $40 summer shipping that some are whining (yes, not wining) about. It’s still less than the typical winery charge for regular shipping, but we’ve gotten too spoiled by the giveaway prices for shipping here. Buy a case, you won’t be disappointed!
One fine afternoon a few weeks ago, we heard a knock at the back door, and low and behold, there was a delivery guy holding a single-banger box, wanting a signature! We knew immediately what it was. Excitement and worry set in. We had no previous knowledge of its expected arrival date and had a super-busy schedule for the next several days on the horizon, which did not include eating at home.
We opened the box and were quite happy to see that it was a Twisted Oak Cockamamie. For the record, since Jeff outted me: Ariana sent the wine to ddeuddeg and she had no way of knowing that I am a Twisted Few Wine Club member. ddeuddeg is a member by means of association. But, my CC gets these bills! No favoritism was employed here. I did have some internet discussion with Jeff regarding our food and wine pairing, which, obviously, he loved. But that discussion was after my/our impressions had already been formed.
First off, ddeuddeg and I liked the Cockamamie a lot. Upon first sniff, I didn’t get a lot of complexity on the nose. But, it was pleasant. Maybe some sweet cherries and other dark fruits, blueberries. I got an explosion of sweet cherries with my first taste, and maybe even a bit of those blueberries. It was very pleasant and not jammy—a lighter style drinking wine. Perfect for a hot summer day! After the first taste with food, ddeuddeg decided to put a chiller jacket on the bottle for a bit, maybe 5-7 minutes, even though the bottle had been in AC for several days. I thought I liked the little bit of a chill in the wine, but then, as it warmed up again during dinner, I preferred it a bit warmer, but not at total room temperature! (Complicated, I know. And the house temp was probably at 75-76 degrees.)
Our dinner included grilled pork chops with grilled asparagus and freshly grated Parmesan cheese, garlic scapes (from our garden) sautéed in EVOO with fresh fava beans added for a few minutes after the scapes began to caramelize, herbed potatoes with freshly chopped mint, chives, and butter, and leftover mixed greens which included turnip and radish greens, and Swiss chard. The Cockamamie held up to every bite on that dinner plate! So, let’s add that this is a well-balanced wine, too. It had a lot of competition here, and it was able to hold its own and even complement the meal.
In for a case and hoping for a Bearded Dragon to arrive…
/giphy actual-conscious-copper
Wow - nice reviews from the Rats! El Jefe from Twisted Oak here if you have any questions, thoughts, puns, etc.
@eljefetwisted 'bout time you showed up.
@rjquillin Unexpected guests last night, stayed late
@eljefetwisted can y’all really not ship to NJ? I’d love to go in for more after my labrattage, and I’m confused
@rmm989 I would love to ship to NJ. The permit and everything else is just so darn expensive. And then I have to have this “corporate nexus” there to get legal, which means I get to pay corporate taxes. Please do write to your state reps about this.
@rmm989 Don’t you have friends in NY?
@rmm989 I understand NY may not be convenient, but if it is there are many businesses that will accept packages for you now. UPS calls them Access Points and FedEx calls them Hold At Locations. Check it out.
Aging: I can’t tell you about the Cockamamie since it is a new wine (reborn with a completely different blend). So I’m going to call it a drink now until further notice. On the other hand similar blends have aged very nicely for us under those twist off caps, so who knows. For the other wines (yes, all under corks) all previous vintages have aged very nicely up to 8 or 9 years from vintage (a 2009 Chum opened recently was amazeballs). But again, as I always say, it is not a mistake to drink them now. Better a little too soon than a little too late.
@eljefetwisted thanks as always Jeff!
@eljefetwisted Never seen Touriga Nacional outside of a Douro from Portugal. Looking forward to trying this. Many people grow that grape over here?
@scott0210 Not many that I know of. St. Amant from Lodi for sure. I’ve seen just one or two others but the names escape me. We originally put in the Touriga to support our Pig Stai Port program but it’s pretty darn yummy as a dry red.
@eljefetwisted @scott0210 I think Fenestra (also Lodi) had the Portuguese varieties bottled as varietal wines as well. CT shows me having had their Alvarelhao from Silvaspoons Vineyard. Their Port was also one of our favourites right next to Pig Stai.
I truly understand that for small wineries shipping licences are challenging/pain in the a>/. Please gave MA another chance as times are a changing. As a collective whole we are crusty N. Englanders, but still appreciate fine wine at a fine price.
@foxrunner I hear you. I should give MA another chance. The way the permitting works I pretty much need to get it in January though. In the meantime, can we find you an address in NH or NY?
@eljefetwisted On the Cape that is a long haul. The Boston market has been pretty active on CS but check with WineDavid, he can give you the inside skinny. I want to support quality small wineries within my limited budget, but for the winery the economics don’t always compute. We need to go West this Summer and why not have a twisted stop!
@foxrunner Why not indeed!
In for 6. I am supposed to be saving money, but I can’t pass up El Jeffe wines
/giphy distracting-eclectic-vodka
Autobuy…
/giphy horrific-infamous-country
Any NH/nearby New England folks interested in splitting a case?
/giphy marred-lean-back
Yes! Office happy hour authorised the split! Sharing with the whole office!
/giphy bent-mundane-bucket
Almost forgot! Remembered at 8:59! Too bad there’s no more Last Sucker!
/giphy tricky-bardic-carbon
This arrived last week, picked it up today. I was surprised that the 4 random bottles were 2 each of the Touriga Nacional and Graciano rather than one of each. But then again, if I had to pick two to double up on, those would have been them! Thanks WD!
@klezman I was so tempted, but I have too many bottles, and not enough help, already. I powered thru both the Cockamamie bottlings, well, it took a year+, but that’s quick for me…
@rjquillin that’s why I got work to split with me.
Chicago here
Got 6- with a chumbucket and a bearded dragon today. Really enjoyed the last twisted oak- looking forward to trying this batch! Thx casemates
got same thing also in Chicago
@eljefetwisted when will the cockamamie be released for sale on your website?
I forgot to notify a friend it was on sale here and I’m being threatened with violence
Got the case last week! Got two bearded dragon and two Ol chumbucket. Was hoping for a mix of the blends but will undoubtedly enjoy them nonetheless. Cheers!