2018 WineSmith Petit Verdot, Alexander Valley, Hidden Springs Vineyard
Tasting Notes
Petit Verdot is the ink of Bordeaux. Though an essential element of their blends, rarely is it employed at more than 2%. At this level, it imparts lush, refined tannins without overpowering the blend. At higher proportions, it obscures complexity and nuance, offering little aromatic interest of its own.
Steve Hill’s wonderful Hidden Spring Vineyard in northern Sonoma County, just south of the hamlet of Asti, reliably produces that rarest of treasures – a stand-alone Petit Verdot. Surely this is a testament to the site’s full sun and the great drainage of its rocky soil, which allow the fruit to fully ripen, overcoming its high natural acidity and permitting the aromas of considerable interest to develop.
Most WineSmith wines are harvested at lower Brix than many California winemakers choose. This is an exception. We require some desiccation to achieve a fine result, and because of its unbelievably dense color, there is no danger of dryness. We then replace that water with a balanced wine that extracts well.
The resulting dense, oily tannins support seductive aromas of cassis, licorice, and tar. The wine is somehow both understated and powerfully seductive, like the roll of a timpani that you feel more than hear.
This vintage was released ahead of the 2017 due to its surprising early drinkability. Enjoy with grilled rib steak or duck breast.
Fermentation techniques:
Diluted with water to 23.5 Brix
ICV D-80 yeast
7.5 g/L untoasted Alliers chips
14-day maceration
Elevage details:
Three weeks microbüllage pre-ML
29 months in neutral French oak
Alcohol sweet spot at 13.14%
pH 3.80 at bottling
153 Cases Produced
Specs
100% Petit Verdot
Hidden Springs Vineyard, Alexander Valley AVA
Harvested 17 October
27.7 Brix
2019 WineSmith Malbec, Lake County, Diamond Ridge Vineyard
Tasting Notes
Malbec is always graceful and full of strawberries, but seldom does one find the density and depth that derive from the unique properties of this renowned site, the “Diamond of Lake County”. Diamond Ridge Vineyards is located in a sunny, high altitude site with rocky volcanic soils which force the vine to put its energy into pushing its roots down into the rock, resulting in a lively mineral energy in the wine’s finish. These conditions develop good color and firm but refined tannins which impart amazing age-worthiness.
Because of its proximity to Clear Lake, the site is also blessed with a “lake effect” – a daily visit from the cooling breezes off this deep body of water, the largest in the State. The consequence is that the plum and cinnamon aromas the grape develops are conserved. Lake County’s dry air gives rise to droughty herbs that bathe the grapes in sage, bay laurel and rosemary nuances. These rich aromatics are supported by moderate tannins of great finesse and its lively palate energy makes this among the most complete and collectible expressions of Malbec.
In 2019 we employed a new maceration acceleration technique in which we fragmented the skins to aid extraction. The resulting palate possesses a sweet core of fruit which is framed by soft tannins and a bright mineral finish. A versatile companion to salmon, quail, or rib steak, it loves aged cheeses and fine chocolate.
Fermentation techniques:
Anchor NT112 yeast
7.5 g/L untoasted Alliers chips
10-day maceration
Elevage details:
Three weeks microbüllage pre-ML
66 months in neutral French oak
Alcohol sweet spot at 13.14%
pH 3.80 at bottling
90 Cases Produced
Specs
100% Malbec Clone 4
Diamond Ridge Vineyard, Clear Lake AVA
Harvested 2 October
24.1 Brix
2016 WineSmith Cabernet Franc, Lake County
Tasting Notes
The father of Cabernet Sauvignon, this grape is among the most challenging to work with and seldom is bottled as a pure varietal. Its great vigor requires bright sunlight and a limiting soil to prevent excessive fruit shading, but its delicate aromas will also easily burn off.
Diamond Ridge is located in a sunny, high altitude site with rocky volcanic soils which force Cabernet Franc to put its energy into pushing its roots down into the rock, resulting in a lively mineral energy in the wine’s finish. These conditions develop good color and firm but refined tannins which impart amazing age-worthiness.
Because of its proximity to Clear Lake, the site is also blessed with a “lake effect” – a daily visit from the cooling breezes off this deep body of water, the largest in the State. The consequence is that the plum and cinnamon aromas the grape develops are conserved. The combination of rich fruit aromatics, firm tannin structure, and lively minerality make this among the most complete and collectible expressions of Cabernet Franc in the New World.
The 2016 was harvested on September 27, fermented traditionally with extended maceration, and aged in neutral French oak for 56 months to resolve its incredible reductive strength. For roundness and fat, we co-fermented with 23% Merlot. Age has added a tobacco bouquet to its spicy cherry and rosemary aromas which resemble a well-aged Graves. The resulting palate possesses a sweet core of fruit which is framed by soft tannins and a bright mineral finish.
A perfect accompaniment to steak béarnaise or wild mushroom dishes, the wine loves open fires and Bruce Springsteen’s Jungleland.
Fermentation techniques:
Anchor NT112 yeast
7.5 g/L untoasted Alliers chips
11-day maceration
Elevage details:
Three weeks microbüllage pre ML
56 months in neutral French oak
Alcohol sweet spot at 14.2%
pH 3.72 at bottling
235 Cases Produced
Specs
77% Cabernet Franc Clone 1
Estate vineyard, Clear Lake AVA
Harvested 28 September
24.1 Brix
23% Merlot Clone 181
Estate vineyard, Clear Lake AVA
Harvested 27 September
25.3 Brix
What’s Included
3-bottles:
1x 2018 WineSmith Petit Verdot, Alexander Valley, Hidden Springs Vineyard
1x 2019 WineSmith Malbec, Lake County, Diamond Ridge Vineyard
1x 2016 WineSmith Cabernet Franc, Lake County
Case:
4x 2018 WineSmith Petit Verdot, Alexander Valley, Hidden Springs Vineyard
4x 2019 WineSmith Malbec, Lake County, Diamond Ridge Vineyard
Clark Smith is an MIT drop-out who wandered out to California in 1972 and sold wine retail in the Bay Area for several years, where he acquired a love of Bordeaux, Burgundy, and all things French and observed first hand the California winery explosion in the 1970s. After a three-year stint at Veedercrest Vineyards, he secured enology training at UC Davis and spent the 1980s as founding winemaker for The R.H. Phillips Vineyard in Yolo County. In 1990, he founded WineSmith Consulting and patented a group of new winemaking techniques involving reverse osmosis, spinning off Vinovation, which went on to become the world’s largest wine production consulting firm over its 17-year history.
Frustrated with California’s winemaking trends, Clark started WineSmith Cellars in 1993 as a teaching winery to make Eurocentric wines to explore traditions beyond the mainstream, expanding for his winemaking clients the range of possibility for California fruit. Choosing to create long-term partnerships with committed growers rather than growing his own grapes, Clark has become a renowned expert on Cabernet Franc, having vinified twenty vintages from a wide variety of sites.
Teaching at Napa Valley College gave him access to the Student Vineyard for Faux Chablis and his Pauillac-style $100 “Crucible” Cabernet Sauvignon. From Renaissance Vineyards in North Yuba County, he has made a sulfite-free Roman Syrah and also produces a Pinot Noir from Fiddlestix Vineyard in the Santa Rita Hills in a delicate, age-worthy Côtes de Beaune style. These wines are vinified in an ancient beat-up warehouse in Sebastopol, California.
WineSmith wines are noted for their longevity, classic balance, structural integrity, minerality, and understated soulfulness. They often are aged extensively prior to release. When drinking a WineSmith wine, always ask yourself “What is this wine trying to teach me?” Clark is a vocal advocate of living soil and graceful longevity, and generally avoids excessive oak, alcohol, or extended hang-time. He is not shy about employing new tools when they are needed, such as alcohol adjustment to bring fruit into balance or micro-oxygenation to build refined structure, but always fully discloses techniques that are controversial and is outspoken in explaining his rationale.
His book, Postmodern Winemaking, is the culmination of four decades of reflection on wine’s true nature.
Available States
AZ, CA, CO, CT, DC, FL, GA, ID, IL, IN, IA, LA, ME, MD, MA, MI, MN, MO, MT, NE, NV, NJ, NM, NY, NC, ND, OH, OK, OR, PA, RI, SC, SD, TX, VT, VA, WA, WV, WI, WY
Greetings, my homies. I’m back in the Casemates saddle, this time with an offer that’s fun, educational and crazy delicious all at once.
Most of you know your way around Cab Sauv and Merlot, and the scuttlebutt is that pure varieties are the best. Poppycock! U.C.Davis did a study in the '70s where random blends of Cab Sauv and Merlot were scored against the pure components. In every case, the random blends scored higher!
What’s really fascinating is the tremendous tweaking influence of the other three BDX components, even in miniscule quantities. Here you have three remarkable stand-alone wines which you can also use to play blending games with your favorite Cab Sauv or Merlot du jour.
An astute guess, but no. St. Laurent is the only variety we flash, though fire and rain may force me to consider others in the future. We were unbelievably fortunate to escape any smoke taint anywhere in the State, though points East did not fare so well eating our California smoke.
Anyhow, you are tasting the wonderful aromatics Diamond Ridge Vineyards is able to metabolize (due to high altitude clean air with lots of UV as well as the sparse canopy we get from the highly drained volcanic soil, and equally important, we are able to retain by virtue of the lake effect which preserves varietal fruit but bathing the vineyard in 60F breezes in the afternoon, sparing us the raisining the western sun imparts to most of the rest of Lake County.
These comments apply also to the Cab Franc, though its expression is entirely different.
That is one hell of a Petit Verdot. It got plenty ripe at Hidden Spring in Alexander Valley, producing that rarity of rarities - a stand-alone PV with depth, complexity and profundity. I have no explanation for why the 2018 came around so fast. All the other vintages are hard as rocks, including the 2017, which we are waiting to come around. Yet here we are with a glorious PV that’s quite ready to go. Go figure.
@klezman Not much. Malbec pretty much makes itself.
We picked it at 24.1 brix and immediately watered it to 23.0. We fermented on a BDX-friendly Saccharomyces/Bayanus hybrid from the University of Stellenbach that’s great at extracting collr and tannin and fermenting sloely at high temperature, similar to Pasteur Red but better.
As with most of our reds, we fermented on 7.5 gm/L of a well-cured untoasted Alliers chip that’s great at copigmentation and aromatic enhancement (from whiskey lactone, a subliminal coconut note). Post-AF we touched it briefly with Micro-ox to stabilize the color. Then it spent 26 months in neutral French oak. That’s about it - nothing fancy.
@klezman This is big news. Richard Smart, an Australian guy and perhaps the world’s most renowned viticulturalist, presented his idea of ACE = Accentuated Cut Edges to a group of California winemakers in 2019. The idea is to overcome the inhibitive barrier pectin plays by getting fast bleeding of color and flavor laterally through the cut edges.
When you crush a grape, you get a small amount of bleeding edge, but with a maceration accelerator (essentially an inline Vitamix) at just the right speed to chop the skin into 8-10 pieces without cutting the seeds, you get a quantum leap in fruit, density and structure. I couldn’t believe how well it worked.
@winesmith that’s really interesting. So is the idea then that the wine spends less time in contact with the seeds, keeping their tannin out of the mix, resulting in a more approachable wine?
@klezman Yes and no. For reds, the seed contact is the same, although the accelerated extraction of color and flavor does allow the option of pressing early, which also allows the winemaker to turn tanks more rapidly, a lifesaver in some vintages.
For whites, you can go direct to press and get the aromatic extraction without seed tannin pickup. This is magic for Riesling and Sauvignon Blanc.
How much more are you saving by buying a full case?
(Note: Tax & Shipping not included in savings calculations)
WineSmith Mixed Reds Collection - $80 = 28.56%
I received an email from Alice asking if I could be an “unexpected Lab Rat “. My answer was of course yes. Because I live where I live, the two(surprising bottles) arrived on Monday. I received the Petit Verdot and the Malbec. Since I knew the offer was live on Wednesday,I knew I had no time time to rest the bottles. In full disclosure, I am a huge of Clark’s wines.
On Monday I made a pot roast using Deschuttes Brewery Stout in the liquid for the beef roast. It was a cold, grey, rainy, windy, and generally crappy Pacific Northwest day. With the beef roast, we had roasted carrots and mashed potatoes. We tried a glass of the Petit Verdot first. It was lost in the beef, but actually shone thru the roasted carrots and mashed potatoes. The cork had no aroma. I was expecting the “funk” that Petit Verdot sometimes has like in the Briceland, but it was not present. I was surprised the roasted carrots brought out the flavors. The first, and predominately taste was the cherry, like the cherry jolly ranchers. The wine got lost in the beef, but the carrots brought out the earthiness and the mashed potatoes brought out the creaminess of the wine. I can imagine this wine with salmon or a chicken dish. Next we had a glass of the Malbec. The Malbec stood up to the beef much better. The Malbec was more berry, less cherry . The mouthfeel was also longer and more earthiness. You could almost imagine a field of mushrooms while smelling it. This wine had a longer smell and the taste lasted longer.
The second day, I went to to the dentist to get a crown and my mouth was in pain, so it was predetermined to have soup for dinner. I had chicken noodle and my husband had tomato basil. We both agree the Petit Verdot was better the second day. This wine was less tart and actually was not overpowered by the meat/meal choices. It actually paired great with chicken noodle soup. The Malbec was the standout. The finish was the longest, it paired beautifully with both meals, and was just a beautiful bottle of wine. I thank Clark, Alice, and WineDavid for this amazing opportunity. Please let me know if you have any questions.
@winesmith We love your wines and have at least a case of your Cab Franc left. We love that your wines are expressive. We only have one bottle of your Tannant left, which is sad.
@danandlisa I feel your pain. That stuff sold completely out in one day. I didn’t even get any myself. But take heart - the 2020 and 2021 are just as good. The former will be along soon.
The DRV Malbec always goes to the Hess Collection. This is the only year in which Jake was willing to pry a couple tons loose for me to play with. We have 50 cases left and I’m quite sure this offering will gobble it up. After that, sad to tell, there’s nothing in the pipeline.
hi guys good morning. a little late Rattage, although it looks like everyone’s already high on the wine this a.m.
I had the Malbec and the Cab Franc. The Cab Franc was pop and pour and at first it was very quiet, just nothing “there” there so we let it sit for an hour or so. First impressions were sort of blah - the nose was really prune-ey and ripe at first and I had to go back and assure myself it said Cab Franc - it did - and the palate sang of high pH, with kind of a milky quality, no acid present at all. Another hour along it had opened up a little and took on more of a pleasant plum aroma and flavor, but overall it was too flat and prune/raisin/ripe for our palates and certainly didn’t offer the astringent / acid quality that I love in a Cab Franc. This is definitely a drink now wine.
The Malbec on night 2, again pop and pour and again I got the sensation of flatness, an absence of acid, but overall the wine was much more pleasant than the CF and well-rounded with good crushed berry aromas and flavors, again the ripe plum and some earthiness that can be typical to Malbec but not verging into the minerality, more forest floor type. 2nd day pour of the Malbec showed not much change but no deterioration either. It was a pleasant wine that I’d say will probably not improve much with cellaring because of the lack of acidity, but is certainly drinking really well right now.
Many thanks to Clark and Casemates for sending SWMBO and I the WineSmith 2016 Cabernet Franc
and the 2018 Petit Verdot
to taste.
It was short notice, and we had a lot going on with my (no longer drinks wine) mother-in-law’s 95th Birthday, but SWMBO and I were able to let them rest a couple of days, and then taste them on Monday and Tuesday afternoon/evening. Per our usual approach, we scored on a modified Davis 20 point possible system.
This offering is an interesting set of the Bordeaux/California ‘blending’ varietals: these grapes have not been traditionally made as single (or predominant) varietal wines, but have usually played supporting roles in wines dominated by Cabernet Sauvignon (or sometimes, Merlot).
Cabernet Franc has been made as a single varietal wine in California for some time, and has achieved fairly wide acceptance and even some devotees. The first, and to me still the best, varietal Cabernet Franc I’ve tasted is made by William Harrison Winery – rpm Magical History Tourists will remember Bill as my cousin. The first vintage he bottled was 1992. We tasted it from the barrel in 1994 and have had additional bottles over the years, the last bottle having been drunk in late 2020. A beautiful wine, still holding near a peak it hit around 2015. But, most California Cabernet Franc is not beautiful wine, IMO: even when well-made, it tends to lack complexity, to be a bit of a ‘one note’ wine that adds very nicely to a blend at the ~10-15% level, but fails to fully satisfy as a single varietal. It’s lighter than Cabernet Sauvignon, ripens earlier. It’s greatest successes in the US seem to be in the East: Finger Lakes and Virginia.
2016 WineSmith Cabernet Franc Lake County
Clear, though not ‘brilliantly clear’ (1 point/2 possible), it has good color depth, quite characteristic for Cab Franc (2/2).
The initial aroma (w/in a few minutes of opening) was striking: strong aroma of bright cherries. rpm finds that a bit unusual for Cab Franc, but lovely none the less. Behind the initial impression of cherries was a hint of alcohol and some savory herbs. The alcohol pretty much went away after an hour, but the cherries and herbs remained. Clark’s description says white cherries and sage; that’s consistent with our notes. I liked it more than SWMBO, who was put off by the alcohol, but I don’t find the aroma characteristic of CF, maybe it was the result of the significant amount of Merlot in the blend. Although complexity is almost more a flavor thing, we note here that the wine comes across as straightforward rather than complex (3.5 rpm, 3 swmo /6).
The balance was pretty good, but both rpm and swmbo found it just a trifle off (1.5/2) The level of dryness was appropriate (1/1) and the body was characteristically medium (1/1).
Flavor in the wine was good, with notable cherry flavors with a good mineral element. Both rpm and swmbo are 2/2, here, but we note the wine is quite straightforward and lacks the complexity we want to see in the best Cabernet Franc.
Bitterness (1/1) and astringency (tannin) (1/1) are appropriate, giving the wine a nice medium length finish.
Overall, this is a solid, well-made wine (2/2), enjoyable and good with food (had with a lamb stew), but not a wine which will give you an ‘aha’ experience.
Final Score: 16 rpm; 15 swmbo
2018 WineSmith Petit Verdot – Alexander Valley
If Cabernet Franc is primarily a blending grape, Petit Verdot is almost exclusively used for blending. As Clark notes in his write up, Petit Verdot which can work as a varietal bottling is uncommon, if not rare.
The wine offered here is that uncommon wine. It really works!
Clear, though not ‘brilliantly clear’ (1 point/2 possible), it has good color depth, quite characteristic for Petit Verdot (2/2). I’ve usually seen Petit Verdot on its own in a beaker for fractional blending rather than in a glass for tasting as a varietal, no mistaking it.
On initial opening and for the first ½ hour, the aromas were primarily herbaceous, at one moment bell pepper, then a hint of mint, then somewhat undefinable, and back again. After an hour or so, the wine opened the fresh ripe berry aromas came out blueberry and raspberry mixing very nicely. It does require some airing or decanting to open up, so don’t fail to open this at least an hour before you want to serve it. The aromas are complex and invite attention to appreciate. A lovely nose. (rpm 4.5, swmbo 4 /6)
Total acidity was excellent (2/2), sweetness (lack) (1/1), body (1/1) were all just right, no unwanted bitterness (1/1) and solid, appropriate tannin level (1/1)
Berry flavors predominated, really very, very nice. Worked quite harmoniously with the nose to make the wine thoroughly enjoyable both by itself and with food. (2/2).
Overall, this is a beautifully balanced wine which everyone who has any interest in the Bordeaux ‘family’ of grapes (CS, CF, PV, Mer, Mal, Carm) should make a point of drinking. I think it would benefit nicely from at least another 5 or 6 years to meld, and is easily (well-stored) a 20+ year wine. It’s not quite an “Aha!” wine right now, but it’s very close, and with a bit more time in the bottle has a solid chance of becoming one.
Final Scorerpm 17.5*/20, swmbo 17/20.
*rpm thinks may have potential to go to 18+ with age, but hasn’t tasted enough varietal PV over 20+ year lifespans to make any reliable prediciton.
@rpm Curious if you thought the “clear” rating given could be at least somewhat affected by lack of settling time after shipping, or did you attempt to adjust for that?
@rjquillin@rpm That’s entirely possible. I never sterile filter, so there may be some sediment - usually not much, since I barrel age for a long time and the Micro-ox structural transformations result in short oligomeric tannins that form into small colloids that are pretty stable.
It’s also possible that the wines are a bit out of sorts. WineDavid had a last minute drop-out I came in with this package to fill, so the rat samples were a rush job. I’m particularly concerned about the Cab Franc in this regard, as it’s my most popular wine with you guys and has received much better reviews when we’ve run it in the past.
Concerning sterile bottling, I had a very interesting experience a couple months ago tasting some 50-year-old California Cabernets that proved to be in wonderful condition. In one case, the winery owner was paranoid about Brett, so the wine was sterile bottled. It held up just fine but had not gained any complexity with 45 years of age. Interestingly, some magnums were bottled straight out of barrel because the bottles didn’t fit on the bottling line,so they were not sterile bottled.
Holy cow! The wine was stupendously complex and profound, the sort of thing you expect from a 1re Cru Bordeaux. This proved to me that bottle bouquet is entirely microbial. Great wines cannot result if the microbiology is removed or killed with Velcorin. The key to controlling Brett is to outcompete it with a healthy beneficial microbiome.
@rjquillin@winesmith
I think Clark may be onto something - this experience with the Cab Franc was not consistent with my previous highly positive experiences with Clark’s Cab Franc.
Also agree with Clark about sterile bottling and the effect on really old wine. Clark, do you remember that 1934 French Colombard that they made at Davis, and experimentally sealed with a cork-lined crown seal (think an old soda bottle before the liners were plastic)? The guys who tasted it when they found it in the ‘70s said it was as fresh as if it had just been bottled! No age!
I have PM’d you. Unfortunately do not have the luxury of your life, but, did you seriously just ask a winemaker if they have tried an 88 year old bottle of wine?
For Christ’s sake, this is not time to swing your knowledge. This is why wine is dying, at least, “$100+ bottles” because of your type.
It, actually, makes me want to buy less wine.
I know this is counter-intuitive to your knowledge, but I genuinely think: “Oh, so this is how it is? Nope.”
@KNmeh7@rjquillin@winesmith I don’t really have much to add to what Clark said, other than I was alluding to something that happened in the (late?) '70s that I suspected Clark was aware of (indeed, he might have participated…) and was widely discussed in wine circles at the time, I think it even made the general press, at least in the Bay Area. And indeed, it was not to show off, but to add an interesting related example. If I’d been more careful, I would have written “do you remember the story about that 1934…”
@KNmeh7@rjquillin@rpm@winesmith I don’t think this is a case of “dick swinging” if you will - in many circles, drinking a very profound bottle is not intended as a sense of “holier than thou”. If you’re in the industry long enough, these sort of situations just happen, usually from forgotten bottles or experimentation (as this one sounds). Your faux anger at this question is unjust.
@deadlyapp@KNmeh7@rjquillin@rpm Please everybody simmer down. I love your passion and your wisdom, all of you. Let’s not let it get personal, I beg you. This is just an honest misunderstanding.
I am going to be travelling for a week towards the end of March - anyone know how long you can hold a package at a UPS facilty for? I am a UPS My Choice member if that matters/helps!
@ctmariner@winesmith it’s typically 10 days to ship and another 3 days travel which puts it to you by MAR 16/17th. There’s a holiday in there somewhere too…Happy St Patrick’s Day! Woo! W00!
@ctmariner What has helped me is communicating with the folks at the depot, letting them know that I’ll be away and will pick it up immediately upon return. It may also have helped that I occasionally pass along a bottle of bubbly.
In for another case, Clark! I bought the 6 way mixed case earlier this year that included the Malbec and Petit Verdot, both of which were fantastic. I was sucked into this offer because of the Malbec being a one time thing.
I was a little confused by both rattages of the Cab Franc being on the negative/not complex end, as I’ve enjoyed all previous vintages of this wine, and had specifically enjyoyed the 2016 recently. So I popped another 2016 Cab Franc tonight with a buttermilk roast spatchcocked organic free range chicken (fancy!) and here is my brief report:
Cherries and herbs on the nose, white cherry, herbs, some kind of deep note- mint? truffle? aged cheese? I can’t figure it out. Seems pretty great to me, and is getting better and opening up after a few hours in the decanter. I’m sitting here thinking about what else might be showing in the wine, but I can’t pin it down. It’s a thoughtful wine for me tonight, we enjoyed it very much. Doesn’t sound like the same wine the rats reported on. Is this a different bottling, Clark, or the same?
@wnance Yes, I think the CF samples suffered from the rush shipment. Your report is more what I’m used to. I think it’s one of my best wines.
Your description is spot on. That romano cheese / truffle thing that’s emerging is the bottle bouquet Rob and I have been talking about. It’s microbial in origin, like a ripe cheese.
My advice to purchasers is to let the CF sit for a month before trying it.
Well, I’ll bite. I’ve had varietal Petit Verdot from other producers and loved it, but it definitely seems to be a wine which benefits from several years in the bottle. I’m curious how a young but “approachable” PV differs. And I’m very interested to see if I can discern the effects on aroma and flavor from the novel ACE maceration.
But unfortunately it looks like all of us in Kansas will have to sit this one out! @winesmith, did you forego the license this year?
@worbx Please check with Sandra in the morning. 707-332-5552. I’m not certain, but I think we can ship to Kansas. We’re out of Malbec but we still have plenty of the PV. It is indeed weird for it to be so profound and so drinkable.
I didn’t bite on the offer last time around where I ratted the PV and the norton, but this offer is more in line with my preferences and I got in on a half case so it looks like my Two Jakes + WineSmith collection is about to exceed 10% of my cellar.
@leswalker It’s a strange grape and I don’t believe fielded much in California. @winesmith is the only producer I’ve actually seen make it and at only 58 cases he probably sold almost the whole batch here.
@deadlyapp@winesmith Yes, a strange grape but quite significant with an interesting history: try:
“The Wild Vine: A Forgotten Grape and the Untold Story of American Wine” By Todd Kliman
(shady-craptacular-skirt) I have no words, but I bought the mixed reds in November and the grenache before that. I have yet to be dissatisfied, you make delicious wines I drink with friends.
WOW - unreal a WineSmith that didn’t sell out in 24 hours or less…. OK Clark in for another case, spending the Great Grandkid’s inheritance, that’s on you my friend!! lockable-rosy-waffle
@StellaDarling hello! and a bit sorry for holding off. I was on the button several times and needed a nudge. Matter of fact, I’ll be in your area this weekend (minus the wine).
Thanks to everyone for your support of my family’s project. Alas, that is the end of the Malbec for the foreseeable time to come. However, the winery will honor a split case of CF and PV for the same price of $199.99. We offer a year’s worth of free shipping of case quantities.for $70 and you can also get 36% off anything else you care to add. We will also hold your wine as long as you like at no charge and ship whenever you call for it.
@FritzCat Ah-so, but the cork was perfect. Interesting flavor…tasted then aerated, and tasted again. Herbaceous…maybe Bay Leaves? Long pleasant finish. Some acidity, should go well with dinner. A very interesting wine.
So anyone still drinking 2005 Crucibles? I popped one about a month ago and it was sadly well past its prime. I’m not sure if the rest of my bottles are like that or if that was a one off.
@sdfreedive Oh No! I recently got a 2005 Crucible from “one of those wine auction sites, you know, the one where you bid”, so its provenance is unknown. I was very hopeful. Paid $40 + fees and shipping. Yeah, I was gloating.
@sdfreedive The 2005 and 2007 were originally very similar, but I gave the 2005 only 48 months in old wood, so it was still a bit hard. I wanted the 2007 a bit more developed, so I gave it an extra year. As a result, the 2007 is closer to its peak and the 2005 is actually younger and less developed.
Something was wrong with the storage on a 2005 that’s past its prime. What was the condition of the cork?
@winesmith hmm so this last bottle is fine. Definitely well integrated at this point. Has a nice almost licorice or anise flavor. Still has a bit of some tongue drying tannins. It doesn’t seem to want food anymore. The Chinese pepper beef was fine with it but I’m not sure it’d handle a grilled ribeye at this point. Very enjoyable though. Not sure what happened with the last bottle.
2018 WineSmith Petit Verdot, Alexander Valley, Hidden Springs Vineyard
Tasting Notes
Fermentation techniques:
Elevage details:
Specs
2019 WineSmith Malbec, Lake County, Diamond Ridge Vineyard
Tasting Notes
Fermentation techniques:
Elevage details:
Specs
2016 WineSmith Cabernet Franc, Lake County
Tasting Notes
Fermentation techniques:
Elevage details:
Specs
What’s Included
3-bottles:
Case:
Price Comparison
$520.00/Case for 4x 2018 WineSmith Petit Verdot, Alexander Valley, Hidden Springs Vineyard & 4x 2019 WineSmith Malbec, Lake County, Diamond Ridge Vineyard & 4x 2016 WineSmith Cabernet Franc, Lake County(not for sale online)
About The Winery
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Estimated Delivery
Monday, Mar 21 - Friday, Mar 25
WineSmith Mixed Reds Collection
3 bottles for $69.99 $23.33/bottle + $2.67/bottle shipping
Case of 12 for $199.99 $16.67/bottle + $1/bottle shipping
2018 WineSmith Petit Verdot
2019 WineSmith Malbec
2016 WineSmith Cabernet Franc
Greetings, my homies. I’m back in the Casemates saddle, this time with an offer that’s fun, educational and crazy delicious all at once.
Most of you know your way around Cab Sauv and Merlot, and the scuttlebutt is that pure varieties are the best. Poppycock! U.C.Davis did a study in the '70s where random blends of Cab Sauv and Merlot were scored against the pure components. In every case, the random blends scored higher!
What’s really fascinating is the tremendous tweaking influence of the other three BDX components, even in miniscule quantities. Here you have three remarkable stand-alone wines which you can also use to play blending games with your favorite Cab Sauv or Merlot du jour.
This one is sure to sell out, so don’t delay.
Did you make the Malbec with flash détente? That description sounds kind of like it to accelerate maceration.
Also the Petit Verdot is absolutely delicious. And drinking exceedingly well even at this young age. Clark the magician strikes again!
An astute guess, but no. St. Laurent is the only variety we flash, though fire and rain may force me to consider others in the future. We were unbelievably fortunate to escape any smoke taint anywhere in the State, though points East did not fare so well eating our California smoke.
Anyhow, you are tasting the wonderful aromatics Diamond Ridge Vineyards is able to metabolize (due to high altitude clean air with lots of UV as well as the sparse canopy we get from the highly drained volcanic soil, and equally important, we are able to retain by virtue of the lake effect which preserves varietal fruit but bathing the vineyard in 60F breezes in the afternoon, sparing us the raisining the western sun imparts to most of the rest of Lake County.
These comments apply also to the Cab Franc, though its expression is entirely different.
That is one hell of a Petit Verdot. It got plenty ripe at Hidden Spring in Alexander Valley, producing that rarity of rarities - a stand-alone PV with depth, complexity and profundity. I have no explanation for why the 2018 came around so fast. All the other vintages are hard as rocks, including the 2017, which we are waiting to come around. Yet here we are with a glorious PV that’s quite ready to go. Go figure.
@winesmith so then what did you do for the Malbec? Inquiring minds want to know!
@klezman Not much. Malbec pretty much makes itself.
We picked it at 24.1 brix and immediately watered it to 23.0. We fermented on a BDX-friendly Saccharomyces/Bayanus hybrid from the University of Stellenbach that’s great at extracting collr and tannin and fermenting sloely at high temperature, similar to Pasteur Red but better.
As with most of our reds, we fermented on 7.5 gm/L of a well-cured untoasted Alliers chip that’s great at copigmentation and aromatic enhancement (from whiskey lactone, a subliminal coconut note). Post-AF we touched it briefly with Micro-ox to stabilize the color. Then it spent 26 months in neutral French oak. That’s about it - nothing fancy.
@winesmith I’m missing the part your referring to here:
@klezman This is big news. Richard Smart, an Australian guy and perhaps the world’s most renowned viticulturalist, presented his idea of ACE = Accentuated Cut Edges to a group of California winemakers in 2019. The idea is to overcome the inhibitive barrier pectin plays by getting fast bleeding of color and flavor laterally through the cut edges.
When you crush a grape, you get a small amount of bleeding edge, but with a maceration accelerator (essentially an inline Vitamix) at just the right speed to chop the skin into 8-10 pieces without cutting the seeds, you get a quantum leap in fruit, density and structure. I couldn’t believe how well it worked.
Della Toffola perfected a machine to do this on a commercial scale, the Della Toffola Maceration Accelerator or DTMA.
In 2020, I set up a 10-winery collaborative study that blew them all away.
After 58 vintages, I was really surprised to come across something so simple and effective that took my wines up a quantum leap in quality.
@winesmith that’s really interesting. So is the idea then that the wine spends less time in contact with the seeds, keeping their tannin out of the mix, resulting in a more approachable wine?
@klezman Yes and no. For reds, the seed contact is the same, although the accelerated extraction of color and flavor does allow the option of pressing early, which also allows the winemaker to turn tanks more rapidly, a lifesaver in some vintages.
For whites, you can go direct to press and get the aromatic extraction without seed tannin pickup. This is magic for Riesling and Sauvignon Blanc.
@winesmith Clark,
I was looking over your site for some labs; I thought you used to post some very detailed ones, but didn’t see any…
Curious, given comments about lack of acid, what the TA is on these, or however we would perceive the lack of it and how it may show up in a lab.
@rjquillin There are tech sheets and videos on all my wines at www.winesmithwines.com.
@winesmith
I’ll believe you, but I also say I cannot find a single one…
Perhaps you could link directly up to one of todays bottles?
Here I found the link for the Malbec
https://winesmithwines.com/product/2019-malbec
But darned if I can find a tech sheet for it anywhere.
@rjquillin Sorry Ron. I’ll email you the tech sheets. The videos are at my youtube channel.
@winesmith Not to worry, but are they really there and for some reason I just can’t access them.
The question was really to help understand, with your help, what prompted the ‘no acid present at all’ LR comment.
How much more are you saving by buying a full case?
(Note: Tax & Shipping not included in savings calculations)
WineSmith Mixed Reds Collection - $80 = 28.56%
Why wait for tomorrow!
In for a case.
/giphy ragged-olden-boar
2018 Petit Verdot
2019 Malbec
I received an email from Alice asking if I could be an “unexpected Lab Rat “. My answer was of course yes. Because I live where I live, the two(surprising bottles) arrived on Monday. I received the Petit Verdot and the Malbec. Since I knew the offer was live on Wednesday,I knew I had no time time to rest the bottles. In full disclosure, I am a huge of Clark’s wines.
On Monday I made a pot roast using Deschuttes Brewery Stout in the liquid for the beef roast. It was a cold, grey, rainy, windy, and generally crappy Pacific Northwest day. With the beef roast, we had roasted carrots and mashed potatoes. We tried a glass of the Petit Verdot first. It was lost in the beef, but actually shone thru the roasted carrots and mashed potatoes. The cork had no aroma. I was expecting the “funk” that Petit Verdot sometimes has like in the Briceland, but it was not present. I was surprised the roasted carrots brought out the flavors. The first, and predominately taste was the cherry, like the cherry jolly ranchers. The wine got lost in the beef, but the carrots brought out the earthiness and the mashed potatoes brought out the creaminess of the wine. I can imagine this wine with salmon or a chicken dish. Next we had a glass of the Malbec. The Malbec stood up to the beef much better. The Malbec was more berry, less cherry . The mouthfeel was also longer and more earthiness. You could almost imagine a field of mushrooms while smelling it. This wine had a longer smell and the taste lasted longer.
The second day, I went to to the dentist to get a crown and my mouth was in pain, so it was predetermined to have soup for dinner. I had chicken noodle and my husband had tomato basil. We both agree the Petit Verdot was better the second day. This wine was less tart and actually was not overpowered by the meat/meal choices. It actually paired great with chicken noodle soup. The Malbec was the standout. The finish was the longest, it paired beautifully with both meals, and was just a beautiful bottle of wine. I thank Clark, Alice, and WineDavid for this amazing opportunity. Please let me know if you have any questions.
@danandlisa Yes, root vegetables are very good with Bordeaux. I love to tempura carrots, sliced sweet potatoes, and rutabega.
@winesmith We love your wines and have at least a case of your Cab Franc left. We love that your wines are expressive. We only have one bottle of your Tannant left, which is sad.
@danandlisa I feel your pain. That stuff sold completely out in one day. I didn’t even get any myself. But take heart - the 2020 and 2021 are just as good. The former will be along soon.
@danandlisa Thank you for the interesting rattage. I like the soup pairings and hope the tooth is feeling good.
@danandlisa
Nice notes! And the meal sounds fantastic
The DRV Malbec always goes to the Hess Collection. This is the only year in which Jake was willing to pry a couple tons loose for me to play with. We have 50 cases left and I’m quite sure this offering will gobble it up. After that, sad to tell, there’s nothing in the pipeline.
I really want to try the Malbec. Anybody want to do an uneven split and take the franc and PV?
Anyone in for a split in the Atlanta area?
@Springbank yes I’m in ! Admickle@gmail
@admickle Do you want to order it or should I? I’m in Roswell BTW.
@Springbank I can I’m in Dahlonega but work in Alpharetta. I will order
@Springbank ordered will let you know when arrives. You interested in split or what bottles ?
@admickle An even split would work. Anything else and I’d need to see what’s left from my last buy.
/giphy fallacious-special-creature
The PV and Malbec, believe them to be same bottling, were offered here in November. Notes/rats/discussion:
https://casemates.com/forum/topics/winesmith-cellars-mixed-reds-1
@kaolis Yes, that’s right. Same wines as were in the six-pack sampler.
The FOMO made me do it!
/giphy hallowed-incognito-breakfast
What an interesting case…count me in. Thanks , Winesmith!
/giphy white-ginormous-nymph
/giphy pervasive-occupied-sofa
/giphy frugal-thick-reindeer
Autobuy…
Autobought…
/giphy respected-liable-bandicoot
@pmarin [replying to my own post so it doesn’t change giphy]
I got that random giphy and wasn’t familiar with the words on the yellow shirt: Amour propre. (Obviously of French origin). So I looked it up:
or wiki for a more detailed background
So you can learn something every day on this site – and not just about wines.
/giphy Notable-difficult-yarn. Happy Birthday to my son!
2019 Malbec
2016 Cabernet Franc
hi guys good morning. a little late Rattage, although it looks like everyone’s already high on the wine this a.m.
I had the Malbec and the Cab Franc. The Cab Franc was pop and pour and at first it was very quiet, just nothing “there” there so we let it sit for an hour or so. First impressions were sort of blah - the nose was really prune-ey and ripe at first and I had to go back and assure myself it said Cab Franc - it did - and the palate sang of high pH, with kind of a milky quality, no acid present at all. Another hour along it had opened up a little and took on more of a pleasant plum aroma and flavor, but overall it was too flat and prune/raisin/ripe for our palates and certainly didn’t offer the astringent / acid quality that I love in a Cab Franc. This is definitely a drink now wine.
The Malbec on night 2, again pop and pour and again I got the sensation of flatness, an absence of acid, but overall the wine was much more pleasant than the CF and well-rounded with good crushed berry aromas and flavors, again the ripe plum and some earthiness that can be typical to Malbec but not verging into the minerality, more forest floor type. 2nd day pour of the Malbec showed not much change but no deterioration either. It was a pleasant wine that I’d say will probably not improve much with cellaring because of the lack of acidity, but is certainly drinking really well right now.
@tastebud Thank you for the rattage.
@tastebud @rjquillin I think your highlight posted above left out any negative connotations and was a bit skewed… but hey…
Many thanks to Clark and Casemates for sending SWMBO and I the
WineSmith 2016 Cabernet Franc
and the
2018 Petit Verdot
to taste.
It was short notice, and we had a lot going on with my (no longer drinks wine) mother-in-law’s 95th Birthday, but SWMBO and I were able to let them rest a couple of days, and then taste them on Monday and Tuesday afternoon/evening. Per our usual approach, we scored on a modified Davis 20 point possible system.
This offering is an interesting set of the Bordeaux/California ‘blending’ varietals: these grapes have not been traditionally made as single (or predominant) varietal wines, but have usually played supporting roles in wines dominated by Cabernet Sauvignon (or sometimes, Merlot).
Cabernet Franc has been made as a single varietal wine in California for some time, and has achieved fairly wide acceptance and even some devotees. The first, and to me still the best, varietal Cabernet Franc I’ve tasted is made by William Harrison Winery – rpm Magical History Tourists will remember Bill as my cousin. The first vintage he bottled was 1992. We tasted it from the barrel in 1994 and have had additional bottles over the years, the last bottle having been drunk in late 2020. A beautiful wine, still holding near a peak it hit around 2015. But, most California Cabernet Franc is not beautiful wine, IMO: even when well-made, it tends to lack complexity, to be a bit of a ‘one note’ wine that adds very nicely to a blend at the ~10-15% level, but fails to fully satisfy as a single varietal. It’s lighter than Cabernet Sauvignon, ripens earlier. It’s greatest successes in the US seem to be in the East: Finger Lakes and Virginia.
2016 WineSmith Cabernet Franc Lake County
Clear, though not ‘brilliantly clear’ (1 point/2 possible), it has good color depth, quite characteristic for Cab Franc (2/2).
The initial aroma (w/in a few minutes of opening) was striking: strong aroma of bright cherries. rpm finds that a bit unusual for Cab Franc, but lovely none the less. Behind the initial impression of cherries was a hint of alcohol and some savory herbs. The alcohol pretty much went away after an hour, but the cherries and herbs remained. Clark’s description says white cherries and sage; that’s consistent with our notes. I liked it more than SWMBO, who was put off by the alcohol, but I don’t find the aroma characteristic of CF, maybe it was the result of the significant amount of Merlot in the blend. Although complexity is almost more a flavor thing, we note here that the wine comes across as straightforward rather than complex (3.5 rpm, 3 swmo /6).
The balance was pretty good, but both rpm and swmbo found it just a trifle off (1.5/2) The level of dryness was appropriate (1/1) and the body was characteristically medium (1/1).
Flavor in the wine was good, with notable cherry flavors with a good mineral element. Both rpm and swmbo are 2/2, here, but we note the wine is quite straightforward and lacks the complexity we want to see in the best Cabernet Franc.
Bitterness (1/1) and astringency (tannin) (1/1) are appropriate, giving the wine a nice medium length finish.
Overall, this is a solid, well-made wine (2/2), enjoyable and good with food (had with a lamb stew), but not a wine which will give you an ‘aha’ experience.
Final Score: 16 rpm; 15 swmbo
2018 WineSmith Petit Verdot – Alexander Valley
If Cabernet Franc is primarily a blending grape, Petit Verdot is almost exclusively used for blending. As Clark notes in his write up, Petit Verdot which can work as a varietal bottling is uncommon, if not rare.
The wine offered here is that uncommon wine. It really works!
Clear, though not ‘brilliantly clear’ (1 point/2 possible), it has good color depth, quite characteristic for Petit Verdot (2/2). I’ve usually seen Petit Verdot on its own in a beaker for fractional blending rather than in a glass for tasting as a varietal, no mistaking it.
On initial opening and for the first ½ hour, the aromas were primarily herbaceous, at one moment bell pepper, then a hint of mint, then somewhat undefinable, and back again. After an hour or so, the wine opened the fresh ripe berry aromas came out blueberry and raspberry mixing very nicely. It does require some airing or decanting to open up, so don’t fail to open this at least an hour before you want to serve it. The aromas are complex and invite attention to appreciate. A lovely nose. (rpm 4.5, swmbo 4 /6)
Total acidity was excellent (2/2), sweetness (lack) (1/1), body (1/1) were all just right, no unwanted bitterness (1/1) and solid, appropriate tannin level (1/1)
Berry flavors predominated, really very, very nice. Worked quite harmoniously with the nose to make the wine thoroughly enjoyable both by itself and with food. (2/2).
Overall, this is a beautifully balanced wine which everyone who has any interest in the Bordeaux ‘family’ of grapes (CS, CF, PV, Mer, Mal, Carm) should make a point of drinking. I think it would benefit nicely from at least another 5 or 6 years to meld, and is easily (well-stored) a 20+ year wine. It’s not quite an “Aha!” wine right now, but it’s very close, and with a bit more time in the bottle has a solid chance of becoming one.
Final Scorerpm 17.5*/20, swmbo 17/20.
*rpm thinks may have potential to go to 18+ with age, but hasn’t tasted enough varietal PV over 20+ year lifespans to make any reliable prediciton.
@rpm Thank you for the extensive rat report. Like the rpm scoring matrix.
@rpm Curious if you thought the “clear” rating given could be at least somewhat affected by lack of settling time after shipping, or did you attempt to adjust for that?
@rjquillin @rpm That’s entirely possible. I never sterile filter, so there may be some sediment - usually not much, since I barrel age for a long time and the Micro-ox structural transformations result in short oligomeric tannins that form into small colloids that are pretty stable.
It’s also possible that the wines are a bit out of sorts. WineDavid had a last minute drop-out I came in with this package to fill, so the rat samples were a rush job. I’m particularly concerned about the Cab Franc in this regard, as it’s my most popular wine with you guys and has received much better reviews when we’ve run it in the past.
Concerning sterile bottling, I had a very interesting experience a couple months ago tasting some 50-year-old California Cabernets that proved to be in wonderful condition. In one case, the winery owner was paranoid about Brett, so the wine was sterile bottled. It held up just fine but had not gained any complexity with 45 years of age. Interestingly, some magnums were bottled straight out of barrel because the bottles didn’t fit on the bottling line,so they were not sterile bottled.
Holy cow! The wine was stupendously complex and profound, the sort of thing you expect from a 1re Cru Bordeaux. This proved to me that bottle bouquet is entirely microbial. Great wines cannot result if the microbiology is removed or killed with Velcorin. The key to controlling Brett is to outcompete it with a healthy beneficial microbiome.
Of course, some sediment may result.
@rjquillin @winesmith
I think Clark may be onto something - this experience with the Cab Franc was not consistent with my previous highly positive experiences with Clark’s Cab Franc.
Also agree with Clark about sterile bottling and the effect on really old wine. Clark, do you remember that 1934 French Colombard that they made at Davis, and experimentally sealed with a cork-lined crown seal (think an old soda bottle before the liners were plastic)? The guys who tasted it when they found it in the ‘70s said it was as fresh as if it had just been bottled! No age!
I have PM’d you. Unfortunately do not have the luxury of your life, but, did you seriously just ask a winemaker if they have tried an 88 year old bottle of wine?
For Christ’s sake, this is not time to swing your knowledge. This is why wine is dying, at least, “$100+ bottles” because of your type.
It, actually, makes me want to buy less wine.
I know this is counter-intuitive to your knowledge, but I genuinely think: “Oh, so this is how it is? Nope.”
@KNmeh7 @rjquillin @winesmith I don’t really have much to add to what Clark said, other than I was alluding to something that happened in the (late?) '70s that I suspected Clark was aware of (indeed, he might have participated…) and was widely discussed in wine circles at the time, I think it even made the general press, at least in the Bay Area. And indeed, it was not to show off, but to add an interesting related example. If I’d been more careful, I would have written “do you remember the story about that 1934…”
@KNmeh7 @rjquillin @rpm @winesmith I don’t think this is a case of “dick swinging” if you will - in many circles, drinking a very profound bottle is not intended as a sense of “holier than thou”. If you’re in the industry long enough, these sort of situations just happen, usually from forgotten bottles or experimentation (as this one sounds). Your faux anger at this question is unjust.
@deadlyapp @KNmeh7 @rjquillin @rpm Please everybody simmer down. I love your passion and your wisdom, all of you. Let’s not let it get personal, I beg you. This is just an honest misunderstanding.
@deadlyapp @KNmeh7 @rjquillin @rpm @winesmith Tough to get nuance in print sometimes, compared to being in the room together.
In for a case…can Never have to much WineSmith!!
plump-minimum-chlorine
@PLSemenza
/giphy plump-minimum-chlorine
@PLSemenza @pmarin what the….?!
/giphy mild-malicious-mummy
Cannot resist! Sharing with a new CMH casemate, and potentially my Michigan guy.
Thanks, Clark.
/giphy electric-useful-army
In for a case as well!
@cdn1127 Hut…Hut…Hut…
I am going to be travelling for a week towards the end of March - anyone know how long you can hold a package at a UPS facilty for? I am a UPS My Choice member if that matters/helps!
@ctmariner
They will hold for 5 business days.
@chefjess Thank you - thought it was something like that.
@ctmariner You should receive it long before the end of the month.
@winesmith Do you think it is likely to get to the East Coast by 3/18?
@ctmariner @winesmith it’s typically 10 days to ship and another 3 days travel which puts it to you by MAR 16/17th. There’s a holiday in there somewhere too…Happy St Patrick’s Day! Woo! W00!
@ctmariner What has helped me is communicating with the folks at the depot, letting them know that I’ll be away and will pick it up immediately upon return. It may also have helped that I occasionally pass along a bottle of bubbly.
I’m in!!!
In for another case, Clark! I bought the 6 way mixed case earlier this year that included the Malbec and Petit Verdot, both of which were fantastic. I was sucked into this offer because of the Malbec being a one time thing.
I was a little confused by both rattages of the Cab Franc being on the negative/not complex end, as I’ve enjoyed all previous vintages of this wine, and had specifically enjyoyed the 2016 recently. So I popped another 2016 Cab Franc tonight with a buttermilk roast spatchcocked organic free range chicken (fancy!) and here is my brief report:
Cherries and herbs on the nose, white cherry, herbs, some kind of deep note- mint? truffle? aged cheese? I can’t figure it out. Seems pretty great to me, and is getting better and opening up after a few hours in the decanter. I’m sitting here thinking about what else might be showing in the wine, but I can’t pin it down. It’s a thoughtful wine for me tonight, we enjoyed it very much. Doesn’t sound like the same wine the rats reported on. Is this a different bottling, Clark, or the same?
@wnance Yes, I think the CF samples suffered from the rush shipment. Your report is more what I’m used to. I think it’s one of my best wines.
Your description is spot on. That romano cheese / truffle thing that’s emerging is the bottle bouquet Rob and I have been talking about. It’s microbial in origin, like a ripe cheese.
My advice to purchasers is to let the CF sit for a month before trying it.
Splitsies in Philly/south NJ/DE anyone?
/giphy blind-generic-scotch
Well, I’ll bite. I’ve had varietal Petit Verdot from other producers and loved it, but it definitely seems to be a wine which benefits from several years in the bottle. I’m curious how a young but “approachable” PV differs. And I’m very interested to see if I can discern the effects on aroma and flavor from the novel ACE maceration.
But unfortunately it looks like all of us in Kansas will have to sit this one out! @winesmith, did you forego the license this year?
/giphy out in the cold
@worbx Please check with Sandra in the morning. 707-332-5552. I’m not certain, but I think we can ship to Kansas. We’re out of Malbec but we still have plenty of the PV. It is indeed weird for it to be so profound and so drinkable.
I didn’t bite on the offer last time around where I ratted the PV and the norton, but this offer is more in line with my preferences and I got in on a half case so it looks like my Two Jakes + WineSmith collection is about to exceed 10% of my cellar.
@deadlyapp That Norton was one of my favorite wines ever! I’d buy a case of just that wine!
Similar stock balance for me in my cellar, especially since I have been drinking the Pedroncelli Cheer Is Almost Here much too quickly!
@deadlyapp I’m new here; Norton? Like from waylay back? Missouri?Also Virginia?
@leswalker It’s a strange grape and I don’t believe fielded much in California. @winesmith is the only producer I’ve actually seen make it and at only 58 cases he probably sold almost the whole batch here.
@deadlyapp @winesmith Yes, a strange grape but quite significant with an interesting history: try:
“The Wild Vine: A Forgotten Grape and the Untold Story of American Wine” By Todd Kliman
This is just awesome
So much information!!
POPSOCKETS! SPA KITS! POLLY POCKETS! AWESOME!
@ttboy23 AND…so much temptation!
Many thanks to @KNmeh7
(shady-craptacular-skirt) I have no words, but I bought the mixed reds in November and the grenache before that. I have yet to be dissatisfied, you make delicious wines I drink with friends.
WOW - unreal a WineSmith that didn’t sell out in 24 hours or less…. OK Clark in for another case, spending the Great Grandkid’s inheritance, that’s on you my friend!! lockable-rosy-waffle
@PLSemenza cases are sold out now!
So sad was busy yesterday and forgot to checkin until this AMs email. Anyone in the Baltimore area snag a case and want to part with half of it?
@dak52 I asked earlier but had no takers…
@bunnymasseuse I didn’t realize what was on offer until today! Sorry I missed you
@dak52 @bunnymasseusse I missed it too. Too much war doom-scrolling.
Missed the case. If anyone NW Indiana or SW Michigan was interested in parting with half, I’d be in!
@StellaDarling hello! and a bit sorry for holding off. I was on the button several times and needed a nudge. Matter of fact, I’ll be in your area this weekend (minus the wine).
Any chance for a few cases to be restocked?
@Drez143 Even though I know this is sold out, am I crazy for spending all day refreshing the page, just hoping the sold out button goes away?
Booo! Cases are gone! Will keep an eye out in case more magically appear…
Thanks to everyone for your support of my family’s project. Alas, that is the end of the Malbec for the foreseeable time to come. However, the winery will honor a split case of CF and PV for the same price of $199.99. We offer a year’s worth of free shipping of case quantities.for $70 and you can also get 36% off anything else you care to add. We will also hold your wine as long as you like at no charge and ship whenever you call for it.
@winesmith i second this recommendation, got the membership to get the extended offers and the case shipping flexibility…
/giphy bunny-recommended
Gonna pop a 2010 Wine Smith CF tonight. Any advice?
@FritzCat Ah-so, but the cork was perfect. Interesting flavor…tasted then aerated, and tasted again. Herbaceous…maybe Bay Leaves? Long pleasant finish. Some acidity, should go well with dinner. A very interesting wine.
So anyone still drinking 2005 Crucibles? I popped one about a month ago and it was sadly well past its prime. I’m not sure if the rest of my bottles are like that or if that was a one off.
@sdfreedive
That would be very sad if true.
@karenhynes
Agreed.
Hopefully @winesmith can chime in. I’m fairly certain those shouldn’t be past their prime already. (As long as they were stored properly.)
@sdfreedive Oh No! I recently got a 2005 Crucible from “one of those wine auction sites, you know, the one where you bid”, so its provenance is unknown. I was very hopeful. Paid $40 + fees and shipping. Yeah, I was gloating.
@sdfreedive Makes me think about my last 2007 Crucible. I will probably bring it on an upcaoming trip to enjoy - regardless of corkage fees.
@brucenie @sdfreedive Had an '07 about 6 months ago and it was doing very well. Nowhere near over the hill.
@sdfreedive The 2005 and 2007 were originally very similar, but I gave the 2005 only 48 months in old wood, so it was still a bit hard. I wanted the 2007 a bit more developed, so I gave it an extra year. As a result, the 2007 is closer to its peak and the 2005 is actually younger and less developed.
Something was wrong with the storage on a 2005 that’s past its prime. What was the condition of the cork?
@winesmith It was good. No issues with my storage that I know. I’ll pop one of my other Crucibles and take some pictures.
@winesmith hmm so this last bottle is fine. Definitely well integrated at this point. Has a nice almost licorice or anise flavor. Still has a bit of some tongue drying tannins. It doesn’t seem to want food anymore. The Chinese pepper beef was fine with it but I’m not sure it’d handle a grilled ribeye at this point. Very enjoyable though. Not sure what happened with the last bottle.
I’m not surprised that this one joins the list of Sell Outs.
Missed the boat but saved a few dollars. Maybe next time.