Good morning! Tried to stay up late and post this (east coast), but that didnât happen. Thank you, Alice and Casemates for the opportunity. I received this on Saturday afternoon and stashed it in the wine fridge for a few hours, then opened after dinner. Pretty, ruby red color. Itâs a smooth, light wine, medium tannins, and honestly didnât make a very strong impression. After a few swirls in the glass, I picked up hints of black currant and cherry and later blueberry and blackberry. Taste was tart, not a ton of alcohol. It definitely opened up more after about 20 minutes in the glass. Paired it with a few chocolate covered cherries, and that was enjoyable. Had another glass the following day, and it was, as we say in my Simpsons loving household, perfectly cromulent. Itâs a decent deal if like Malbecs, but you may want to finish the first night. Iâll try to check back with another taste later.
@murftastic Thanks for review and introducing cromulence into the board lingo. Though the spelling filter underlines it in red, presumably showing how important the word is.
But I always want to ask on review photos, do people actually have perfectly empty, clean, and polished kitchen counters and walls all the time, or is there just a square-foot or two that people prep for the photo shoot by pushing all the other crap off to the sides?
@pmarin A little from Column A, a little from Column BâI did clear some space for the photos, but we only moved in a month ago, so weâre still in the âkeep it pretty and shinyâ phase, esp after years with a non-cromulent kitchen.
Sorry I didnât get this in before Monday morning! Was out of town and it was too late for wine when I got home. (But is it ever really too late for wine??) Iâm not big on Malbecs, but this one really grew on me! Immediately I got flavors of cherry cola and very dark chocolate. Maybe a little plum. The finish got smoother the more it came to temperature (and maybe the more I had to drink!). Overall, pretty good! Plus, the back label is fun to do a dramatic reading of. Tells you nothing about the wine, but the copywriter definitely was NOT suffering from Writers Block!
hmmmâŠletâs seeâŠodds of a Wine Enthusiast reviewâŠ
pretty good!
87 Points. This full-bodied, well-balanced wine tastes fruity and fresh, even though it is firmly tannic. It offers light black-pepper and wood smoke accents to add some complexity. JG 5/1/20
Well, not a comment about todayâs offering, and I just read all the questions in the FAQ area. But the above rat photo, brings up a reoccurring question, since I missed the original offer of Casemates GlassesâŠ
Winedavid, would you consider ordering more & selling them, to your loyal customers?
@irenegade@winecaseaholic My âluckâ was just in one of the December âseason of giftsâ events where each of several offers came with a bonus item(s), but you didnât know what it would be.
I was happiest indeed to get a pair of these glasses along with a wine shipment. In other orders there was a knit hat, a corkscrew and accessories, and some other stuff I canât remember.
EDIT I donât think it was last December but the previous one (2019?). I forget what year is what anymore, and last year was a NO-OP, so one of those Decembers. I think.
@irenegade@pmarin@winecaseaholic yup, my glasses arrived as a surprise add-on to something I bought here December 2019 (and arrived on my birthday, no less!).
@irenegade@murftastic@pmarin@winedavid
Now Iâm bummed out, got a surprise hat in 2020, & a cloth bag to carry a few bottles in 2019 with their Christmas cases surprisesâŠ
Just a thought David, sell a case of 11 bottles come December, and use extra space to put two glasses in, figure out the cost and adjust the case price accordingly, no extra shipping charges
@irenegade@murftastic@winecaseaholic But then theyâd be too easy to get. I donât remember how many offers there were under the holiday gift promo, but I bought 3 or 4 of them, maximizing my chances of getting cool different stuff. Of course I had no way of knowing what the possible âgiftsâ were or that the glass set was one of them.
How much more are you saving by buying a full case?
(Note: Tax & Shipping not included in savings calculations)
2017 Writerâs Block Malbec - $40 = 24.23%
@connorbush what is that from? (I know itâs just a random giphy, but hope somebody knows). By carrier STARZ and historical-looking setting, Iâm guessing Outlander?
@connorbush@pmarin Yes. Thatâs Murtagh talking to Jamie. (I havenât seen Season 2 of the show, but I recognize the dialogue from the book: Dragonfly in Amber, in case you were wondering.)
Malbec is one of my favorites, so Iâm in for a case even though I have more bottles of wine outside my cellar than inside. I clearly need to get another cellarâŠ
I hope that this wine is better than perfectly cromulent.
Winemaker Quincy Steeleâs experiences working in Argentina inform this wine and its style. Native yeast fermentation, extended macerations, and cooler fermentation temperatures give him as much control as possible with respect to extracting. Aged in French, Hungarian and American oak (equal parts, although only 15% new). Aromas and flavors are very pronounced ripe red berry and black fruit, and spice with medium acid and moderate tannins.
Food Pairings
Extremely versatile food wine that pairs well with most grilled meats and grilled vegetable preparations. Try a grilled flank steak with chimichurri sauce, a cassoulet or a cheese & charcuterie plate.
Vineyard Notes
This Malbec is sourced from the Red Hills Appellation of Lake County. The vineyard was planted in 1999-2000 on well drained slopes of iron rich red soil, remnants of an ancient eruption of Mt. Konocti, the dormant volcano which rises above Clear Lake. An excellent vineyard site above 2000 feet, we were one of the first wineries to work with Red Hills Malbec.
Specs
Appellation: Lake County, CA
Barrel Aging: 12 months in French, American and Hungarian (15% new)
Iâve been making wine in California for over 50 years and we just celebrated our 28th anniversary of Steele Wines in 2020 in Lake County. Like many winemakers, I started in the cellar. That was in 1968 at Stony Hill in the Napa Valley. After I earned my enology degree at UC Davis I ended up at Edmeades in the Anderson Valley, then started with Kendall-Jackson in Lake County.
The benefit of having been in the wine industry for so long is that you get a lot of experience with grape growers and vineyards across the state. Iâve made wine from just about every wine region in California, from Santa Barbara to Mendocino. We consistently draw on some of the finest vineyards in California.
But our goal was never to be a huge winery. We bottle a lot of different varietals under four unique brands, but most of our wines are made in lots of fewer than 1,000 cases. This reflects my fascination with many diverse varietals and vineyard sites. And staying small means we can practice true craftsmanship in the production of all of our wines. We thank you for your patronage, and hope you enjoy our wines.
Available States
AZ, CA, CO, CT, DC, FL, GA, IL, IN, IA, KS, MD, MA, MI, MN, MO, MT, NE, NV, NM, NY, NC, ND, OK, OR, PA, RI, TX, VT, VA, WA, WV, WI
Good morning! Tried to stay up late and post this (east coast), but that didnât happen. Thank you, Alice and Casemates for the opportunity. I received this on Saturday afternoon and stashed it in the wine fridge for a few hours, then opened after dinner. Pretty, ruby red color. Itâs a smooth, light wine, medium tannins, and honestly didnât make a very strong impression. After a few swirls in the glass, I picked up hints of black currant and cherry and later blueberry and blackberry. Taste was tart, not a ton of alcohol. It definitely opened up more after about 20 minutes in the glass. Paired it with a few chocolate covered cherries, and that was enjoyable. Had another glass the following day, and it was, as we say in my Simpsons loving household, perfectly cromulent. Itâs a decent deal if like Malbecs, but you may want to finish the first night. Iâll try to check back with another taste later.
@murftastic âperfectly cromulentâ !!! Doh! LOL!
@murftastic Thank you for reporting and for the great pics
@murftastic Thanks for review and introducing cromulence into the board lingo. Though the spelling filter underlines it in red, presumably showing how important the word is.
But I always want to ask on review photos, do people actually have perfectly empty, clean, and polished kitchen counters and walls all the time, or is there just a square-foot or two that people prep for the photo shoot by pushing all the other crap off to the sides?
@murftastic @pmarin I am always a square foot or two person. That backsplash, tho.
@pmarin A little from Column A, a little from Column BâI did clear some space for the photos, but we only moved in a month ago, so weâre still in the âkeep it pretty and shinyâ phase, esp after years with a non-cromulent kitchen.
Sorry I didnât get this in before Monday morning! Was out of town and it was too late for wine when I got home. (But is it ever really too late for wine??) Iâm not big on Malbecs, but this one really grew on me! Immediately I got flavors of cherry cola and very dark chocolate. Maybe a little plum. The finish got smoother the more it came to temperature (and maybe the more I had to drink!). Overall, pretty good! Plus, the back label is fun to do a dramatic reading of. Tells you nothing about the wine, but the copywriter definitely was NOT suffering from Writers Block!
@nccrocker We could use a back image to enlighten us.
@nccrocker @rjquillin
@nccrocker Thank you for the report. Ha, I did notice that back label was pretty epic.
hmmmâŠletâs seeâŠodds of a Wine Enthusiast reviewâŠ
pretty good!
87 Points. This full-bodied, well-balanced wine tastes fruity and fresh, even though it is firmly tannic. It offers light black-pepper and wood smoke accents to add some complexity. JG 5/1/20
https://www.winemag.com/buying-guide/writers-block-2017-malbec-lake-county/
fwiw
Well, not a comment about todayâs offering, and I just read all the questions in the FAQ area. But the above rat photo, brings up a reoccurring question, since I missed the original offer of Casemates GlassesâŠ
Winedavid, would you consider ordering more & selling them, to your loyal customers?
@winecaseaholic @WineDavid I would love a pair myself!
@winecaseaholic Our favorite everyday glasses!
@winecaseaholic agreed, I be interested in glasses as well.
@irenegade @winecaseaholic My âluckâ was just in one of the December âseason of giftsâ events where each of several offers came with a bonus item(s), but you didnât know what it would be.
I was happiest indeed to get a pair of these glasses along with a wine shipment. In other orders there was a knit hat, a corkscrew and accessories, and some other stuff I canât remember.
EDIT I donât think it was last December but the previous one (2019?). I forget what year is what anymore, and last year was a NO-OP, so one of those Decembers. I think.
@pmarin @winecaseaholic cool!
@irenegade @pmarin @winecaseaholic yup, my glasses arrived as a surprise add-on to something I bought here December 2019 (and arrived on my birthday, no less!).
@irenegade @murftastic @winecaseaholic 2019 seems like about 10 yrs ago, in The Before Times.
Well, it literally was in the last decade.
@irenegade @murftastic @pmarin @winedavid
Now Iâm bummed out, got a surprise hat in 2020, & a cloth bag to carry a few bottles in 2019 with their Christmas cases surprisesâŠ
Just a thought David, sell a case of 11 bottles come December, and use extra space to put two glasses in, figure out the cost and adjust the case price accordingly, no extra shipping charges
@irenegade @murftastic @winecaseaholic But then theyâd be too easy to get. I donât remember how many offers there were under the holiday gift promo, but I bought 3 or 4 of them, maximizing my chances of getting cool different stuff. Of course I had no way of knowing what the possible âgiftsâ were or that the glass set was one of them.
Usually down with a malbec. Waiting on some ratsâŠ
How much more are you saving by buying a full case?
(Note: Tax & Shipping not included in savings calculations)
2017 Writerâs Block Malbec - $40 = 24.23%
/giphy malleable-kept-argon
@connorbush what is that from? (I know itâs just a random giphy, but hope somebody knows). By carrier STARZ and historical-looking setting, Iâm guessing Outlander?
@pmarin It looks like it! https://www.headoverfeels.com/2016/06/25/outlander-recap-vengeance-is-mine/
@connorbush @pmarin Yes. Thatâs Murtagh talking to Jamie. (I havenât seen Season 2 of the show, but I recognize the dialogue from the book: Dragonfly in Amber, in case you were wondering.)
Malbec is one of my favorites, so Iâm in for a case even though I have more bottles of wine outside my cellar than inside. I clearly need to get another cellarâŠ
I hope that this wine is better than perfectly cromulent.
/giphy aged-cluttered-assassin
2017 Writerâs Block Malbec
Wine Style & Tasting Notes
Food Pairings
Vineyard Notes
Specs
Whatâs Included?
Price Comparison
$288/Case at Steele Wines
About The Winery
Winery: Steele Wines
Available States
AZ, CA, CO, CT, DC, FL, GA, IL, IN, IA, KS, MD, MA, MI, MN, MO, MT, NE, NV, NM, NY, NC, ND, OK, OR, PA, RI, TX, VT, VA, WA, WV, WI
Estimated Delivery
Thursday, Jun 24 - Monday, Jun 28
Writerâs Block Malbec
4 bottles for $54.99 $13.75/bottle + $2/bottle shipping
Case of 12 for $124.99 $10.42/bottle + $1/bottle shipping
2017 Writerâs Block Malbec
Dang. Almost checked out without realizing itâs not available to Louisiana