Gilbert Cellars - 3 Pack
$42.99 + $5 shipping
CONDITION: Red
PRODUCTS:
1 2007 Allobroges, Columbia Valley
1 2007 Estate Syrah, Wahluke Slope
1 2008 Left Bank, Wahluke Slope
CT links above
Allobroges = bacon
I’m in!
[labrat]
Lassow, reporting for rookie lab rat duty!
Skip ahead to 10:26PM for the more objective section.
Boulder, Colorado, 1:16PM
Took delivery of surprise package at the office, resembling single bottle wine shipping box, and promptly open to make sure contents are intact. Cork is in the correct position in the neck of the bottle, doesn’t look like this froze or boiled anywhere from its FedEx Standard Overnight origination point. The wine is a Gilbert Cellars 2007 Estate Syrah, Wahluke Slope, Doc Stewart Vineyard. I have never had a single vineyard Washington Syrah, and from the region and looks of the bottle alone, I am thrilled to be lab-ratting this for the w.w community.
6:15PM
Arrived home and set bottle upright so sediment has a chance to settle to the bottom of bottle. I really do not like to open wine within 30 days after shipping, but in the name of rat duty, I will gladly oblige.
[edit] Oblige is not the correct word. I meant the opposite of oblige.
10:10PM
Remove USDA Prime Sirloin from fridge, season with a (not so healthy) dose of sea salt and finely ground pepper. Just like we always do it.
10:17PM
With a Cepage Laguiole wine key (the only single-hinged wine keys that actually work, and very well at that! Laguiole is a region in France that, I believe, has a patent on this particular hinge design), I peel the foil just below the lip of the bottle. The neck of the bottle is notably thick, almost as thick as a bottle of La Patriota. The top of the cork is signed with a ‘G.’ Remove cork from bottle with said wine key. The underside of the cork has a light stain from the wine. The slight smell fruit is emanating from the bottle at a distance of about 18.”
10:26PM
Pour ¼ glass into a Cabernet Sauvignon vessel, the remainder into decanter. The wine is free of sediment, and the color is almost exactly like the blend of purple and red on our current dish clothe. Quite lovely. I can just make out the pattern on the white paper towel under the glass while on it’s side. This is not opaque, over extracted juice. So far everything about this wine seems delicate. Maybe restrained is the right word… Swirl. Fine skinny legs, spaced between ½ inch to 1 inch apart. Fun to watch.
Please note I am not nearly as good as picking out smells and flavors as my lady, who will be joining us shortly. It is very difficult for me to put a noun on a smell or flavor in wine.
The aromas I pick up are initially fruit, but quickly divert to pepper and maybe, leather, and a bit of an earthy funk. Just compared it to the coriander in the cupboard, and the resemblance is there.
10:40PM
The taste review is going to have to wait until after more aromas stop showing through. Cocoa powder. I am pleasantly surprised at the depth of the nose coming from this wine. Sans the peppermint, this is reminding me of peppermint bark from the office earlier today, though not in a sweet way. Maybe it’s the lower dark chocolate layer, but different than that last scent of cocoa powder. This is continuously changing. I could be happy just burying my nose in the glass for the next 15 minutes, or at least until the steak comes to temp before grilling. Hopefully the steak will not overpower the wine, but the Gilbert Cellars website lists grilled meat as a good pairing.
10:55PM
The taste is like light raspberries, and somewhat tannic in the mouth. The dry mouth-feel is there, but I am hoping the steak does not overpower the flavor. The nose is becoming less multidimensional now and my glass needs a filling.
More to come.
11:52PM
Steak served, but not consumed.
Allison: Fruit leather. Well balanced, tannins not overwhelming, but provide structure. Leans to the fruity side of syrah more than the peppery side, but this is not a fruit bomb. Again, really well balanced and structured. Slight aromas of rose.
We are trying it with steak now. In her words, “Delicious with steak!”
This does indeed stand up to some fatty red meat.
11:58PM
More from Allison: Nothing really POPS. This is a good thing because not one flavor is overwhelming. The flavors are not quite elusive so much as harmonious. It is fun to drink a wine that keeps me guessing! The fat on the steak is like salty candy.
The word on the street is that Washington 2008 was a fine harvest. As was 2007. Two solid vintages across three wines in one w.w deal? Hope this makes it worth paying Colorado sales tax. 
A review of Gilbert Cellars Left Bank Bordeaux-style blend from PureVineWines, a source of info on bio-dynamic and organic wines:
The Allobroges blend is somewhat compelling, I wonder how consistently people pick up on the “nuances of bacon.” I’d like to know if this is something Gilbert has been making for a number of years and if so, how regularly it’s ended up somewhere near the 55% Syrah, 31% Mourvedre & 14% Grenache ratio?
I like the use of the Celtic name Allobroges. A little more info; Allobroges on Wikipedia
I’ll be following the winery participation on this one (hopefully), organic/bio-dynamic wines are very interesting to me, though I’ve found they tend to be a little tricky.
Edit:
Excellent, prompt Rattage Señor Lassow. Thank you!
Glad I got in for 3 as the winery fetches $64 for these combined. However, they do not ship to Florida, but I can do here for 5 bones.
Wish I was enjoying the glass of wine and steak with lassow who I always enjoy reading and am glad he is a labrat this week! After being first sucker and purchasing only 1, I have since sent email asking to increase my order to the max 3. When I saw Wahluke Slope, I jumped on it!
I love the sampler packs - since I am the only red drinker in the house I have a tough time going in on the 3-6 bottle offers where they are all the same wine.
Although my co-workers do occasionally help out and split sets with me, these are by far my favorite type of offers.
Let’s hope for some winery participation tomorrow.
Oh, and good rattage lassow!
Edit: This being the first wine offer after a the woot-off, I wonder how the woot-off affects the offer immediately following it? I would think it takes a bite out of its potential sales since most people blew their wine budget already (especially on a new winery to the site). Any thoughts?
[labrat]
Thanks for all the kind comments!
Just another something to add…
Based on the tannin factor and how well integrated this Syrah drinks, we think this could be a drink sooner rather than later bottle. Curious to see how this drinks when it gets the chance to settle down a few weeks/months after shipping.
There is an error in the stats for the Allobroges in the vineyard sourcing. 62 + 31 + 14 is somewhat higher than 100%. The varietal composition looks to add up.
Never wooted any wine before, but these sound so freakin’ good. I’m in for 3 before they disappear.
I want to be in for 3 but for some reason New Hampshire was left off the “stick in the mud” list of states. NH does allow direct shipping and I’ve wine.wooted in the past. Please tell me this was just a typo and I can go put my order in
This is terrible. I managed to not buy a thing during the woot-off in preparation for buying gifts for my new niece and for my brother’s wedding gift, and now you have to make this amazing offer?
So who gets shafted? The baby or the brother?
Cause goodness knows, if I purchase this wine, I’m not going to share!
Hi All
I am a relative newbie to wine drinking and also to this site; but that golden “I Want One” button has a certain allure…and I seem to have acquired several large boxes of wine already…(with several more to come after that Woot-off thingy this past week).
Would appreciate some input on the following:
1.) Can I store this wine in the shipment boxes in a hall closet for a few months?
2.) Does WW ever offer Gewurztraminer or Riesling wines? I have several friends that prefer that type of wine over the reds.
Thanks in advance for your input!
I’m definitely in for 1. It seems my Davis Family Pinot Noir is arriving today. We pop one open for the weekend, and save the other for later. Yum! Might pick up a rib-eye and potatoes for this one!
Finally some red blends that don’t involve Zin. +1
OK, I’ll ask the standard questions to the winery:
How long will these cellar, or more specifically, what is the PRIME drinking window for each of these wines?
What was the oak treatment on each of these?
- Yes, the cooler the better with the key being stable temperature - wine does not like changes up and down. Prime storing temp is 55 degrees F, but 65 or below for a few months should not be a problem. Oh, and make sure the bottles are on their side, not standing up.
- Yes, but not very often. There are a number of unofficial services that provide notification of each wine available on wine.woot. If you sign up, you’ll never miss a wine.
- Or you can just check the site first thing every morning, like many of the winos around here