Roessler Cellars Three - Pack
$59.99 + $7.00 shipping
Condition: Red and White
Products:
1 2006 Brosseau Vineyard Chalone Chardonnay
1 2006 Alder Springs Mendocino Chardonnay
1 2007 Laurelwood Willamette Valley Pinot Noir
CT links above. Looks like the Laurelwood is brand spankin’ new!
Can’t speak to these specific wines, but this producer is absolutely top notch. I joined their wine club after their third woot offering. Great people. Even better wine. I very much hope that this is around until Friday night after I get paid to see how much money I have left after I pay my bills. And I just decided to stop buying so much to save for house and car. Damnit!
I completely agree that Roessler makes top-notch wines. But my personal preference is ABC wine (Anything But Chardonnay.) About 2 too many Chard’s in this offer for my taste…
Roessler Crew:
Your pinots are known around here. But your chards are new. What style are your chards? Should we expect Burgundian styled or more California styled whites?
Wow. Really good deal. The two Chardonnays are worth more than what Woot is selling the whole three pack for.
If I remember correctly I’ve tried the Alder Springs at a friends house. (So many wines to keep track of!) It was very good.
This deal is like getting the Pinot Noir for free. Anyone tried this Pinot?
I’m super tempted, but have to move to Santa Barbara in the next few weeks and I already have so many bottles to go through.
How much does the amount of time spent in oak truly affect the flavor? (I’m a noob, I’m allowed to ask the obvious questions!) 
Do want the pinot, not the chardonnay. I am prioritizing a new bicycle over this woot.
[QUOTE=claudicina, post:8, topic:244263]
How much does the amount of time spent in oak truly affect the flavor? (I’m a noob, I’m allowed to ask the obvious questions!) 
[/quote]
I suspect that the winery will chime in here, but the short and simple answer is very much. The effects can be as simple as rounding out flavors to making a wine taste like caramel, butter, or a 2x4. Oak also often adds a creamy aspect to the wine. Whether any of the aforementioned effects, or any of the other flavor changes, are positive or not is completely subjective.
If this was all reds, I would have bought one (or maybe 2 since i just missed the last one by 10 minutes…looked good too). but, i’m not a fan of whites and only use them for cooking.
I still have a couple of bottles of the Blue Jay Pinot Noir from the last Roessler offering. I’ve enjoyed the Blue Jay quite a lot. Could anyone offer a comparison between the Blue Jay and the Laurelwood?
The chardonnays will be handed over immediately to the SO. She prefers chardonnays that do not carry too much oak, and tend to the more mineral side. How would these fall into those categories?
tempting…very tempting…
But I need a reason to kick in the $. Why should I buy these CA chardonnays over, say, known quantities of Ridge Santa Cruz and Rombauer?
I need the rats to help. Also, I have no idea where Laurel Springs in OR is. Input?
I bought the recent 3 pak of the bluejay based on the apparent woot! favoritism of the producer and the strength of the 07 vintage. It was a ‘good’ buy at the price level, but not stellar.
What makes this deal stellar?
[QUOTE=kenwagers, post:12, topic:244263]
I still have a couple of bottles of the Blue Jay Pinot Noir from the last Roessler offering. I’ve enjoyed the Blue Jay quite a lot. Could anyone offer a comparison between the Blue Jay and the Laurelwood?
…/quote]
I haven’t had this pinot, but I live in the Willamette Valley, and cannot imagine how it will be anything like the Blue Jay, which I too enjoyed well enough for a Cali pinot. Enough so that I was eagerly looking forward to the next Roessler offering…but the 07 vintage up here was pretty much a disaster, and I don’t care for chardonnay, so I will have to pass, and hope for more Cali pinot from Roessler next time…
I’m in for a three-pack, if only because they’ve got a Tennessee license.
JJ
Partially true, although not entirely. I am not attempting to be ‘more correct’, simply to provide a more complete answer. Primarily, it is not the amount of time in oak, more the state of the oak barrel used. A new oak barrel, not previously filled, will contribute significant oak flavor, aroma and tannin (mouthfeel/texture). As a rule of thumb, the first time you fill a barrel you will extract roughly 60% of the available oak character. The second fill will give you another 30% or so- there is an exponential decrease such that by third fill, you get little oak coming through- hence the term ‘neutral oak barrel’. Most winemakers will use a percentage of new, 2nd fill and neutral oak barrels, blend them all at the end, and achieve the desired level of oak character in wine. The term ‘fill’ assumes you leave a barrel full for at minimum several months, generally more than 6. To complicate things, the level of toasting will not only influence the type of character (light, green wood to toasted nut and vanilla to toasty flavors even reminding one of charred wood) but the intensity and extraction of oak into wine. The more important thing to consider is the oak regime used by the winery. How much new oak (%), origin (French, American, Hungarian etc.- grain density…) and toast level is indicated. Most wineries (aside from very large facilities) will age wine in barrel for most its life, albeit predominantly neutral oak and a portion of new oak to impart desired character. Oak breathes so the wine breathes- stainless tanks require active oxygen incorporation. Typically, 30% new oak will deliver supple oak character, which can be subtle depending on the style and variety of wine. 50% becomes noticeable oak and nutty character. Above 70 and you get the 2x4, toothpick and dominant oak character, which can be helpful to hide faults in the wine. Most wines should be aged in 100% oak, just not new oak. Wines aged in oak for more than 10 months are generally built to last and required aging before bottling. wines aged for 2+ years in oak are generally incredibly aggressive at an early age and require considerable time to ‘mellow’ or mature. However, as long as the wine is in barrel is must be topped. One can easily loose 8% in a year due to evaporation, requiring constant topping of barrels so they don’t spoil or oxidize. In the end, this often involves use of younger wines, adding some youth and fresh fruit to an older wine, often providing some nice character and complexity…Otherwise they just could not afford to buy bottles until they sold the previous vintage and just got off the bong long enough to bottle…
[QUOTE=tarheel17, post:13, topic:244263]
tempting…very tempting…
But I need a reason to kick in the $. Why should I buy these CA chardonnays over, say, known quantities of Ridge Santa Cruz and Rombauer?
I need the rats to help. Also, I have no idea where Laurel Springs in OR is. Input?
I bought the recent 3 pak of the bluejay based on the apparent woot! favoritism of the producer and the strength of the 07 vintage. It was a ‘good’ buy at the price level, but not stellar.
What makes this deal stellar?
[/quote]
The Chalone Chard is not too far from the grapes produced by ridge, though may be quite different by many accounts. Mendo Chards can be quite nice, good climate for chard out there toward the coast range.
07 was not stellar for pinot noir in Oregon overall. The grapes are sourced Will. Valley, which does not provide anything specific. Expect light body, low intensity wine, generally young fruit(strawberry/fresh plum), and soft wines although good acidity in the end, possibly some bitterness, possible issues with reduction. However this wine is 14%, suggesting slightly above average ripening, unless sugar addition or other methods used to concentrate sugar (saigne).
I’m in and would love to Rat.
[How good is this deal?](http://bit.ly/Cm0tP" title="How good is this deal?)
Damn! WD and BTSBG must have put in extra hours this summer, cuz this is another screamer of a deal. Given the label name and it’s popularity around here, this one may be looking at a sellout.
Click the link about for discount details, CT prices, links, and all the usual jazz.
I really liked the Blue Jay Pinot how does the Laurelwood compare?