UGH! Would be in x 3 if I was buying currently but have to pass…for now
We bought 3 last time they were up. We popped one over Thanksgiving and my wife didn’t like it at all, the '08 is one of her top 3 wines we have gotten off woot. We are waiting at least another year to open the next, this one clearly isn’t ready or it didnt like the drive from Denver to St. Louis. Given some time, this will be an amazing wine, just be patient! Anything from Clark is going to be great!
Notes from the one we drank are short, but here it is:
Very interesting cab franc, smooth, but flavors are a little muddled. Pnp without food, wine is clear of sediment. Needs some time to get over bottle and shipping shock or a little more maturity in bottle. Try after 2016.
I got some of this last time, as well. We’ve opened one bottle and both my wife and mother in law loved it; and they typically don’t like red wine that is not Pinot or Zin.
I very heartily agree with the above statement that it will improve with age.
Every time I open one of Clark’s wines, I am astounded at how good they are. Doesn’t matter the varietal. Good to know on the tasting note - I will keep these a while.
My palate is far from a master sommelier, I’d suggest trying a bottle a month after you get them and making your own opinion. To me, it just wasn’t as together as the 2008, but I fully trust Clark. Could have been 15 hours in the car before we drank it too…
If we didn’t have 8 in the cellar we’d be picking more up!
I thought the '07 was excellent. I did let it rest for a month, then gave several hours breathing in a glass pitcher. Smooth as silk.
In for two more this morning.
Don’t even have to think on this one…
Clark Smith = Autobuy
All of his wines drink well above the price point.
Drank this yesterday. No detailed notes but it was delicious. Incredibly structured and needs a couple hours open first.
We didn’t have a decanter and didn’t really give it any time to open, we will try this on the next bottles.
This wine has been an amazing ride for me as a winemaker. It’s the first year I made wine from Diamond Ridge Vineyards, and I pulled out all the stops to make an age-worthy wine. Oops. I had to skip over this vintage and release the 2008 first, then come back after EIGHT YEARS in very old barrels. I admit it’s still a bit youthful, but jeez, guys…
The trick I learned (and this is so unlike me, but pragma over dogma) was to let it hang a bit longer to weaken the reductive strength just a bit.
Thanks for all your support and kind comments.
In subsequent vintages, I started throwing in some Merlot skins for fat, and to soften the young graininess. In this wine that was done with very prolonged barrel age. The wine is now very silky.
However, the nose still needs some time to fully open up.
If you’re drinking any of my CFs, I strongly recommend this formula for consumption: big glass, Bruce Springsteen’s Jungleland real loud, in the dark with something on fire. You will be able to plumb the depths of these wines much more easily in such an environment.
This is a terrific value. I was shocked by how good this wine was when I opened my first bottle a few months ago. The wine shares many notes with a good $40+ Gran Reserva Rioja. Needs an hour of decanting to open up. I opened another bottle tonight, and the wine sang big time after some breathing. Yum! An easy “in” for 6 bottles!
You guys might want to refer to the more lengthy discussions from when the wine was first released last October.
I purchased the 2008 cab franc. The reviews were glowing for these cab francs. I shared the first bottle with three other cab franc enthusiasts with high anticipation. We opened an hour ahead of drinking. It was very herbaceous. Very. Muddled structure. After another two hours there was no notable change. This wine suffers from what many cab francs suffer: it tastes like leaves. Highly disappointed and not sure what all of the winewoot excitement is about these wines.
This doesn’t sound right at all. The Diamond Ridge site where we grow this stuff has such high UV that the pyrazines (vegie aromas) are very low.
My guess is that you experienced a bad cork, perhaps at a low enough level to obscure the fruit and unbalance the overall impression - always a winemaker’s worst fear. Please open another bottle and if it’s more in line with your expectations, PM me and we’ll get you a replacement.
My apologies for the incident. It’s the last thing I’m trying to do.
Hey there! We’re sorry that you had a bad experience with your wine! We certainly don’t want that to happen. It sounds like WineSmith is taking care of you, but if you ever have an issue with a wine, we can definitely get you taken care of. Please just email support@woot.com with your order number and they can help you out.
Yeah this ain’t right. Clark gets a lot of hype on Woot and has a huge following because his wines are nothing but pure excellence. He puts his heart and soul into this stuff. If you are truly someone who can appreciate good wine, it most likely was a bad bottle or something that needed more time perhaps. If you are doubting his ability, all you need to do is read the great reviews and Clark’s incredible insight on the discussion boards for all the different wines he’s offered on here. He doesn’t make bad or even average wine.
Will definitely open another of the bottles; going to give it a bit more time to sit in the cellar though I waited over a month to open the first one after receipt. Yes, I can appreciate good wine; have traveled to regions around the world and have a very eclectic cellar. Love cab franc. So, I am excited about trying the next bottle as it sounds as if this was a one off issue. Thank you for the comments everyone, I have renewed confidence.
Yeah, didn’t mean any offense by the way. It sounded like you know what you are talking about. I have not had the 2008 CF, but the 2007 was awesome as I can say for every other Clark creation. The wife and I are also big CF fans.