So is this definitely more of an “Old World” style wine? Asking because this spent under a year barreled, of which 15% was new oak. So many wines are barreled in at least 50% new oak for over 15 months and are (I believe) considered “New World.”
Ugh, I really want to try that, but K&L won’t ship here. Gotta grab some on my next trip to CA.
I’d say the pricepoint of a good Pinot has come down significantly in the last two years.
Thanks, Peter. I listened and I thought you were quite eloquent! And informative. Sounds like a winner.
Stop by next time you’re in DC. I’ve several bottles. 
And officially in for one to confirm or rebut my initial notes and scratch an itchy trigger finger. If I still don’t like it, then I guess I’ll just have to fire up the crockpot for some wicked coq au vin action, Woot-style.
Comments duly noted, and not off base. I don’t think this wine will have Merry Edwards, Tom Dehlinger and the Roesslers quaking in their boots, but I do believe it has more finesse and layers of complexity than your typical <$20 negociant Pinot Noir. We tasted this against some of the more moderately priced Pinots that have been offered on w00t during the last year and it showed pretty well in spite of its youth. Granted, those wines were either blends of “left-overs” or bulk market blends.
Great, another wine I have to wait for. I’m new to this wine gig, what am I supposed to do while waiting for all my purchases to “ripen” in the cellar??? In for 1 anyway.
And don’t forget folks, as Peter said on Tour, 09 was a year when there were tons of great grapes going around unbought, so the basic quality of these is likely to be very high indeed.
Quite true, There has been a big boom in PN planting over he last ten years. Good grapes like these commanded a very high price until the last couple of years. Great Pinots are still rare, and deserve to be pricy, but the “Sideways effect” resulted in a supply side shortage and dramatic price inflation for low to mid-range Pinots. 2009 was a good year, and 2010 looks like it could be even better overall, so you should be able to get good Pinot without taking out a second on the house.
I just noticed this, which means we got our grubby paws on it barely a month after bottling, so I’m fully willing to allow for bottle shock and give this another go.
Of course, and as you note, Pinots can be incredibly spotty at this price point. This is certainly substantially better than a lot of stuff on the market and, in short, I think a lot of folks will end up liking this wine. I’m just picky and stubborn.
Haven’t had any '09s yet, but WS concurs with your assessment of PN from Sonoma.
As an Oregonian, I try to keep it local, but this is priced well enough that it’s hard to resist…
It isn’t a high alcohol, over-extracted Syrah wannabe if that’s what you mean, but I wouldn’t call it Burgundian. The one wine we had in our recent tasting that might have passed for a Burgundy was the 2008 1001 PN from Kent Rasmussen. It was a little on the lean and hard side, but had a rather charming, quite Burgundian nose.
We started harvesting Chardonnay at 5 this morning and I’m tired, so it’s off to bed to rest up for the Malbec pick tomorrow. I’ll be back in the morning.
[labrat]
Lab Rat Report:
Hey all, newbie here with my first Lab Rat report and first post to the comment section in general for that matter.
I will preface this report by saying that I am a big Pinot fan, but also that this one in particular played to my personal preference.
I will also warn all of you that although I may consume copious amounts of vino on a regular basis I am in no way, shape, or form an expert.
Nose: earthy qualities with some berry undertones.
First Sip: Although 2009 is printed right on the label, if you didn’t read it before you dove in you would definitely be able to tell. There is an abundance of young fruit packed into this Pinot, but I can definitely still taste the “forest floor” tones that I have come to love so much. I will be really interested in how this opens up with a couple years.
5 bottles for ~$60 after shipping, great deal!
Afterthought, it reminds me a lot of an Oregondian style PN.
IIRC, this is the first time they’ve told us right away. Usually it’s been the guessing game.
Lab Rat checking in!
This is my first time ratting, so bear with me. I love wine, and try to educate myself as much as I can, but I am by no means an expert. /disclaimer
I got an email telling me that I had been selected for Rat Duty on Thursday AM. Very exciting! Fortunately was planning on being home anyway due to school holiday for eldest child, and was thus able to meet the FedEx guy. Opened the box right away and was both elated at receiving a Woot wine, and apprehensive about it being a pinot noir. My guess was that it was going to be offered at <$15, and I have not had great experiences with PN at that price point. I had a bottle of the 2008 KR 1001 left downstairs, and thought that it might be nice to do a horizontal to another somewhat similar pinot noir that other Wooters would be familiar with, so I planned on opening both wines. This Rat Report is for the 2009 D’Ontspille le Black, though, so other than a photo of the two beside each other for color comparison, I am not really delving into the 1001. I did like the 2007 1001, especially at the price, though.
Planned dinner around the wine–we had cedar plank grilled salmon seasoned with turbinado sugar and thyme, plus fresh roasted red bell peppers and some brown rice. The food pairing was quite successful.
Since I am an actual chemistry lab rat IRL, I decided to bust out the erlenmeyer flask and really get my nerd on. This allows the color of the wine to show through nicely on the white background:
http://lh5.ggpht.com/_gDEu25_CpI0/TK6kyWrtQ3I/AAAAAAAAADE/wvMPES2j7d4/s800/DSC_0144.JPG
As you can see, it is on the pale side of red, as one would expect from this varietal. It really tends toward purple, which is not surprising with a wine this young (2009).
In keeping with the Lab Rat spirit, not to mention Woot! suckerdom, I also got out my Okra, er, Orka wine thermocouple to ensure that I was tasting the wine at the recommended temperature:
http://lh3.ggpht.com/_gDEu25_CpI0/TK6kykLWk1I/AAAAAAAAADI/ofpkNNfNmK4/s800/DSC_0149.JPG
Poured a taste to get started, swirled, and sniffed. Initial aromas of strawberry, but that faded rapidly and the nose became fairly mute for a while. Reemerged after some time, now with mild vanilla and berry notes. Here is a photo of the initial tasting sample, complete with Woot! wine glass charm:
http://lh6.ggpht.com/_gDEu25_CpI0/TK6ky5Og8VI/AAAAAAAAADM/yZzUemhk6qw/s800/DSC_0151.JPG
This wine seemed pretty intense for a pinot. It has more body and tannin than one might expect for this varietal. I wonder what it is blended with. The finish is slightly peppery, which makes me think perhaps syrah (??). As the initial strawberry aromas faded, some vanilla and oak came forward, with sour cherry flavors dominating (husband said it made him think of hard candies). The finish is fairly short. Tannins are dry but unobtrusive.
Here is a photo of it next to the 2008 1001, for comparison (D’Ontspille is on the right):
http://lh3.ggpht.com/_gDEu25_CpI0/TK6kyxBl3BI/AAAAAAAAADQ/KSaK2OyOf9c/s800/DSC_0154.JPG
It is pretty clear from the photo, but this pinot noir is on the darker side. If you are familiar with the KR 1001 pinot–it is more of what I think of as “classic” pinot than the D’Ontspille, both in terms of flavor and appearance.
In summary, I would say that the 2009 D’Ontspille was overall balanced and competent, but on the “big” side. Pinot Noir does not generally offer a very high QPR, and this is no exception. That said, it is drinkable and enjoyable, and would be a nice Pinot Noir to give as a gift to someone whom you know is fond of bigger reds. The label is classic Woot!, complete with entertaining copy and cool artwork, which adds to the fun gift potential.
Thanks to TPTB there at Wine.Woot for giving me the chance to Rat!
I am a huge fan of the wellington wines. I am in for one, I know I should’ve bought more.
[labrat]
This is our First Golden Ticket! Nothing like free wine! Thanks Woot!
Very drinkable right out of the bottle,
Low tannins, very mellow. Virtually no “bite”
Good sipping wine for an evening on the patio or in front of the TV
After letting it breath for an hour it mellowed out a bit more.
Like most Pinot Noirs, it would be easily overpowered by a strong food. Tonight was pizza night and the wine did well with a basic pepperoni, but a spicy sausage and banana pepper topping tended to overwhelm the wine.
After dinner, like good little lab rats, we went looking for some cheese to have with our wine. We paired the wine with a Manchego cheese. The Manchego brought out additional flavors in the wine and the wine brought out additional flavors in the cheese. That really worked!
We buy a lot of wines in the ten to fifteen dollar range and have bought many of the Woot wines, so are quite familiar with typical qualities that you get in this range. This wine is a buy.
A fellow Wine Wooter stopped by and sampled. She will also be buying.
Okay, this is just mean.
I’m in no way a PN fan–in fact, I told myself I couldn’t buy any more. Ever.
But Woot Cellars are usually auto-buys (if I have the spare cash) and the wine is good. And the bottles are worth it for the labels alone!
So what do I do now? Thinking, thinking, mulling, twiddling thumbs, mulling…
You made a sale-all the things I like in a Pinot-looking forward to trying this now and then later.
If you are in or near Manhattan try Acker Merrall on 72nd. They can usually get this for you.
Yum