winewoot: Firestone Rancho Santa Rosa Chardonnay Six Pack - $39.99

[T. R. Oglodyte Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close T. R. Oglodyte]

At winewoot, the current offering is six bottles of Firestone Rancho Santa Rosa Chardonnay for $39.99, plus the usual $5 shipping per order.

Here's the link to the discussion thread about the wine: Wine.Woot: The Community: Woot Wines: Firestone Rancho Santa Rosa Chardonnay Six Pack. I'm linking to the discussion instead of the site because the thread will remain viable after the offering ends.

This seems to me like an outstanding deal. That's a bit over $7 per bottle for what should be a pretty good chardonnay. Somebody reported in the thread that they were only able to place a double order and not a triple order. YMV.

[Glitter Brunello Super Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close Glitter Brunello]

Somehow I have trouble with the words "Chardonnay" and "six pack" put together...

[vintner Super Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close vintner]

That must have been a big acid wine that they did 100% malolactic fermentation and still have their descriptors of 'crisp acidity' and 'Golden Delicious apples'. The malolactic fermentation would change the malic acid to lactic acid which should reduce the crisp acid and soften that and would reduce the apple aroma, so, my feeling that it was a high acid to begin with or is more soft than their description. I can't find anything on the wine other than woot selling it.

But...That isn't a bad price.

[T. R. Oglodyte Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close T. R. Oglodyte]

That must have been a big acid wine that they did 100% malolactic fermentation and still have their descriptors of 'crisp acidity' and 'Golden Delicious apples'. The malolactic fermentation would change the malic acid to lactic acid which should reduce the crisp acid and soften that and would reduce the apple aroma, so, my feeling that it was a high acid to begin with or is more soft than their description. I can't find anything on the wine other than woot selling it.

But...That isn't a bad price.

consistent with this comment in the winewoot.com thread:

Well, this appears to be the buttery style Chard. 100% malolactic fermentation, and barrel aged sur lies. If this is your style, I don't think you'll get a better value. Santa Rita Hills is a great region for Chardonnay. So the raw materials should be very good.

This sounds like it could be over the top if you want a fresher, more fruit driven white wine, though.

and this comment as well:

Sur lie aging has little to do with fermentation as far as I understand: lees is the leftovers from the yeast that did the initial fermentation. The dead cells. Yummy, huh?

But aging sur lie makes a great difference in the flavors and textures gained when the wine's just sittin' around, drawing up flavors from stuff in contact with the liquid. In this case, you're looking for some textures described as, e.g., 'full body', 'round', 'creamy' -- all part and parcel of the 100% malolactic fermentation mentioned in the description, as well as from barrel aging. But the lees boost those things, plus I find flavors like toast, crackers, and biscuits to come out of lees. Hardly a surprise given the yeast connection, eh?

Another fun word to look for is "battonage", which is French for "sticking". Like "hitting with a stick". Kinda Battonage is stirring up those lees so the surface area in contact with the wine is much greater than if the lees were just allowed to settle, hence greater influence of the lees.

**********

But...That isn't a bad price.

The best price that one winewooter chased down for this wine was $18 per bottle. If accurate, this is one-third the price you'll get anyplace else.

Winedavid (the woot staffer who runs winewoot) says this a "scary good deal".

[vintner Super Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close vintner]

I like a good sur lies wine. It adds to the mouthfeel making it more full.

My problem is, with few exceptions, I am ABC:
Anything
But
Chardonnay.

[T. R. Oglodyte Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close T. R. Oglodyte]

I like a good sur lies wine. It adds to the mouthfeel making it more full.

My problem is, with few exceptions, I am ABC:
Anything
But
Chardonnay.

As am I - with the qualification that many of the NW chardonnays seem to be not quite so bold as the California ones. But DW enjoys Chardonnay. And we frequently have company who enjoy Chardonnay, so this will fit in quite nicely.