660943 Tue Oct 20 09:55:19 -0700 2009 34 34 Wine 0 5117246 A friend has been invited to buy wine via a private insider sale, and is wondering if any of these are particularly good wines at particularly good value. I checked some prices, and they're definitely quite low. Hewitt Vineyard Estate Cabernet Sauvignon Rutherford 03 650/case  Beaulieu Vineyard Private Reserve Georges de Latour Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley 05 California - Rutherford 700/case  Provenance Vineyards Cabernet Sauvignon Oakville Beckstoffer To Kalon Vineyard 05 California - Napa Valley 450/case  Sterling Vineyards Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon, Napa Valley 05 California - Rutherford 450/case  Sterling Vineyards Reserve Merlot, Napa Valley 05 California - Napa Valley 400/case  Sterling Vineyards Reserve SVR Bordeaux Blend, Napa Valley 04 California - Napa Valley 400/case  Sterling Vineyards Three Palms Vineyard Merlot, Napa Valley 05 California - Napa Valley 325/case  Rosenblum Cellars Maggie's Reserve Zinfandel, Sonoma Valley 06 California - Napa Valley  300/case  Canoe Ridge Vineyard Reserve Merlot Columbia Valley 05 California - Sonoma Valley 300/case  Beaulieu Vineyard Reserve Tapestry Red Blend Napa Valley 05 Washington - Columbia Valley 300/case  Beaulieu Vineyard Reserve Dulcet Cabernet / Syrah Napa Valley 03 California - Napa Valley   325/case  Canoe Ridge Vineyard Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon Columbia Valley 05 California - Napa Valley   300/case    Moon Mountain Vineyard Estate Cabernet Franc Sonoma Valley 05 California - Alexander Valley 300/case Tue Oct 20 09:55:19 -0700 2009 10089 Jim Leff 1 5117851 Quick take from personal familiarity and wine-searcher.com price comparisons: In order of value- BV Georges de Latour Provenance To Kalon (There's a Provenance Cab at Costco a lot but it's their lesser quality wine. Sterling: Good price values, and their Reserve wines have always impressed me as head and shoulders above their regular bottlings. If the friend likes Merlot - I just had a bottle of the Three Palms Merlot last night (it as an '03) and it's very, very good (one of the best California Merlots I've had, short of Twomey). I'd say the Sterling Reserve Cab is a good value too. The rest are decent wines, but not as good a price break, I don't think. Hope that helps, Jim. I'm sure you'll get lots more opinions on this. Hey, have your friend buy them all and invite us to a tasting. :o) Tue Oct 20 13:02:12 -0700 2009 5117246 11405 Midlife 1 5118765 I'm not much of a Cali Cab girl, but I just love, love, love everything Provenance puts out. Tue Oct 20 19:39:02 -0700 2009 5117246 92744 invinotheresverde 2 5118785 Thanks, all. A wine guru of mine just got back to me, and said he doesn't find any of these wines particularly interesting........but I'm not sure if he knows every single one of them! :) Tue Oct 20 19:51:35 -0700 2009 5118765 10089 Jim Leff 3 5119056 If he's focused on European wine, he might not. Also, they are higher-end premium volume wines, not California cult wines. I don't know if there are 50% deals out there on things like Harlan, Switchback Ridge, or Araujo. Tue Oct 20 23:42:56 -0700 2009 5118785 11405 Midlife 4 5119447 Yeah, good point; he's into the winehoundish cult stuff. Wed Oct 21 07:31:58 -0700 2009 5119056 10089 Jim Leff 3 5122024 I agree with your wine friend. Not really a winner among them. The Provenance To-Kalon is the best of the lot. Tom Rinaldi does a good job. Steer very clear of Sterling -- the wine is not worth the $$. Beaulieu still had major wine/cellar taint issues during thse vintages (and prior), meaning not only were the wines corked but the entire winery was infected with taint (TCA/TBA). 75% of the wines from this era that I've had have been corked. I'd take a pass. Wait till something special comes along. The best buys are from Europe right now and you're on the East Coast, right? Thu Oct 22 03:55:35 -0700 2009 5118785 18222 maria lorraine 4 5124638 Plus, isn't JJ Buckley selling that Provenence for $3? / bottle right now? Fri Oct 23 04:15:00 -0700 2009 5122024 50041 whiner 5 5124778 Got a link, whiner? I just checked and saw $75. Fri Oct 23 06:03:15 -0700 2009 5124638 18222 maria lorraine 6 5125079 Wow, My ancient chowhound moderator's instincts perked up and I was about to check what had evoked this apparently flaming response....LOL.... Fri Oct 23 08:23:51 -0700 2009 5124778 10089 Jim Leff 7 5125893 ?? Fri Oct 23 13:01:44 -0700 2009 5125079 18222 maria lorraine 8 5125974 My guess is you called whiner..................um............. whiner. :o) Fri Oct 23 13:34:23 -0700 2009 5125893 11405 Midlife 9 5126194 Yeah, I read it as totally bombastic, ala: "Got a link, whiner? I just checked and saw $75." "Yeah, I got your freakin' link! Link THIS, buddy! And I bought the wine for HALF that price!" Fri Oct 23 15:02:44 -0700 2009 5125974 10089 Jim Leff 10 5126421 Hey, are those hot links? How's the sauce? Do they come with slaw? Fri Oct 23 17:08:36 -0700 2009 5126194 18150 PolarBear 10 5126667 Whiner is impressive -- I know him a bit. God, what a good international palate. To get this hot dog cart back on track, I couldn't believe Whiner's $3/bottle (must've been a typo) so I went to JJ Buckley's website and found the Provenance To-Kalon Cab listed at $75/bottle (out of stock now), And if you want to see for yourself -- to quote Jim Leff, "I got your freakin link" right here: http://www.jjbuckley.com/search/c~0~v~0~st~provenance Fri Oct 23 19:46:35 -0700 2009 5126194 18222 maria lorraine 11 5126816 SORRY guys... was out for a while! HERE is wh I thought it was $39: http://forums.winespectator.com/eve/forums/a/tpc/f/3146091161/m/962104076 Fri Oct 23 21:20:49 -0700 2009 5126667 50041 whiner 10 5126822 Jim, I kinda' doubt that ML would ever do that, unless it was aimed at me. I took it to be, "wow, I have not seen anything like that. Can you furnish a link, as I'd love to get a piece of that one?" Maybe I am wrong, but I read it totally differently - but I am dense sometimes. Hunt Fri Oct 23 21:28:06 -0700 2009 5126194 11329 Bill Hunt 11 5126906 At you? Never. You are ever the gentleman. Fri Oct 23 23:25:10 -0700 2009 5126822 18222 maria lorraine 11 5128179 The essential point is that I was WRONG. Thank you, though, for straining to create a scenario where you are "dense" for being right! I didn't know we had a poster named whiner, because I hadn't been spending much time on the wine or SF board. So I thought someone was calling someone a "whiner". But enough equestrian flagellation... Sat Oct 24 16:01:17 -0700 2009 5126822 10089 Jim Leff 12 5128291 sadoequinonecrophilia? Sat Oct 24 17:05:00 -0700 2009 5128179 18150 PolarBear 13 5128334 Gesundheit! Sat Oct 24 17:35:00 -0700 2009 5128291 10520 carswell 13 5128747 The "necro" makes all the difference. Sat Oct 24 21:32:35 -0700 2009 5128291 18222 maria lorraine 4 5125546 maria, I've never liked Sterling's regular wines, but when we were there a few years ago we found their reserves to be in a whole different league. Haven't really tried them since the '03s though. Could the '03 Three Palms Merlot we enjoyed the other night have been from a different winemaker or better vintage? Fri Oct 23 11:03:39 -0700 2009 5122024 11405 Midlife 5 5126965 You probably drank the single best wine they make, but still, IMO, none of Sterling's wines have been worth seeking out for more than a decade. I do have opportunity to taste their wines here and there but nothing has ever struck me as wonderful, when there are so many other wines around me that do. Sat Oct 24 01:34:39 -0700 2009 5125546 18222 maria lorraine 3 5123603 Piling on...I wouldn't pull the trigger on any of these. Thu Oct 22 15:00:42 -0700 2009 5118785 196217 Brad Ballinger 1 5123776 I had the 2004 Tapestry about a year ago and was not impressed. (Posted a comment on the "How about a new what are you drinking" thread.) I have not had the 2005, but I would have to hear something good from someone whose palate I trusted before I would try another. The 2004 was priced locally (SOCAL) somewhere between $20 and $30 by the single bottle if I recall correctly. By the way - the listing for Tapestry must be an error - it can't be a Napa Valley wine from Washington - Columbia Valley. I suspect they meant to say California - Napa Valley. Thu Oct 22 16:28:10 -0700 2009 5117246 78406 scrappydog 2 5124332 Yes, and Canoe Ridge is listed as Napa Valley. Thu Oct 22 20:36:17 -0700 2009 5123776 18222 maria lorraine 1 5128902 Not trying to be snarky or calling anyone out, but the prices from this "insider sale" have for the most part been marked up pretty significantly. I'll post the actual prices (not including sales tax but shipping is....wait for this.....FREE!) to let you and everyone else know there actually might be some better deals to be had (well, at least the ones that haven't sold out yet): Hewitt Vineyard Estate Cabernet Sauvignon Rutherford 03 799/case *** yes, this is higher than what the OP originally posted *** Beaulieu Vineyard Private Reserve Georges de Latour Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley 05 California - Rutherford 499/case Provenance Vineyards Cabernet Sauvignon Oakville Beckstoffer To Kalon Vineyard 05 California - Napa Valley 399/case *** SOLD OUT *** Sterling Vineyards Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon, Napa Valley 05 California - Rutherford 369/case Sterling Vineyards Reserve Merlot, Napa Valley 05 California - Napa Valley 329/case Sterling Vineyards Reserve SVR Bordeaux Blend, Napa Valley 04 California - Napa Valley 299/case *** SOLD OUT *** Sterling Vineyards Three Palms Vineyard Merlot, Napa Valley 05 California - Napa Valley 279/case Rosenblum Cellars Maggie's Reserve Zinfandel, Sonoma Valley 06 California - Napa Valley 259/case *** SOLD OUT *** Canoe Ridge Vineyard Reserve Merlot Columbia Valley 05 California - Sonoma Valley 259/case Beaulieu Vineyard Reserve Tapestry Red Blend Napa Valley 05 Washington - Columbia Valley 239/case *** SOLD OUT *** Beaulieu Vineyard Reserve Dulcet Cabernet / Syrah Napa Valley 03 California - Napa Valley 229/case *** SOLD OUT *** Canoe Ridge Vineyard Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon Columbia Valley 05 California - Napa Valley 199/case *** SOLD OUT *** Moon Mountain Vineyard Estate Cabernet Franc Sonoma Valley 05 California - Alexander Valley 199/case *** SOLD OUT *** Sun Oct 25 00:51:19 -0700 2009 5117246 11011 Eugene Park 2 5129491 Is this a public offer online somewhere? Can you give a link? Sun Oct 25 11:27:31 -0700 2009 5128902 11405 Midlife 3 5144259 It's a Friends & Family sale. I don't think it's proper to post here specific details about it. But it shouldn't be particularly difficult to sleuth out who is offering it. Fri Oct 30 18:27:03 -0700 2009 5129491 11011 Eugene Park 4 5144481 Well.............. all the brands are part of a company that begins with a 'D'. My daughter works for the company that begins with a 'C', so I can't be a traitor anyway. :o) Fri Oct 30 20:53:38 -0700 2009 5144259 11405 Midlife 1 5149917 This is the Diageo sale. And other repliers are right, most is sold out. That said, there will be another sale on 11/12. Moon Mountain Cab Franc 2005 is beautiful (comparable to Pride) and fairly priced at 300 a case. Hewitt 03 Rutherford is amazing wine as well, fair at the case sale price. Provenance Sauv Blanc is always outstanding. Skip Sterling, Canoe Ridge, Sterling, Rosenblum. Mon Nov 02 13:16:11 -0800 2009 5117246 1115082 stalkingwine.com 2 5150806 Best deal IMO was the magnums of the '96-'98 Ch. Duhart-Milon. Basically worked out to $25 per 750ml worth. Mon Nov 02 18:19:28 -0800 2009 5149917 11011 Eugene Park 3 5151185 Good call. I didn't see them on the list. Do you like the 96, 97 or 98 better? Mon Nov 02 22:31:43 -0800 2009 5150806 1115082 stalkingwine.com 4 5157254 I'll report back when I get the bottles and crack 'em open...... =-) Wed Nov 04 22:42:46 -0800 2009 5151185 11011 Eugene Park