Is it time to say farewell to Linne Calodo?

I am curious if others are feeling that LC is overreaching on price this year and whether I should consider finding alternatives. I am a fan of the Zin blends, less enamored by the Rhone blends (probably just a matter of taste), and am thinking that I can but some great wine for less than $72-$92/bottle, and without the forced allocation.

The last significant LC thread appears to have been in May, so I am not alone in losing the passion for LC’s juice?

It has gotten extremely pricey over the last couple of years and I share your sentiment on the the forced allocation. I was contemplating this about another Paso producer who makes similar style blends at similar prices the other day and the note I wrote was “This is good, but is it better than a similar blend from Bedrock or Carlisle for the price?”. The answer to that one was easy so I’ll be dropping both LC and that other producer this year.

Who was the other producer ? if you do not want to say here could you PM please

Im just having same thoughst so im curious what others are thinking/doing

I’ve liked a number of their wines, but some of them are over the top for my tastes, and the pricing has gotten significantly higher than my interest level.

I think I am of the same mind… I wish them the best and have no complaints, but I just cannot justify the price at this point. I guess that means someone else will be happy to get my allocation!

Completely Agree. I do like their wines, especially the Problem Child and Overthinker. But at that price point, I found myself preferring Epoch, Denner & Torrin, just to name a few, so had to draw the line.

Visited and tasted LC back in '08 and was impressed with their stuff but didn’t join. We belong to two Paso wine clubs, Adelaida and Tablas Creek. Adelaida is a decent cellar defender, Tablas has wine and prices that run the gamut. If your “other producer” isn’t Tablas, I’d suggest giving them a look.

+1 on Denner & Epoch

Only had Linne Calodo once and found it quite hot and alcoholic. Now, one bottle isn’t a fair basis for judgment but it didn’t motivate me to pursue more. Nicora (http://www.nicorawine.com) would be a good alternative for those looking for largely scaled wines and the prices very reasonable compared to the competition. (<$50 for non-members. 10-15% discount for club members).

Tablas Creek and Denner are some of my favorite producers, but don’t always show the sheer power and concentration of other producers. (Although they don’t lack for ripeness). Looking at the pricing, you might want to give the Denner club/list a go. ($50~). These are quite pretty and aromatic right out of the gate, but have a pretty strong frame of structure. (and tannic grip too). The Grenache is pretty outstanding stuff and there’s a deft touch with the Syrah too. The Dirt Worshipper, in particular, is excellent.

If you’re looking strictly at Zinfandel, Brian Benson makes some pretty big wines. Not my style, but many like it.

Everyone knows I am a Booker guy similar to Epoch and Denner though bolder. Terry Hoague is up there too. JRSmith was the conducting winemaker for all three way back when.

Matt is wonderful. His wines are worth it.

I’ve had 2 or 3 of their wines and thought the same thing. Why spend 40 bucks (this was some years ago) for hot, ripe alko juice when you can buy really nice Chateauneufs for around $30-40, especially with the deals being offered these days. You get more complexity, a cheaper drink, and more pleasure.

Gotta say I’m a fan and sticking with LC, along with the rest.
I am sipping a 2008 Nemesis at the moment, so I am biased.

Nope, I’m sticking with Tablas. The Esprit for under $50 at club price is insane value. Plus it’s free shipping on everything you order as long as you have 6 Esprits in the cart [thumbs-up.gif]

As all of these large-framed Paso Rhones kind of creep together into big ticket territory, it seems natural that even long time fans of a certain winery begin to gaze around for lesser-known winemakers who are attractive for their surprising wines at good prices. Speaking for myself, I’ve been drinking Paso reds for a decade and the full-throttle quality at the top end has never been stronger - or somehow more of a cliche. So there’s a hyper-discernment at that level now where I believe LC is (I’ve got Denner, L’Aventure, and Torrin/Law) , there’s a bit of gratitude that some excellent wines remain a solid QPR (Herman Story, Tablas, Adelaida) and there’s an enjoyable investigation into the regions many passionate, promising Garagistes. Because there’s so many places to put one’s money - not only overseas, in Napa/Sonoma, or nearby SB County - but now in Paso itself, wineries must attempt (if not in terms of style, then perhaps by price or use of varietal) to differentiate themselves from the herd, even if that herd - unabashedly bold and structured Paso Rhone - is simply one of the sexiest imaginable.

We started buying LC in 2012 (I think) and enjoyed it for a while. We never joined the club because I didn’t like the forced allocation method, I would just email Mark and order direct through him. The wines started getting too big and ripe for us so I stopped buying. The price escalation didn’t help either.

We had similar feelings about the ripeness of Epoch so we stopped buying it. We stopped buying Denner because of the forced allocation but I do miss that wine and wish I had stuck with it. And the patio at the tasting room is beautiful.

I’m definitely still a fan of the wines and feel the same way about Booker, Denner, Torrin, and Law. It’s just getting difficult to choose between which producers of Paso Rhone+Bdx blends to stick with at these price points. If I can pick and choose a little of each from a friends allocation or get what I want in commerce corner that’s probably the ideal scenario at this point.

Pretty sure he means Saxum

While I agree that I don’t enjoy the inflation recently in the prices of their wines, I do think they’re worth it

I am still a big proponent of Linne Calodo and I think their blends are some of the best in the area.

The hierarchy of Paso to me is Saxum at the top, followed by L’Aventure and LC. None of these wines are cheap daily drinkers (except for LA’s rose and LC’s Contrarian). Next tier for me has Tablas, Denner, Villa Creek, Law, Booker and Epoch. There are some great up and coming producers that don’t have the track record, and subsequently are cheaper.

The region as a whole has grown tremendously in the past 15 years, which has put an upward pressure on real estate and grapes. I think the key for long term success is having as much estate fruit as possible to control costs up and down the river.

Interesting observations, BC, about pricing pressures . . .

I’m not sure the logic holds, in that ‘estate’ places are raising their prices at equal or greater rates than those purchasing fruit. I think you’re just seeing supply and demand working here, and as long as folks flock there and purchase, you’ll continue to see upward pressure on pricing . . . or businesses being forced to change things if they don’t sell through.

Cheers!

Love the Nemesis! I Also am sticking with LC. I think the wines are Outstanding!