Actually a great idea to separate people from their money…
Apparently the wines are $100+ ![[rofl.gif]](/uploads/db3686/original/2X/a/a7452fcd8e675af869f8da01174474a545b03944.gif "rofl"){kind=small}
Did I miss the bit where they state which vineyard each barrel hails from?
Good luck. I’m sure (a) the wine isn’t actually from any winery we would consider a “cult” here, and (b) regardless, they probably signed NDAs prohibiting the disclosure of the source. Therefore, you’ll probably get marketing gobbledygook like you see in emails from Garagiste or WTSO (or to a lesser extent, Cameron Hughes) about how it is sourced from “one of the finest plots in Rutherford, which has seen more Parker 95+ point wines than any of its neighbors.”
This was started by former sommelier of Eric Ripert’s Blue restaurant in Grand Cayman. Haven’t tried it or participated in the rollout of this year’s vintage, but based on instagram posts the owner, Michael Kennedy, will be featured in Forbes 30 under 30 edition this year.
I have no relation to him, just met him last year at Cayman Cookout. Seemed to me like a solid dude, clearly very passionate and knowledgeable.
Apparently the wines are $100+
Each of the component wines is $100? So if you wanted to say, blend yourself a $100 wine, you’d have to spend maybe $500?
If you could blend your own $100 bottle, that would be a completely different thing. But there are people doing that.
In this case, I don’t get the market. People who would spend a hundred dollars on a bottle of wine generally want some bragging rights. Maybe they get that here, telling their friends that these are the components of such and such wine, but that’s a one-time thing. Who’s going to buy cases every vintage? Even if they lie, because really, who would know? You could say they are the components of Bryant, Screaming Eagle, etc., but eventually all of your friends would get sick of the convo.
Cool, $100 for an unknown, unproven Cab Franc. I’ll stop buying Clos Rougeard’s base bottling and move my money to Component.
the power of this brand will be in the scores… once score are produces the value will or will not be there … interesting concept and I wish him luck… a great achievement to be named by Forbes … it’s far better to do something and maybe make a success, than read and mock the brilliance of his inspiration to deliver a quality product …
wishing all the best on this venture…
Shalom !!!
Salute !!!
The point that seems to be missing is that the really interesting part would be IF they were able to state the source winery in their offerings. Except of course if the winery thought that was a good idea surely they’d bottle it themselves? I could see a sort of small scale boutique business for Components in bottling (with full designation) the odd barrel of varietal from smaller wineries that don’t want to be bothered with the hassle of multiple offerings and to just bottle their one meritage.
But anonymous varietals? At $100? If the scores are good on particular bottling maybe they can sell that one (and give people the fun of guessing the source; I can only imagine the threads here) but of course that implies nothing at all about the next bottling. So how to make a sustainable business?
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Although we can’t say in Napa, we just moved into Bordeaux with the 16 vintage and we can share everything. The wines are being made by the winemaking team at Lynch Bages, from single lieu dits, and our consultant who helps select the single wines is Eric Boissenot. Here’s the article: Making Varietal Wines in Bordeaux | SevenFifty Daily - Happy to answer any other questions…
I’ll bite. Are you adding anything to the market with this project? I can purchase either 100% or near 100% cabernet franc from various places across the world already famed for varietal typicity and extraordinary quality. I can do the same for pure Cab Sav, pure Malbec, and pure Merlot as well. It already exists in the marketplace.
That leaves Petit Verdot for the bdx grapes. Did you actually have success selling a pure petit verdot out of Napa? Will that wine benefit from cooler temperatures and presumably even thicker skins?
Other producers, such as Turley for one, are also beginning to produce pure cinsault while others are producing trousseau. Getting to the point, what does your brand actually add to the marketplace?
Are you claiming qualitative superiority, or are you claiming something new and different? Why do you think so?
I admit interest in trying pure expressions of blending grapes. I would love to buy a set of 187.5s of a dozen relatively obscure but exceptionally well made blenders so I could get a grip on what provides what. I think that’s fascinating. But why chase a 100% cab franc or a 100% cab when no real chase is needed. I can get those all over the place.
Are you bottling Lynch Bages’s “component wine” directly from their barrels to your bottles? Or do you have any other process/manipulation to the wine after they come out of LB’s barrel?
Where are the barrels stored and where will the wines be bottled?
How is the wine different from what goes in to Lynch Bages’ grand vin or Liberal?
Good questions - Although I’m still trying to understand the overall apparent disdain for the project. I’m not really claiming anything here other than (specifically in Bordeaux) it’s a rare chance to taste not only single varietals made by guys who have really been working the wines from these vineyards since the 70’s (specifically in regards to Daniel Llose) and to get a different take on the wines. Even some of the small lieu dits we are working with have never been made into their own wines before, blend or no blend.
As for what we are adding to the market, well, I think something that I’d always wanted to see, the pieces. It’s pretty simple and I don’t expect everyone to jump on board, but let’s get together and drink some of them before we jump too far down the project bashing hole.
Carter Y - The wines are made by LB, stored between LB & their VINIV facility (across the street). They are made using the same tonneleries and are completely different than LB’s Grand Vin. Some of the plots we work with all will be single varietal, single lieu dit are owned by small families outside of the Cazes family’s ownership. One in particular, for example, sits sandwiched on the St. Emilion plateau between Pavie and Troplong Mondot. Anyway, I really do wish I could share them with you all.
I cannot speak for anyone else, but I do not have any disdain for the project.
My questions are along the lines of “why should I invest my limited wine capital on your project?” I ask that of every purchase I make. In regards to the initial Napa project, a $150 100% Napa Cab is a dime a dozen and with no info on the specifics about the who what or where, that’s a really tough ask of consumers. While a 100% cab franc from Napa is hard to find, B Cellars makes a 100% Dr. Crane Cab Franc. Others do as well, including the easier to obtain Merryvale. So with limited capital, I have to find appeal for an anonymous wine that I don’t get to taste beforehand. I do not resent that at all, I am just unlikely to spend on it.
Your bordeaux project may hold more appeal, as it’s at least tied to people and place with a history of making excellent wine. Frankly, I hope it works. I like to see people succeed, and hope the wines you produce are off the charts and find an audience. I think it would be neat to see a six pack with the 5 blenders and a blend if you pulled it off correctly.
The single variety idea is appealing to me, but the anonymity is not. The marketing line being used, “saving wines from a life of obscurity…” is a bit funny given that the identities of the wines are actually more obscure than a blend from a known vineyard or winery.
People that want good component wine should check out Spann Vineyards in California. I think they do a couple barrels each year and the wines stand out well on their own…and are only about $28/bottle. I really like their Cabernet Franc…and their Petite Verdot is good, but helps me understand why/how it’s usually a blending grape.