What de Négoce wine are you drinking tonight?

[loren.grossman]

Decided to open an OG 82. Expected a kinda crowd pleaser meritage and instead very pleasantly surprised. Painfully young but still showing bright cherry/black cherry, mineral laden, cassis, cedar and malabar pepper. Orange oil. Really good energy and depth. Palate shows good integration and balance. Firm, coating tannins. This will do well with time and will develop further. Could be given a long decant and a rib eye as well. Hard to believe this was less than $20 a bottle? I will serve this blind to Bordeaux loving friends. Crazy value.

[Luca Giupponi]

Decided to open an OG 82. Expected a kinda crowd pleaser meritage and instead very pleasantly surprised. Painfully young but still showing bright cherry/black cherry, mineral laden, cassis, cedar and malabar pepper. Orange oil. Really good energy and depth. Palate shows good integration and balance. Firm, coating tannins. This will do well with time and will develop further. Could be given a long decant and a rib eye as well. Hard to believe this was less than $20 a bottle? I will serve this blind to Bordeaux loving friends. Crazy value.

This is really good to hear, especially after all the bad reviews N.50 is getting, as 50 and 82 were my first two purchases. Also, I’m glad I gave away a bunch of the 50s but none of the 82s! Planning on not touching these for a few years.

Thanks for sharing!

[Eric White]

@Luca - re: No. 50, I've had it a couple time now, I'm not at all worried. Let 'em sleep a bit.

[MatthewT]

Decided to open an OG 82. Expected a kinda crowd pleaser meritage and instead very pleasantly surprised. Painfully young but still showing bright cherry/black cherry, mineral laden, cassis, cedar and malabar pepper. Orange oil. Really good energy and depth. Palate shows good integration and balance. Firm, coating tannins. This will do well with time and will develop further. Could be given a long decant and a rib eye as well. Hard to believe this was less than $20 a bottle? I will serve this blind to Bordeaux loving friends. Crazy value.

This is really good to hear, especially after all the bad reviews N.50 is getting, as 50 and 82 were my first two purchases. Also, I’m glad I gave away a bunch of the 50s but none of the 82s! Planning on not touching these for a few years.

Thanks for sharing!

I've had prob 4 or 5 #50's and have liked them all. Will let the others sit but don't let the negative reviews effect you. I got 2 cases of each 50 and 82 and had one of the 50's sent to my house cause of the black friday sale and that's why I've had so many. Both 82's are at storage.

[Chadly S]

Decided to open an OG 82. Expected a kinda crowd pleaser meritage and instead very pleasantly surprised. Painfully young but still showing bright cherry/black cherry, mineral laden, cassis, cedar and malabar pepper. Orange oil. Really good energy and depth. Palate shows good integration and balance. Firm, coating tannins. This will do well with time and will develop further. Could be given a long decant and a rib eye as well. Hard to believe this was less than $20 a bottle? I will serve this blind to Bordeaux loving friends. Crazy value.

This is really good to hear, especially after all the bad reviews N.50 is getting, as 50 and 82 were my first two purchases. Also, I’m glad I gave away a bunch of the 50s but none of the 82s! Planning on not touching these for a few years.

Thanks for sharing!

I've had prob 4 or 5 #50's and have liked them all. Will let the others sit but don't let the negative reviews effect you. I got 2 cases of each 50 and 82 and had one of the 50's sent to my house cause of the black friday sale and that's why I've had so many. Both 82's are at storage.

I've had a couple of #50s and thought they were quite good. They were a step up from #2, #5, and #13. I felt #50 was much more ready to drink and was more complex and balanced. Caveat is that my tastes align well with Washington cabs.

[cpratt]

For the record, I assuredly did not drink all of these wines at a single go. I didn't take notes at the time, but here's some unreliable impressions on a few of the dNs currently cluttering up my garage:

2018 Walla Walla Cabernet Sauvignon OG N.91, $12: I first heard about dN on Black Friday and was immediately smitten. I'm a graduate of the Central Washington University wine trade professional program, but I live in San Diego these days - and I really miss Washington wine, so I was very excited at the prospect of stocking up on some of my old favorites without having to, you know, pony up serious cash. I've since opened two bottles of this; it is delicious and very Washington. Wonderfully elegant texture, bright acidity, oak isn't in your face about it, just really good stuff. I'm trying hard to keep my mitts off the rest of the case but that's going to be a struggle.

2017 Mendocino Carignane OG N.135, $8: This is every bit as good as Ridge carignane or the good stuff from Chile. Stupid value here. I think you'd want to finish this by the end of the year because I can't imagine this getting any better with age. Tempted to describe this as non-crap Gamay but that'd do this wine a disservice; it's beautiful, spicy, elegant, and it smells really (bad swear deleted) good.

2018 Chalk Hill Malbec OG N.118, $15: Gotta admit that part of me is embarrassed to enjoy this wine as much as I do. After all, Serious Wine People are all about drinking, I don't know, piquette made in Austin, TX, or something you can't pronounce made somewhere you don't recognize, right? But here we are in California, it's Malbec, it's ripe, it's plush, it's so oaky you could practically bury something in it, and it's stupid delicious. Dessert in a bottle, port without the headache, surprised it wasn't actually made by Ghirardelli or Godiva. I don't know if this would be good with food, but it is awesome just to drink after dinner by itself. Liquid Oreo cookie sludge, basically. Don't let the cool wine kids see you doing it, though.

2019 Columbia Valley White Blend OG N.83 (70/30 sémillon/chenin), $8: I could've sworn this was straight chenin blanc while I was drinking it, but looking at the dN website, welp, I was wrong. I was hoping this might be somewhere near as good as l'Ecole No. 41 sémillon, and it's definitely playing in that league. I love Washington chenin blanc, the sémillon is aight as well, and this stuff drank like a reasonable quality South African chenin, very pleasant, white flowers, smooth, talc-y, very good without quite going all the way to amazing. Eight bucks, though? That's a steal.

2019 Columbia Valley Sémillon OG N.84, $8: I opened this the same night as the N.83 and dear reader, I lost my shit. This is my favorite of all the dN wines I've drunk so far. Stupendously lovely, ethereal, textural wine with the smell but not the heaviness of butter, jasmine, vibrant acidity, and an overwhelming frisson of seriousness. I have no idea who though it would be a good idea to bulk this stuff out - someone must have been hurting. I wish I'd bought at least a full case of this one.

2019 Carneros Pinot Noir OG N.115 Rosé, $9: "This sucks more than anything has ever sucked before." - me after opening the first bottle. I've since given as much of this away as I could, but the neighbors are now giving my the stink-eye and my friends aren't responding to Signal messages, so this might not be just me. Ironically, I opened one more bottle last night and I don't know why, but it was tolerable and I actually finished a bottle for the first time. Even so, this wine is a bummer, man. I should have just gone with another case of Kirkland Signature Côtes de Provence rosé.

2019 Anderson Valley Pinot Noir OG N.125, $10: Biodynamic, low alcohol Pinot? SGTM. Opened one bottle of this; smells correct, looks good, tastes okay, seems like a good deal, but this one needs go have a nice lie-down for another six months at least before trying again. (/me pats wine on head)

2019 Anderson Valley "Reserve" Pinot Noir OG N.126, $12: Wait, this is the reserve? Kind of a strange, yeasty thing going on here interrupting the wine, like someone dropped a Pillsbury biscuit in there. I can't remember wine school enough to put my finger on what's going on here, but I'm thinking that this really, really needs to go back to bed until 2022. Not disappointing, just surprising; as with its sibling, it all smelled and looked good and I'm hopeful for the future on this one. Right now, though, it just ain't there yet. This'll probably be fine, but I wouldn't touch it until next year.

2018 Russian River Pinot Noir OG N.48, $15: For me, drinking this wine is like watching Avengers: Endgame. It's well made, it's popular, it's clear that a lot of money and effort went into it, and I do not particularly care for it. On the other hand, I will note that it does seem to be getting to a place where it all feels much more together, so it's possible that I was just being impatient with this. I should have let it sit around the garage longer before breaking into it. The first bottle I opened, all I could think of was "whoa, who dropped the Mon Chéri bomb in the MT+ barrique?" - it's a bruiser, oaky, fruity, yet still kinda sorta Pinot-y. It's been forever since I've had a Gary Farrell pinot - is that the style? Bet this would sell out at Ruth's Chris in a heartbeat.

2018 Dry Creek Zinfandel OG N.61, $11: Last but not least, this wine is a goddam rock star. This compares favorably to what I'd describe as California Claret - the old school field blend type zinfandels you still see around on occasion that are all about delicacy, finesse, acidity, and perfume (as opposed to density, power, structure, and 16% abv. Don't make me say Turley). Tends to exterminate rational thought when ingested.

So! That's it for now. I've got a lot of Washington syrah/cabernet/merlot lurking, but I'm trying not to touch any of those until much later.

[Kevin Patrick]

OG 70A, 2019 Willamette Valley Pinot Noir

A really good effort here. Popped cork and let air for 45 minutes. Dark garnet in color. Lightly floral nose of violets and red fruit. Medium weight in body with a gentle mix of raspberry and cherry coupled with some earthiness. A quite pleasing wine. This was paired against a Meomi Pinot Noir and the de Negoce OG 70A was hands-down the clear winner.

I think the aging post-bottling is finally hitting a good drinking window for these wines. This was my 5th OG 70 and only the 70-C was unpleasant.

[Cameron Hughes]

For the record, I assuredly did not drink all of these wines at a single go. I didn't take notes at the time, but here's some unreliable impressions on a few of the dNs currently cluttering up my garage:

2018 Walla Walla Cabernet Sauvignon OG N.91, $12: I first heard about dN on Black Friday and was immediately smitten. I'm a graduate of the Central Washington University wine trade professional program, but I live in San Diego these days - and I really miss Washington wine, so I was very excited at the prospect of stocking up on some of my old favorites without having to, you know, pony up serious cash. I've since opened two bottles of this; it is delicious and very Washington. Wonderfully elegant texture, bright acidity, oak isn't in your face about it, just really good stuff. I'm trying hard to keep my mitts off the rest of the case but that's going to be a struggle.

2017 Mendocino Carignane OG N.135, $8: This is every bit as good as Ridge carignane or the good stuff from Chile. Stupid value here. I think you'd want to finish this by the end of the year because I can't imagine this getting any better with age. Tempted to describe this as non-crap Gamay but that'd do this wine a disservice; it's beautiful, spicy, elegant, and it smells really (bad swear deleted) good.

2018 Chalk Hill Malbec OG N.118, $15: Gotta admit that part of me is embarrassed to enjoy this wine as much as I do. After all, Serious Wine People are all about drinking, I don't know, piquette made in Austin, TX, or something you can't pronounce made somewhere you don't recognize, right? But here we are in California, it's Malbec, it's ripe, it's plush, it's so oaky you could practically bury something in it, and it's stupid delicious. Dessert in a bottle, port without the headache, surprised it wasn't actually made by Ghirardelli or Godiva. I don't know if this would be good with food, but it is awesome just to drink after dinner by itself. Liquid Oreo cookie sludge, basically. Don't let the cool wine kids see you doing it, though.

2019 Columbia Valley White Blend OG N.83 (70/30 sémillon/chenin), $8: I could've sworn this was straight chenin blanc while I was drinking it, but looking at the dN website, welp, I was wrong. I was hoping this might be somewhere near as good as l'Ecole No. 41 sémillon, and it's definitely playing in that league. I love Washington chenin blanc, the sémillon is aight as well, and this stuff drank like a reasonable quality South African chenin, very pleasant, white flowers, smooth, talc-y, very good without quite going all the way to amazing. Eight bucks, though? That's a steal.

2019 Columbia Valley Sémillon OG N.84, $8: I opened this the same night as the N.83 and dear reader, I lost my shit. This is my favorite of all the dN wines I've drunk so far. Stupendously lovely, ethereal, textural wine with the smell but not the heaviness of butter, jasmine, vibrant acidity, and an overwhelming frisson of seriousness. I have no idea who though it would be a good idea to bulk this stuff out - someone must have been hurting. I wish I'd bought at least a full case of this one.

2019 Carneros Pinot Noir OG N.115 Rosé, $9: "This sucks more than anything has ever sucked before." - me after opening the first bottle. I've since given as much of this away as I could, but the neighbors are now giving my the stink-eye and my friends aren't responding to Signal messages, so this might not be just me. Ironically, I opened one more bottle last night and I don't know why, but it was tolerable and I actually finished a bottle for the first time. Even so, this wine is a bummer, man. I should have just gone with another case of Kirkland Signature Côtes de Provence rosé.

2019 Anderson Valley Pinot Noir OG N.125, $10: Biodynamic, low alcohol Pinot? SGTM. Opened one bottle of this; smells correct, looks good, tastes okay, seems like a good deal, but this one needs go have a nice lie-down for another six months at least before trying again. (/me pats wine on head)

2019 Anderson Valley "Reserve" Pinot Noir OG N.126, $12: Wait, this is the reserve? Kind of a strange, yeasty thing going on here interrupting the wine, like someone dropped a Pillsbury biscuit in there. I can't remember wine school enough to put my finger on what's going on here, but I'm thinking that this really, really needs to go back to bed until 2022. Not disappointing, just surprising; as with its sibling, it all smelled and looked good and I'm hopeful for the future on this one. Right now, though, it just ain't there yet. This'll probably be fine, but I wouldn't touch it until next year.

2018 Russian River Pinot Noir OG N.48, $15: For me, drinking this wine is like watching Avengers: Endgame. It's well made, it's popular, it's clear that a lot of money and effort went into it, and I do not particularly care for it. On the other hand, I will note that it does seem to be getting to a place where it all feels much more together, so it's possible that I was just being impatient with this. I should have let it sit around the garage longer before breaking into it. The first bottle I opened, all I could think of was "whoa, who dropped the Mon Chéri bomb in the MT+ barrique?" - it's a bruiser, oaky, fruity, yet still kinda sorta Pinot-y. It's been forever since I've had a Gary Farrell pinot - is that the style? Bet this would sell out at Ruth's Chris in a heartbeat.

2018 Dry Creek Zinfandel OG N.61, $11: Last but not least, this wine is a goddam rock star. This compares favorably to what I'd describe as California Claret - the old school field blend type zinfandels you still see around on occasion that are all about delicacy, finesse, acidity, and perfume (as opposed to density, power, structure, and 16% abv. Don't make me say Turley). Tends to exterminate rational thought when ingested.

So! That's it for now. I've got a lot of Washington syrah/cabernet/merlot lurking, but I'm trying not to touch any of those until much later.

insanely awesome notes Chris. If you ever need a new job...

Quick note note on the 115...I just tasted it with winemaker Mark and we agree its got a huge hole in the middle right now...we blended a like 1% pinot noir in there to flesh out the middle but the two of them are not playing well together just yet...shit. Kind of an earthy funk that's fighting with the prettiness. The good news is it should be resolved shortly...I would give this another month and I think you'll have completely different animal.

And, yes, 125 and 126 are in a weird place right now...low alc and low ph can take a while to go gently into the bottle. When I first tasted these I found them to be very tightly wound and it wasn't until couple days later that I had my eureka moment. Should be singing in the Fall however...

[Henry Ip]

If anyone wants to PnP a 151 (Napa reserve meritage) and take one for the team I'd be very interested...although I guess it may still be in bottle shock so who knows if it would even tell us much.

I actually PnP 151 last night straight off the UPS truck. 1/2hr decant, not much on the nose and a bit of an alcohol tinge. Silky mouthfeel, medium bodied with red fruits, crushed violets, mineral notes and oak but it was a bit hot and bitter on palate. It did get a little better 2-3hrs after with the addition of cherries, plum and a slight tart/acidity on the finish.

Will give it a go again tonight.

Day 2: Night and day difference. Fruit is still muted upon entry but the black fruits are starting to peek through. Alcohol is subdued and bitterness is gone. Starting to get dark chocolate along with the plum and cherries leading to a mineral and gravel/chalky finish.

Starting to come around after a day and this wine really benefits from 2-3hr decant.

Finishing up the rest of it tonight.

[K Kl@dder]

I popped a 151 Thursday night after it spent 24 hours next to the front door. Really good wine, very monolithic, but in a good way. PnP, agree not much aroma, but good flavor profile. What I really enjoyed was the evolution of the flavor profile over 2 glasses Thursday night and 1 Friday night. First was “springy”, then seemed to move to a muted, smooth zone, but by third glass Friday had revv’ed back up on the fruit and was in the zone. No bad profile out of the three. No edges what so ever, really easy drinking. Really glad I bought this one.

[John O']

#8 on day 2 was light years better than pop n poured #8 on day 1

[Jim Zan0ni]

I popped a 151 Thursday night after it spent 24 hours next to the front door. Really good wine, very monolithic, but in a good way. PnP, agree not much aroma, but good flavor profile. What I really enjoyed was the evolution of the flavor profile over 2 glasses Thursday night and 1 Friday night. First was “springy”, then seemed to move to a muted, smooth zone, but by third glass Friday had revv’ed back up on the fruit and was in the zone. No bad profile out of the three. No edges what so ever, really easy drinking. Really glad I bought this one.

Thanks for the notes. I was holding off opening since it bottled in Feb but I guess I will give it a go now sometime during the week.

[Michael Martin]

Had another N.93 Zin last night. Still the most enjoyable of all the wines I’ve bought. Nice licorice, black fruits and eucalyptus. Seems like it could improve as well, being on the young/shocked side yet.

All the cabs I have: N.01, N.02, N.11 all need years yet. The N.135 Carignane is good, but it’s a light, monolithic red and is probably at about where it will be long term. The N.15 Merlot was a dud.

So I am enjoying the 93 and letting the others sit.

[K Kl@dder]

I popped a 151 Thursday night after it spent 24 hours next to the front door. Really good wine, very monolithic, but in a good way. PnP, agree not much aroma, but good flavor profile. What I really enjoyed was the evolution of the flavor profile over 2 glasses Thursday night and 1 Friday night. First was “springy”, then seemed to move to a muted, smooth zone, but by third glass Friday had revv’ed back up on the fruit and was in the zone. No bad profile out of the three. No edges what so ever, really easy drinking. Really glad I bought this one.

Thanks for the notes. I was holding off opening since it bottled in Feb but I guess I will give it a go now sometime during the week.

The way I look at it, I've got a case, diving into one bottle early tells me what I have and encourages/ discourages more purchases. So far, only 1 that was an early regret out of 12 cases bought.

[John O']

Chardonnay's: Did not think 36 and 62 lived up to the billing. Really like 152.

[Jim Zan0ni]

After a few reads here on the 151, I decided to crack open a bottle. I am very impressed with it! Not a whole lot of aroma but the taste is excellent. Very smooth and nice finish. I can only see this one getting better as it sits but even if it doesn't, I'm very happy I picked up a case of this stuff!!

[Cameron Hughes]

After a few reads here on the 151, I decided to crack open a bottle. I am very impressed with it! Not a whole lot of aroma but the taste is excellent. Very smooth and nice finish. I can only see this one getting better as it sits but even if it doesn't, I'm very happy I picked up a case of this stuff!!

Glad to hear everyone is liking this wine. However, a word to the wise. This wine bottled Feb 22 so is likely going to oscillate another round or two in the bottle and I suspect it'll be a little backwards here shortly...

[Eric White]

Drinking No. 75, Walla Walla Syrah - legit, crazy good for $9 bucks/btl. Mix of dark and red fruits on the nose, along with vanilla and spice. Good balance and length, and quite approachable now (I decanted it for a few hours, but honestly it smelled terrific as soon as I opened it)

[Mike R]

After a few reads here on the 151, I decided to crack open a bottle. I am very impressed with it! Not a whole lot of aroma but the taste is excellent. Very smooth and nice finish. I can only see this one getting better as it sits but even if it doesn't, I'm very happy I picked up a case of this stuff!!

Glad to hear everyone is liking this wine. However, a word to the wise. This wine bottled Feb 22 so is likely going to oscillate another round or two in the bottle and I suspect it'll be a little backwards here shortly...

Hey Cam. I just went to the website to see if I could buy a case of the 151. The search is extremely hard to use. I searched 151 and it won’t even let me search. Any chance you can add a page showing what is in stock and what isn’t for cases?

[Mitch P]

After a few reads here on the 151, I decided to crack open a bottle. I am very impressed with it! Not a whole lot of aroma but the taste is excellent. Very smooth and nice finish. I can only see this one getting better as it sits but even if it doesn't, I'm very happy I picked up a case of this stuff!!

Glad to hear everyone is liking this wine. However, a word to the wise. This wine bottled Feb 22 so is likely going to oscillate another round or two in the bottle and I suspect it'll be a little backwards here shortly...

Hey Cam. I just went to the website to see if I could buy a case of the 151. The search is extremely hard to use. I searched 151 and it won’t even let me search. Any chance you can add a page showing what is in stock and what isn’t for cases?

Mike,

I did the same a few minutes ago and it worked fine. I put 151 in the search box and clicked the magnifying glass icon. Came right up. Only about 10 cases left

[Mike R]

Glad to hear everyone is liking this wine. However, a word to the wise. This wine bottled Feb 22 so is likely going to oscillate another round or two in the bottle and I suspect it'll be a little backwards here shortly...

Hey Cam. I just went to the website to see if I could buy a case of the 151. The search is extremely hard to use. I searched 151 and it won’t even let me search. Any chance you can add a page showing what is in stock and what isn’t for cases?

Mike,

I did the same a few minutes ago and it worked fine. I put 151 in the search box and clicked the magnifying glass icon. Came right up. Only about 10 cases left

Would you mind posting a link, I can’t get it to work on mobile?

[Mitch P]

https://www.denegoce.com/search?q=151&type=product

[Mike R]

https://www.denegoce.com/search?q=151&type=product

Thank you!!! No more wine.*

He said for the 6th time and 2nd time in the last week.

[MatthewT]

https://www.denegoce.com/search?q=151&type=product

Thank you!!! No more wine.*

He said for the 6th time and 2nd time in the last week.

Yah Mike we need to zoom share a therapist.

[Joseph O]

Drinking No. 75, Walla Walla Syrah - legit, crazy good for $9 bucks/btl. Mix of dark and red fruits on the nose, along with vanilla and spice. Good balance and length, and quite approachable now (I decanted it for a few hours, but honestly it smelled terrific as soon as I opened it)

Totally agree, Eric. This is the tops of the seven Syrah’s I’ve received so far. #74 (same producer) is not too far behind.

[Joseph O]

I’m an unrepentant Syrah hound. So far we’ve received seven cases of Syrah from dN and here are early impressions from the wife and me, in the order in which we tasted.

109 - We tried two bottles about a month apart. First tasting was a mess. No integration, little fruit, lots of lean, green, savory notes (reminiscent of Arnot-Roberts, generally not my style). Second tasting was improved with some dark fruit and a more cohesive balance of fruity/umami notes. Giving this time to improve.

74 - Exceptional. Dark fruit up front, meaty with hints of olive and licorice, nice acidity, and gravelly tannin finish. Very much the Côte-Rôtie style syrah we prefer, and tons of potential once this comes together further.

119 - This came across almost like a baby cab, but was nevertheless delicious. I expect it’s just very raw with deep, aggressive tannins. Not a lot of typical syrah notes yet, like blueberry or black olive. Still we were quite impressed and expect this will mellow into something smoother and more varietally typical.

75 - OMG. Liquid silk. Fruit forward, licorice mid-palate, followed by a tannic palate scraper that lands right in the center-rear of the tongue. We were very impressed. The only criticism is that it needs to develop a more solidly acidic backbone.

136 - Very Paso Robles profile. Dark, plummy and slightly figgy up front. Savory notes of cracked pepper and black olive mid-palate. Feels full bodied and palate coating in the mouth (If Justin made a syrah I imagine it would taste like this, lol). Could benefit from more acidity, but that’s more a personal preference than a criticism.

88 - A bit of a mess. Possibly still bottled shocked. Lacked fruit. Some peppery spice but generally silky body. Seems dominated by alcohol, especially closing notes. Clearly needs time to come together. Will try again in a few months.

140 - Hard to believe this has 14.9% alcohol. Very silky mouthfeel, with bright fruit on the nose and the palate. Savory secondary notes and a clean finish. Very delicious, balanced, and easy drinking. I’ve consumed a fair amount of Gramercy Cellers and this had a very similar taste profile.

[Rodrigo B]

Revisited #51 CF and #37 Viognier. Both in a much better place now and seem to be past their bottle shock. Both more open and inviting.

#51 CF Very nice red fruit, acid and tannins. Delightfully long finish finish. Seems like a whole different wine now. I suspect most of my stash of this low-ABV CF will be consumed over the summer. Will have to check in on #52 now

#37 Viognier Ripe stone and tropical fruits, kiwi, peach, honeydew melon. Rich and oily in texture. Seems to be coming out of its shell now. As with most Viogniers, changes wildly depending on serving temperature.

[Chris Crutchfield]

N.51 is fantastic (really, everything by that producer 51-54 seems that way). Have you tried the others yet?

[Rodrigo B]

N.51 is fantastic (really, everything by that producer 51-54 seems that way). Have you tried the others yet?

Haven’t gotten to opening #52 and #53, slightly bummed I didn't grab #53 and #54 on release (I gotta draw the line somewhere), but I do have a few #53 I got from trading with some folks. The first #51 I tried was really shut down and disjointed, figured the others were too and that I’d revisit them later. I was anticipating they’d take until Fall to get over bottle shock, but #51 seems to be in a really good place now. Good to have some more non bottle shocked de Negoce wine to drink from this summer. Planning on checking in on a few other bottles soon.

[Chris Crutchfield]

Somebody took the plunge on N.156 (supposedly Crescere, but some unreleased Russian River chardonnay, most likely Ritchie Vineyard given the winemaker):

WHODIINI LIKES THIS WINE:90 points
Young 2 month since bottled. Tasting because of a concern of too warm weather (89 degree) when shipped. Bottles arrived a bit warm around the necks.

Tastes like high end Chardonnay. Excellent purity of fruit, integrated oak, excellent acidity. Bouquet a bit reserved at this point. Also a bit austere. Needs more time in the bottle. More Burgundian in character, if that is what you like (like me). Reminds me of a young Chassagne Montrechet in the mouth, or closer yet a lesser version of Marcassin. Does not taste like a typical California Chardonnary. Not butter bomb. Rather elegant. Time will tell if it opens open more. If it does, the score will go up accordingly. Could be low-mid 90's.

Super excited to give this one a try! I bought all three of the wines from this producer.

[Chris Crutchfield]

N.51 is fantastic (really, everything by that producer 51-54 seems that way). Have you tried the others yet?

Haven’t gotten to opening #52 and #53, slightly bummed I didn't grab #53 and #54 on release (I gotta draw the line somewhere), but I do have a few #53 I got from trading with some folks. The first #51 I tried was really shut down and disjointed, figured the others were too and that I’d revisit them later. I was anticipating they’d take until Fall to get over bottle shock, but #51 seems to be in a really good place now. Good to have some more non bottle shocked de Negoce wine to drink from this summer. Planning on checking in on a few other bottles soon.

I missed out on N.52 and regret it. I did try N.53 and it's great, my favorite merlot from dN so far. N.54 was the only disappointing one so far, but I think it just needs more time.

If Cam puts out a second tranche of N.52 I'm going to be all over it.

[Rodrigo B]

N.51 is fantastic (really, everything by that producer 51-54 seems that way). Have you tried the others yet?

Haven’t gotten to opening #52 and #53, slightly bummed I didn't grab #53 and #54 on release (I gotta draw the line somewhere), but I do have a few #53 I got from trading with some folks. The first #51 I tried was really shut down and disjointed, figured the others were too and that I’d revisit them later. I was anticipating they’d take until Fall to get over bottle shock, but #51 seems to be in a really good place now. Good to have some more non bottle shocked de Negoce wine to drink from this summer. Planning on checking in on a few other bottles soon.

I missed out on N.52 and regret it. I did try N.53 and it's great, my favorite merlot from dN so far. N.54 was the only disappointing one so far, but I think it just needs more time.

If Cam puts out a second tranche of N.52 I'm going to be all over it.

IIRC Cam sold the whole production of N.51 and N.52 CF during the initial offer

[Donald G]

DeN 139 Horse Heaven Hills Cab- 2018 Bottled December 18, 2020. Not decanted. This wine is super. Big fruity nose, full range of balanced dark fruit, mostly cherry, smooth tannins at first, but they become assertive as the wine sits in the glass. High alcohol, 14.9%, but not obvious . This wine is ready to drink. I expect it will get better with time. I will report how it does after sitting tightly corked till tomorrow.

[Kevin N]

Somebody took the plunge on N.156 (supposedly Crescere, but some unreleased Russian River chardonnay, most likely Ritchie Vineyard given the winemaker):

WHODIINI LIKES THIS WINE:90 points
Young 2 month since bottled. Tasting because of a concern of too warm weather (89 degree) when shipped. Bottles arrived a bit warm around the necks.

Tastes like high end Chardonnay. Excellent purity of fruit, integrated oak, excellent acidity. Bouquet a bit reserved at this point. Also a bit austere. Needs more time in the bottle. More Burgundian in character, if that is what you like (like me). Reminds me of a young Chassagne Montrechet in the mouth, or closer yet a lesser version of Marcassin. Does not taste like a typical California Chardonnary. Not butter bomb. Rather elegant. Time will tell if it opens open more. If it does, the score will go up accordingly. Could be low-mid 90's.

Super excited to give this one a try! I bought all three of the wines from this producer.

We opened a N.156 tonight. It was awesome. Not at all a butter bomb, which is kind of a prerequisite for me to buy. Good acidity and minerality. If it gets better from here...wooooowowowow.

[Jim Zan0ni]

Opened a 103 last night and was very happy with the results! This is the Walla Walla Merlot. It's light, plenty of flavor but not over powering. The finish is smooth and refreshing. My wife who likes Merlot was very happy with the purchase.

[Kevin Patrick]

Had OG 50 on Wednesday night. Bottled on September 6, 2020 so this was 7 months and one week post bottling. (I wish Cam didn't delete the bottling information on older offerings. I had to get this info from https://denegociants.com/50)

A genuinely pleasurable experience. Drank with some novice drinkers who gave the wine high praise including taking pictures of the label and asking how to acquire these wines. I didn't take detailed notes but from start to finish this was a really good wine -- fragrant nose of blueberries and some blackberry; smooth on the palate with slight minerality displaying notes of red and black raspberry with a short-to-medium length finish. Of note this wine was consumed following high-quality Pinot Noirs (2014 Shea Wine Cellars and 2019 Kutch Sonoma County) so the crowd was primed for a let-down if this bottle was lesser quality.

Controversial opinion below:
From the beginning we knew part of Cam's model was to sell the wines before they are ready to drink with the storage cost/savings getting passed on to the consumer. If my last two tastings (the 70A the week prior was also really nice) are any indication of what is to come then notes on red wines written in advance of at least a 6-month wait period are of little value, including my own.

It's only been the last two bottles where I see a quality wine shine through so admittedly it is not a large enough sample size to throw down the gauntlet with my above pronouncement. But it is also hard to ignore this change coming once we cross the 6 - 7 month post-bottling milestone as well as the improvement seen over the last two months alone.

I think it is neat some are getting enjoyable experiences in the early period on these red wines before it has settled but my guess is that is as much random luck as it is any indication of the ultimate quality in the bottle over time.