SE Second Flight?

A new second wine made from the Merlot and/or Cab Franc that didn’t go into the regular bottling. Double vertical of 2006-2009, i.e., two bottles each vintage for $1800.
Any comments, knowledge, TNs about these wines?

IMO, $225 for a “second” wine seems kinda strong. The vineyard itself is pretty large (way larger than the SE production would indicate), so I imagine there is quite a bit of this to sell…however I imagine it will sellout in minutes.

Probably good, but not great at that price of admission.

No brainer! A Merlot/Cab Franc blend…vintage dependent for which one is predominant. Can’t wait to try it!

Oh, btw for all the naysayers…you know what happened when the SB came out at $250 per?

Being sold in a bundle of 8 bottles. I wonder what the thinking was not to release the 06-08 in two packs over the last three years?

Tom

Sure doesn’t add much credence to all the articles written (even recently - Decanter) where they rather strongly state that they dump down the drain any wine that doesn’t make it into Screaming Eagle. Hmm guess that just sounds great in the press.

Bingo.

It is a curious release. The first time this wine is ever offered, and you have to buy 8 bottles.

The pricing seems relatively consistent with other “seconds” such as Scarecrow.

Hmmmm… Shipping in early Nov. Tempting.

Here’s the offer letter:

Dear ,

It is my great pleasure to introduce you to the new wine from Screaming Eagle: a much anticipated, eight-years-in-the-making, unique bottling that we’ve named Second Flight.

Here on the estate, we grow Cabernet Franc and Merlot as blending components for our iconic Cabernet Sauvignon. For the last eight years, we’ve been making a different wine based on our top Merlot and Cabernet Franc lots. Each blend is vintage dependent—in a cool year, Merlot is the stronger voice, while in a warmer one, Cabernet Franc will take center stage. Second Flight is part and parcel of Screaming Eagle; the wines express that signature freshness so typical of the estate and will age for many years regardless of the composition.

At this time, we’re offering a vertical pack (two bottles each) from the 2006, 2007, 2008 and 2009 vintages. This foursome offers an unprecedented opportunity to observe a period of time in our vineyard with Merlot and Cabernet Franc as the primary lenses.

As expected, volume is small. This inaugural vertical will be offered only once, orders will be taken on a first-come, first-served basis, and are limited to one vertical per customer.

Quick action in this case will likely be the best strategy, as there are far fewer vertical packs than people on the Screaming Eagle mailing list. Taste, and enjoy.

With best regards,

Armand de Maigret
Estate Manager

That doesn’t sound like a second wine, nor declassed lots. In fact, it sounds almost the opposite wher the best merlot and cab franc were held back to make Second Flight.

They probably shouldn’t name it SECOND flight then

I’m guessing that the name is not referencing a second wine rather this is the second vertical they have released. The First Flight of Eagles was a bottle each of the '92, '93 and '94 I believe.

Was the first flight of Eagles actually a re-release of the first three back vintage SE? This sounds like a completely new wine.

Sounds interesting as I love cab franc.

Even more interesting is Charles Banks (former partner in SE) claimed that merlot doesn’t perform well anywhere in the SE vineyard:

“And we found a spot in the northwestern corner of our vineyard, that I found to be much better suited for Sauvignon Blanc than Cabernet Sauvignon or Franc, and Merlot actually doesn’t perform very well in our vineyard”, he [Banks] added. Here’s a link to the whole blog post, which was actually about the SB.

Kind of sounds like SE is trying to milk the brand name for everything it is worth, even if the wine may not be worth it.

That being said, I’d still enjoy drinking a bottle if I didn’t pay for it.

That is correct. I was told they actually were not for sale but given to you if you donated $xxxxx to a charity of their approval. I think they are using the name Second Flight due to the vertical and it being the second time they have ever offered a vertical.

Actually, the purchase price was $200 for the three bottles, which happened to be the original release price of the 92, 93 & 94.

Maybe. No action in Commerce Corner…yet.

Tom

Do you normally see lots of Screaming Eagle being sold in commerce corner?

I’m not sure how to price it, and I don’t want to leave money on the table.

Just kidding.

Actually this release interests me more because it’s closer to the dollar level that I can actually drink.

Better than their first choice, Screaming Beagle.

You’ll most definitely be able to resell without losing money.