WineAccess Thread - Wines, Tasting Notes, Deals, etc.

[David Buck]

Popped and poured 2018 Radio Silence and 2018 Yesterday in succession last week.

Both were very tasty and easily worth the money.

As tasty as Yesterday was, Radio Silence was, for me, clearly better and certainly more approachable.

Had Radio Silence again on Christmas Eve. Everyone greatly enjoyed it and no expensive Bordeaux was injured in the making of the evening.

It's a terrific deal.

Are you going to hold onto the Radio Silences for more time in the bottle? Or drink your remaining bottles as needed in 2021?

[J. Rock]

I just want to show some more love for Wine Access and their amazing customer service -- it's simply outstanding. It's so refreshing to see a retailer take customer service so seriously when you have retailers on the other end of the spectrum like wine.com who have such awful service that it's not worth buying from them even with their discounted prices.

[David Chow]

I just want to show some more love for Wine Access and their amazing customer service -- it's simply outstanding. It's so refreshing to see a retailer take customer service so seriously when you have retailers on the other end of the spectrum like wine.com who have such awful service that it's not worth buying from them even with their discounted prices.

I second that. Also, I like the fact that I can reach them on the phone vs. wine.com. Night and day different between the two.

[bradkaplan]

(post fixed)

Any thoughts on this new one? The oak / fruit / body estimates are all maxxed out, not sure if that is intriguing or worrisome. $24-30 a bottle.

2018 Giving Kitchen Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley 750 ml
Cabernet Sauvignon 2018 United States Napa Valley
Maayan Koschitzky is the man behind La Pelle, has worked at Screaming Eagle, and now directs winemaking at Atelier Melka. But we’ve never seen him more excited about a Cab than he is about this one.

https://www.wineaccess.com/catalog/2018 ... #pdp-story

I know the folks at Giving Kitchen - an amazing non-profit that benefits from each bottle sold. Chris Hall is one of the founders, a chef/restaurateur, and knows his wine, though I definitely get the impression that he favors big and bold. He's the one that worked with Maayan on this. I would bet that Napa cab fans (of the Screaming Eagle sort, and not the Corison sort) will be very happy with this as a value drinker.

[Kurt_L]

Has anyone tried the Bodega Rancho Red yet?

[Christine Courtney]

I appreciate the info about Wine Access and placed my first order. FYI, a few of the Private Labels are back in stock, like The Cosmologist, Echoes in the Canyon, Wolfe Grade and Radio Silence. Those were out of stock/sold out last week, but I was just able to order over the weekend.

[Toby P]

I picked up my first WA private label, went for the Echoes in the Canyon based on likely source material (Vine Cliff 16 Rows, albeit not a shiner) + Andreas' tasting group scoring it as one of the top 3-4 WA private label wines (and the master of wine naming it one of his top 2). Can get it to $24 by the case with the 20% off, basically in line with the higher priced DN wines. Also grabbed some Paolo Conterno Barolo, can get as low as ~$27 by the case, seems like a very good price for a well-reviewed, age-worthy Barolo from a solid vintage

[K. Tr@n]

WA is selling 2017 Duckhorn Three Palms Merlot. Got some for using the 20% off.

[cnalda]

Adding my props for WA's innovative offerings and customer service. I have been pleased with everything I have tried. And an unrequested credit showed up in the face of a minor problem with a shipment. Very impressive indeed. Sending friends and family business to them....

[Andrew Heger]

Popped and poured 2018 Radio Silence and 2018 Yesterday in succession last week.

Both were very tasty and easily worth the money.

As tasty as Yesterday was, Radio Silence was, for me, clearly better and certainly more approachable.

Had Radio Silence again on Christmas Eve. Everyone greatly enjoyed it and no expensive Bordeaux was injured in the making of the evening.

It's a terrific deal.

Are you going to hold onto the Radio Silences for more time in the bottle? Or drink your remaining bottles as needed in 2021?

My intention will be a mix of both. Reality probably will be more of the latter.

[rsmithjr]

Where do you put the coupon code in?

[Peter C.]

Where do you put the coupon code in?

There aren't codes to use, but clickable promo links that load discounts onto your account.

If you're a first time buyer on WineAccess, you can use a referral code to get $50 off your first purchase of $150 or more. http://share.wineaccess.com/v/peter_57

If you've already bought, search upthread for links to click that will then load those discounts to your account. You'll see them under Credits & Promotions in your account.

AMEX also issues offers occasionally for WineAccess, so if you have an AMEX card check it out.

Hope that helps.

[rsmithjr]

Well I'am a longtime buyer.

On the brightside I did get a 20 bux rebate from Amex.....

First world issues......

[James Francis]

I just want to show some more love for Wine Access and their amazing customer service -- it's simply outstanding. It's so refreshing to see a retailer take customer service so seriously when you have retailers on the other end of the spectrum like wine.com who have such awful service that it's not worth buying from them even with their discounted prices.

For real. I had an order with 8 bottles - two bottles of four different wines. Before the order even shipped, they sent me an email stating that one of the wines was no longer in stock. Without me asking, making a fuss, or being upset (which I wasn't, companies make mistakes and this was a very minor one) they gave me a $50 credit. Such a refreshing take on customer service.

However, I will say that wine.com has some decent customer service sometimes. I feel like wine.com CS quality depends on who you get whereas wine access is always phenomenal. For example, I ordered a bottle from wine.com ($75 bottle) a couple weeks ago and had it shipped to a fedex pickup location. These fedex pickups are supposed to hold the package for five days before sending it back. Fedex made a mistake and shipped it back early (so not even wine.com's fault). I hit up customer service and they immediately sent me another bottle and the CS rep put in a second bottle to make up for the mistake, which again wasn't even their mistake.

[Bob W]

I'm new to this but am already on my 5th WA order and I have to say, they've been amazing thus far. While they ship basically the next day, other places I've ordered from take days to even send a confirmation email, and sometimes it's taken a phone call a week later to confirm they ever received my order. I had to call CPD Wine in FL this morning and was told the wine I ordered isn't even in stock. Well thanks for charging my credit card for it a week ago and then never following up! Doesn't take long to figure out who you want to give your hard-earned money to.

[James D.]

Has anyone tried the Star Treatment Pinot? From the clues it sounds like the source could be Occidental Wines. I'm very intrigued as WA seems to rarely have NDA pinots. But, as gauged by CellarTracker, at least, this one doesn't seem to be getting a lot of interest (68 bottles listed as purchased on CT, vs over 1100 for Yesterday Oakville)

[Peter C.]

Well I'am a longtime buyer.

On the brightside I did get a 20 bux rebate from Amex.....

First world issues......

Did you use all of the links earlier in this thread? I still have a couple loaded onto my account.

[James D.]

Well I'am a longtime buyer.

On the brightside I did get a 20 bux rebate from Amex.....

First world issues......

Did you use all of the links earlier in this thread? I still have a couple loaded onto my account.

Wellesley Wine Press is a good source for keeping up to date on WA coupons. He seems to catch them all quite soon after they are posted.

[David Buck]

Has anyone tried the Star Treatment Pinot? From the clues it sounds like the source could be Occidental Wines. I'm very intrigued as WA seems to rarely have NDA pinots. But, as gauged by CellarTracker, at least, this one doesn't seem to be getting a lot of interest (68 bottles listed as purchased on CT, vs over 1100 for Yesterday Oakville)

Just reading that wellesley guy....looks like a pass to me...

https://www.wellesleywinepress.com/2020 ... ine+Press)

[James D.]

Has anyone tried the Star Treatment Pinot? From the clues it sounds like the source could be Occidental Wines. I'm very intrigued as WA seems to rarely have NDA pinots. But, as gauged by CellarTracker, at least, this one doesn't seem to be getting a lot of interest (68 bottles listed as purchased on CT, vs over 1100 for Yesterday Oakville)

Just reading that wellesley guy....looks like a pass to me...

https://www.wellesleywinepress.com/2020 ... ine+Press)

I did see that. His tastes seem to differ from those of many WBers, though—he rated the Commission an 89, lower than Star Treatment at 90, while many here seem to have liked it as well as Yesterday Oakville. https://www.wellesleywinepress.com/2020 ... -2018.html

[Bob W]

Another shoutout for WA... Long story short, I had 3 bottles being held up from shipping due to being in the same order as some pre-order bottles. A simple email to customer service asking if they could possibly ship the available bottles separately for no other reason than I'm anxious and don't want to wait til next month to get them. They wrote back and said no problem - you'll have them by Friday. And with no extra shipping fee (I'd qualified for free shipping, but only because of the total order with the pre-order bottles, which is why they were slated to ship together).

Meanwhile CPD Wine still can't figure out if the bottles I ordered 10 days ago are in stock. *smacking forehead

[Chris Crutchfield]

Has anyone tried the Star Treatment Pinot? From the clues it sounds like the source could be Occidental Wines. I'm very intrigued as WA seems to rarely have NDA pinots. But, as gauged by CellarTracker, at least, this one doesn't seem to be getting a lot of interest (68 bottles listed as purchased on CT, vs over 1100 for Yesterday Oakville)

14.5% pinot noir is always a pass for me. big yikes

[cnalda]

Has anyone tried the Star Treatment Pinot? From the clues it sounds like the source could be Occidental Wines. I'm very intrigued as WA seems to rarely have NDA pinots. But, as gauged by CellarTracker, at least, this one doesn't seem to be getting a lot of interest (68 bottles listed as purchased on CT, vs over 1100 for Yesterday Oakville)

14.5% pinot noir is always a pass for me. big yikes

At least for now, doesn't taste like 14.5%....ordered a case, tried it, and ordered two more cases.... so: "Nothing to see here. Move along..." And I must say, I LOVE what they are doing with their proprietary blends. More than de Negoce? Credit cards bills say yes....but if my wife is reading, I've never of heard of either....

[jprusack]

i saw some bovio barolo 2016 just added recently...this is the normale i assume? anyone recommend it? also see a 2016 barbaresco and some grivot 2018s on the higher end.

[William Segui]

Got this email this morning.

Dear Friends of 750 WINES,

David and I founded 750 WINES in November 2009 with the intent to build upon relationships with vintners and winemakers producing interesting, exceptional wines and to share those wines with our clients. Because of David's impeccable reputation in the wine community, we are fortunate to have friendships with you and many fellow wine industry colleagues - all united to make Napa and Sonoma as best as they can be! Our love and devotion to our clients is equally matched by our friendship with and support of you and your brand.

Like all entrepreneurs, we’re always looking at ways to improve our experience, our ethos. As we neared the close of 2020, we set a goal to expand the footprint of wines as well as offer wine education and enhance our customer service. To accomplish this, we recognized we needed to partner with another company who could more quickly help us meet these goals. So, it is with great excitement that we announce our prestigious 750 WINES brand is now part of the Wine Access Family. (www.wineaccess.com)

Here’s the back story… In 2010, David and I had the pleasure of meeting
Vanessa Conlin MW, Head of Wine at Wine Access. She has become one of my closest friends and is also the President of the Jameson Humane Board of Directors. We share a love of our beautiful Napa Valley and Sonoma Valley, great wine and animals. After chatting about our hope for the future of 750 WINES with Vanessa, the merger was cast in stone. Joining the Wine Access family will bring 750 WINES clients immediate access to their portfolio of hand-curated wines from around the world, highly competitive shipping rates, access to a larger team of wine service professionals and we hope our continued relationship with you.

And, David and I are also lucky to receive their continued love and support of Jameson Humane/WineaPAWlooza.

It just couldn't get any better for David, Sep and me - as We/750 WINES joins the WIne Access Team!

2021 is starting off as a promising new year, and we are excited for you to experience the love and magic of Vanessa and her team at Wine Access. We look forward to continuing our journey with you and are seeking a new dedicated tasting space, as we will be departing 1224 Adams later this month. It would be my pleasure to introduce you to Vanessa - many already know her! - and her team, and get a tasting/meeting on the books for your new releases, etc.

Please feel free to give us a call/drop us an email.

Here's to a wonderful 2021 full of new opportunity and promise for a great growing season and Harvest!



With our immense thanks for your friendship and continued support,

David + Monica Stevens, Sep Pirchner and Gunner!

[David Crow]

Got this email this morning.

Dear Friends of 750 WINES,

David and I founded 750 WINES in November 2009 with the intent to build upon relationships with vintners and winemakers producing interesting, exceptional wines and to share those wines with our clients. Because of David's impeccable reputation in the wine community, we are fortunate to have friendships with you and many fellow wine industry colleagues - all united to make Napa and Sonoma as best as they can be! Our love and devotion to our clients is equally matched by our friendship with and support of you and your brand.

Like all entrepreneurs, we’re always looking at ways to improve our experience, our ethos. As we neared the close of 2020, we set a goal to expand the footprint of wines as well as offer wine education and enhance our customer service. To accomplish this, we recognized we needed to partner with another company who could more quickly help us meet these goals. So, it is with great excitement that we announce our prestigious 750 WINES brand is now part of the Wine Access Family. (www.wineaccess.com)

Here’s the back story… In 2010, David and I had the pleasure of meeting
Vanessa Conlin MW, Head of Wine at Wine Access. She has become one of my closest friends and is also the President of the Jameson Humane Board of Directors. We share a love of our beautiful Napa Valley and Sonoma Valley, great wine and animals. After chatting about our hope for the future of 750 WINES with Vanessa, the merger was cast in stone. Joining the Wine Access family will bring 750 WINES clients immediate access to their portfolio of hand-curated wines from around the world, highly competitive shipping rates, access to a larger team of wine service professionals and we hope our continued relationship with you.

And, David and I are also lucky to receive their continued love and support of Jameson Humane/WineaPAWlooza.

It just couldn't get any better for David, Sep and me - as We/750 WINES joins the WIne Access Team!

2021 is starting off as a promising new year, and we are excited for you to experience the love and magic of Vanessa and her team at Wine Access. We look forward to continuing our journey with you and are seeking a new dedicated tasting space, as we will be departing 1224 Adams later this month. It would be my pleasure to introduce you to Vanessa - many already know her! - and her team, and get a tasting/meeting on the books for your new releases, etc.

Please feel free to give us a call/drop us an email.

Here's to a wonderful 2021 full of new opportunity and promise for a great growing season and Harvest!



With our immense thanks for your friendship and continued support,

David + Monica Stevens, Sep Pirchner and Gunner!

This sounds like a great deal for everyone.

[David Crow]

Antonio Galloni just published his first report on the 2018 Napa wines and interestingly he highlighted Wine Access’s Radio Silence as one of the new wines to watch saying it sources from top estates and offers terrific value. I didn’t think he typically reviewed these NDA private label wines so I found it interesting this got called out.

I don’t subscribe so I can’t see the detailed notes or scores, but if anyone here does I’d be curious what Galloni thought.

[David Buck]

NDA Cab up today - Moundsman.....Any thoughts? 36 bucks

[David Crow]

NDA Cab up today - Moundsman.....Any thoughts? 36 bucks

Sounds like it’s from Beckstoffer George III (only Rutherford source I known of for Schrader and Myriad, which they say both come from this vineyard).

[YLee]

Sounds like they sourced the grapes and made their own wine. I wonder who their winemaker(s) is

[rsmithjr]

Here is the note on Radio Silence:

The 2018 Radio Silence Cabernet Sauvignon is fabulous, and a terrific value too. Rose petal, lavender and cinnamon lift a core of purple and bluish fruit in a sumptuous yet mid-weight Cabernet that delivers the goods. The 2018 is a bit reticent at the outset, but it blossoms beautifully with a few hours of air.

-- Antonio Galloni
Score 92
Antonio Galloni 2022 - 2033 drinking window

[Eric White]

NDA Cab up today - Moundsman.....Any thoughts? 36 bucks

I went for a case of this one. I had the Wine Spectator 20% off loaded, plus a $100 credit for spending $1k, plus $20 bucks back from AmEx, makes it something like $168 for a case - delivered.

[J. Rock]

Sorry if it's been discussed on one of these 22 pages and I missed it, but does anyone know if the Amex offers that say "$[20] off of $[200] up to 3 times" can be redeemed in one $[600] transaction, or do you actually have to have 3 separate transactions of $[200] or more?

[Kevin Patrick]

Sorry if it's been discussed on one of these 22 pages and I missed it, but does anyone know if the Amex offers that say "$[20] off of $[200] up to 3 times" can be redeemed in one $[600] transaction, or do you actually have to have 3 separate transactions of $[200] or more?

Yes, a $600 transaction will trigger a $60 credit.

You actually don't have a choice. The $20 increments kick in as you reach each plateau.

@ 200 you get $20 back; @ 400 you get $40 back; @ 600 you get $60.

Once you exhaust your aggregate $60 in cash back you're done .... until the next offer.

[cnalda]

What is this "a $100 credit for spending $1k"?
Perhaps I missed another deal.....

[rsmithjr]

Has anyone tried the Wolfe Grade Cabernet from Wineaccess.

[Dennis_L]

What is this "a $100 credit for spending $1k"?
Perhaps I missed another deal.....

Exactly as it says, no need to register anywhere, when your spend hits $1K, a $100 credit shows up in a couple of days.

[James D.]

Has anyone tried the Star Treatment Pinot? From the clues it sounds like the source could be Occidental Wines. I'm very intrigued as WA seems to rarely have NDA pinots. But, as gauged by CellarTracker, at least, this one doesn't seem to be getting a lot of interest (68 bottles listed as purchased on CT, vs over 1100 for Yesterday Oakville)

14.5% pinot noir is always a pass for me. big yikes

At least for now, doesn't taste like 14.5%....ordered a case, tried it, and ordered two more cases.... so: "Nothing to see here. Move along..." And I must say, I LOVE what they are doing with their proprietary blends. More than de Negoce? Credit cards bills say yes....but if my wife is reading, I've never of heard of either....

Any notes on the tasting? Occidental positions itself as a more refined/Burgundian-style as opposed to Cali pinot—does this match what you experienced with the Star Treatment?

[D@ve D y r 0 f f]

Sorry if it's been discussed on one of these 22 pages and I missed it, but does anyone know if the Amex offers that say "$[20] off of $[200] up to 3 times" can be redeemed in one $[600] transaction, or do you actually have to have 3 separate transactions of $[200] or more?

When I used mine, they combined the transactions. Mine were 30 off of 100 and I had a 200 order and got 60 and another 100 order and got 30.

[K N Haque]

What is this "a $100 credit for spending $1k"?
Perhaps I missed another deal.....

Exactly as it says, no need to register anywhere, when your spend hits $1K, a $100 credit shows up in a couple of days.

I believe this credit is only for total purchases within one year of your first purchase So, only available if you hit that 1k in that first year.

[John L Hall]

Yeah it is automatically triggered once you hit $1k. They sent me an email if I recall.

[David Buck]

NDA Cab up today - Moundsman.....Any thoughts? 36 bucks

I went for a case of this one. I had the Wine Spectator 20% off loaded, plus a $100 credit for spending $1k, plus $20 bucks back from AmEx, makes it something like $168 for a case - delivered.

Wellesley guy gave it thumbs up...be interested what he says with his "fresh off truck" review. I might buy 3 plus 3 wolfe...

https://www.wellesleywinepress.com/2021 ... s-iii.html

[Chris Echeck]

Apparently there is a yesterday reserve releasing on tuesday as well

[Kevin Patrick]

Apparently there is a yesterday reserve releasing in tuesday as well

Where are you seeing/hearing a "Yesterday Reserve" offering? Any info you can share?

[Chris Echeck]

They sent out this top 10 wines of 2020 earlier this week, and hinted at it there

https://discover.wineaccess.com/2020-to ... Y29tIn0%3D

[David Chow]

They sent out this top 10 wines of 2020 earlier this week, and hinted at it there

https://discover.wineaccess.com/2020-to ... Y29tIn0%3D

This is not helping me at all. I told myself I will stop buying these NDA bottles after getting a case of 2018 Yesterday Oakville last month. I already have enough of the others (The Ringer, Commission, Editorial, and the recent Radio Silence). Now this Yesterday Reserve will have me opening my wallet again...well, at least let's see what they have to say about it and its price.

[YLee]

Which Yesterday is it though?
Oakville or howell?

Just got off the phone with WA. I was told it only says Napa. Maybe a blend of sites?

[David Crow]

They sent out this top 10 wines of 2020 earlier this week, and hinted at it there

https://discover.wineaccess.com/2020-to ... Y29tIn0%3D

This is not helping me at all. I told myself I will stop buying these NDA bottles after getting a case of 2018 Yesterday Oakville last month. I already have enough of the others (The Ringer, Commission, Editorial, and the recent Radio Silence). Now this Yesterday Reserve will have me opening my wallet again...well, at least let's see what they have to say about it and its price.

I’ll be very curious what the spin is on the reserve. The way Wine Access describes many of these NDA wines is so over the top it seems hard to differentiate a reserve. The original Yesterday Oakville was described as coming from a $500 / bottle source. Hard to get much better sourcing. Perhaps they will say it came from top blocks or older vines.

It will also be interesting to see how they price it. I think the original Yesterday wines were prices at $37 and $40, and I think these NDA offerings have topped out at $45 for the Radio Silence. I think it would be hard to price this over $50, but you would think a reserve offering would be quite a bit higher than the regular bottling.

[Mike R]

They sent out this top 10 wines of 2020 earlier this week, and hinted at it there

https://discover.wineaccess.com/2020-to ... Y29tIn0%3D

This is not helping me at all. I told myself I will stop buying these NDA bottles after getting a case of 2018 Yesterday Oakville last month. I already have enough of the others (The Ringer, Commission, Editorial, and the recent Radio Silence). Now this Yesterday Reserve will have me opening my wallet again...well, at least let's see what they have to say about it and its price.

I’ll be very curious what the spin is on the reserve. The way Wine Access describes many of these NDA wines is so over the top it seems hard to differentiate a reserve. The original Yesterday Oakville was described as coming from a $500 / bottle source. Hard to get much better sourcing. Perhaps they will say it came from top blocks or older vines.

It will also be interesting to see how they price it. I think the original Yesterday wines were prices at $37 and $40, and I think these NDA offerings have topped out at $45 for the Radio Silence. I think it would be hard to price this over $50, but you would think a reserve offering would be quite a bit higher than the regular bottling.

Fair point, but I'm definitely not buying if its north of $50, and I have to imagine many others feel the same way. The 2018 Yesterday is an okay wine, but there is a ton of good stuff out there in the $50 range that I'd much rather have.

[PHuff]

Which Yesterday is it though?
Oakville or howell?

Just got off the phone with WA. I was told it only says Napa. Maybe a blend of sites?

The 2018 Yesterday "Oakville" only said "Napa" on the label.......but in the description of the wine, it said it was Oakville fruit. So if the Reserve also only says Napa on the label, then perhaps that wine is also Oakville fruit, but some of the better barrels. But who knows, I am just speculating.......