I too am irked by the “relentless” uptick in pricing (see what I did there?) and I really appreciated that Reynvaan kept things level with their '14s. It’s only when I find random bottles of '09 and '10 Reynvaan at wine shops for $50-$60 that I’m reminded how high they’ve climbed.
I’m on the Cayuse list and bought En Chamberlin, Cailloux, and Bionic Frog again this year, along with the #5 mag…Reynvaan wines are nice, I’ve been there and tasted through their lineup, but pricing is close to Cayuse and I certainly prefer Cayuse much, much more…I do not buy Horsepower or No Girls at this time…I know it’s a hard wait for Cayuse, but once you are on the list, you’ll be glad you waited! ![[cheers.gif]](/uploads/db3686/original/2X/0/0ff9bfcdb0964982cd3240b6159868fbdf215b1a.gif "cheers"){kind=small}
I have been on the Cayuse list for over a decade now, so I am a bit spoiled in all of this. Having said that, I have had a few No Girls wines (I missed getting on their list). I was not that impressed, but my exposure is quite limited so perhaps not fair to generalize. They do seem to get reviews across the board similar to Cayuse. I also get HP. I had the 11 syrah earlier this year (thanks to the generosity of a wine group friend here in Seattle). It was way too early to drink (though I like my wines with a bit of age on them), but it was extremely similar to Bionic Frog I thought. Whether it is worth the extra 20 or so dollars I am not clear, but if it is what you can get it is certainly worth it. They are excellent wines (well, the one I had anyway!).
On Reynvaan, I got on their list recently and did not bite. I have had some and liked them, and used to think of them as a great wine for people who like that style who can’t get Cayuse. Their prices are now about the same as Cayuse, and I am not sure given the choice (which I guess I did have) I would go with Reynvaan. I am trying to limit my purchases, so that is also a consideration. It would be nice to try a 10 year old Reynvaan with a 10 year old Cayuse.
Of course part of this is individual taste. As I said I prefer wines with age – we just opened a 2007 GOK, and both my wife and I did not like it much the first day, and steadily liked it more by day 3. Initially it had a lot of the famous funk, which was just overpowering. I do think it makes Christoph’s wines hard to distinguish at times, at least when they are young. But with some age, they are beautiful and complex, and the differences among the vineyards, grapes, etc are much more apparent.
Finally, for those of you on the secondary market, I would highly recommend Armada – I think it is as good if not better sometimes than Bionic Frog. And then the single vineyard syrahs are good deals on the secondary market. I like Bionic Frog a lot, but not sure it is twice as good (or more) than the single vineyard syrahs as reflected in the secondary market prices.