agreed on $30 tipping point for “mystery” wine when so much is out there that I love
no need to go on a blind date at the now higher dN prices
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I’m also in agreement about the high priced dN wines having too much known competition though I will jump if the discount looks like it is 80%, 85% or more. dN lot 124 is a good example of what I’m looking for but this type of bargain doesn’t seem to be on dN anymore. A wine I paid $13 ea for by the case that supposedly sold for $90 at the winery. A higher end wine I can afford to drink weekdays is my goal.
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Yeah, I like to think about it as an expected value thing. There’s the base price of the wine, plus the chance I (or fiancé) doesn’t like it, or it’s not reaaallly exactly what they say in the offer. There’s the hassle of storing a full case of it, and the downside of less variety (DN almost never does mix cases, and they strongly encourage you to buy the 12 bottles with their pricing scheme). And of course the chance DN ships your order during a heat wave. All in all, I think pricing in an imaginary 25% extra is reasonable to apply to the current DN as a “risk surcharge” since these are all new untasted releases and under a new regime. That makes $30 wine more like $40 wine, and adds like $90 in “simulated risk” to the case cost. It was much more palatable when they were $10 wines that were actually less risky (because of Cam’s track record, and some were re-releases) and therefore the “risk surcharge” was more like 15%, around $20 a case.
I think the increased percent discounts are the result of them paying less attention to sourcing. They just go for more expensive wines off the bat, which then drives them to the $30 price range. The alternative is cam’s model of actually searching around for smaller, cheaper offerings that are truly good. You don’t get the insane percent off of an insanely inflated price to advertise, but if you can get people to trust your palate you can sell a $40 wine that tastes like a $90 wine for $12. That is what I think the essence of an NDA wine label has to be.
By the way I know my posts lately have been down on DN but I actually have really enjoyed some of the offerings from the new regime. Specifically pinot noirs 411 and and 415 were really fantastic. 411 was even one of these “too expensive” offers. It worked out for me this time, but re-evaluating I realized it was probably not a smart buy!
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There has been multiple occasions when a wine sleuthed to be X turned out at other discount sites at comparable prices under their original label.
Remember how the Blackbird fiasco started?
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FWIW
497 didn’t taste or smell like a $200 plus wine
I can see why they dumped it
probably more the rule than the exception
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Wow, this thread turned! Let me just add that it’s not been well reported but the suspect in the recent Trump terrorist attempt was caught with two (unknown lot number) bottles of dN in the bushes!
Whatever your politics, we can all agree that dN has no place in an act like that. Wonder whether they address it or not.
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Cam won’t hear that news for months as he sails the South Pacific on his yacht named “Back up the truck!”
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Breaking News
Cam’s Intergalactic Rocket is almost ready for launch from his private South Pacific island.
His Goal: a variety of: single planet Intergalactic Wines delivered via a dark matter plasma worm hole.
Sign ups begin soon! Reserve yours.
30 dollars a bottle is at the top of my range as well so Ive been pretty selective as of late. My cellar is well stocked with some nice juice but really need to pick up some inexpensive daily drinkers. Throughout my experience with dN i have been pretty happy with the wines i have received and only had a few which were busts. My first buy was a case of 352 which was a “Back up the Truck!” offer which has evolved into a really nice wine for only $8 a bottle. Need more of those types of offers.
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lets just say I’ve not had a bad bottle of dN wine nor have my buddies who I referred
the worm has turned in the offerings as per actual QPR given how much wine is out there
Cam had a great palate, the new owners run the company by spreadsheet not palate sadly
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In my case, I wanted the new owners to build some degree of trust before I would buy their wine sight unseen. Well, they started by shipping out all of our “on hold” wine during the hottest week of 2023. To me, the most compelling offering since they took over were the multiple shiners from a few months ago. Thankfully I did not buy, only to find out that the shiners were their own wines that could be purchased on other websites for the same amount or less than this supposedly special dN deal. Then the latest mess where they sent lot 500 to people during another extreme temperature week.
Black Friday sales from all vendors start in early November so it’s only 6 weeks away. Unless you are in dire need of wine, it maybe worth holding off for better pricing.
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I’ve bought a few offerings under the new ownership and been happy with all, but have definitely been more selective. Feels like a lot of the offerings are shorter on winery details and lacking in the “this wine scored XYZ points with multiple major critics”. Without those bits of info that helps to reduce the risk, I’m left wondering if some of these are a) Martin Ray or affiliate wines or b) no-name, inflated MSRP type wines (the type you see regularly pop up on WTSO and other deal sites with BS >$100 MSRPs discounted to $30-40). As folks have pointed out, less of a concern when paying $10-20 range, more challenging at the $25-30+ price point
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This really captures the essence of it!
And I’ve definitely become way more selective, too—I think I’ve only placed two orders this year. But as we’ve discussed, the people on this board probably make up just a small portion of their overall sales. It’s likely that many of their customers aren’t even aware that Cam left and are still purchasing as usual…
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What does it taste like then? And perhaps it just needs time?
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Another downside of dN wine is that I’m going to have to age it for many years to find out if it eventually does taste like a $200+ wine. I’ve noticed in the What de Négoce wine are you drinking tonight? entries that many of the age-worthy wines will get poor reviews for a number of years, then will turn a corner and get pretty high ratings. By that time though, some members have already drank most of their case.
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LOL
tastes just like a $30 mystery dN wine
a nice wine but only selling to folks who feel $200 makes it a great wine
improving with time is not going to happen
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Respectfully, I just don’t see how this could possibly be true.
Recently bottled, recently shipped, didn’t anyone learn a lesson from lot 400? It is now getting good reviews 12 months after bottling. And lot 497 is two years younger.
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we will see won’t we
try one yourself now for point of reference 
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I guessed Failla Haynes vineyard. Did anyone try the 477 yet?
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My case of 500 is supposed to be here today. Splitting it with a friend. First dN in almost a year. My problem is that I have more than I’m ever likely to drink, even with giving a lot away. I went crazy buying dN, and now my wine fridge if full, my semi-cool basement storage is full, and most of it is dN. I’m finding that I want more variety. While I think a number of the dN wines are outstanding, a lot of the middling ones seem to me to have a certain sameness to them. Maybe from Cam’s taste or blending style, or maybe my own less than discerning taste. It was fun finding a $10-15 bargain that was a great buy, but my disappointments have mostly been with the higher priced bottles. One or two I just didn’t like, others I just expected more from.
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