Agree MDM - and if they’re cutting costs on something so visible, it also makes you wonder what other corners they’re cutting where we can’t see…
Anyone else notice the diam 30s on 478 courtesy of our RC friends up on Howell mountain?
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20% off this weekend in the B.S., anyone going to get this one:
I AM a “Cork Dork”:
Christian Moueix, part owner of Pétrus and owner of other prestigious estates in Pomerol and St.-Emilion, said he has prohibited reconditioning bottles at his estates since 1998 because he thought the service could be susceptible to fraud. “It’s just too hard to control,” he said.
Another key point: Over the last 20 years of tasting fine, rare wines, I have found that bottles that have been recorked almost always taste worse than those that have their original corks, assuming the bottles have equally high fill-levels. I find reconditioned bottles to have a slightly dull, almost mushroomy character. Nonetheless, due to their pretty appearance, these reconditioned bottles often fetch higher prices in auctions than dusty old bottles.
In any case, the best way to avoid the whole issue is through good storage practices. Wines kept in cool, humid cellars rarely need recorking. And if you plan on drinking your wines, not selling them, you don’t need to worry about fresh labels and new corks. I believe a large number of people who have their bottles reconditioned are primarily interested in their resale value. That’s what triggered this whole mess in the first place.
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Does anyone know what kind of cork is used in the current Martin Ray Rutherford CS’s, etc?
With my eyes on future 2023 Vintage purchases, I hope the top shelf fancy booze Northern California red wines come with a closure that suits its quality and age ability. Like #518 that I just ordered?
I’m totally fine with no capsule, an inexpensive 2 color label, even cheap glass bottles.
But the cork is no place to shave minor expenses. Right?
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Anybody here on the board with concerns about quality of cork closures, maybe email Andre? He’s operational officer at de Negoce. Any response back- elaborate here with rest of us.
"To run De Negoce, Benham hired two veterans of the original Cameron Hughes Wine operations, Andre Yen "
Cheers, Tim
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About Cam disapppearing in 2023 and seemingly muzzled from all public discourse.
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Hi,
I’ve completed the inventory so now I know what is available. Here is the list with numbers available and price per bottle. Others will ordering some of the same wines so nobody will get to buy all of a particular # unless they are the only one expressing interest. Please let me know if there is anything here that you want. After I collect the orders and make the distribution decisions, I’ll pick a weekend day for people to come to Berkeley to pick them up. I live in SF so bringing them over here is a possibility. Thanks.
30 3 $ 22
41 5 25
43 4 18
46 2 26
47 4 26
49 3 15
50 5 21
59 2 30
64 2 25
66 3 22
70 6 20
71 4 23
72 6 16
80 2 22
82 6 20
89 2 15
91 2 15
94 2 14
100 4 20
105 4 20
106 2 14
120 4 25
126 5 17
129 2 18
139 3 17
150 4 18
153 3 14
199 2 26
200 3 36
298 4 32
354 5 15
370 4 15
428 3 15
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Sent you a private message. Thanks!
Ditto.
Yeah, the we got great deals so it’s all fine thing doesn’t work for me. The entire business model was built around our buying too much wine, they have to assume that many of those people will need to take a while to drink it all. If a lot of this will need to be poured down the drain in 2030 I’m f’ed.
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Tim, I think you may have misinterpreted that message chain. The concern I expressed wasn’t at all with the closures Cam used, but the new ones used by the new regime which in my limited experience do look like a significant drop in quality.
Do you have Andre’s email? I’d be happy to reach out, but don’t expect more than a corporate type answer.
Cheers!
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Carlos,
My comments were related to what Cameron had a choice to use vs what Courtney’s group has CHOSE to use now.
I do not have Andre’s email. I’m certain as a customer of de Negoce, you could ask support for the closure of the Future of Wine actually are??
Jonah,
I agree, why they had to offer cases, it was economical and ensured we all purchased “too much wiine” in a sense. I’ve got enough de Negoce wine to last me until 2030 and beyond. 
I sent the following message to dN support yesterday but haven’t heard anything back, not even a “thanks, we’ll get back to you.”
I am contacting you because recent posts on the de Negoce WineBeserkers thread have questioned the quality of the new corks and the ability of the corks to sustain extended aging of the higher quality reds. When Cameron Hughes ran the company, he made a point of using diam and vinc closures to ensure extended age-ability.
I have been a de Negoce customer since almost the beginning. I usually store the red wines for 2-3 years before starting to drink them. I expect to have some of my de Negoce red wine for 10-15 years. Please advise whether the current corks (with the imprint of three bottles) will support extended aging.
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Looks great, but still holding out for the Spring Mtn Prop Red. I quenched my thirst with the 518 Malbec purchase. I actually hope they have all three Spring Mtn. offers up at once so we can compare.
“Hundreds of new faces” …I assume from the SF newspaper write up?
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Assume this the SMV cab franc ?
Yes, assume being the key word! Haha. Any other guesses?
If they were smart, they would price aggressively low for a couple top lots to gin up excitement with the new crowd (and fomo at a lot selling out quickly).
But I’m not sure they have the Cam “feel for the moment”
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I wonder what the price will be on these. The SMV blend is a $180 wine.
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