Paging @larry_schaffer
Very interesting indeed - as there just really is not much of that variety planted in Napa Valley at all. I might be tempted to try a bottle but not sure I’d want a case without prior knowledge of producer and style . . .
Cheers!
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Was hoping you could give us a source guess given how limited the variety is in Napa!
“One of the first to plant the varietal in Napa.”
I have come up with Hayfork, Priest Ranch, Kale, Elizabeth Spencer and Tom Eddy, but none of them seem to fit.
I think Gratus Vineyards might be the most likely fit, but I have no clue with such limited information available on them!
Interestingly it never says it’s 100% Grenache Blanc, just 100% estate grown.
Wonder if it has petrol notes 
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Vitor,
Same as many others. More cellar maintenance than cellar building.
I bought 19.5 cases of dN in 2024, mainly various CS & PN’s #433-#525.
Current personal consumption has been ~365/year about 30 cases.
Soooo, I intend to stockpile 2023’s to the rafters. I trust dN, still.
$120 for $20 works fine for me still.
Meomi, etc is $20+, and it’s kinda yucky not yummy.
Super double extra easy Pass on #526……
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Yeah…Meiomi PN is probably one of the worst wines I’ve tried in my life. I’m surprised so many retailers carry that crap and so many people buy it lol… I’d rather drink grape juice with vodka…
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Boy do they not want you to buy 6. First 6 almost $19 a bottle. Second six $8 a bottle
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While my laptop was crunching some data I had some free time to look over the last year of dN offers.
I think I finally put my finger on why none of them have tempted me to even go in for a 6-pack. The tasting notes seem to emphasize the fruit profile and downplay the structure, minerals, acidity, and oak influence. Also noticed that some of the offers didn’t even mention the % of new oak.
Most of the PN offers sounded like a generic shelf talker at Bevmo. With the oak content of some of them had I needed more detail on how the oak influence was impacting the wine. It was also great to have some indication/guess on how it was going to evolve. Cam’s TNs really did help sell the wine for us.
N.526 would have been something in the past I would have ordered a 6-pack on a whim. But as Luke said, they really do not want you to buy that 6-pack at that pricing. Reading in further, I noticed they never said it was 100% GB - so is this really a Rhone style blend that happens to be 75%+ GB? This all makes it so that I have no idea what style of wine this is really going to be. It could be something up my ally or it could be too heavy and fruit forward.
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I’m kind of like Chris (also in Washington) and while I like the Napa cabs I kind of prefer the WA cabs from DN for the QPR. My last futures order was 400,401. I did go back and buy some things from the bottle shop past that (352, 353) when there were sales. The combination of no more Cam influence/palate combined with the more dubious descriptions and the type of offers since then plus a glut of 2018-2020 DN in cellar has held back my buying unless it’s something really appealing. And almost everything post 400 hasn’t fit that bill for me…
Now if we start getting some great QPR 2023 Red Mountain Cab’s (ala 230, 240) or other 2023’s that aren’t costing over $25 a bottle, I will most certainly buy to replenish those stocks which are slowly being depleted.
I had only one shipping issue which was not DN’s fault as UPS delivered to the wrong address 45 miles away and the package bounced around their system before eventually going back to DN and they shipped a replacment (n.365).
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sure seems like these newbie owners could easily retrace where Cam’s best offers came from
not rocket science for sure 
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Lot 526 appears to be from the Somerston Estate. Not a lot of Napa vineyards with this variety, but multiple labels that source from this one and it appears to fits the minimal description (hillside, etc.) nicely. Tom Eddy, Kale & Longfellow all appear to have small production bottlings from this vineyard which roughly fit the MSRP too. Probably as close as we’re going to get. Not familiar enough with the varietal to go in for a full case, unless anyone has specific experience with these source guesses?
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But if it’s estate, wouldn’t it be Priest Ranch then? They make a GB, just doesn’t fit the price point. Maybe a mailing list cuvee?
I’m a little bit tempted. The description says “single varietal expression”. How could that be a blend? Is it the same thing where it just takes a certain percentage of cab to call something a cabernet? Single varietal seems pretty definitive. What is giving me pause is that they’re really hyping up the apples. A hint of apple is fine, but they mention apple three times in a short write up. Is this cider?
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Screw it, I had some rewards so I bit. If anyone in Chicago wants to try, let me know!
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I’m also tempted, but a hard sell on a solid case of anything given my storage shortage. Also want to stock up on '23s; I had two mixed cases of Navarro on hand but just got two more to get their '23 whites. Too much!
Big fan of Rhone reds and whites, although for a varietal so supposedly rare, there are a few around. On CT, I also found recent Napa Grenache Blancs from Loomis (2021 on Wine Access @ $35 now), ZD, and Chateau Potelle. So that narrows it down to ten possibilities…?
Would be more tempted knowing more about it or getting some Berserker beta.
@J_Patrick_Lynch - please post a tasting note when you get it!
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Speaking of too much Navarro, it pained me to have to pass on their Fukubukuro (Lucky Bag) offer, which I’ve done in the past and gotten pretty lucky, like 3 Méthode Ancienne PNs + Gewurztraminer and Riesling.
6 Bottle mystery mix. back vintages: $75.00 (add 6 more bottle for 1¢ S&H)
https://www.navarrowine.com/shop/2025-fukubukuro-sampler
Sought them out years ago for the Gerwuz, one of the best outside of Alsace, discovered the charms of Anderson Valley Pinot; now a regular, they do a great job with all their wines. No, I don’t get a commission 
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Another Edouard Delaunay? (Haven’t opened one yet, but the cork on the 2019 Eleveur Nuits-Saint-Georges shows Edouard Delaunay.) They offer a 2020 Vosne-Romanee Le Village -
Total Wine lists it at $129.99. Not sure the description matches - looks like the 2020 Delaunay spent 17 mo’s in 50% new oak, and with no punch down… But their 2019 Vosne-Romanee did undergo 2 punch downs over a 20 day period and the wood does match. I think our folks at de Negoce just conflated the two vintages.
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Josh,
Somerston owns two brands: Somerston and Priest Ranch.
Priest Ranch’s best “Estate” fruit gets branded as Somerston for Wine club and tasting room purchasers. Slow foot traffic/ Wine Club drops leads to selling to next bidder.
Cheers, Tim
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