I thought you fans of Havens might be interested in this…I purchased in shiner the 2007 Havens Black and Blue bottling and have relabeled it under our Lot program as Cameron Hughes Lot 179 2007 Napa Valley Cabernet/Syrah. The wine, previously retailed $40-50, we are selling for $15.
Here are my sell notes:
And now for a special release I strongly encourage you to try: Lot 179 2007 Napa Valley Cabernet/Syrah blend (formally known as Havens Black and Blue), a profound wine with gorgeous color, aromatics, and structure. It comes with a long life ahead of it and pedigree behind it, having scored 91 and 93 points from Parker in 2004 and 2005, respectively (not sure why the 2006 was never reviewed). One of their winemakers noted to us (with proper irony, of course) that the 2007 was the finest Black and Blue they have ever made (which is not surprising given the terrific 2007 vintage). The inspiration behind this wine is an effort to achieve a balanced-yet-dynamic tension between the Syrah and the Cabernet. The 2007 does that in spades.
The Cabernet components are sourced from the Havens estate fruit in Yountville, while the Syrah grapes come from the famous Hudson vineyard in Carneros. The fruit is co-fermented and then racked into 60% new oak (primarily Boutes) for about 18 months. Deep purple and dense with hints of red around the rim, Lot 179 is full-bodied, very complex, and ripe with camphor-like aromas, mocha, blackberries, and smoked meat. The palate is firm yet fleshy and seamless with a powerful structure, awesome complexity, and serious ageing potential. This is a special wine, unique, truly soulful, and musical, with a clear voice. I think this wine was priced at $50 two years ago and was a relative bargain to other Napa reds. It’s certainly an incredible deal now priced at $15 .
Thanks for the tip. Had the '06 Black and Blue back in Jan and thought it was excellent with even better potential for 2-3 years down the road. Will keep an eye out for the “179”.
Mel: Blicker Pierce had a number a cases at $17/bottle back in Dec/Jan, but they went pretty quickly. Quite a bargain and if the '07 is as good or better, agree that $15 is certainly a buy.
Yep, and I got one of them (gave them out as x-mass presents)
And, BP did a bang up job getting me the wine quickly when the delivery to
them was late. Great customer service!
Cameron, I’m a huge Black and Blue fan in other vintages and ordered some 179. Thanks for that. Do you hapen to know what happened to the 2007 Havens Cabernet(only made in 2006 otherwise under the Havens label and largely cornered by K&L in that vintage) if any was bottled or available in bulk in that vintage. I thought the 06 was very good. Thanks for any insights, hopefully you have some of the Cab in pre-release!
Hey Rich - I have no idea where that might be…it was never on any inventory that I saw so it had to have been picked off before I got there or it wasn’t made in 2007…we will be releasing the 2007 Syrah here shortly and then running a sale on the 2007 Merlot (currently on the site as Lot 169) before finally selling the 2007 Reserve Hudson vineyard Merlot as soon as I can get labels on it…
Hi Loren - we didn’t get the 2007 Bourriquot…long story but to make it short the wine was sold out from underneath the contract. Anyhow, I do own the 2008 in barrel and will be bottling that later this year. I think someone bought the IP on Bourriquot and is thinking of relaunching it but that’s only a guess…
Yes, intellectual property. My understanding was they bought the rights to the Bourriquot name but not Havens.
GOOD NEWS - I forgot about this but just found out I have about 25 cases of 2007 Bourriquot magnums and 80 cases of the 375ml’s…the wines label up later this month for an October release.
Cameron: Since its an October release the splits dont seem to be up on your sales page Can we order some 179 and splits now, at the same time? Or would we have to wait for two orders/two shipments?
Hi Doug - we are migrating at the end of the month to a system that will allow you to do that but for the near term it is inviting trouble given the volume that moves through our system.
I think if you contact darlyne.miller@chwine.com she can guide you on the best way to proceed. Maybe order the 179 now and put it on hold 'til october or something like that…
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