Had they let me stay on without buying the estate wines, I’d still be acquiring. Oh well.
What do you mean “stay on”? They implemented that for new members, not retroactive on existing members.
I was relatively new to the list - 2019 was the first offering I got.
$32 a bottle seems expensive for the time. I paid $20 a bottle at a retail store in DC (Mayflower) for the !984 MB.
Think I paid $45 or $46 for 1991MB and $90 for Magnum.
The release price for the '77 MB was $40, with a member price of $32, as shown in @Steve_Brickley’s post. 1977 was the 2nd year of a severe drought in northern CA. Yields were greatly reduced, and the MB production was about half of what it was in 1976 and 1978. At that time Ridge varied release prices based on quantity and quality. The 76 MB was released at $15 and the '78 was $30. The '84 was released at $35, so @Howard_Cooper’s $20 purchase was a real bargain.
Yes, even at the time I was shocked that I could get it at that price. Must have been a close-out by a distributor or something.
It is worth noting that $32 in 1977 is $158 in inflation-adjusted 2023 dollars.
(But in fairness, $35 in 1984 is worth $101 today.)
I just got an email saying I’m not going to be able to purchase 2022 futures. I may have to get off the train here. For the money I spend on the estate wines I could just purchase MB on the secondary market and come out way ahead.
I know a lot of this depends on how long ago you’ve been on the list but I’m spending hundreds on wines I’m just okay with at the prices they charge.
This is exactly why I dropped.
I think it comes down to whether you like the estate wines at 10% off, and whether you have a chance to take advantage of member benefits like free tastings. To me, the twice annual member events are making it worthwhile, and I happen to like the Estate bottlings. Getting Monte Bello at futures pricing is great, but I don’t lose sleep if I don’t. Fingers crossed, haven’t received the dreaded email yet.
When did you join the futures program? I have basically gotten 2 offers since I signed up in 2018. I got 2019, 2020 and then no offers on 18, or 21. It’s not causing me to lose sleep, just frustrating the estate shipments get charged well before there is any mention of futures availability for the season.
The irksome bit is I can usually get the estate wines locally at a better net price due to shipping. We really enjoy the estate cab, neutral on the merlot, and was less than enthusiastic on our last bottle of the Chardonnay (maybe it needs a lot of time to soak up the oak?).
Uli I would only attend an event every few years being out of state. I do see the value if I could attend.
CKam I joined around the same time as you.
Joe, it is the same at one of my local shops. I can buy the 18 or 19 Monte Bello at my store and throw it in as part of a mixed 6 for 20% off. Those still would not be as low as futures pricing but about $35 higher.
For me the biggest thing is that charge my credit card for estate wines before telling me I won’t get an allocation. This seems to be the most expensive waitlist ever. If I could at least choose the bottles I was purchasing I would not have an issue. I’m not here to knock the wine, obviously I’m trying to buy it. I do not want to be stuck buying thousands in wines for the chance I may get to buy thousands of dollars worth of wine someday. There is a lot of great wine out there especially at these prices so for me this just does not work.
I joined the MB Collector Club with vintage 2013 - every year I’ve received two bottles of MB like clockwork. Lately billing in the May/June timeframe.
Yes, I don’t pay shipping, so that helps. Regarding the Estate Chard, here’s my take from another thread - I always get two Cab and one Merlot.
Yes, they age very well. Best around 8-15 years.
It’s nuts that this is still an issue, as it presented as a problem when they made the estate wine purchase a requirement for new MB Collectors. I guess they didn’t anticipate the low yield vintages. I also suppose waiting for the final assemblage yield would push out the shipping for the estate wines too far, meaning it would be too hot in portions of the country.
Its just my first year, but it is pretty frustrating to have a mandatory purchase and then not get an allocation. At least on other lists im not required to purchase anything
My only allocation was 2019… May also have to cut bait if another year passes without one