Havens? Aaron Pott?

WTSO has a 2009 Rutherford Meritage from Havens made by Aaron Pott up now for $19.99. I gotta buy anything Aaron makes that I can get for $20.

My real question is what is the deal with Havens coming back? I googled it and didn’t find much other than an investor group bought the name and hired Aaron. Anyone have any insight?

Google is your friend:

Basically sounds like Havens as a brand was sold and continues to exist without involvement from the eponymous founder. Which doesn’t sound like a good thing. However, Aaron Pott is highly regarded, so maybe it is a good thing with regards to the quality…and if it’s your thing, $19.99 certainly seems worth taking a gamble on for a Cab-based wine made by Aaron Pott, regardless of brand.

Not so fast. Cellar tracker is also your friend…doesn’t sound promising.

The investment group that bought the Havens label is headed by some guy who owned/produced Stonehedge wines according to one link above. This is the stuff that I’ve seen only at Trader Joe’s, though perhaps they have broader distribution. It may be decent wine for daily drinking, but coming from a (quasi?) private label TJs producer isn’t exactly a great pedigree for continuing Havens as it was.

So wait - two total CT reviews, one positive and one negative, imply that this wine “doesn’t sound promising?” Okay…

And not that I truly care, I’m not buying one way or the other. That said, $20 for a an Aaron Pott made Cab-blend from Rutherford still seems like it’d be worth taking a gamble on if the style is in your wheelhouse.

Regardless, the OP was asking for info on the “new” Havens label, not the quality. I was simply providing links to help with this request, hence the “google is your friend remark…”

I had googled it and had seen the hits linked above and the mixed/disappointing cellar tracker results. I was looking for a little more info.

I was discussing with a friend last night and we were a little surprised by someone purchasing the Havens brand and hire Aaron. Hiring Aaron suggests that they are serious about making Napa cab at a relatively high price point. If that is your objective, why buy the Havens name instead of developing a de novo brand. It’s not like the Havens brand has any particular cache in the market you would be trying to sell into. Are there other assets they got with the name? Wine making equipment you could have bought without using the name. A mailing list? I don’t think Havens would be a particularly good source for that.

I just find it a little odd, but beauty is in the eye of the beholder I guess.

Winemaking investors … a fool and his money …

I have no clue about the business plan or the strategy, but most any winemaker will do the best with what he/she is offered if the reimbursement is right. I wish them well as I’m a fan of Aaron’s wines in general.

Well the fact that they called it Havens rather than a new name has already generated some discussion here. So I guess it has at least some marketing cache, in certain circles anyway.

Let’s be objective here…the Trader Joe’s-Havens association is really not a bad thing. I mean, look what TJ’s did for the moribund Charles Shaw brand!

Notice the new tasting note on this wine this morning? Looks a little suspicious to me. First post ever and very favorable. Coincidence?

No doubt. I wonder how often this happens with flash site brands that are unknown, especially WTSO…pretty easy to sign up for a CT account.

I passed on the wine because of the critical ct review. I’m guessing/speculating that they wanted to generate some quick cash flow and sourced grapes for 2009 from somewhere. I’m sure Aaron did the best he could with what he got. The new ct note this morning is sort of interesting, and obvious, though. I’m going to go to ct and see what Eric’s policies are about policing things like that.

Well for starters, next each note is a simple link to send a report directly to me. Second of all, without giving it all away, let’s just say that a drive-by posting won’t actually impact the community average. If he sticks around and posts other notes then his scores will start to stick.

What is a realistic expectation for a $20 bottle anyway? Taking into account the lowest cellar tracker score of 89 and its description, this Havens seems like a fairly priced wine. “Blind you would think Bordeaux” and “Really improved over the course of the evening” I’d say that might be worth a $20 gamble.

it’s $20. Take a chance! (then post a TN).

I asked Michael if he wanted to comment here but he asked if I would in his stead as he is dealing with some family health issues. This was his response to me:

“For the record, I’m not involved in any way, was approached but declined. The project is Aaron blending bulk wine, not making it. I am a partner in Abrente, and am consulting on other projects.”

For the record, I am both a long-time friend of Michael’s and his partner in the Abrente brand (where I basically leach his wisdom when it comes to Albarino).

Personally, I have no idea if the wine is good or not. I hate to see my friend’s namesake former winery label (and it is such a lovely label designed by his wife Kathryn, who also did the Bedrock label) get taken over by anyone else. That said, I respect Aaron Pott as a winemaker (I am actually wearing a Chester’s Anvil t-shirt as I type) so I hope the wine in the bottle lives up, in some small part, with the heights that Michael attained while running the winery.