I have been on Cayuse’s mailing list including Bionic Frog since 2014. Today I asked the winery how long the current expectation is for someone waiting to make their mailing list: 8 to 9 years and then another 5 to 6 for Bionic Frog.
That’s a total wait of 13-15 years to be able to buy Bionic Frog.
Does anyone know of any other winery anywhere on earth that has a longer wait for a wine?
When I factor in another 5+ year wait for bottle age after receiving the wine that’s 20 years!
I’ve only opened one bottle of Bionic Frog since receiving my first (2015) and it was extraordinary. Now, approaching my 75th birthday, I’m going to have to open a few more.
Addendum: I opened a bottle of ‘14 Cayuse Armada several months ago and believe it may have been the equal of any Syrah I have had. Cayuse is worth the extraordinary wait.
I think I’d reach out about that. I signed up in 2014 or so and got an offer for a 6-pack of chardonnay in about 2-3 years time. I didn’t take it at the time and haven’t heard back since. Seems like if one ball gets dropped, there may not be a mechanism in place to retain interested parties that may have missed a communication. I’m confident that Marcassin does not have a 20 year wait list. I signed up for SQN around the same time and do get a (more lengthy than necessary) annual apology email.
As to the OP, I’d venture a guess that if you sign up for MACDONALD today, you may be looking at a 20 (or more) year wait. The same could be said for Screaming Eagle. I don’t know of any other US brands where the secondary market prices have such a delta over the list price that people never drop off as active buyers.
The nice thing is that you can buy Cayuse, No Girls, Horsepower etc all on the secondary market with a minimal markup; which to me is worth a lot more than having to wait 20 years to see if they are any good.
Bionic Frog is $345 for a three pack ($115 each-$300+ each on the resale market. I am deeply appreciative to Cayuse for holding down their price on this wine. I believe that most bottles will be drank not sold. (Armada is $282 for a three pack)
Screaming Eagle is another matter: high $2000’s-low $3,000’s per 750 ml bottle. I sincerely wonder how many people are actually drinking this wine? There are a lot of auctions and stores offering it on both sides of the Atlantic.
Tangential to the question, it’s been posted by me and others that Reynvaan is stylistically and quality wise very close to Cayuse. Reynvaan is certainly available on the secondary market without the mark-up of Cayuse and may have a shorter wait list. Just a suggestion. Cheers
I signed up for Cayuse ~10 years ago and have been offered a three pack of one of their bottlings for the past couple years. Told them to just drop me.
I was on Reynvaan’s list from the start (first Stonessence was 2009). Their wine is outstanding. I also believe they have their own several year wait now but am not sure.
I’m about eight years also for Sine Qua Non. But with Cayuse there is an additional 5-6 years for the Frog after making the list.
FWIW I opened my last bottle of 2009 Sanguis Six White Horses a year or so ago. That was a great bottle, too.
I am a huge fan of both Walla Walla (I started with Leonetti in the early ‘90’s-their ‘05 Reserve is one of the best WA state bottles ever) and Santa Barbara.
I have been waiting on Cayuse waiting list for 10 years and still have not gotten an offer. It has affected my perception and feelings towards Cayuse, even though I know there is nothing they can do about it. In the meantime, of course, I collect bottles from the secondary market, but it makes me feel like an outsider scavenger.
You’re probably in a no-win situation. The list (at least as it gives access to the Bionic Frog specifically) isn’t going to clear as long as there is a big spread between the release price and the market value. Same with Screaming Eagle. People aren’t going to drop off from the right to buy a $300-400 wine for $135, whether they want to drink them, sell them, or some of each.
The way you probably break through is if the release price and market value get very close to each other, most likely by Cayuse increasing the release price and/or increasing the production. At which point, there won’t be much value to you in getting to buy directly from the winery.
That’s how it went with wines like Harlan and Shafer Hillside Select. Eventually the release price moved up to capture all or almost all of the market value, and then it became pretty easy to get an allocation.
As of this year I stopped buying Cayuse, including Bionic Frog, so to whoever gets my spot: you’re welcome. (No hard feelings toward them; I just have too much, find that I’m not in the mood for it very often, and was trying cut down on my lists.)
