Thanks for the heads up. Grabbed a few before the keg kicked. I have always enjoyed this wine, but have never seen it priced anything close to this.
Yeah I saw the guy on cellar tracker raving about it for $30. At $15 seems like an immediate buy
2012 Firefly cab for $12.99?
I bought 4 a while back. Definitely better than $12
Firefly is really good stuff.
Elite? No
Will you ever be disappointed? Probably not.
Hard to beat for a weekday bottle.
1 Like
Not much but BBQ10 gets you $10 off $100.
2 Likes
John Glas? Uh oh. Proceed with caution! He posted 31/48 reviews on CT for this wine.
Solid producer though, so doubt you’ll miss for $15. It’s back in stock for my region.
1 Like
I got a few ‘13 Firefly (the regular bottling not the Stephanie, which has also been making the rounds on flash sites over the years) from Vivino a few months ago for < $15. I can confirm that it is indeed a solid bottle of wine and holding up remarkably well.
2 Likes
Anyone have experience with Martin Ray? Seems like the cab program is outside their regular winemaking team?
Took a flyer on a couple of Martin Ray Synthesis – 2018, IIRC. In a word, meh.
Is martin ray owned by courtney benham, also denegoce new owner?
3 Likes
Yeah that’s interesting. They must believe the brand can move at a better price point or they just oopsied and bottled a bit more than could sell under that label. Maybe this one off is testing the waters a bit.
The Brand Martin Ray has been around in its current state for over 20 years. Its not taking DN juice to see if they can move it at a higher price point under a “new” label
Courtney Benham purchased Martin Ray and also owns majority stake in deNegoce. Plenty of speculation that the “Core Collection” now part of deNegoce is produced from either Martin Ray or one of the other brands to move excess capacity production. What I’m wondering is why sell to a third party discount outlet when you have other outlets to sell. Not suggesting Martin Ray is taking wine from elsewhere and selling it under their label if that’s what you thought I was saying (sorry if not clear).
They do a ton of private label slop for Total Wine
2 Likes
never had any MR wine specifically. But just saying it was a brand that was alive and kickin’ well before DN. And even the story on their website starts with someone finding this old wine in a warehouse and blowing it out, so yeah that model seems to be the founding principle of the winery
1 Like
Purchased 4x of the 2019 Il Paradiso di Cacuci Brunello di Montalcino @ $25.50 (w/coupon).
I visited this producer in 2021 where I was able to taste the '16s. I was even able to snag a pink labeled bottle that was a hommage to Stage 11 of the Giro that finished in Montalcino in 2021 (won by Mauro Schmid). I also was able to find a pink bottle from Ciacci Piccolomini d’Aragona. Poor guys at Paradiso had their entire grounds uprooted by wild boar the night before we arrived. The wine was powerful, but showed mindful restraint. I’m a little surprised at the lack of CT scores.
While Montalcino soil is far from harmonious, this producer has some great neighbors: Le Chiuse, Sassetti Livio Pertimali, and relative newbies Del Pino and JG Benda.
2 Likes
I’m curious if anyone else bought that Royal Prince Reserve I recommended and has tasted it. Such a ridiculously good $29 Napa cab. It has such decent tannin and acid structure I think it still needs several more years to open up.
I bought one, but its still inthe case club bank
1 Like
I bought a few, based on your recommendation, but am waiting on the weather to cooperate.