I bought four 2018 Calluna Estate CS Chalk Hill for $24.99 each with free shipping. Pretty pleased with the purchase.
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I bought 6, figured why not
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“All” doesn’t get you many, try searching “red” “white” “sparkling” etc, or specific regions and subregions. I’ll search Bordeaux and then Margaux and some Margaux will show up under Bordeaux but not under Margaux.
You’re right, I searched using ‘red’ and it brought up more wines than when I used ‘all’ earlier. I ended up ordering the following and using the code “20YEARS” to get $10 off.
| 94 Pt. Keiser Family ‘Icon’ Oakville Cabernet Sauvignon 2023 Product ID: (92836) | 4 | $24.99 |
| 95 Pt. Foxen Santa Maria Valley Syrah Tinaquaic Vineyard 2021 Product ID: (93433) | 1 | $24.99 |
Thanks, Max_S1, for the tip.
Searching by country name is also helpful.
A few days late but just in case anyone still is thinking about the Calluna Estate. At that price, I am a buyer even though I own more Calluna than any other producer and already have half a case of this wine. As noted, Calluna is sort of between what one thinks of as Bordeaux and Sonoma. Of all the wines they make, the Estate takes the most time before I find it ready to drink. I have vintages back to 2009 and can’t say that I felt any are fully ready to go.
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How drinkable would the 2018 be? Must be with food, or just not wide open? Or not worth opening for 5 years?
I would say “Just not wide open”. I don’t know that I have tried the 2018 but as a general feeling for the Estate across vintages, I often feel like it was good but still has potential to be great if I wait. Contrast this with the CVC, Merlot, and even the Colonial, where I think that they are often very good to great young and while they could get better there is less reason to wait. So I drink those first and eventually get to the Estate.
All that being said, the 2018 was released four years ago. It has had some time, more would do it good but no harm in drinking now, especially at that price. I can’t think of many California cab based wines that are better at that price, maybe nine. But then again, I am a big fan.
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I had an ‘18 Calluna 12-15 months ago, IIRC it needed about an hour of air to rev up. I enjoyed it and placed an order (somewhat limited due to space) with WTSO.
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For those who like it ripe and lush and awesome….RR Poet Allusion PineBrake 2021 is a merlot dominant with CF included blend. Really polished wine. Not quite full bodied but really a terrific hedonistic wine.
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Terrible name for a wine but the winemaker looks respectable. And at 14.9% abv and 3.85 pH approaching boom boom territory. Weird the reviews read it is lighter than that but wondering if they were reviewed during shock phase.
I am also interested in the Royal Prince. Double 94 and a 93+. It was $54.99 at wine.com, so it’s a good, but not great, deal. Vivino reviews are ok. CT reviews decent. Maybe someone on this board has some firsthand experience?
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2013 Stag’s Leap Battuello for $50. Seems like a good deal. In for 2.
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I was considering the 2013 Stag’s Leap Battuello but couldn’t find any pro reviews for it. There seems to be a lot of Stag’s Leap on WTSO lately. I’ve bought a vertical of merlot, 2 Rancho Chimiles Vineyard cabs and the 3 pack of 2012 cabs they may still have. That’s enough for me.
Tomorrow, we get a Red Mountain mystery Cabernet from WTSO. I guessed that it will be a wine from Fidelitas, based on the very initial clues. Either way, I am probably in, as I love Red Mtn. Cab.
Scrapping that guess because of the $100 price.
Col Solare? Interesting that they don’t mention a vintage.
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Maybe I’m too focused on ratings but the 93 score is a little underwhelming for me. Same with today’s Wine Spies MSRP $225 wine with a 93+ from WA. My impression is that wines like this that went for really high price tags at the winery were very good, but not good enough for tourists to spend $100 - $250 on.
I’ve had a 2015 Episode before and it is well worth the $80 Wine Spies price. Fantastic wine, but not worth the original $225. And that’s why it is showing up discounted.
Col Solare was the main Gemini guess, though it also spit out Kiona and DeLille as other possibilities. I didn’t do any further researching on pricing however.