Pott Offering

WINE TALK
21

I am sensing wine wagers in our near future…

22

I thought all the wines were outstanding and I am not particularly a big fan of cali cab. If I had to rate them it would be the same as charlies but with the Cab Franc on top. This will be the only vintage of Cab Franc so… i would be sure to include some in your purchase. $90+ Is a lot for a bottle of juice and more than i usually like to pay but I will be buying some of these: probably a half case. I would love to know if anyone is going to take their full allocation of 4+ cases.

23

A few people have but none from the board. Many bought a mixed case.
[bye2.gif]

24

Whether true or not (I’ll guess not, btw), do you think it proper to post this? If you have a connection with Pott, this seems to be an unnecessary and potentially damaging bit of information to post publicly.

25

+1.
Seems a bit out of place to mention that here. Almost like this board is an under-achiever/performer compared to others.

What’s next? Cab prices won’t come down or Costco.com out of the Cabernet business? [stirthepothal.gif]

26

Whether the members here have or have not, whether they are under or over achievers in buying wine, to me, it seems improper to post something like that, and I’m assuming that you work for Pott in some way. I can’t imagine they would be pleased in this being posted on a public forum with thousands of unique visitors a month…

27

I have no candle in this funeral (other than I bought three bottles of the stuff) but how do you see it as damaging? I dont think anyone expects many people to buy 4 cases of $90+ wines on a flier in the first vintage, regardless of wine maker and vineyard. Just curious how you think this is potentially damaging Todd.

28

It seems to be private information for the winery, and its buyers, no??

29

Last night I had the opportunity to try through three bottles of newly offered Pott wine, compliments of an earlier tasting via Roy.

The bottles had been open most/all day, so this wasn’t a pop and pour (not to mention there were only a scant few ounces of each). I can say that across the board, aromatically I can’t remember more expressive, unique and wonderful wines.

Pantagruel-- The cab franc. Chocolate, cherry & floral. Balanced, with a blackberry, juicy core. My wife has a very demanding palate and while she went this one & the Spring Mtn cab as her favorite, she ultimately settled on this one.

Neruda - Oakville Cabernet. Lush, sweet nose. Terrific palate coverage from entry to finish, nothing misses. Longest finish of the three, goes on & on. Once again, the balance here is impeccable.

Kahiholmanok - Spring Mountain Cab. This has been my favorite from the beginning. Perhaps the third time I’ve had this one and it always does me right. Purple fruited, very expressive. The thing that I can’t figure out is how he got the fruit in this one. Most Spring Mountain cabs I’ve had tend to have structure for days – so much so that there is little taste in the mid. Aaron got blackberry and some raspberry right in the middle, which for me sets it apart from any other Spring Mountain cab I’ve had the opportunity to try.

30

Well yeah, it would be if he sad “Scott Manlin bought the whole allocation.” but I dont see what he said as disclosure of some secret with consequence. Im pretty sure most people assume that at least one rich guy went all in, and the majority of buyers did not. Why any of us gives a shit, well theres a different question [stirthepothal.gif] I got what you were concerned about though. Thanks for satisfying my curiosity, thought I was missing something.

31

Damaging or not, Roy’s continual rah-rah’ing friends/acquaintances Napa Cabs is growing super old. I know I’m not the only one who rolls his eyes with every pompom wave.

32

would like to buy a 6-pack but not this month. if wine is still there next month i’ll peek again @ $90 Cab.

33

All in on an another too expensive calfornia cabernet, yikes, that would be more that “sad”…it would be crazy…

I see no reason, personally, to spend that much on a new california wine…there are very very few wines that I believe deserve such premium pricing… while I am sure the wines are very good and have great pedigrees, I have not tasted them, and at those price points, really have no interest to do so. If he can sell 'em, more power to him, that would be great for him…

34

that doesn’t mean it’s damaging just cause it’s “private” info.

35

i’m tired of your Pittsburgh fandom in your signature neener (just kidding)

36

LOL!

37

call me roy’s bitch if you will, but i have had very good experience following his notes, the most recent one that i can recall being the arkenstone, which he recommended in the spring i believe, i bought and really loved. if you’ve had a bad experience following his advice that’s another thing…but i haven’t. in the case of pott his positive view is obviously shared by many others in this thread. i look forward to trying the wines and hope that roy (and others, of course) will continue to post on new finds.

and todd, its your board, so you call the shots, but i didn’t see what was damaging or a breach of confidence in roy’s comments on the purchase patterns at pott. all one has to do is read this thread - or countless other mailer threads - to see far more detail revealed than in roy’s general observation - i.e. ‘i’m in for 3 each of the merlot, the cab, and the petite syrah’. one could glean far more detailed data about purchasing patterns from those comments (including who the specific buyers are!) than from roy’s.

just my $.02…

38

I don’t mind when others post their own, but when someone who assumably works there writes things like that, it certainly turns me off at minimum, but I would be concerned as a business owner if that was being done with my business, frankly.

39

I would not give out any personal info on who purchases what, but there is nothing wrong with answering whether some people have gone “all in.” Of course some have. There is nothing new under the sun. Some people bought as little as 2 bottles and some bought multiple cases. This is true with almost any order I have ever heard of on this board; Carlisle, Saxum, whoever. I don’t give out any proprietary info. That being said, I think the part I should not have said was “none from here.” Yep, my bad. But that is pretty minor. Now…if I said Pott has sold X cases of Y wine or any such thing like John Smith bought Z amount, that would be another story. Look how many people openly say “I bought this and that wine, and in this amount.” Happens all the time.

As for who I “pompom” on, there are four major ones I have mentioned between the two boards in the last year; Arkenstone, Pott and after trying a barrel sample 9 months ago, Alpha Omega (plus Realm.) I did not start this Pott thread, but I commented on it once it arose, which of course I knew it would. I would not start it because I have a working relationship with Aaron. But he is not my boss. He consults for Seven Stones and I am an employee. He is my mentor though, and a great friend, but people know that, so they can take it into account. But he also has 5 other clients and no one has heard me ever comment on those wines, have they?

Arkenstone is a venture I found when I was originally looking for a custom-crush facility. I went up and was stunned at the size of the project and once I had the wine, I wanted to spill the beans on it. I have never seen anyone involved with the project outside of a wine event or at the winery. I’ve never spent personal time with anyone there, and I am not paid by them. I have one employer, Seven Stones.

I guess I have also spilled the beans on Realm’s 2007s, which were insane when I had them last in barrel. I do know Juan Mercado well. He is a friend, yes, AFTER I first started tasting the wines. I am not the only one who likes Realm and AO, and in fact, this board has really taken a shine to AO lately on their own. But herein lies the rub… if I try a wine that I really like, I fully INTEND to get to know those people. And if I become friends with them, so much the better! A few people bought Arkenstone based on my original thread, and now a couple have tasted them on the boards and seem to really like the wines. So it paid off for them. If people buy a wine I say kicks butt and a number of them do not like the wines, then I would slowly lose credibility there. Board members here in the valley know about all the wines I have tasted and NOT commented on, especially one new venture in particular.

But I have recommended wines before I ever moved to Napa and before they had been scored by anyone. 2003 Kosta-Brownes, the 2001 Rudd Jericho Canyon and 2001 Neal “Second Chance,” all awesome wines. Now that I am here, I try stuff all the time. I try at least 1000 wines a year. How many do I post on? If I decide to keep quiet on the wines made by people I like, then at this pace I will not be able to talk about any wine soon enough, as I intend to get to know as many good producers and owners as possible. And it should be noted that I have not started any thread about Seven Stones since working there. And I never posted about Quintessa when I worked there. And I have my own wine too. No threads about that so far either.

I am not a wine critic and, as I stated on the Squires Board, find “objectivity” completely over-rated. I don’t care if so and so is being paid to recommend wines. All I care about is…“is he accurate?” If I can base my purchases on his notes reliably, then I got what I wanted. If I can’t, then I could care less how objective he is or how he pays for his own lunch. Since I am not taking money from board members and I am not compensated in any way for saying “this is a helluva Rutherford Cab” (unless you count getting to hang out with cool people as comp) then I owe no objectivity whatsoever. In fact, I plan to go the other route and stay passionate about the wines I like and spread the word far and wide if I can, within reason.

So, just to upset the new board police, I will say that I had a few of Aaron’s 2009 wines the last few days; and The Arsenal and Incubo are fantastic, especially The Incubo. So in two years when those go on sale keep them in mind. neener

PS- also, Helen Keplinger, whom I know, but am not friends with (yet) has made a killer 2007 Petite Sirah, called “Sumo,” which is a hedonistic, velvety smooth Pet, for $40, and I recommend it fully.

40

Did you say ‘sale’? [training.gif]