In the light of other recent discussions on appropriate buying behavior (i.e. what’s classy, what’s scummy, what’s praiseworthy), I wonder what people think of this situation?
This past week Acker conducted one of its regular web auctions. They included a bunch of whole cases of The Napa Valley Reserve Red from 2001 and 2002.
For folks who don’t know what this is, TNVR is a private wine producer/club that makes wine for members only. Website here (http://www.thenapavalleyreserve.com/). One of the interesting elements of this winery is that the wine maker is Bill Harlan. Not the same as Harlan wine, but often favorably compared. I’ve had a few bottles (gifts from a friendly member) and they do indeed make excellent wines. But the wines are very hard to find as they are available only to members.
Anyway, back to Acker. Lots of cases of TNVR from 1997 - 2002, listed at a sale range of $400 - $800 or so. Excellent QPR if you like these kinds of wine. I bid on a few cases and ended up winning one, paying all in about $65 per bottle. Yay.
Why were they priced so low? My guess is it’s a combination of lack of understanding of the wine, as well as little or no data available at retail. and in Wine Searcher. That’s a great opportunity for a better informed buyer.
So … debate. Is someone getting ripped off? Are smart buyers taking advantage? Or is all this utterly fair for all parties?
IMHO, it’s perfectly fair. Seller sends wine to auction and accepts the results. The seller could set a minimum if so inclined. Buyer bids what he/she is comfortable with and accepts the results. Sounds fair to me.
Perfectly fair. There is auction history on these wines and estimates are placed accordingly. Even if the estimates were low, bidding can certainly go above the estimates.
Bill Harlan is not the winemaker. Bill has always employed winemakers, but never made wine himself. The winery team at TNVR is also different than the team for Harlan/Bond/Promontory though their is oversight from Bob Levy.
The vineyard is on the valley floor right next to the Silverado Trail in front of the Reserve itself on the way into the Meadowood entrance and bears no relation to the regular Harlan wine.
The first few vintages reportedly came from Harlan fruit as those Meadowood vines were just beginning their growth. Never been exactly sure what vintage was the transition.
I grabbed a case of the 2001 for $58 per, super steal. I’ve found wide bottle variation in past experiences with this wine on the “house” blends. There is a “house” blend and then particular members can pay up for certain rows and custom packaging. The 97 - 01 vintages seemed to have a (and as noted were rumored to have) a similarity to Harlan.