Yep, im typically a big fan of the Mataro as well. Although i just opened a 2015 San Benito that was just ok. Nothing wrong with it…just kinda boring. Could have been an off bottle though or something
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I think the jury is still out on how some of the Sandlands reds age.
By that, I don’t mean “we know they don’t age well,” but just that it seems like an unsettled question. I would have guessed the Mataro would age longer than most of them.
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Info on the white?
No details on the save the date email unfortunately. Maybe some peeps here have the inside track though?
The previous Sandlands whites from Amador were chenin, so a chenin blend would be my first guess, but it’s only a guess.
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I am not familiar with all of Sandlands’ Amador vineyard sources. However, I can share a little bit of info on other bottlings in the line-up.
“Besson Vineyard”: The Besson family owns two ancient-growth sites in Gilroy, Santa Clara County. The Grenache fruit is highly praised for its purity and balance. Several California producers make a varietal wine from these centenarian vines.
“Brandlin Estate Vineyard”: Mr Tegan Passalacqua shared the following images from the 2022 harvest on Mt Veeder in Napa Valley. There are approximately 11 acres of Zinfandel, interplanted with Mourvèdre, Carignane, etc, at Brandlin Estate, some vines dating back as far as 1926.
“Del Barba Vineyard”: The Del Barba family tends to several properties in eastern Contra Costa County, I believe that Sandlands’ Carignan and Mataro (Mourvèdre) wines are drawn from the “Oakley Road Vineyard”. Per a February social media post, Tegan now leases this vineyard.
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I had one today, and damn, it was so good. Crisp raspberry and cranberry fruit, very transparent and honest, great mineral and acids.
If you like the Sandlands style, this kills it. It rivals the Trousseau for my favorite in the lineup. I’m taking every bottle I get allocated next week.
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Anyone else have their allocation cut from their first look?
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What do you mean?
I first looked at 9:10 and ordered at 9:12. Not sure of any changes. In for nearly two cases, across the board.
I opened mine and took look. Went back and I swore that some of the bottles I had been allocated were moved to wishlist. Not sure if I wasn’t supposed to be offered them in the first place or they became unavailable.
Of course it was likely user error, but it certainly put a bit of a damper on my enthusiasm!
Placed my order after ~20 minutes of debate and seemed to have the same options.
Kept things at a case but was very, very tempted to do 18 or more! Love the wines, variety, and feel these are superb value across the board. Am inspired to get a few more bottles from storage to drink while waiting for these to arrive.
the email said that they weren’t guaranteed allocations. it’s possible that they had to make adjustments based on initial orders. that said, I believe Tegan when he says they try to be fair about balancing it.
excited about the Cinsault from Preston, that’s really cool to see. also, the San Benito Mataro made me think of Drops of God haha. overall very excited to see this release; these are some of my favorite domestic wines to drink and I’m happy to see the variety of vineyard sites that Tegan continues to source from.
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Just ordered. In for a case, allocated one of everything except the Red Table Wine and Zin, which I had multiples. Not sure if the allocation was reduced from opening, but the offer letter does say it’s not guaranteed. 
Curious to see how this offer goes versus previous. There have been a fair amount of Sandlands up on K&L auction these past couple weeks, going for a decent premium over release. Maybe it’s the Drops of God placement!
Regardless, I’m happy for Tegan and the team. These wines have a unique place in my cellar, and so affordable. I’m glad for my allocation, and if he’s choosing to spread the love, I totally respect that.
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With allocation numbers so low and demand so high, perhaps they did get cut. I’ve waiting too long on Sandlands before, so lesson learned for me. Hopefully you got some that you wanted!
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I ordered my allocation (no Chenin) and wished a few. I am happy…
Cheers,
JP
Wishlist granted! Just a single bottle of Chenin to make an even case.
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I got 6/6 for a full case. Probably because I wrongly bitched up thread. 
I got my wishlist request for a third bottle of Grenache. I was dazzled by the 2019 I opened right before the ordering date.
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I got some wishlist items to get me to an even 13 bottles??? So that is $40 to ship an extra 1 bottle case. I have always wish lested to 12 bottles. I have reached out with a couple of email messages to get this corrected but no response. Does anyone know the secret code to get a response from them?
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It’s rush hour, I’m sure they will fix it.
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