Saxum 2022

That’s why the original Rhône producers are on my buy list. I am sipping on a $50 CdP according to CT, bought on Winebid for $22 and loving it.

If shipping was a significant part of the problem, then it would be very easy to “NOT” subsidize shipping and set the base level price/bottle at say $118. FWIW, despite the tripling of gas prices (subtract taxes to get to this multiplier), customers in CA are “NOT” being charged $10/bottle to ship wine if they order close to a case of wine.

Unfortunately it is looking like $20/bottle increase + shipping is not enough to make things work at Saxum and perhaps other Paso wineries.
The real problem is that these smaller (by acreage) producers are finding out that their previously sourced vineyards are not available whether Constellation (Booker) bought them or the block had to be replanted as a result of disease (Terry Hoage). So if you are Saxum and you lose any more blocks, your revenue may not cover your costs. So you are at a crossroads. You could: 1) slowly increase costs and save for the next rainy day (if you lose another block), 2) wait until you lose another block and then react with an increase in cost or 3) invest in land and adjust your cost to finance the purchase price (including the delay until the vines are viable).

To bring it back to subsidized shipping, I suspect the removal of subsidized shipping will be part of the next price increase if the $35/bottle increase on the base level wines doesn’t work. For sure count on the 2020 Hexe/Bone Rock/Rocket Block (if produced) going up.

“Do I buy to flip or enjoy?” I said in my post that I’ve drank wine all over the world for 50+ years but at 75 with heart disease no longer buy for ten years in the future. I am drinking down much of what I’ve put away having had a cellar since the ‘80’s. ‘14 Cayuse Armada was an extraordinary syrah that is probably among the best if not the best I’ve had in the last several years.

As for Bionic Frog I have three packs (excluding ‘15) dating back ten or so years. They’ll be opened soon, too. I’d also put ‘09 Sanguis Six White Horses up there. Sanguis’’ ‘14 or ‘15 PV was also among the best I’ve had anywhere of that grape.

In the mid ‘80’s I was heavy into Special Select (‘85) and Bonny’s Vineyard (‘84) while ‘85 Groth Reserve was Parker’s first 100 point CA wine. ‘85 Hertz Martha’s was excellent also. (‘85 was a phenominal year in Napa.).

I was not into Syrah or PS then.

I won’t miss Saxum either. As for flipping I am drinking down what I’ve collected for decades. This includes an ‘05 Leonetti Reserve a few months ago which was among their best since I first went on their list in the early ‘90’s after the WS in a cover article called their ‘94 merlot America’s best.

I don’t flip wine.

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Not a single response. I probably really am older than about everyone on here. The ‘85 vintage in Napa was (gulp!) 37 years ago….

For what it’s worth: I enjoyed your post, Joe, and thought it was very clear. Kind regards.

Thank you, Brianschool. Sincerely appreciated.

Joe, to be clear it wasn’t an attack on you. I was confused by a part of your post which suggested that you flip the wine. You said: “ It can be/is sold for almost three times this online ”

It’s clear you prefer other wines. That’s fine. But I would guess that there are more people here who like the Saxum than the Cayuse regardless of cost.

I suspect the time on the waiting list is about to drastically decrease. And I also suspect you might see these on the secondary market for the same or maybe even less.

A Paso producer I haven’t seen mentioned is Epoch. Relative good value compared to the new Saxum pricing. Serious wine to my taste. A little less flashy than Saxum but very well made and tasty.

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I bought Epoch for a while but finally decided they had too much of a raised characteristic.

I will be passing on Saxum this time only because I have a $6k car repair bill next week. I will be back to buying the next release.

I bought Epoch as well. I passed after a couple releases. Didn’t capture my attention.

Another Paso producer that has some tasty stuff is Nicora.

I agree 100% with the esteemed gentleman from South Carolina. I have Cayuse back to 2007 and Saxum to 2004. The styles are very different but both are really good. IMNSHO, they are underpriced compared to many European trophy wines.

Agreed entirely - they are both ‘singular’ wineries, in the same way Alban is. ‘Incomporable’ is how I would describe them - no pecking order.

Cheers.

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Seems only fair to add the actual offering letter to this thread:

Hello my friends!

I hope all is well with you. Things are pretty great on this end! We just returned from a family trip to Spain and now it’s time to get back to work in the winery and vineyards. Speaking of vineyards, the 2022 vintage is looking really dynamite so far (knocking on wood!). Canopies are solid and the fruit set a very nice sized crop. The abundance had us hard at work thinning the crop down to a respectable level.

We’ve also been busy with another new vineyard development! Last year we purchased a historic ranch up in the York Mountain AVA, the V-2 Ranch. It’s only about 1.5 miles as the crow flies from our winery and home vineyard, James Berry, but it’s up at 1800-2000 feet in the Santa Lucia Mountain range. The weather there is a little more mild than down in Paso, lower highs but higher lows, if that makes sense. It also rains a good deal more up there, which I find very attractive. Out of the 220 acres, only about 20 are plantable. The rest is steep wild woodlands, covered in old growth Oaks and Bay trees. We’re going to leave it that way of course. We like our wild lands. Those 20 plantable acres are going to be something special. Something a little different from our other vineyard sites, which are on the Monterey Shale Formation. The V-2 vineyard site sits on the Vaquero Formation, which is ancient seabed too, but it’s sandstone instead of shale. We have sand and seashells on the top of a mountain. Crazy stuff! I think the wines are going to be phenomenal! In 7 years or so, you’ll be the judge of that.

Now let’s talk about the offering today. I have dreaded writing this letter for a long time. It’s been 9 years since the bulk of our wines increased in price. Over the years I was motivated to keep them sub triple digits, but could no longer ignore the dramatic rise in production and fulfillment costs during that time. Standard shipping will continue to be offered without an additional charge. I understand the increase is a bit of a surprise and I totally understand if you decide to buy a little less. I get it!

Our Fall release begins today, July 12th, and ends on Monday, July 25th, 2022. The wines will be sold first come, first served and may sell out before the 25th. We believe that most of the wines will not sell out within the first few days. (Magnums are always offered first come, first served and normally sell out during the first day.)

Orders are scheduled to ship in November 2022, weather permitting. Standard shipping is complimentary (up to one delivery address per account). You may choose an alternate shipping level while placing your order online. For further details regarding our shipping policies click here and review the SHIPPING section.

Your offering includes 4 bottles of 2020 Broken Stones ($132), 4 bottles of 2019 Hexe ($156), 4 bottles of 2020 Heart Stone Vineyard ($132), 4 bottles of 2020 Paderewski Vineyard ($132), and 2 bottles of 2019 Rocket Block ($156).

The following magnums may sell out quickly: 1 magnum of 2020 Broken Stones 1.5 L ($264), 1 magnum of 2019 Hexe 1.5 L ($312), 1 magnum of 2019 Rocket Block 1.5 L ($312), and 1 magnum of 2020 Paderewski Vineyard 1.5 L ($264).

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Looks like he addressed the cost issues in the offering…

Quiet on the ordering front for Saxum today?

I got a few 2019s. Passing on the 2020s.

I’m a small-time buyer so I don’t get my offering until the 19th. Undecided on my order at the moment.

Had some Hexe in my cart and then just decided to not pull the trigger. I realized how many bottles of other good wines I could buy in place of this $156/bottle wine. Bedrock is a week away.

used to purchase by the case, now a few bottles (grenache led). not really a reaction to price, though it never helps, but more a realization that i open less bottles of this style than i used to. The wines are excellent, i just dont need as many as i once did