TN: 07 Loring Pinot Noir, Clos Pepe Vineyard

Scott_Butler · February 13, 2009, 9:36pm

Lucky bastard!!

Joe_Hauck · February 13, 2009, 9:39pm

Philip, I think it was your thread that pushed me into buying these. I just did the math and the price was before shipping ( Loring is doing free shipping), so KL is actually about $4 more after shipping.

Rob_MacKay · February 13, 2009, 9:41pm

Yes and no. I think so, my wallet doesn’t.

Just last night I got a sneak sample of a new Tawny Port release from RL Buller, previously known for their sticky Muscat and Tokay. Very tasty $15 port.

Rob_MacKay · February 13, 2009, 9:43pm

I haven’t been disappointed yet from 07s. Very tasty fresh outta the bottle.

J_Singleton · February 13, 2009, 9:45pm

Gotta love the free shipping when living on the east coast. You can buy these wines for $40 on Winex, but pay shipping, or buy off your allocation for $46 and pay no shipping. So it all evens out on the east coast.

J_Singleton · February 13, 2009, 10:00pm

So what Lorings are you guys ordering?

Joe_Hauck · February 13, 2009, 10:11pm

The exact order I took.

Scott_Butler · February 13, 2009, 11:32pm

I bet!!!

Frank_Murray_III · February 14, 2009, 6:10pm

I too bought Brian’s 2007s, as the old rant can surely go “I can get them from retail” but IMO, I wanted to support Brian rather than his distributor. As for the Lorings, each and every year I have had Falltacular, Brian has showed up, in person, with every release for that vintage. This year…13 wines, and again, in person. If for nothing else, and a # of people still poo-poo Brian for the wine style he makes, I like them, buy them and he and Kim are two of the most generous souls one can ever meet. The stories above are thematic of what so many of us already know and have experience first hand, including me.

B_Stucker · February 14, 2009, 6:19pm

Winex has very reasonable shipping rates, so you are still cheaper with them even after shipping. But as Frank says, Brian is one of the most generous people I have dealt with and he absolutely deserves the support.

Rob_MacKay · February 14, 2009, 6:26pm

I’m going to have to try a few of these Loring wines. How do they compare to AP Vin and August West?

Brian_Loring · February 14, 2009, 6:59pm

Thanks for all the nice comments.

Regarding price… we did offer a mixed case at $40 per bottle - which included shipping. If you were able to go with that option, we had the lowest price available. Otherwise it was $46 a bottle with shipping included, which meant that some super discounters beat us by a dollar or two after considering shipping costs. And just so you consider apples to apples… we never let wine travel for more than 3 days when we ship. So everyone east of AZ and NV gets 3 day AIR shipping for no additional charge.

The biggest problem for us is we hear complaints from both sides. If we discount our price too much on the mailer, all the non-discounting retailers get mad at us since we undercut them. If we don’t discount enough, we hear it from the mailing list folk who also see the wines advertised for less. The mixed case was our compromise solution.

Either way, we’ve tried to keep our prices as low as possible. And in a year where we got the best scores and reviews we’ve ever gotten, we offered a discount by the case - at our lowest price point ever. We know dollars are tight right now. And we don’t mind people buying from places like WineEx or Wades - we’re just happy that the wine is being bought. The direct sales do generate more profit, which we use to help keep our overall pricing as low as possible. If we had to sell all our wine to distributors, they’d probably be closer to $60 a bottle. It’s the mix of direct and distributor sales that makes it work for everyone.

zachary_l_a_n_g · February 14, 2009, 7:03pm

Brian, thanks for coming by to post and clear that up for us! It’s great to have you on this board - and congrats on the wine! I can’t wait to get mine in the mail (saving some is going to be the hard part!)

Scott_Butler · February 14, 2009, 7:28pm

Brian Loring:

Thanks for all the nice comments.

Regarding price… we did offer a mixed case at $40 per bottle - which included shipping. If you were able to go with that option, we had the lowest price available. Otherwise it was $46 a bottle with shipping included, which meant that some super discounters beat us by a dollar or two after considering shipping costs. And just so you consider apples to apples… we never let wine travel for more than 3 days when we ship. So everyone east of AZ and NV gets 3 day AIR shipping for no additional charge.

The biggest problem for us is we hear complaints from both sides. If we discount our price too much on the mailer, all the non-discounting retailers get mad at us since we undercut them. If we don’t discount enough, we hear it from the mailing list folk who also see the wines advertised for less. The mixed case was our compromise solution.

Either way, we’ve tried to keep our prices as low as possible. And in a year where we got the best scores and reviews we’ve ever gotten, we offered a discount by the case - at our lowest price point ever. We know dollars are tight right now. And we don’t mind people buying from places like WineEx or Wades - we’re just happy that the wine is being bought. The direct sales do generate more profit, which we use to help keep our overall pricing as low as possible. If we had to sell all our wine to distributors, they’d probably be closer to $60 a bottle. It’s the mix of direct and distributor sales that makes it work for everyone.

Thanks Brian, We appreciate it!

Bob_Kaminski · February 14, 2009, 10:02pm

OK. I opened one and am seeing a very dark Pinot. The nose is just wonderful even at cellar temp of 48 deg. Letting it warm up a bit. I have more, so infanticide in the name of science.
More impressions to follow…

B_Stucker · February 15, 2009, 1:24am

This was the route I took.

Rob_MacKay · February 15, 2009, 3:25am

Brian Loring:

Thanks for all the nice comments.

Regarding price… we did offer a mixed case at $40 per bottle - which included shipping. If you were able to go with that option, we had the lowest price available. Otherwise it was $46 a bottle with shipping included, which meant that some super discounters beat us by a dollar or two after considering shipping costs. And just so you consider apples to apples… we never let wine travel for more than 3 days when we ship. So everyone east of AZ and NV gets 3 day AIR shipping for no additional charge.

The biggest problem for us is we hear complaints from both sides. If we discount our price too much on the mailer, all the non-discounting retailers get mad at us since we undercut them. If we don’t discount enough, we hear it from the mailing list folk who also see the wines advertised for less. The mixed case was our compromise solution.

Either way, we’ve tried to keep our prices as low as possible. And in a year where we got the best scores and reviews we’ve ever gotten, we offered a discount by the case - at our lowest price point ever. We know dollars are tight right now. And we don’t mind people buying from places like WineEx or Wades - we’re just happy that the wine is being bought. The direct sales do generate more profit, which we use to help keep our overall pricing as low as possible. If we had to sell all our wine to distributors, they’d probably be closer to $60 a bottle. It’s the mix of direct and distributor sales that makes it work for everyone.

Got any left for us stragglers?

Brian_Loring · February 15, 2009, 5:16am

We’ve been waiting for our current list members to have a fair chance at the wines… and then we’ll be sending out an allocation to new list members in a week or so. There’s still some wine left, so no worries!

Rob_MacKay · February 15, 2009, 6:23am

new list members… that implies that I need to join some sort of list…

Bob_Kaminski · February 17, 2009, 5:20pm

This wine is tightly wound and in need of 12-18 months in the cellar IMHO. Great concentation and balance. I was surprised the alcohol was listed at 14.9% on the bottle. I thought the 07s were supposed to be dialed back in this department?