The random folks picking this up from Costco will probably not be as ‘exacting’ about the wine as many on this board - the mere fact that you are here shows that wine is ‘more important’ to you than most folks out there.
But yet - if a winery who is selling through grocery stores THESE DAYS did that it would not go over well - 20 years ago it would have been a positive.
Cheers
Had some really good wines tonight. Following with Lot 2 Oakville. Vanilla bomb, but very dark fruit and soft tannins. If you can handle the overt oak vanilla bomb, drinkable right away.
Opened up LOT 32 STAGS LEAP last night with friends. Everyone enjoyed it, easy drinker with nice red and black fruit.
Final update on the Lot 30 Sonoma Coast Chardonnay. I left about a half inch in the bottle, vacuum sealed in my fridge for a week.
Little signs of oxidation after being open 9 days(supports my theory that there was a lot of free S02). The wine picked up a bit of texture and mid pallet richness, albeit not much. Fruit presentation is still very simple and one dimensional, with basic citrus and apple. The oak has come out of hiding, and is still showing that light toast French oak profile, very dusty and mineral. The oak feels a touch cheap with a bit of a sawdusty character i usually get from barrels that were not air dried more than 2 years. This is complete speculation on the oak I will admit, just what I taste.
In conclusion I found this wine to be a bit of a miss. I am confident I could find chardonnay I like a lot more at the $15 price range. I would defiantly recommend holding this bottle for several years to any who bought.
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sorry lot 30. Ill edit the original post
Even though you didn’t give me an exact answer. This is helpful. I have always assumed that it was mostly the economics, but the fact that they don’t really know and clearly there are lots of different opinions on when a wine is drinking well. I do really like buying Spanish wines with a nice amount of age on them. I do wonder when I open a 20 year old Spanish wine and the cork looks brand new. I guess they move the wine from barrel to other large container before bottling? But wouldn’t that slow down the aging? Do they recork? I realize I’ve gone way off topic. I need to start drinking these wines or find another group. Sorry.
Apparently the Spanish do often recork older wines, which age very well.
Lot 27 tonight. I have about 6 different cam x red wines and I’m increasingly convinced this is my favorite. Gets better and better with some air.
Opened my first 27 last night and it was fantastic! Trying to get through 17 (2023 Napa cabernet sauvignon) tonight, which is like trying to crawl through a blackberry bush. It needs years, but I think those who are patient will be rewarded.
absolutely correct. these are structural monsters.
Wow, you’re making me nervous about the Cam X tasting I’m planning for the end of the month. I guess with 24 hour slow ox at least we’ll get a sense of where they’re headed. Would you say these need more time than the 2018 dNs? I realize that covers a lot of different wines.
I have only tried 16 and 21 from that list but I found 21 was showing well after a few hours of air. 16 is a whole different beast entirely.
yes, will be very similar to the 2018’s…24-hour decant is way to go 
Lot 16 notes (Syrah Stagecoach)
Was expecting a very different wine from the notes. Was expecting way more astringency. I found the tannins very drying, but very soft. Like there’s a lot of structure but the whole wine was evaporating from my mouth. The wine is very dark and concentrated. Wife still got red fruit, strawberry and cherry, I thought blueberry and blackberry. Her first note was just “vanilla” and I don’t want to pretend there’s not a heavy oak element, there certainly is, just not an astringent one. Which maybe makes me more bullish on the wine.
It’s interesting that some people find this undrinkable. I enjoyed sipping it PNP. I thought Lot 2 had more off putting vanilla notes.
I should say, I’m a cab drinker more than a Syrah drinker. We had a 2013 Motor City Kitty Syrah this week and a 2002 Cougar Crest Syrah, so I thought it’d be interesting to try Lot 16, while Syrah was on the brain.
Day 2
It’s not a vanilla bomb today. No vanilla smell or taste. Slight pricklier tannins, less drying but still drying. Some minerality showing and a bit of acid.
Fruit, I still lean dark, black currant, wife raspberry/plum. Secondary notes showing more wife calls it tobacco or cigar box, it’s a bruiser, I think cam said “meaty” which I can get behind.
I’m not a Syrah drinker. Syrahs often taste overripe to me (even with age). The Charles Smith Syrahs sometimes have this metallic note I don’t like. So maybe this is a cab drinkers Syrah. But I kind of like it. Interested to see where it goes. I agree age will be its friend, but I like it now.
I have had the chance to have two DeNegoce 2018’s recently (a berserker was selling them). I had Lot 173 Sonoma Mountain Cab and am having Lot 57 St. Helena Cab right now.
Wow, amazing wines, I am starting to see how people end up with 50+ cases of this stuff. I was hoping to have enough Cam X to never want to hoard, but I am already feeling the impulse.
57 St. Helena is Dark fruit, lots of licorice on PnP., but with some time in decanter and rich short rib dinner showing beautifully with black fruit, black current blackberry, lovely pure concentrated fruit balanced with leather soft tannins and (just a) touch of acid keeping things bright.
I don’t remember the 173 notes. Was a spectacular wine, really well made and enjoyed it immensely. Maybe even more than 57, but not so sure now that it’s been open 2 hours.
Makes me excited about the Cam X’s future. Glad to be able to try these.
The lesson….DONT DRINK YOUR CAM X WINES TOO EARLY.
Or buy more 
Too much, is just barely enough! 
Well Charlie, many occasions with de Negoce offers it was One N Done. Offers sold out quick and before they were delivered almost always. Bottle shop was not a guarantee. There was not try one with a “Slow Ox decant” and hit the “buy now” button on Shopify again. It was sold out, you waited 1-2 months for delivery, many bottles opened under premature evaluation conditions shortly afterwards. Years later now those 2018 Cabernets are wonderful. We opened a OG N.20 2018 Napa Cabernet with some friends tonight. They were amazed how great aged Napa Cabernets taste. They are 15 years younger then me and wife, just beginning their wine journey.
Cheers, Tim