I had a similar disappointing experience after consuming a bottle of DN 68 three days after it arrived. I am chalking it up to bottle shock as 68 was a good 90/91 point wine when I had it a few months ago. Give the wine 2 weeks from when you received it and try again.
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loving #300
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2019 de Négoce Cabernet Sauvignon OG N.192
Checking in on the progress of this. Looks like still needs some time to open up.
Almost inky black with slight ruby rim. Slightly muted nose with floral notes and black pepper spice. Palate is medium to full bodied with ripe red fruits and blackcurrants, some coffee and chocolate hints. Medium length finish with nice tannins. Nice simple if maybe a little forgettable CA red.
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I had a bottle of 300 Monday/Tuesday, and I agree. Very tasty wine.
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2018 de Négoce Cabernet Sauvignon OG N.30 - USA, California, Napa Valley, Atlas Peak (11/10/2022)
A nightcap at a friend's house with good company, so tasting notes are very fuzzy. "New world meets old" is spot on.
Outstanding nose of mountain fruit with earthy soil and dust. Very well balanced with structure and solid finish that will keep you coming back for more. Really enjoyable.
Another steal from dN! (92 points)
Posted from CellarTracker
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Have you ever had a Negoce wine that you really didn’t like?..
Yes.
OG N.101 2018 Walla Walla Cabernet Franc and
OG N.135 2017 Mendocino 80 to 90-Year-Old-Vine Carignan
(as well as a few others).
It is my impression that de Negoce’s wines are, upon purchase, (and for some time afterwards), less “accessible” than store-bought wines. But I find that when they do open, they are dependably … how else can I say it…luscious.
I was quite disappointed in the the two above, but when tried 1 year later, their character had evolved, and they exhibited very different qualities. In short, they improved enormously. This should not be surprising, but nevertheless, repeatedly, and delightfully, it is. To stave off disappointment, I try (and fail) to keep in mind that wine is in constant transition, and evaluation is practice in aiming at a moving target. Perhaps I should take up skeet. Not while drinking, though.
(To keep in the spirt of this thread - I am drinking the 31 Dry Creek Zin, which I purchased in error. I thought I had run out of the 61 Zin and I was thinking to replace it with more of the same. I have no complaints, though. It is easily loved).
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There are obviously various reasons why we enjoy the Wine Berserker online journal forum. For me, it affords a consensus learning perspective about de Négoce wine purchases without necessarily opening bottles. Out of over 51 different lot selections, I’ve now tried only 13 different offerings. Admittedly, several were opened with the original arrivals of my first early 2021 purchases because of ‘Berserker’ encouragements rather than rationalizing what Cameron Hughes was conveying in his rather convincing sales pitch(es). So with N 87’s Horse Heaven Hills Petit Verdot, N 101 Walla Walla Cab Franc, N 106 Walla Walla Tempranillo, N 123 Napa Valley Merlot, N 142 HHH Malbec, etc. arrivals, I initially opened too quickly examples realizing soon that these were going to be 2023-2024+ near future bottle holds. Now I read between the WB lines to confirm my wine storage strategies. Of course wines; as, N 31 Dry Creek Zinfandel rather quickly evolved (wasted only two bottles), N 127 Columbia Valley Red Blend became a $7 cellar defender, L 185 Russian River Valley Chardonnay and L 251 Sonoma Mountain Cabernet Sauvignon cured my curiosity of what hopefully will become in a few years de Négoce wine storage successes/celebrations.
By having our very own online trusted negociant invite us into his oenological enterprise, this has become an extensive marginal investment exercise that otherwise would have been an expensive obsession.
Thank you to all the Wine Berserker participants for your invaluable de Négoce wine reactions.
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Yes. I have generally found the whites to be very accessible (favorites include 77, 185, 233, 209). Recently, though, i had two “bad” experiences.
62 chardonnay - on PnP my wife and I had similar reactions - yuck. Stale, unripe fruit and wood. I nearly forgot about my full glass but when I rediscovered it 2 hours later - aha now it is chardonnay. I’ll wait a while on the next bottle and make sure it has some air.
220 SB/semillon - dull, neither crisp nor citrusy for me. Glad to have only two of these
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Plenty–quickly scanned my CT notes and here are some.
130
123
253
87
113
166
143
38
107
52
222 and 150 were meh-ish to me
The 70 series Pinot other than D were just alright.
Hope this helps.
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N.106. I just can’t figure this wine out. @B_Bauer committed to opening one per year and reporting back on this one. 
With that said, most of the wines have been rockstars. They perform well in blind tastings.
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Popped open another N.249 last weekend (been way to busy to post recently). It’s about the same as the last bottle I had and didn’t notice much development. For me it still had a lot of alcohol warmth. Decent package. But stylistically it is not something I really gravitate towards.
In a bit of a loss if I want to bury them in the cellar. I can’t find Cam’s TNs on this - did anyone happen to save it?
For me it was the N.93 Zin with the N.135 Carignan right behind it.
N.93 never came together and had way to much alcohol. The best bottle I had of it was when we did some hyper-decanting experiments. 90 seconds in the blender got it to the point where we found it acceptable. Got used up as a cooking wine.
N.135 just was hit and miss. The 4 bottles that were misses were just awful, but the other 8 were enjoyable.
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2017 de Négoce Cabernet Sauvignon OG N.274
Revisiting this guy. I wasn’t a fan initially because of the sweetness. That has subdued somewhat, but I still don’t know if this will be a winner. It lacks acidity and structure.
Dark opaque ruby/garnet. Very, very thick glass staining viscous legs. Nose has lots of blackberries, woody oak, deep jammy cassis, and slight green menthol burn from high alcohol. Palate has dark ripe fruit, not quite stewed but slightly overripe blackberries, some herbal rosemary and savory thyme, chewy tobacco with a strong oaky backbone. It’s a little low in acidity so it’s still somewhat on the flabby side of things. Finishes medium+ with herbal and some medicinal notes. Not too tannic, could even be higher in my opinion.
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Dear Friends,
I cannot recommend this Pinot Noir highly enough. Meticulously produced from an emerging Grand Cru site, it will have hugely broad appeal both for its classic Pinot Noir character but also for its palate-caressing complexity. Trust me on this one folks…
Lot 249 2019 Russian River Valley Pinot Noir comes to us from a small, family producer and friend of the de Négoce organization. Simply put, with the COVID shutdowns, they decided to trim their inventory and we purchased the lions share of the 2019 production.
Normally priced just south of $50/bottle (and I mean just south), this is a stupid good deal at $14 - you have my word.
The vineyard is located on a hill crest literally 50 feet from the southern edge of the Green Valley of the Russian River Valley sub-AVA. A mix of goldridge and altamont soils, this vineyard is rapidly being discovered and bottled as a vineyard designate for a variety of ultra-premium Pinot Noir brands.
Organic farming, native yeast partial whole-cluster-fermentation, and judiciously deployed, top-quality French oak all conspire to create an absolutely fantastic Pinot Noir. Rich, ripe and lush but wonderfully structured, open-knit and transparent with beautiful, spicy fruit, Russian River Pinot lovers will not want to miss this one.
Excellent purity throughout.
Deep garnet in the glass. Gorgeous bouquet of cola spice, strawberry, sweet cherry and plum sauce underpinned with ripe blackberry, damp, woody dirt and a kiss of brown sugar. Sexy ripe fruit greets the palate but its always in perfect balance with fresh, lively acidity that carries the plush, fine-grained mouthfeel and generates excellent persistence through the long, resounding finish. Outstanding!
Cheers!
Cameron
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I don’t have a dN Malbec, I do feel like 142 has gotten nice praise from ppl. Can y’all confirm?
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142 Malbec is excellent, IMHO, & deserves the high praise it has garnered on CT & WB. I’m very tempted by this offer. We also had a 90 Merlot in the last week & it has settled into a very nice wine (after a 3 hour decant). It was as good or better the second night.
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agreed…142 more approachable now but 90 is actually the more sophisticated, palate-staining wine in the long haul. It benefits from slow micro-ox/24-hour decant but it still unwinding. The slow ox closures saw to that.
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I have n.154 Malbec and it’s a really, really nice wine. Malbec is fourth in my list of red wines but this Walla Walla version of the varietal really surprised me at it’s quality and depth. Drank good after a 6 hour decant and perhaps even better the 2nd day. It’s available in the bottle shop for $16 each (I paid $12 T1) and it drinks well above that price point. To me it’s a $30 plus retail wine so at Cam’s price it’s a great QPR in my opinion if you are looking for a malbec to add to your cellar options.
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We have revisited both 70C and 126 Pinots in the past few days & it was interesting to try them side by side. 70C displays high-toned red fruits, especially raspberries, good acidity, & length. I would put it closer to Burgundian than any of the dN Pinots I’ve tried. 126 has come a long way since my last bottle almost a year ago. It shows a darker fruit profile than the 70C & is definitely “New World.” It seemed a little disjointed still, even after a 3 hour decant. Both wines improved overnight & became more seamless, so I’m going to put them aside for a few more months.
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OG dN Lot 198 2018 Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon
First bottle, 2 hour decant.
Very happy to have more of this fine wine. This is an excellent Napa Cab! My impression is that has the best of both worlds, it is like a perfect blend of dN#30 & dN#57!! (two top favorites here). The elegance of #30 and the power of #57. Lots of toasted oak and elegant fruit with perfect balance. Cam’s tasting notes are totally accurate.
Per Cam, “Rich and hedonistic yet nicely balanced and never over-the-top, this is a classic Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon with broad appeal. If you are looking for an open-knit, approachable style with lots of stuffing but also well built with class and precision, I cannot recommend this highly enough.”
I agree!!
Day 2: still very good, will age gracefully! Double Yum!!
Scott w/Rib-Eye (my favorite fish)
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