340 | 2017 Clare Valley Cabernet Sauvignon
Second bottle. Hoping the spicy capsicum had calmed down. Nope. Not a fan. I think we will work our way through it but likely will be our default brazing/red sauce wine
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Interesting how you feel about this one. It was one of the wines that came up when I did the Tastry quiz. I have two cases of this and my wife and I have had several bottles of it and like it, especially with either a 24 hour decant or a speed aeration (30 seconds in the Vitamix). We do however like spicy food so perhaps that element that is turning you off is actually working for us. I’ve got a couple other DNG wines I’d put in the cooking category (114, 127) way before n.340
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N.214 Pinot this evening.
I need to stipulate first that I’m a huge fan of DN overall. This bottle however was a bit rough, borderline undrinkable.
Anyone else try it recently? Wondering if it’s bottle variation, I need to give the rest time, or if this is just a miss…
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Robert Craig 2017 spring mountain cab and dN 17 tonight. With flank steak and Mediterranean inspired sides. Both wonderful full bodied bullies. The $12 bottle was equal to the $70 bottle. Perhaps confirmation bias at work but I’m more inclined for buy more 17 than Robert Craig merely bc of price.
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The first bottle ( right off the truck a few weeks ago) I had 2 glasses the first night and then had it the second night as a default 24 decant and it didn’t calm down. Perhaps it’s just something my palate is hypersensitive to. I think I said in my first review that the taste isn’t unpleasant, just very dominant. (Almost gimmicky, like you would find in a mixed drink…) it’s not like I’m hating the wine, it’s just that I have too many other good options thanks to Cam… and I see this as part of the process of understanding my palate (and those of others). I took the bottle last night to my in laws and he enjoyed it but honestly he is the type that is very complimentary to any wine I bring bc it’s not from a 1.5 L bottle so it’s all great (we all need those ppl in our lives)
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I’ve had two bottles of 214, one in February of last year when it was very young & disjointed & one last week that I slow-oxed overnight. It has come a long way in a year, but I still consider it too young & will let it sit for another 6-8 months. I think it’s going to be an elegant wine with a bright red fruit profile.
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Coincidentally, and before reading any of your notes I popped my first 214 tonight PnP and I thought it was awesome. Sure it’s high acid and red fruit heady, and to me that’s great! it’s also savory and elegant, with many years ahead! I’m hoping it’s in tomorrow’s spring cleaning sale!!!
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Wines that my wife and I tried for the first time over the last week or so (apologies for the lack of specific notes):
N.153: decent wine, but definitely not in our list of dN favorites
N.309: meh. I can see why folks have been enjoying these Chilean cabs, but it wasn’t really our style. We definitely prefer the CA and WA dN cabs…
N.301: solid PN…A
N.217: Fantastic…A+
N.212: Fantastic…A+
N.96: Amazing… A. I believe we still prefer N.32 but we only had one bottle of each, so I will confirm this once we try them again…
Note that we decanted all wines at least 1-3h…
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Lot 328 Sonoma County Chardonnay, brought a bottle to dinner party with 4 other couples. Appetizers hit the table, bottles of high end French Rose and Ridge Zinfandels fly open too. The ladies were all snapping pictures of the de Negoce bottle wondering WHERE THE HELL DID THIS YUMMY CHARDONNAY COME FROM after the first sip. I said go purchase the Lot 330 from bottle shop, it’s likely better (I dunno, this was freaking great Chard).
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Agree that the 328 chardonnay is a very nice wine. My favorite chardonnay so far from DN.
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Speaking of Chardonnay, there was a lot of discussion of 207 recently & it wasn’t favorable. I enjoyed this wine a lot during the first half of 2022, but it had been about 9 months since I’d tried it. The recent case offering led me to open a bottle: all I got was oak & acid. Not even citrus, just acid. The fruit, flavors, & aromas that I associate with chards were MIA. It may just be that bottle, but it isn’t the wine I remember.
If anyone still has bottles of both 128 & 207 in their cellar, I’d love to hear how they compare since it’s supposed to be the same wine, except that 207 was bottled in a different facility than 128. I hope there weren’t a lot of other dN wines bottled there…
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#17 is long gone, no?..
From the Bottle shop, but if you dive deeply into my cellar, the anwer is no. 
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I don’t know 
my 3 rounds of purchasing have all been well after the initial offer. Including buying 6 more at the black Friday sale 3 months ago. I of course, regret not buying more but it keeps on popping up in sales so I keep assuming I can keep going to the well one more time in the future.
Cam, seems like this group really helped you with the need to move 68. We are happy to help with 17. Think of how annoying loading up those pre packed shippers will be. Slap shipping labels on them and make ups do the work… $179 delivered seems bout right
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That specific deal Sounds Great! I’m in for another 17! That will be case #6+ for greedy me.
Maybe I can store this case extra safely in a “Swiss Bank”??
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After caving like almost everyone else and buying a case of 68 the other day, opened the last of my original 3 bottles last night. Ridiculously good for <$12 delivered, would be wonderful at $40+. Think this is the new king of QPR for me
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I’m one of the people that is fine with 207. It’s not as good as 23, 77, 133, but I like it enough. It’s lemon filled to be sure and I completely get why the extra sour note might be off putting. I pretty much shy away from buttery or vanilla notes in whites if I can. To each their own.
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Interesting update. We poured the rest of the bottle of 207 tonight, two days after we opened it, and it is considerably better now. The oak has receded, the acidity has resolved into lemon zest (still powerful but definitely dialed back), and some orchard fruits & flowers are peaking through. Is this wine just in an awkward phase? Will it improve with age? Is it worth$99 for a case? Possibly.
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2018 de Négoce Cabernet Sauvignon OG N.81 Brokenrock Vineyard - USA, California, Napa Valley (3/19/2023)
Very little on the nose, maybe some purple fruit and a very slight tinge of alcohol. Rich blackberry, tones of menthol/licorice/spearmint, a touch of lilac with a long, dry finish.
HOLD! Big fruit up-front, some hidden tannins on day 1 and 2. On the first day this came across as an unbalanced cabernet. Powerful, but no nose and NOT a whole lot on the complexity front. By day 2, it got better, slightly. By day 3, this wine is starting to really sing and show its quality. It's more complex, it's less angular, the wine allows one to pick out several notes, as opposed to the singular blackberry fruit.
I'm not opening another one of these until late 2024 or early 2025.
100% Cabernet Sauvignon, 60% new French Oak 14,5% alc. (91 points)
H O L D
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Re N.68: I also caved (and after so many weeks of good behavior!). Partly it was the positive tasting notes on the N.68, but it was especially that #68 is reputed to be the same winery as N.69 Napa Valley “Mountain” (Pride). I think N.69 may well be my favorite deN wine and probably the most luscious Merlot I have ever had. I will be eager to try the N.68… (eventually).
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