For sure getting:
Bedrock
Carlisle
Thomas
Myriad/quivet
Williams Selyem - really just the appellation wine
Sojourn
Fence:
Rhys - will be having some over the next week or so to determine if it’s worth continuing. I just haven’t opened many and the price is on the higher end of what Im comfortable buying without tasting first.
Stefania - I have a lot
Rivers Marie
Off:
Schrader - the price increase did me in
I’ve got my lists to a manageable level, but I will be cutting back on quantities ordered. I’ll be focusing more on France and Germany going forward.
Rhys
Ceritas
Kutch
Bedrock
Carlisle - Zins
RM - SC Pinot
Copain
Windy Oaks
Keep:
Turley
Saxum
Kutch
Cabot
Drop:
Liquid Farm
Ceritas
Bedrock
Littorai
Keep:
Bedrock
Trujillo
Myriad
Quivet
Mending Wall (oddly not mentioned on this thread)
Drop:
Cleaned house last year
Fence:
Maybach – Am I nuts? I’m just tired of the $150+ tariffs
My palate has really shifted away from Cali cabs. Interesting in scouting some new syrahs and BDX
Keep:
Bedrock
Rhys
Kutch
Myriad
Carlisle
Anthill Farms
Dirty & Rowdy
Sea Smoke
Drop:
Kosta Browne
Peay
Williams Selyem
Ceritas
Keep
No Girls (for now)
Horsepower (for now)
Rhys
Scarecrow
Drinkward-Peschon
Copain (legacy club)
Continuum
Carlisle
Sandlands
Lewelling
Schrader (for now)
Becklyn
MACDONALD
Cristom
Vincent
Add
NONE
Drop
maybe Liquid Farm
maybe Arnot-Roberts (available locally)
I have essentially already dropped everything except Copain because i am focusing on European wines again (Champagne in particular). I don’t think I will drop Copain anytime soon unless Wells leaves or decides to change styles in some radical way. The wines just never fail to please me.
I am considering ordering Rhys again because I love the wines (see my note on the 2010 Alpine PN from a day or two ago). Thing is, though, I have a ton of Rhys, and the pricing is getting to be an issue. I think Ceritas wines are unique and interesting enough that I may pull the trigger on their wines again
Having gone through a few years of “list-mania” as I’ve built up my overly U.S. centric cellar, I’m not sure what I’m going to keep or skip. I continue to like a small list of wineries, but worry that my inventory is becoming less diverse. All that said, here are the ones on my radar, which I’ll assess as each releases:
Considering:
Rhys (PN, Chard)
Aubert (Chard)
Bedrock (Zin, Blends)
Kutch (PN)
Detert (Cab, Cab Franc)
Becklyn (Cab)
Ridge (Cab, Zin)
Ultramarine (Sparkling)
Torrin (Syrah, GSM)
Littorai (PN, Chard)
Alban (Syrah)
Rivers-Marie (Cab)
Myriad (Cab)
That’s a lot of lists. So I’ll have to carefully consider how these fit into my collection.
+1 —Pretty much sums up my strategy as well, if I don’t get the darling bottles from each producer that’s OK, everything in time or the secondary market!
Keeping:
Fidelitas
Syncline
Dropping:
Reynvaan (can acquire locally at list prices +$5)
DeLille (club exclusives are meh, discount just knocks wines down to retail, 1 tasting/quarter is pretty stingy)
Adding:
Trisaetum (riesling+++)
We’re doing a remodel so I’m definitely cutting down on purchases this year.
Horsepower - Keep – Does anybody know, based on Cayuse, if I will lose future allocations of wines if I pass on an allocation this year? I’d love to buy less for just one year.
Reynvaan - Keep, but no spring purchases
Continuum - Keep, reduce purchase
Bryant Family - Pass
Quilceda Creek - Pass
Leonetti - Pass this year
Abeja - I’ll buy something.
On Horsepower my guess is that you might lost your allocation if you don’t buy. The offer says that it is first come first serve – so that even those of us with allocations may not get what we have been allocated. So my guess is, at least at the moment, the demand is much higher than supply. I am just saying this based upon the message we got concerning this year’s allocations – I don’t have any inside information.
EDIT – I am wrong about Horsepower. The allocation lasts until the end of the buying period. Someone else got such a message from Trevor at Horsepower – I just received a similar response to the same inquiry. Sorry for the misleading information!
It clearly states the consequences of passing, in part or in whole, in your offer letter - “Your order for 2013 vintage wines will become your allocation for future vintages. Due to the strong interest in Horsepower wines, if you choose not to order this year, we’ll need to offer your spot on the Mailing List to other customers on the Wait List.”
Lots of people moving off of Schrader. I buy of few of their wines from a friend who is on the distribution (2 per year, actually) and am pretty new to their wines. what is driving people away, the rising costs? just curious
I’ve dropped:
Copain
Donkey and Goat
Kept:
Delille
Reynvaan (new in 14)
Sarocka
Soos Creek (list)
Betz (list but order less)
Abeja
Thanks. I clearly didn’t read anything in the letter other than the date I could order.
Cutting down on the number of producers here too.
Keeping:
Chappellet (I share a Pritchard Hill allocation so technically it’s not me on the list)
Bedrock (no brainer!)
Jean Edwards Cellars (even if only for their Rutherford Reserve)
MacDonald (got solid advice to join last year)
The rest of the pared down list of brands we’ll still buy can found locally.
Sanity - go figure!