Irony is I purchase little from them now as I have so much but at the price/quality/diversity they cover many bases
Slowly let go of them all as retirement loomed, the last of which was Thomas (Arcadian ended around the same time).
If I were to start again now, Iād choose
Thomas
Cameron
Kelley Fox
Goodfellow
Ceritas
Cheers,
Doug
Actually on Realm, which Iāve never bought and Andremily which I bought once
I assume I will be knocked off both soon
Far as I know Cameron isnāt DTC
Currently I buy consistently DTC
Thomas
Goodfellow
Iāve also bought them from retail shops
There are bunch of others Iāve bought DTC but not consistently.
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On and buy from:
Fingers crossed
Kinsman Eades
Rochioli
Ultramarine
Scarecrow
Would drop SC for either MacDonald or Beta if offered Jasud.
This all depends on where you live as to how difficult this would be.
If I lived close to Napa/Sonoma, and had access to most of the wines I enjoy, not an issue.
In the midwest, every list I am on, is not available under 100 miles away. Most donāt even make it into the state.
That said:
MacDonald
Kutch
Maybach
Rivers Marie
Rochioli
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Sqn
SE
Sandlands
Rivers Marie
Ultramarine
Will trade allos forā¦
Drc
Coche
Raveneau
Roulot
Salon
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Man, this is hardā¦
Aubert
MacDonald
Williams Selyem
Rochioli
Dunn
For drinking:
Vincent
EDWC
Bedrock
To see what the fuss is about:
Ultramarine
MacDonald
Current List From Which I Buy (and possibly sell)
Lewelling (Iām not buying any more )
Scarecrow
Ultramarine
Seaver Vineyards
Wish I Was Moved From Waitlist (Keep and/or Sell):
SE
MacDonald
Kinsman
Tusk
Ha! My wife buys the Ultramarine!
So I get six.
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Great Q and very hard to decide -
Macdonald
Kinsman
Tusk
Myriad
Maybach
Honorable mentions
Vice Versa
Memento Mori
Rivers Marie
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Iām on Goodfellow and Vincent and wouldnāt mind adding one or two of the cult Cali wineries just to see what the fuss was about.
Oh man!
I guess it kinda depends, does being on the list only mean you dont have access to it unless youre on the list?
but of all the emails I get:
Kelley Fox
Goodfellow
Ultramarine
Bedrock
Patricia Green
I have long passed the rainbow chasing phase of my wine exploration and am on lists for three main reasons: convenience, access, and price.
In no priority order, the five I have now that Iād keep first are:
Ridge: Monte Bello and ATP subscriber for 20+ years now. No regrets.
Domaine Drouhin Oregon: Mostly convenience but also guaranteed Louise allocation access. Love the wines. 17 years on this one, I think. I was an inaugural member.
Rhys: Inaugural member. I love Santa Cruz Mountains Pinot and Chardonnay. Was on the Mount Eden list for a long time and decided I liked where Kevin and teamās head was on what could be. I can buy Mount Eden at local retail pretty much whenever I want, so no need to be a subscriber really. Iāve had a few bottles or Rhys that I thought were at their ultimate expression but lots of faith invested here. Even if they never get to where I hope, they are generally good wine. Had a 2018 Alpine Pinot tonight from a 500mL bottle and it was too young but was a nice look for a 2/3 investment. I like the small format offerings.
SQN: Waited so long to see what the fuss was about (I had multiple shared bottles prior to actually getting an allocation, but wanted to track these over time). Been accumulating and drinking for 6-7 years now. Completely unlike the others here and that keeps it on the list. Maybe better value in Saxum or some other options but Manfred will retire one way or another one day and I want to have seen part of his ride. Happily not getting huge allocations here but enough to satisfy my barbeque and grilled meat needs.
I guess thatās 4. The last spot would be a toss-up between Aeris, Next of Kyn, and The Third Twin. Aeris to see what the different varietals do in Californiaā¦so far interesting wines but the value isnāt clear-cut. I get lots of great equivalent experience from the old world without the premium price. NoK and TTT are just more Manfred with different varietal exploration for the Tempranillo, Mourvedre, and Graciano. I anticipate that Iāll be able to focus and make a cut in this space after sampling a few bottlesā¦so far, Iāve only been accumulating as Iāve only been on these lists for a year or two. I donāt find value in Pobegaāing a bottle like this to understand whether I want to cellar the wine and the resale opportunity leaves me comfortable with accumulation of some extra vintages that I might decide Iām not really into.
In the past, I was on Dehlinger (still drinking through those, but occasional pangs of reload regret), Kistler (scratching that itch with other things I can readily acquire at retail), Rochioli (Pinots too heavy, loved the Sauvignon Blanc, Chardonnay fungible with Kistler), Rivers-Marie (nice, but didnāt hook me), Loring (not my thing), Anthill Farms (nice, timing was wrong for my budget and cellar space, no regret), Littorai (same situation as Anthill), Peter Michael (not my thing), Jones Family Vineyard (Abreu/Barrett rainbow chaseā¦fine enough but not really that crazy special), Quilceda Creek (I donāt drink enough Cabernet to need this and Monte Bello), and Mount Eden (can get it at retail).
The list membership hand-wringing used to be a regular topic. It has largely normalized into a churn around the release cycle financial stress folks experience if on multiple lists. It is a good exercise to evaluate your spend and where you are on your exploration. If you absolutely know you like a wine as a life-long friend, a list is a good way to ensure allocation access. If you are chasing rainbows, expect some dead ends as you learn what you like. There will be a few (maybe more) moments of dissonance between the hype machine and your palate.
Cheers,
fred
7 Likes
Adam, good info. Thank you.
Doug
Ditto. I never heard of them either. But now that the threadās longer, there are a few of these Iāve never heard of as well as a few Iāve never tasted although Iāve heard of them. And then there are some I wouldnāt particularly care to drink.
But, this is Berserkers, so the OP is like:
āIT CAN ONLY BE FIVE, so hereās my five.
But, um, er, if it were eightā¦
Then again, hereās the rest of my fifteen.
Iām happy with fifteen.ā
2 Likes
MACDONALD
Scherrer
Massican
Places 1-4:
Carlisle (been on the list almost as long as Tom Hill)
Detert (rediscovered after enjoying some 2005s; regular CS and CF are great value)
Rivers-Marie (checks all the boxes)
Thomas (will receive first allocation of 2021s; loved the 2019)
Place 5?
Andremily (need to open my first bottle)
Lillian (need to open some recent vintages)
Bella Oaks (need to open first vintage)
Pezzato or Caterwaul (scratch a hedonistic itch)
Kinsman Eades (not on the list yet but a friend has been sharing)