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Twelve out of Twelve
I don’t know about you, but I love trying new wines, the wines I never had before. When I’m in the wine store, I like to take a slow walk and look for the wines which look interesting enough to try – the region I trust, cool label, and maybe most importantly, reasonably priced.
Value is an interesting concept, for sure when it comes to wine. Wine values can be absolute and relative. Wine under $10 represents an absolute value, especially if it is a tasty wine. This applies to both known and unknown wines – Bogle Petite Sirah, which would be well known in my book, is an example of such an absolute value, always priced close to the $10, and always tasty. But even if I don’t know the wine, $10 for a bottle which hopefully will be tasty is still a good value.
When it comes to the wines you know, and most importantly, desire, the concept of value becomes relative – a $100 bottle of wine is still not cheap at $50 on sale or closeout, but it is a tremendous value.
So, let’s get back to that store where we are looking for the new wines to try, preferably in the absolute value category. Let’s say we will get a case of 12 different wines to try. What are the chances of you liking and enjoying all twelve wines? It is a possibility, but from my personal experience, the chances are not very high. Based on my experience I usually would really enjoy 3-4 bottles and I will be okay with another 3 or 4, and I would wish that I never bought the rest.
Now, let’s take this exercise to the next level. What if you will give a stranger $150, and ask him or her to surprise you with a case of 12 different bottles – how would you estimate your chances then? How many bottles would you possibly like out of the box of 12?
I recently conducted such an experiment. Okay, we can say that it was a stranger, but this stranger was a wine pro – but still, the wine pro who knows nothing about your preferences. How do I mean it? My stranger was the Last Bottle Wines, a so-called wine flash sale site. Last Bottle folks always run special events, usually called Marathons, especially around the holidays. Last Halloween, Last Bottle Wines offered a number of mystery cases – you have no idea what will be inside, you can only know that you will pay X for something which otherwise would be 2.5X or 3X. I was lucky enough to see the $144 mystery case offer and to pull the plug without much thought. How lucky? See the title of this post – that’s how.
Twelve out of twelve. Believe it or not, but I enjoyed every one of those bottles. Each one was delicious, and I would happily buy each one again, especially if offered at $12 – this was the actual price per bottle in my mystery case.
This mystery case was just perfect for someone who always wants to try something new. 12 different bottles, 7 from the USA (California, Washington, Oregon), 5 from around the world (3 from France, 1 from Spain, and 1 from Chile). I enjoyed two bottles with Thanksgiving dinner, and I just opened the last bottle a few days ago, so now I can share the experience. I still had a bit of trepidation opening the new bottle – what if the luck will break – but it didn’t. Twelve out of twelve. Each one delicious, and worth drinking again. Take a look at my notes:
2016 Brassfield Estate Eruption Volcano Ridge Vineyard High Valley Appellation (14.8% ABV, blend of Malbec, Syrah, Zinfandel, Petite Sirah, and Mourvèdre)
Outstanding – inviting nose, red and black fruit, eucalyptus, full body, drinkable from the get-go, excellent overall (8+)
2017 Domaine l’Abbé Dîne Côtes du Rhône (14.5% ABV, 80% Grenache (vines planted in the 1960s), 18% Syrah, 2% Mourvèdre) delicious from the get-go. Bigger body than a typical Cotes du Rhone, red fruit, soft, voluptuous and sexy, roll-of-the-tongue smooth, perfect balance. Another delicious and easy to drink wine (8+).
2016 Bodegas Patrocinio Zinio 200 Rioja Alta DOC (14% ABV, 90% Tempranillo, 10% Graciano) – restrained and earthy. A bit too restrained for my Rioja preferences, but still very characteristic of Rioja with cedar box, red fruit, and eucalyptus. Needs time (8-)
2018 Azur Rosé California (12.5% ABV, blend of Grenache, Syrah, a blend of Napa and other appellations) – beautiful pale pink color with copper undertones, strawberries on the nose, hint of strawberries with lemon undertone on the palate, the second day showing mostly crisp and vibrant acidity. Elegant, Provence-like as advertised. (8)
2017 Casino Mine Ranch Vermentino Shenandoah Valley, California (14.1% ABV) – never had wines from Shenandoah Valley. Delicious. Nose resembling classic Gewurztraminer, with honeysuckle and white stone fruit. The palate is fresh, vibrant, a good amount of fruitiness, well supported by acidity, perfectly balanced. Perfectly passes my white wine excellence test – delicious from the fridge, but also delicious at room temperature. (8+)
2017 Chateau Perbal Cabernet Sauvignon Family Selection Central Valley, Chile (14% ABV) – a big surprise. I typically consider that I can easily identify Chilean Cabernet Sauvignon by a substantial green component (pyrazines, bell pepper) – this wine had none. Round, smooth, touch of cassis, eucalyptus, mint – easy to drink and delicious. (8)
2016 Belle Fiore Winery Cabernet Sauvignon Rogue valley Oregon (14.5% ABV) – never had before Cabernet Sauvignon from Oregon. Elegant, classic, cassis, eucalyptus, anise, round, soft tannins, good acidity, perfect balance – excellent overall. (8/8+)
2019 Domaine La Milliere Ceielles Vignes Côtes du Rhône AOC (15% ABV) – clearly a young wine at first, bursts with the freshly crushed berries, but settles down into round, open, easy to drink wine – raspberries and blueberries, a touch of herbs, easy to drink. (8-)
2017 Theorize Zinfandel California (14.6% ABV) – a strange wine to a degree, almost a single note, but that single note delivers perfection – delicious sweet tobacco. Fresh, clean, good acidity, good balance, but that sweet tobacco is the theme, from the first drop to the last. This might not be the wine for everyone, but it is definitely the wine for me. (8)
2017 J. Wilkes Cabernet Sauvignon Paso Robles (14% ABV) – tart nose of dusty berries and herbs, clean, uplifting, fresh palate, the right amount of raspberries and blackberries, a touch of anise, easy to drink, inviting, delicious. (8)
2013 Beresan Winery The Buzz Yello Jacket Vineyard Walla Walla Valley (14.4% ABV, 30% Syrah, 30% Merlot, 25% Cabernet Franc, 10% Cabernet Sauvignon, 5% Malbec) – upon opening, the wine was a bit aggressive and disjointed. At the same time, it was a typical unapologetic Washington wine, but I was able to enjoy it only on the third day when it mellowed out and became more balanced and round. This can probably be solved with decanting (7+/8-)
2018 Chateau Beauregard Ducasse Graves AOC (13% ABV, 40% Sauvignon Blanc, 60% Semillon) – this wine was opened before its time. Closed on the first day just with some acidic notes, it beautifully blossomed on the second day, showing ripe apple, honeysuckle, nice creaminess, round and perfectly balanced. (8/8+)
Here you go, my friends – twelve out of twelve. How well do you score having someone picking the wines for you?
Daily Glass: An Australian Score
I pride myself with very wide wine horizon. I scout wines from literally everywhere in the world – China, Japan, Croatia, Bulgaria or Hawaii – bring it on, the more obscure, the better, I will be happy to try them all.
Nevertheless, a majority of my daily drinking evolves around Italy, Spain, and California, with a little injection of France. The rest of the wine regions make a very sporadic appearance at our house – without any prejudice or malicious intent – just stating the fact.
Nevermind China and Japan, which are still going through an adolescence as wine producing countries – let’s talk about Australia instead. About 20 years ago Australia was leading wine imports in the USA. As you would enter a wine store, you were greeted with countless Australian wine selections.
Today, Australian wines are relegated to the back shelves, and they are definitely not on top of the wine consumer’s mind (in the USA for sure). Ups and downs are hard to analyze in the wine world (think of the devastating effect of the movie Sideways on Merlot consumption), and such an analysis is definitely not the point of this post, no matter how interesting such a discussion could’ve been.
As I stated before, Australian wines are rare guests at our table, and this is not deliberate – I enjoyed lots and lots of excellent Australian wines, and have an utmost respect to what this country can deliver. I’m always ready to seize an opportunity to try an Australian wine, especially if it comes with a recommendation.
Such recommendation can present itself in lots of different ways – a friend, a magazine, an Instagram post, a tweet – or an offer from the Last Bottle Wines, especially during the Last Bottle’s infamous Marathon events. During the Last Bottle Marathon, you can buy the wines in single bottle quantities, which I like the most as you can create your own tasting collection quickly and easily.
If the wine is offered for sale by the Last Bottle, it definitely serves as an endorsement for me. The folks at Last Bottle know the wines – if they offer something, it means the wine really worth trying. During the last Marathon, the 2015 Gemtree Uncut Shiraz McLaren Vale (14.5% ABV) attracted my attention. I don’t know what made me click the “buy” button – the name “Gemtree” (sounds interesting, isn’t it?), or the word ‘Uncut” (again, this somehow sounds cool to me as well), but I did click that button quickly. You see, you only have a split second to get the wine – you blink, you lose – and I scored the bottle of this Australian Shiraz.
I pulled the bottle from the wine fridge, twisted the top and poured into the glass. Dark ruby color, a whiff of the blackberries. The palate had a tremendous amount of salinity over the crunchy blackberries – I guess this was an effect of drinking this wine at a cellar temperature. But it was still attractive. While admiring the simple label I saw the word which made me very curious – “Biodynamic”, and then the back label provided lots more information about how this wine was made. To me, “sustainable” is a very important wine keyword, and whatever extras “biodynamic” entails, the biodynamic wine is always a sustainable wine – and it is definitely important for me.
After warming up, the wine became generous, layered, showed soft tannins and perfect crunchy backbone of dark fruit with some dark chocolate notes and touch of a spicy bite – all perfectly balanced and delicious (Drinkability: 8+). The name “Gemtree” kept me intrigued, and the picture on the label was very attractive in its simplicity, so I went to the Gemtree Wines website to learn a bit more. I rarely quote from the winery websites, but I think in this case this is quite appropriate (here is the link to the source):
“This is our Gemtree story…
There was once a tree. Not the tallest tree, nor the oldest tree, but a tree that had put its roots in just the right part of the paddock. Here the soil was deep and layered – sometimes hard and rocky, elsewhere soft and sandy – and the wind had just enough room to move, and even the rain – when it was kind enough to visit – would fall evenly and gently.
Because of its favoured position, the grasses grew tall against its trunk, and the wild flowers were easily encouraged to grow closely around it, and the insects and birds that looked to trees for shelter and for vantage, eagerly moved in.
One day a farmer approached the tree and wondered: “You do not grow the strongest, nor the fastest, so why is it that you grow the best fruit?”
The tree let the answer whisper through the wind in its branches: “If I am shown a patient mind and a gentle hand, if I am left to follow the rhythms of my seasons – to rest in Winter; to revive in Spring; to make busy in Summer; and to provide in Fall – then I can offer fruit that tastes not just of the ground upwards, but also of the sky downwards, and of everything around me.”
The farmer thought to himself: “This is truly a Gemtree – it takes only what it can give back to the land, it contributes to its surroundings, and it provides for those that live around it.”
This is the heart of the Gemtree story: growing better wine ~ naturally.“
Here you are, my friends. I don’t know how often you drink Australian wines, but Gemtree is definitely the name to keep in mind for your next round of wines from down under – I think you will be happy with your score. Cheers!
Holiday Madness! Holiday Madness! Last Bottle Holiday Marathon Madness, December 15th
It is time to flex your fingers and make sure they are in the perfect shape, as tomorrow you will have to do a lot of clicking. Last Bottle, the purveyors of the fine wines at value prices, in its traditional just-in-time, ready-or-not-here-I-come fashion, announced its widely anticipated Holiday Marathon Madness.
Tomorrow, December 15th, starting at 9 AM Pacific/12 PM Eastern, Last Bottle website will be featuring amazing wines at amazing prices, disappearing faster than you can say “wine”, never mind clicking the “buy” button – this is where you will need that index finger strength and agility, if you want to acquire any of those treasures, instead of just watching them pass by.
No announcements of any kind, no emails, no tweets – just keep clicking that “refresh” browser button to see the new offers. No minimums to buy (single bottles are perfectly fine) to get free shipping. All orders will be combined together and shipped at once in January. That’s it – no more special rules.
Just a little advice – be sure to be logged in into your account before you start great deal hunting – split seconds will separate success and failure of your order. Don’t believe me? Prepare to be disappointed then – I’ve been in that boat way too many times.
Before we part: when I mention Last Bottle, in case you don’t have an account with them already (and you need one if you want to buy the wines), I always offer an opportunity to sign up – if you will sign up using this link, you will get $10 off your first purchase, and yes, I will get $30 after your first purchase. The beauty is that moving forward, you can sign up your friends, and now you will be the one to get $30 after they will buy the wine from the Last Bottle – plus, all of a sudden, you fill find yourself all so much more popular!
Okay, enough reading – go back to that finger exercise, you should be in a perfect shape for tomorrow.
Happy [great value wine] Hunting!
Last Bottle Wine Harvest Marathon Madness 2016 – August 25-26
Harvest 2016 is under way in many wine regions in the Northern hemisphere, causing lots of people to lose their sleep until every last grape will make it onto the processing belt. Not to be outdone, in their typical fashion of the last second (seriously) announcements, the Last Bottle, a purveyor of fine wines at a great value, just announced their Harvest Marathon Madness 2016.
For the next two days, Last Bottle will be offering lots of value-priced fine wines at their web site, changing in the rapid succession (some deals might be there only for a few seconds). The event will start at 9 AM Pacific time, and will continue for two days or until they will run out of wines. There are no minimums to buy to get the free shipping (that is what I like the most – you can try lots of wines). All orders will ship few weeks later.
I can’t resist the urge to quote the description from the Last Bottle Wines web site:
“This REALLY is our biggest, best, craziest and most absurd Marathon ever. We know: “you say that every time!” but it really is true. Why? Because every month, every year, we keep getting bigger (literally and figuratively, ha ha). That means more selection, more opportunities for us to score killer deals, and WAY more small batches of things we’ve been saving for just this event!!! *** And yes, back by popular demand from the hardcore collectors, we WILL be having an EXTRA-SPECIAL “Hour of Power” from 1-2pm PST!! ***
Starting tomorrow at 9AM sharp (Napa time), we are embracing the madness of harvest and HAVING OUR BIGGEST BLOWOUT EVER — HUNDREDS, POSSIBLY THOUSANDS, of unbelievable bargains from every corner of Planet Earth. Seriously – more BURGUNDY, cult Cabs, and Bordeaux than ever, not to mention large formats, older vintages, and hot-off-the-press goodies…all at market-crushing prices. Plus, FREE GROUND SHIPPING on ALL ORDERS (contiguous states)! TRUE Madness.”
You should have an account to buy wine at the Last Bottle. If you don’t have one yet, make sure to sign up before the event will start. Better yet, I will be glad to be your reference – you will get $5 credit during your first purchase, and yes, I will make money on you – I will get $20. Once you are signed up though, you will be able to earn money the same way, by signing up your friends.
Here is the link you can use to sign up with the $5 bonus:
http://www.lastbottlewines.com/invite/4618917ef4f90628fb70367611992bc630d41515.html
Have fun and happy [great wine great value] hunting! Cheers!
Here is What You Probably Missed – Last Bottle Wines 5th Anniversary Marathon Madness
The Last Bottle, purveyor of the fine wines at a great value prices, is turning 5 (5 years old it is), and to celebrate this occasion, Last Bottle does it in their best possible style – by giving away offering crazy amount of crazy wines at crazy prices in the format of their inimitable Marathon Madness.
For those of you who still might not know what Last Bottle Wine is: Last Bottle Wine is an online wine store specializing in so called “Flash” wine sales – they offer wines at a very substantial discounts (sometimes reaching 80%), also with free shipping if required minimum number of bottles is purchased, which is typically 3 to 6 bottles. Last Bottle Wines selection is outstanding, offering wines from well known producers, which are often also hard to find. You need to have an account to buy from Last Bottle Wines, so in case you don’t have one yet, I will be glad to be your “reference” and you can use this link to sign up. If you sign up using this link, you will get $5 credit on your first order. Yes, I will get $20 bonus for signing you up – but remember that it will be you who will get $20 next time around when you will sign up your friends – and believe me, your friends will be thanking you profusely. To see why your friends will be thanking you, read on.
The Marathon Madness was announced only on Wednesday, hence the title of this post. However, it is not all lost yet – Friday 04/29 will be the second day of the marathon, and if anything will be left to sell, it will continue over the weekend (however, I doubt that). The great thing about Marathon is that the minimum quantity requirement doesn’t apply – you can buy wines by single bottles and still get the same great discount.
What I did today is to try to capture information about some of the offered wines. During marathon, the wines are sold at an incredible speed, sometimes within literally half a second (think of it as a clicking competition), so it is very difficult to collect meaningful information about the wines been sold. I spent a bit of time refreshing the browser window and capturing the pictures, so below is what I was able to collect. Note the pedigree, the prices, and most importantly (for me), the vintages – lots of offered wines are of the older vintages – 1994, 1998, 2000, etc., which means that they are perfectly ready to drink – this is priceless in my opinion.
Without further ado, here is what you probably missed (a very small subset of it):
Star Wars Last Bottle Wines Marathon – Starting Thursday, December 17
Finding great wine at even greater price is one of my favorite pet peeves, so I have to share this with you: Chrismukkapalooza (after publishing the post I learned that it was actually a Star Wars themed marathon, which coincides with the release of Star Wars flick #7) Last Bottle Wine Marathon is starting this Thursday, December 17th!
Yes, you heard me right – free up the room in your cellars, people. Last Bottle Wines is one of the very best purveyors of the fine wines at value wine prices, so their marathon events are not to be missed.
Starting at 12 pm US Eastern tine, the new wines will be offered at neck-breaking – sorry, rather finger-and-wallet-breaking – speed. You will have only split seconds to buy the wines, or they will be gone. There are no notifications of any kind during marathon, so all you can do is to hit refresh in your browser over and over again to see the new deals. Make sure you will be logged into your account during the process, because this will make a difference between “yes!” and “damn it!” (been there, done that many times). There are no minimums to get free shipping – all your orders will be accumulated and shipped at once a few days after marathon is over. The marathon will last for 2 days, but it can be shorter or longer, depending on how quickly all the wines will be sold out – and we are talking about 500 wines and 50,000 bottles. You will be also earning 2% back on every purchase, as usual, but not the $25 on the very last bottle.
Now, I’m sure many of you are already aware of Last Bottle wines and already have accounts with them. But for those of you who don’t have an account (and you need one to be able to buy the wines), you can use the link below to sign up:
http://www.lastbottlewines.com/invite/4618917ef4f90628fb70367611992bc630d41515.html
If you sign up using this link, you will get $5 credit on your first order. Yes, I will also get $20 bonus for signing you up – but remember that it will be you who will get $20 next time around when you will sign up your friends – and believe me, your friends will be thanking you profusely.
Happy Fine Wine hunting! Cheers!
Just When You Least Expect It – Last Bottle Festivus Marathon Madness, December 18th!
In its typical style, when you least expect it (meaning – the day before the event), Last Bottle, a purveyor of the fine wines at the value prices, announced yet another “Madness Marathon”. The promise is to make it the most over the top ever, and considering that at 1 PM Pacific time Last Bottle plans to offer Domaine de la Romanee Conti (yep, the sacred DRC!), that might not be an empty threat.
Here is all you need to know:
The event takes place on Thursday, December 18th, starting at 9 AM Pacific time (Noon Eastern), the wines will be offered at a neck-breaking (hmmm, may be, finger-breaking? ) speed at the Last Bottle web site. No notifications of any sort, not even on twitter – you have to click “refresh” all the time. No minimums, all the wines you will buy will ship free, shortly after the event will be over. The event will last for two days or until all the wine will be sold out.
You will need to have an account with Last Bottle, and I also highly recommend to be logged into your account all the time during the event, with your payment information filled it – if you are not fast enough, you are not getting that amazing wine at an amazing price – there is always someone who clicks faster than you.
As usual, when I mention Last Bottle, in case you don’t have an account with them already, I always offer an opportunity to sign up – if you will sign up using this link, you will get $5 off your first purchase, and yes, I will get $20 after your first purchase. The beauty is that moving forward, you can sign up your friends, and now you will be the one to get $20 after they will buy the wine from the Last Bottle.
Okay, enough reading – go make some room in your cellar – you will need it. And if you will be the one to buy the DRC, can you please at least leave a comment here, so I will be able to envy you?
Happy [great value wine] Hunting!
Another Wine Marathon – Last Bottle Marathon Madness – Starting Today!
Yes, I know – this is a last minute note – but I just got an e-mail about it…
Only yesterday the dust settled after the WTSO Magnum Marathon, yet another one of my favorite [amazing] value wine purveyors is throwing in a challenge to our wallets and our storage spaces (who had been threatened recently by the significant other to go live outside of the house “if you only…” on one or both counts – raise your hand!) – Last Bottle Madness Marathon will be starting today (04/24) at 12 PM Eastern/ 9 AM Pacific time, and continuing for the next 48 hours, or until the Last Bottle cellar will be empty.
All the wines will be offered in the rapid succession, without any notifications – no twitter, no e-mails, no text messages. The only way to follow the madness is by constantly refreshing your browser window. There are no minimum requirements – you can buy 1 bottle at a time, it is fine. All the wines you will buy will be shipped together 2-3 weeks after the event.
You will need to have an account with Last Bottle wines, and I suggest that in that account you will have all the information ready to go – speaking from the experience, the wine you want might be well gone by the time you will finish putting in expiration date for your credit card. In case if you don’t have a Last Bottle account already, I will be glad to be your reference – if you will sign up using this link, you will get $5 credit on your first order (yes, I will get $20 credit after your first purchase – but once you are in, now you will be the one who will tell friends about it). In case the link doesn’t work, feel free to send me an e-mail to talkavino-info (at) yahoo (dot) com.
Happy [amazing wine at great value] hunting!
Don’t Miss Last Bottle Wine Marathon – December 19-20
The Last Bottle, a purveyor of fine wines at a great value, just announced their Chrismukkapalooza Marathon which will take place today and tomorrow. This event is very similar to the WTSO marathons, with few important differences.
For the next two days, Last Bottle will be offering lots of value-priced fine wines at their web site, changing in the rapid succession (some deals might be there only for the seconds). The event will start at 9 AM Pacific time, and will continue for two days or until they will run out of wines. There are no minimums to get free shipping (that is what I like the most – you can try lots of wines). All orders will ship after January 6th.
You should have an account to buy wine at the Last Bottle. If you don’t have one yet, make sure to sign up before the event will start. Better yet, I will be glad to be your referral – you will get $5 credit at your first purchase, and yes, I will make money on you – I will get $20. Send me an email with your email address to (talkavino-info) (at) (yahoo) (dot) (com), and I will be glad to sign you up.
[Added after original post was published]: It also appears that you don’t need to send me an e-mail, but instead you can sign up directly through this referral link:
http://www.lastbottlewines.com/invite/4618917ef4f90628fb70367611992bc630d41515.html
Have fun and happy hunting! Cheers!
Last Bottle Sign Up ($10 credit)
Talk-A-Vino 