Napa's new hotshots

[Craig Camp]

Today, a new crop of wineries is striving for a position among the current cabal of Napa Valley’s elite Cabernet producers. The challenge for these newcomers is to make great wine, and make great wine consistently. These new contenders will need to show they’ve got the staying power of their predecessors.

I feel charging a $100.00 for a first release is a bit arrogant to say the least. Paying $100.00 a bottle for a first release is another thing altogether. With so many fine wines being produced in the wine today how do wineries convince people to pay so much money for an unproven wine?

[Schielke]

If it gets a good wine spectator review, it will sell caseloads.

Ben

[docsconz]

Today, a new crop of wineries is striving for a position among the current cabal of Napa Valley’s elite Cabernet producers. The challenge for these newcomers is to make great wine, and make great wine consistently. These new contenders will need to show they’ve got the staying power of their predecessors.

I feel charging a $100.00 for a first release is a bit arrogant to say the least. Paying $100.00 a bottle for a first release is another thing altogether. With so many fine wines being produced in the wine today how do wineries convince people to pay so much money for an unproven wine?

I agree with you, Craig, I think it is absurd to pay that money, especially in today's market, for an unproven product. I would think that the pedigree of the people making the wine would be of the "cult" caliber, (e.g. Helen Turley). In other words, something should be "proven" about its provenance at least. whether the market thinks the provenance is worth the money is another question.

[redwinegulper]

Some people will buy it, but not me. If someone else is buying, I'd love a sip to see what the fanfare is all about.

[Mark Sommelier]

I feel charging a $100.00 for a first release is a bit arrogant to say the least. Paying $100.00 a bottle for a first release is another thing altogether. With so many fine wines being produced in the wine today how do wineries convince people to pay so much money for an unproven wine?

Tell that to Jess Jackson. Remember Verité? Remember Cardinale? When the wine dudes bring me first release wines at this price level, I remind them that I am buying Leoville Las Cases, Lynch Bages, Pichon Lalande, Tertre Roteboeuf for LESS. Why would I buy that? Same with boutique California Pinot Noirs. When you can buy Clos de Vougeot for less, why bother?

[Bill Klapp]

I'm getting bored with the California wine scene. I agree that, when the wine is good, the cult wineries seem to be able to sell all that they can produce at whatever price they ask. I had the good fortune to get on all of the heavy-hitter mailing lists (except Marcassin, of course!) when the getting was good. Maybe I'm jaded, but I have already let my Togni, Rochioli, Martinelli, Turley, Dalla Valle, Araujo, Pahlmeyer, Peter Michael, Pride Mountain, Kistler and Abreu go, and I did not take Bill Harlan up on his recent Bond offering. At some point, I decided that I am not prepared to pay $50 for a bottle of Zinfandel, $60+ for a bottle of oaky but well-made Chardonnay and $175 for a bottle of off-vintage Cabernet. I also found myself selling off all but the greatest past vintages of the cult Cabs, and using the money to buy off-the-charts quality French and Italian wines. Somehow, it makes good sense to me to convert a $500 bottle of Bryant Family into, say, a 1996 Leroy Romanee St.-Vivant or two bottles of 1997 Gaja Sori San Lorenzo. For others like Colgin, Bryant, Screaming Eagle and Harlan, I find myself fencing the weaker vintages to friends just to stay on the list (sharing some of my allocation in the great vintages with them, of course). And I'm getting tired of that game, as are many others I know. Tying up thousands of dollars for extended periods of time for wines that I ultimately do not want to keep is pointless, especially when the ageworthiness of the best of the cult Cabs is completely untested. Against that backdrop, I recently found a couple of cases of 2000 Leoville-Las Cases at $133 a bottle. Does that make more sense than the 2000 Colgin Cariad (the third wine from a mediocre vintage) at $165? I certainly think so.

[Mark Sommelier]

I just passed on the 2000 Colgin single vineyards that were offered to me at $250 a bottle, wholesale. Why bother?

[Sparkitus]

US Wineries selling first releases at these ridiculous prices (and from young vineyards, no less) are simply trading on the insecurity of the consumer. The mindset is that if the price tag is high, it will create demand - and it does. It doesn't require any discernment, just a willingness or need to keep up with the Joneses.