Mountainside tannins are quite tight in this young bottling, as they should be. This will unwind beautifully with extended cellaring that will soften the tannins and integrate the oak load, leaving a solid representation of the AVA. A Platinum Award winner at the 2021 Sommelier Challenge International Wine & Spirits Competition. 94-POINTS Oct 5, 2021
About the Wine
Classic Spring Mountain hillside Cabernet Sauvignon! Sourced from one of Napa Valley’s more impressive (not to mention naturally low-yielding) vineyards, this Cabernet Sauvignon retails well north of $75/bottle and has mid 90-point scores from either the Wine Spectator or Wine Enthusiast for the 2014-2016 vintages. This is an incredible deal at $32/bottle.
Recent review from Joe Roberts - One Wine Dude:
2018 OG de Negoce Cabernet Sauvignon N. 25 (Spring Mountain District): Punching so far above its weight class and price stature that it must have Inspector Gadget arms. A-
The dense color powerfully suggests its mountain origins. Graphite and violets halo perfumed cherry notes and a beam of pure raspberry fruit framed against savory, earthy tones of rocky clay, crushed rock, bell pepper, and seasoned oak. Blackberry and leather come out with air. Smooth and sophisticated on entry with elegant mouthfeel and subtle fruit framed against firm yet refined mountain tannins on the finish. Structure and elegance abound in this well-proportioned Cabernet weighing in at 14.2% alcohol. Drink now with a good decant and over the next 20 years.
July 2nd Update – Showing quite well now and opening up nicely…elegant, perfumed cherry notes match savory earthy tones of rocky clay, bell pepper, seasoned oak, elegant mouthfeel with firm mountain structure on the finish. Recommend 24-hour decant at this young stage…fairly low pH and big tannin structure has kept this wine pretty tight but it should begin to really sing in the Fall
Since the end of Prohibition, layer-upon-layer of government-mandated middlemen and cumbersome state-by-state distribution policies have created the world’s most inefficient wine market. Only in the USA does a wine that costs $10 to produce end up costing you $50.
Enter de Négoce. With 20+ years of global wine sourcing experience, we have become the #1 direct-to-consumer wine brand in the country in just one year of business. How? We source excess exceptional wine from icon and boutique wineries and sell it directly to you at incredible prices. Simple.
Available States
AZ, CA, CO, CT, DC, FL, GA, ID, IL, IN, IA, KS, LA, ME, MD, MA, MI, MN, MO, MT, NE, NV, NH, NJ, NM, NY, NC, OH, OK, OR, PA, SC, SD, TX, VT, VA, WA, WI, WY
@kaolis
Just got home ~20 minutes ago and did a quick ‘is it here?’
Went by the locker on the way home as well; nope, at least not within one layer deep.
Did find a few other cases: CS, Zin and some PN’s.
It’ll show up, somewhere, sometime.
Most likely Wednesday, or later.
I’ll keep looking…
[edit] While CT shows this still pending, I see there is, a now expired UPS, tracking number suggesting it was delivered at the locker.
I’ll take another look in the AM on the way to work.
2018 OG deNegoce Cabernet Sauvignon Spring Mountain District Napa Valley N.25
This wine has credentials, which are listed in the description above. It sounds impressive. One thing which gave me pause in reading about it on the website (and above) was the suggestion for a 24-hour decant. I looked around and found their description of the process (decant, let stand for an hour or two, rebottle, wait 24 hours). I didn’t have time for that, but I did decant and rebottle the wine about five hours before dinner, when my daughter and I were going to taste it. Since I did not give it the 24-hour rest as indicated, that could have affected the evaluation, although neither of us noted any significant difference in the wine the second day at dinner when we finished the last of it.
So, to the details. I poured a little sample before decanting and it was unimpressive: no prominent aroma, medium color, tart, cherry flavors, unbalanced. At dinner a few hours later, it seemed somehow to have darkened in color, and now seemed more Cabernet-like. I noted the cherry flavors again, and some other flavors I couldn’t really identify (but not bad). The second taster also tasted cherry, and added that the cherry was accompanied by some unidentified off-taste at one point. We both found it on the astringent, tannic side. (This was to be expected, based on the description above and on the website.) My wife tasted it, and her comment was “I won’t fight you for it.”
To make things interesting, I looked in the cellar and found another 2018 Cab from an earlier Casemates offer. This was the 2018 The Huntsman Cabernet Sauvignon (from the “Washington Cabernet Sauvignon Trio” offered on June 5, 2020, at a case price of $10.42/bottle). We tasted this just after pulling the cork and it was a nice Cab, with a milder finish and more fruit. Mellower, with some vanilla tones, with a softer mouthfeel. (Hint: if you have any of this left, it’s time to be drinking it.) The Huntsman blew the deNegoce away, sorry to say.
So, to conclude. At present, we did not find this to be a very attractive wine. Maybe with age, it will prove to be spectacular. If you’re young and have cellar space, and if the price comes in low enough, it might be worth taking a chance and getting a case to put away for a while. I’m 82 and would probably just be buying it for my heirs.
BTW, does anybody know the significance of the “OG” on the label? Some websites include it the name of the winery (as I have done above), but others just ignore it. I looked at the de Negoce web site and didn’t find any clues.
@DickL: Just wanted to point out, you’re essentially comparing a $20 bottle of wine with little oak aging and likely added residual sugar to a $75 bottle of wine that’s meant to age for up to 15-20 years. The Denegoce has a long time in barrel and a lot of new oak. Hence the recommendation for a long decant. Many people that are buying these high-end cabernet’s are cellaring them for a time and/or the long decant. It’s not a pop & pour.
@lastgoodbye Yes, you’re right it’s not a pop & pour. Which is what many of us here are looking for. At least things that can be consumed over the next 5 years or so. So it was not a fair comparison except from that perspective.
I can’t tell whether a wine like this will age well, but apparently the experts believe it will, so it may be a good opportunity for someone with money, space, and patience.
@DickL@Drez143@lastgoodbye@rjquillin
I think the added sugar reference is to stuff like megapurple and the fact that many “commercial” or “grocery store” wines in that price range have a bit more RS. Like InZinerator or its predecessor, Menage a Trois.
I appreciate the discussion of what kind of wine this is meant to be. That’s an important part of evaluating these wines and that’s why it’s good to include this sort of information in a lab rat report. If we don’t know where the reviewer is coming from it’s hard to figure out what weighting to give it. (FWIW, I think @DickL did a pretty good job of indicating that he prefers a wine to drink now and that to his palate this was not it.)
I’ve really enjoyed the de Négoce Washington Cabernet Sauvignon bottles from June, great Washington Cab QPR. Inflation has moved my $15 max per bottle budget up to $20 max (and made me even stingier); sadly, I’ll have to pass on this one. If past performance is any part a future indicator, I’m certain I would enjoy this…
@knotworking agreed! The June offering was fantastic! The cost of this one bumps it out of my budget, unfortunately, but I sure wish I could try this one!
Very excited for the delivery - it came in on Wednesday and we opened it on Saturday. We’ve had some brutal temps here for PA so I tried to give it as long of a rest as we could before we left for the weekend.
Last offering here was our first exposure to de Négoce and we really enjoyed it. Found it very enjoyable and well balanced.
At pop and pour with this bottle it feels much younger and less developed than the previous offering. Not bad in any way, just a little flat across the board. Fruit was somewhat subtle - cherry, plum. Tannins in our bottle weren’t too strong, I didn’t find it especially astringent, though I do actually like that in a younger fruit forward cab. The second glass was much like the first, I didn’t feel like it opened up much from one to the other. We didn’t decant or aerate either of them. None of this is criticism, I just think it is drinking young and I’d leave it down for a little while.
I wish we had time to really let this open up for a longer period of time and that it wasn’t so hot to see if that had made a difference as well.
Either way I’m in for a case just based on the strength of the previous offering and the potential of this one - I think with some time down and some time to open up this might really sing as a well balanced wine, but trying to pop and pour in the August heat wasn’t the best day for it
Regarding the Price Comparison above, it is available online at de Negoce for $32, minimum order 6, $10 ship plus tax. Not sure what the original offer price was. Word on the street for the source of this wine is Spring Mountain Vineyard and possibly, so that means maybe or maybe not, identical to the producers bottling. If it’s Spring Mountain Vineyard, if, the 2018 sells for $85.
Thinking of a 4 pack to Wisconsin, but I’m getting kind of old for buying cellar aging wine…ha!
Lots of fwiw, sorry
@ctmariner@kaolis@klezman Depending on how long it has to sit in an un-air-conditioned UPS truck on its way to you. Twice in the last month I was expecting wine and listening for the knock or doorbell, and next time I check online, it says ‘we missed you’ and there was a door tag. I ended up re-routing to a UPS store just to be sure (and paying the membership fee). But in the hot time of year, especially for a wine like this, I wish I could “library” it in a warehouse at Wine Country Connect (if there is such a place; maybe it’s just virtual), and then at some point say “deliver my stored library wines from the last few months”.
@ctmariner@klezman@pmarin I know and I agree. I have had a few back and forth exchanges with WD over the shipping model. Other than four or five casemates orders I never have wine shipped in warm months. And those are ones that squeaked into June, all but one to Wisconsin. Casemates is the only place that refuses to join the real world and hold shipping, it’s unfortunate. Two day summer shipping helps. UPS here is reliable, if I order it will go to a hold location. And heck late August average lows here are mid 50’s and highs mid 70’s. Haven’t decided. First world troubles…ha!
Found in the locker after moving ~20+ or so cases…
Purchased at release 2020.11.28
Pulled the agglomerated cork closure, showing only 2~3 mm saturation, half neck fill, just after I arrived at work this morning 06:40, tipped off a bit to make it mid shoulder, and let it slo-ox in my office that is generally around 21~23°C or so, depending on if the sensor thinks the room is occupied or not.
Tasted blind at work, the three red wine drinkers at work sampled, out of clear plastic solo cups, and I’m just now adding my notes from Casemates stemless.
Appearance is quite dark and saturated; poured clear with no sediment and looks to be just loosing it’s purple ‘I’ve just been bottled and need some time yet’ robe.
All at work commented on the aromatics but without much specificity, just dark fruits with no mention of alcohol. I’ll agree, but as it’s now up to 24.0 it does seem to show some alcohol. Cooling it off in the fridge a bit and it’s now down to 19.2 and that’s now gone.
Taste wise, at work, dark berries, cherry and a bit of spice and oak were common comments, one good palate added bell pepper. Another, also a bitter beer drinker, liked the dryness and oak/tannin components. Medium, drying finish.
All approved of the balance and overall profile and two identified it as Cab Sauv.
I’m pretty much in agreement. This isn’t a heavy CS. For me on the reserved, that I prefer, but not to the lean side, adequate fruit, pretty well balanced with the oak, that is there but not at all overwhelming as are the tannins (not overwhelming). Given a decently long decant, this drinks ok for such a young bottling. As I’ve not had it open for a few days, I hesitate to comment on aging potential, but it seems like it should.
All agreed for a $20 bottle there would be no hesitation to pour for friends, but not if you’re looking for a bottle to challenge you.
[edit to add] Moscato drinking swmbo quite approved, which absolutely floored me!
About that “decently long decant” I was mentioning now 11 days ago…
In the fridge, a bit over a half bottle, no Ar, just the cork.
Good things come to those exercising patience; well covid assisted in the wait, but has really opened up, picked up a bit of heft and knitted itself nicely together.
This is one to absolutely not be in a hurry with. Just put them away behind other cases and find them again in a few years…
How much more are you saving by buying a full case?
(Note: Tax & Shipping not included in savings calculations).
2018 de Négoce Lot 25 Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon - $40 = 13.32%
2018 de Négoce Lot 25 Cabernet Sauvignon, Spring Mountain District, Napa Valley
94 Points, Platinum Medal, 2021 Sommelier Challenge Wine Competition
Tasting Notes
About the Wine
Recent review from Joe Roberts - One Wine Dude:
Specs
What’s Included
4-bottles:
Case:
Price Comparison
Not for sale online, $384/case MSRP
About The Winery
Available States
AZ, CA, CO, CT, DC, FL, GA, ID, IL, IN, IA, KS, LA, ME, MD, MA, MI, MN, MO, MT, NE, NV, NH, NJ, NM, NY, NC, OH, OK, OR, PA, SC, SD, TX, VT, VA, WA, WI, WY
Estimated Delivery
Monday, Aug 29 - Wednesday, Aug 31
2018 de Négoce OG N.25 Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon
4 bottles for $99.99 $25/bottle + $2/bottle shipping
Case of 12 for $259.99 $21.67/bottle + $1/bottle shipping
I wonder where I put, if I can find, this case…
@rjquillin Well… ???
@kaolis
Just got home ~20 minutes ago and did a quick ‘is it here?’
Went by the locker on the way home as well; nope, at least not within one layer deep.
Did find a few other cases: CS, Zin and some PN’s.
It’ll show up, somewhere, sometime.
Most likely Wednesday, or later.
I’ll keep looking…
[edit] While CT shows this still pending, I see there is, a now expired UPS, tracking number suggesting it was delivered at the locker.
I’ll take another look in the AM on the way to work.
@kaolis @rjquillin
Yes, please. And don’t forget, wine is the breakfast of champions!
@kaolis @pseudogourmet98 cork pulled
@pseudogourmet98 @rjquillin dunk your toast in it
@rjquillin
@kaolis @pseudogourmet98
Not going to be until after 17:00 or so PDT.
I’m still a working stiff.
@kaolis @pseudogourmet98 @kawichris650
It’s done…
2018 OG deNegoce Cabernet Sauvignon Spring Mountain District Napa Valley N.25
This wine has credentials, which are listed in the description above. It sounds impressive. One thing which gave me pause in reading about it on the website (and above) was the suggestion for a 24-hour decant. I looked around and found their description of the process (decant, let stand for an hour or two, rebottle, wait 24 hours). I didn’t have time for that, but I did decant and rebottle the wine about five hours before dinner, when my daughter and I were going to taste it. Since I did not give it the 24-hour rest as indicated, that could have affected the evaluation, although neither of us noted any significant difference in the wine the second day at dinner when we finished the last of it.
So, to the details. I poured a little sample before decanting and it was unimpressive: no prominent aroma, medium color, tart, cherry flavors, unbalanced. At dinner a few hours later, it seemed somehow to have darkened in color, and now seemed more Cabernet-like. I noted the cherry flavors again, and some other flavors I couldn’t really identify (but not bad). The second taster also tasted cherry, and added that the cherry was accompanied by some unidentified off-taste at one point. We both found it on the astringent, tannic side. (This was to be expected, based on the description above and on the website.) My wife tasted it, and her comment was “I won’t fight you for it.”
To make things interesting, I looked in the cellar and found another 2018 Cab from an earlier Casemates offer. This was the 2018 The Huntsman Cabernet Sauvignon (from the “Washington Cabernet Sauvignon Trio” offered on June 5, 2020, at a case price of $10.42/bottle). We tasted this just after pulling the cork and it was a nice Cab, with a milder finish and more fruit. Mellower, with some vanilla tones, with a softer mouthfeel. (Hint: if you have any of this left, it’s time to be drinking it.) The Huntsman blew the deNegoce away, sorry to say.
So, to conclude. At present, we did not find this to be a very attractive wine. Maybe with age, it will prove to be spectacular. If you’re young and have cellar space, and if the price comes in low enough, it might be worth taking a chance and getting a case to put away for a while. I’m 82 and would probably just be buying it for my heirs.
BTW, does anybody know the significance of the “OG” on the label? Some websites include it the name of the winery (as I have done above), but others just ignore it. I looked at the de Negoce web site and didn’t find any clues.
@DickL “OG” as in Original, that’s the “Cush”, baby, ha ha
@DickL: Just wanted to point out, you’re essentially comparing a $20 bottle of wine with little oak aging and likely added residual sugar to a $75 bottle of wine that’s meant to age for up to 15-20 years. The Denegoce has a long time in barrel and a lot of new oak. Hence the recommendation for a long decant. Many people that are buying these high-end cabernet’s are cellaring them for a time and/or the long decant. It’s not a pop & pour.
@lastgoodbye
Say what?
@lastgoodbye Yes, you’re right it’s not a pop & pour. Which is what many of us here are looking for. At least things that can be consumed over the next 5 years or so. So it was not a fair comparison except from that perspective.
I can’t tell whether a wine like this will age well, but apparently the experts believe it will, so it may be a good opportunity for someone with money, space, and patience.
@DickL @lastgoodbye I’m not here for pop and pours.
I’m only here for RPM autobuys.
@DickL @Drez143 @lastgoodbye @rjquillin
I think the added sugar reference is to stuff like megapurple and the fact that many “commercial” or “grocery store” wines in that price range have a bit more RS. Like InZinerator or its predecessor, Menage a Trois.
I appreciate the discussion of what kind of wine this is meant to be. That’s an important part of evaluating these wines and that’s why it’s good to include this sort of information in a lab rat report. If we don’t know where the reviewer is coming from it’s hard to figure out what weighting to give it. (FWIW, I think @DickL did a pretty good job of indicating that he prefers a wine to drink now and that to his palate this was not it.)
I’ve really enjoyed the de Négoce Washington Cabernet Sauvignon bottles from June, great Washington Cab QPR. Inflation has moved my $15 max per bottle budget up to $20 max (and made me even stingier); sadly, I’ll have to pass on this one. If past performance is any part a future indicator, I’m certain I would enjoy this…
@knotworking agreed! The June offering was fantastic! The cost of this one bumps it out of my budget, unfortunately, but I sure wish I could try this one!
@andrewharry91 @knotworking Those Washington Cabs were phenomenal!
Very excited for the delivery - it came in on Wednesday and we opened it on Saturday. We’ve had some brutal temps here for PA so I tried to give it as long of a rest as we could before we left for the weekend.
Last offering here was our first exposure to de Négoce and we really enjoyed it. Found it very enjoyable and well balanced.
At pop and pour with this bottle it feels much younger and less developed than the previous offering. Not bad in any way, just a little flat across the board. Fruit was somewhat subtle - cherry, plum. Tannins in our bottle weren’t too strong, I didn’t find it especially astringent, though I do actually like that in a younger fruit forward cab. The second glass was much like the first, I didn’t feel like it opened up much from one to the other. We didn’t decant or aerate either of them. None of this is criticism, I just think it is drinking young and I’d leave it down for a little while.
I wish we had time to really let this open up for a longer period of time and that it wasn’t so hot to see if that had made a difference as well.
Either way I’m in for a case just based on the strength of the previous offering and the potential of this one - I think with some time down and some time to open up this might really sing as a well balanced wine, but trying to pop and pour in the August heat wasn’t the best day for it
Regarding the Price Comparison above, it is available online at de Negoce for $32, minimum order 6, $10 ship plus tax. Not sure what the original offer price was. Word on the street for the source of this wine is Spring Mountain Vineyard and possibly, so that means maybe or maybe not, identical to the producers bottling. If it’s Spring Mountain Vineyard, if, the 2018 sells for $85.
Thinking of a 4 pack to Wisconsin, but I’m getting kind of old for buying cellar aging wine…ha!
Lots of fwiw, sorry
@kaolis fwiw (!) original offer in 2020 was $216 a case + $29 shipping + tax so $20.42 a bottle shipped + tax
@ctmariner @kaolis $1/bottle for an additional 1.5-2 years in bottle seems like a good deal.
@ctmariner @kaolis @klezman Depending on how long it has to sit in an un-air-conditioned UPS truck on its way to you. Twice in the last month I was expecting wine and listening for the knock or doorbell, and next time I check online, it says ‘we missed you’ and there was a door tag. I ended up re-routing to a UPS store just to be sure (and paying the membership fee). But in the hot time of year, especially for a wine like this, I wish I could “library” it in a warehouse at Wine Country Connect (if there is such a place; maybe it’s just virtual), and then at some point say “deliver my stored library wines from the last few months”.
@ctmariner @klezman @pmarin I know and I agree. I have had a few back and forth exchanges with WD over the shipping model. Other than four or five casemates orders I never have wine shipped in warm months. And those are ones that squeaked into June, all but one to Wisconsin. Casemates is the only place that refuses to join the real world and hold shipping, it’s unfortunate. Two day summer shipping helps. UPS here is reliable, if I order it will go to a hold location. And heck late August average lows here are mid 50’s and highs mid 70’s. Haven’t decided. First world troubles…ha!
OG N.25
Found in the locker after moving ~20+ or so cases…
Purchased at release 2020.11.28
Pulled the agglomerated cork closure, showing only 2~3 mm saturation, half neck fill, just after I arrived at work this morning 06:40, tipped off a bit to make it mid shoulder, and let it slo-ox in my office that is generally around 21~23°C or so, depending on if the sensor thinks the room is occupied or not.
Tasted blind at work, the three red wine drinkers at work sampled, out of clear plastic solo cups, and I’m just now adding my notes from Casemates stemless.
Appearance is quite dark and saturated; poured clear with no sediment and looks to be just loosing it’s purple ‘I’ve just been bottled and need some time yet’ robe.
All at work commented on the aromatics but without much specificity, just dark fruits with no mention of alcohol. I’ll agree, but as it’s now up to 24.0 it does seem to show some alcohol. Cooling it off in the fridge a bit and it’s now down to 19.2 and that’s now gone.
Taste wise, at work, dark berries, cherry and a bit of spice and oak were common comments, one good palate added bell pepper. Another, also a bitter beer drinker, liked the dryness and oak/tannin components. Medium, drying finish.
All approved of the balance and overall profile and two identified it as Cab Sauv.
I’m pretty much in agreement. This isn’t a heavy CS. For me on the reserved, that I prefer, but not to the lean side, adequate fruit, pretty well balanced with the oak, that is there but not at all overwhelming as are the tannins (not overwhelming). Given a decently long decant, this drinks ok for such a young bottling. As I’ve not had it open for a few days, I hesitate to comment on aging potential, but it seems like it should.
All agreed for a $20 bottle there would be no hesitation to pour for friends, but not if you’re looking for a bottle to challenge you.
[edit to add] Moscato drinking swmbo quite approved, which absolutely floored me!
@rjquillin A 20 case move? Well now that’s a yeoman’s service indeed!
Now to decipher the notes…
@kaolis actually pretty normal for anything that’s not ‘on top’ 'cause it just arrived.
@kaolis @rjquillin gees how big is that darn locker?!
@kaolis @rjquillin @ttboy23
@hscottk @kaolis @rjquillin
!
About that “decently long decant” I was mentioning now 11 days ago…
In the fridge, a bit over a half bottle, no Ar, just the cork.
Good things come to those exercising patience; well covid assisted in the wait, but has really opened up, picked up a bit of heft and knitted itself nicely together.
This is one to absolutely not be in a hurry with. Just put them away behind other cases and find them again in a few years…
Or give them a ‘decently long decant’
How much more are you saving by buying a full case?
(Note: Tax & Shipping not included in savings calculations).
2018 de Négoce Lot 25 Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon - $40 = 13.32%