Dolcetto, one of Italy’s most popular every day drinking varietals, is a still undiscovered varietal in the US. We hope that you will enjoy one of our favorite varietals, grown here in the Napa Valley. It is a lush, medium to full-bodied wine, rich with bright, raspberry and cherry aromas. The intense flavors of cherry and spice come together beautifully in a balanced wine that is a perfect compliment to meat dishes, pasta with hearty sauces and of course, our family favorite, PIZZA. It is perfect for an everyday casual meal or for that special meal to celebrate life.
The Dolcetto flavor profile, although often thought to be a sweet wine, is not a sweet wine. It is unique to its own flavor but lies somewhere between a Pinot Noir and a Zinfandel. The grapes are whole berry processed and they are then barrel aged for 3-4 years in 100% French Oak, 10% of which is from new French Oak barrels.
As proprietor and winemaker, Rob Lawson strives to integrate Napa Valley’s climate and growing techniques and conditions with true Italian varietals. The Pelissa family propagated this old Torino clone at the University of California, Davis in 1981. Of the nine total acres of Dolcetto planted in the Napa Valley, all are under our management. It’s a wine we love to make and drink.
Specifications
You will receive 3 bottles or 12 bottles of Pavi Dolcetto from the following vintages: 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2012 or 2013. Regardless of pack size, you will receive at least 2 different vintages. Specs below reflect the 2012 vintage.
Blend: 100% Dolcetto, whole berry processed
Region: Napa Valley
Sub-Region: Rutherford and Yountville
Appellation: Napa Valley
Vineyard: Del Bondio-Bella Oaks, Yountmill-Block House
Winery: Pavi Napa Valley
Owners: Rob & Pavi Lawson
Founded: 1998
Location: St. Helena, CA Napa County
Winemaking in Northern California has deep roots in the varietals planted by early agricultural immigrants from Italy. PAVI is a nod to our heritage offering classic Italian varietals influenced by the California climate and modern winemaking techniques. Limited production wines for today’s table, including Pinot Grigio, Dolcetto, Montepulciano, Cabernet and Vin Santo.
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, ND, OH, OR, PA, RI, SC, SD, TN, TX, VT, VA, WA, WV, WI, WY
Pavi Mystery Library Dolcetto
3 bottles for $54.99 $18.33/bottle + $2.67/bottle shipping
Case of 12 for $164.99 $13.75/bottle + $1/bottle shipping
Pavi Dolcetto from the following vintages: 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2012 or 2013
Too bad these aren’t cabs. Gotta hand it to WD and the marketing team. You don’t see the term “library Dolcetto” every day. I remember when a case of 05-08 was 75 bucks on Woot a couple of years back. I miss the old days!
A 21 bottle vertical of '05 ~ '11 in the cellar.
If only I could insure those '00 ~ '04 bottles would be the ones, well, with some '12 and '13 as well.
How much more are you saving by buying a full case?
(Note: Tax & Shipping not included in savings calculations)
Pavi Mystery Library Dolcetto - $55 = 24.99%
Got three bottles on the March offer of the 2012. Opened a bottle when it came in, and liked it. Just opened the second bottle, and like it too: nice, mellow, mature red (but probably good for a few more years) with great wood in the flavor (but surprisingly not as much on the nose, although that develops as the wine warms in the mouth). Good red wine flavor without any particular fruit standing out. Definitely has some tannin-- teeth feel clean now-- but if you’re a red wine person like me, a good sipping wine.
I’d be in for a case if assured to get at a couple different of the 2000-2004, but at the 13.75 price I’m still tempted even if it’s all 2012 and 2013. I would be interested in some rattage on the 2013.
@DickL If memory serves (sometimes it does, sometimes it doesn’t), the 2013 was the most Italian-esque of their library; less wood and tannin. I found that I liked it better, SWMBO didn’t like it as much as their earlier vintages. Definitely worth it.
In for a case, I’ve been enjoying the last Pavi Dolcetto case as a casual daily drinker/food match for those times when a big Cab or spicy Zin would be overpowering. Nice and easy drinking red for those who “don’t like red wines” too.
Last time I bought this delicious juice was on WW. It was a cool 6 bottle vertical 2008 through 2010 and cost was under $12 a bottle. Thoughts on why these other years would be more? Is it worth it?
@MSUGOGRN I haven’t tried the other vintages but the 2012 offered here at the end of March was delicious. I paid $14 a bottle and feel like I got a bargain. Went in for a case of this as soon as I saw it.
I bought a case of Pavi dolcetto a couple years ago on WW for around $6/bottle, so I wonder too about the price increase. As I recall, it wasn’t great wine, but it was better than $6 wine, if anyone is buying this for $30/bottle I’d be shocked.
I feel I MUST compliment Pavi Wines on its Dolcetto.
We just finished another bottle.
What better way than to report to my fellow Casemates that even though my wife and I ordered TWO cases of the 2012 at $159.99 each on 3.30.18, and this offering is somewhat more expensive, we are ordering a THIRD today.
Just to emphasize how significant that is, since January 27 we have purchased 33 cases on my account, and seven on my wife’s. Of those 40 cases, three were gifts to our niece and her (pastor!) husband, and no more than the equivalent of five or six have been split off to others. I think its safe to assume, having this year purchased well over 30 cases of various wines for our own consumption, we really liked the Pavi Dolcetto.
We recommend it.
(In case you are wondering where we will put all that wine, our second wine cellar arrived today: Wine Enthusiast Giant 300-Bottle Wine Cellar with VinoView Shelving item # 264 03 59 03. It’s too bad it’s in the basement: It’s very attractive.)
As much as I enjoyed their dolcetto I really want to get in on this but I’m worried about the wine cooking on delivery to AZ. Any suggestions or feedback on delivery this time of year to areas with 110+ temps daily?
I hummed and hawed the last time this came up and I missed out. Womp-womp sad trombone. Went in for a case this time based on what jeffreywsnyder above had to say. (Also want to see this wine cellar btw!) Excited for this case to arrive. I plan on buying some procuitto and making fresh mozzarella for the occasion.
Thanks for all the fun comments and support
This is a great deal and super fun allocation with some cool older vintages
20 year anniversary, so we are bringing the love to you
Dolcetto is my fav. The style is rupee and richer than Italian but still refined and classy
We keep it classy
Very little new oak keep fruit ripe and bright
This is fun in summer with a slight chill and should solve any good pairings. Goes with sooo much. Sip away.
Look for our first Italian version in 2019 with the 2018 vintage
Rob
@RLaw66 have any recent tasting notes on how the older vintages compare to the 12 and 13? Loved the 2012. Would early 2000’s be considered getting pretty old for a Dolcetto?
It’s fun to see how well these have held up. All different but showing classy age and some youthful fruit.
In general these would be considered old for dolcetto. But we don’t make these in that lighter style.
We get our riper more extracted with a better base of tannins to age with. The beauty of it is to be able to try these with age
@mrn1 - I just saw your post about my Annie Amie order of 2 cases. When I ordered one case, I was able to order an additional case. It’s either a new feature, could be unique to a given producer, or they know a sucker looking for a great wine deal!!!
I got 4 x 2001, 4 x 2003, 4 x 2004. I was not expecting that at all. I have never had a Dolcetto, let alone a 15 year old Dolcetto. Gonna let them rest before trying one out but I cant wait! Thanks much!
I received 3 x 2000, 6 x 2003 & 3 x 2004. The 3 x 2000 were in plastic bags (not sealed, just bagged). One of the 2000 bottle was wet in the bag, and the label stained from wine (obviously wine on the bag/label). Cleaned it up & couldn’t find an obvious leak. On Sunday, I asked Casemates about the bags and if they thought the 2000 was ok to drink. I’ll wait until the weekdays, when they are back in the office & can reply, before I try the 2000…
BTW - I paid for the faster shipping (I’m in Indiana). It shipped FedEx two days, well packed, and had re-usable ice packs inside the styrofoam packing - VERY nice packaging.
Popped a 2004 just now. Initial smell is of mouldy cardboard. Tastes are almost completely muted. Gonna give it a while to breathe and see if it opens up but im concerned this is tainted by TCA. Ill report back later. Could just be old wine smell? I am not as familiar with old wines as i would like.
After no improvement after decanting, and maybe mild improvement after putting some plastic wrap in it after finding a suggestion on the internet that says that plastic wrap can pull the TCA out of wine, I went ahead and opened a 2nd bottle of 2004 for science. Thankfully, there is no Corked smell in this one! The cork was also intact, while the first cork broke off while extracting it. Tastes like what I would normally expect from a wine of this age. I think I can conclude that my first bottle was corked. The smell that comes to my mind on the corked wine is of moldy strawberries. I remember that smell from when I had a lunch box in Grade school and I would leave something in there too long, like strawberries.
Need some advice and input, as this is only my second ever Casemates (or ww) deal.
This arrived, with 8 of the 12 bottles in plastic bags and with wine that had leaked(?) in several of the bags? That is, when I open the bags, several bottles are wet and have the labels stained purple.
@pupator looks like these are bad bottles. go ahead and reach out to https://casemates.com/support and we’ll get you some replacements. sorry about that.
@pupator@Winedavid49 I think it would be more accurate to say that they knew something like that could happen. My bottles were in bags, but they did not leak.
@pupator i’m checking on this. some times when the carrier identifies leakage, they’ll put it in a bag. not sure if that was what you are seeing. but checking with winery. 2000 vintage might be a weak point here.
@Twich22@Winedavid49 Fair! In my case it happened to get all four bottles. support@ asked me to check the corks, and when I did I found that I could press down through the foil and feel “squish.” None of the 2002 or 2003 bottles were affected. Drinking one of the 2003s now and it’s made me feel better about the whole experience
@pupator@Twich22@Winedavid49 I had an order for 3, and got 1 each of 2000, 2002, and 2003. The 2000 and 2002 were in bags, the 2003 was not. The 2000 appeared to have leaked, and the cork was in somewhat rough shape when I opened it (though not particularly worse than the corks of other ~20 year old wines I’ve had). That said, the wine itself was fine (and actually quite good).
Based on solely on my experience, I would guess that either the batch of 2000s was exposed to a leaking bottle or two pre-packaging (and therefore wet), or there was something that happened recently to the 2000s (or some of them) that led to leaking/failure of the cork’s seal. Given that the wine was still fine in my case I’d assume the former, but then given @pupator’s experience the latter is certainly a possibility.
@IanMorr BTW I got 3 each of the 2000, 2002, 2003 and the 2004. Very happy with that selection overall. Will try to open one each of the vintages that made it this weekend to see how the fared
We received 3 bottles each of 2000, 2002, 2003, and 2004. The 2000’s and 2002’s were in plastic bags. We saw we had 2 leaky 2000’s, and opened both after reading the above comment. Both corks came out in tiny pieces. The wine was very cloudy, rusty brown/orange, smelled a bit of raisins, and tasted like vinegar(?). There was a LOT of sediment in each bottle. The third 2000 was in tact. The cork broke about 3/4 way down on the way out. But, it poured the right color and initial tasting is going well. Nowhere near the amount of sediment. The 2002 bottles seem dry, but we’ll probably try those next just in case. We will be contacting support.
@chrismartin@Twich22
Of course they were, the fact that they put them in a plastic bag means they knew there was a problem, guess they figured dumping old damaged product here wouldn’t be a problem. Or nobody would care or notice.
@chrismartin@ScottW58@Twich22 maybe. My last exchange with support was him implying I should have purchased the expedited shipping because this appears to him to be heat related. Really?
@chrismartin@pupator@Twich22
Wow! You know I buy a lot of wine from auction and elsewhere and to me disclosure is everything. If you are going to sell me a wine that needs to be put in a plastic bag I damn sure better know about it before I send you $$$ IMHO you get one chance at my money. ymmv
@Winedavid49 Just weighing in the with the same issue…could smell wine before I opened the box, so I had a little forewarning. 3 bottles of 2000 vintage, all wet with purple labels. No visible leakage on the others, but 2002 vintage all in plastic. Have not opened any yet, though…wrote to support already.
Unfortunately, if your experience is like ours, even the bottles that look good won’t be when you try to get the cork out, or get the cork out and try to drink it. I’m 0-6 on drinkable bottles at this point.
@pupator@ScottW58@Twich22 Wow, well I’m going to hope they make this right. We’re 20+ cases in since kickstarting this thing and we’ve had just one clearly bad (corked, “the Spaniard”) bottle. Until now…
Re: Pavi
The two (bagged!) leaky 2000’s were obviously, clearly bad. Dead, dead, dead. (Not a shipping issue!)
The final, third, bottle of 2000 that we hoped would be OK, really turned out just barely drinkable. In the glass, its color ended up somewhere in-between the orangey/browny of the first two and a “normal” red wine that we expected. (I hoped it might just be a slightly-oxidized Grenache-y type thing) Still a good amount of cloudiness. It wasn’t vinegar, but something was just off. I found myself wondering what the Dolcetto varietal even was. We started thinking we didn’t know what this was supposed to look/taste like…
So, we opened a bottle of the 2002. NIGHT and DAY! The 2002 had wonderful color — Hey, it’s actually a red wine! Just a touch of cloudiness. The deep, full cherry notes now came to the fore. Importantly, the plum went from being a kind of weird raisin-y aromatic in the bad bottles to being a deep, dark (actual) fruit that complements the cherry and raspberry on the low-end. Nice! Juicy, balanced, and lovely — A totally different wine (than the 2000) that we are quite happy to have at this price.
We concluded that all three of the 2000’s were dead. Two were clearly DOA. One had a very faint pulse and a cork that wasn’t quite mush — “I’m not dead yet!” — but in the end, the 2000 Pavi was a total bust for us.
I really hope this was a fluke. Clearing out bad/questionable product was nothing we had considered being part of, let alone paying for.
The final, third, bottle of 2000 that we hoped would be OK, really turned out just barely drinkable. In the glass, its color ended up somewhere in-between the orangey/browny of the first two and a “normal” red wine that we expected. (I hoped it might just be a slightly-oxidized Grenache-y type thing) Still a good amount of cloudiness. It wasn’t vinegar, but something was just off. I found myself wondering what the Dolcetto varietal even was. We started thinking we didn’t know what this was supposed to look/taste like…
Crap. This perfectly describes the 2003 bottle I opened and drank. Not bad enough that it was obviously spoiled, but just “off.” Very cloudy when held up to the light. A bit orange around the edges. And just weird. This means even the bottles that aren’t obviously ruined (like the 2000s) could still have been a total waste of money.
@chrismartin Replacements received! Thank you, Casemates, for making this right. We may have dipped, ehem dug into the original shipment a bit more aggressively than we would have otherwise. But, especially with the 2012 we just received as replacement, we feel like we are really getting to know Dolcetto (in life and death) and are happy with the varietal overall. In fact, we kinda dig it. Thanks again.
Chiming in to say I received a 2000, 2002 and 2003. Both the '00 and '02 were in plastic bags. and exactly as others have stated, the '00 was leaking with a brownish fluid and smelled heavily of raisins. I’m not even going to sip from that! The 2002 appears to be okay outwardly. May give it a go tomorrow. The fact they sent these in plastic bags says they knew there was a big issue with leaking/bad bottles and shipped them anyway. Not cool, but certainly not blaming WineDavid as I don’t believe they would have been okay with this either.
@DJZachAttack Mine arrived last night, in the same configuration, 2 of them in bags. I assumed it was an oversight on the one, not an issue with the two. I’ve posted additional comments below about my own experience, with the cork and excessive sediment.
I didn’t notice any leakage, but am concerned now as well.
After reading some of the above comments, I became very nervous about my own shipment that I received yesterday with the split of 2000, 2002, and 2003. The quick visual inspection that I gave them last night didn’t reveal any signs of wetness or staining on the labels, but like others the 2000 and 2002 were in plastic bags. With that, I grabbed the quarter promised to a coworker and took it with me for them.
When I got home this afternoon I decided I’d at least pop the capsules and inspect the corks. Of the three 2000 bottles that I have remaining, two had very clear signs of leakage on the cork and underside of the foil. The cork on the third bottle is extremely spongy, so I’m not sure if I should be relieved or scared. I’ve asked my coworker to check their 2000 when they get home.
For science (or maybe because I’m a glutton for disappointment) I opened one of the two obviously leaking bottles to see just how bad it was going to be. The smell and color were as others have noted. I ventured a taste and there’s no drinking this.
I went ahead and peeked at the corks for the 2002s since they were also bagged, but they all seem intact and of good consistency.
I ended up attempting a second bottle of the 2000 and its cork’s integrity was so compromised it came out in 2 large chunks, and a plethora of fragments. Sadly, the wine is no better than the first, save that it smells less musty. I think this vintage is a bust for me.
@drhellknow@pupator i’m starting to get perturbed myself. Pardon the hassle. but get your messaging in and we’ll make it right (and maybe more after i have a frank conversation…)
@Winedavid49 We decided that we’d try the 2002 since it was next in line, and ended up with two bottles of corks that looked fine but fell apart like wet sand, neither was remotely good. That’s half a case of failed wine in one night. Gotta stop myself before I get [s/m]ader.
@drhellknow@Winedavid49
I decided to open a 2002 bottle tonight, since that was the only vintage I haven’t tried yet, and the bottle looked perfect. That is, of course, until I put the corkscrew in it and the cork completely fell apart.
@pupator At this point all of the 2000 and 2002 bottles in my case were complete failures (both rank aroma and vinegary taste). Haven’t had the fortitude to try the 2003 (reverted to some Scott Harvey of known good quantity), but we’ll try to get to the 2003 soon.
Just because the cork crumbles with a corkscrew doesn’t necessarily mean the wine is bad. I’ve had plenty of good older bottles that you need an ah-so type opener in order to remove the cork without crumbling. I had one leaky bottle of this 2000 Dolcetto in my case, refrigerated it overnight, took the cork out with the ah-so and it’s not bad.
That’s not to say some folks didn’t receive bad bottles, just that it’s not a given they’re spoiled because you can’t pull the cork with a conventional corkscrew.
yea, we are looking into this. i’ll have to go check, but i think this is something like the 8th time we’ve worked with this winery with no perceptible issues. if you have issues, please communicate and replace the bad bottles (or we’ll send you an ah-so :-)…) JK
@Winedavid49 I just opened a 2002 and though the cork looked intact the corkscrew sank half way in. It’s not as noticeably so as the 2000s were, but still vinegary. Any guidance on what to do at this point? I already contacted support about the 2000s, but I’m concerned all 12 bottles are going to be the same story.
@Winedavid49 Yeah. Opened the other 2 2002s and they are undrinkable. Not sure I can stand to open the 2003s and 2004s tonight. Will give my mouth a chance to unpucker and open one of each tomorrow.
@Winedavid49 Just had a bottle of the 2003 and the 2004 of this. They were absolutely fantastic, so it looks like 6 of my 12 bottles are great. Hopefully we can get the issues with the 2000 and 2002 sorted, as I’d love to try them.
I got the same issue with a bad soggy cork. Saved the wine to use as a marinade for a few rib eye steaks. Needless to say I am worried about the other bottles since the first bottle we opened was in pretty bad shape with a bad taste. Okay for the marinade but I’d rather drink it instead.
I had a bottle of the 2001. The cork came out intact with my ah-so. The color was a cloudy pinot noir red. There were some bubbles that formed on the top of the wine after I poured it. Tasted a bit zippy. I am guessing some secondary fermentation happened in the bottle. Maybe thats why so many of these older bottles got ruined? Carbonation pressure build up + bad old corks = ruined wine? Anyways, I drank a quarter of a glass before deciding I had had enough and dumped the rest. It was not AWEFUL. It had some chemically tastes though. Kind of like the smell of un-used baby diapers or something. There were some fruit tastes that followed the initial chemical tastes, but I did not ponder them enough to even remember what they were. On the finish was the minerality from the secondary fermentation.
Overall, I don’t know if these things are all just from a bottle that is way past its prime or if this is something beyond mere age. I mean, obviously secondary fermentation should not be happening in a bottle of any age, right? Unless they put a little in their on purpose to add some minerality? Any thoughts?
All the 2000s I received are wet with spongy corks. I have tried for the last two days to reach someone at the number listed on the packing sheet with no luck.
@jsportcpa I believe your best route is to start with an email to Casemates customer service.
Actually, come to think of it, you should go into your Casemates acct and look for this order. There’s a button for reporting a problem, and that will give you a form to fill in.
Count me in for the cork issues. I neglected to look at the year for the bottle I opened last night, but when it came out the cork was pretty spongy and was absolutely caked with sediment, and the bottle opening was ringed with the stuff. I actually had to carefully wipe it away before I attempted to pour.
@ACraigL But how were the contents?
I’ve had great contents from bottles as you have described. Sediment is to be expected in older wine, especially if bottled unfiltered.
Just pulled a cork on a '12.
Saturated about 30% up, and soft in a way that would suggest caution for long term storage.
Contents were just fine with some Flannery sliders without the bread.
Just got back in town and picked up my case of mixed Pavi Dolcetto. I was excited to report my mix (three bottles each of 2000, 2002, 2003, 2004) on the forum and see what others have gotten. Then I saw all the issues people were having with the 2000 and 2002 bottles.
My 2000 and 2002 bottles were all bagged but none had obviously leaked or had stained labels. Naturally, I assumed I got the single magical shipment that would not have any issues.
I immediately opened up my bottles of 2000. The corks were wet with wine at the top. As others have reported they were absolutely undrinkable - orange in color, cloudy, and taste of stale raisins. Then I moved to the 2002. While the corks looked much better, the taste of the wine was definitely not better, sadly.
I will check out a bottle each of the 2003 and 2004 tomorrow.
I am submitting to casemates. I certainly am confident that @Winedavid49 was not aware of any potential issues and for now (until I hear otherwise) I will assume the winery did not know there was a serious issue either. Seems like a death sentence for a winery to purposefully sell “spoiled” wine. I got some of the previous Pavi offering and really liked it, hence my purchase of this unique mixed case.
At the risk of being unreasonably impatient, is there an ETA on when we will get resolution to this issue? I have $155 tied up in undrinkable wine. I’m confident it will be made right, but when?
Sigh- this makes me sad. All of the 2000s were in bags and wet. Opened one and the cork was soaked all the way up and smells of vinegar. Tried a sip of the wine anyway and it’s awful. I haven’t tried the other years yet but it looks like from the others to avoid the 2002 vintage maybe I’ll be brave and go grab an 03 & 04 just to inspect.
I’ll add my two cents: tonight I finally opened the first (leaky) bottle from this box. With the 2000 vintage approaching 18 years old, I figure it should have a week’s rest after shipping across the country. I suppose I got lucky in that only one bottle was leaking in its bag, although I see another where the cork is pushing out. Others may have seeped some wine out, and I won’t realize until I take off the foil.
I’ve broken enough fragile corks on eight or ten year old bottles, so I opted for a pressure-cork-pusher opener instead of a corkscrew. Where you push a needle through the bottom of the cork, and pump air into the bottle to gently push the cork out. It’s worked great for me so far!
This is the oldest not-Port wine I’ve ever tried, so it’s hard for me to judge what characteristics are due to spoilage (I assume cooking or temperature swings are mostly what would cause it to leak), and what’s due to age. I find it drinkable, although not as delicious as Pavi’s younger dolcetto. It is a little raisiny, a little hot with alcohol, but it still has that dolcetto fruit and a good aroma. It’s clear; there’s sediment and tartrate, but even this leaky bottle is not cloudy.
Perhaps I should open a few other bottles to be sure, but it looks like I won’t be reporting any problems. All that said, I do enjoy the younger dolcetto more, but I find it interesting to try this.
@ACraigL@raccoon81 I got 5 2012’s, 1 2004 and 1 2001. Loved the 2012 on the previous offer and the 2004 was great. Would have preferred more 2003s and 2004s but also happy to have more 2012 to age. Slightly worried about the 2001, given the last 3 were off but will consider it my bonus bottle and give it a week or two before opening.
My replacement arrived today. 10 bottles of 2012, 1 2003, and 1 2001. I’m of course nervous about the 2003 and 2001, but we’ll see. I’m also disappointed with the lack of variety in the other 10 bottles, but the original posting never promised variety, I guess.
I did not, so far as I can tell, receive a “bonus bottle.”
@chipgreen Yes. I’ve opened and tried all 4 bottles I got of 2003 and all were cloudy, orange around the rim, and tasted slightly off.
I only opened two bottles each of the 2000 and 2002. They were completely ruined. So while I technically still have 4 unopened bottles from the first case, I’d be stunned if ANY were drinkable.
Tasting Notes
Dolcetto, one of Italy’s most popular every day drinking varietals, is a still undiscovered varietal in the US. We hope that you will enjoy one of our favorite varietals, grown here in the Napa Valley. It is a lush, medium to full-bodied wine, rich with bright, raspberry and cherry aromas. The intense flavors of cherry and spice come together beautifully in a balanced wine that is a perfect compliment to meat dishes, pasta with hearty sauces and of course, our family favorite, PIZZA. It is perfect for an everyday casual meal or for that special meal to celebrate life.
The Dolcetto flavor profile, although often thought to be a sweet wine, is not a sweet wine. It is unique to its own flavor but lies somewhere between a Pinot Noir and a Zinfandel. The grapes are whole berry processed and they are then barrel aged for 3-4 years in 100% French Oak, 10% of which is from new French Oak barrels.
As proprietor and winemaker, Rob Lawson strives to integrate Napa Valley’s climate and growing techniques and conditions with true Italian varietals. The Pelissa family propagated this old Torino clone at the University of California, Davis in 1981. Of the nine total acres of Dolcetto planted in the Napa Valley, all are under our management. It’s a wine we love to make and drink.
Specifications
Price Comparison
$449.50/case at Pavi (including shipping)
About The Winery
Winery: Pavi Napa Valley
Owners: Rob & Pavi Lawson
Founded: 1998
Location: St. Helena, CA Napa County
Winemaking in Northern California has deep roots in the varietals planted by early agricultural immigrants from Italy. PAVI is a nod to our heritage offering classic Italian varietals influenced by the California climate and modern winemaking techniques. Limited production wines for today’s table, including Pinot Grigio, Dolcetto, Montepulciano, Cabernet and Vin Santo.
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, ND, OH, OR, PA, RI, SC, SD, TN, TX, VT, VA, WA, WV, WI, WY
Estimated Delivery
Monday, July 2nd - Thursday, July 5th
Pavi Mystery Library Dolcetto
3 bottles for $54.99 $18.33/bottle + $2.67/bottle shipping
Case of 12 for $164.99 $13.75/bottle + $1/bottle shipping
Pavi Dolcetto from the following vintages: 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2012 or 2013
@ilCesare so which is right, the $165 you posted, or the $180 in the official listing?
@ilCesare the main listing says 165, but on this page it says 180. I’ll assume that’ll be changed, by and by.
@ilCesare @InFrom The $180 is if you choose the expedited shipping. Standard shipping is $165.
how fast is the expedited shipping?
@IcedCorn https://casemates.com/forum/topics/new-summer-shipping-options
@Thumperchick thank you!! I hadn’t seen it
Too bad these aren’t cabs. Gotta hand it to WD and the marketing team. You don’t see the term “library Dolcetto” every day. I remember when a case of 05-08 was 75 bucks on Woot a couple of years back. I miss the old days!
/giphy excellent-rickety-circle
Lucky us. We purchased TWO cases of the 2012 for $159.99 on 3.30.18.
BTW, we find it excellent.
A 21 bottle vertical of '05 ~ '11 in the cellar.
If only I could insure those '00 ~ '04 bottles would be the ones, well, with some '12 and '13 as well.
This is intriguing.
@rjquillin
Easy, buy 3 cases!
@chipgreen @rjquillin
Ok, will do.
@chipgreen @rjquillin
Done
How much more are you saving by buying a full case?
(Note: Tax & Shipping not included in savings calculations)
Pavi Mystery Library Dolcetto - $55 = 24.99%
Got three bottles on the March offer of the 2012. Opened a bottle when it came in, and liked it. Just opened the second bottle, and like it too: nice, mellow, mature red (but probably good for a few more years) with great wood in the flavor (but surprisingly not as much on the nose, although that develops as the wine warms in the mouth). Good red wine flavor without any particular fruit standing out. Definitely has some tannin-- teeth feel clean now-- but if you’re a red wine person like me, a good sipping wine.
I’d be in for a case if assured to get at a couple different of the 2000-2004, but at the 13.75 price I’m still tempted even if it’s all 2012 and 2013. I would be interested in some rattage on the 2013.
@DickL If memory serves (sometimes it does, sometimes it doesn’t), the 2013 was the most Italian-esque of their library; less wood and tannin. I found that I liked it better, SWMBO didn’t like it as much as their earlier vintages. Definitely worth it.
@winer “Definitely worth it.” I’m not sure I’d like it as well as the '12, but your comment is encouraging. Thanks.
Im a sucker for mysteries.
I see that we can now order multiples. Is this a feature we will always have, or is it just on certain offers?
/giphy fine-small-reason
/giphy bizarre-voidable-lock
@lagloriafan wait… what?
Hmmmm… We have enjoyed most the march PAVI offering
In for a case, I’ve been enjoying the last Pavi Dolcetto case as a casual daily drinker/food match for those times when a big Cab or spicy Zin would be overpowering. Nice and easy drinking red for those who “don’t like red wines” too.
Last time I bought this delicious juice was on WW. It was a cool 6 bottle vertical 2008 through 2010 and cost was under $12 a bottle. Thoughts on why these other years would be more? Is it worth it?
@MSUGOGRN I haven’t tried the other vintages but the 2012 offered here at the end of March was delicious. I paid $14 a bottle and feel like I got a bargain. Went in for a case of this as soon as I saw it.
@IanMorr @MSUGOGRN figured you would Ian, we ordered a case and didn’t plan to share either.
I bought a case of Pavi dolcetto a couple years ago on WW for around $6/bottle, so I wonder too about the price increase. As I recall, it wasn’t great wine, but it was better than $6 wine, if anyone is buying this for $30/bottle I’d be shocked.
@mariauy I was thinking the same thing.
I feel I MUST compliment Pavi Wines on its Dolcetto.
We just finished another bottle.
What better way than to report to my fellow Casemates that even though my wife and I ordered TWO cases of the 2012 at $159.99 each on 3.30.18, and this offering is somewhat more expensive, we are ordering a THIRD today.
Just to emphasize how significant that is, since January 27 we have purchased 33 cases on my account, and seven on my wife’s. Of those 40 cases, three were gifts to our niece and her (pastor!) husband, and no more than the equivalent of five or six have been split off to others. I think its safe to assume, having this year purchased well over 30 cases of various wines for our own consumption, we really liked the Pavi Dolcetto.
We recommend it.
(In case you are wondering where we will put all that wine, our second wine cellar arrived today: Wine Enthusiast Giant 300-Bottle Wine Cellar with VinoView Shelving item # 264 03 59 03. It’s too bad it’s in the basement: It’s very attractive.)
As much as I enjoyed their dolcetto I really want to get in on this but I’m worried about the wine cooking on delivery to AZ. Any suggestions or feedback on delivery this time of year to areas with 110+ temps daily?
I hummed and hawed the last time this came up and I missed out. Womp-womp sad trombone. Went in for a case this time based on what jeffreywsnyder above had to say. (Also want to see this wine cellar btw!) Excited for this case to arrive. I plan on buying some procuitto and making fresh mozzarella for the occasion.
I love being able to get different wines from a single order and Jeffrey’s praise of the wine has me sold!
/giphy brilliant-awkward-sage
@DJZachAttack That would be quite an awkward sage!
Thanks for all the fun comments and support
This is a great deal and super fun allocation with some cool older vintages
20 year anniversary, so we are bringing the love to you
Dolcetto is my fav. The style is rupee and richer than Italian but still refined and classy
We keep it classy
Very little new oak keep fruit ripe and bright
This is fun in summer with a slight chill and should solve any good pairings. Goes with sooo much. Sip away.
Look for our first Italian version in 2019 with the 2018 vintage
Rob
@RLaw66 Thanks for joining us!
@RLaw66 have any recent tasting notes on how the older vintages compare to the 12 and 13? Loved the 2012. Would early 2000’s be considered getting pretty old for a Dolcetto?
It’s fun to see how well these have held up. All different but showing classy age and some youthful fruit.
In general these would be considered old for dolcetto. But we don’t make these in that lighter style.
We get our riper more extracted with a better base of tannins to age with. The beauty of it is to be able to try these with age
Appropriate order number!
/giphy fun-impartial-party
/giphy holistic-slick-group
@mrn1 - I just saw your post about my Annie Amie order of 2 cases. When I ordered one case, I was able to order an additional case. It’s either a new feature, could be unique to a given producer, or they know a sucker looking for a great wine deal!!!
WTF??! The description says it ships to NH, but I just got an order cancellation saying they can’t ship to NH…grrrr…
@IcedCorn Just clarified with winery. so sorry!!
@IcedCorn @Winedavid49 Uh oh… no more happy iced corn https://casemates.com/forum/topics/a-clue-you-ask#5b22c5c7ffb81003f00b84e0
Nope. Not happy! But I think NH is cracking down on permits because we have state liquor stores!! grrr.
I got 4 x 2001, 4 x 2003, 4 x 2004. I was not expecting that at all. I have never had a Dolcetto, let alone a 15 year old Dolcetto. Gonna let them rest before trying one out but I cant wait! Thanks much!
@Twich22 wow! Ours is still just processing! Sounds like a great set you got, hope we are as lucky.
I received 3 x 2000, 6 x 2003 & 3 x 2004. The 3 x 2000 were in plastic bags (not sealed, just bagged). One of the 2000 bottle was wet in the bag, and the label stained from wine (obviously wine on the bag/label). Cleaned it up & couldn’t find an obvious leak. On Sunday, I asked Casemates about the bags and if they thought the 2000 was ok to drink. I’ll wait until the weekdays, when they are back in the office & can reply, before I try the 2000…
BTW - I paid for the faster shipping (I’m in Indiana). It shipped FedEx two days, well packed, and had re-usable ice packs inside the styrofoam packing - VERY nice packaging.
@nicholfd MY 2001’s were in bags as well. Not quite sure why.
Popped a 2004 just now. Initial smell is of mouldy cardboard. Tastes are almost completely muted. Gonna give it a while to breathe and see if it opens up but im concerned this is tainted by TCA. Ill report back later. Could just be old wine smell? I am not as familiar with old wines as i would like.
After no improvement after decanting, and maybe mild improvement after putting some plastic wrap in it after finding a suggestion on the internet that says that plastic wrap can pull the TCA out of wine, I went ahead and opened a 2nd bottle of 2004 for science. Thankfully, there is no Corked smell in this one! The cork was also intact, while the first cork broke off while extracting it. Tastes like what I would normally expect from a wine of this age. I think I can conclude that my first bottle was corked. The smell that comes to my mind on the corked wine is of moldy strawberries. I remember that smell from when I had a lunch box in Grade school and I would leave something in there too long, like strawberries.
Need some advice and input, as this is only my second ever Casemates (or ww) deal.
This arrived, with 8 of the 12 bottles in plastic bags and with wine that had leaked(?) in several of the bags? That is, when I open the bags, several bottles are wet and have the labels stained purple.
Is this normal? It seems like a problem.
BTW I got 4 2000, 4 2002, 4 2003.
@pupator Looking more closely, it’s all 4 bottles from 2000 that are wet in the bags. They smell terrible.
@pupator looks like these are bad bottles. go ahead and reach out to https://casemates.com/support and we’ll get you some replacements. sorry about that.
@Winedavid49 Okay, support email sent, thanks.
Seems like either the winery or the distributer knew something like that was going to happen since those bottles were in bags and the others were not?
@pupator @Winedavid49 I think it would be more accurate to say that they knew something like that could happen. My bottles were in bags, but they did not leak.
@pupator i’m checking on this. some times when the carrier identifies leakage, they’ll put it in a bag. not sure if that was what you are seeing. but checking with winery. 2000 vintage might be a weak point here.
@Twich22 @Winedavid49 Fair! In my case it happened to get all four bottles. support@ asked me to check the corks, and when I did I found that I could press down through the foil and feel “squish.” None of the 2002 or 2003 bottles were affected. Drinking one of the 2003s now and it’s made me feel better about the whole experience
@pupator @Twich22 @Winedavid49 I had an order for 3, and got 1 each of 2000, 2002, and 2003. The 2000 and 2002 were in bags, the 2003 was not. The 2000 appeared to have leaked, and the cork was in somewhat rough shape when I opened it (though not particularly worse than the corks of other ~20 year old wines I’ve had). That said, the wine itself was fine (and actually quite good).
Based on solely on my experience, I would guess that either the batch of 2000s was exposed to a leaking bottle or two pre-packaging (and therefore wet), or there was something that happened recently to the 2000s (or some of them) that led to leaking/failure of the cork’s seal. Given that the wine was still fine in my case I’d assume the former, but then given @pupator’s experience the latter is certainly a possibility.
Yeah. I had 3 leaky 2000s as well. The 2002s were also in bags but seem okay. Will contact support.
@IanMorr BTW I got 3 each of the 2000, 2002, 2003 and the 2004. Very happy with that selection overall. Will try to open one each of the vintages that made it this weekend to see how the fared
@IanMorr We got the same as you with the same 3 leaky 2000s. Contacting support to see what they will do.
@raccoon81 Disappointing, sounds like everyone’s 2000 was bad.
We received 3 bottles each of 2000, 2002, 2003, and 2004. The 2000’s and 2002’s were in plastic bags. We saw we had 2 leaky 2000’s, and opened both after reading the above comment. Both corks came out in tiny pieces. The wine was very cloudy, rusty brown/orange, smelled a bit of raisins, and tasted like vinegar(?). There was a LOT of sediment in each bottle. The third 2000 was in tact. The cork broke about 3/4 way down on the way out. But, it poured the right color and initial tasting is going well. Nowhere near the amount of sediment. The 2002 bottles seem dry, but we’ll probably try those next just in case. We will be contacting support.
@chrismartin The rusted brown color means they were oxidized. i.e. They probably were leaking air before they were ever shipped to you.
@chrismartin @Twich22
Of course they were, the fact that they put them in a plastic bag means they knew there was a problem, guess they figured dumping old damaged product here wouldn’t be a problem. Or nobody would care or notice.
@chrismartin @ScottW58 I think there is no problem so long as they replace the bad bottles.
@chrismartin @Twich22
That’s very nice, I don’t look so kindly at dumping damaged product.
@chrismartin @ScottW58 @Twich22 maybe. My last exchange with support was him implying I should have purchased the expedited shipping because this appears to him to be heat related. Really?
@chrismartin @pupator @Twich22
Wow! You know I buy a lot of wine from auction and elsewhere and to me disclosure is everything. If you are going to sell me a wine that needs to be put in a plastic bag I damn sure better know about it before I send you $$$ IMHO you get one chance at my money. ymmv
@chrismartin @pupator @ScottW58 @Twich22 @WineDavid49
Yikes! That CS Rep needs some remedial training.
@chipgreen @chrismartin @pupator @ScottW58 @Twich22 I’m on it
@chipgreen @chrismartin @pupator @ScottW58 @Twich22 I’m on it.
@Winedavid49 Just weighing in the with the same issue…could smell wine before I opened the box, so I had a little forewarning. 3 bottles of 2000 vintage, all wet with purple labels. No visible leakage on the others, but 2002 vintage all in plastic. Have not opened any yet, though…wrote to support already.
@CObrent @Winedavid49
Unfortunately, if your experience is like ours, even the bottles that look good won’t be when you try to get the cork out, or get the cork out and try to drink it. I’m 0-6 on drinkable bottles at this point.
@pupator @ScottW58 @Twich22 Wow, well I’m going to hope they make this right. We’re 20+ cases in since kickstarting this thing and we’ve had just one clearly bad (corked, “the Spaniard”) bottle. Until now…
Re: Pavi
The two (bagged!) leaky 2000’s were obviously, clearly bad. Dead, dead, dead. (Not a shipping issue!)
The final, third, bottle of 2000 that we hoped would be OK, really turned out just barely drinkable. In the glass, its color ended up somewhere in-between the orangey/browny of the first two and a “normal” red wine that we expected. (I hoped it might just be a slightly-oxidized Grenache-y type thing) Still a good amount of cloudiness. It wasn’t vinegar, but something was just off. I found myself wondering what the Dolcetto varietal even was. We started thinking we didn’t know what this was supposed to look/taste like…
So, we opened a bottle of the 2002. NIGHT and DAY! The 2002 had wonderful color — Hey, it’s actually a red wine! Just a touch of cloudiness. The deep, full cherry notes now came to the fore. Importantly, the plum went from being a kind of weird raisin-y aromatic in the bad bottles to being a deep, dark (actual) fruit that complements the cherry and raspberry on the low-end. Nice! Juicy, balanced, and lovely — A totally different wine (than the 2000) that we are quite happy to have at this price.
We concluded that all three of the 2000’s were dead. Two were clearly DOA. One had a very faint pulse and a cork that wasn’t quite mush — “I’m not dead yet!” — but in the end, the 2000 Pavi was a total bust for us.
I really hope this was a fluke. Clearing out bad/questionable product was nothing we had considered being part of, let alone paying for.
@chrismartin
Crap. This perfectly describes the 2003 bottle I opened and drank. Not bad enough that it was obviously spoiled, but just “off.” Very cloudy when held up to the light. A bit orange around the edges. And just weird. This means even the bottles that aren’t obviously ruined (like the 2000s) could still have been a total waste of money.
@chrismartin Replacements received! Thank you, Casemates, for making this right.
We may have dipped, ehem dug into the original shipment a bit more aggressively than we would have otherwise. But, especially with the 2012 we just received as replacement, we feel like we are really getting to know Dolcetto (in life and death) and are happy with the varietal overall. In fact, we kinda dig it. Thanks again.
Chiming in to say I received a 2000, 2002 and 2003. Both the '00 and '02 were in plastic bags. and exactly as others have stated, the '00 was leaking with a brownish fluid and smelled heavily of raisins. I’m not even going to sip from that! The 2002 appears to be okay outwardly. May give it a go tomorrow. The fact they sent these in plastic bags says they knew there was a big issue with leaking/bad bottles and shipped them anyway. Not cool, but certainly not blaming WineDavid as I don’t believe they would have been okay with this either.
@DJZachAttack Mine arrived last night, in the same configuration, 2 of them in bags. I assumed it was an oversight on the one, not an issue with the two. I’ve posted additional comments below about my own experience, with the cork and excessive sediment.
I didn’t notice any leakage, but am concerned now as well.
After reading some of the above comments, I became very nervous about my own shipment that I received yesterday with the split of 2000, 2002, and 2003. The quick visual inspection that I gave them last night didn’t reveal any signs of wetness or staining on the labels, but like others the 2000 and 2002 were in plastic bags. With that, I grabbed the quarter promised to a coworker and took it with me for them.
When I got home this afternoon I decided I’d at least pop the capsules and inspect the corks. Of the three 2000 bottles that I have remaining, two had very clear signs of leakage on the cork and underside of the foil. The cork on the third bottle is extremely spongy, so I’m not sure if I should be relieved or scared. I’ve asked my coworker to check their 2000 when they get home.
For science (or maybe because I’m a glutton for disappointment) I opened one of the two obviously leaking bottles to see just how bad it was going to be. The smell and color were as others have noted. I ventured a taste and there’s no drinking this.
I went ahead and peeked at the corks for the 2002s since they were also bagged, but they all seem intact and of good consistency.
I ended up attempting a second bottle of the 2000 and its cork’s integrity was so compromised it came out in 2 large chunks, and a plethora of fragments. Sadly, the wine is no better than the first, save that it smells less musty. I think this vintage is a bust for me.
Bottles three and four follow the pattern. :sigh:
@drhellknow Yeah. All my 2000s are ruined and the one 2003 I’ve opened so far was also barely drinkable. What a bust.
@drhellknow @pupator i’m starting to get perturbed myself. Pardon the hassle. but get your messaging in and we’ll make it right (and maybe more after i have a frank conversation…)
@drhellknow Same with at least one of the 2000s I received. The cork was basically disintegrating and both the color and the taste are definitely off.
@Winedavid49 We decided that we’d try the 2002 since it was next in line, and ended up with two bottles of corks that looked fine but fell apart like wet sand, neither was remotely good. That’s half a case of failed wine in one night. Gotta stop myself before I get [s/m]ader.
@drhellknow @Winedavid49
I decided to open a 2002 bottle tonight, since that was the only vintage I haven’t tried yet, and the bottle looked perfect. That is, of course, until I put the corkscrew in it and the cork completely fell apart.
Pissed.
@pupator At this point all of the 2000 and 2002 bottles in my case were complete failures (both rank aroma and vinegary taste). Haven’t had the fortitude to try the 2003 (reverted to some Scott Harvey of known good quantity), but we’ll try to get to the 2003 soon.
Just because the cork crumbles with a corkscrew doesn’t necessarily mean the wine is bad. I’ve had plenty of good older bottles that you need an ah-so type opener in order to remove the cork without crumbling. I had one leaky bottle of this 2000 Dolcetto in my case, refrigerated it overnight, took the cork out with the ah-so and it’s not bad.
That’s not to say some folks didn’t receive bad bottles, just that it’s not a given they’re spoiled because you can’t pull the cork with a conventional corkscrew.
yea, we are looking into this. i’ll have to go check, but i think this is something like the 8th time we’ve worked with this winery with no perceptible issues. if you have issues, please communicate and replace the bad bottles (or we’ll send you an ah-so :-)…) JK
@Winedavid49 I just opened a 2002 and though the cork looked intact the corkscrew sank half way in. It’s not as noticeably so as the 2000s were, but still vinegary. Any guidance on what to do at this point? I already contacted support about the 2000s, but I’m concerned all 12 bottles are going to be the same story.
@Winedavid49 Yeah. Opened the other 2 2002s and they are undrinkable. Not sure I can stand to open the 2003s and 2004s tonight. Will give my mouth a chance to unpucker and open one of each tomorrow.
@Winedavid49 Just had a bottle of the 2003 and the 2004 of this. They were absolutely fantastic, so it looks like 6 of my 12 bottles are great. Hopefully we can get the issues with the 2000 and 2002 sorted, as I’d love to try them.
I got the same issue with a bad soggy cork. Saved the wine to use as a marinade for a few rib eye steaks. Needless to say I am worried about the other bottles since the first bottle we opened was in pretty bad shape with a bad taste. Okay for the marinade but I’d rather drink it instead.
I had a bottle of the 2001. The cork came out intact with my ah-so. The color was a cloudy pinot noir red. There were some bubbles that formed on the top of the wine after I poured it. Tasted a bit zippy. I am guessing some secondary fermentation happened in the bottle. Maybe thats why so many of these older bottles got ruined? Carbonation pressure build up + bad old corks = ruined wine? Anyways, I drank a quarter of a glass before deciding I had had enough and dumped the rest. It was not AWEFUL. It had some chemically tastes though. Kind of like the smell of un-used baby diapers or something. There were some fruit tastes that followed the initial chemical tastes, but I did not ponder them enough to even remember what they were. On the finish was the minerality from the secondary fermentation.
Overall, I don’t know if these things are all just from a bottle that is way past its prime or if this is something beyond mere age. I mean, obviously secondary fermentation should not be happening in a bottle of any age, right? Unless they put a little in their on purpose to add some minerality? Any thoughts?
All the 2000s I received are wet with spongy corks. I have tried for the last two days to reach someone at the number listed on the packing sheet with no luck.
@jsportcpa I believe your best route is to start with an email to Casemates customer service.
Actually, come to think of it, you should go into your Casemates acct and look for this order. There’s a button for reporting a problem, and that will give you a form to fill in.
@InFrom thanks. I will do that now.
Count me in for the cork issues. I neglected to look at the year for the bottle I opened last night, but when it came out the cork was pretty spongy and was absolutely caked with sediment, and the bottle opening was ringed with the stuff. I actually had to carefully wipe it away before I attempted to pour.
My remaining bottles are 2000 and 2002.
@ACraigL But how were the contents?
I’ve had great contents from bottles as you have described. Sediment is to be expected in older wine, especially if bottled unfiltered.
Just pulled a cork on a '12.
Saturated about 30% up, and soft in a way that would suggest caution for long term storage.
Contents were just fine with some Flannery sliders without the bread.
Just got back in town and picked up my case of mixed Pavi Dolcetto. I was excited to report my mix (three bottles each of 2000, 2002, 2003, 2004) on the forum and see what others have gotten. Then I saw all the issues people were having with the 2000 and 2002 bottles.
My 2000 and 2002 bottles were all bagged but none had obviously leaked or had stained labels. Naturally, I assumed I got the single magical shipment that would not have any issues.
I immediately opened up my bottles of 2000. The corks were wet with wine at the top. As others have reported they were absolutely undrinkable - orange in color, cloudy, and taste of stale raisins. Then I moved to the 2002. While the corks looked much better, the taste of the wine was definitely not better, sadly.
I will check out a bottle each of the 2003 and 2004 tomorrow.
I am submitting to casemates. I certainly am confident that @Winedavid49 was not aware of any potential issues and for now (until I hear otherwise) I will assume the winery did not know there was a serious issue either. Seems like a death sentence for a winery to purposefully sell “spoiled” wine. I got some of the previous Pavi offering and really liked it, hence my purchase of this unique mixed case.
At the risk of being unreasonably impatient, is there an ETA on when we will get resolution to this issue? I have $155 tied up in undrinkable wine. I’m confident it will be made right, but when?
@pupator replacement wines coming in today/monday. will go out later that week. we’ll make damn sure everyone is whole on this.
Tried the 2002; the cork was fine, but the wine was halfway to vinegar. Too bad.
Sigh- this makes me sad. All of the 2000s were in bags and wet. Opened one and the cork was soaked all the way up and smells of vinegar. Tried a sip of the wine anyway and it’s awful. I haven’t tried the other years yet but it looks like from the others to avoid the 2002 vintage
maybe I’ll be brave and go grab an 03 & 04 just to inspect.
I’ll add my two cents: tonight I finally opened the first (leaky) bottle from this box. With the 2000 vintage approaching 18 years old, I figure it should have a week’s rest after shipping across the country. I suppose I got lucky in that only one bottle was leaking in its bag, although I see another where the cork is pushing out. Others may have seeped some wine out, and I won’t realize until I take off the foil.
I’ve broken enough fragile corks on eight or ten year old bottles, so I opted for a pressure-cork-pusher opener instead of a corkscrew. Where you push a needle through the bottom of the cork, and pump air into the bottle to gently push the cork out. It’s worked great for me so far!
This is the oldest not-Port wine I’ve ever tried, so it’s hard for me to judge what characteristics are due to spoilage (I assume cooking or temperature swings are mostly what would cause it to leak), and what’s due to age. I find it drinkable, although not as delicious as Pavi’s younger dolcetto. It is a little raisiny, a little hot with alcohol, but it still has that dolcetto fruit and a good aroma. It’s clear; there’s sediment and tartrate, but even this leaky bottle is not cloudy.
Perhaps I should open a few other bottles to be sure, but it looks like I won’t be reporting any problems. All that said, I do enjoy the younger dolcetto more, but I find it interesting to try this.
I just noticed the 2000 is definitely leaking. Unopened, in my rack, dripping onto the shelf floor. Unhappy.
Casemates rules. Replacement bottle on the way, plus a coupon! Thanks for going above and beyond!
@ACraigL Our replacement was delivered today, but at fedex for pickup. Will see what the replacement is tonight.
@ACraigL @raccoon81 I got 5 2012’s, 1 2004 and 1 2001. Loved the 2012 on the previous offer and the 2004 was great. Would have preferred more 2003s and 2004s but also happy to have more 2012 to age. Slightly worried about the 2001, given the last 3 were off but will consider it my bonus bottle and give it a week or two before opening.
@ACraigL @IanMorr @raccoon81
My replacement arrived today. 10 bottles of 2012, 1 2003, and 1 2001. I’m of course nervous about the 2003 and 2001, but we’ll see. I’m also disappointed with the lack of variety in the other 10 bottles, but the original posting never promised variety, I guess.
I did not, so far as I can tell, receive a “bonus bottle.”
@IanMorr @pupator @raccoon81 I had the one bad bottle, replaced with 2 2012’s.
@pupator
Hard to put a bonus bottle in a case box. All 12 of your original wines were bad???
@IanMorr Our replacements were 01, '12’s and 13’s. I see the 01 as an extra in case it has issues. I feel they took care of it as needed.
@chipgreen Yes.
I’ve opened and tried all 4 bottles I got of 2003 and all were cloudy, orange around the rim, and tasted slightly off.
I only opened two bottles each of the 2000 and 2002. They were completely ruined. So while I technically still have 4 unopened bottles from the first case, I’d be stunned if ANY were drinkable.
@pupator Ouch, that stinks!