Our 2014 Sivas-Sonoma Old Vine Zinfandel offers aromas of black and rainbow peppercorns, coriander, over ripe raspberry and pomegranate jam. A cedar perfume note is evident from the 12–14 months aging in American oak.
On the palate, this full-bodied wine features black cherry, black pepper and fruity baking cocoa and bittersweet chocolate. Our Zinfandel has a rich, juicy mouthfeel, long-lasting finish and is a perfect expression of an assertive but elegant wine.
Enjoy it with Indian-spiced short ribs, meatball and Provolone sub sandwich, or dry-rubbed salmon tacos with tomatillo-avocado slaw.
Winery: Sivas-Sonoma
Owners: Don Sebastiani & Sons
Location: Sonoma, CA
The name Sivas (SEA-vis) is the modern-day Turkish derivation of “Sebasteia,” the city named for Emperor Augustus two thousand years ago, and the historical origin of our surname.
“My grandfathers were pioneers in Sonoma, paving the way for this area to become known as Wine Country. Sivas-Sonoma is my way to pay homage to their legacy. By staying close to home, and by working in partnership with Sonoma’s most skilled grapegrowers, Sivas-Sonoma wines embrace Sonoma’s historical appellations and winemaking spirit.”
Available States
CA, CO, DC, FL, GA, ID, IL, IA, ME, MD, MA, MI, MN, MO, MT, NV, NH, NM, NY, NC, ND, OR, SC, SD, TN, TX, VA, WA, WV, WI
How much are you saving by buying a full case?
(Note: Tax & Shipping not included in savings calculations)
2014 Sivas-Sonoma Zinfandel Old Vine - $35 = 25.93%
@Jamileigh17 No OH either, but my wife is probably out dancing in the snow! I got my CC bill from late Dec - Jan. YIKES!!! Didn’t know wine buying was so much fun until the bill arrives!!!
Some pretty solid reviews on other vintages, and with this, a great price compared to CT average.
Wonder if that one Bretty review was just a flawed bottle, as no other comments speak of Brett.
This seems like a no brainer. First 5/btl for some Riesling now 8/btl for late harvest zin. If anyone in Las Vegas wants some I may have grabbed a case. Just thinking one last sec while typing.
This would also be good for wifey as she likes more fruit. @winedavid49 we need a killer deal on their cab now or a cab close to it so I can stock up on a case before the summer heat.
@scenicready I have already made the purchase. PM me at aequitas111 on WW. I’ll make note 3-4 for scenic. Sounds like these take a week to ship out as the Riesling arrives tomorrow.
LW and I had a bottle of the Sivas-Sonoma Zinfandel last Friday night. As always, I make sure not to read any information about the wine in advance, so as not to prejudice my thoughts. My first sensation, on opening, was a lot of heat, and some aromas that I couldn’t identify. Nothing typical of what I expect to find in a Zinfandel, especially from that region. The first sip didn’t reveal much else, a lot of heat, some dark fruit, but I couldn’t get anything that said Zinfandel to me, and our CT inventory shows more Zin than any other varietal. We tried drinking it with pizza, but the food didn’t really help at all. Given its pedigree, I expected a lot more, but the 15% alcohol seemed just too much to overcome. I didn’t get the sensation that the bottle was flawed, it just didn’t float my boat at all. YMMV.
@ddeuddeg Thanks for the honest review. I agree with @chipgreen about those reviews being hard to write, but I also think that is what makes this place and TSFKAWW so special. The fact that you can post a thumbs down review and not have it taken down by mods is very important to many of us who have been customers of @Winedavid49 for years. It’s one of the top five reasons why l’ve been a customer for so long.
@WkdPanda We did go back after two hours from opening. The heat was still quite prominent even though we got a little more black fruit and some black pepper on the nose. The palate did not improve.
@ddeuddeg Great job and thanks for always being honest!! I think by now, after following WW all those years, we know your character and honestly while also noting that your palate aligns with many of ours! Even though OH wasn’t on the list, I saw Old Vine Zinfandel and thought ALRIGHT. Then I saw the price, hmmmm. But with an open mind, I felt that we’ve come across great wines, great deals before! I have to go back and see what vintage this may be. Darn selective reading when I see Old Vine ZIn!!! BTW - Shout out to bahwm!!!
Alcohol’s a little higher than my preference. Plus I’m going to be good up on zin for the next forever. I’ve got 30 gallons of the stuff aging in my garage.
I’m pulling my hair out trying to find my written review, but this is a smoking deal.
My bottle was not flawed, it was lovely. I had estimated a $20-25 msrp. Medium body, killer fruit. Was initially concerned by the 15%, but that blew off in the first half hour.
We had company in town for Mardi Grad and we sipped and discussed it until it magically vanished.
Complete report when I find that %#!* piece of paper!!!
@NightGhost No, not incredibly high for a) zin, but that doesn’t mean it’s not something to watch out for. Most of the better zins are going to be well over 14 (some of my Turleys are an eye-popping 15.9, and I swear I’ve seen higher), but my body would rather drink something in the 13.5 range. Because neither I, nor my liver, are young anymore.
@NightGhost said 15% alcohol isn’t so high for a Zin - even an Old Vine Zin.
Well, that’s a matter of opinion. I remember many decades when Zin above 14% was rare (and this was when most wine was labeled 12.5%, which allows 1.5%+ or - leeway, but >14% had to be within 0.1%). The first Zinfandel I remember labeled above 14% was a '75 or ‘76 Montevina from Amador County. I had lots of Gus’ and Sam’s Zins in the '60s and '70s and most of them had red berry fruit and distinctive Zin aroma.
I know it’s gotten harder, given preferences and market pressures, to keep the alcohol down, but I find it harder and harder to drink high alcohol wines.
@sandbarhappy@rpm I’m not such a “spring chicken” myself, and I remember the days of cooler Zins. But I’ve also had some Zins with alc. as high as 17%. As you also know, alcohol content is not the only factor that makes a wine hot. I’ve had some very pleasant ones at 15%, so I’d rather trust a rat report when the figure is around that.
@NightGhostDe gustibus non disputandum est as has long been said. I’ve had, and occasionally enjoyed, high alcohol Zins. Mostly late harvest variants that were more port-like than anything else. Quady used to make a wickedly good Zinfandel Port (I think the last vintage was '79 or '80, I have a couple of bottles of the '79 left) before he went full Oporto on us like Ficklin…
I’m too old, and life is too short, though for me to buy really high alcohol wines - the port types won’t be ready to drink before I hit my 90s and who knows if I’ll still be drinking big red wine then…
From Wine Enthusiast 12/1/16:
Sivas-Sonoma 2014 Old Vine Zinfandel 90 points
A totally satisfying wine in its bringing together of velvety texture and flavors of pepper steak, juicy red berry and sultry cinnamon. Aged in American oak, it offers length and body in a ripe, rich package.
From Beverage Tasting Institute 5/4/17:
Sivas-Sonoma 2014 Old Vine Zinfandel
88 Points Silver Medal Highly Recommended
Dusty garnet color. Baked, rustic aromas of baked dark fruit pie, strawberry and sage, menthol, and dried leaves with a velvety, fruity medium body and a warming, interesting, medium-length blistered blackberry and cured meats, Italian leather, plump raisin, and chocolate powder finish with well-integrated, chewy tannins. A crispy Zin with a baked quality.
Regarding sharing, searching around, is there a way to contact other members behind the scenes? PM or whatever? I would hope so since the sharing thing is how this is being presented. If this has been addressed, missed it. I still find the messaging here kind of hard to follow, but I’m trying!
I really need to remove my miles reward card from this account. I’m all ‘I need to buy miles’ and then wine shows up. Not. Proper. Planning.
/giphy sopping-bland-medic
This discussion has come up many times before: The offer states, if purchased through DS&S, the cost is $438 and includes shipping. A case costs $360 on the same site and they do not charge handling, so how was the $78 shipping derived? Shipping to all of the East Coast States that they ship to was basically $59. The closer to the west coast, the shipping was less. If the $438 figure includes an average sales tax estimate, then I would think it would be stated as such along with the shipping. Unless my math is wrong, the additional $19 isn’t accounted for in the description.
@Boatman72 Packaging accounts for a bit of that, but hard to see an additional $20, I agree. Perhaps the stated comparison point should include both elements - the price without shipping and the shipping cost stated along with the location it’s based on. @snapster@dave@WineDavid49
Attempted summary: the case discount value on display via Casemates is derived from both logistics and packaging savings to the Winery as well as organic, pre-existing case discount concepts in the marketplace. To ignore that those exist would be to neglect the full ability of this model to perform.
Yes, the winery literally does look at two outcome price scenarios for what amount to the same bottle of wine. Why? Because it’s smart to have demographic price segmentation in their normal market. We are hacking that.
As to the specifics of @Boatman72’s actual post, I don’t know the price reference data behind the scenes but my guess is they attempted to use a shipping only estimate and not sales tax. Maybe they found a way to pay extra shipping? ¯\ (ツ)/¯
@snapster yes, I know (and agree with) the general method here. It’s a bit rough around the edges when you aren’t totally clear what is included in the "full retail plus shipping"price comparison, is all. It just send hard to get from $360 bottle price to $438 under any scenario that doesn’t include taxes. But tax isn’t included here, so that’s not a totally fair comparison.
It’s a good discount no matter how you slice it. It’s important for the business model to show the savings due to shipping as well. I’m just suggesting transparency in how you arrive at the retail price.
@klezman we felt strongly on this as well but settled on it not being on the front page like it apparently was at wine.woot (opting instead for just the single bottle raw price) We may need to keep thinking about it.
@snapster
First thing to do, which I’d hope is rather easy, is just take the tax out the comparison price.
After that, you’re apples-to-apples and everything else is a niggly detail, like whether you choose TX or IL or NY as your base shipping price.
In this case, $415 as the base price compared to $100 is plenty solid a deal for all but the most miserly of us.
OK, here are my formerly missing tasting notes! Thanks to the powers that be that sent me such a lovely zin to try. I can’t remember what (or when) the offering was, but we previously purchased a wine by Don & Sons, and I have good feelings about whatever it was that we had.
Bottle arrived on Thursday afternoon. I wasn’t sure when the wine would be offered, so I made the decision to open it that evening. All tasting performed and notes taken without benefit of any reading, other than the labels.
The bottle had an agglomerated cork. I personally would rather see a Stelvin/screw cap, but we all have our opinions. Room temperature, which meant about 63-65 on that day, iirc.
Color is deep garnet, trending to purplish hues in the deeper center of the glass. Possibly orange hints around the edge, but I’m not thinking that the orange is really age-related.
Primary nose is fresh ripe blackberry, spicy, maybe a touch of cloves. Getting some cocoa and yes, a strong whiff of alcohol. Maybe a teeny hint of orange peel? Nose is really nice, but doesn’t stick around very long… after about 5 minutes, I’m not getting much of anything.
Nice acidity, with medium body. Not a super-luscious mouthfeel due to the lighter body, but fine.
Jammy blackberry, spicy… actually, for those familiar with the local berry, it actually tastes like dewberries. Spicy blackberry will do for those that don’t live in or near TX. Some hints of dried plum (not to be confused with prune). That whiff of ETOH makes it a little hot and getting cocoa on the finish (as expected from the nose).
After about 30 minutes, the nose has come back. Pretty similar to the initial scents, but now picking up some herby, brambly notes. The wine really appreciated the little rest. This isn’t much of a surprise, since I opened it a few hours after LSO dropped it off. A little shocky from the journey. Anyway, after that half hour, it is now much more expansive, flavor-wise, and the structure has become much better integrated. The fruit has been pulled into balance with the acidity and the spices, some oak is showing. The nose has become much sweeter and the wine is smooth and balanced. Tannins are present, but well integrated. Finish was pretty short at initial tasting, but a bit more lingering at this point.
As mentioned earlier, this was the first weekend of Mardi Gras, which is a party down here. Not like a NOLA party, but a party nonetheless. We had company, and everyone enjoyed this wine. Dewberry/blackberry with coffee notes seemed to be the general opinion, from fairly uneducated wine drinkers (uneducated about wine, I mean).
I had pegged this with an MSRP in the $20-$25 range, which seems in line with the winery price, so I was more than pleased to see it sold in a $99 case. This is an excellent deal, and I’d buy more if I could. We entertain a lot, and this is a crowd-pleaser. After the initial rounds of tasting, we served it with some jambalaya (shrimp, andouille and chicken) and cornbread, and it did just dandy.
@sandbarhappy Nice Rat Report! Maybe ddeuddeg and I had a bad bottle–although we have had bad bottles in the past and have been able to readily identify them as bad. We opened ours the day after it arrived, so it should have had time to settle a bit after its journey to Buffalo, NY. I, too, have had high alc zins and have been ok with them, but I do prefer mine with less alc. For us, this bottle was not balanced and we just couldn’t get any pronounced flavor or nose.
@bahwm
Maybe there was some issue with temperature during transport?
And I did note that after an initially great nose, the nose went away completely for 1/2 an hour or so.
Pretty interesting. There may be some issue with bottle variation that has helped with getting this to us as such a deal. When I worked in the industry, that was an all-too-common reason for a sweet offering. I’m not meaning to bash the producer, by any means, although there were circumstances where the wine “deal” was all too obviously a dump. This may be just a little persnickety and in need of babying those long chains.
Just my thoughts. Grain of salt and all that. It’s all just so fascinating.
@sandbarhappy Who knows about shipping variations. This was likely shipped overnight for one day delivery. I cannot say what the temp was in the plane. As for ambient temp in truck: COLD.
I’m mixed… good and bad reviews. Only other Old Vine Zin I can remember was a Scott Harvey 1869 that was amazing. Thankfully noone else in DFW has chimed in yet
Just opened my first bottle of this last night, great deal! Nothing strange or slightly off about it, which is always my fear on a case for $99. My wife and I almost polished off the bottle on a Monday night…good sign, not a good sign.
Tasting Notes
Our 2014 Sivas-Sonoma Old Vine Zinfandel offers aromas of black and rainbow peppercorns, coriander, over ripe raspberry and pomegranate jam. A cedar perfume note is evident from the 12–14 months aging in American oak.
On the palate, this full-bodied wine features black cherry, black pepper and fruity baking cocoa and bittersweet chocolate. Our Zinfandel has a rich, juicy mouthfeel, long-lasting finish and is a perfect expression of an assertive but elegant wine.
Enjoy it with Indian-spiced short ribs, meatball and Provolone sub sandwich, or dry-rubbed salmon tacos with tomatillo-avocado slaw.
Specifications
Price Comparison
$438/case at Don & Sons (including shipping)
About The Winery
Winery: Sivas-Sonoma
Owners: Don Sebastiani & Sons
Location: Sonoma, CA
The name Sivas (SEA-vis) is the modern-day Turkish derivation of “Sebasteia,” the city named for Emperor Augustus two thousand years ago, and the historical origin of our surname.
“My grandfathers were pioneers in Sonoma, paving the way for this area to become known as Wine Country. Sivas-Sonoma is my way to pay homage to their legacy. By staying close to home, and by working in partnership with Sonoma’s most skilled grapegrowers, Sivas-Sonoma wines embrace Sonoma’s historical appellations and winemaking spirit.”
Available States
CA, CO, DC, FL, GA, ID, IL, IA, ME, MD, MA, MI, MN, MO, MT, NV, NH, NM, NY, NC, ND, OR, SC, SD, TN, TX, VA, WA, WV, WI
Estimated Delivery
Thursday, February 22nd - Monday, February 26th
@ddeuddeg wasn’t a fan.
@sandbarhappy has a different point of view.
Sivas-Sonoma Old Vine Zinfandel
4 bottles for $44.99 $11.25/bottle + $2/bottle shipping
Case of 12 for $99.99 $8.33/bottle + $1/bottle shipping
2014 Sivas-Sonoma Zinfandel Old Vine New CT
2014 Sivas-Sonoma Zinfandel Old Vine Old CT
How much are you saving by buying a full case?
(Note: Tax & Shipping not included in savings calculations)
2014 Sivas-Sonoma Zinfandel Old Vine - $35 = 25.93%
Aww, no PA? That’s okay, I looked at my bank balance yesterday and was putting a kibosh on more wine til payday, at least.
@Jamileigh17 I was thinking the same! I was eying it up for an event.
@Jamileigh17 No OH either, but my wife is probably out dancing in the snow! I got my CC bill from late Dec - Jan. YIKES!!! Didn’t know wine buying was so much fun until the bill arrives!!!
Some pretty solid reviews on other vintages, and with this, a great price compared to CT average.
Wonder if that one Bretty review was just a flawed bottle, as no other comments speak of Brett.
@rjquillin I was looking at past vintages the trend seemed good with that one guy who goes
This seems like a no brainer. First 5/btl for some Riesling now 8/btl for late harvest zin. If anyone in Las Vegas wants some I may have grabbed a case. Just thinking one last sec while typing.
This would also be good for wifey as she likes more fruit.
@winedavid49 we need a killer deal on their cab now or a cab close to it so I can stock up on a case before the summer heat.
@TechnoViking Point of information: old vine, not late harvest.
@InFrom thnx, much needed edit functions.
@TechnoViking I’m in for 3 or 4 bottles! How do you want to do this?
@scenicready I have already made the purchase. PM me at aequitas111 on WW. I’ll make note 3-4 for scenic. Sounds like these take a week to ship out as the Riesling arrives tomorrow.
@TechnoViking I’m interested in 1 or 2 bottles; if it’s too late, c’est la vie, next time!
@XsanityX not too late. I’m ok with a half case. Gives me more room for whatever is up next, that is if it looks interesting enough.
Need Rats on this one too.
Could be the deal of the month, or…?
LW and I had a bottle of the Sivas-Sonoma Zinfandel last Friday night. As always, I make sure not to read any information about the wine in advance, so as not to prejudice my thoughts. My first sensation, on opening, was a lot of heat, and some aromas that I couldn’t identify. Nothing typical of what I expect to find in a Zinfandel, especially from that region. The first sip didn’t reveal much else, a lot of heat, some dark fruit, but I couldn’t get anything that said Zinfandel to me, and our CT inventory shows more Zin than any other varietal. We tried drinking it with pizza, but the food didn’t really help at all. Given its pedigree, I expected a lot more, but the 15% alcohol seemed just too much to overcome. I didn’t get the sensation that the bottle was flawed, it just didn’t float my boat at all. YMMV.
@ddeuddeg something for killer sangrias?
@ddeuddeg Thanks, those are the hardest reviews to write…
@ddeuddeg Thanks for the honest review. I agree with @chipgreen about those reviews being hard to write, but I also think that is what makes this place and TSFKAWW so special. The fact that you can post a thumbs down review and not have it taken down by mods is very important to many of us who have been customers of @Winedavid49 for years. It’s one of the top five reasons why l’ve been a customer for so long.
@ddeuddeg Did you go back to it later? Just wondering if the flavors developed later, or if the Alc just kept it suppressed.
@WkdPanda We did go back after two hours from opening. The heat was still quite prominent even though we got a little more black fruit and some black pepper on the nose. The palate did not improve.
@ddeuddeg Great job and thanks for always being honest!! I think by now, after following WW all those years, we know your character and honestly while also noting that your palate aligns with many of ours! Even though OH wasn’t on the list, I saw Old Vine Zinfandel and thought ALRIGHT. Then I saw the price, hmmmm. But with an open mind, I felt that we’ve come across great wines, great deals before! I have to go back and see what vintage this may be. Darn selective reading when I see Old Vine ZIn!!! BTW - Shout out to bahwm!!!
@ddeuddeg Thanks, ddeuddeg!
In for a case. Anyone in NYC willing to meet in Midtown East, let me know!
Alcohol’s a little higher than my preference. Plus I’m going to be good up on zin for the next forever. I’ve got 30 gallons of the stuff aging in my garage.
Gah, another one not available in Connecticut.
At $8/bottle, it’s worth trying. Anyone in Atlanta want to split a case?
Not available to ship to Ohio??
Well - We didn’t want any anyway!
I’m pulling my hair out trying to find my written review, but this is a smoking deal.
My bottle was not flawed, it was lovely. I had estimated a $20-25 msrp. Medium body, killer fruit. Was initially concerned by the 15%, but that blew off in the first half hour.
We had company in town for Mardi Grad and we sipped and discussed it until it magically vanished.
Complete report when I find that %#!* piece of paper!!!
Glad you enjoyed the wine. I find it great to share with company as well!
@sandbarhappy 15% alcohol isn’t so high for a Zin - even an Old Vine Zin.
@sandbarhappy waiting on this report… thanks 1 bad 1 good so far.
@NightGhost No, not incredibly high for a) zin, but that doesn’t mean it’s not something to watch out for. Most of the better zins are going to be well over 14 (some of my Turleys are an eye-popping 15.9, and I swear I’ve seen higher), but my body would rather drink something in the 13.5 range. Because neither I, nor my liver, are young anymore.
@MSUMike here it comes! I found where I’d hidden it to make sure it didn’t get recycled.
@NightGhost said 15% alcohol isn’t so high for a Zin - even an Old Vine Zin.
Well, that’s a matter of opinion. I remember many decades when Zin above 14% was rare (and this was when most wine was labeled 12.5%, which allows 1.5%+ or - leeway, but >14% had to be within 0.1%). The first Zinfandel I remember labeled above 14% was a '75 or ‘76 Montevina from Amador County. I had lots of Gus’ and Sam’s Zins in the '60s and '70s and most of them had red berry fruit and distinctive Zin aroma.
I know it’s gotten harder, given preferences and market pressures, to keep the alcohol down, but I find it harder and harder to drink high alcohol wines.
@sandbarhappy @rpm I’m not such a “spring chicken” myself, and I remember the days of cooler Zins. But I’ve also had some Zins with alc. as high as 17%. As you also know, alcohol content is not the only factor that makes a wine hot. I’ve had some very pleasant ones at 15%, so I’d rather trust a rat report when the figure is around that.
@NightGhost De gustibus non disputandum est as has long been said. I’ve had, and occasionally enjoyed, high alcohol Zins. Mostly late harvest variants that were more port-like than anything else. Quady used to make a wickedly good Zinfandel Port (I think the last vintage was '79 or '80, I have a couple of bottles of the '79 left) before he went full Oporto on us like Ficklin…
I’m too old, and life is too short, though for me to buy really high alcohol wines - the port types won’t be ready to drink before I hit my 90s and who knows if I’ll still be drinking big red wine then…
So first time trying to find someone to split.
Anybody in Sugarland TX area (or at least far southwest houston?)
Hate to not get 6 bottles for basically the price of 4, might get the case and keep it but would be very happy to split 50/50 on one as well.
@raccoon81 we’re down on the island and would take what you don’t want for entertaining purposes. Great crowd pleaser.
@sandbarhappy I found someone on the Katy/West Houston gatherings forum that we are gonna split. Will keep an eye out on others for ya.
From Wine Enthusiast 12/1/16:
Sivas-Sonoma 2014 Old Vine Zinfandel 90 points
A totally satisfying wine in its bringing together of velvety texture and flavors of pepper steak, juicy red berry and sultry cinnamon. Aged in American oak, it offers length and body in a ripe, rich package.
From Beverage Tasting Institute 5/4/17:
Sivas-Sonoma 2014 Old Vine Zinfandel
88 Points Silver Medal Highly Recommended
Dusty garnet color. Baked, rustic aromas of baked dark fruit pie, strawberry and sage, menthol, and dried leaves with a velvety, fruity medium body and a warming, interesting, medium-length blistered blackberry and cured meats, Italian leather, plump raisin, and chocolate powder finish with well-integrated, chewy tannins. A crispy Zin with a baked quality.
fwiw
Regarding sharing, searching around, is there a way to contact other members behind the scenes? PM or whatever? I would hope so since the sharing thing is how this is being presented. If this has been addressed, missed it. I still find the messaging here kind of hard to follow, but I’m trying!
@kaolis It has been brought up in multiple threads. This one being the most recent I believe… https://casemates.com/forum/topics/we-need-a-better-solution-asap
To coordinate case splitting, many of us are utilizing the PM feature on WW to exchange personal info.
@kawichris650 Looks like we have PM feature, the Whisper
@slicknik82, @ballybunion871, @kasandrae, @cathaclysm, any interest in this one? As a reminder, I’m in Livonia.
@jrbw3 I’m in
I’m on the fence (shouldn’t spend the money), but I really like old vine zinfandels. Anyone in SW Michigan interested in splitting a case?
@nlmiller I’m in SW Michigan, but decided just to buy a whole case for myself. I’m a fan of old Zins too.
/giphy jumpy-perfumed-flame
@nlmiller Sorry - I meant I’m in SE Michigan - probably too far away to share.
@csquared22 Thanks for the response; I’ve decided that means I’m in for a case.
@csquared22 (@jrbw3) we are SE MI just above you in the comments…
@kasandrae ok. Sounds good. You buy or I buy?
@kasandrae Good to know. The way comments are displayed here is odd. I don’t see you. In any event, I would be in to split future cases.
@csquared22 @jrbw3 I just bought a case. Totaled 118.71.
@kasandrae Sweet! I’m in. Let me know when delivered.
I really need to remove my miles reward card from this account. I’m all ‘I need to buy miles’ and then wine shows up. Not. Proper. Planning.
/giphy sopping-bland-medic
This discussion has come up many times before: The offer states, if purchased through DS&S, the cost is $438 and includes shipping. A case costs $360 on the same site and they do not charge handling, so how was the $78 shipping derived? Shipping to all of the East Coast States that they ship to was basically $59. The closer to the west coast, the shipping was less. If the $438 figure includes an average sales tax estimate, then I would think it would be stated as such along with the shipping. Unless my math is wrong, the additional $19 isn’t accounted for in the description.
@Boatman72 Packaging accounts for a bit of that, but hard to see an additional $20, I agree. Perhaps the stated comparison point should include both elements - the price without shipping and the shipping cost stated along with the location it’s based on. @snapster @dave @WineDavid49
@klezman This commentary style isn’t going to scale well but this link is to a reply to a post with some commentary and a link that references an origination thread.
Attempted summary: the case discount value on display via Casemates is derived from both logistics and packaging savings to the Winery as well as organic, pre-existing case discount concepts in the marketplace. To ignore that those exist would be to neglect the full ability of this model to perform.
Yes, the winery literally does look at two outcome price scenarios for what amount to the same bottle of wine. Why? Because it’s smart to have demographic price segmentation in their normal market. We are hacking that.
As to the specifics of @Boatman72’s actual post, I don’t know the price reference data behind the scenes but my guess is they attempted to use a shipping only estimate and not sales tax. Maybe they found a way to pay extra shipping? ¯\ (ツ)/¯
@Boatman72
Though it may vary for others based on location, the price comp is what it would cost to purchase and get it to our office.
@snapster yes, I know (and agree with) the general method here. It’s a bit rough around the edges when you aren’t totally clear what is included in the "full retail plus shipping"price comparison, is all. It just send hard to get from $360 bottle price to $438 under any scenario that doesn’t include taxes. But tax isn’t included here, so that’s not a totally fair comparison.
It’s a good discount no matter how you slice it. It’s important for the business model to show the savings due to shipping as well. I’m just suggesting transparency in how you arrive at the retail price.
@klezman we felt strongly on this as well but settled on it not being on the front page like it apparently was at wine.woot (opting instead for just the single bottle raw price) We may need to keep thinking about it.
@snapster
First thing to do, which I’d hope is rather easy, is just take the tax out the comparison price.
After that, you’re apples-to-apples and everything else is a niggly detail, like whether you choose TX or IL or NY as your base shipping price.
In this case, $415 as the base price compared to $100 is plenty solid a deal for all but the most miserly of us.
Any case splitters in the Chicago area? Specifically north side or loop? Willing to take 4-6 myself.
@gtcharlie I’d been in for 4 myself. The celler is a bit overflowing otherwise I’d do more. I’m on Northside.
@jshaver Works for me. Ordered a case. If anyone else loop/northside wants 2-4 let me know.
I say yay - great dry red and great price
OK, here are my formerly missing tasting notes! Thanks to the powers that be that sent me such a lovely zin to try. I can’t remember what (or when) the offering was, but we previously purchased a wine by Don & Sons, and I have good feelings about whatever it was that we had.
Bottle arrived on Thursday afternoon. I wasn’t sure when the wine would be offered, so I made the decision to open it that evening. All tasting performed and notes taken without benefit of any reading, other than the labels.
The bottle had an agglomerated cork. I personally would rather see a Stelvin/screw cap, but we all have our opinions. Room temperature, which meant about 63-65 on that day, iirc.
Color is deep garnet, trending to purplish hues in the deeper center of the glass. Possibly orange hints around the edge, but I’m not thinking that the orange is really age-related.
Primary nose is fresh ripe blackberry, spicy, maybe a touch of cloves. Getting some cocoa and yes, a strong whiff of alcohol. Maybe a teeny hint of orange peel? Nose is really nice, but doesn’t stick around very long… after about 5 minutes, I’m not getting much of anything.
Nice acidity, with medium body. Not a super-luscious mouthfeel due to the lighter body, but fine.
Jammy blackberry, spicy… actually, for those familiar with the local berry, it actually tastes like dewberries. Spicy blackberry will do for those that don’t live in or near TX. Some hints of dried plum (not to be confused with prune). That whiff of ETOH makes it a little hot and getting cocoa on the finish (as expected from the nose).
After about 30 minutes, the nose has come back. Pretty similar to the initial scents, but now picking up some herby, brambly notes. The wine really appreciated the little rest. This isn’t much of a surprise, since I opened it a few hours after LSO dropped it off. A little shocky from the journey. Anyway, after that half hour, it is now much more expansive, flavor-wise, and the structure has become much better integrated. The fruit has been pulled into balance with the acidity and the spices, some oak is showing. The nose has become much sweeter and the wine is smooth and balanced. Tannins are present, but well integrated. Finish was pretty short at initial tasting, but a bit more lingering at this point.
As mentioned earlier, this was the first weekend of Mardi Gras, which is a party down here. Not like a NOLA party, but a party nonetheless. We had company, and everyone enjoyed this wine. Dewberry/blackberry with coffee notes seemed to be the general opinion, from fairly uneducated wine drinkers (uneducated about wine, I mean).
I had pegged this with an MSRP in the $20-$25 range, which seems in line with the winery price, so I was more than pleased to see it sold in a $99 case. This is an excellent deal, and I’d buy more if I could. We entertain a lot, and this is a crowd-pleaser. After the initial rounds of tasting, we served it with some jambalaya (shrimp, andouille and chicken) and cornbread, and it did just dandy.
@sandbarhappy Thanks!
@sandbarhappy Nice Rat Report! Maybe ddeuddeg and I had a bad bottle–although we have had bad bottles in the past and have been able to readily identify them as bad. We opened ours the day after it arrived, so it should have had time to settle a bit after its journey to Buffalo, NY. I, too, have had high alc zins and have been ok with them, but I do prefer mine with less alc. For us, this bottle was not balanced and we just couldn’t get any pronounced flavor or nose.
@bahwm
Maybe there was some issue with temperature during transport?
And I did note that after an initially great nose, the nose went away completely for 1/2 an hour or so.
Pretty interesting. There may be some issue with bottle variation that has helped with getting this to us as such a deal. When I worked in the industry, that was an all-too-common reason for a sweet offering. I’m not meaning to bash the producer, by any means, although there were circumstances where the wine “deal” was all too obviously a dump. This may be just a little persnickety and in need of babying those long chains.
Just my thoughts. Grain of salt and all that. It’s all just so fascinating.
@sandbarhappy Who knows about shipping variations. This was likely shipped overnight for one day delivery. I cannot say what the temp was in the plane. As for ambient temp in truck: COLD.
good work by all Rats! candor is key here.
@Winedavid49 And the double rat is appreciated as well.
Now, if only we could import that old banner for easy use here.
@snapster @dave
@rjquillin …or a new banner. Calling all artists!
anyone else in the houston area interested in splitting?
Torrance anyone want to spilt?
Going to pick up the four pack unless someone in the SW Baltimore area wants to split a case with me? This seems like a bangin good deal.
@canneddirt I’d be down for 3, 4 or 6
@canneddirt @jml326 I’m in! I’m on the Maryland Casemates FB if you want to figure out how to share.
@canneddirt @jchasma if canneddirt doesn’t get back before 9pm shall one of us order?
@canneddirt I’m back! Posted on the FB page
let’s do this. Who should buy?
@canneddirt I’m game for a three-way split. I posted on the FB!
@canneddirt @jchasma examples this is a public post
@canneddirt @jchasma Checking in wine should our case should be delivered today
@canneddirt @jchasma I’m not getting whisper notice so I’m posting public as an update.
I’m mixed… good and bad reviews. Only other Old Vine Zin I can remember was a Scott Harvey 1869 that was amazing. Thankfully noone else in DFW has chimed in yet
@MSUMike If Scott’s 1869 Zin is your benchmark for OVZ, you’re sure to be disappointed with everything else.
@MSUMike I’m in and was about the ask the DFWs if any interest.
@texas_swift Sorry i think I’m on the fence. really gotta slow down on the purchases. Unless you can find anyone else…or decide to go in on a 4 pack.
@MSUMike All good! I think the other DFWs are in.
@texas_swift Did you end up ordering any of this or not… Trying to catch up on all the wines I talked about…
@MSUMike No, I let it go.
It is really tasty. I promise
@DonandSons Well, there you go!
Boo!!! No PA
@larrygrochal where in PA?
What’s the window on this? Is it going to improve with a few more years on it?
@cbrehman ready now and for 2-3 more years, IMO
@Winedavid49 Excellent. Thank you!
/giphy EQUAL BENEFICIAL BIRTHDAY
/giphy occlusive-fabulous-python
Just opened my first bottle of this last night, great deal! Nothing strange or slightly off about it, which is always my fear on a case for $99. My wife and I almost polished off the bottle on a Monday night…good sign, not a good sign.