We scooped up all of the remaining Two Jakes of Diamonds inventory and this may be the last of it! Now’s the time to buy before it’s all gone.
This offer is entirely a Red Wine offer, predominantly Library Selections. It is a true Mystery Offer, but will include many of your favorite Two Jakes wines!
What’s Included
4-bottles:
4x Two Jakes of Diamonds Mystery Red Wine Case:
12x Two Jakes of Diamonds Mystery Red Wine
About The Winery
Winery: Diamond Ridge Vineyards
Owner: Jake S. Stephens III
Founded: 1998
Location: Lake County, CA
My name is Jacob S. Stephens III, but everyone calls me Jake. I represent the third generation in our family to embrace the life of a farmer, following in the footsteps of my grandfather Jacob, and my father Jake II.
The Diamond Ridge Vineyards name derives from the Lake County diamonds found on the property. Diamond Ridge is located on the volcanic hillsides north of the town of Clearlake, with the eastern shores of Clear Lake just over the hill. Elevations range from 500 to 800 meters. At this elevation, there is never any fog, and the bright cool sunlight creates conditions ideal for deeply expressive Bordeaux varieties as well as Petite Sirahs of unrivaled color, grace and aroma.
Our site allows us to grow fruit that is comparable, sometimes superior, to our downhill neighbor Napa County, at a fraction of the cost of land. Many experts contend that the quality of fruit produced in mountain vineyards rivals that of the valley floors. We agree! As one of our avid grape clients remarked, “Diamond Ridge is without question the diamond in Lake County’s crown.”
Available States
AL, 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, OK, OR, PA, RI, SC, SD, TN, TX, VT, VA, WA, WV, WI, WY
@bunnymasseuse@klezman@radiolysis you have two options. Cancel and reorder with the coupon, or use the coupon next time. it’s good for 11 more months roughly.
Edit, it’s good for everyone, not just those who purchased that offer.
I’ve never tasted Two Jakes. I was burned by the international mystery case.
However, because you’ve all raved about Two Jakes over the years and still having the coupon available, I’ve decided to pull the trigger. Merry Christmas to me and my wine loving family members.
Coupon ‘witchwine’ makes the case $110…$9.17 per bottle. Not bad
@jaybird the international mystery case was truly awful, but the next mystery case they did more than made up for it.
Two Jakes is a known commodity. They could literally give me anything they had and it would be well worth it. I’m desperately trying to text my friends awake so they can get in on this before it sells out.
How much more are you saving by buying a full case?
(Note: tax and shipping are not included in savings calculations).
Two Jakes of Diamonds Mystery Red Wines - $45 = 24.99%
Ordered in a panic because I knew this will sell out. Didn’t realize there was the coupon code. Any one tell me how long the coupon is good for? Sure I can find something in the near future with the code.
I’m down to the last two bottles of the last case in the house. Thanks for those that shared the coupon code. Haven’t had Two Jakes before so I hope it will be a success in the house.
Currently sitting on 44 bottles of Two Jakes wines at an average bottle cost of $18.65, over 50% more than today’s case price. I will let others enjoy the massive discount on these great wines, while remaining happy with what I’ve already gotten for my money.
@hscottk@rjquillin@winesmith
Steve and I are actually in Lake County today! We’ll be at the (somewhat belated) Tempranillo Day festival at Six Sigma. Next Saturday we’ll be tasting with Clark. If he doesn’t chime in here, I’ll ask him what’s up with Two Jakes and report back later.
Hi Folks. This is Two Jakes’ swan song, an amazing vineyard - a volcanic soil mountain vineyard with a cooling afternoon lake effect, perfect for rich, fruity Petite Sirah and BDX varieties. I made Jake’s wines from 2007 through 2021, when he was able to allocate everything as grape sales at good prices, mostly to the Hess Collection. Mostly I would make his remarkable Pomerol-like Merlot, which because of Sideways, was difficult to get a good price for as grapes, so I’d make 100 tons which mostly sold on the bulk market, and we’d bottle a couple hundred cases for the Two Jakes label. I did the same with 23 tons of Cab Franc and 70 tons of amazing Petite Sirah. I also made some Cab Sauv now and then and one vintage of Malbec.
These wines almost always sold out in bulk, but I was able to bottle my own under the WineSmith label, and I still have some 2017 Cab Franc that WineDavid will run sometime soon.
If there was ever a can’t-go-wrong Mystery pack, this is it. I can honestly say that I never made a wine off this vineyard that was less than extraordinary. My only caveat is that these wines have a long, flat aging trajectory. The longer you wait, the better they are.
This is the end of the line for Two Jakes, so if they sell out, there’ll be no more. I really want to acknowledge Jake Stephens as a wonderful client. It was a great privilege to work beside him for so many years. He trusted me to engage in a long line of sulfite-free “Roman Reserve” wines which you’ll find amazing if you’re lucky enough to get a bottle included in your assortment. Breathe these wines for at least a day, up to a week for best results. They’re quite different from the conventional sulfited wines, but will demonstrate why the Romans planted grapes all over Europe and used fine cuisine to stabilize the Empire.
@winesmith so you’re saying that Jake sold the vineyard? Or that all good grapes are now allocated and you’re frozen out of it? I’m not quite following what happened.
@klezman No, he’s still running the vineyard, but likes that a lot more than being in the wine business. He’s got a farmer’s soul, not a salesman’s black heart. Here’s what wine sales really looks like:
I’m very pleased that he’s earned his position with Hess and others as a combination of quality and economy unparalleled in California. It’s the goal of any consultant to put themselves out of a job, and that’s what we accomplished.
You guys were a tremendous help keeping us breathing when we needed oxygen. Grateful thanks to all.
Don’t worry, you certainly haven’t seen the last of me. My 2017 Diamond Ridge Cab Franc will be featured soon.
Would be fun if they could throw in an extra Sunday deal since this sold-out (as expected) today. Like, “Extra! here’s some more stuff we found in a warehouse…”
Of course that would probably mess up some of the scripts that expect to do things on certain days only, like send the email the 2nd day, except on Fridays. Which makes me wonder, will an automated email go out tomorrow for today’s deal that you can’t buy anymore?
Extra! here’s some more stuff we found in a warehouse…
I don’t think they could do that unless they actually owned the miscellaneous cases that they ‘found’, which goes against its business model - they are an expediter, not a reseller.
Congratulations to all that purchased. Fantastic deal. Outstanding wine and winemaker. As a long time Wooter/‘Mater/fullpuller/‘tsoer with the typical more wine than time to drink, it was nevertheless painful to sit this one out.
Salute.
I thought about sitting this one out for all of 2 seconds. I am overflowing and was thinking of giving mixed 6 packs as holiday gifts. Now it will probably be cases.
Drinking an Aspects tonight. Sorry to hear they are going out of the wine business. Sorry I was not on line this weekend and missed this offer. I am in the wine club of their neighbor Gregory Graham and he has a wonderful product he creates yearly.
Oftentimes shipments go out ahead of the stated delivery window and I have tentative travel plans Nov 20th - Dec 5th. If UPS can’t deliver this and it gets sent back to WCC, I’ll be devastated. I’m trying my best to prevent that from happening.
Do you by chance have any updates? If the delivery will take place after December 5th that’d be great. If you think the wine will ship sooner, I’ll need customer service to change the shipping address for my order.
@danidani12@kawichris650 ok, just came from the warehouse and two jakes is being built today and will go out THIS Monday. my guess for MN is will get it first week of Dec. it’s a little hard to predict with Thanksgiving and holiday rush.
yea, this time of year (both in terms of temperate weather and warehouse busyness, once we get it in, we let’er rip. these are all palletized and likely given to the carrier.
@danidani12@kawichris650@Mark_L@Winedavid49
I hope you’re ready for a lot of returned packages…probably including ours unless they’ll hold until Monday 27th…sending out for delivery during the biggest travel week of the year is just asking for a boatload of people to be unable to receive.
@danidani12@kawichris650@Winedavid49 Come to think of it, it was for the Scott Harvey offering that I got the shipping notice for 2 days ago. When I looked it up on UPS Mychoice, I noticed that the Two Jakes was scheduled to be delivered the same day.
@danidani12@kawichris650@rjquillin@Winedavid49 I received an “official” shipping notice (beyond the shipment just appearing in the MyChoice web page) of delivery on 11/28. That works fine for me. (I would have been gone for the original MyChoice delivery day of 11/24 and had rescheduled it to 11/27)
@danidani12@kawichris650@klezman@rjquillin@Winedavid49 I could have it delivered to a UPS store, but 1) it would probably sit there even longer than if I delay the delivery, and 2) I would rather let UPS do the driving and save myself the 80 minute round trip (with the exception of times of high heat).
@danidani12@kawichris650@klezman@Mark_L@rjquillin@Winedavid49 Check out signing up for UPS My Choice ($20 a year for unlimited changes to address or date) - mine is arriving on Nov 28 (and I will be here but I will switch delivery to a UPS CC so that I do not have to wait in) and it was giving me options of delaying delivery until Dec 12 although YMMV
@ctmariner@danidani12@kawichris650@Mark_L@rjquillin@Winedavid49 I will have to call them. If they only deliver Wednesday, Friday, and then Monday we’ll be fine. If they try to deliver Saturday that’ll be the third try. Last time I tried to get something worked out with them it was an exercise in frustration.
It’s just asking for so much trouble to send wine when half of the country is travelling.
UPS delivers to USPS. I have a box there. The case goes in the box and I p/u at my leisure. If it doesn’t fit in a small box, I get a key to the locker it’s in.
@danandlisa Finding the USPS address thing works was an accident. I had it for a default address for other Meh sites to foil porch pirates. I ordered one of the wine offers on meh and UPS delivered the case to the US Post Office. There it was put into a locker. Guess I’m really not sure if I could redirect to that address, but as a primary, it wasn’t an issue, and no nonsense should it remain there for some time.
@rjquillin@ScottW58 Luckily we don’t have porch pirates here. We just don’t have routing options, which is okay if you are prepared. Happy Thanksgiving.
@danandlisa@ScottW58
Yes, her too.
Accidentally, well the shipper (K&L) f’d up, and shipped a couple of held cases here, home.
Had no “shipping” address so they, without asking to where or when, used the billing address.
Pissed.
Awkward.
@rpstrong You got what is, I think, for me, the best of the cases I’ve seen so far! Only way it could have been better would be 2 each of the 2010 and 2012 Cab Francs.
@klezman I’m not complaining, and I’m really intrigued by the RR CFs - I think I’ll pull a cork tomorrow, strain and decant, and see where it goes over the next week or so.
“Interesting” exchange with the Brown today.
I got a shipping notice, mentioned earlier
Just got my shipping notice; scheduled delivery 11/22
for delivery to business work address. Kept following tracking and it started looking wonky, well, because it was. One arrived in town, the other still in transit, then both arrived, but now the delivery date went TBD. Never saw where either made it on a truck.
Did the online chat thing and after some extended back and forth I was advised the shipper, WCC, missed the pickup time; well, they got picked up, but after the ‘these need to be picked up by…’ time for it to be delivered by the advised delivery date.
OK, so where is it now I asked.
At the local, not far from me, distribution facility, where, in the past, I’ve picked up shipments.
Ahhhh, but according to the agent, WCC shipped out prohibiting any re-routing to a different address, be it residential, business, access point, UPS store, anywhere; including the ability to pick-up at the UPS center. Only WCC could could alter ~anything~.
Well, the business will be closed tomorrow, and Friday, and Saturday so that leaves a Monday date. They will try three attempts. The agent did state the next delivery attempt day would be Monday and it would not see a truck until then.
We shall see…
@rjquillin
I have had UPS tell me that a couple times with WCC shipments I was trying to track down/re-direct. Never really did believe them but what can you say to that?
That is one little bonus about abstaining from otherwise tempting offers - not having to deal with UPS. FedEx was far superior, at least for me.
I have tried repeatedly to have the delivery address updated and it was never updated by WCC. UPS will be delivering the wine tomorrow and I am out of the country. I’ve spoken with three different UPS representatives in an effort to resolve this issue and they say there’s nothing they can do. Only WCC can change the delivery name and/or delivery address.
Please for the sake of Two Jakes, I need the delivery name changed and I need WCC to authorize the delivery to be sent to the nearest UPS facility so my mom can pick it up on my behalf. I desperately do not want this package being sent back to WCC since this is the last of the Two Jakes wine.
Boy, I feel bad for WD and staff as you read the evolution of this sale.
It first started with everyone saying instant buy, then those complaining about the fact that the email doesn’t go out until the second day (and those people don’t check the website without an email notification) and that they missed the deal.
To then a whole bunch of complaints about the fact that the wine was shipped in a timely fashion.
I’m sure some who missed the deal would gladly accept the shipments from those that don’t like that the wine was shipped?
@Drez143 as one of the people who “complained” that the wine was shipped, you clearly missed the point. This is the single biggest travel weekend of the year. Many or most people aren’t home to receive and most offices are closed at least part of the week. It’s terribly wasteful if a bunch of wine needs to get shipped back to Sonoma because it was sent during Thanksgiving week. Then you have wasted money and a huge cost for WD and a bunch of angry customers who really wanted the wine but aren’t home to get it. And with UPS it’s obnoxious to try to get it redirected compared to FedEx.
Shipments that get returned get charged twice for shipping to WD, and then he has to issue a refund. It’s not good for him or his business either.
I think what most people here would prefer is that the shipping window given in the offer is adhered to. Personally, I don’t usually care, but being among the tens of millions of American residents out of town this week, I happen to care this time.
@Drez143@klezman i’m good. we felt the timing of the shipment would be the least worse in this situation. if we don’t release it, those wanting it sooner would be bothered (rightly so). we ship it, and that spells trouble for those impacted by this tough week (rightly so).
the chips will fall. i hope you get the wine in good working order. temperatures will help.
@WCCGeorge the saga continues. The updated delivery date says tomorrow and not Monday as the previous rep told me. UPS has the worst customer service I’ve ever dealt with. They can’t do anything when you call them except claim they will call the local centre to see if they’ll delay driver one day. Such a pain.
Apparently Unbelievably Poor Service doesn’t transport on Black Friday. Thanksgiving I understand but today? My case has sat in Illinois since yesterday morning, en route to NEO. What a joke…
I got my case today (St. Louis) and all good! My first Two Jakes (and apparently my last), now off to buy a decanter after reading all the reviews. Cheers and thanks for this amazing offer!
@deadlyapp pretty sure Clark has mentioned that the CF can be aged for a few decades if I remember correctly from previous postings… biggest thing is to open it and let it breathe for several days before consuming.
Extremely curious to hear others opinions of the 2012 Cabernet franc. We opened a bottle last night and honestly it was an unpleasant experence. Extremely vegetable to the point of some sourness. Maybe because we opened it the same day it arrived? The color was a issue as well. Definitely browner than I would think for a well cellared 2012. Thought giving it some air would help but the bottle was open for 3 hours and did not improve. 1/2 the bottle on the counter and will taste again today. Concerning considering half my shipment was cab franc.
@gtcharlie Clark has said in the past that the Roman Reserve wines can take 3-7 days of air sometimes. Try a small glass twice a day to see how it evolves?
@klezman
3-7 days seems kind of crazy but if that is what it takes I guess. Will be curious to hear other people’s opinion once there are more bottles opened. Not sure I am willing to call it a damaged bottle yet but it was not a pleasant drinking experience.
@gtcharlie@klezman I have ordered the Roman CF case in the past & very true leave open & not start tasting for at least 3 days…for me around day 7 was the sweet spot…sounds crazy but very true. Don’t be surprised by the amount of sediment in the bottle
@dawnlac@klezman
Alright then. Next bottle will be opened far in advance. And this one does indeed have a large amount of settlement. Not much change to report the second day.
@dawnlac@gtcharlie@klezman This wine is a wine that has an attitude, some days it’s sweet, some days it’s a bit wild, but I really really appreciate that it has a variant character and allows you to experience a vast range of flavor and taste with only one wine!
It takes patience, and timing, and no matter what it tastes like today… it’s likely to change tomorrow, and I look forward to that every day.
So “mystery cases” I guess are just the garbage you can’t honestly sell anymore? So incredibly disappointing. Obviously this site can no longer be trusted to provide quality wine any longer in the “mystery” category.
@Vince247 what exactly was the problem with the wines? How were they served? How much time did you allow for them to breathe? This stuff isn’t 2023 Yellow Tail.
If you tried to pop and pour, the issue is operator error.
@vandemusser my 6-bed home now stinks from allowing this to breath. Is this smell something I can look forward to for the next week before “enjoying” this “opportunity”?
Operator error. Another smarmy know-better-then-others vandemusser
@Vince247 It’s as if you didn’t read/see the previous Two Jakes wines offered on Casemates… of which the Roman Reserves were a prominent part, which a lot of people purchased for over $15 a bottle! If you don’t like the wine, that’s your prerogative. I’ll try to make sure I decant it in my one spare bedroom. (and yes, I too was burned by the International mystery offer)
@Vince247 I think it’s hilarious that you are offering this assessment considering the oddly aggressive, weird comments you posted earlier this afternoon about the offer and other casematers.
@davidd13 I received a full refund for this case so I plan to gift every bottle to others and suggest it’s an education, should they chose to accept it.
I tried to edit my previous comment regarding the RR CF, but was too late. After doing some research, I will be prepared to let it decant 3-5 days when the time comes to try it, and hope for the best!
I did offer a pretty harsh assessment but I am willing to try letting the wine breathe for much longer next time. I was pretty taken aback by my initial tasting but hopefully my hurry to try the wine was the culprit. We shall see.
Last night we opened a 2012 Roman Reserve Cab Franc that’s been down in the cellar for several years and it was fantastic. Definitely has the “natural wine” kind of funkiness and changed quite a bit through the evening. I’ve got some left to taste the next few days. Sediment is an issue and there is a lot of finesediment so I did filter a glass or two through cheese cloth and thought that worked well.
Very happy with this mystery case haul for $11/btl. I’m familiar with all of these wines and enjoy all of them. This mystery case wins the QPR award for sure. As someone who loves library wines, it’s cool that the oldest vintage is 2010 and the most recent is 2017!!
Is this really a mystery offer? No. Not when you look at the very, very similar offerings each has received, by bottle and by year. And yes, I did read the write up.
Call it a marketing ploy, which I also fell for, that many of us might equate to the old Wellington days when it truly was a mystery. Some hit it rich with an old, true library wine, while others didn’t; luck of the draw. This doesn’t seem like that.
Heck, I pretty much can guess what’s in my case just by reading what others have posted and I haven’t even picked it up yet from the local Unbelievably Poor Service store.
Smart (and shady) marketing. The powers to be could’ve made this a 4 pack with one each of RR CF, CS, Aspects, and PS, or a case with 3 of each, with a listing of the possible vintages received.
But then, how many would’ve taken the bait? My bet, a lot less. Too bad.
@shrimp74 A non mystery offer with the selections you’ve listed would have sold out just as quickly at an $11/btl price point. I’ve been buying, drinking, and loving these wines for almost 10 years. A farewell offering (no more Two Jakes wine being made) at an all time low price for even the cheapest of these bottles in a Casemates offering, and it’s an auto buy. I have no regrets.
@shrimp74 I think you’re conflating mysteriousness and randomness. It was a mystery offer, and some cases do vary. I’m not surprised by the relative sameness because unless you have some means of randomizing all the available wines you have to let humans pack the boxes and people need some set of rules to do their job remotely efficiently.
@lehigh Terrifically. Were there some overlaps in bottles? Sure. But there was a tremendous amount of case variety. Very, very few ever got the same case. It was fun, and opening a mystery offer box was like Christmas morning. This deal was also like Christmas morning, but unfortunately your siblings already told you what you’re going to be opening, because they also got the same thing.
@shrimp74 Two Jakes has Merlot, Petite Sirah, Reserve Cab, Aspects, and Roman Reserve CF in this offer, some with multiple vintages. 5 different wines. There is just not that much variation possible. Peter Wellington had 20-30 wines in multiple vintages. It’s just not even close to the same thing. Was the Wellington mystery case the best offering of all time? Absolutely. Is this offering a disappointing failure? No way.
Delivered to my office today…UPS tried to deliver on Friday (so they said), but came back today:
4X 2012 Roman Reserve Cabernet Franc
2X 2013 Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon
2X 2013 Aspects
2X 2013 Petit Sirah
2x 2017 Petit Sirah
I have no problems with what i got as my cost / bottle is $9 - 13 (the range is depending on the drinkability of the CF). If nothing else, makes a great gift at this time of year. Lotsa people will see “2013” on the bottle and be impressed
2X 2010 Roman Reserve Cabernet Franc
4X 2012 Roman Reserve Cabernet Franc
2X 2013 Roman Reserve Cabernet Franc
2X 2013 Aspects v2 (based on the 14.9% ABV)
2X 2017 Petit Sirah
@bunnymasseuse@Mark_L LOL! I got 8 2012 and 2 2010 so I’m right behind you. I think all the drama of this offer is whether people enjoy the RRCF or not. Yes, it’s very different. Yes, it will have a ton of sediment, that doesn’t mean it’s bad. I would imagine there is probably bottle variation, but all the 2012 and 2010’s I’ve opened from previous offers have been pretty consistent. A wine that really makes you think and is changing constantly. I may open one of the bottles that came this week to see if they are problematic. It seems somewhat unlikely with a wax seal, but I’m sure it’s possible.
4x2012 RR Cab Franc
2x2013 Aspects
4x2017 Petite Sirah (Yay!)
2x2103 Reserve Cabernet Sauv.
I had a poor experience with the first RR Cab Franc this summer at the beach and am interested to give them another try. Did not give it 7 days until first tastes, but had it every day through the week.
@eastcoastmary Unknown, even by Clark. They might last many easily be many decades. I intend to put some in back of cellar (closet under stairs, with styrofoam boxes) and not think of them for a long time. Make sure you go back to the offers for those and watch the videos for the Roman Reserve CFs. They’re really quite special.
I still haven’t received mine. UPS, bless their hearts, thought it prudent to keep trying to deliver every day during Thanksgiving week and on the weekend after the wine was unwisely sent 2-day transit to SoCal during Thanksgiving week. Despite assurances that they would deliver it today, the only brown truck that came by stopped a few doors down and then went along its merry way.
So now I will have to call them a fifth time to try to actually get them to deliver the wine.
2 2013 Aspects
2 2017 Petit Sirah
2 2013 Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon
6 2012 Roman Reserve Cabernet Franc
No complaints, although I was hoping to see a few different years of the Roman Reserve. I have a number of the 2012 RR and have opened two so far. Treated both the same, decanted and tried a bit immediately, then finished them over 7 days. The first one was fantastic, the second not so fantastic. Maybe more bottle variability with un-sulfured wine?
Received 8 RR cab francs (3 2010 and 5 2012) 2 2017 ps, and 2 2013 aspects. Funny, Clark mentioned something about those “lucky enough to get RR cab franc” in the order. Apparently, everyone was very, very lucky! Wish I’d been less lucky and had more variety, but those are the breaks with mystery packs. All good.
@hscottk I got exactly the same mix as you with the same reaction - would have liked more PS, CS and/or Merlot instead of 2/3rds of a case of RR CF - a bit disappointed and very nervous about opening a CF
What is the trick to get the wax seal off the RR Cab Franc? I’ve had many bottles with wax seals, but never one as thin, stuck on, and difficult to remove as these. Any hints to minimize the difficulties with the next bottle?
@LSeewoester I opened the bottle earlier this afternoon and let it sit without cork for about three hours. It smelled off as soon as I pulled the cork, but thought I would wait to see. Poured a first glass and there was no doubt it was no good. The glass was also full of pieces of sediment up to 1/4 inch square. Seems not right to me!
@cdgrimm@LSeewoester
There is going to be lots of sediment in these. Great big chunks, and a lot of small stuff that ends up as “sludge” on the bottom. The second bottle I had was not very good as I recall, but it was a year or so ago and I don’t remember the exact details. I seem to remember it had a real off smell like acetone.
What I did with both bottles was to pour it off into a decanter to give it lots of exposure to air. Put something over the top so critters can’t get in. If you don’t have a real decanter, pour it off into some kind of container leaving as much of the crud in the bottle as possible, dump the dregs and clean the bottle, find a funnel and return to the bottle. Cover with something to keep the critters out, but let the air in. The level should be below the neck to give it air. If not, pour some into a glass and have a taste. It will be funky, but not terrible on opening. Gets better with air, lots and lots of air.
Any of the Roman Reserves will need this.
@cdgrimm@LSeewoester
Iirc when the first one of these came out he said he used some old Roman technique to preserve the wine like they did for the soldiers fighting distant wars vs using sulphur like they do now? Maybe the soldiers didn’t care what it tasted or smelled like because it got them drunk I know klez let me try that one after it was open for 3 or 5 days and I thought it tasted and smelled like cheese. I was not a fan but what do I know.
@LSeewoester@Springbank OK, upon further research of these RRCF, maybe I didn’t give enough air, so I’ll decant the next for a week or more, but still sceptical it will reverse that skunky!
@cdgrimm@klezman@LSeewoester@ScottW58
Also, if you are storing these on the side, put it upright for a at least a day or so to let it settle before you open it. Clark’s “experimental” wines can be different, and people tend to love them or hate them. The Roman Reserve is about as far out there as you can get. Some of his other wines are more
“mainstream” and fantastic.
One of my 2012 RR is missing half the wax cap. Good excuse to open and decant it later today.
@cdgrimm@klezman@ScottW58@Springbank Thanks everyone! It’s in a decanter, w/ a paper towel loosely stuffed on top to keep out the fruit flies. Filtered out the sludge. It’s definitely interesting and I’m certainly open to trying something new and different.
Upon pop and pour I thought at first, like many, it had been corked but corked wine is distinct and this is not that. I thought to myself is this just really really really tight? Looks like it.
I only wish I knew what I was signing up for - I’ve had many of Clark’s wines before but I’m not such a fan girl to know about the RR’s. This is the kind of thing I’d pick up a bottle or two to check out. Now I’ve got 8.
@cdgrimm@klezman@LSeewoester@ScottW58 The good thing is that Clark says they will last for decades. Stash them somewhere and years from now you can discover them all over again.
All kidding aside, 8 is probably too many for what is really more a novelty than a daily, or even monthly drinker. I got 12 yesterday, and probably another 8 or so from the last time.
@cdgrimm@klezman@LSeewoester@ScottW58@Springbank Exactly the same boat here. I would have passed if I had known that more than half my case would have been these RR’s (or even if any of them were going to be this).
My household is a 2 hour max decant type of house before the bottle is consumed. I personally don’t know a single local person who would be down for having to decant something for 2-7 days.
Internally, I wished I had passed on this and simply used that money to buy a case of the recent WS offering that I passed on due to having bought this.
Oh well though. Can’t change anything now!
Curious why Clark has been MIA? He’s always on here and now that the rabbit is out of the hat with the RR wines not a word. I was hoping to get no more than four RR wines but ended up with six. My gut feeling is that the RR wines are an experiment gone bad. Real bad.
@losthighwayz or he’s just busy.
Either way, I think it might be time for another experiment with this wine. Assuming I get my case tomorrow I’ll probably open one up and drink over several days and report back.
I’ve been concerned about the comments regarding the 2012 RR Cab Franc, especially since I have 10 bottles from 2 cases. I couldn’t wait any longer so popped a bottle to see. Fortunately, the bottle I opened is well aged and quite tasty, with no negatives to note.
@RRichmo with fellow folks here who don’t drink wine, smelling only I got “embalming fluid” (their father used to be a mortician), “vinegar” or “balsamic vinaigrette” reports on the nose, but none drink it anyway so no way to convince them the nose does not identify the taste properly at this time.
For me, it needs some more air, but does not taste “turned” at all.
@bunnymasseuse I just opened a second bottle to go with a coffee rub sirloin tonight and realized mine are 2011 bottles, not the 2012! I’m very pleased with the 2011!
I just opened the one I got with the chipped wax cap. Much less sediment that the last one I opened or the one shown above. No weird aroma of acetone/higher alcohols or general funk. The color is red, not the brown indicated above. Decanted and poured the last ounce or so with the dregs into a coffee cup. Let it settle for a bit and took a taste. First tiny sip was intensely sharp and made me want to say “wow,” but not the taste of a wine gone bad. Let it sit for another 15 minutes or so and tried again. The acidity had died down, or my taste buds had, but it tasted pretty fresh and fruity. Not bad at all. I think this bottle will be very drinkable.
After 6 phone calls, multiple re-delivery attempts, drivers who won’t actually come to the door, and more wrangling with the absurdly bad “customer service” of UPS I finally got the case!
4x 2012 Cab Franc RR
2x 2010 Cab Franc RR
2x 2013 Aspects v2
2x 2013 Cab Sauv Reserve
2x 2017 Petite Sirah
Wish I’d gotten some of the Merlot hanging around there but this is a solid case and a screaming deal.
@bunnymasseuse Oh, I’m happy with the case. I was just lower on Merlot and already had 4x of the 2012 CF.
I also just opened a bottle (that had been sitting here a long time) of the 2012 Cab Franc RR and it’s screamingly good even at pnp. Not totally open, that’s for sure, but it rings like a mature-ish Bordeaux that’s still got plenty of fruit. The plan is to have a glass a day until it’s gone and see what happens.
@klezman agree, even a good 1hr sit has helped, most of what I had at pnp has improved already and the heavy balsamic nose tones have diminished.
I know this RR is very “roller coaster” on its day by day taste profile, so I’m already dialed in for that ride, and will drink other wine and wait for it to beckon me in and envelope me when it’s ready . Like an angsty teenager, rebellious phases with some “I love you” moments you wait for .
@bunnymasseuse@klezman will one of you who enjoy the RR CF open one of the bottles that just arrived? I might do this also. Because I totally enjoyed the 2012 that I opened the other night, but it had also been down in the cellar for a long while since the last offer in March of 2021. Wondering if these recently arrived bottles are freaked out from the shipping or if something happened to the lot of them in storage.
@bunnymasseuse@klezman@wnance
The one I opened had just arrived. It seems fine. I have opened a total of three of these. Two a while back from previous buys, and this one. One of the old ones was fantastic, and one was spoiled. I just think that without preservatives, this is more likely to happen.
@bunnymasseuse@klezman@wnance I drinking a glass now from the bottle I opened yesterday and am very pleased with it! First sip yesterday and today were both pleasant Wow moments!
@bunnymasseuse@klezman@Springbank@wnance Same. Opened a 2012 that just arrived last night, and also one or two a month or so back that I already had. No issues (or patience to let them fully decant) with any, but someone earlier called it “sharp” for the first half hour or so which is how they felt for me as well.
@james@klezman@Springbank@wnance my pictures above, today it’s more berry and less “earthy”, the harshness from yesterday has already begun to subside.
@bunnymasseuse@james@klezman@wnance
Ignored it on day two. Day three tried a small glass. It seems like the color has evolved. I did not get a great look at it in a glass on opening, but the decanter and the little I poured off at the end seemed to be a light red. Now it appears to be brick red. Aroma is now faint, taste has gotten less fruity, and more something else that I’m not really sure of. Has an amazing aftertaste that lingers, and reminds me of the feeling you get with something slightly effervescent, but it’s not. minerality perhaps? Interesting, but still evolving.
@james@klezman@Springbank@wnance look forward to hearing more, seriously. The one thing that I fell in love with regarding this wine is that it always teaches me something, and as a person who is always trying to lean something, and gain knowledge, it both challenges my patience as well as my taste buds.
So, for science (!) I opened a bottle of the 2012 RR Cab Franc after leaving it sitting straight up for a day. I poured it into a decanter through a strainer to capture any sediment, and there was a lot of it! It is cloudy in the decanter, and I poured about an ounce to sample. On the nose it is earthy, not at all what I would call funky. It is very acidic, not quite vinegar, but close. Balsamic is the term that comes to mind. I would not drink this in its’ current state. I plan on leaving the decanter (covered) on the counter for up to seven days, sampling a little each day until it has evolved into something drinkable. Otherwise, down the drain, lol! To the Romans!
@davidd13 Let it sit in the decanter for a long while and pour gently. Or pour it through some cheesecloth. Wines that have a fine sediment (vintage port can also do this) will have the mouthfeel and perceived bitterness greatly affected from those fines suspended in the wine. Yes, it’s a pain to pour and enjoy these types of wine, but they also often offer a more thoughtful experience IMHO.
@davidd13@wnance
I decanted a bottle yesterday and your picture and description match my experience closely. Will sample a small glass this evening to start the tasting process. Not sure I have cheesecloth around. A suitable substitute?
@davidd13@gtcharlie no real substitute except a very fine strainer. You can hold your glass up to a light and see if you can see the fines suspended in the wine. If there’s no fines it will be more brilliantly clear.
@davidd13@rpstrong@wnance
Thanks for the suggestions. Did obtain some cheesecloth and my wife and I tasted after the one day in the decanter and using the cloth. Honestly no improvement. Still very sour and more vinegary than is acceptable. Plenty left to taste over the next few days but my skepticism is growing. Hard to see this wine all of a sudden blossoming. I would settle for being drinkable. At this point it certainly is not that.
@davidd13@gtcharlie@rpstrong@wnance yeah the described smell at first matches mine, a day made a big difference, but don’t worry, this is a roller coaster, I tend to get about three different variations of taste with this wine: earthy/vegetable, berry and more Bordeaux like, or spicy/peppery edge (less so much this one).
Seriously though, it can go past 7 days, longest I had it for was 11 and I was too impatient and it tasted delicious to let it go further!
@davidd13 After the first day, a little more fruit and a little less earth on the nose. Put it through the strainer that came with my Vinturi three times into a small glass until it was mostly clear. It is a bit less acidic and a better finish. Still not something I would care to drink, but definitely improved. Very interesting.
@davidd13 Wow! After two days the nose has softened greatly, now mostly fruity, berry notes. And although it is still tight, has become drinkable, with a lingering finish. I am very excited to let this sit a third day!
@rjquillin It is just sitting in a decanter on my dining room table. I have a bottle cap on top to deter any fruit fly’s that may be around, however unlikely this time of year. Still some fine sediment in the bottom but it filters out with no problem.
Really?! working on a bottle to remove sludge, standing up for days, decanting for 5 to 7 days just to make it drinkable lol. And having to do that 4 or 5 times depending how many bottles you have. Pretty sure in most worlds that would be a flawed bottle IMHO.
@rpstrong Yes IF it does you are correct. A week to drink a bottle is not my thing I guess, maybe a fun experiment once. A hard sell as a producer probably why so many in these cases.
@rpstrong@ScottW58 I don’t tend to open this bottle and expect to drink it right away, which means I have to have an understanding about how the winemaker made it and what it was intended to drink and taste like.
I may never know what it was like to drink wine in Roman times, but I can imagine this is much better!
@bunnymasseuse@rpstrong@ScottW58 Let’s also remember we paid $11 for it. I’ve been hoarding these but now I’ll open them more frequently for wine enthusiast friends or just to have a crazy thoughtful wine open for a week…
I popped a bottle yesterday. Decanted through a fine screen, had sediment similar to the pic posted by davidd13. No off-putting aromas; a small PnP taste was rather jumbled, but - again - nothing off-putting. Will try and test on a daily basis.
Based on other reviews, it appears that there may be a high mortality rate on a battle-by-bottle basis.
But hey, $11 for something other than the usual juice? Why not.
Two Jakes of Diamonds Mystery Red Wines
About The Offer
What’s Included
4-bottles:
Case:
About The Winery
Available States
AL, 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, OK, OR, PA, RI, SC, SD, TN, TX, VT, VA, WA, WV, WI, WY
Estimated Delivery
Friday, Dec 8 - Monday, Dec 11
Two Jakes of Diamonds Mystery Red Wines
4 bottles for $59.99 $15/bottle + $2/bottle shipping
Case of 12 for $134.99 $11.25/bottle + $1/bottle shipping
Can I predict, at this price, a rather rapid sell-out?
@rjquillin Jesus, yeah that seems likely. I should not be buying this but if it’s the last of the two Jakes stuff…
@klezman @rjquillin Cases are gone, but 4-packs are left:
/giphy military-antsy-tiger
Clark, what’s the deal? The Two Jakes label shutting down?
@klezman
Humm, Cabernet Franc Roman Reserve would be a treat
@klezman @rjquillin OMG don’t EVEN make me cry, I love that RRCF! (If someone gave me a box of just that I could die happy)
@rjquillin I should try one of those. I keep thinking I should then I remember they need air and I never think that far ahead.
@klezman @rjquillin
That is exactly what I was going to say. Need to remember to open those at breakfast!
Losing no sleep here about this…
/giphy small-particular-regret
@bunnymasseuse
/giphy ambivalent-feared-thief
I’m hoping for a great mix with 2 cases!!!
/giphy jovial-exultant-nest
/giphy adventurous-uneven-knee
Got two cases. We’ll see if this is a record sellout.
@radiolysis could be. Got a case. Really shouldn’t have. With that $25 coupon is even more insane a deal.
@klezman coooooupon?
@klezman @radiolysis yeah news to me… bunny got no coupon…
@bunnymasseuse @klezman @radiolysis
Coupon ‘witchwine’ from a sale on meh. 1 use.
@bunnymasseuse @jaybird @klezman bah! I got a case of that but didn’t notice a coupon. Booo.
@bunnymasseuse @klezman @radiolysis you have two options. Cancel and reorder with the coupon, or use the coupon next time. it’s good for 11 more months roughly.
Edit, it’s good for everyone, not just those who purchased that offer.
@bunnymasseuse @jaybird @klezman @radiolysis Thanks for the reminder; I’d forgotten about that one!
I’ve been exercising restraint and not buying wine in an effort to reduce my inventory. However, this offer destroyed the SIWBM.
I guess I’ll consider it a reward to myself for lasting so long.
Absolutely don’t need another case but this is too crazy to resist
In
/giphy insidious-elastic-chance
Two Jakes- one of our favorites. Sad if this is the end of them. No wine needed at present, but I’ll have to take 2 cases of this.
/giphy woeful-ticklish-leopard
Hard to stay away from this offer!
/giphy squealing-necrotic-thought
I’ve never tasted Two Jakes. I was burned by the international mystery case.
However, because you’ve all raved about Two Jakes over the years and still having the coupon available, I’ve decided to pull the trigger. Merry Christmas to me and my wine loving family members.
Coupon ‘witchwine’ makes the case $110…$9.17 per bottle. Not bad
@jaybird yup that international case left a scar fer sure.
Saw the word ‘mystery’ and cringed, but then I saw the producer and the price and decided to go for it after all.
@jaybird the international mystery case was truly awful, but the next mystery case they did more than made up for it.
Two Jakes is a known commodity. They could literally give me anything they had and it would be well worth it. I’m desperately trying to text my friends awake so they can get in on this before it sells out.
/giphy bared-queasy-yak
How do I get a coupon? What’s the coupon code?
@mcc36 coupon code is: witchwine
@knlprez
@knlprez Thanks
@mcc36 no problem!
/giphy chancy-usual-wombat
Bought a bit of this over the last few years. Loved all of them. Aspects, Reserve Cab, Roman Reserve. The only question is one or two?
/giphy baleful-dependable-mustard
No space, but what they heck. In for two.
/giphy fragrant-graven-octopus
Order name makes me think of pastadrop.
/giphy pensive-blunt-macaroni
@pmarin I miss sending random ‘noods…
Have only had the Aspects and really enjoyed. Full up on reds but cannot resist.
Roman Reserve Cab Franc from Mar 2021
Roman Reserve Cab Franc from Jan 2020
Aspects from Apr 2022
Aspects from May 2019
Mixed reds from Nov 2021
Petite Sirah from Jan 2020
Cab and Merlot from Jan 2021
Reserve Cab from Jul 2021
I know I missed some but for your perusal.
Read the thread title, saw the price, and put in a case order.
/giphy mean-provocative-twist
Well, this is probably the fastest order I’ve put in on this site. Hope it’s not disappointing but how can you go wrong with Two Jakes? In for a case.
/giphy effective-earthy-lark
How much more are you saving by buying a full case?
(Note: tax and shipping are not included in savings calculations).
Two Jakes of Diamonds Mystery Red Wines - $45 = 24.99%
Ordered in a panic because I knew this will sell out. Didn’t realize there was the coupon code. Any one tell me how long the coupon is good for? Sure I can find something in the near future with the code.
@gtcharlie 11 months left on it. Could always cancel and buy again.
witchwine
@jml326
Thanks! 11 months? I probably won’t make it another 11 days before I order something else
I just bought another case with the coupon
/giphy cunning-terrible-daisy
I’m down to the last two bottles of the last case in the house. Thanks for those that shared the coupon code. Haven’t had Two Jakes before so I hope it will be a success in the house.
Currently sitting on 44 bottles of Two Jakes wines at an average bottle cost of $18.65, over 50% more than today’s case price. I will let others enjoy the massive discount on these great wines, while remaining happy with what I’ve already gotten for my money.
@chipgreen you’re a stronger man than I!
@klezman
If by some miracle this is not sold out by tomorrow night, I reserve the right to change my mind.
@chipgreen @klezman I have zero Two Jakes in the cellar, so feel compelled to remedy that before they are gone. You guys have a favorite?
@hscottk @klezman
The Roman Reserve Cab Franc is my favorite Two Jakes wine. The Aspects red blend would be my second choice.
@chipgreen @hscottk @klezman
My picks would be the reverse. The Roman Reserve requires too much planning ahead. Like it for special occasions.
@chipgreen @hscottk @klezman @Springbank same here Springbank. I’m also a fan of their petite sirah
@chipgreen @hscottk @klezman “ The Roman Reserve Cab Franc is my favorite Two Jakes wine” ~~~ scream it from the rooftop! The lifeblood of my people!
Couldn’t pass it up…
/giphy uber-ticklish-eggnog
No question on this!
/giphy tan-textured-chili
/giphy minor-giant-bamboo
FOMO made me do it
/giphy take my money
Another mystery and another purchase.
Anything Clark is involved in gets an auto-buy from me. Excited to see what’s included!
Speaking of Clark, it’s strange to not see him here. He always seems to be around for his offers. Feel free to start your own conspiracy theory here.
@hscottk
Well, could be @WineSmith may not have known when this would be offered, and he hasn’t been tagged 'till now…
@rjquillin @winesmith Nah. Clearly, he was kidnapped by aliens.
@hscottk @rjquillin @winesmith
Steve and I are actually in Lake County today! We’ll be at the (somewhat belated) Tempranillo Day festival at Six Sigma. Next Saturday we’ll be tasting with Clark. If he doesn’t chime in here, I’ll ask him what’s up with Two Jakes and report back later.
any chance for more cases?
@snyderben I’m glad I checked on the availability before I hit the comments - at least I got a 4-pack.
Twelve hours;
Cases Gone!
This should have been a Friday offer…
@rjquillin Haha, and here I was, still waffling on whether or not I should get a second case. I guess I’ll be happy with just one!
@rjquillin @worbx Cases appear to be back…
Oh No! Cases sold out from under my feet!
Was just about to buy a case, any chance more can be allocated
@deadlyapp Would like to see it as well.
@deadlyapp @rpstrong strike while the iron is hot!
@hscottk @rpstrong yep just saw them come back and grabbed one! Huzzah to the casemates gods
@deadlyapp @hscottk Glad I saw your reply in my email; in for a case.
Now to talk to their ever helpful customer service department…
/giphy grizzly-fantastic-card
Hmm, I just grabbed a case??
Woo! Cases back!
/giphy safe-outdated-view
I got suckered in! I love mystery cases.
@Drez143 you must have missed the sucky one…
years later, still bitter. I know, “get over it!” they will say.
@pmarin
This one below? I honestly thought I got what I paid for out of it, though it wasn’t a “steal”. That’s the fun of a mystery set!
The Random Mystery offering on November 2nd, 2022 made up for that one in spades. I also quite enjoyed the Gard Vintners mystery from a few weeks ago
Cases out again…
Hi Folks. This is Two Jakes’ swan song, an amazing vineyard - a volcanic soil mountain vineyard with a cooling afternoon lake effect, perfect for rich, fruity Petite Sirah and BDX varieties. I made Jake’s wines from 2007 through 2021, when he was able to allocate everything as grape sales at good prices, mostly to the Hess Collection. Mostly I would make his remarkable Pomerol-like Merlot, which because of Sideways, was difficult to get a good price for as grapes, so I’d make 100 tons which mostly sold on the bulk market, and we’d bottle a couple hundred cases for the Two Jakes label. I did the same with 23 tons of Cab Franc and 70 tons of amazing Petite Sirah. I also made some Cab Sauv now and then and one vintage of Malbec.
These wines almost always sold out in bulk, but I was able to bottle my own under the WineSmith label, and I still have some 2017 Cab Franc that WineDavid will run sometime soon.
If there was ever a can’t-go-wrong Mystery pack, this is it. I can honestly say that I never made a wine off this vineyard that was less than extraordinary. My only caveat is that these wines have a long, flat aging trajectory. The longer you wait, the better they are.
This is the end of the line for Two Jakes, so if they sell out, there’ll be no more. I really want to acknowledge Jake Stephens as a wonderful client. It was a great privilege to work beside him for so many years. He trusted me to engage in a long line of sulfite-free “Roman Reserve” wines which you’ll find amazing if you’re lucky enough to get a bottle included in your assortment. Breathe these wines for at least a day, up to a week for best results. They’re quite different from the conventional sulfited wines, but will demonstrate why the Romans planted grapes all over Europe and used fine cuisine to stabilize the Empire.
@winesmith
It’s always great to have you here Clark, but we’re all sad to hear this is the last of the Two Jakes.
@winesmith so you’re saying that Jake sold the vineyard? Or that all good grapes are now allocated and you’re frozen out of it? I’m not quite following what happened.
@klezman No, he’s still running the vineyard, but likes that a lot more than being in the wine business. He’s got a farmer’s soul, not a salesman’s black heart. Here’s what wine sales really looks like:
I’m very pleased that he’s earned his position with Hess and others as a combination of quality and economy unparalleled in California. It’s the goal of any consultant to put themselves out of a job, and that’s what we accomplished.
You guys were a tremendous help keeping us breathing when we needed oxygen. Grateful thanks to all.
Don’t worry, you certainly haven’t seen the last of me. My 2017 Diamond Ridge Cab Franc will be featured soon.
@winesmith well, I’m worried you won’t be making more wine from his vineyard.
@winesmith Thank you for your comments and letting us benefit glad I grabbed a case yesterday.
@klezman @winesmith
What a great line!
@winesmith there seem to be lots of unhappy people with the RR. Any insight?
wow, that went quick! heck of a deal.
I think a case would find a home here in MD if more happen to be added
Whelp, no such luck! Congrats to everyone who grabbed some!
Would be fun if they could throw in an extra Sunday deal since this sold-out (as expected) today. Like, “Extra! here’s some more stuff we found in a warehouse…”
Of course that would probably mess up some of the scripts that expect to do things on certain days only, like send the email the 2nd day, except on Fridays. Which makes me wonder, will an automated email go out tomorrow for today’s deal that you can’t buy anymore?
@pmarin yeah! WTH we going to do now (for the next 30 hrs)?!
@ttboy23
We can drink and try to make more room for the next offer up WD’s sleeves.
@pmarin yeah, I got the email and got excited…for about 30 seconds and I saw it was sold out
@pmarin
I don’t think they could do that unless they actually owned the miscellaneous cases that they ‘found’, which goes against its business model - they are an expediter, not a reseller.
@pmarin @ttboy23 well, as for me, I see that there are currently 111 comments to read
Congratulations to all that purchased. Fantastic deal. Outstanding wine and winemaker. As a long time Wooter/‘Mater/fullpuller/‘tsoer with the typical more wine than time to drink, it was nevertheless painful to sit this one out.
Salute.
I thought about sitting this one out for all of 2 seconds. I am overflowing and was thinking of giving mixed 6 packs as holiday gifts. Now it will probably be cases.
Yup, this didn’t last long, at all, but no surprise there.
Thanks to Jake, @WineSmith and WD for making this a fun ride in a 15 hour finale.
Rats - why can’t casemates send the email on opening day instead of day 2?? Arggggggg
Welp. This was going to be my first purchase in quite a while. Sadness
So sad to have missed this
I am so sad this is the swan song of 2 Jake’s and that I missed it . Casemates is always a day behind for me, no idea why. This was one of my autobuys
@pienka the emails go out 24 hours after the offer starts for the two-day offers. It’s always been this way.
@klezman When a deal like this sells out it makes me super sad because I didn’t realize two jakes was going away. I love two jakes
Ahh missed it
Should be automatic
Bah. Missing this makes me sad… and extra grumpy.
Drinking an Aspects tonight. Sorry to hear they are going out of the wine business. Sorry I was not on line this weekend and missed this offer. I am in the wine club of their neighbor Gregory Graham and he has a wonderful product he creates yearly.
Ouch… just ouch
I ordered a case. Would be happy to do a Marin/SF share/split.
@cosmo108 I would love to get in on sharing a case.
@Winedavid49
How likely will that delivery window be true?
Oftentimes shipments go out ahead of the stated delivery window and I have tentative travel plans Nov 20th - Dec 5th. If UPS can’t deliver this and it gets sent back to WCC, I’ll be devastated. I’m trying my best to prevent that from happening.
@Winedavid49
Just a friendly nudge in case you haven’t seen this yet.
Thanks in advance.
@kawichris650 @Winedavid49
@wccwinegirl may be of assistance as well
@kawichris650 @rjquillin @WCCWineGirl whispering. All good.
Good evening and happy Friday!
Do you by chance have any updates? If the delivery will take place after December 5th that’d be great. If you think the wine will ship sooner, I’ll need customer service to change the shipping address for my order.
Thanks again for your help.
@kawichris650 If you don’t tag @WineDavid49 and/or @WCCWineGirl they may not see your message…
@kawichris650 I’m in the same boat. Did you get an updated shipping window?
@danidani12 @kawichris650 ok, just came from the warehouse and two jakes is being built today and will go out THIS Monday. my guess for MN is will get it first week of Dec. it’s a little hard to predict with Thanksgiving and holiday rush.
@kawichris650 @Winedavid49 thank you! Any chance mine can be pushed so it can be delivered the week of dec 4?
@danidani12 @kawichris650 @Winedavid49 My UPS tracking shows a delivery of Friday, Nov 24 (rural central MO).
@danidani12 @kawichris650 @Mark_L @klezman
yea, this time of year (both in terms of temperate weather and warehouse busyness, once we get it in, we let’er rip. these are all palletized and likely given to the carrier.
WD
@danidani12 @kawichris650 @Mark_L @Winedavid49
I hope you’re ready for a lot of returned packages…probably including ours unless they’ll hold until Monday 27th…sending out for delivery during the biggest travel week of the year is just asking for a boatload of people to be unable to receive.
@kawichris650 @Mark_L @Winedavid49 when did you get a shipping notice?
@danidani12 @kawichris650 @Winedavid49 Come to think of it, it was for the Scott Harvey offering that I got the shipping notice for 2 days ago. When I looked it up on UPS Mychoice, I noticed that the Two Jakes was scheduled to be delivered the same day.
@danidani12 @kawichris650 @Mark_L @Winedavid49
Just got my shipping notice; scheduled delivery 11/22
@danidani12 @kawichris650 @Mark_L @rjquillin @Winedavid49 yeah, me too. Not happy. This will sit in a warehouse all weekend or get sent back, and I want this wine. Shipping Thanksgiving week just makes no sense.
@klezman
You could always not travel? This is Two Jakes we are talking about here!
@danidani12 @kawichris650 @rjquillin @Winedavid49 I received an “official” shipping notice (beyond the shipment just appearing in the MyChoice web page) of delivery on 11/28. That works fine for me. (I would have been gone for the original MyChoice delivery day of 11/24 and had rescheduled it to 11/27)
@danidani12 @kawichris650 @klezman @Mark_L @Winedavid49
can you not redirect to some place/one?
@danidani12 @kawichris650 @klezman @rjquillin @Winedavid49 I could have it delivered to a UPS store, but 1) it would probably sit there even longer than if I delay the delivery, and 2) I would rather let UPS do the driving and save myself the 80 minute round trip (with the exception of times of high heat).
@kawichris650 @klezman @Mark_L @rjquillin @Winedavid49 how long will ups hold it? Mine is scheduled to come almost two weeks earlier than the shipping range given on the offer
@danidani12 @kawichris650 @klezman @rjquillin @Winedavid49 I think they will typically hold for 1 week (at least, at the UPS store).
@kawichris650 @klezman @Mark_L @rjquillin @Winedavid49 oh no. I won’t be back in time. @winedavid49 - any suggestions here on what to do?
@danidani12 @kawichris650 @klezman @Mark_L @Winedavid49
Talk to your store…
Ask, explain.
@danidani12 @kawichris650 @klezman @rjquillin @Winedavid49 …PLEAD!!!
@danidani12 @kawichris650 @klezman @Mark_L @rjquillin @Winedavid49 Check out signing up for UPS My Choice ($20 a year for unlimited changes to address or date) - mine is arriving on Nov 28 (and I will be here but I will switch delivery to a UPS CC so that I do not have to wait in) and it was giving me options of delaying delivery until Dec 12 although YMMV
@ctmariner @danidani12 @kawichris650 @Mark_L @rjquillin @Winedavid49 I will have to call them. If they only deliver Wednesday, Friday, and then Monday we’ll be fine. If they try to deliver Saturday that’ll be the third try. Last time I tried to get something worked out with them it was an exercise in frustration.
It’s just asking for so much trouble to send wine when half of the country is travelling.
I tried. Mine can only redirect to a ups store where they have a strict 7 day hold period with no flexibility.
UPS delivers to USPS. I have a box there. The case goes in the box and I p/u at my leisure. If it doesn’t fit in a small box, I get a key to the locker it’s in.
@rjquillin It depends on where you live. Even if I pay the upgraded UPS charge, I only have one option which does not work. Luckily I am home a lot.
@danandlisa Finding the USPS address thing works was an accident. I had it for a default address for other Meh sites to foil porch pirates. I ordered one of the wine offers on meh and UPS delivered the case to the US Post Office. There it was put into a locker. Guess I’m really not sure if I could redirect to that address, but as a primary, it wasn’t an issue, and no nonsense should it remain there for some time.
@rjquillin We don’t have lockers regardless if it is Amazon, UPS, or USPS. It just does not exist here.
@danandlisa @rjquillin
Porch pirates or the boss?
@rjquillin @ScottW58 Luckily we don’t have porch pirates here. We just don’t have routing options, which is okay if you are prepared. Happy Thanksgiving.
@danandlisa @ScottW58
Yes, her too.
Accidentally, well the shipper (K&L) f’d up, and shipped a couple of held cases here, home.
Had no “shipping” address so they, without asking to where or when, used the billing address.
Pissed.
Awkward.
11/22 - received:
2x - 2011 Merlot
4x - 2012 Cab Franc
2x - 2013 Aspects
2x - 2013 Petit Sirah
2x - 2017 Petite Sirah
All of the above are Lake County.
@rpstrong Just noticed, the '12 CFs are Roman Reserves.
@rpstrong You got what is, I think, for me, the best of the cases I’ve seen so far! Only way it could have been better would be 2 each of the 2010 and 2012 Cab Francs.
@klezman I’m not complaining, and I’m really intrigued by the RR CFs - I think I’ll pull a cork tomorrow, strain and decant, and see where it goes over the next week or so.
Ended up with a case + a 4-pack, the latter due to hedging on buying a second case until they sold out.
The results:
I would’ve loved some of the older PS’s, perhaps replacing a few of the RR bottles, but overall can’t complain.
@Sekraan I picked my two cases up yesterday, haven’t opened. I would not be disappointed with mixes like that!
“Interesting” exchange with the Brown today.
I got a shipping notice, mentioned earlier
for delivery to business work address. Kept following tracking and it started looking wonky, well, because it was. One arrived in town, the other still in transit, then both arrived, but now the delivery date went TBD. Never saw where either made it on a truck.
Did the online chat thing and after some extended back and forth I was advised the shipper, WCC, missed the pickup time; well, they got picked up, but after the ‘these need to be picked up by…’ time for it to be delivered by the advised delivery date.
OK, so where is it now I asked.
At the local, not far from me, distribution facility, where, in the past, I’ve picked up shipments.
Ahhhh, but according to the agent, WCC shipped out prohibiting any re-routing to a different address, be it residential, business, access point, UPS store, anywhere; including the ability to pick-up at the UPS center. Only WCC could could alter ~anything~.
Well, the business will be closed tomorrow, and Friday, and Saturday so that leaves a Monday date. They will try three attempts. The agent did state the next delivery attempt day would be Monday and it would not see a truck until then.
We shall see…
sigh
@winedavid49
Are you mandated to ship disallowing any modification by the recipient of the delivery address?
Just so you know, not upset, just frustrated, and thought you and others may benefit from some of these details.
@rjquillin
I have had UPS tell me that a couple times with WCC shipments I was trying to track down/re-direct. Never really did believe them but what can you say to that?
That is one little bonus about abstaining from otherwise tempting offers - not having to deal with UPS. FedEx was far superior, at least for me.
@chipgreen @rjquillin @WCCGeorge @winedavid49
I have tried repeatedly to have the delivery address updated and it was never updated by WCC. UPS will be delivering the wine tomorrow and I am out of the country. I’ve spoken with three different UPS representatives in an effort to resolve this issue and they say there’s nothing they can do. Only WCC can change the delivery name and/or delivery address.
Please for the sake of Two Jakes, I need the delivery name changed and I need WCC to authorize the delivery to be sent to the nearest UPS facility so my mom can pick it up on my behalf. I desperately do not want this package being sent back to WCC since this is the last of the Two Jakes wine.
Boy, I feel bad for WD and staff as you read the evolution of this sale.
It first started with everyone saying instant buy, then those complaining about the fact that the email doesn’t go out until the second day (and those people don’t check the website without an email notification) and that they missed the deal.
To then a whole bunch of complaints about the fact that the wine was shipped in a timely fashion.
I’m sure some who missed the deal would gladly accept the shipments from those that don’t like that the wine was shipped?
@Drez143 as one of the people who “complained” that the wine was shipped, you clearly missed the point. This is the single biggest travel weekend of the year. Many or most people aren’t home to receive and most offices are closed at least part of the week. It’s terribly wasteful if a bunch of wine needs to get shipped back to Sonoma because it was sent during Thanksgiving week. Then you have wasted money and a huge cost for WD and a bunch of angry customers who really wanted the wine but aren’t home to get it. And with UPS it’s obnoxious to try to get it redirected compared to FedEx.
Shipments that get returned get charged twice for shipping to WD, and then he has to issue a refund. It’s not good for him or his business either.
I think what most people here would prefer is that the shipping window given in the offer is adhered to. Personally, I don’t usually care, but being among the tens of millions of American residents out of town this week, I happen to care this time.
@Drez143 @klezman i’m good. we felt the timing of the shipment would be the least worse in this situation. if we don’t release it, those wanting it sooner would be bothered (rightly so). we ship it, and that spells trouble for those impacted by this tough week (rightly so).
the chips will fall. i hope you get the wine in good working order. temperatures will help.
@Drez143 @klezman @WCCGeorge
Are you prohibited from allowing reroutes requested by consignee?
@WCCGeorge hey George! I get it. Thankfully they’ve told me that the third attempt would be Monday so it should be ok.
@WCCGeorge the saga continues. The updated delivery date says tomorrow and not Monday as the previous rep told me. UPS has the worst customer service I’ve ever dealt with. They can’t do anything when you call them except claim they will call the local centre to see if they’ll delay driver one day. Such a pain.
Apparently Unbelievably Poor Service doesn’t transport on Black Friday. Thanksgiving I understand but today? My case has sat in Illinois since yesterday morning, en route to NEO. What a joke…
@shrimp74 false. That transport and try to deliver black Friday and Saturday, too. Which is a problem for me.
I got my case today (St. Louis) and all good! My first Two Jakes (and apparently my last), now off to buy a decanter after reading all the reviews. Cheers and thanks for this amazing offer!
2010 RR cab franc x2
2012 RR cab franc X4
2013 reserve cab sauv x2
2013 Aspects x2
2017 petite sirah x2
Looks like a great, I’ve never tried the Roman reserve. I guess I’ll sit out today’s cab franc offer
@CruelMelody Ditto.
@CruelMelody @marikar Double ditto
Similar case to above poster, only difference is I got 2013 PS instead of the 2010 CF.
Pretty pleased. I’ve found the PS quite nice and the CF and CS always good. The aspects is kind of meh to me but there’s only two.
Hopefully WS chimes in on the remaining aging potential. I’d say they probably at least have another 5-10 years left for the CF and CS.
@deadlyapp pretty sure Clark has mentioned that the CF can be aged for a few decades if I remember correctly from previous postings… biggest thing is to open it and let it breathe for several days before consuming.
Extremely curious to hear others opinions of the 2012 Cabernet franc. We opened a bottle last night and honestly it was an unpleasant experence. Extremely vegetable to the point of some sourness. Maybe because we opened it the same day it arrived? The color was a issue as well. Definitely browner than I would think for a well cellared 2012. Thought giving it some air would help but the bottle was open for 3 hours and did not improve. 1/2 the bottle on the counter and will taste again today. Concerning considering half my shipment was cab franc.
@gtcharlie Clark has said in the past that the Roman Reserve wines can take 3-7 days of air sometimes. Try a small glass twice a day to see how it evolves?
@gtcharlie I’m planning to open one in a couple weeks, and I’ll taste it over the course of a week to see how it develops.
@klezman
3-7 days seems kind of crazy but if that is what it takes I guess. Will be curious to hear other people’s opinion once there are more bottles opened. Not sure I am willing to call it a damaged bottle yet but it was not a pleasant drinking experience.
@gtcharlie @klezman I have ordered the Roman CF case in the past & very true leave open & not start tasting for at least 3 days…for me around day 7 was the sweet spot…sounds crazy but very true. Don’t be surprised by the amount of sediment in the bottle
@dawnlac @gtcharlie @klezman
Just curious - are you shouldering the bottle or just popping the cork when opening days in advance?
@dawnlac @klezman
Alright then. Next bottle will be opened far in advance. And this one does indeed have a large amount of settlement. Not much change to report the second day.
@dawnlac @gtcharlie @klezman This wine is a wine that has an attitude, some days it’s sweet, some days it’s a bit wild, but I really really appreciate that it has a variant character and allows you to experience a vast range of flavor and taste with only one wine!
It takes patience, and timing, and no matter what it tastes like today… it’s likely to change tomorrow, and I look forward to that every day.
So “mystery cases” I guess are just the garbage you can’t honestly sell anymore? So incredibly disappointing. Obviously this site can no longer be trusted to provide quality wine any longer in the “mystery” category.
Never again Casemates. Fooled me twice now.
@Vince247 Rather seems like you failed to read the offer…
@rjquillin casemates bootlicker with that response there douche. This wine sucks. Period. Bad deal, bad wine, bad rjquillin
@Vince247 what exactly was the problem with the wines? How were they served? How much time did you allow for them to breathe? This stuff isn’t 2023 Yellow Tail.
If you tried to pop and pour, the issue is operator error.
@vandemusser my 6-bed home now stinks from allowing this to breath. Is this smell something I can look forward to for the next week before “enjoying” this “opportunity”?
Operator error. Another smarmy know-better-then-others vandemusser
@Vince247 If it smells that bad, you have a corked bottle. Really weird that you mention how many bedrooms your house has.
@Vince247 It’s as if you didn’t read/see the previous Two Jakes wines offered on Casemates… of which the Roman Reserves were a prominent part, which a lot of people purchased for over $15 a bottle! If you don’t like the wine, that’s your prerogative. I’ll try to make sure I decant it in my one spare bedroom. (and yes, I too was burned by the International mystery offer)
@Vince247 Full refund received today from Casemates for this order.
I genuinely appreciate Casemates commitment to their customers. I’ve learned my lesson and I’ll leave future mystery cases as just that, mysteries.
6X 2012 Roman Reserve Cabernet Franc
2X 2013 Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon
2X 2013 Aspects
2X 2017 Petit Sirah
In no great hurry to open any of them, but I am a little nervous about the amount of 2012 RR Cabernet Franc if it is as bad a previous poster claimed
@davidd13 drinking this wine is for connoisseurs, being both an education for the palates of taste and smell and a challenge to the uninitiated.
It’s like college; many of the classes you’ll dislike, but in the end you can claim to be educated and have stuff to talk about at parties.
@Vince247 I think it’s hilarious that you are offering this assessment considering the oddly aggressive, weird comments you posted earlier this afternoon about the offer and other casematers.
Are you just a troll?
@davidd13 I received a full refund for this case so I plan to gift every bottle to others and suggest it’s an education, should they chose to accept it.
@davidd13 Just get a decanter, and read some of the previous posts on the RRCF, it really is delicious and delightful.
It’s not your traditional or typical wine, the RRCF, so as long as you don’t approach it like that you should be good.
I tried to edit my previous comment regarding the RR CF, but was too late. After doing some research, I will be prepared to let it decant 3-5 days when the time comes to try it, and hope for the best!
@davidd13
I did offer a pretty harsh assessment but I am willing to try letting the wine breathe for much longer next time. I was pretty taken aback by my initial tasting but hopefully my hurry to try the wine was the culprit. We shall see.
Case 1:
[1]
Case 2:
[2]
Last night we opened a 2012 Roman Reserve Cab Franc that’s been down in the cellar for several years and it was fantastic. Definitely has the “natural wine” kind of funkiness and changed quite a bit through the evening. I’ve got some left to taste the next few days. Sediment is an issue and there is a lot of finesediment so I did filter a glass or two through cheese cloth and thought that worked well.
Very happy with this mystery case haul for $11/btl. I’m familiar with all of these wines and enjoy all of them. This mystery case wins the QPR award for sure. As someone who loves library wines, it’s cool that the oldest vintage is 2010 and the most recent is 2017!!
Thanks, Clark!
[1]:
[2]:
Comment on the above:
Is this really a mystery offer? No. Not when you look at the very, very similar offerings each has received, by bottle and by year. And yes, I did read the write up.
Call it a marketing ploy, which I also fell for, that many of us might equate to the old Wellington days when it truly was a mystery. Some hit it rich with an old, true library wine, while others didn’t; luck of the draw. This doesn’t seem like that.
Heck, I pretty much can guess what’s in my case just by reading what others have posted and I haven’t even picked it up yet from the local Unbelievably Poor Service store.
Smart (and shady) marketing. The powers to be could’ve made this a 4 pack with one each of RR CF, CS, Aspects, and PS, or a case with 3 of each, with a listing of the possible vintages received.
But then, how many would’ve taken the bait? My bet, a lot less. Too bad.
@shrimp74 A non mystery offer with the selections you’ve listed would have sold out just as quickly at an $11/btl price point. I’ve been buying, drinking, and loving these wines for almost 10 years. A farewell offering (no more Two Jakes wine being made) at an all time low price for even the cheapest of these bottles in a Casemates offering, and it’s an auto buy. I have no regrets.
@shrimp74 I think you’re conflating mysteriousness and randomness. It was a mystery offer, and some cases do vary. I’m not surprised by the relative sameness because unless you have some means of randomizing all the available wines you have to let humans pack the boxes and people need some set of rules to do their job remotely efficiently.
@lehigh How ever did Peter Wellington pull it off?
@shrimp74 you tell me!
@lehigh Terrifically. Were there some overlaps in bottles? Sure. But there was a tremendous amount of case variety. Very, very few ever got the same case. It was fun, and opening a mystery offer box was like Christmas morning. This deal was also like Christmas morning, but unfortunately your siblings already told you what you’re going to be opening, because they also got the same thing.
@shrimp74 Two Jakes has Merlot, Petite Sirah, Reserve Cab, Aspects, and Roman Reserve CF in this offer, some with multiple vintages. 5 different wines. There is just not that much variation possible. Peter Wellington had 20-30 wines in multiple vintages. It’s just not even close to the same thing. Was the Wellington mystery case the best offering of all time? Absolutely. Is this offering a disappointing failure? No way.
2x - 2011 Merlot
4x - 2012 Cab Franc
2x - 2013 Aspects
4x - 2017 Petite Sirah
Delivered to my office today…UPS tried to deliver on Friday (so they said), but came back today:
4X 2012 Roman Reserve Cabernet Franc
2X 2013 Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon
2X 2013 Aspects
2X 2013 Petit Sirah
2x 2017 Petit Sirah
I have no problems with what i got as my cost / bottle is $9 - 13 (the range is depending on the drinkability of the CF). If nothing else, makes a great gift at this time of year. Lotsa people will see “2013” on the bottle and be impressed
2X 2010 Roman Reserve Cabernet Franc
4X 2012 Roman Reserve Cabernet Franc
2X 2013 Roman Reserve Cabernet Franc
2X 2013 Aspects v2 (based on the 14.9% ABV)
2X 2017 Petit Sirah
Very happy with my assortment.
@Mark_L
whole lotta RR in that case
@rjquillin That’s what I’m especially liking!
@Mark_L Pretty sure that 2013 reserve in your case is the reserve Cabernet Sauvignon… I don’t thing we ever saw a 2013 RR Cab Franc
@wnance Oops…you are correct. It is the Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon.
@Mark_L also a really good wine!
@Mark_L @wnance I may have won the RRCF lotto but I refuse to let them go
@bunnymasseuse @Mark_L LOL! I got 8 2012 and 2 2010 so I’m right behind you. I think all the drama of this offer is whether people enjoy the RRCF or not. Yes, it’s very different. Yes, it will have a ton of sediment, that doesn’t mean it’s bad. I would imagine there is probably bottle variation, but all the 2012 and 2010’s I’ve opened from previous offers have been pretty consistent. A wine that really makes you think and is changing constantly. I may open one of the bottles that came this week to see if they are problematic. It seems somewhat unlikely with a wax seal, but I’m sure it’s possible.
Enjoy your case of 2012 RRCF! (for $11/btl)
Would liked to have seen a bit more variety (like 2x '10 and 2x '12 RR), but as others, I too received
2x - 2011 Merlot
4x - 2012 Cab Franc RR
2x - 2013 Aspects
4x - 2017 Petite Sirah
@rjquillin If you’ve got too much Merlot I’m happy to work out a swap!
@klezman I’m swimming in RR, Merlot, not so much, just two
4x2012 RR Cab Franc
2x2013 Aspects
4x2017 Petite Sirah (Yay!)
2x2103 Reserve Cabernet Sauv.
I had a poor experience with the first RR Cab Franc this summer at the beach and am interested to give them another try. Did not give it 7 days until first tastes, but had it every day through the week.
@pjmartin
which vintage?
I ratted one of these, long ago, and don’t recall which it was.
@rjquillin 2012 and now I have 5 …
@pjmartin ouch, unless you figured out how to turn poor into good with additional time.
@pjmartin @rjquillin
Just have to play the right music.
I received similar to others
2 2017 Petit Sirah
2 2013 Aspects
2 2010 Cab Franc
2 2013 Cab sauvignon
4 2012 Cab Franc
No merlot.
Any thoughts on the 2010, 2012 Cab Franc, how long can I hold them?
@eastcoastmary Unknown, even by Clark. They might last many easily be many decades. I intend to put some in back of cellar (closet under stairs, with styrofoam boxes) and not think of them for a long time. Make sure you go back to the offers for those and watch the videos for the Roman Reserve CFs. They’re really quite special.
I still haven’t received mine. UPS, bless their hearts, thought it prudent to keep trying to deliver every day during Thanksgiving week and on the weekend after the wine was unwisely sent 2-day transit to SoCal during Thanksgiving week. Despite assurances that they would deliver it today, the only brown truck that came by stopped a few doors down and then went along its merry way.
So now I will have to call them a fifth time to try to actually get them to deliver the wine.
Just got mine. Two identical cases.
In each case:
2 2013 Aspects
2 2017 Petit Sirah
2 2013 Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon
6 2012 Roman Reserve Cabernet Franc
No complaints, although I was hoping to see a few different years of the Roman Reserve. I have a number of the 2012 RR and have opened two so far. Treated both the same, decanted and tried a bit immediately, then finished them over 7 days. The first one was fantastic, the second not so fantastic. Maybe more bottle variability with un-sulfured wine?
Received 8 RR cab francs (3 2010 and 5 2012) 2 2017 ps, and 2 2013 aspects. Funny, Clark mentioned something about those “lucky enough to get RR cab franc” in the order. Apparently, everyone was very, very lucky! Wish I’d been less lucky and had more variety, but those are the breaks with mystery packs. All good.
@hscottk I got exactly the same mix as you with the same reaction - would have liked more PS, CS and/or Merlot instead of 2/3rds of a case of RR CF - a bit disappointed and very nervous about opening a CF
What is the trick to get the wax seal off the RR Cab Franc? I’ve had many bottles with wax seals, but never one as thin, stuck on, and difficult to remove as these. Any hints to minimize the difficulties with the next bottle?
@cdgrimm
ignore the wax and just pull the cork thru it
@rjquillin
@rjquillin my first of five bottles of 2012 RR Cab Franc has turned
. It is a bit brown and very skunky. Bummer, hope others are better.
Okay - this might sound dumb but… are we letting it breathe completely open or re-corking it for 3-7 days?
It makes me think this wine will be like an avocado and I will miraculously miss the special window before it goes bad but I digress.
Also - is it just the 2012 CF or should we plan ahead w/ all the RR wines?
TYIA!
@LSeewoester I opened the bottle earlier this afternoon and let it sit without cork for about three hours. It smelled off as soon as I pulled the cork, but thought I would wait to see. Poured a first glass and there was no doubt it was no good. The glass was also full of pieces of sediment up to 1/4 inch square. Seems not right to me!
@LSeewoester I only received the 2012.
@LSeewoester the cork appeared fine, however.
@LSeewoester Poured the rest of the bottle into the sink and there was two heaping tablespoons of sludge!
@cdgrimm @LSeewoester
There is going to be lots of sediment in these. Great big chunks, and a lot of small stuff that ends up as “sludge” on the bottom. The second bottle I had was not very good as I recall, but it was a year or so ago and I don’t remember the exact details. I seem to remember it had a real off smell like acetone.
What I did with both bottles was to pour it off into a decanter to give it lots of exposure to air. Put something over the top so critters can’t get in. If you don’t have a real decanter, pour it off into some kind of container leaving as much of the crud in the bottle as possible, dump the dregs and clean the bottle, find a funnel and return to the bottle. Cover with something to keep the critters out, but let the air in. The level should be below the neck to give it air. If not, pour some into a glass and have a taste. It will be funky, but not terrible on opening. Gets better with air, lots and lots of air.
Any of the Roman Reserves will need this.
@cdgrimm @LSeewoester
I know klez let me try that one after it was open for 3 or 5 days and I thought it tasted and smelled like cheese. I was not a fan but what do I know.
Iirc when the first one of these came out he said he used some old Roman technique to preserve the wine like they did for the soldiers fighting distant wars vs using sulphur like they do now? Maybe the soldiers didn’t care what it tasted or smelled like because it got them drunk
@LSeewoester @Springbank OK, upon further research of these RRCF, maybe I didn’t give enough air, so I’ll decant the next for a week or more, but still sceptical it will reverse that skunky!
@cdgrimm @LSeewoester @ScottW58 yeah, some of Clark’s wines have that. Sometimes I like it and sometimes I don’t.
@cdgrimm @klezman @LSeewoester @ScottW58
Also, if you are storing these on the side, put it upright for a at least a day or so to let it settle before you open it. Clark’s “experimental” wines can be different, and people tend to love them or hate them. The Roman Reserve is about as far out there as you can get. Some of his other wines are more
“mainstream” and fantastic.
One of my 2012 RR is missing half the wax cap. Good excuse to open and decant it later today.
@cdgrimm @klezman @ScottW58 @Springbank Thanks everyone! It’s in a decanter, w/ a paper towel loosely stuffed on top to keep out the fruit flies. Filtered out the sludge. It’s definitely interesting and I’m certainly open to trying something new and different.
Upon pop and pour I thought at first, like many, it had been corked but corked wine is distinct and this is not that. I thought to myself is this just really really really tight? Looks like it.
I only wish I knew what I was signing up for - I’ve had many of Clark’s wines before but I’m not such a fan girl to know about the RR’s. This is the kind of thing I’d pick up a bottle or two to check out. Now I’ve got 8.
@cdgrimm @klezman @LSeewoester @ScottW58 The good thing is that Clark says they will last for decades. Stash them somewhere and years from now you can discover them all over again.
All kidding aside, 8 is probably too many for what is really more a novelty than a daily, or even monthly drinker. I got 12 yesterday, and probably another 8 or so from the last time.
@cdgrimm @klezman @LSeewoester @ScottW58 @Springbank Exactly the same boat here. I would have passed if I had known that more than half my case would have been these RR’s (or even if any of them were going to be this).
My household is a 2 hour max decant type of house before the bottle is consumed. I personally don’t know a single local person who would be down for having to decant something for 2-7 days.
Internally, I wished I had passed on this and simply used that money to buy a case of the recent WS offering that I passed on due to having bought this.
Oh well though. Can’t change anything now!
@cdgrimm @Drez143 @LSeewoester @ScottW58 @Springbank one per year seems about right to me…
Tried the 2017 Petite Sirah and it, in contrast, is exquisite!
@cdgrimm phew!
6x 2012 RR Cab Franc
2x 2013 Aspects
2x 2013 R Cab Sauv
2x 2017 Petite Sirah
I was hoping for less RR and more Petite Sirah, but the dice didn’t go my way! Cheers!
If anyone is in #DMV I’ll take the RRCF off your hands for an exchange;)
Two cases total:
12x RRCF 2012
4x Petite Sirah 2017
4x Aspects 2013
4x Resv Cab Sauv 2013
Thrilled Bunny over here!
Enjoying a 2013 Aspects. Does anyone know how to tell the new 2021 bottling from the original bottling?
@wnance If the ABV is14.9% it is the “second release”. The “first release” had a lower ABV.
Curious why Clark has been MIA? He’s always on here and now that the rabbit is out of the hat with the RR wines not a word. I was hoping to get no more than four RR wines but ended up with six. My gut feeling is that the RR wines are an experiment gone bad. Real bad.
@losthighwayz or he’s just busy.
Either way, I think it might be time for another experiment with this wine. Assuming I get my case tomorrow I’ll probably open one up and drink over several days and report back.
I’ve been concerned about the comments regarding the 2012 RR Cab Franc, especially since I have 10 bottles from 2 cases. I couldn’t wait any longer so popped a bottle to see. Fortunately, the bottle I opened is well aged and quite tasty, with no negatives to note.
@RRichmo I may open one of mine tonight too, but I have a decanter I use for it so it gets maximum air and easy to re-bottle when I need.
@bunnymasseuse I didn’t decant, because I only wanted a taste. Have plans tonight, but will probably decant tomorrow.
@RRichmo
@RRichmo with fellow folks here who don’t drink wine, smelling only I got “embalming fluid” (their father used to be a mortician), “vinegar” or “balsamic vinaigrette” reports on the nose, but none drink it anyway so no way to convince them the nose does not identify the taste properly at this time.
For me, it needs some more air, but does not taste “turned” at all.
@bunnymasseuse I just opened a second bottle to go with a coffee rub sirloin tonight and realized mine are 2011 bottles, not the 2012! I’m very pleased with the 2011!
@bunnymasseuse @RRichmo 2011 is probably a Merlot?
@bunnymasseuse @klezman The vision just ain’t what it used to be! Pardon me, again! They are 2012!
@bunnymasseuse @klezman That said, I did remove 2 bottles of 2011 Merlot from my Cellar Tracker!
I just opened the one I got with the chipped wax cap. Much less sediment that the last one I opened or the one shown above. No weird aroma of acetone/higher alcohols or general funk. The color is red, not the brown indicated above. Decanted and poured the last ounce or so with the dregs into a coffee cup. Let it settle for a bit and took a taste. First tiny sip was intensely sharp and made me want to say “wow,” but not the taste of a wine gone bad. Let it sit for another 15 minutes or so and tried again. The acidity had died down, or my taste buds had, but it tasted pretty fresh and fruity. Not bad at all. I think this bottle will be very drinkable.
@Springbank sounds like we’re all likely to see some variation from bottle to bottle
After 6 phone calls, multiple re-delivery attempts, drivers who won’t actually come to the door, and more wrangling with the absurdly bad “customer service” of UPS I finally got the case!
4x 2012 Cab Franc RR
2x 2010 Cab Franc RR
2x 2013 Aspects v2
2x 2013 Cab Sauv Reserve
2x 2017 Petite Sirah
Wish I’d gotten some of the Merlot hanging around there but this is a solid case and a screaming deal.
@klezman I got no Merlot, which was sad, but I got the bulk of what I wanted of the “experiment” wines so I consider it a good trade off.
@bunnymasseuse Oh, I’m happy with the case. I was just lower on Merlot and already had 4x of the 2012 CF.
I also just opened a bottle (that had been sitting here a long time) of the 2012 Cab Franc RR and it’s screamingly good even at pnp. Not totally open, that’s for sure, but it rings like a mature-ish Bordeaux that’s still got plenty of fruit. The plan is to have a glass a day until it’s gone and see what happens.
@klezman agree, even a good 1hr sit has helped, most of what I had at pnp has improved already and the heavy balsamic nose tones have diminished.
I know this RR is very “roller coaster” on its day by day taste profile, so I’m already dialed in for that ride, and will drink other wine and wait for it to beckon me in and envelope me when it’s ready
. Like an angsty teenager, rebellious phases with some “I love you” moments you wait for 
.
@bunnymasseuse @klezman will one of you who enjoy the RR CF open one of the bottles that just arrived? I might do this also. Because I totally enjoyed the 2012 that I opened the other night, but it had also been down in the cellar for a long while since the last offer in March of 2021. Wondering if these recently arrived bottles are freaked out from the shipping or if something happened to the lot of them in storage.
@bunnymasseuse @klezman @wnance
The one I opened had just arrived. It seems fine. I have opened a total of three of these. Two a while back from previous buys, and this one. One of the old ones was fantastic, and one was spoiled. I just think that without preservatives, this is more likely to happen.
@bunnymasseuse @klezman @wnance I drinking a glass now from the bottle I opened yesterday and am very pleased with it! First sip yesterday and today were both pleasant Wow moments!
@bunnymasseuse @klezman @Springbank @wnance Same. Opened a 2012 that just arrived last night, and also one or two a month or so back that I already had. No issues (or patience to let them fully decant) with any, but someone earlier called it “sharp” for the first half hour or so which is how they felt for me as well.
@james @klezman @Springbank @wnance my pictures above, today it’s more berry and less “earthy”, the harshness from yesterday has already begun to subside.
@bunnymasseuse @james @Springbank @wnance My day 2 is more balsamic and less fruit. So far.
@bunnymasseuse @james @klezman @wnance
Ignored it on day two. Day three tried a small glass. It seems like the color has evolved. I did not get a great look at it in a glass on opening, but the decanter and the little I poured off at the end seemed to be a light red. Now it appears to be brick red. Aroma is now faint, taste has gotten less fruity, and more something else that I’m not really sure of. Has an amazing aftertaste that lingers, and reminds me of the feeling you get with something slightly effervescent, but it’s not. minerality perhaps? Interesting, but still evolving.
@james @klezman @Springbank @wnance look forward to hearing more, seriously. The one thing that I fell in love with regarding this wine is that it always teaches me something, and as a person who is always trying to lean something, and gain knowledge, it both challenges my patience as well as my taste buds.
So, for science (!) I opened a bottle of the 2012 RR Cab Franc after leaving it sitting straight up for a day. I poured it into a decanter through a strainer to capture any sediment, and there was a lot of it! It is cloudy in the decanter, and I poured about an ounce to sample. On the nose it is earthy, not at all what I would call funky. It is very acidic, not quite vinegar, but close. Balsamic is the term that comes to mind. I would not drink this in its’ current state. I plan on leaving the decanter (covered) on the counter for up to seven days, sampling a little each day until it has evolved into something drinkable. Otherwise, down the drain, lol! To the Romans!
@davidd13 Let it sit in the decanter for a long while and pour gently. Or pour it through some cheesecloth. Wines that have a fine sediment (vintage port can also do this) will have the mouthfeel and perceived bitterness greatly affected from those fines suspended in the wine. Yes, it’s a pain to pour and enjoy these types of wine, but they also often offer a more thoughtful experience IMHO.
@davidd13 @wnance
I decanted a bottle yesterday and your picture and description match my experience closely. Will sample a small glass this evening to start the tasting process. Not sure I have cheesecloth around. A suitable substitute?
@davidd13 @gtcharlie no real substitute except a very fine strainer. You can hold your glass up to a light and see if you can see the fines suspended in the wine. If there’s no fines it will be more brilliantly clear.
@davidd13 @gtcharlie @wnance Unbleached muslin would probably be better than cheesecloth - but is probably less likely to be lying around.
If you opt for cheesecloth, check out your local hardware store - usually much cheaper than groceries or foodie stores.
@davidd13 @rpstrong @wnance
Thanks for the suggestions. Did obtain some cheesecloth and my wife and I tasted after the one day in the decanter and using the cloth. Honestly no improvement. Still very sour and more vinegary than is acceptable. Plenty left to taste over the next few days but my skepticism is growing. Hard to see this wine all of a sudden blossoming. I would settle for being drinkable. At this point it certainly is not that.
@davidd13 @gtcharlie @rpstrong Yeah that sounds like a bad bottle. That stinks.
@davidd13 @gtcharlie @rpstrong @wnance yeah the described smell at first matches mine, a day made a big difference, but don’t worry, this is a roller coaster, I tend to get about three different variations of taste with this wine: earthy/vegetable, berry and more Bordeaux like, or spicy/peppery edge (less so much this one).
Seriously though, it can go past 7 days, longest I had it for was 11 and I was too impatient and it tasted delicious to let it go further!
@davidd13 After the first day, a little more fruit and a little less earth on the nose. Put it through the strainer that came with my Vinturi three times into a small glass until it was mostly clear. It is a bit less acidic and a better finish. Still not something I would care to drink, but definitely improved. Very interesting.
@davidd13 Wow! After two days the nose has softened greatly, now mostly fruity, berry notes. And although it is still tight, has become drinkable, with a lingering finish. I am very excited to let this sit a third day!
@davidd13 How exactly are you airing it out?
@rjquillin It is just sitting in a decanter on my dining room table. I have a bottle cap on top to deter any fruit fly’s that may be around, however unlikely this time of year. Still some fine sediment in the bottom but it filters out with no problem.
Really?! working on a bottle to remove sludge, standing up for days, decanting for 5 to 7 days just to make it drinkable lol. And having to do that 4 or 5 times depending how many bottles you have. Pretty sure in most worlds that would be a flawed bottle IMHO.
@ScottW58 No, a flawed bottle wouldn’t reward you after a week.
@rpstrong Yes IF it does you are correct. A week to drink a bottle is not my thing I guess, maybe a fun experiment once. A hard sell as a producer probably why so many in these cases.
@rpstrong @ScottW58 I don’t tend to open this bottle and expect to drink it right away, which means I have to have an understanding about how the winemaker made it and what it was intended to drink and taste like.
I may never know what it was like to drink wine in Roman times, but I can imagine this is much better!
@bunnymasseuse @rpstrong @ScottW58 I definitely need to be in the right frame of mind and mood for it.
@bunnymasseuse @rpstrong @ScottW58 Let’s also remember we paid $11 for it. I’ve been hoarding these but now I’ll open them more frequently for wine enthusiast friends or just to have a crazy thoughtful wine open for a week…
Excellent point.
I popped a bottle yesterday. Decanted through a fine screen, had sediment similar to the pic posted by davidd13. No off-putting aromas; a small PnP taste was rather jumbled, but - again - nothing off-putting. Will try and test on a daily basis.
Based on other reviews, it appears that there may be a high mortality rate on a battle-by-bottle basis.
But hey, $11 for something other than the usual juice? Why not.