The Alban mailer hit my mailbox today. Here are the basics of the offer:
2006 Lorraine - $145
2006 Seymour’s - $145
2009 Estate Viognier - $48
Shipping:
California: 8.25% sales tax; $14 up to 2 bottles, 2.50 per bottle after that.
New York: District sales taxes (approx. 8.75%); $29 up to 2 bottles, 7.50 per bottle after that.
All other authorized states: $29 up to 2 bottles, 7.50 per bottle after that.
AZ, CO, DC, FL, GA, HI, IA, IL, LA, MN, MO, NM, NV, OH, OR, TX, WA, WI, WV, WY
Orders must be in by December 24 to guarantee some wine. Quantities are not guaranteed. My offer allows to me to choose 3, 6, or 9 bottles of each. I’m tempted to go all in on the syrah and pick up 3 viognier.
Sorry - should have added that this arrived via snail mail this afternoon in southern California. John’s letter says that the 2006 harvest yielded as much Lorraine as 07, 08, and 09 will combined. Same with the 2006 Seymour’s in terms of future release quantities. It sounds like this could be the year to take as much as you can because it may be awhile if you haven’t been on the mailing list for some time.
this one is gonna hurt, but in a good way many years down the road.
sidebar: Alban vs SQN. Why hasn’t Alban had the rabid cult-like following of SQN? I always thought this was a bit odd since the production levels and quality (and now price) seem similar. Maybe it is the famed “funk” that some people don’t care for… I haven’t had more than a few glasses of SQN in my life so I cannot speak of their quality. But some of the Albans that I have had with just a bit of bottle age have been spectacular!
It’s all about the quality+the art work+diff named wines+diff bottles+the story behind them…the not knowing what MK will come up with next, is what puts them over the top imo.
As for the wines…very similar in quality, but I think SQN does a little better with balance.
I had the 05 Lorraine last night, and although it’s been a while since I’ve had the Atlantis, from taste memory, the wines were nearly identical. Mindbending stuff.
Like Schrader though, what a horrible time to offer wine from a miss one n’ done mailing list. Not sure what I’ll do with either of them…
Nope it’s a Alban patrina that lower end and it’s competing with the Lillian point being if the low end stuff is this good I can’t imagine passing on the good stuff