I used to buy a lot from FP but started to notice their prices on a lot of wines were higher than what i could get from wine.com even before coupon codes, or K&L (which is local to me). Unfortuantely my purchases from them wound down a lot, but I never had an issue with them and the wines they sold were always good.
2016 Seven Springs redacted- Who are the others that have any access to Seven Springs? I thought Evening Land had full control over seven springs at this point and didn’t realize there were any others.
Never mind- I think it is WT Vintners based on the 13.2%
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Makes sense it is WT since they had another recent redacted offer
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Assuming CT has entries for all the 2016 Pinot made from Seven Springs fruit, there aren’t that many options to begin with. WT Vintners does seem to be the most likely option (not sure FP has ever done a Redacted on any of the other producers listed in CT). And, per the WT web site, the alcohol % on their wine was 13.2% [ https://wtvintners.orderport.net/product-details/0086/2016-Pinot-Noir-Seven-Springs ].
Anyone biting on this one?
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Yes, just a couple bottles. In general, I like the more restrained style of WA producers such as WT Vintners, Savage Grace, etc. The Full Pull Redacted earlier this year that was the thinly-veiled WT Vintners Les Collines Syrah was a suburb value at $20/per. Figured this was pretty low risk. And will be interesting to see what a WA state producer does with OR fruit. Plus, the sub-$20 OR Pinot Noir market is generally a minefield. I figure if it is simply varietally correct, it will outshine most sub-20 OR Pinot on the shelves of wine stores. Of course, YMMV!
Michael
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I went for a couple of bottles as well, seemed worth the risk. If the alcohol was higher, I would have passed.
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Thanks to everyone here for the recommendation on Full Pull. Loving the variety of the offerings. Seems kind of like Garagiste minus the hyperbole and bait-and-switch BS.
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I never tried Garagiste but I’ve been happy with Full Pull. I only ever buy a couple of bottles at a time but they’ve all been what I’d consider a good deal and haven’t had any issues with any.
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I bit on a couple as well. Figure its nearly cheap enough to cook with worst case
Plusses and minuses to both. Over time, I’ve learned to filter out Rimmerman’s hyped up blatherings. He brings some interesting wines that are otherwise not really distributed around here (overall, our local distributor network is pretty weak, relative to CA and east coast). And he gets some solid wines at nice prices. Just have to ignore anything in his offer emails that is not objectively verifiable.
Full Pull’s offer emails are more direct (they had been getting more puffery for a while, but seemed to be more dialed back recently). FP is much more focused on NW wines, WA and OR. Both are used for closeouts, postoffs, and slow moving inventory dumps. Garagiste calls them Mystery; FP calls them Redacted.
I buy from both. If Seattle wine distribution was more competitive, I’d probably buy less. Plus, I can pickup from both, so no shipping costs. That being said, overall I’m quite happy with both as sources. YMMV.
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Have you ever experienced Full Pull committing overt consumer fraud? If not, they get the edge over Garagiste.
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I have not personally experienced any behavior I would describe as fraudulent in my dealings with either one. My point here was simply to explain my experiences with both. I have no interest in ranking them. As I noted, YMMV.
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Did anyone pull the trigger on this wine offered back in May? More importantly, did anyone figure out the source? Seemed like a worthy cause so I got half a case but haven’t tried one yet. Soon. Thanks
5/2/21:
Hello friends. Some of our longer list members may remember back in 2014 when we offered the 2010 Maison Sichel Sauternes, and the rumor back then was that it was actually declassified d’Yquem. True, apocryphal? I still don’t know.
Well I had a similar feeling about the source of today’s wine. Like a double-take jaw-on-the-floor you-cannot-be-serious kind of feeling. And unlike the d’Yquem connection, which was tenuous at best, this time I have reason to be a bit more confident in our intel.
2019 College Cellars Rose of Grenache (Sparkling) - $19.99 (FPP $9.99)
First things first: we’re all engaging in a charitable endeavor today. All proceeds from today’s offer will go to the Walla Walla Institute for Enology and Viticulture. Walla Walla Community College (which hosts the Institute) is in a financial crisis, and the Institute has seen their funding cut considerably in the past year. Our sales today will help fund both instructor salaries and student scholarships.
And to be clear, the Institute is one of the engines of winemaking in the Pacific Northwest. There are more than 200 graduates working in the Washington wine trade, including some seriously influential winemakers: Chris Peterson of Avennia; Marcus Rafanelli of L’Ecole No 41; Elizabeth Bourcier of Cayuse Vineyards; Sager Small of Woodward Canyon; Keith Johnson of Sleight of Hand and Devium; Josh McDaniels of Doubleback; the list goes on and on.
Many of those winemakers got their first practical experience with College Cellars, the teaching winery within the Institute. Students run the five-acre estate vineyard; students manage the winemaking process from grape to glass. It’s a special part of a special program.
And having seen College Cellars wines turn up over the years at several blind-judging competitions I’ve been a part of, I can tell you that the quality is high indeed, with these wines often outperforming the pros. Perhaps it makes sense; they’re being judged not only by the market, but by their professors, who are grading the results of their labor.
In addition to making wines from their estate vineyard, students at College Cellars also sometimes receive donations from local wineries. Here’s what they had to say about this wine: We received a very generous donation of single-vineyard Grenache from a local winery. To create a new learning experience for our students, we prepared the wine for bottling at Blue Mountain Cider Co where the wine was bottled under pressure to create a fizzy style.
The only thing I’m allowed to add is that the vineyard in question is in the Rocks District AVA. So yeah, the winemakers in training took this outstanding Grenache Rosé, carbonated it, slapped a pink crown cap on it, and here we are, ready for prime time. In a normal year, they’d sell the vast majority of a wine like this through their tasting room, but we all know the past year has been anything but normal. They’ve got the 2020 vintage ready to work with and need to move out their 2019 post-haste. Hence the aggro discount.
The wine itself is showing beautifully. It pours into the glass medium pink with glints of salmon, and is aromatically all class, with a fruit core of strawberry and rainier cherry complemented by green subtleties of kiwi and celery leaf and no shortage of minerality. The palate is a lovely mid-weight (13.0% listed alc), with a fizzy-mousse attack quickly giving way to a mid-palate with notable breadth and fruit impact, shot through with streaks of citrusy acidity. There’s complexity and conviviality to spare in this bottling. The kids are all right.
To order this wine, click here
For those interested in trying to sleuth the actual sources for FP’s “Redacted” offerings, here’s my guess for today’s…
[ Redacted 26: 2018 Syrah Horse Heaven Hills - $49.99 (FPP $22.99) ]
Started at Cellartracker, searching for 2018 Syrah from Horse Heaven Hills. Surprisingly, not that many producers (I’m assuming the CT list is pretty complete…). The FP e-mail indicated the producer for this wine is one from whom they’ve offered quite a few wines in their past (as non-Redacted). As I scanned through the list in CT, that seemed to narrow it down to 3 likely candidates: Syncline McKinley Springs Vineyard, WT Vintners Destiny Ridge Vineyard, and Two Vintners Some Days are Diamonds (Discovery Vineyard).
Tried googling the review text included in the FP e-mail, but that review must be hidden behind a paywall. The offer e-mail indicated stated alcohol of 14.8%. Syncline website indicates 13.7% for theirs, so I eliminated that one. Couldn’t find the 2018 Syrah on WT Vintners site, but their 2017 lists alcohol under 14% (as do previous vintages listed on their site). Given their winemaking approach, I doubt the 2018 was suddenly produced at 14.8%. Interestingly enough, the listed alcohol on the Two Vintners site is exactly 14.8%. Hmmm…
Based on the limited research above – while I can’t claim for certain, I think you can be reasonably sure that this Redacted wine is the 2018 Two Vintners Some Days are Diamonds Syrah. If so, $23/per is a pretty darn nice price for this wine (though I’d rather it was the Some Days are Stones Syrah they produce with WW Valley Rocks fruit). As always, YMMV…
Michael
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Assume this was discussed … can you link to the thread discussing Garagiste’s overt consumer fraud?
I don’t know if there have been threads on this or not. Definitely some unhappy consumers on this board.
As far as the consumer fraud, I don’t need to read about it. I experienced it firsthand.
Can you share your experience?
Bait-and-switch, without notification.
Seems like other people on here have been happy with them, some more so, some less so. I’d say, if you like their model, give it a try for a cycle. Wouldn’t buy a ton of stuff on the first go-round. Just don’t expect a smooth customer experience.
I have bought several cases from Garagiste. No issues at all. It’s taking them forever to ship me some of my “pre-arrival” bottles but never had anything i would describe as bait and switch situation.