When I drank KB, I would drink Bud’s 4-Barrel.
If anybody local to the Bay Area want’s some of the current release send me a PM. I have extras of the following:
Gap’s Crown
Kanzler
Keefer
Koplen
Garys’
Pisoni
Rosella’s
Bummer no fall pick up party, they are always tasty.
i’ve been on the list since 2003 and finally got an offer for one 4 - Barrel. I have ordered 6 of the SVD wines this year. I do particularly enjoy the K vineyards and Pisoni/ Gary’s and Rosella’s. (latter 2 not offered this year) The single vineyard wines are a bit overhyped, but usually interesting to drink = can vary between mediocre (a few) to fantastic (many, but at what cost?). One issue is that a few years ago i cut my order due to lousy vintage/ reviews and subsequently my allocation dropped. I was pissed and told them so…
How did they respond to your feedback?
I am struck by how little interest there is in KB on this board these days. Quite a change from the days when a KB offering thread would have 8 pages of folks crowing about their orders. I’m not judging, I’m just noticing a pretty remarkable change from “board darling”. The sale, the prices, the AFWE phenomenon?
For me it was a matter of palate shift combined with steady price increases. I wish I had a bottle or two remaining just for the sake of science, but I sold all I have and really haven’t missed it.
I enjoy them as cocktail wines, not with food. But price increases in underperforming vintages (2006) and a limited use for $70+ pinots had me drop them years ago. I too wouldn’t minds few in the cellar, but the cost/value ratio has surpassed my threshold.
The price increases for me moved me into the “Pass” category this year for the SVDs after 7 years of buying.
As for the appellation wines to be offered next Spring, we’ll see.
Okay, I’ll play…For me it was palate shift and less interest in chasing highly regarded wines, but the prices made it easy to justify
A lot of it is probably just self-screening, too. If you had a great bottle of Sea Smoke on Monday, and a great bottle of Rhys on Tuesday, which one are you likely to post a TN about and which one are you not? I’m guessing what WBers buy and what they drink are significantly different than the frequency with which producers are discussed (at least favorably) on the board.
That isn’t a complaint or an accusation, I think it’s just acknowledging human nature. Saying you enjoy [insert name of uncool wine], then getting a bunch of derisive responses about cough syrup, blueberry milkshakes, score whores and so forth, isn’t really what most people are interested in doing with their wine hobby and their participation in wine discussions.
Good points. I’ll add to it (maybe?) that probably at this point there are three groups of people: 1) like KB; 2) don’t like KB; 3) don’t want to pay for KB. A tasting note or discussion isn’t likely to move people between those groups at this point - it’s a known quantity, not unknown.
+1 Chris and +1 Andrew. For those with palate change and those who see the AFWE/Jon Bonne “Kosta Browne is a Point Noir for novice drinkers now” — something like that I can’t remember the exact quote but it was something similar to that in his book. Lots of things can change it especially in this group from what I’ve seen. Obviously there waiting list isn’t hurting nor are the wines on the secondary market. Looking back the SVD wines were selling for $45 in '07 and now are at double that, for those who have no issue with picking up loads of 75-100 dollars for PN then hey no problem but otherwise for those who are more comfortable in 45-60 it’s probably a stretch. I enjoy a few of them I can afford (as I cheaply mention often) but not a big buyer at these prices, to those that can afford them – enjoy I say!
Actually this is the story… I have been offered Kanzler every year since 2003 vintage. I ordered every year, except 2008. I did cut my purchases down a bit over the years (from a case of appellation to about 4-6 bottles - i could have easily flipped if i wanted), but still order between 3 and 6 single vineyards… So in 2011, I wasn’t offered the Kanzler and told to wish list by the winery. Since i particularly love the Kanzler, I did wish list it, but it wasn’t granted. OK, don’t stress too much about it since its just wine. However, i was twitched because my friend who just got off the wait list was allocated and received 2 bottles of the Kanzler ! WTF? I said. I emailed them and here’s the response:
Regarding your history with Kanzler, it looks like you missed purchasing the 2008 vintage. It looks like you requested wine the following year and we were able to grant against that request. This might have something to do with why you didn’t receive a grant this time,…
We will certainly consider how we can reward loyalty while honoring the ones who made a purchase the year before. It’s a challenge we are grateful to have, and we want nothing more than to treat everyone fairly and with care.
Kind Regards,
Chris
In any case, I keep ordering because i enjoy their wines and they had responded when i emailed. Not sure if there are issues related to the sell out/ i mean to the more corporate model.
I’ve been a buyer since the 2002 vintage and I’m a member of the LOD so I always get my allocation of 4-Barrel. This year, I purchased my entire allocation of 24 bottles, and I wishlisted 6 more. I commented that, if the particular SVDs I requested were not available, feel free to substitute another SVD.
Well, I just got an email congratulating me on my successful wishlist grant of ONE bottle. It would cost over $18 to ship it since my new allocation is for 25 bottles (I asked for 6 partially to keep shipping costs down).
I just responded to their email and requested that they cancel the wishlist bottle.
Needless to say, as a long time customer, I am not a happy camper!!
I would be ticked off too. They must not be having any problems selling out…