Promontory

[Nick_Ryan]

@John Morris

@Nick Ryan

Score went up from (90-92) by Galloni to 97 by Parker, so it must be the awesome…

Not sure how I can rephrase that to be clearer. Galloni scored it (90-92) in TWA, Parker rescored it 97.

[Jody_Smith]

@Nick Ryan

@John Morris

@Nick Ryan

Score went up from (90-92) by Galloni to 97 by Parker, so it must be the awesome…

Not sure how I can rephrase that to be clearer. Galloni scored it (90-92) in TWA, Parker rescored it 97.

My subscription lapsed, but didn’t this happen with a few properties? Scarecrow? Maybach?

[Nick_Ryan]

@Jody Smith

My subscription lapsed, but didn’t this happen with a few properties? Scarecrow? Maybach?

Indeed. I can’t believe that Promontory would have come out at a $400 price tag if Parker hadn’t throw them a lifeline like this.

[mike_pobega]

This wine is EXACTLY what’s wrong with Napa.

[Joe_B]

I just posted this on the commerce corner promontory but i think here is better.


I am only a few years into this wine thing so excuse my ignorance here when I ask this.

On another thread a poster made the statement that napa is the one place specific enough to grow good cabernet grapes. So specific that the best American wines come from Napa. In fact, even within Napa there are only so many acres of vinyards that can grow the best of the best. So if Promontory or anybody else for that matter wants to produce a $300 -$1200 single bottle of great Napa Cab, AND all those great vineyards are already being sourced, where did these grapes come from? What wine was Promontory two years ago? Meaning that certainly the vineyards they are sourcing had to have been something else and no matter which celebrity wine producer now is handling those grapes and overseeing the production, those grapes can really only be what they were meant to be. No?

Honestly, I am wondering if something just got rebranded and the price just went up.

[Eric_LaMasters]

@Joe B

What wine was Promontory two years ago?

As I understand it, they bought the property that used to be used for Ladera’s ‘Lone Canyon’ bottling. That wine was good, but it was priced at around $70.

[Markus_S]

By 'em up, guys! The sooner this market crashes, the better all around.

[Ledwards]

Yes, this is an interesting issue. The Harlan team will likely replant some, invest, farm better, blend better, (clearly market better) la, la la… But Ladera 07 is 65 bucks and Promontory 09 is 400 bucks (a 600%+ increase in price over 2 years). It is hard to believe the could turn that much better that fast- so are you pre-funding their buildout/investment?

It seems the big dollars in Napa are beginning to hollow out a niche similar to another highly successful american business model- Private Equity. Buy something undervalued/utilized, re-engineer, re-market, resell for a handsome profit. Bad/Good- not really my point, it’s just the reality of being able to do so when there is a profit motive.

[k_s_h_i_n]

@Tom Lee

Didn’t Levy & McClellann sell for something like $450 on the first release? Adjusted for inflation this is a bargain.

Tom

Some of us learned from the lesson. Paid $368 for the 04 and $400 for the 05 and they are trading at sub $200 now.

[Joe_B]

@Kevin Shin

@Tom Lee

Didn’t Levy & McClellann sell for something like $450 on the first release? Adjusted for inflation this is a bargain.

Tom

Some of us learned from the lesson. Paid $368 for the 04 and $400 for the 05 and they are trading at sub $200 now.

Your lesson has not been wasted on me.

So thanks.

[ky1em1ttskus]

@Eric LaMasters

@Joe B

What wine was Promontory two years ago?

As I understand it, they bought the property that used to be used for Ladera’s ‘Lone Canyon’ bottling. That wine was good, but it was priced at around $70.

So Ladera is still going, they just lost this one fruit source?

[SarahE]

Losing it is one way to say it. Sold it for a shit ton of money at the height of the market is another way.

Yes Ladera is still around up on Howell Mountain.

[M_A_T_T_H_A_R_T_L_E_Y]

@SarahE

Losing it is one way to say it. Sold it for a shit ton of money at the height of the market is another way.

Correct

and if you are Bill Harlan how do you get that pile of money you spent on Lone Canyon back…???

$400 per bottle Cabernet.

[Joe_B]

@M A T T H A R T L E Y

@SarahE

Losing it is one way to say it. Sold it for a shit ton of money at the height of the market is another way.

Correct

and if you are Bill Harlan how do you get that pile of money you spent on Lone Canyon back…???

$400 per bottle Cabernet.

Right.

But what changed outside of that? Just because a patch of dirt sold for X doesn’t equate to a better more expensive processed product.

Time will tell on these but I’m betting that we are reaching a saturation point here.

[SarahE]

They have ripped out a large amount of the acreage and replanted it at much higher density following the flow of the mountains instead of terraces. Farming it at much lower yields and bio dynamically. Of course more barrel costs (100% new oak) etc etc. Not saying that the wine deserves a $400 price point, but the fixed costs are far larger than when Ladera owned the property. Land prices have changed a lot since the property was purchased back in 1996/1997 by Ladera.

[larry_schaffer]

QPR is a relative term . . . .

[M_A_T_T_H_A_R_T_L_E_Y]

@Joe B

@M A T T H A R T L E Y

@SarahE

Losing it is one way to say it. Sold it for a shit ton of money at the height of the market is another way.

Correct

and if you are Bill Harlan how do you get that pile of money you spent on Lone Canyon back…???

$400 per bottle Cabernet.

Right.

But what changed outside of that? Just because a patch of dirt sold for X doesn’t equate to a better more expensive processed product.

Time will tell on these but I’m betting that we are reaching a saturation point here.

Could not agree more…

[larry_schaffer]

So Matt et al, it if was a new release and it was, say $150, would that have made it more attractive? What price point would have done the trick for oyu? Just curious . . .

Cheers!

[Joe_B]

Just some non useful info.

Saxum just released their 2012 and have 509 total bottles pending delivery on CT. Bottle cost about $100 per.

There are none listed for promontory.

[M_A_T_T_H_A_R_T_L_E_Y]

@larry schaffer

So Matt et al, it if was a new release and it was, say $150, would that have made it more attractive? What price point would have done the trick for oyu? Just curious . . .

Cheers!

I would have bit at $150 and tried it…

Not $200

For all I know they sold every bottle of it at $400 though