Seven Apart Inaugural Release

WINE TALK
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I’ve occasionally read threads here, but just decided to register. I was following the Seven Apart updates on Facebook and signed on to their mailing list. They were definitely claiming a $75 release price on their FB page, but they’ve since wiped off any references to that. I was looking forward to trying it, but definitely felt misled, when the allocation came out at $135/btl.

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Welcome to WB Paul!

Yeahhh…that pretty much makes it a hard pass for me. So they were openly referencing $75, then chose to raise prices but instead of being open about it tried to just pretend that $75 was never a thing… and even had the ‘PR Person’ show up to reinforce the higher cost vs. Taking the opportunity to tell the whole story?!? Not exactly the type of business I want to support.

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Thanks. I am looking forward to checking it out and maybe learning a thing or two. I don’t do a lot of high end wine, but was willing to try this at $75. One of the wineries I support as a “club member” is Calluna Estate. His top end wines are at around that price point (even a little less with the club discount), and they compare pretty well with some of the higher-priced stuff I’ve tried. Will still be interested to hear opinions about the Seven Apart wines, once people start getting them and cracking open a bottle.

I have a bottle of 2016 Mythicvs (the first Blankiet Estate vintage overseen by Graeme MacDonald) and really want to try it, but also think it should probably age a little longer. I’m not very patient with the wines I do buy. [cheers.gif]

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Just got the allocation offer for their next release - “Shale” - at $225 per bottle. Obviously, they decided they could charge more than their initial plans.

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While it is not an attractive business practice from the wine consumer’s viewpoint, these guys aren’t the only winery to raise prices on their debut wines pre-release due to favorable scores from a widely-read critic like LPB. Constellation’s To-Kalon Vineyard Co. did something similar with its 2016 Highest Beauty Cabernet Sauvignon (for whom Andy Erickson also is the winemaker), although To-Kalon Vineyard Co. never officially released its lower price pre-release – it instead mentioned the lower price within the trade as “expected” or “anticipated” pricing, presumably as a way to test the market. I admire Andy’s winemaking approach and have sought out his wines for a long time, whether they are for his own label (Favia) or other owners like Dalla Valle, Mayacamas, and Arietta. Given Andy’s winemaking pedigree, I’m guessing that some financial consultant advised Seven Apart that they were underpricing their products relative to the market, and that the Seven Apart team was also looking at things like reduced cash flow from the loss of a vintage such as 2020 and the loss of the restaurant/hospitality/on-premises distribution channel from COVID. I was a fan of Beau Vigne so it is interesting to hear that the 2018s are partly, if not mostly, produced by the Beau Vigne team. I bought a few of the 2018 Expeditions to try but when it comes to the other bottlings like the Shale, as of now I find it difficult to justify paying essentially double what Beau Vigne was charging for its Reserve and Cult bottlings.

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Awaiting the UPS truck to show up any minute with my allocation!

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Nice. Are you planning on opening one soon? Let us know what you think.

I was looking forward to trying these wines, but passed on the allocations due to the pricing. Keen to try them at some point though!

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Received the first box yesterday, and more coming today. I didn’t want to open it quite so soon, but my 50th birthday is tomorrow, and then Seven Apart has invited me to a virtual wine tasting next week, to include the owner, Don Dady, Yannick Girardo (the GM), Andy Erickson, and Brian Freedman, the wine writer for Forbes Magazine. How could I not open a bottle for that?!?!?!

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Got my shipment of Seven Apart “Shale” yesterday…decided to take a flier on it. Will lay it down for a few years myself, but look forward to the virtual tasting.

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Opened a bottle last night, an hour before the virtual tasting with Andy Erickson, owner Don Dady, General Manager Yannick Girardo, and Forbes Magazine wine writer Brian Freedman.

This wine is absolutely stunning. I’m still trying to wrap my head around it. The wine coated the decanter, as if the glass did everything it could, not not let the wine leave the vessel. This wine is massive, yet incredibly refined. The finish is so long, that one glass of this wine can literally last all night. I want to throw out every other bottle of wine in my collection.

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dammmmm

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That’s great to hear! I quite enjoyed the virtual tasting, and the way they (and you) were describing it has my mouth watering, but couldn’t bring myself to pull the trigger on opening it so young.

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Although young, it’s worth trying now.

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Just curious - do you have any relationship with the winery?

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I didn’t catch the name of this release? Was it Shale or Shill?

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Wow that’s a pretty bold statement…“I want to throw out every other bottle of wine in my collection.”

I can’t think that even a “perfect” bottle of wine would ever make me want to throw out all my other wine, but hey that’s me.

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I do not. I learned about Seven Apart on the internet, joined their e-mail list, and reached out to them about a few questions I had, based on what I read from this thread. They were very responsive and candid. The wine was more expensive than what I was hoping, but I really had nothing to base my “hope” on. With Andy Erickson involved, I figured it was a safe assumption that the wine would be spectacular…and my bet paid off. For me, I think the wine is phenomenal. Some may not think so, and that’s their right. I just know this wine works for me.

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I’ve unfortunately never received an answer to this question from the company…

For what it’s worth Shale received 92-95pts from AG at vinous.

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When I reached out to them, I received a response quickly from Yannick Girardo, the General Manager. He was very helpful, so maybe reach out to him. All I can say is that I really like the wine.

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I did have a call with Yannick, back when they released the Expedition, he was nice and helpful. I did not probe too hard though regarding Andy’s involvement, just received the same answer really as above.

Next time I am in Napa I will try and arrange a tasting. Perhaps I will jump on board with the 2019s, I would assume with that vintage Andy was involved with from start to finish so no real questions there.

kkoshhal - Glad you found a wine you enjoy.

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