I tasted his initial release blind vs. Colgin. I liked Russel’s better.
So then I guess it begs the question of why? What was it about the wine you enjoyed more than the other? And was it from the same vintage and from the same vineyard?
In the video posted above Russell said he got the leftover grapes from the Melanson Vineyard near the bottom of the hill for his Adversity wine label that just came out. I assume these are still excellent grapes, but I am sure is variation within the high end vineyards. Unsure if this translates to his wine being “less” or “worse” than let’s say Tor who has an established spot in Melanson who’s vines are “better(?)”
But all of this begs the question - does vineyard source trump all other elements that go into a wine? It that’s the case, then there would not be specific ‘blocks’ within a vineyard, right? Take Bien Nacido, for instance - it’s a HUGE vineyard and each block is unique and creates very different final products on their own, and then this gets magnified with different winemakers.
Cheers.
Blocks are a farming construct and are not definitely not 1:1 to characteristics in a vineyard. Many times things are sliced down to rows or even more granular picks at request of winemakers. And, many vineyards are just land parcels, e.g. the result of history and commerce, not discrete terroir … I hope this doesn’t become a thread about what is or is not To Kalon. 
On if vineyard source trumps all other elements, I would be stuck at my computer all day typing out how I feel, so I just want to add that it’s ironic to have this discussion on a thread about Bevan Cellars. Most of their productions earn the first 98-100 points a vineyard’s ever received: Tin Box, Tench, Wildfoote, Sugarloaf, Sentinel Ridge, McGah, and more… And at the same time, Bevan Cellars produces one of the most legendary QPR blends of all time that has no given source by design, Ontogeny.
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Cheryl,
As I said, I have the greatest respect for Russell and what he does and what he’s achieved, so don’t take my ponderings as anything other than that. As a winemaker, I understand vineyard blocks, etc very well. My question had to do with making comparisons between what Russell is doing with a vineyard versus others from that same vineyard, and making sure that we are talking ‘apples to apples’ for comparison sake. That’s all.
Cheers.
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Larry - really good question, and one that I only have anecdotal evidence for. But, even To Kalon has good parts and bad (ok, not bad per se, but not as good), and some of the Mondavi blocks nearby are not as good as say, MacDonald. I have heard stories about different rows in Tench, and in Dr. Crane, and in GIII, and I think there is a post in here by Roy Piper about some other specific rows/blocks that are supposed to be earth shattering in various Napa vineyards. So, if some are better, that means some are worse. Maybe some wines get better sales because they are lucky to be from a good vineyard but aren’t from the best rows, or maybe the winemakers aren’t as good. As a consumer, figuring out the different takes a lot of time and money. So, I get why some vineyard owners keep a tight reign on things.
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I wonder if the assumption that other competitor wines always or usually sell out is correct. If you were selling a $250 Napa cab and sold through 80% of it, might you just declare it sold out, so that the market perceives you as being a hot commodity and so buyers feel more pressure to buy future rounds? Then maybe the other 20% goes to future library releases, to restaurants, quiet sales at a discount, whatever?
I have no idea about such things, but it just occurs to me that it might work that way some of the time.
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How do we know if each winery sells out of their wines?
How many wineries hold wines back to sell at their tasting room and to keep for their library?
Given the fires the last couple years, they may also hold some inventory for library releases should they lose an entire vintage. Scarecrow emailed their list and stated that they will not be making a 2020 vintage but had been holding back wines for a library release in case this scenario ever happened.
I wouldn’t think as a consumer that a winery closing an offer means they are fully sold out of their wine. They definitely set aside a percentage for their DTC/mailing list customer. They may have other distribution channels in addition to direct.
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I agree. I don’t mean to be overly accusatory or conspiratorial about it, but I do guess that managing the perception of scarcity and urgency is a part of the business model for many of the cult and near-cult type wines, as it is for many other luxury products. Maybe Bevan just isn’t playing that part of the game the same way?
I am sure that may be a part of trying to hype sales for releases. There is a lot of competition amongst wineries for our dollars too. How they price and release certain wines is not really something I have put much thought into myself.
Just bought 3 of the Bevan 18 Dr. Crane! Anybody tried it yet?
Read this thread cold, and you would think there is a Cabernet Sauvignon cabal, designed to deceive consumers. 
There isn’t?
Shhhhh…
Dominus is top tier and Insignia is really good as well.
I opened a bottle a few months ago and it wasn’t ready. I posted a review on Cellar Tracker, with my handle Jazz Nut. In short, I think it needs time in the bottle or a long decant. Quality is certainly there, it will be killer in time. Russell nailed it, and I should have bought more than 3.
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I can’t speak to other’s tastes. I’ve had 8-12 bottles of the Bevan pinot and it’s really delicious, full throttle wine, but that price point is above a producer like Wiliams Selyem that has a similar style but that I like more.
The website only allows you to buy 3 at a time right now. Unless you had an allocation offering or something? Thanks for the note. I’ll wait a while, prolly the 10 yr mark.
My 2018 doc crane showed up today but it’s headed to the cellar for 5-10 years