{"id":43,"date":"2008-12-01T16:29:17","date_gmt":"2008-12-01T16:29:17","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/kenswineguide.com\/blog\/?p=43"},"modified":"2008-12-01T16:29:17","modified_gmt":"2008-12-01T16:29:17","slug":"buy-collectible-wines-while-the-prices-are-low-and-availability-is-high","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.kenswineguide.com\/blog\/?p=43","title":{"rendered":"Buy Collectible Wines While The Prices Are Low and Availability Is High"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"BuyIn these hard economic times you should take the view of smart financial folks like Warren Buffett<\/strong> and be looking for\u00c2\u00a0good wine investments when the market is off.\u00c2\u00a0 Buy low, sell or drink high!<\/strong>\u00c2\u00a0 If you take that view, you can take advantage of these opportunistic times in the wine marketplace.\u00c2\u00a0 The high end wines (over $50<\/strong>) we recently reviewed\u00c2\u00a0at the\u00c2\u00a0KWG blind tasting\u00c2\u00a0will probably be available at a retailer, maybe even at a discount.\u00c2\u00a0Buy them for your cellar.\u00c2\u00a0Buy them as a wonderful gift for the wine lover in your life.\u00c2\u00a0 Resell or drink them over the next few years.\u00c2\u00a0You will not have a better chance to grab these wines that are usually highly allocated to restaurants and mailing list customers.\u00c2\u00a0Ask your favorite retailer if they can get you a bottle or two.\u00c2\u00a0 You might find out the answer is “Yes!”\u00c2\u00a0 You might also find out that the pricing is flexible.<\/p>\n

Now that I have given you my glass half full<\/strong> economics pitch, I will tell you who won our first High End blind Cabernet tasting.\u00c2\u00a0 We tried 16 wines, all\u00c2\u00a0retailing at\u00c2\u00a0over $50.\u00c2\u00a0 All but\u00c2\u00a0one wine scored Very Good or better.\u00c2\u00a0 Another wine barely scored Very Good, but the panel did not feel it was worth recommending, given its price tag of $175.\u00c2\u00a0 As a result, we are only going to recommend 14 of them.<\/p>\n

\"PrideOur winner was the 2005 Pride Mountain \u201cNapa\/Sonoma\u201d\u009d Cabernet $66<\/a><\/strong>.\u00c2\u00a0 This wine was showing perfectly on Friday November 21st.\u00c2\u00a0 It's extremely smooth, silky and elegant with delicious blackberry flavors.\u00c2\u00a0 The panel scored this wine 94<\/strong> points or Excellent<\/strong>.\u00c2\u00a0 It defeated the other wines by more than a point.\u00c2\u00a0 It was our clear winner.\u00c2\u00a0 One reviewer stated that this wine was the \u201ctotal package.\u201d\u009d\u00c2\u00a0 As I mentioned in the review, I think Robert Foley is one of the best winemakers out there and this Cabernet backed up that statement with our tasting panel.\u00c2\u00a0 Foley and Pride made a \u201cReserve Cab\u201d\u009d in 2005, I can only image how good that bottle is.<\/p>\n

\"FritzWe had a tie for\u00c2\u00a0second place.\u00c2\u00a0 The two wines\u00c2\u00a0finished in a dead heat.\u00c2\u00a0 I'm not actually sure I have had that happen before.\u00c2\u00a0 Or if it did happen, I'm not sure it happened at this level or this high up in the tasting.\u00c2\u00a0 Both wines scored 92.8125<\/strong> or Very Good+<\/strong>.\u00c2\u00a0 So what were they?\u00c2\u00a0 The first wine was Fritz 2005 \u201cEstate Reserve\u201d\u009d Cabernet for $50<\/a><\/strong>.\u00c2\u00a0 Fritz has had a stellar year and produced many wines that have finished in the Top 5 with our tasting panel this year.\u00c2\u00a0 I would say this particular wine was the best one we tried all year.\u00c2\u00a0 It's a full bodied wine that is well balanced and silky with delicious black cherry flavors and a hint of vanilla.<\/p>\n

\"ShirvingtonThe other 2nd place Cabernet comes from down under.\u00c2\u00a0 The 2006 Shirvington Cabernet for $60<\/a><\/strong>comes from the McLaren Vale.\u00c2\u00a0 Readers who are not familiar with Shirvington should go out of their way to experience their wines.\u00c2\u00a0 I have been impressed with every wine I have tried from this producer.\u00c2\u00a0 This was another well-balanced, smooth, and elegant wine.\u00c2\u00a0 This one displayed a yummy black cherry flavor profile with a hint of raspberry.\u00c2\u00a0 All three of these wines are a steal when it comes to quality of the wine for the money.<\/p>\n

\"PhelpsOur 4th place wine is a wine that everyone expects to finish near the top of the list and it did.\u00c2\u00a0 The 2005 Joseph Phelps \u201cInsignia\u201d\u009d for $200<\/a><\/strong> scored a Very Good +<\/strong>with 92.38<\/strong> points.\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0 This wine is full bodied and savory with rich and extracted blackberry flavors.\u00c2\u00a0 This is a very big wine and quite impressive.\u00c2\u00a0 There is also a lot of it made, so you should be able to get your hands on a bottle or two.<\/p>\n

\"charlesFifth place was captured by a winery that has made quite an impression on us in the last month or so.\u00c2\u00a0 Charles Creek winery is a winery that I discovered for the first time on my trip to Santa Rosa for the wine bloggers conference.\u00c2\u00a0 Readers should definitely go out of their way to try some of the wines from this winery.\u00c2\u00a0 I have recommended every wine that I have tried from them.\u00c2\u00a0 In this tasting, the 2004 Charles Creek \u201cLa Vista\u201d\u009d<\/a><\/strong> for $55<\/strong> scored an impressive 91.875<\/strong> points from the panel.\u00c2\u00a0 This wine draws 100% for its Cabernet fruit from the Stagecoach Vineyard.\u00c2\u00a0 If you are not familiar with the Stagecoach Vineyard<\/strong>, you should make yourself familiar.\u00c2\u00a0 I have been very impressed with the Cabs coming out of it.\u00c2\u00a0 Charles Creek certainly captured the magic from that vineyard.<\/p>\n

\"DuckhornThe Cabs that finished in 6th and 7th place are from a couple of big names players.\u00c2\u00a0 These wines also scored Very Good +<\/strong>.\u00c2\u00a0 First up was the Duckhorn 2005 \u201cEstate Grown\u201d\u009d Cab for $95<\/a><\/strong>.\u00c2\u00a0 This wine scored 90.125<\/strong> points from the panel.\u00c2\u00a0 This wine opens with an inviting blackberry like bouquet and continues on to a smooth and concentrated wine that displays tasty blackberry flavors.\u00c2\u00a0 Next up was the 2004 Spring Mountain Cab for $55<\/a><\/strong>.\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0 This wine scored 90 <\/strong>points and will be remembered for its very attractive clove and menthol like bouquet.\u00c2\u00a0 It's a fruit forward wine, with savory and delicious black cherry flavors.\u00c2\u00a0 The panel suggested that you enjoy this very likeable wine with filet mignon, stuffed mushrooms, or steak Diane.\u00c2\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"RaymondThe last 2 wines in the Very Good + or 90 point range are the 2005 Raymond Cabernet from the \u201cRutherford\u201d\u009d appellation and Swanson 2005 \u201cAlexis\u201d\u009d.\u00c2\u00a0 The 2005 Raymond “Rutherford”<\/a><\/strong> which costs $55<\/strong> scored 90<\/strong> points from the panel and was described by one panelist as succulent.\u00c2\u00a0 It is medium-bodied and smooth with soft with cherry and current flavors.\u00c2\u00a0 It does finish with some tannins that show noteworthy persistence, an impressive trait in my book.\u00c2\u00a0 Finally, the 2005 Swanson \u201cAlexis\u201d\u009d $75<\/a><\/strong> which also scored 90<\/strong> points is medium-bodied, soft, and balanced.\u00c2\u00a0 One panelist described it as Merlot-like.\u00c2\u00a0 The panel also felt that this wine could benefit and most would develop nicely with a little more time in the cellar.<\/p>\n

The remaining recommendations all score Very Good from the panel.\u00c2\u00a0 We found all these wines to be very likeable and worthy of our recommendation.<\/p>\n

#10 Faust 2005 \u201cNapa Valley\u201d\u009d<\/a> $50<\/strong> (89.25)
\n<\/strong>#11 Eponymous 2004 \u201cNapa Valley\u201d\u009d<\/a> $59 (89.06)
\n<\/strong>#12 Jeff Gordon 2004 \u201cNapa Valley\u201d\u009d<\/a> $80 (88.75)
\n<\/strong>#13 Bergevin Lane 2005 \u201cIntuition\u201d\u009d<\/a> $55 (88.69)
\n<\/strong>#14 Raymond 2005 \u201cSt. Helena\u201d\u009d<\/a> $55 (88.63)<\/strong><\/p>\n

In conclusion, I can assure you that these are all very impressive wines worthy of your consideration and investment.\u00c2\u00a0 I can also share that there was not a single drop of any of these wines left over at the end of the evening.\u00c2\u00a0 That is not always the case.\u00c2\u00a0 If you are looking for a very nice gift to buy for the wine lover in your life, the above wines would\u00c2\u00a0each make a great gift.\u00c2\u00a0 I know I would love to receive any one of them.\u00c2\u00a0 The best news is that based upon my economic analysis in the first paragraph you should be able to find them and maybe even get a deal.\u00c2\u00a0 We have one and perhaps\u00c2\u00a0two more high end tastings coming up in the next month, so stay tuned for some more gems to\u00c2\u00a0look for during this holiday season.<\/p>\n

Cheers,
\nKen<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

In these hard economic times you should take the view of smart financial folks like Warren Buffett and be looking for\u00c2\u00a0good wine investments when the market is off.\u00c2\u00a0 Buy low, sell or drink high!\u00c2\u00a0 If you take that view, you can take advantage of these opportunistic times in the wine marketplace.\u00c2\u00a0 The high end wines […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[18,88,11,8,6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-43","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-cabernet-sauvignon","category-high-end-wines","category-kens-wine-guide-tasting-panel","category-wine-recommendations","category-wine-reviews"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.kenswineguide.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/43","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.kenswineguide.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.kenswineguide.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.kenswineguide.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.kenswineguide.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=43"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.kenswineguide.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/43\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.kenswineguide.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=43"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.kenswineguide.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=43"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.kenswineguide.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=43"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}