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I know. But man that price for one bottle of wine for a poor guy like me 😀

It's a lot of money, for sure. I'm not certain, but if you want to splurge on a 95pt wine, I imagine @Johnd or @ibglowin might be able to point you to something that would still be a splurge, but cost considerably less. I think part of the issue with Caymus is you're paying for the name.
 
The regular Caymus cost half as much and the reviews and scores are only a point or two less most years.

I have had Caymus a couple times at dinner parties. Honestly the Austin Hope Cab Sauv was equally as good if not better at 50% off the MSRP of Caymus. You may be able to source it at Costco. We joined the Austin Hope Wine Club last month as they were that good and the price was very reasonable compared to Napa prices.

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It's a lot of money, for sure. I'm not certain, but if you want to splurge on a 95pt wine, I imagine @Johnd or @ibglowin might be able to point you to something that would still be a splurge, but cost considerably less. I think part of the issue with Caymus is you're paying for the name.
 
It's a lot of money, for sure. I'm not certain, but if you want to splurge on a 95pt wine, I imagine @Johnd or @ibglowin might be able to point you to something that would still be a splurge, but cost considerably less. I think part of the issue with Caymus is you're paying for the name.
This is one of my favorite finds of that caliber in the last few years:
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I use the Vivinio app on my phone -- take a picture of the label, it matches the label if it can, and produces consumer reviews.

It's not perfect by any stretch of the imagination as it's general consumers, but if you're in a store, need a bottle, and have no idea what to choose, it's a big help. So far I have not had any disappointments. I choose wines with a minimum rating of at least 3.5/5.0, typically looking for 3.7 and above. The drawback? Several messages per day, recommending wines. It can be irritating.

I signed up with the Wine Enthusiast for a year ... haven't received an issue yet, but I get multiple emails per day trying to sell me overpriced stuff. I won't renew.

Many moons ago (when Robert Parker owned it) I subscribed to the Wine Advocate. I see from @Johnd's post that Parker's doing his own thing again. I'm thinking about trying the 1 month free trial, but they want a credit card, not sure I want to do it ....

The best advice I've received is at a local TotalWine -- IME most of the employees are fairly knowledgeable, and a few have been exceptional.
 
I feel your pain. My youngest graduated in May, and both children are now firmly independent adults, so it was worth it.

It's not easy but chugging alone so far.
I've been talking about moving south to NC for a long time, the property taxes here in CT are un-controllable :mad:🤬🤬
 
I've been talking about moving south to NC for a long time, the property taxes here in CT are un-controllable
My wife and I are from the Utica-Rome area of NY. We moved here 25+ years ago and don't regret it. But note that in the Raleigh area in the summer, it's HOT (compared to CT) and when the humidity drops to 300%, it's a relief. 😂

If you seriously think about moving south, drop me a PM.
 
My wife and I are from the Utica-Rome area of NY. We moved here 25+ years ago and don't regret it. But note that in the Raleigh area in the summer, it's HOT (compared to CT) and when the humidity drops to 300%, it's a relief. 😂

If you seriously think about moving south, drop me a PM.

Thanks Bryan. Every time we talked about it then it was always something, daughter in high school, then son in high school, but now in college I may be in a better position, hoping for next year.

Appreciate your message.
 
BTW - A few years ago we seriously considered moving to Tampa, FL but then put the brakes after thinking how much we like season changes and hate humidity almost every day in the year...lol
 
I use the Vivinio app on my phone -- take a picture of the label, it matches the label if it can, and produces consumer reviews.

It's not perfect by any stretch of the imagination as it's general consumers, but if you're in a store, need a bottle, and have no idea what to choose, it's a big help. So far I have not had any disappointments. I choose wines with a minimum rating of at least 3.5/5.0, typically looking for 3.7 and above. The drawback? Several messages per day, recommending wines. It can be irritating.

I signed up with the Wine Enthusiast for a year ... haven't received an issue yet, but I get multiple emails per day trying to sell me overpriced stuff. I won't renew.

Many moons ago (when Robert Parker owned it) I subscribed to the Wine Advocate. I see from @Johnd's post that Parker's doing his own thing again. I'm thinking about trying the 1 month free trial, but they want a credit card, not sure I want to do it ....

The best advice I've received is at a local TotalWine -- IME most of the employees are fairly knowledgeable, and a few have been exceptional.
You should note that Parker did this review in 2016, I don’t believe that he’s doing reviews any longer. I like his reviews because my tastes are in line with his. Lisa Perrotti-Brown took over Parker’s territory / wineries, and I’ve found my tastes to still be in line with her ratings as well. For me, $100 a year is a steal, as I’ve found great deals on highly rated wines, as well as found great wines that I’d have never tried.
 
John, thanks for the feedback. While I missed the age of the review, I found that Parker's tastes were a good match for my own. I'll follow up on this.

Another good buy is Laithwaite's subscription. For a while I purchased their quarterly case, and found it a good value. I tried wines I would not have had a chance to hear of. Not all were great, but every one was above good. I liked their "mystery cases", which were odd-n-ends left over, sold at a discount.
 
@winemaker81 Would you recommend Laithwaite's Wine Club? I did another club that featured only domestic wines and I would like to branch out to other parts of the world. Did they send wines with some age? The other club I was in had a lot of new wines and I would like wines that were ready to drink right away. Thanks. Jeff
 
@Khristyjeff, I liked Laithwaite. If you like a wide variety of wines and are willing to experiment, it's a great club. The subscription can be red, white, or mixed, and IIRC, you can change that with each order.

A couple of times a year they sell mystery cases, made up of whatever odds-and-ends were around, e.g., clearing remnants from the warehouse. These cases were at a good price, and purchasing a second case was at a discount. Shipping is $20 USD/case, but if you pay a $90 fee, all shipping is covered for the year. If you buy at least 1 extra case, beyond the 4 in the subscription, it's a money saver. I was buying 2 or 3 mystery cases when they were offered, and occasionally purchased other cases.

Other than Rioja, the wines in the subscription and mystery cases were 1 to 3 years old. I'd let them settle for a month or 2 after receiving, then drink. Good wines, but nothing that I'd save for more than a couple of years.

I stopped the subscription when I over-purchased while making more wine. I ran out of storage room, and never got around to restarting the subscription. If I had more storage I'd restart the subscription.
 
I am making a pork chop from a Marcella Hazan recipe of chop braised in two wines (red and Marsala). From experience, this dish is nicer with my ho-made Syrah than with an oaked Merlot or Cab, which is about all else I have in for commercial wine. So, I am sipping my 2017 HHH Syrah.

(Not entirely serious, but an element of truth here: The nice thing about cooking with wine is no one, like the wife, knows how much went into the dish and how much into the cook!)
 
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