Chances are that most of us will die without having tasted any vintage of Screagle or Petrus. And I'm fine with that; I'd far rather have a case or two of something else than one bottle of a cult wine.

Parker compared the 2004 Lewelling Wight Vineyard cab to a young Screagle and gave it 96 points. That's close enough for me.

So if you want the near-cult experience at a fraction of the price, what are your alternatives?

Great idea for a thread

I have a few things coming in that I am hoping are "budget" cult. I have heard great things about Versant and ordered the 05, but I won't be able to say for sure until I try it.

Many people also praise Drinkward Peschon and this is another one that I will have coming soon. I don't think this wine will be a Harlan or Screaming Eagle at a fraction of the cost though, but it might surprise.

I am going to nominate the Foley Claret. I think the stuff is amazing and it is a wine that I feel delivers something special for the price. I don't think a Screaming Eagle or Harlan really are 400+ dollars better.

P.S. Thanks for the tip on the Lewelling

This message has been edited. Last edited by: Sticky2,

I'm up for anything that is high quality at a low price. I had the 1966 Quinta do Noval Nacional recently and it only just pipped Fonseca 66 for WOTN. I can get half a case of the Fonseca for one bottle of Nacional and Fonseca is not cheap. Trust me, half a case of F66 is something to lust after.

I am more than happy to drink St Emillion and Pomerol satellites and love Cotes du Castillon. I will drink great Right Bank without having to have Petrus, I drink great Sauternes without having to have d'Yquem. If I ever have them it will be either:

a. a one-off;
b. bought by somebody else;
c. because I have won the lottery

I guess it depends where you draw the $$ line...

For under $100, Versant is one that I keep hearing about..I just picked up 2 of the 04 for a measley $45 at auction and am anxious to try. And I am a huge fan of the Larkmead wines- the Solari reserve is only a couple of hundred cases, is only avaialable to mailing list customers, and is $75.

Just north of $100, I'd second the Foley claret- production isn't that high (I think 750 cases) and I just love it. If you look at CT, it has as consistent high marks as any.

I bought my first couple bottles of Schrader but have not tried yet...also have a KL Reserve that I am very excited about.

Tuscan Merlot in place of right bank. Are Massetto, Redigaffi ect. cheap, no, but they are in comparison to Petrus or LePin

Thread drift alert - - **************

I thought this said "Cult wines on a budget"?

To me, North of $50/bottle starts to break the budget. $100/bottle IS a cult wine.

I guess we can redefine "value" or "on a budget" here as an UNIQUE and FANTASTIC wine for $40-$60, that is somewhat available.

Geez - that makes the QPR stuff at 12-20 dollars into the new Two Buck Chucks....




DBW

Cult wine on a budget = Lower case production, mailing list only or direct from winery, high quality for around $60 or under?

Thats what would fit my definition.

quote:

Originally posted by dbw4:
Thread drift alert - - **************

I thought this said "Cult wines on a budget"?

To me, North of $50/bottle starts to break the budget. $100/bottle IS a cult wine.

I guess we can redefine "value" or "on a budget" here as an UNIQUE and FANTASTIC wine for $40-$60, that is somewhat available.

Geez - that makes the QPR stuff at 12-20 dollars into the new Two Buck Chucks....




DBW

As Einstein said, it's all relative.

quote:

Cult wine on a budget = Lower case production, mailing list only or direct from winery, high quality for around $60 or under?

Thats what would fit my definition.

That's pretty much how I see it too and most of the wineries I buy from fit that profile.

quote:

Originally posted by Hunter:

quote:

Cult wine on a budget = Lower case production, mailing list only or direct from winery, high quality for around $60 or under?

Thats what would fit my definition.

That's pretty much how I see it too and most of the wineries I buy from fit that profile.

Would Kosta Browne fit in this definition? Tons of hype, hard to get on the list, release price below $60? Not sure about their case production.

wow...cult like under $60 is hard but here are some that i like:

drinkward peschon
herb lamb e2
lewelling

karl lawrence and few others are under $60 and great but too high of production

I think this is a non-sense idea.

Most of the value in drinking a cult is enjoying the lable, and the prestige/exclusiveness that comes with it.

A bargain cult is like serving Petrus blind, you've shot the entire notion of what it is your doing.

If top-notch small production cabs and blends at $60 and under is what you are looking for, Washington State is the place to look.

Betz, Cadence, Cayuse, Owen-Roe, Mark Ryan, Spring Mountan, Andrew Will, Woodward Canyon are some names to look for. I don't think any of the above fit the definition of cult, but compared to Bordeaux and California, they are bargains.

quote:

Originally posted by Stefania Wine:
I think this is a non-sense idea.

Most of the value in drinking a cult is enjoying the lable, and the prestige/exclusiveness that comes with it.

A bargain cult is like serving Petrus blind, you've shot the entire notion of what it is your doing.

Well that was kind of my way oif thinking. When I started the thread I wasn't looking for the next cult wine or QPR recommendations, I was thinking of wines that - blind - could pass for those wines that are 5X or 10X the price.

I think Powell once said that Gemstone is a ringer for Screagle, and from my limited experience Grace is just a brett-bomb so there's plenty of alternatives there.

But you're right, it's all about the label. I should just put in an order to PetrusLabels and do it that way.

If most of the value is the label it should not be a cult to begin with.

With cult pricing what it is 100 dollar wines definitely can and will be considered as alternatives. In comparison to Screagle, Sloan, or Harlan 100 bucks is a bargain. Holding yourself to under 60 (why?) and expecting cult performance is very difficult, but not impossible.

quote:

Originally posted by pape du neuf:
If top-notch small production cabs and blends at $60 and under is what you are looking for, Washington State is the place to look.

Betz, Cadence, Cayuse, Owen-Roe, Mark Ryan, Spring Mountan, Andrew Will, Woodward Canyon are some names to look for. I don't think any of the above fit the definition of cult, but compared to Bordeaux and California, they are bargains.

True, but most of their new releases have broken the $50 barrier, and $60 won't be far behind. Which is a darn shame, as I love this stuff.

i have been very lucky to try some cult wine in the past (maya, hillside, colgin, harlan etc..) and i think there are few $100+/- that is better or equal in some case than cult. my list would be:

gemstone
pride rsrv
foley claret
switchback ridge
quilceda creek
schrader

quote:

i have been very lucky to try some cult wine in the past (maya, hillside, colgin, harlan etc..) and i think there are few $100+/- that is better or equal in some case than cult. my list would be:

gemstone
pride rsrv
foley claret
switchback ridge
quilceda creek
schrader

Well we need some guidelines or central point of reference as to varietals - if applying the same standard. I mean, there are cult Syrahs too and they are not $100

I can drink some of the best cult zins, Pinots and Syrahs for under $50, but that is a far cry from the top chased-after Napa Cabs or other proprietary reds.

quote:

Originally posted by Dave Tong BBP:
Chances are that most of us will die without having tasted any vintage of Screagle or Petrus. And I'm fine with that; I'd far rather have a case or two of something else than one bottle of a cult wine.

Parker compared the 2004 Lewelling Wight Vineyard cab to a young Screagle and gave it 96 points. That's close enough for me.

So if you want the near-cult experience at a fraction of the price, what are your alternatives?

Robert Parker has also mentioned that he can not understand why Seavey has not become a cult wine. I have also heard some wonderful things about Delille in Washington.

I don't know if these are considered cult wines, but I'm on the Mayacamas list and my brother is on the Betz list and we have purchased both for the $60 Range thinking they will have a very good life ahead of them and will enjoy them together.

quote:

Originally posted by Hunter:

quote:

i have been very lucky to try some cult wine in the past (maya, hillside, colgin, harlan etc..) and i think there are few $100+/- that is better or equal in some case than cult. my list would be:

gemstone
pride rsrv
foley claret
switchback ridge
quilceda creek
schrader

Well we need some guidelines or central point of reference as to varietals - if applying the same standard. I mean, there are cult Syrahs too and they are not $100

I can drink some of the best cult zins, Pinots and Syrahs for under $50, but that is a far cry from the top chased-after Napa Cabs or other proprietary reds.

cultish pinot and syrahs are hard to come by for under $50 but i do agree they are some really good one like sqn

quote:

Originally posted by Stefania Wine:
A bargain cult is like serving Petrus blind, you've shot the entire notion of what it is your doing.

There's that damn no-nonsense logic of yours again, Paul.

Two things - -

One - "what TLily said"

Two - where are the OC cult wines?


DBW

It's like a Ferrari on a budget, or Paris Hilton on a budget.

Sure there are alternatives that offer far better value, but the point of Paris Hilton is that she's Paris Hilton. Tara Reid may in fact be much nicer, look a lot better, party harder and have a lower cost....but she's not Paris Hilton.