There is a tasting being offered to taste the 1994 vintage for the following for $310, anyone thinks this is worth it? I wouldn't get a chance to taste most of them otherwise. It's the Araujo, Dalla Valle, and Harlan that is making it so tempting.

Araujo (94WA, 95WS) • Caymus “Special Selection” • Dalla Valle “Maya” • Dominus • Dunn “Howell Mountain” • Dunn “Napa” • Harlan Estate • Robert Mondavi “Reserve” • Joseph Phelps “Insignia” • Ridge “Monte Bello” • Shafer “Hillside” • Philip Togni

How much do you enjoy wine, and how much income are you willing to part with?

For me, it isn't worth it. You taste, what, 11 wines. If they give you a full glass, that 44 ounces of wine... for $310??? I can think of other ways to spend my cash.

It depends on the size of the pour. On the open market, you and 5 friends could buy the Harlan ($550), Araujo ($300), Maya ($525), Dominus ($175), Dunn ($125) and Caymus ($200) for a total of $1875. And this is retail. At auction, you might do better. Split 6 ways, this comes out to $312.50 per person. And you would get a FULL glass (1/6 bottle) of each of these wines.

The price isn't that bad from a numbers perspective. A little rich maybe... but not bad considering the UBER wines in the lineup.

I think the typical pour in a grand tasting like this is about 1/15th of a bottle (give or take a little). You are tasting 12 bottles so you're consuming 12/15th (or 80%) of a bottle for your $315.

So what should a bottle of this UBERCal cost you. I'll try to take an average of the individual bottles. I'm not an expert in 1994 Cali Cab prices but here's my guess...
Harlan: $500
DV Maya: $450
Araujo: $250
Shafer HS: $225
Dominus: $175
Caymus SS: $150
Insignia: $125
Mondavi Reserve: $125
Ridge MB: $125
other 4: avg. $100 ea
Total: $2,525
divide by 12 = $194 == let's round it to $200.

$200 x 80% (the amt. you get) = $160

So you get, at the most conservative view, $160 in market value of juice. Add to this the service provided in pouring, providing quality stemware, any snacks???, and the service of rounding up the wine, event set up, and a modest return and I think $310 isn't a bad price.

the flip side is if you and a companion went you'll spend $620. If you decide to buy the Harlan and a couple prime cuts of meat and a side to prepare at home, you can make the whole evening at a lower cost. Of course you'll give up the experience of tasting everything else and the social qualities.

I don't think I came up with an answer.

Stood up and tried to focus
I hoped I wouldn't have to look far
I knew I could use a bloody mary
so I stumbled next door to the bar

amedemonet,

Good to hear from you.

I don't think that's worth the price, all you have to do is move back to Nor Cal and go to enough off-lines and you will get to taste them all at a fraction of the cost.

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www.winebid.com

I don't think any of those wines are readily available at retail, you would have to buy them from one of the auction websites. Then you're taking a chance that the wine is either cooked or corked, with no recourse. At the tasting anyway, you wouldn't be taking that risk. Seems like a lot of money, but what a line up!

Maybe we can get an off line together to taste all of these. Then add in the cost of transportation, dinner, lodgings... maybe the price isn't so bad.

quote:

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I don't think any of those wines are readily available at retail, you would have to buy them from one of the auction websites.

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Not so. The prices I quoted all came from reputable merchants that have said wine in stock. None of these were auction quotes. Go to Winesearcher.com and you will find every one of these wines in ample supply. I didn't always use the lowest price. I used the lowest price that I could find from a merchant that I have personally dealt with and would use again.

Thank you everyone. It's only a little over a month since my last trip to CA, and I'm craving a good cab!! The name dropping I saw was tempting but I've since come to my senses

Pyang,

Are you at winebid now?

Another thing to consider is who is hosting the tasting. There is a gentleman in my area who hosts tastings at many local shops and wineries. I would pay the price of any of the tasting he hosts just to spend the evening hearing him converse about wine.

Good point. The intangibles of the event always play a role in the overall value of the experience.

If you love Cal Cab I would go for it.

amedemonet,

Almost, starting March 1st, public service announcement shortly...

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www.winebid.com

Given where I am right now, I wouldn't have access to these wines easily. But it's not so much as the vintage I'm interested in but tasting the cult wines I'm not priviledged to be on the mailing list for. So I guess I can wait it out till I get back to CA to attend some offline events where it wouldn't hurt my wallet as much.

www.ewswine.com if anyone is interested.

Congratulations, pyang!

If they will include a rack of lamb, then go for it! Otherwise, I'd buy a couple of the 1994 Dominus and call it even!

I too say, "not worth it", for that price. Especially if you aren't getting at least a half of a glass. A 2 oz. pour of these wines is total injustice. You need a good glassful to sip over the course of the evening. They evolve and change over a few hours, and you want to be able to spend more than 2 oz. worth of time with them. Also....not the greatest idea to try them against each other. Better to enjoy 1 or 2 of them separately.

Just my $.02

-DRAB

So much wine.....so little time!!!