2008 Continuum

Absolutely. I love this wine and the move to Pritchard Hill should not hurt in. Great family, great winery and I will buy - just not sire whether retail or list.

Having bought wine for the first three vintages, I feel tied to this new venture. Maybe a little corny, but I would like them to do well. So much great history and a great story.

Yes, and we are kicking off the release with a dinner featuring a Continuum vertical, in NY!

Is this at the Kittlehouse?

I bought the 07s, and I'll get to see the wines in action at the Kittle House tasting. We'll see then if it is worth continuning to buy this expensive newcomer or if your just paying for the pedigree. I suspect it'll be the former.

quote:

Originally posted by NY Retailer:
Yes, and we are kicking off the release with a dinner featuring a Continuum vertical, in NY!

Dan - we just did this 2 weeks ago (sans 08). It will be interesting to see your results. From my memory drinking close to release my favorites were 2007, 2005, then 06. However when we drank last week it was 06, 07 and way, way behind was the 05 which was in a really funny shut down phase. 07 is beautiful but lacked some of power and structure of the 06 - and general consensus was it probably will not go as long. Of course the warm up wines were a 85 Dom and a 98 Leroy Richebourg - so they had some nice competition.

quote:

Originally posted by Whitey:

quote:

Originally posted by NY Retailer:
Yes, and we are kicking off the release with a dinner featuring a Continuum vertical, in NY!

Dan - we just did this 2 weeks ago (sans 08). It will be interesting to see your results. From my memory drinking close to release my favorites were 2007, 2005, then 06. However when we drank last week it was 06, 07 and way, way behind was the 05 which was in a really funny shut down phase. 07 is beautiful but lacked some of power and structure of the 06 - and general consensus was it probably will not go as long. Of course the warm up wines were a 85 Dom and a 98 Leroy Richebourg - so they had some nice competition.

I would agree with the ranking of the three vintages of Continuum that we had.

And yes, the Dom and Leroy did not suck.

I belong to three mailing lists/wine clubs - Ladera, Schrader & Continuum - all are not only because of the great wine they produce, but also because of the talented and wonderful people behind the labels. In this case, Continuum produces world class wine...which, at An additional $50 per bottle, would easily sell out. But Lindsay Maldonado (sales) and Carissa Mondavi (Wine education & hospitality) are also class act, second to none hostesses. They make everyone who supports their label feel like they are mission critical to Continuum's success. Given a lot of the attitude you see in wineries making juice 1/2 their standard...it's refreshing. Not to mention the passion they have for the families history and tradition of great wine. I would strongly suggest that anyone who is sick of Napa, mailing list, wineries going into the $250-300 range....check out Continuum! You'll cut your spend in 1/2 and, at worst, break even on quality!

Happy to have ordered my annual 3 pack today. Price keeps creeping up...

How do you get into the Continuum vertical tasting dinner NY Retailer?

try this:'rsvp@grapesthewineco.com'

Sorry for the late reply, and hate to make this commercial, but yes, you can email me or rsvp@grapesthewineco.com to signup for the Continuum dinner at the Kittle House.

A vertical, including the 2008, will be poured. Marcia and Carissa Mondavi will be in attendance, as well.

Should be a fun night.

From what I have heard from people who have had the 08 they said its just as good as the 07 if not better.

I wish the Continuum wine dinner was not on a Tuesday night.

So I attended the Continuum dinner in San Francisco on Thursday night. They poured all four vintages. There were my first tastes of Continuum. Friends have raved, so I thought I'd give it a go.

We tasted the 05/06 with one course and the 07/08 with another. For me, the WotN was the 07. I think the 08 was a pop and pour, so it definitely needed more time.

I spent most of the meal with Stu, their marketing guy. It is refreshing to see a winery so focused on one wine. Even for wineries that make just cab, or just pinot, they often make several of each, and sometimes well. But to put your entire focus on one wine should be commended. It would be easy to do as others have done.

I'm eagerly anticipating the 08, and trying to scrounge up some of the 07s as I can.

Tried the 08 out of barrel last summer and again this week (out of bottle). It was decanted for an hour and a half and was amazing. We then sampled the 05. I have loved that wine from the beginning and was surprised and pleased that I really liked the 08 a bit better. The balance with the cab franc was fantastic and the finish was super long. Any questions we had about 100% Pritchard Hill were completely answered. Going to buy our allocation tonight. Keytohwy- we might use an 07 as admission to a certain pork fest.

Mmmm... Pork Fest...

Good tasting Keytowhy, it seems this wine has the praise of some of my most trusted palates

They are also selling olive oil this year. It has to be the most expensive in Napa, 50.00 for a 500ml bottle Yikes!

Great tasting tonight at Kittle House. Really, really well done wines. Sadly, no olive oil was poured.

Any notes or favorite vintage?

No detailed notes except that the 05 and 06 are sister wines, the last to be made with To Kalon fruit and a very high % of Petit Verdot, which made these wines, gripping, spicy and dark. The 07 and 08 are sister wines and completely different as they mark the beginning of the estate grown, Pritchard Hill fruit era. These wines had much less Petit Verdot and the Cab fruit is mountain grown versus valley floor of To Kalon, so naturally these wines were redder, softer, more fruit forward and bore no relation to 05 and 06 whatsoever. Although very fine wines, the 05 and 06 seem to be anomalies - not indicative of what Continuum will be, never to be made again and basically as if they came from a completely different winery. The 07 and 08 signal Continuum's future, and a promising future it is indeed. While definitely Napa bred, these wines attempt to achieve the class and sophistication of fine BDX and they do a nice job of it. I don't see Continuum doing anything but racking up 90+ scores year in and year out. I bought the 2008 at $150/btl. Not a bargain but not a reaming like some other wines I could mention.

quote:

Originally posted by PAS:
I belong to three mailing lists/wine clubs - Ladera, Schrader & Continuum - all are not only because of the great wine they produce, but also because of the talented and wonderful people behind the labels. In this case, Continuum produces world class wine...which, at An additional $50 per bottle, would easily sell out. But Lindsay Maldonado (sales) and Carissa Mondavi (Wine education & hospitality) are also class act, second to none hostesses. They make everyone who supports their label feel like they are mission critical to Continuum's success. Given a lot of the attitude you see in wineries making juice 1/2 their standard...it's refreshing. Not to mention the passion they have for the families history and tradition of great wine. I would strongly suggest that anyone who is sick of Napa, mailing list, wineries going into the $250-300 range....check out Continuum! You'll cut your spend in 1/2 and, at worst, break even on quality!

Totally agree on the value of the wine and the customer support. Lindsay is great.