There is a group in Nashville, TN (where I frequently travel) that does wine charity auctions. Great stuff. I got this email from them and wondered how many of you would consider these "Cult" wines? Would the dinner be worth $1,100? Maybe. I count about 3-4 cult wines here with how I define a cult wine. Justin makes a cult wine????


Hello everyone,

I wanted to send out some information about the upcoming Cult Wine Dinner that was sold at the Premiere Friend's Auction in April. Please see attachments for details.

If you know of someone interested in attending this dinner, please contact me as one of our guests is having a scheduling conflict and is interested in selling his spot. The cost of the dinner is $1100 but I could put you in direct contact with the gentleman to work out your own arrangement. Thanks again for your support of our organization and the fight against cancer.

Description of lot:

Cult Wine" at The Trace



Cathy and Fred Weisbrodt, together with Ken Perry and The Trace Restaurant are providing an extraordinary evening of good food and unbelievable California cult wine.



What defines a cult wine? Wine Spectator says. "Basically, it's one you can't buy. Small production and great demand collide, sending prices through the roof for the few bottles that trickle onto the market."



Stephen Spurrier, the well known English wine consultant and writer, describes cult wines as "Super-cuveés from small plots of vines, whose vineyard is so worked to produce low yields to make wines that will undoubtedly impress the consumer.”



Mark Squires, who is part of wine critic Robert Parker’s website, on Cult Wines: "I wonder sometimes if any of these wines get drunk at all. Sometimes, I think they are just commodities to be traded for status. The cults are just rare and collectible."



Well Mr. Squires, ten people will have the opportunity to DRINK 14 of these very rare wines which are in a class of their own. This dinner is scheduled for Saturday, August 12, 2006.



Menu

Champagne Reception with light Hors d'oeurves



Soup Course

Chilled Sweet Pea Soup

Crab Salad and Rosemary Brioche Croutons

Justin “Reserve Isosceles”, 2002

Araujo Syrah, 2000

Vineyard 29 “Hurricane Cuvee”



First Course

Braised Rabbit Vol au Vent

Served in a Puff Pastry with Shitake and Portabellas, Asparagus and Chasseur Sauce

Harlan “The Maiden” 2000

Bond “Matriarch”, 2000

Blankiet Merlot, 2001

Turley “Hayne Vinyard” Petite Syrah, 2002



Entree

Char-grilled Ribeye

Served with a New Potato, Goat Cheese & Roasted Red Pepper Napoleon

and Green Peppercorn Sauce

Herb Lamb Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon, 2000

Araujo Cabernet, 2000

Merus, 2000
La Sirena Cabernet Sauvignon, 1998



Dessert

Flourless Chocolate Tort with Raspberry Sauce

David Arthur “Elevation 1147”, 2002

Grace Cabernet Sauvignon, 2000

Hundred Acre Gold, 2005



This dinner will be offered at Dutch Auction for 5 couples (10 persons). A total of 5 lots will be sold separately. The auctioneer will explain the rules from the podium. Each lot entitles the buyer to:

Two (2) places at dinner

Two pours of each wine



Dinner for five couples courtesy of The Trace Restaurant. Wines from the cellar of Cathy and Fred Weisbrodt.

Cult? Uh, no. About the only wines that I think truly qualify as "cult" would be the Grace & Araujo. I like the $25 NV Hurricane Cuvee, but cult?? Please...

The '00 Harlan Maiden? Are you kidding me?

lol, yeah - and you've gotta love how they picked the off vintages for virtually everything. The Turley Hayne is the one that got panned by WS with 72 points. Lots of 2000s in that bunch. It actually looks like someone trying to recover their money on bad wine purchases.

LOL...Turley is a cult? LOL again. You didn't bet on this dinner, did you CWG?

No, I didn't bid on this dinner. The only wine that I consider a cult is the Grace Family. I loved the quote by Squires....

They define a cult as "you can't buy" but I define as a wine that sells (not is offered at) 3X mailing list prices, plus other factors. If people are buying David Arthur 1147 at $375, then it is cult-ish. (BTW I love this wine.)

If you can find it on www.winesearcher.com for under 2X mailing list prices, it is not a "cult".

I like the Justin Reserve Isos being listed as a "cult" wine...

Totally looks like someone cleaning out their cellar and putting a happy face on it. I don't think so....

They left out one small thing that defined cult wines of the 1990's... They're supposed to taste pretty good too.

Justin “Reserve Isosceles”, 2002 LOL. This is the most rediculous thing I heard this century!

Araujo Syrah, 2000 This is a cult. The real one is a Cab but the Syrah definitely qualifies too.

Vineyard 29 “Hurricane Cuvee” Vineyard 29 wines when they were made from Grace Vyd were considered cult. Today they are very good but not cult. And the $25 Hurricane Cuveé is hardly a cult. I think anyone can buy one right now.

Harlan “The Maiden” 2000 Any wine with the name "Harlan" is true cult.

Bond “Matriarch”, 2000 But this "Harlan made" stuff, although it costs like a cult, is not a cult.

Blankiet Merlot, 2001 Could be considered cult. Blankiet used to be one of the real cults. Merlot?

Turley “Hayne Vinyard” Petite Syrah, 2002 Hard to get but not impossible. In the past true cults were all Cab based.

Herb Lamb Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon, 2000 I assume this is HL. Wine made from Herb Lamb grapes were pretty much considered cult back when. I don't think that HL is a true cult but it is as close as one can get.

Araujo Cabernet, 2000 Anything with the name "Araujo" on it is a cult.

Merus, 2000 An expensive newcomer wannabe.

La Sirena Cabernet Sauvignon, 1998 Hiedi Barretts label. This stuff is terrible. I have tasted a lot of LS wines and never found one that rated above an 89.

David Arthur “Elevation 1147”, 2002 This was definitely a cult in the 1990's but quality has gone kaput recently.

Grace Cabernet Sauvignon, 2000 Yes! A true cult.

Hundred Acre Gold, 2005 An expensive newcomer wannabe.

Just my 2¢.

David,

I agree 100%.

It's funny how different all the wine boards are. I only frequent this one and ebob once in a while. But this same post sure is stirring up things over on the other board....

I'll be that Cathy and Fred Weisbrodt take a deduction for something other than the true market value of these wines on their taxes next year. If I paid $1,100/couple, I'd want something other than overpriced rejects. Sure, it's for a good cause, but still ... I'd have a hard time enjoying myself with the knowledge that the "donors" are probably dumping crap.