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Subject: Loring Wine Company 2006 Spring Release Mailer

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baron45

Grape Truck Driver
Posts:28

01/28/2008 11:51 AM
As you may have read in our Fall Mailer, we think that the 2006 vintage wines are the best we've ever made. And as good as the Fall Selection wines were, we think the Spring Selection might be The Best of the Best. We know that it strains credibility when you hear a winery proclaim "Vintage of the Century" every year. As a consumer myself, I know I get tired of it. I hope you'll recognize that we've tried to be fair when describing our wines in the past - even if that meant saying the wines were just so-so. So it's with some trepidation that I give such glowing reviews to our 2006s, since I know I'm placing our reputation on the line here. But we think the wines really are that good. We've been drinking all of the 2006 vintage Pinots since bottling - and they keep getting better. The Fall Release wines are turning into very plush wines. The Spring Release wines are showing the same plushness, but they're a bit bigger in nature. They're almost as big as the 2002s and 2003s, but with lower alcohol and better acid. In short, they're better balanced - and damn tasty! Our website will go live for ordering at 12:01am Pacific time on Wednesday, January 30th. Our 2006s all have an MSRP of $50 per 750ml bottle. As mailing list members, you'll be able to purchase them for $46, and shipping is included at no additional charge. Just a reminder, we're 100% screw cap on all of our wines. We're currently able to ship wine to all states except Maryland and Utah. We can either ship direct to you, or ship via a compliance company. In some cases, you will be required to pay sales tax since our shipping license with certain states require that - sorry. Kimberly and I often get requests to donate wine for charity events - and we always feel bad that we don't have something special to send. It's special or unique bottles that help to generate more money for the charity. We aren't able to do large format bottles since there aren't any available with a screw top finish. So we decided that we'd create a special bottling another way. What we decided to do was honor some of the people who came before us - the people that helped to pioneer Pinot Noir in California. For the second bottling in the series, we were extremely lucky to get Gray Hartley and Frank Ostini of Hitching Post Wines to do the blend for us. Frank and Gray starting making Pinot Noir in Santa Barbara long before it was the cool, hip thing to do. And Frank was just crazy enough to feature those Pinot Noirs at his restaurant, The Hitching Post. Frank and Gray definitely helped build the stage upon which Pinot Noir became a star. We can't thank them enough for their vision, commitment, and friendship. They were kind enough to offer up their time and palates to create a special wine for us. We allowed them carte blanche to taste through any and all of the barrels in our winery to create a unique blend. Kimberly and I decided that we would offer a small amount of this wine to people on our mailing list. We know that many of you like to collect such things, so we thought this would be a good way to help a charity that Kimberly and I like to support. Since there were only 25 cases made, and a lot will be going to charity auctions, please realize there isn't much to go around. The price is very high - but 100% of the sales price will be donated to charity. Kimberly and I will be donating the proceeds to the families of vineyard workers Rogelio Reyes and Ramon Cisneros Acosta who tragically died in a vineyard accident at Clos Pepe Vineyard last year. Here are some notes about the Spring Release wines (listed from north to south): 2006 Russell Family Vineyard, Paso Robles - 500 Cases Produced - 14.6 % Alcohol From an incredibly steep, limestone vineyard on the West Side - this wine is intense without being heavy. Surprisingly, it's the most elegant of our Spring Release wines, despite coming from an area known more for Rhone Style wines. Black and red fruit profile, with nice baking spice elements. The wine has a nice touch of oak, good acidity, and sweet tannins that balance out the fruit. 2006 Aubaine Vineyard, San Luis Obispo - 225 Cases Produced - 14.1 % Alcohol This is the third of our three new vineyards in 2006. Aubaine is an amazing site located just north of Santa Maria along the coast between Nipomo and Pismo Beach. We're really excited about this vineyard. The wine is dominated by a very beautiful deep red fruit nose - one of those wines that makes you want to curl up into the glass for a while. We wish all our wines smelled this good. The wine is big and plush, but carries the weight well. This is Kimberly's favorite or our 2006s, and a toss up for my wine of the vintage. 2006 Rancho Ontiveros Vineyard, Santa Maria Valley - 250 Cases Produced - 13.9 % Alcohol This is a HUGE wine. Big, deep, super black fruit nose. Super deep and plush on the palate. It doesn't really present as a typical Santa Maria Pinot - more like Sta. Rita Hills. This is a WOW wine for me every time I taste it, and is one of my favorites of the vintage. 2006 Clos Pepe Vineyard, Sta. Rita Hills - 650 Cases Produced - 14.7 % Alcohol Big, focused, intense wine - but what else would you expect from Clos Pepe? Big black and red fruit nose with lots of spice (white pepper, nutmeg). Very focused and plush on the palate, with great acidity and balance. This wine will probably age well, and given how good it tastes now, I think this will prove to be the best wine we've ever made. It continues to impress us more and more as it develops in bottle. The only reason I don't say it's the best right now is that it is a little tight - and I hate to guess too much. 2006 Cargasacchi Vineyard, Sta. Rita Hills - 600 Cases Produced - 14.1 % Alcohol A "classic" Cargasacchi Pinot, with deep red fruit and forest floor nose, plush midpalate, and great finish. Peter is constantly experimenting in the vineyard - fine tuning his already proven farming practices. Whatever he's doing...he's doing a great job! We really can't tell you how excited we are for you to try these wines. And thank you so much for being on our list. Without your interest in our wines, and your support throughout the years, Kimberly and I wouldn't be able to live our dream.

love_cab_chard User is Offline

Master of Wine
Posts:12501

01/29/2008 1:18 PM
Passing on these as well.

JimmyV

Central Connecticut

Wine Connoisseur
Posts:5112

01/29/2008 3:26 PM
Aubert comes up in two days, and MacPhail and KB come up next week. Any Loring purchase will have to wait so that I can see if there will be any money leftover. Even if there is, my Loring order will have to be a modest. So if anyone wants any of these at cost, let me know and we'll see what we can work out.

Beta testing a new signature.

Budman

Master of Wine
Posts:11879

01/29/2008 3:48 PM
My purchase will be about 25% of what I usually buy.

Pool Boy

Laurl, MD (DC suburb)

Master of Wine
Posts:13711

01/29/2008 4:43 PM
I am glad to have tried Loring wines in the past and I wish him all the best. But this is an easy pass for me.

www.roguefood.com -- www.cellartracker.com

JimmyV

Central Connecticut

Wine Connoisseur
Posts:5112

01/29/2008 5:19 PM
Fearing that I will regret passing on an offering, I often check Wine-Searcher to see if I will get a "second chance" to find this wine in the marketplace at a fair price in the event that I have a change of heart down the road. A quick check for 2005 Lorings reveals that there are several pages of hits for last year's releases at under $42 per bottle, and many as low as $35. While it is nice to be on a mailing list to ensure availability, wineries that place so much of their wine at retail ought to do a better job of offering discounts to direct purchasers who made them what they are today. (See Match). Yes, I know shipping is free. But shipping from retail stores is not so high that it will make a case of $35 bottles surpass the mailer cost. It is hard to come up with a reason to pay $46 for a wine that can be so readily obtained at retail for less.

Beta testing a new signature.

R8der

Livermore, CA

Barrel Filler
Posts:1085

01/29/2008 6:02 PM
Posted By JimmyV on 01/29/2008 5:19 PM Yes, I know shipping is free. But shipping from retail stores is not so high that it will make a case of $35 bottles surpass the mailer cost. It is hard to come up with a reason to pay $46 for a wine that can be so readily obtained at retail for less. Not only is the price often lower with shipping thrown in, but if I can find it out of state then I don't have to contend with tax either. I passed on the last Loring mailer, and I'm going to have to pass on this one to. I also had to pass on the Kutch, and Ketcham is on the bubble. There are just too many mailers out there! Rochioli second tier is coming any day, and I always get a case of SB from that. Williams Selyem is imminent...what's next?? Chris

Drew

Sammamish, WA

Wine Bottler
Posts:3197

01/29/2008 6:27 PM
There's a sub 14% Loring!?!

Randy Wigginton User is Offline

Wine Connoisseur
Posts:5512

01/29/2008 11:09 PM
To be fair, the 2005 Lorings were not his strongest efforts. Alas, I will be passing on this one as well :-( Too much wine, not enough liver cells.

Al_ksyrah

Barrel Filler
Posts:1046

01/30/2008 1:59 AM
but if I can find it out of state then I don't have to contend with tax either. Well, there's this thing called use tax on your CA State Income Tax form. I'm sure, like me, you pay that tax because it's the right thing to do and because you never know when you'll be tapped to serve as Attorney General or run for President. -Al

Budman

Master of Wine
Posts:11879

01/30/2008 4:35 AM
I ended up buying 4 bottles just to keep my Loring buying streak alive. It was Brian's pinots, after all, that got me started moving away from buying nothing but cab.

Vine

Milwaukee, WI

Grape Fermenter
Posts:695

01/30/2008 9:44 AM
I purchased Loring at retail. Not a hard choice when you factor in the 6 bottle discount + ease of simply walking into the store to buy.

Budman

Master of Wine
Posts:11879

01/30/2008 10:47 AM
I usually buy the lower production Lorings direct. Not a lot of them show up at retail around here.

JimmyV

Central Connecticut

Wine Connoisseur
Posts:5112

01/30/2008 11:02 AM
Appropos of the discussion on multiple wines from a single winery, I haven't found the lower production wines to be an uptick in quality such that they warrant the higher price that direct purchasing brings. The feeling of superiority for owning something that few others own has worn off for me.

Beta testing a new signature.

R8der

Livermore, CA

Barrel Filler
Posts:1085

01/30/2008 11:16 AM
Posted By Al_ksyrah on 01/30/2008 1:59 AM but if I can find it out of state then I don't have to contend with tax either. Well, there's this thing called use tax on your CA State Income Tax form. I'm sure, like me, you pay that tax because it's the right thing to do and because you never know when you'll be tapped to serve as Attorney General or run for President. -Al I give this state more than enough of my money already....and they spend it with reckless abandon. I'll just consider it the Economic Incentive money from the Feds (you know, that money that I officially earned) that I'm not going to get a red cent of. Chris

David Niederauer User is Offline

Los Gatos, CA

Master Sommelier
Posts:15756

01/31/2008 9:14 PM
It all depends on which laws one wants to abide by and which laws one wants to break. Support your local merchants or soon there will not be any local merchants. Loring is an absolute 'MUST BUY" IMO!

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