Nicolaysen Family Vineyards Late Harvest Pinot Blanc Mini-Vertical 2-Pack
$64.99 (Normally $100.00) 35% off List Price
2002 Nicolaysen Family Vineyards Late Harvest Pinot Blanc, Bien Nacido Vineyard 375ml
2003 Nicolaysen Family Vineyards Late Harvest Pinot Blanc, Bien Nacido Vineyard 375ml

Winery website

I bought 2 sets, and suspect bkarlan was the 2nd one buying 2 sets. Since IIRC, he likes his dessert wines.


Edit: For those following, mill's in Florida, I'm in California, and it must be bkarlan lighting up New Mexico.

Wow this looks interesting! Can't resist.

Great stuff! Just had the 2003 tonight. Nice bit of age on it. Pretty thick, almost syrupy. Dark golden color, a bit oxidized. Sweet but balanced. A little honey and brown sugar tasting with some baking spices, dried fig and apricot. Almost port like at this point, versus late harvest or ice wine (to compare).

MarkDaSpark wrote:I bought 2 sets, and suspect bkarlan was the 2nd one buying 2 sets. Since IIRC, he likes his dessert wines.


Edit: For those following, mill's in Florida, I'm in California, and it must be bkarlan lighting up New Mexico.

Ding ding ding

I love Syrah more though

I've always held out hope for a return of either the Esoterica Late Harvest Viognier or the Shadow Canyon Paeonia Late Harvest Pinot Blanc. Having said that, I'm sure I could force myself to give this a whirl while I wait.

parkermc wrote:I've always held out hope for a return of either the Esoterica Late Harvest Viognier or the Shadow Canyon Paeonia Late Harvest Pinot Blanc. Having said that, I'm sure I could force myself to give this a whirl while I wait.

I would love to have a chance at either of those but Kent told me in an email awhile back that there is not enough of the Esoterica LH Viognier for another woot offer and Shadow Canyon went out of business, so we are left with this instead.

Not sure if I can justify the cost of this offer. Black Tie dessert wine. Thinking....

Woot. You're killing me, i just spent about 600-800 bucks during the past week on important stuff. Now you expect me to spend more on this???!?!

Shut up and take my money...

Price is way too high for this avg quality...pass...

bkarlan wrote:I love Syrah more though

Thus the "like" dessert wine. I love PS more.

parkermc wrote:I've always held out hope for a return of either the Esoterica Late Harvest Viognier or the Shadow Canyon Paeonia Late Harvest Pinot Blanc. Having said that, I'm sure I could force myself to give this a whirl while I wait.

Now if there was only someone out there with several bottles of each left .....

Cesare wrote:Nicolaysen Family Vineyards Late Harvest Pinot Blanc Mini-Vertical 2-Pack
$64.99 (Normally $100.00) 35% off List Price
2002 Nicolaysen Family Vineyards Late Harvest Pinot Blanc, Bien Nacido Vineyard 375ml
2003 Nicolaysen Family Vineyards Late Harvest Pinot Blanc, Bien Nacido Vineyard 375ml

Winery website

Must be missing something of this.

Winery website indicates:
2002 Bien Nacido Vineyard Late Harvest Pinot Blanc (375 ml) x $30 vs. Cesare's indicated list price of $50. The 2003 was not listed on the website order form.

Can anyone shed any light on this? Just curious as to what the normal retail is before I purchase. Was ready to purchase...Now on the fence!

Just rechecked the winery website, A link takes you to the Paso Port Wine Company where it is indeed $50 per bottle for the 2002 and 2003 while the pdf order form on the winery website has the 2002 listed for $30....

WINES: # Bottles Price
2007 Our 11 x $20 =
2007 Torgy’s Vineyard Petit Sirah x $20 =
2001 Alisos Vineyard Syrah x $38 =
2001 Alisos Vineyard Late Harvest Gewürztraminer (375 ml) x $55 =
2002 Brianna’s Vineyard Syrah x $35 =
2002 Alisos Vineyard Syrah x $38 =
2002 Bien Nacido Vineyard Syrah x $44 =
2002 Bien Nacido Vineyard Late Harvest Pinot Blanc (375 ml) x $30 =
2002 Alisos Vineyard Late Harvest Gewürztraminer (375 ml) x $50 =
Sampler Case (price reflects 15% discount) x $421 =

"Confused"!....I guess the price increased for this woot. No other logical explanation.

Cesare wrote:Great stuff! Just had the 2003 tonight. Nice bit of age on it. Pretty thick, almost syrupy. Dark golden color, a bit oxidized. Sweet but balanced. A little honey and brown sugar tasting with some baking spices, dried fig and apricot. Almost port like at this point, versus late harvest or ice wine (to compare).

The 2003 was very nice, but I think at this price point it's a pass...

Edit: Looking at Cellartracker confirms the lackluster pricepoint if this were for 2x2003 at least.

MarkDaSpark wrote:Now if there was only someone out there with several bottles of each left .....

Like me.

bobrush12866 wrote:Must be missing something of this.

Winery website indicates:
2002 Bien Nacido Vineyard Late Harvest Pinot Blanc (375 ml) x $30 vs. Cesare's indicated list price of $50. The 2003 was not listed on the website order form.

Can anyone shed any light on this? Just curious as to what the normal retail is before I purchase. Was ready to purchase...Now on the fence!

Just rechecked the winery website, A link takes you to the Paso Port Wine Company where it is indeed $50 per bottle for the 2002 and 2003 while the pdf order form on the winery website has the 2002 listed for $30....

WINES: # Bottles Price
2007 Our 11 x $20 =
2007 Torgy’s Vineyard Petit Sirah x $20 =
2001 Alisos Vineyard Syrah x $38 =
2001 Alisos Vineyard Late Harvest Gewürztraminer (375 ml) x $55 =
2002 Brianna’s Vineyard Syrah x $35 =
2002 Alisos Vineyard Syrah x $38 =
2002 Bien Nacido Vineyard Syrah x $44 =
2002 Bien Nacido Vineyard Late Harvest Pinot Blanc (375 ml) x $30 =
2002 Alisos Vineyard Late Harvest Gewürztraminer (375 ml) x $50 =
Sampler Case (price reflects 15% discount) x $421 =

"Confused"!....I guess the price increased for this woot. No other logical explanation.

Hey woot or winery rep, may we get an explaination on this?

Cesare wrote:Great stuff! Just had the 2003 tonight. Nice bit of age on it. Pretty thick, almost syrupy. Dark golden color, a bit oxidized. Sweet but balanced. A little honey and brown sugar tasting with some baking spices, dried fig and apricot. Almost port like at this point, versus late harvest or ice wine (to compare).

This was a nice wine, and Cesare's notes pretty much sum up my impressions and the consensus at our Gathering Labratting yesterday afternoon.

The issue is the price. If you're a serious fan of late harvest wines, drink them regularly, and buy them regularly whenever they come up, think about this one.

I drink late harvest wines infrequently. I enjoy them thoroughly when I do, but wouldn't want a steady diet of them. When I allocate limited wine budget dollars, the QPR here doesn't scream "must buy it".

bkarlan wrote:Hey woot or winery rep, may we get an explaination on this?

Hey there bharlan, Steve here from PasoPort, to answer your question about the PDF order form you are referring to, That order form was created about 5 years ago when the winery was still operational and all the wines listed on the form were available for sale. The 2002 Pinot Blanc pricing on the list was before the wine became a limited library wine and before the 2003 Pinot Blanc was released. PasoPort acquired the Nicolaysen dessert wines less than a year ago and when the inventory was purchased by us we needed to re-price the wines based on what we aquired them. The woot offering price is actually the 2006/2007 pricing well before the wine received 94 Points in Wine Enthusiast, that rating just occurred in October, 2011, so in retrospect, the woot offering is essentially matching the price the wine was being sold for 5 years ago. Let me know if this answers your question.

pasoport wrote:Hey there bharlan, Steve here from PasoPort, to answer your question about the PDF order form you are referring to, That order form was created about 5 years ago when the winery was still operational and all the wines listed on the form were available for sale. The 2002 Pinot Blanc pricing on the list was before the wine became a limited library wine and before the 2003 Pinot Blanc was released. PasoPort acquired the Nicolaysen dessert wines less than a year ago and when the inventory was purchased by us we needed to re-price the wines based on what we aquired them. The woot offering price is actually the 2006/2007 pricing well before the wine received 94 Points in Wine Enthusiast, that rating just occurred in October, 2011, so in retrospect, the woot offering is essentially matching the price the wine was being sold for 5 years ago. Let me know if this answers your question.

Thanks. It did. I was in for 2 woots at midnight and I am glad to see that you are here to answer questions. Like Sparky mentioned early I am always in for dessert wines.

Glad to make the purchase.

bkarlan wrote:Thanks. It did. I was in for 2 woots at midnight and I am glad to see that you are here to answer questions. Like Sparky mentioned early I am always in for dessert wines.

Glad to make the purchase.

Thanks, you won't be dissappointed, they are two very unique and delicious wines.....

pasoport wrote:Thanks, you won't be dissappointed, they are two very unique and delicious wines.....

My port selection is pretty extensive. I also enjoy Eis, and late harvest stuff.

I am assuming these are drink now wines? What do you recommend on a drinking window for these wines?

off topic... I know. Just wondering if a woot Brunello offering is in the works

chipgreen wrote:I would love to have a chance at either of those but Kent told me in an email awhile back that there is not enough of the Esoterica LH Viognier for another woot offer and Shadow Canyon went out of business, so we are left with this.....

Noooo! I have three bottles left (just one of those an Esoterica), so I think I'll go stare wistfully at them now.

Still on the edge on this offer. It's a bit $$$ for me to order multiples. Will keep reading for that slight push, however.

bkarlan wrote:My port selection is pretty extensive. I also enjoy Eis, and late harvest stuff.

I am assuming these are drink now wines? What do you recommend on a drinking window for these wines?

These wines are nearly a decade old and have aged beautifully during that time, the acidity in both vintages is quite nice, so with proper cellaring you should still be enjoying them through 2020.

rpm wrote:This was a nice wine, and Cesare's notes pretty much sum up my impressions and the consensus at our Gathering Labratting yesterday afternoon.

The issue is the price. If you're a serious fan of late harvest wines, drink them regularly, and buy them regularly whenever they come up, think about this one.

I drink late harvest wines infrequently. I enjoy them thoroughly when I do, but wouldn't want a steady diet of them. When I allocate limited wine budget dollars, the QPR here doesn't scream "must buy it".

I love noble rot late/ good acidic harvest wines, mostly from South Africa, but at this price I'd be going eiswein, Mosel or Austrian, until I really know the terrain.

parkermc wrote:Noooo! I have three bottles left (just one of those an Esoterica), so I think I'll go stare wistfully at them now.

Still on the edge on this offer. It's a bit $$$ for me to order multiples. Will keep reading for that slight push, however.

parkermc,
the thing to keep in mind here is that these wines are almost 10 years old, and have aged beautifully. They are not being offered in any retail establishments across the country. Other than woot, the only place to purchase these wines is directly from us. Our idea here was to provide woot with a wine offering they will probably not see again for quite some time.

Once I open them how long do I have to enjoy, and how do you store the open bottle? Thanks!

pasoport wrote:parkermc,
the thing to keep in mind here is that these wines are almost 10 years old, and have aged beautifully. They are not being offered in any retail establishments across the country. Other than woot, the only place to purchase these wines is directly from us. Our idea here was to provide woot with a wine offering they will probably not see again for quite some time.

Now, see, I like a winery that takes me up on my request to push me over the edge and buy. Very well done.

karlbachman wrote:Once I open them how long do I have to enjoy, and how do you store the open bottle? Thanks!

karlbachman,
If you store the balance of the bottle in the refrigerator, it will easily keep for two to three weeks. We regularly pour through a bottle in the tasting room over a period of five to six days with no detriment to the wine quality.

pasoport wrote:These wines are nearly a decade old and have aged beautifully during that time, the acidity in both vintages is quite nice, so with proper cellaring you should still be enjoying them through 2020.

The 2003 which I tasted yesterday was certainly very nice and it has some life in it. It wasn't, however, a wine that blew me away in the context of California late harvest wines (let alone in the context of Alsatian late harvest wines or German or French). I'm not convinced it will not be past its prime by 2020.

I think the offering of a well-aged wine is a very good thing here on wine.woot, and to be encouraged, because aged California wine is hard to come by commercially.

I think you're facing some resistance here because wooters expect a bargain -- QPR or quality-price ratio, is everything here. My sense is that the price for the wine is a fair price, but a full fair price.

Again, kudos for offering this interesting wine.

rpm wrote:The 2003 which I tasted yesterday was certainly very nice and it has some life in it. It wasn't, however, a wine that blew me away in the context of California late harvest wines (let alone in the context of Alsatian late harvest wines or German or French). I'm not convinced it will not be past its prime by 2020.

I think the offering of a well-aged wine is a very good thing here on wine.woot, and to be encouraged, because aged California wine is hard to come by commercially.

I think you're facing some resistance here because wooters expect a bargain -- QPR or quality-price ratio, is everything here. My sense is that the price for the wine is a fair price, but a full fair price.

Again, kudos for offering this interesting wine.

rpm, it's a shame you were not able to taste the 2002 as well. It has even more concentration and complexity than the 2003, and probably greater ageability. Unfortunately, I don't have enough inventory of the 2002 to be offering multiple bottle purchases through woot.

pasoport wrote:parkermc,
the thing to keep in mind here is that these wines are almost 10 years old, and have aged beautifully. They are not being offered in any retail establishments across the country. Other than woot, the only place to purchase these wines is directly from us. Our idea here was to provide woot with a wine offering they will probably not see again for quite some time.

Completely understandable and the explanation is appreciated but I'd be willing to bet that at a price point of $59.99 instead of $64.99 you could have doubled the sales for this offer.

As it is, I'm used to paying $30-$40 tops for a 375ml of ice or dessert wine at full price, so to me, a good deal would be around $20/bottle.

The two wines mentioned in several posts above, Kent Rasmussen Esoterica Late Harvest Viognier and Shadow Canyon Paeonia Late Harvest Pinot Blanc Bien Nacido Vineyard, were both offered here for $15/bottle in the past.

As much as I'm sure that I would enjoy this wine, the rent is too damn high!

chipgreen wrote:
As much as I'm sure that I would enjoy this wine, the rent is too damn high!

Agreed. I would absolutely love to try this, but not at this price. Even $25 a bottle would have probably pushed me in, but this is just too rich for my blood.

North316 wrote:Agreed. I would absolutely love to try this, but not at this price. Even $25 a bottle would have probably pushed me in, but this is just too rich for my blood.

QFT

So I got a shipping notice last week stating these shipped, but FedEx says the number doesn't exist.

ThunderThighs wrote:I've got an email into CS about the "not found" problem. Hopefully we'll get it resolved quickly. Sorry for the inconvenience.

In the meantime, you might try tracking by reference (your order number).

TO use FedEx's “Track by Reference” : Your order number is on your receipt which you can get via Stuff You Bought. Leave the Account Number blank. Enter your order number in the reference box. Next, select your country and enter your zip code. Click TRACK and voilà, you may have tracking info.

Thanks for the reply TT, however the reference tracking yields the response: "Not Found"