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Spare Us The Kudos
Over the years, we've honed our negotiating skills to the sharpest of points, taking full advantage of member buying power to deliver great prices on WineAccess. Rarely have we done our job as well as we've done it today. But just this once, spare us the kudos. Today, it's hard for us to feel good about the heavily discounted price.
In 2005, the inimitable Tony Soter decided to consolidate his winegrowing activities in the Willamette Valley. It was a tough call for Soter who had nursed this magnificent property to 92-93pt Parker/Tanzer acclaim. Finally, if reluctantly, one of Oregon's greatest winegrowers pulled the trigger, selling this 45-acre parcel to a Romanian couple that shared Soter's passion for Beacon Hill.
Here's why Soter's call was so tough. Beacon Hill Estate enjoys a magical setting, marvelously situated in the northwest corner of the Willamette Valley, protected by both the gentle folds of the Coastal Range, and the sharp ridges of the Chehalem Mountains. Shortly after signing on the dotted line, Razvan and Felicia Andreescu spent freely, fashioning Soter's Pinot Noir oasis into a biodynamically farmed viticultural garden.
The Andreescus would give their inaugural 2007 Pinot Noirs three years of bottle aging before bringing them to market. It was at that time that their marketing people reached out to us, asking if they could send samples to WineAccess. Given what we knew about Beacon Hill, we were all ears.
"We'll send you all three Pinot Noirs." We were told. "Two are from the estate. The last is from purchased fruit off of Blakeslee Vineyards." Ok. They went on. "We don't have a lot of wine, but we need brand exposure." We love that 'brand exposure' line. "We can offer WineAccess a hundred cases -- but only of our 'little' wine." Hmmm.
Two days later Fred the FedEx guy arrived with a 6-pack -- two bottles each of the three 2007 Beacon Hill Pinot Noirs. The product sheets enclosed described each wine, confirming retail prices of $30, $35, and $52 respectively. We waited a few days, then pulled the corks and poured each Pinot Noir into Zalto Universals. It wouldn't take long to figure out where we were headed.
The first wine -- the 'little' one -- was made from purchased fruit from the Blakeslee Vineyard over in the Chehalem Mountains. The color was light ruby, the aromas pure and precise -- a bowl full of bing cherries. The attack was raspberry juicy, medium-bodied and elegant. Solid. We went on.
Wines #2 and #3 were the Beacon Hill "Estate" Pinot Noirs -- something else altogether. The 2007 "Estate" was glistening bright ruby to the edge, with explosive aromas of black cherry and red raspberry, tinged with underbrush. The core was rich, juicy, and flashy, showing off all its Beacon Hill pedigree. We knew where we were going. Just had to figure out how to get there.
When we picked up the phone to call the winery, we assumed our game faces. If a winery wants 'brand exposure' on WineAccess -- if they want to touch twice as many American wine enthusiasts with a story like this one than there are subscribers to Wine Spectator -- they know the rules. They don't pay us (WineAccess doesn't accept advertising dollars per se). They pay our membership in the form of discounts. Beacon Hill knew full well they'd have to sharpen their pencils if they wanted a WineAccess cameo -- even if they didn't yet know for which wine the pencil would be sharpened.
It would take 20 minutes. First we negotiated the bottle price. No sense dropping the bomb prematurely. We worked our way down, finally establishing today's $18.99 bottle price. The table was set. It was time to bring home the bacon.
We told the winery that while the Blakeslee was interesting, they needed to do better. We wanted the 2007 "Estate" and we had no wiggle room. After the requisite belligerence (understandable), and a bit of sabre rattling (expected), we came to an agreement, though it's pretty hard to feel good about it now.
Here you have it. A hundred cases of one of the most alluring 2007 Oregon Pinot Noirs we've tasted in some time are up for grabs. $35 on release. Today, a truly embarrassing $18.99 on cases -- the lowest price in America. (Sorry.)
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Tasting Notes
2007 Beacon Hill Estate Pinot Noir Willamette Valley Yamhill-Carlton District
"Bright ruby to the edge. Gorgeous aromas of dark cherry and small red fruits, laced with underbrush. Juicy and lively on the attack with a lovely black cherry/raspberry core, buttressed by Burgundian vibrancy. Drink now-2014."
-- WineAccess Travel Log
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*Important Shipping Information
- Orders will begin shipping the week of May 21, 2012.
- You will be provided with the exact shipment date during checkout.
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