by Julie Brosterman is the CEO & Founder of Women & Wine

Growing up, cult referred to a “group that weird kids or young adults got involved with and then their parents had to hire people to do an intervention."
 
As someone who lives for the next food and wine experience, when I hear the word cult now, I tend to lean in, eager to hear whatever is the latest and most coveted wine release coming out of Napa or elsewhere. Did they drink it, how did they acquire it, will they hang on long enough to resell it at an outrageous price?

Hard core cult wine followers wait months, and sometimes years, on waiting lists until they finally move up into a position where some of the coveted wine may be offered to them by the winery. And, if they don’t act to purchase immediately (sometimes for thousands of dollars) they will be dropped from the list like a hot potato.

So is it all hype? Or are these wines the Rosetta stones of winemaking? Will a taste of one of these cult specimens suddenly reveal to you all the nuance and insight that you’ll ever need to be considered a connoisseur of wine?  Will you finally be a "member of the club" if you can brag about having these gems in your cellar even though you might never drink a single bottle?

Yes, Yes and Yes.

Like most things precious – whether it’s couture or collectable cars – the fact is that there’s only so much to go around. And at releases of just a couple of hundred cases (there are 12 bottles to a case) – the wines from these cult producers can be gone even before you ever hear about them.

So what’s a devoted lover of wine to do? Try to buy the next "bound to be’"cult wines and hang onto a bottle or two just in case they become the next Screaming Eagle or Harlan?

My personal strategy is to find the next new label by these “rock star” winemakers who have an outstanding track record and hope that the word won’t get out too soon so I can get in on some of these coveted new gems.

The Hunt is On – My Personal New Favorites:

2005 Lindstrom Cabernet Sauvignon

Yes, you too can try/drink right now – a wine that everyone will be coveting by Thanksgiving.

As one of the most highly regarded winemakers in the Napa Valley, Celia Welch Masyczek has earned a reputation for her winemaking artistry and her commitment to crafting wines that embody the essential character of great vineyards. Celia’s portfolio of clients has included top wineries such as Scarecrow, Cornerstone Cellars, D.R. Stephens, Hollywood & Vine, Staglin Family Vineyard, and Hartwell Estate.

We have a few bottles at our store Wine Valet at Two Rodeo in Beverly Hills, which we will hold for some of our most coveted and devoted clients (or ourselves). It’s downright yummy – and, as is usual with one of these great wines, it just received a 98 point score from Vinfolio.

Lindstrom’s website describes this newly released wine as “highlighted by voluptuous flavors of black cherry and dark chocolate, as well as nuanced elements derived from Nicali’s distinctive tapestry of 12   separate vineyard blocks, Lindstrom Cabernet Sauvignon is a true artisan wine. Patiently aged in new French oak and bottled unfined and unfiltered, only a modest 325 cases were produced of our inaugural 2005 vintage.  Beautifully balanced now, this wine has a rich expressive character that evokes the spirit of the Stags Leap District and promises to reward cellaring in the years to come. “
The wine is sold out from the winery but you might still find some around in retailers in CA.
From $95 a bottle – 350 cases
Names may be placed on a mailing list for 2009.

Phifer-Pavitt Date Night Cabernet 2005

You have to love the name of this wine and would adore winery owner Suzanne Pavitt from the second you met her. Her southern charm sweeps you off your feet and this first release will too. Drinking beautifully now, this wine is available at Wine Valet, but our enthusiasm for this wine at $82 bottle means that it probably won’t be around for long (just 300 cases made).

As the story goes, Suzanne and her husband (he’s a city guy/she’s the country gal) did a lot of decision-making over their married lives on what they called their Date Night. So it seemed only natural when they decided to purchase the property to make Phifer-Pavitt that the decision was made on one of those evenings and thus the name Date Night.

The 100% organically farmed Bordeaux style grapes come from the Arthur Spencer Family Farm in the hands of winemaker Ted Osbourne (Storybook Vineyards).

The wine has herbal essences, smooth and silky blackberry, chocolate. Not sure if I wanted to share this one – but I can’t seem to stop telling people about it.

Limited retail availability.  Mailing list by invitation only.

2005 Shelter Headwater Cabernet
There’s so much mystery surrounding this wine that it wasn’t surprising to me that the bottle was made of sexy black glass with an austere black and white label. Rumor has it – and no one is dispelling it – that this is Harlan (one of the ultimate rock star producers) fruit poured into an empty bottle with a cork stuck in it (who knows?) The notes on tasting this wine are filled with complex and lingering flavours. Some suggest mountain fruit – possibly from Robert Foley – but still no one has come forward to claim title to the origin of the juice or the winemaker responsible for this gorgeous effort. The website mentions a “collective” – hopefully, the street address on the website will indicate that this will be an on-going effort. They’ve gotten off to an amazing start.

503 cases $60 bottle – buy it now before it’s gone.

1990 Paul Roger Cuvee Winston Churchill

I just read a review to see if anyone else craves this wine – a cult favorite that’s almost impossible to find – and found an online review and comment posted by a fan that said that after reading the description by the author he wanted to go home and drink some Yellowtail. That’s how bumed he was that it wasn’t available.

This champagne is so delicious that it still has another 3 to 5 years on it – maybe more – and it is so rare (it was bottled in 1975 on the 10th anniversary of Churchill’s death) that most champagne lovers have never had it, much less heard of it. "The exact blend is a well guarded secret. It is simply said to be “the best of the best”.”
We have 6 bottles at $400.

Auteur Hyland Pinot Noir 2006

It’s sad when there is such a limited amount of great wine (only 291 cases) but even sadder to find that this wine will be discontinued in 2007. At under $50 a bottle, smooth, complex, perfectly focused with brilliant acidity – pinot noir lovers – this is it. Blackberry, cinnamon, licorice, cherry and coffee bean – I could serve this wine everyday and not tire of it. Find it while you can.

The Last Word
Keep your friends close and your wine collecting friends closer.  Inevitably, our friends who are knee deep in some of these cult favorites and who have watched them gain rapid appreciation  sometimes  tire of having so much of the same thing in their cellar. They get antsy and want to get rid of their holdings so they can buy what’s new and hot (sometimes they don’t even think the wine is as great as they once thought it was). Sellers of cult wines can offer these wines up to auctions – but if you make them a market offer and they don’t have to deal with the hassle – you just may find yourself with some beautifully stored wines with a lot of age on them.
And finally, when you do get your allocation of one of these beauties, try splitting it with another passionate wine lover. You will have more room in your cellar for the next great find while keeping your hand in the market (and the cost down).
Oh, and if you’re planning on cracking open a few, my email is Julie@womenwine.com.

Julie Brosterman is the CEO & Founder of Women & Wine, a multi-media social network and events company for lovers of wine, food and travel. The company owns a savvy wine boutique on the P-1 level at Two Rodeo Drive in Beverly Hills called Wine Valet (310)274-9224 and www.wine-valet.com