This De Negoce review shares our experience with this private label from well-known negociant Cameron Hughes (Negociant? Think “negotiator,” a wine merchant/) TL;DR – so far, we’re very happy with the quality, value and customer service, if you’re willing to sacrifice the “prestige label.” (Scroll down for a De Negoce referral code for $25 off first purchase).
Why a De Negoce review?
There are many discount wine sellers (see our short summary page), but, in our experience, you’re often still “paying for the label” (i.e. paying a premium for the fame-factor of the winery). We decided to try a private label, and ran across De Negoce, (pronounced “duh nuh gos,” roughly), a negociant label from Cameron Hughes.
What is De Negoce?
Cameron Hughes is the mastermind behind the concept. Having made a name for himself as a negociant with 20 years experience, he began a private label, Cameron Hughes wine, for unbottled, surplus wines from well-known wineries. He did have to sell the Cameron Hughes private label brand (yes, Cameron Hughes wines is no longer owned by Cameron Hughes), and he’s refined the concept at De Negoce wines.
The “tweak” he added, (which helps with the business’ cash flow) is adding a “futures” model – for new bottlings, the customer pays for the wine before it’s bottled. Pre-subscribing the bottling allows De Negoce to offer huge discounts for those jumping in first. However, the discount comes with many unknowns, including:
- purchasers are relying entirely on the credibility of the bottler (in this case, Cameron Hughes) for a fair representation of the wine’s potential and value. Because of important non-disclosure requirements from the winery, only general descriptors – year, AVA, varietal(s), sometimes vineyard – can be disclosed, along with subjective tasting notes.
- customers only have an approximate date for the bottling and shipping, and,
- the wines do need to be laid down for weeks or months to settle (the “bottle shock” effect).
Our De Negoce review preliminary verdict
We are still relatively new to them, so this De Negoce review will be updated periodically, but, after maybe 10 purchases, we have been impressed with the value and quality of the wine. In fact, De Negoce has become our primary and preferred wines source! (We’re not people who care about the label 😉 )
We’ve cracked open some Cabernet Sauvignon’s and Syrah’s from regions and AVA’s we know fairly well (Napa 🙂 ), and, in our estimation, we’d expect the wine to retail at 3 times the price or more. We’ve also experimented with some Australian wines – Cabernet Sauvignon’s from Barossa and Coonawarra, and have been really blown away by the quality and price – the Coonawarra was $13 a bottle and easily rivals a $50+ Napa Cab, in our opinion, and we’re drinking these without any aging! (We have been experimenting with various overnight decanting techniques – even just opening the bottle the night before makes a surprising difference!)
If nothing else, do sign up for their email list! One of favorite ways of purchasing has been through email special offers, such as a case of Sonoma (DryCreek) Cabernet Sauvignon at $12/bottle, with free shipping. Honestly, damn good wine, and obviously the price makes it “every day” friendly!
It’s not without “misses,” though – we did have an Australian GSM which was a little too harsh, in our opinion. To be fair, aging in the bottle would likely even it out, but, we don’t have the luxury of cellaring wines. (Note: these are wines from the “bottle shop,” – individual bottles held in inventory after the initial “futures” sale and bottling.) We have ordered some wine on the “futures” program, at serious discounts, so we’ll see how that goes.
As mentioned previously, with a private label, revealing too much information about the source of the wine can be a “sue-able” offense, so you’re basing your buying decisions entirely on the year, varietal(s), AVA, and sometimes vineyard name, along with tasting notes. That’s not a lot of information – no independent reviews or other independent source to rely on – so there is a “leap of faith” associated with the discount. However, with our purchases to date, we have found the tasting notes have been fair and relevant (as opposed to over-hyped and tortuous), and, it’s been a fun adventure.
We’re looking forward to more experiences with them, which of course we’ll share in a De Negoce review update.
De Negoce referral code for first time purchasers
Well, they’ve been monkeying with their referral program and it doesn’t appear to be working properly at this time. However, if you go directly to their website – DeNegoce.com – you should get an offer for 15% off your first purchase, not too bad for already discounted, really good quality wine!
