Full Pull

• By Paul Zitarelli
  Full Pull Ring Out (Final Offer of 2018), 12/22/2018

  (Full Pull & Friends CVBDX (FPF-25)) Hello friends. This is our final offer of 2018. We’ll plan to stay out of your inboxes until January 6, when you can expect our first offer of 2019. In the meantime, after our open hours today (Saturday; 11am-7pm) we are CLOSED for pickups for the next few weeks, and our first TPU pickup day in 2019 will be Thursday January 10. Today’s offer will include reorder links for a handful of our well-loved in-house wines – three from the Block Wines line, four from Full Pull & Friends, and one from Starside – but first, we’ll do what we’ve done every year since 2009: excerpt Tennyson’s In Memoriam. Ring out, wild bells, to the wild sky, The flying cloud, the frosty light; The year is dying in the night; Ring out, wild bells, and let him die. Ring out the old, ring in the new, Ring, happy bells, across the snow: The year is going, let him go; Ring out the false, ring in the true. Ring out the grief that saps the mind, For those that here we see no more, Ring out the feud of rich and poor, Ring in redress to all mankind. I have always loved quoting those stanzas, the way they speak to the cleansing grace of the end of a year. But this year is complicated. My father died, suddenly and unexpectedly, on December 3 (here is a remembrance I wrote soon after). And while I would normally be inclined to keep family matters like this private, that doesn’t seem appropriate for my dad, who had become interwoven with Full Pull over the past few years. He loved working the tasting bar on Thursdays and telling stories. (Some of them were even true.) He loved Full Pull, loved our team, and really loved our list members. So in addition to the thanks I would normally give to you all, for all the support you’ve given to Full Pull in 2018, I also want to say thank you for enlivening and enriching the last years of my dad’s life. We'll be doing a small ceremony at Full Pull in late January to celebrate my father's life. If any of you are interested in attending, please just reply to this email and let me know, and I'll send along details when we have them. Ring out the grief that saps the mind for those that here we see no more. I’m trying. Moving to happier topics, this was a wonderful year for Full Pull, a year of surprising growth. Way back on April 23, I christened 2018 “the year of the deal” and my goodness was that borne out by the subsequent eight months. It felt like kismet: Full Pull growing to a point where we have substantial buying power on behalf of y’all, right at the same time that many wineries needed help moving significant volumes of juice, with a willingness to do so via significant discounts. All signs point to more of the same in 2019. But of course we’re not all about the discount deals; in fact they remain a small minority of our offers. The vast majority still focus on the finest wines from the compelling boutique producers of the Pacific Northwest. Our goal remains connecting the finest farmers and winemakers of this corner of the world with a vibrant community of wine lovers who can’t seem to get enough of all this good juice. Speaking of good juice...This one has sold briskly since release in June, and is now 71% sold through, with 29% remaining. This comes from “Winery Alpha,” the partner for our first ever FP&F wine (2007 Cabernet Sauvignon), and for the 2007 and 2009 vintages of CVBDX. This is a blend of Cabernet Franc, Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, and Petit Verdot (no precise percentages, but the varieties are in order of their proportion in the blend). The vineyards involved here ([cough] lots of Red Mountain fruit [cough cough]) are pretty damned warm, even in cooler years. Some evidence: our alcohol for the 2007 was 14.5%. The 2009 was 14.9%. The 2011? Wait for it… 14.4%. So yeah, still plenty of generosity and richness here. The nose offers red plum and black cherry, good clean soil and lovely green notes (hello Cab Franc) of bay leaf. I love how the palate contains such densely packed layers of fruit, unfurling over hours of oxygen exposure. This is evolving beautifully, not only in the complexity of its palate, but also in its structure, the finishing lick of tannins combed to a fine sheen by the power of extra bottle age.

• By Paul Zitarelli
  Full Pull & Friends, 8/29/2018

  (Full Pull & Friends CVBDX (FPF-25)) Hello friends. We have a new wine today from our popular Full Pull & Friends negociant label, and it is extra-exciting for a pair of reasons. Number one, it’s our first FPF Rhone blend since April 2014, and our first-ever Rhone from the winery partner we’ve dubbed “Winery Alpha” (our partner for several Cabernets, several Chardonnays, and several Bordeaux blends). Number two, it’s the first FPF red we’ve been able to offer at a TPU price lower than $29.99 since our 2012 Bacchus Vineyard Cabernet Franc ($26.99 TPU) in June 2014:This one has sold briskly since release in June, and is now 71% sold through, with 29% remaining. This comes from “Winery Alpha,” the partner for our first ever FP&F wine (2007 Cabernet Sauvignon), and for the 2007 and 2009 vintages of CVBDX. This is a blend of Cabernet Franc, Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, and Petit Verdot (no precise percentages, but the varieties are in order of their proportion in the blend). The vineyards involved here ([cough] lots of Red Mountain fruit [cough cough]) are pretty damned warm, even in cooler years. Some evidence: our alcohol for the 2007 was 14.5%. The 2009 was 14.9%. The 2011? Wait for it… 14.4%. So yeah, still plenty of generosity and richness here. The nose offers red plum and black cherry, good clean soil and lovely green notes (hello Cab Franc) of bay leaf. I love how the palate contains such densely packed layers of fruit, unfurling over hours of oxygen exposure. This is evolving beautifully, not only in the complexity of its palate, but also in its structure, the finishing lick of tannins combed to a fine sheen by the power of extra bottle age.

• By Paul Zitarelli
  Full Pull CVBDX: The Return, 6/13/2018

  (Full Pull & Friends CVBDX (FPF-25)) Hello friends. Ten days ago, we sent out our last-call offer on the 2009 CVBDX. Nine days ago, we sold out of the 2009 CVBDX. Eight days ago, the new CVBDX landed in our warehouse. Good timing.This one has sold briskly since release in June, and is now 71% sold through, with 29% remaining. This comes from “Winery Alpha,” the partner for our first ever FP&F wine (2007 Cabernet Sauvignon), and for the 2007 and 2009 vintages of CVBDX. This is a blend of Cabernet Franc, Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, and Petit Verdot (no precise percentages, but the varieties are in order of their proportion in the blend). The vineyards involved here ([cough] lots of Red Mountain fruit [cough cough]) are pretty damned warm, even in cooler years. Some evidence: our alcohol for the 2007 was 14.5%. The 2009 was 14.9%. The 2011? Wait for it… 14.4%. So yeah, still plenty of generosity and richness here. The nose offers red plum and black cherry, good clean soil and lovely green notes (hello Cab Franc) of bay leaf. I love how the palate contains such densely packed layers of fruit, unfurling over hours of oxygen exposure. This is evolving beautifully, not only in the complexity of its palate, but also in its structure, the finishing lick of tannins combed to a fine sheen by the power of extra bottle age.