Singular Wines · Uncompromising Value

A letter from the Archivist

Footnotes

No. 001 · July 2026

I’m still workshopping what we’ll call this. So for now it’s “Footnotes.”

Claude suggested “Marginalia.” Which sounds like some elusive part of the female body I’ve yet to find.

Footnotes will be where I share random thoughts on the joys and pitfalls of starting a business, balancing life, what’s happening in wine, and anything else I want.

01

What happens when you put two Archival Cabs up against two $100+ Napa Cabs in a blind showdown?

Well, now we know.

All thanks to #1 Archival Evangelist Jim Cleer. When he’s not hauling 88-thousand-pound metal coils around, he’s mailing famous wine YouTubers our wine. Out of the goodness of his own freakin’ heart!

What a guy.

Anyhow, the results…

They’ll SHOCK YOU!!

No, they won’t. But they might raise an eyebrow. Click the link below to watch it.

02

Monte Rio takes on Jeb Dunnuck

In case you missed this week’s wine Instagram drama — we got a pretty good one!

In one corner, Patrick Cappiello of Monte Rio Cellars. In the other corner, critic and wine reviewer Jeb Dunnuck.

The gist is this: JD scored Patrick’s Monte Rio wines 88–91 points. Patrick was not pleased. He posted a screenshot of the scores, some not-so-kind words, and a note saying Jeb threatened to sue him if he didn’t take down said screenshot.

It was, after all, taken from Jeb’s pay-gated, members-only site — and you mustn’t post screenshots of 89-point scores without Jeb’s permission. Which he does not give.

But this surfaced an even bigger question and debate.

Do scores matter? Are critics a bunch of bloviating asshats? Has Patrick gone mad?

At first, I thought Jeb was kind of being a little “extra”. I honestly see both sides and think it’s kind of funny. I’m a bit of a score whore. There, I said it. I like reading reviews and totally see how they can help steer a buyer, both positively and negatively. I also see how they’re completely useless, old-school, gatekeeping malarkey. I’ve debated internally whether we should get ours scored or care more about that, and ultimately decided: probably not.

What do you think? Hit reply — I read every one.

03

Bobby’s framing this one, too. Got some thoughts on Archival you want to share? We’d love to hear it! Join our private Facebook group, the Archival Wine Society and you can hang with all the other cool cats. And yes, Kairos is still in the Archive…for now.

Join the Society →    Find Kairos →

Napa Valley, California · Limited · Singular · Exceptional