How We Scored SommSelect Wine Club Review 2026
| Wine Quality | 9.8 / 10 |
| Value for Money | 8.2 / 10 |
| Flexibility | 7.5 / 10 |
| Customer Service | 9.0 / 10 |
| Overall Score | 9.3 / 10 |
✅ Pros
- Best wine quality of any club reviewed
- Blind Six format is unique and educational
- NYT Wirecutter and GQ top pick
- Detailed professional tasting notes
❌ Cons
- Most expensive at ~$33 per bottle
- Founder Ian Cauble has left the company
- Limited customisation options
SommSelect has a credential problem – not a quality problem. The brand was built on Ian Cauble, one of fewer than 300 people in the world to hold the Master Sommelier designation. Cauble has since departed the company. The marketing still leads with his name. That is worth noting – because the wines are genuinely excellent and do not need the credential theatre to justify themselves.
Three shipments over five months, totalling sixteen bottles. The quality floor was the highest of any club I have tested at this price point. A 2020 Muscadet with that particular saline, almost metallic precision that the Loire does better than anywhere. A 2022 Zinfandel from Ridge that reminded me why the variety exists. A 2011 Sonoma Cabernet drinking in the mature, cedar-and-dried-herb territory that California Cabernet almost never reaches at ten years old. These were not merely good bottles. They were bottles that made me stop eating and pay attention.
The Two Club Options
The Somm Six is six bottles monthly – the team’s current favourite wines. No theme, just the best bottles they are drinking right now. At approximately $199 for six bottles with shipping, the per-bottle cost is around $33. For the quality level, this is actually fair value by fine wine standards.
The Blind Six is the same price, but bottles arrive wrapped in black numbered tissue paper. You taste them without knowing what you are drinking, then reveal the labels after rating each one. It is a genuine educational format used in professional wine examinations. After two months of the Blind Six, I found I had developed a much sharper sense of what distinguishes quality across different grape varieties.
Who This Is For
SommSelect is for the serious enthusiast who already has a wine vocabulary, reads producers and vintages, and wants access to bottles that a good wine shop in a major city might carry one case of. If you are a beginner, start with Firstleaf or Nakedwines instead. If you are an active enthusiast who has explored the mainstream clubs and wants the next level – SommSelect is it.
Verdict
Score: 9.3 / 10. The highest wine quality of any club we have reviewed. The credential question about Ian Cauble’s departure is worth knowing but does not change what arrives in the box – which is exceptional. For serious enthusiasts who drink wine at this quality level regularly, SommSelect is the right club. See our full comparison table for all options side by side.
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