So what have you bought lately?

danzur · Post by **danzur** » Sun Jun 24, 2018 2:48 am

Some backfilling-all 375's:

(6) '96 Cos d'Estournel
(2) '01 Montrose
(4) '03 Pichon Lalande

Gerry M. · Post by **Gerry M.** » Wed Jun 27, 2018 9:55 pm

At the latest Skinner auction I picked up:

3- 1970 Ch Palmer
3- 1983 Ch Palmer

FYI, for all you 1989 Lynch Bages fans out there, 3 case lots and one 11 bottle lot each went for $4,300 including the vig. That averages out to almost $360/bottle. Same buyer for all lots and must really love LB since there's not much meat left on the bone to flip.

JimHow · Post by **JimHow** » Wed Jun 27, 2018 9:58 pm

Sigh. I have one bottle left.

AKR · Post by **AKR** » Wed Jun 27, 2018 10:17 pm

Both CSW and CellarRaiders had some interesting lists with quite older wines in the last week.

If those are hiding in your mailboxes, might be worth a peek.

Racer Chris · Post by **Racer Chris** » Thu Jul 05, 2018 7:39 pm

On Tuesday:
1x 2015 Ch. Rauzan-Segla
3x 2015 Ch. d'Arvigny
3x 2012 Ch. Greysac
3x 2015 Ch. Lanessan
4x 2012 Ch. Larose-Trintaudon
2x 2014 Ch. Marsac Seguineau

Today:
1x 2015 Domaine de Chevalier
2x 2015 Ch. Brane-Cantenac
3x 2015 Ch. d'Issan
3x 2015 Ch. Giscours

JimHow · Post by **JimHow** » Thu Jul 05, 2018 10:03 pm

Where did you buy those wines Chris?

Racer Chris · Post by **Racer Chris** » Thu Jul 05, 2018 11:51 pm

Tuesday purchase was at Manchester Wine & Liquors. They just got the Rauzan-Segla in this week. $99.99 retail, but with my discount the price is reasonable. I plan to buy a couple more.
Today I placed an order at Total Wine online. None of the bottles are available in Manchester or West Hartford, but I think they are available in Norwalk. It's my first time using the "Ship to CT" option. Cost for ground delivery (1-3 business days) was under $15 for 9 bottles. They are being delivered to my shop in Manchester. We'll see how it goes.

Racer Chris · Post by **Racer Chris** » Sat Jul 07, 2018 1:02 am

I bought more Rauzan Segla and Cantenac Brown today.
I'm almost done buying classified growth 2015s and will focus more on near term drinking wines for a while.
In that vein I bought some 2014 Montepeloso A Quo Toscana and a couple of 2014 Il Poggione Rosso di Montalcino.

Racer Chris · Post by **Racer Chris** » Mon Jul 09, 2018 5:05 pm

Racer Chris wrote:Today I placed an order at Total Wine online. None of the bottles are available in Manchester or West Hartford, but I think they are available in Norwalk. It's my first time using the "Ship to CT" option. Cost for ground delivery (1-3 business days) was under $15 for 9 bottles. They are being delivered to my shop in Manchester. We'll see how it goes.

I learned a bit more about the "Ship to CT" option once my package arrived, and I had to call them to correct a mistake.
Total Wine will ship wine from another store in Connecticut for a very reasonable cost. Norwalk is too far for me to make a special trip but this was quite easy.
I did get worried because they shipped the order on Friday, for a Saturday delivery to my shop. The local FedEx people won't deliver to my shop on a Saturday- they assume I'm closed. I already knew this and was able to divert the package to the nearby FedEx Store. I picked up my shipment around 2pm and brought it back to work to inspect. The 2015 Giscours had been mixed up for 2014, (which I don't want any more of) so I called right away. It was not a problem to make the correction so 3 bottles of 2015 are being shipped today for Tuesday delivery. I already have the return label to put on the box once I repackage it with the 2014s erroneously delivered.

In summer I'm pretty careful about having wine shipped, but overnight isn't too bad since the recent heat wave broke - with overnight temps falling into the upper 50s/low 60s again.

DavidG · Post by **DavidG** » Mon Jul 09, 2018 6:15 pm

Glad it worked out Chris. I would never ship wine this time of year. Too many opportunities for a mixup. I guess if I had to have it and there was no option to defer until cool weather, I’d consider next day first delivery.

Racer Chris · Post by **Racer Chris** » Mon Jul 09, 2018 9:19 pm

One thing I was a little surprised about, when I looked on the TW website, their price for 2014 Giscours is now the same as the 2015 - $63 (mix 6 price). In February I paid $45 (mix 6). That's a big jump.
I also saw that 2014 Pichon Baron went up from $99, which I paid, to $108. A number of other wines have increased in price on their website recently.
I might have bought a second bottle of the PB if there was no increase.

DavidG · Post by **DavidG** » Tue Jul 10, 2018 3:21 am

Does TW offer to hold wine for any length of time? I’d guess not. Despite the "ship to" option they seem to function more like local than internet stores and probably like to move the inventory quickly.

Racer Chris · Post by **Racer Chris** » Tue Jul 10, 2018 10:32 am

DavidG wrote:Does TW offer to hold wine for any length of time? I’d guess not. Despite the "ship to" option they seem to function more like local than internet stores and probably like to move the inventory quickly.

You're right. They don't hold wine after it's sold. The internet sales is merely a convenience for their local customers, and the "ship to" option is just an extension of that, providing access to their statewide inventory.

jckba · Post by **jckba** » Tue Jul 10, 2018 1:51 pm

Re: Total Wine

I have shopped at TW for a while and their policy is that they will hold an online order for 7 calendar days once you receive notice that your order is ready for pickup. To get around the within state ship to a different store charges if they have it the wine in one location and not another would be to ask the wine manager if more is available in the warehouse and if so, they can reorder more for you to be picked up at your desired store sans shipping charge. This will not always be the case, but I tell you that it would be in your best interest to always check first.

I have noticed that with Bdx, their best pricing is always on futures and where they only require 50% up front. Arrival pricing is always higher and I have noticed that they do reprice wines periodically.

Racer Chris · Post by **Racer Chris** » Tue Jul 10, 2018 2:24 pm

jckba wrote:Re: Total Wine

I have shopped at TW for a while and their policy is that they will hold an online order for 7 calendar days once you receive notice that your order is ready for pickup. To get around the within state ship to a different store charges if they have it the wine in one location and not another would be to ask the wine manager if more is available in the warehouse and if so, they can reorder more for you to be picked up at your desired store sans shipping charge. This will not always be the case, but I tell you that it would be in your best interest to always check first.

I have noticed that with Bdx, their best pricing is always on futures and where they only require 50% up front. Arrival pricing is always higher and I have noticed that they do reprice wines periodically.

I've asked at my store if they can get what I want from a warehouse rather than using the shipping option but it doesn't seem like a possibility. I've also been told that they don't have a warehouse (at least not in CT). One of the clerks did offer to pick up an order from Norwalk once when he told me he had a scheduled trip there. I was overspent at the time so I declined to take advantage of his offer.
I do receive the futures emails but am unwilling to buy before others (not professional critics) have judged the wines for me. I'm willing to pay more for a sure thing, although with the 2015 vintage I would have done much better buying Rauzan Segla (for instance) before it reached the shelves. However $85 for a 95 point wine still seems reasonable enough to me nowadays.

marcs · Post by **marcs** » Tue Jul 10, 2018 5:47 pm

Racer Chris wrote:
DavidG wrote:Does TW offer to hold wine for any length of time? I’d guess not. Despite the "ship to" option they seem to function more like local than internet stores and probably like to move the inventory quickly.
You're right. They don't hold wine after it's sold. The internet sales is merely a convenience for their local customers, and the "ship to" option is just an extension of that, providing access to their statewide inventory.

I recently had to cancel a TW order that I really wanted because it was 92 degrees at the store location and they refused to hold the wine for lower temps. Really a major wine store that offers non-refrigerated shipping should never ever behave that way, it's unprofessional. They were actually going to ship out hundreds of dollars of wine in temperatures that would clearly ruin it. What happens less informed people contract to ship with them?

Racer Chris · Post by **Racer Chris** » Tue Jul 10, 2018 6:15 pm

My 3 bottles of 2015 Giscours arrived a little after noon today. The outside of the box was warm, but the wine was ok inside. I stuck it in the fridge right away though, cause its above 80 here at the shop all day, even with the AC running. I'll drop off my return shipment around 6pm to the FedEx store, so it isn't cooking in the back of a truck all afternoon.

Total Wine really is clueless with regard to wine shipping and temperature control. Buyer beware.

stefan · Post by **stefan** » Tue Jul 10, 2018 9:14 pm

Does this mean that the wine you buy off the shelf at Total Wines might have been cooked on its way to the store?

Racer Chris · Post by **Racer Chris** » Wed Jul 11, 2018 12:00 am

stefan wrote:Does this mean that the wine you buy off the shelf at Total Wines might have been cooked on its way to the store?

I don't think that's any more likely than for other wine retailers.

Gerry M. · Post by **Gerry M.** » Wed Jul 11, 2018 1:04 am

I still have about half my 2015 futures sitting at TW for pick up. I've held off getting them since I'm still waiting on some half bottles to come in. Now I might just go get them just to be safe.

DavidG · Post by **DavidG** » Wed Jul 11, 2018 10:22 am

Glad to hear they made it ok Chris.

TW has some strengths but it’s far from the ideal local or internet wine store. I don’t think I’ve ever had a cooked bottle from off of their shelves but I don’t buy much there. Their own-label wines are unimpressive and get the hard sell from the staff, most of whom don’t seem to know much more than that and, if I’m lucky, in which aisle I can find the Rhônes. I’ve bought a few futures from them. Their pricing can be decent and their half down now, balance on pickup policy is an advantage other stores don’t offer.

Racer Chris · Post by **Racer Chris** » Wed Jul 11, 2018 12:56 pm

Gerry M. wrote:I still have about half my 2015 futures sitting at TW for pick up. I've held off getting them since I'm still waiting on some half bottles to come in. Now I might just go get them just to be safe.

They probably keep futures orders in the temp controlled locker once they arrive. There's no other space in the store for storage except over the stock shelves/bins where they keep open cases/overstock, as far as I can tell.

Comte Flaneur · Post by **Comte Flaneur** » Wed Jul 11, 2018 9:19 pm

I bid for a few things at auction today and I missed out on

Ch Prieurie Lichine 2000 - some bugger took all four cases on offer. I was pretty peeved on missing out, having tasted it with Alex in April.

I landed

Six bottles of 2004 Louis Remy Chambolle 1er Cru Derrière La Grange
A case of 2009 Clerc Milon - a junior Mouton in 2009

Both of these at keen prices

AKR · Post by **AKR** » Thu Jul 12, 2018 3:37 pm

Was the 2009 Clerc less than en primeur prices?

Racer Chris · Post by **Racer Chris** » Thu Jul 12, 2018 4:16 pm

Best price I can get locally for 2009 C-M is $81-83. My FLLS has it in their fine wine room, and TW has it in West Hartford.

Actually, my FLLS will give me a discount of at least 10% off the $83 shelf price, so under $75.

jckba · Post by **jckba** » Thu Jul 12, 2018 5:17 pm

I cleared a Greenwich CT store out of 10 btls of the 2009 Clerc that they had lying around when I spotted it at $56.49/per back in December 2013 so my guess is it had to be somewhere in that range.

Comte Flaneur · Post by **Comte Flaneur** » Sat Jul 14, 2018 11:42 am

I pre bid £600 for the whole case and could have got it for £550.

After commission I paid the equivalent of $75 a bottle. If I was present I would have got it for under $70 pb.

I have become a big fan of Clerc Milon. Farr reckons the 2009 is the best ever. However I suspect the 2016 would have something to say about that.

https://www.farrvintners.com/wine.php?wine=25885

This wine was overseen by Philippe Dhalluin who I think made the best ever Mouton with the 2009.

marcs · Post by **marcs** » Sun Jul 15, 2018 6:12 pm

2*2011 Tertre Rotebouef at $80/bottle

I think 2011 is better on the right bank than people think, and Tertre Rotebouef can be a terrific wine

Comte Flaneur · Post by **Comte Flaneur** » Sun Jul 15, 2018 8:48 pm

Marc - we tried it in St-Emilion in a touristy shop on the 2015 BWE Tour. It is a fabulous wine and you got a great price. If you can you should buy more at that price.

Frederico · Post by **Frederico** » Sun Jul 22, 2018 1:05 am

3x Brane-Cantenac 2015 at $125Cdn per bottle.

Racer Chris · Post by **Racer Chris** » Mon Jul 23, 2018 11:48 pm

8x 2012 Ch. Larose Trintaudon @ 17.99 ea.
This chateau has become my favorite cellar defender.
I don't think you can find a better 2012 Haut Medoc under $18.

JimHow · Post by **JimHow** » Fri Jul 27, 2018 11:57 am

Gerry on my way to the game last night I bought the following 2015s at Hampton South:

Leoville Barton x 3
Cantemerle x 12
Cantenac Brown x 6
Gloria x 2

There are wines appearing on the shelves that aren't listed in their on-line inventory.
Another thing: When you make a purchase, you accumulate gift cards BEFORE you apply your existing gift cards.
So it is like a double savings. I applied a bunch of gift cards and and I accumulated more gift cards.

I'm nearing the end of my 2015 purchases, let me know if you see Pichon Baron, Pichon Lalande, d'Issan, Brane Cantenac, and La Lagune.

Thanks.

danzur · Post by **danzur** » Fri Jul 27, 2018 12:37 pm

Shopping spree at the new Total Wine in Denver-mostly all single bottles:

2014:
Clinet
Potensac
Lanessan (4)
Gloria (3)

2015:
Les Carmes
La Pointe
Langoa Barton
Chevalier
L'Oratoire
Talbot
Branaire Ducru
Clos du Marquis
Dame de Montrose
Brane Cantenac

and I grabbed the wrong vintage of Lagrange...thought I grabbed the 2015, but ended up with a 2010...all in the name of science.

jckba · Post by **jckba** » Fri Jul 27, 2018 10:28 pm

Suburban wines emailed out 2 clearance lists this past week; a US / Italian one and a French / Spanish one from which I picked up the following;

4 2014 Drinkward Peschon @ $63.74/per
2 2010 Roagna Paje Barbaresco @ $74.99/per
3 2014 Didier Dagueneau Pur Sang @ $74.99/per
3 2015 Clape Cuvée Renaissance @ $71.34/per

Gerry M. · Post by **Gerry M.** » Sat Jul 28, 2018 7:10 am

JimHow wrote:Gerry on my way to the game last night I bought the following 2015s at Hampton South:

Leoville Barton x 3
Cantemerle x 12
Cantenac Brown x 6
Gloria x 2

There are wines appearing on the shelves that aren't listed in their on-line inventory.
Another thing: When you make a purchase, you accumulate gift cards BEFORE you apply your existing gift cards.
So it is like a double savings. I applied a bunch of gift cards and and I accumulated more gift cards.

I'm nearing the end of my 2015 purchases, let me know if you see Pichon Baron, Pichon Lalande, d'Issan, Brane Cantenac, and La Lagune.

I was wondering about how they treated gift cards earning more cards.

I'll let you know what I see, ill probably be in Nashua tomorrow.

Thanks.

Comte Flaneur · Post by **Comte Flaneur** » Sat Jul 28, 2018 8:46 am

I bought two cases of Niellon CM 1er Cru Vergers 2014 which I will share with MEK

I also bought six bottles of his Chaumees Clos de la Truffiere 2014.

jal · Post by **jal** » Sat Jul 28, 2018 12:43 pm

Nicely done Ian, don't wait too long, you never know with premature oxidation. In any case, if you bought any ChampGains, these are quite ripe and ready to drink.

I bought
1 Case 2015 F. CARILLON BOURGOGNE BLANC
3 bottles 2015 F. CARILLON PULIGNY MONTRACHET FOLATIERES
3 bottles 2015 F. CARILLON PULIGNY MONTRACHET COMBETTES
2 bottles 2016 JJ PRUM GRAACH HIMM KABINETT

I prefer Jacques Carillon's wines to his brother François' but I found the 2014 Puligny by François Carillon to be quite good for the price.

JimHow · Post by **JimHow** » Sat Jul 28, 2018 12:56 pm

Gerry:
You are allowed to use up to 10 gift cards in any one transaction.
So, I used 10 of my 14 gift cards.
But I used the cards AFTER the purchase was rung in, and I accumulated another 7 gift cards.
So, I used 10 gift cards but accumulated 7 more, which still leaves me with 11 after having walked in with 14.
This seems to really add to the value of the savings.

JimHow · Post by **JimHow** » Sun Jul 29, 2018 11:51 pm

I got a bunch more "free" Giscours, I have like two cases of it now.
Gerry, it sounds like 2015 Canon is in dwindling stock, I got mixed reports, one saying that item #21477 was the 2011 and another that it was the 2015.

Gerry M. · Post by **Gerry M.** » Mon Jul 30, 2018 12:34 am

The Nashua store has been slow to put it out on the floor. I had to ask for the leoville Barton so if there is anything available that is not appearing on the website then I'm at a loss. For the Canon, do you have an item? That might give a clue.

For me, I bought a fair amount of 2015 on futures so I'm just trying to fill in a few holes on things I failed to pull the trigger on, like the Leoville Barton.