New Years Resolution -- 1/1/21, buying is done

[marcs]

Well, last year I resolved to have some kind of "moratorium" on wine purchasing, and boy did that not work out. Under the pressure of Covid and sitting at home all day long, I actually had my biggest buying year ever. Well, this year, we need to get more serious.

Guys, I have an insane wine collection now. It's equal to anything I could need in my life. At my normal consumption level, I have enough wine to last into my 70s, for the next 18-20 years or so. Quantity wise, that's more than enough.

What about quality and variety? How about Burgundy? All my old favorites -- Bouchard Corton and Chevillon. And so many cases of fine Burgundy I bought because they were $50-75 a bottle below retail price and I was confident they are good. Drouhin-Laroze Clos De Beze? I'm set. Camille Giroud 2009 Latricieres Chambertin, 2009 Faively Latricieres, both way below retail price, because I love Latricieres in warm years? I've got it. Mature Jadot Beze purchased at $100/bottle below the lowest Winesearcher price listed in the ENTIRE WORLD and more than $200/bottle below the lowest price listed in the U.S.? Got that too. Actually, I've got more Burgundy than I could even ever describe here. Let's move on. Northern Rhone? Hey, Rostaing, Chave, Clusel-Roche, Jamet? I've got them all. California Cabernet? Well, I've only ever really been interested in Togni and Monte Bello, and I've got cases of them. Plus a mixed case of Dominus just out of curiosity.

Bordeaux, my first love? Got that too. Ready to drink wines? How about a case of 04 Leoville Barton, a case of 04 Pichon Baron, 8 bottles of 95 GPL, and numerous half cases of "lesser" wines all perfect to drink right now. Great vintages? Let me introduce you to my cases of 2000 and 2016 Pichon Baron, 09 Montrose, or 2010 Gruaud. Are you curious about 98 right bank? How about some 98 Figeac or Vieux Chateau Certan? Looking for some more modern hedonistically intense right bankers? Maybe try some 2015 VCC to go with the 98 VCC, or let's crack the first bottle of my case of 2009 Trotanoy.

Where do I fall short? Well I fall short only because you can't buy ALL the wine. Still missing so many wines I know are excellent, and relative bargains for their quality. Still missing older Bordeaux from the 80s. Still no first growths or top right bankers like Cheval Blanc or Petrus, nothing I have defined as "hyper-expensive". For more modestly priced wines, only have two bottles of the 09 Gruaud although I'm convinced that will be a classic around 2030. The 2000 Canon La Gaffeliere is a classic right now and I only have two bottles left. 2015s are if anything underpriced for their quality -- the 2015 Montrose at $135 right now? That will be great. I have maybe two cases of great white Burgundy but two cases won't last me into my 70s. Maybe I need to buy more?

But that will never end. You can't buy ALL the wine. More than that, having drunk a ton of great wine in my life, I realize even at its best, it's just wine. The wines I have are already fantastic and at the peak of what fine wine offers, no need to chase any more. Got to call a halt at some point. I call a halt now. Time to prioritize my retirement savings. If I want more wine someday, I'll sell wine to get it. Enough. No more buying, the accumulation phase is over.

I gave myself a treat slightly before midnight and picked up some more Chateau Canon, the 2009 and 2014. Now I have 10 bottles of the 09 and 4 bottles of the 2014, congrats me. Those are wonderful wines. But you have to call a halt sometime. I call a halt now. This year, 2021, the moratorium is real!

[Comte Flaneur]

That describes me too 100% Marc.

I have over 4K bottles now. More than sufficient.

I will join you Marc.

My last purchase was two days ago, the 2017 Grasso that Jacques flagged.

I never did buy any 2014 Canon, but if I buy that something else will pop up begging to be bought. You have to draw the line somewhere.

Right now they are hyping 2019 red burgundy. Not interested.

I am also going on a fast from Sunday through month end and I may extend it into Feb as I did last year.

Time to get real.

[jal]

My resolution for 2021 is to only buy wine for immediate consumption. Either young wines that can be drunk young (rosé, Champagne, Langhe, Côtes du Rhône, etc..) or wines with enough age that can be consumed within a few weeks of purchase. No more young Barolo, Bordeaux or red Burgundies for me.

And with that I need to decide a budget for the year.

[JimHow]

I am certainly fasting from wine from today through about February 10th, when my week in Alaska for pretrial hearings in the murder case is over.
I'm going to need to be Superman in 2021.

[SF Ed]

Buying wine for me is like managing weight - the only thing that works for me is changing behavior, not going on diets.

My goal is to keep my cellar relatively flat. I consume 135-140 bottles a year (consistent over the last four years) and want to keep my cellar around 10 years of wine. CellarTracker tells me I am at 1442, so I am doing pretty well.

This year I bought more wine than I consumed for the first year since 2016. I bought a bunch of NV Champagne as the deals were so good and I was drinking vintage Champagne from the cellar when I didn't feel I needed to be. But I'm still around my target, so I'm OK with that.

SF Ed

[stefan]

My goal is to buy a house that has a very large wine room that cries out to be filled (having wine stored in five different rooms in our main house gets on Lucie's nerves and forces us to wear three layers of clothes when inside because some of the storage is only a few degrees below ambient house temperature). I haven't worked ten years past my full social security age in order to stop buying wine.

[Blanquito]

Fun, wine resolutions!

2020 was the 3rd year in a row where I drank/sold more wine than I bought, though 2018 was essentially a wash. Selling wine really helps in the cellar reduction and management effort, as it (a) removes wines I don’t like or have too much of, (b) provides proceeds to buy new wine I do like (keeping the bank balance safe), and (c) succeeds in lowering the total bottle count as I am much more focused on quality over quantity these days. If I am being completely honest with myself though, a big reason I’ve stopped growing my cellar has been the serious price escalation over the last 5 years or so. If prices dropped, say, on Pomerol or Cornas, my willpower would erode quickly, but that is unlikely to happen.

As of today, my cellar is at 2475 bottles, most of which is red wine. At current rates of consumption (which are likely to decline), I have 9 years of red wine, 6 years of white and champagne, and 10 years of dessert wine. I have plenty of mature wine with loads of bordeaux from the 80’s and some from the 70’s, and heaps of wine from the world over from the 90’s and early 00’s.

My NYE’s resolution is buy only white wines in general and to keep selling cheaper and unwanted stuff to underwrite more expensive red wine (but I’ll run out of stuff to sell sooner than later). The effect of this approach will be a net reduction of ~100-150 bottles a year, which nominally gives me anywhere from 16 to as much as 24 years of wine on hand. I’m also done with new vintages of most red wine — I’m not waiting 20-30 years anymore for wine to mature — keep on backfilling, baby!

[stefan]

When you sell wine you pay 25% tax on the gain. Why do you sell instead of trade?

[marcs]

My goal is to buy a house that has a very large wine room that cries out to be filled (having wine stored in five different rooms in our main house gets on Lucie's nerves and forces us to wear three layers of clothes when inside because some of the storage is only a few degrees below ambient house temperature). I haven't worked ten years past my full social security age in order to stop buying wine.

That last bolded sentence is one of the most BWE things I have ever seen and should perhaps be made a header quote for the site.

Also, Lucie gets BWE wife of the year for being willing to wear three layers of clothing in order to maintain old vintages of La Lagune in perfect condition. The ideal wine wife!

[Nicklasss]

Ha ha ha. Thanks marcs for starting 2021 with the (already) funniest thread of 2021!

Without consulting a psychologist or avoid to read/post on BWE in 2021 (or other lower quality wine communities), frankly it will not happens. Even me I'm stuck in "the little green wheel that's following me" (just listen/read Ashes to ashes from David Bowie... you'll understand where you are at).

But I will help you if I can by asking "what else matters to you"? Personnally, i dentified it pretty easy: my kids, Marie-Claude, being elsewhere (or if you prefer doing travels), my family/friends. Period. I told my kids they can do what they want for hobbies/sports and I'll pay. MC is pretty easy on me. No travels in 2020, probably no expensive ones in 2021. Best thing to do with my family/friends, great meals with good wines (you can see again, I won't get out of it!).

Nice cars, furnitures, house, not for me. Charity? I'm already giving a bit, and when I consider i loose 52 % of my earnings in different taxes to government i hope that government can do something for the poorest.

I think SF Ed, Jal, blanquito are right: if you have enough, buy less bottles, maybe more expensive or something rarer/special (Example : Coulée de Serrant), focus on what would really please you and make it special.

Anyhow, looking forward to see you next time, hoping in 2021.

Happy New Year to you and your family. Have fun with your son.

Nic

P.S. for Northern Rhône, unfortunately you're still missing some Clape Cornas, Gangloff Côte Rôtie or a top Chapoutier Hermitage. And like me, if you never had it, need to find Gonon and old Verset.

[stefan]

>>
The ideal wine wife!
>>

Indeed she is!

[Comte Flaneur]

That is very noble of Lucie to don multiple layers in the interests of keeping the wine safe. Of course in the old days before the arrival of central heating 60-65F was a more normal room temperature than today’s 70-75F.

I have just been through all my bank and credit card statements and realised to my horror I spent an insane amount of money on wine last year, £172k, but over half of that was investing in wine portfolios for friends and relatives and I invested £30k in a similar portfolio for myself of first growths mainly, because cash is trash. I managed to buy quite a few three packs, allied to six packs, so that I might still be in the game so to speak maybe to drink the likes of 16 Lafite one day. But that still leaves over £50k of wine purchases through the year, well over £4k a month, which is ridiculous. The good news is that I fast forwarded my objectives into last year, and that most of what I bought should be easily saleable if I fall on hard times. I had too much cash sitting there not working for me, so I see it as a rebalancing of my assets giving me greater future optionality. I have a pretty complete collection now even if I live to a ripe old age.

[Blanquito]

Holy crap, Ian!

[OrlandoRobert]

That is very notable of Lucie to don multiple layers in the interests of keeping the wine safe. Of course in the old days before the arrival of central heating 60-65F was a more normal room temperature than today’s 70-75F.

I have just been through all my bank and credit card statements and realised to my horror I spent an insane amount of money on wine last year, £172k, but over half of that was investing in wine portfolios for friends and relatives and I invested £30k in a similar portfolio for myself of first growths mainly, because cash is trash. I managed to buy quite a few three packs, allied to six packs, so that I might still be in the game so to speak maybe to drink the likes of 16 Lafite one day. But that still leaves over £50k of wine purchases through the year, well over £4k a month, which is ridiculous. The good news is that I fast forwarded my objectives into last year, and that most of what I bought should be easily saleable if I fall on hard times. I had too much cash sitting there not working for me, so I see it as a rebalancing of my assets giving me greater future optionality. I have a pretty complete collection now even if I live to a ripe old age.

WHOA!

Ian may need to start his own form, BWB - Bordeaux Wine Berserker.

That’s some serious cash.

[Blanquito]

I just checked, and the TOTAL value of my entire, pathetic wine collection is less than that. This is based on what I paid for the wine, not potential market value, so maybe I could resell all of this for another 20-25% once commissions, etc are accounted for.

This merits a new category of baller.

[Blanquito]

When you sell wine you pay 25% tax on the gain. Why do you sell instead of trade?

Well, in effect I do 'trade' my auction proceeds, as to date I have plowed it all back into store credit at K&L. In general, I would be very open to trades, but the mechanisms seem non-existent for systematic and large-scale transactions.

I spoke to my accountant about the tax liability of wine sales and he assured me that I basically have none, mostly because these aren't trophy wines (so low total values) and because the gain is apparently based on an average market value of a wine, which is usually as much as 50% higher than what I originally paid (look at the wine-searcher average price for a wine compared to the cheapest option for that bottle). Based on that metric (and indubitably if I had Trump's accountant), I could claim a loss on my wine sales!

[marcs]

I just checked, and the TOTAL value of my entire, pathetic wine collection is $129,000. This is based on what I paid for the wine, not potential market value, so maybe I could resell all of this for a net of ~$150,000 once commissions, etc are accounted for.

This merits a new category of baller.

If you have 2475 bottles your average price paid is just $52, admirably low, but considering how much you like aged Bordeaux I bet the market value of the wine you own is considerably higher today than $129K. There has been a significant runup in the price of older Bordeaux.

Neither your collection size nor your collection value seems unusual in the crazy wine collector circles we run in, but the combination of the two is -- most people with 2500 bottles are probably rich people with expensive verticals of first growths!

P.S. I too fall in the category of "entire cellar value after 20 years of collecting is less than what Ian spent this year alone". But of course much of Ian's spending was for others -- hope you charge a commission, Ian!

[JimHow]

Cellartracker has me at $76,468 for 885 bottles, that's an average of $86.35.

[s*d*r]

I ‘solved” this problem by following Nic’s advice:

buy less bottles, maybe more expensive or something rarer/special . . . focus on what would really please you and make it special.

I’d rather have one $100 bottle than five $20 bottles. And maybe even one $500 bottle than five $100 bottles . Since I am a weekend drinker I don’t really need cellar defenders. But of course I don’t always want to drink costly treasures so I have some nice Zinfandel, Brunello and Priorat wines for those occasions. Otherwise, no young red wine, mostly auction purchases of mature Bordeaux.

Stu

[Comte Flaneur]

I just checked, and the TOTAL value of my entire, pathetic wine collection is $129,000. This is based on what I paid for the wine, not potential market value, so maybe I could resell all of this for a net of ~$150,000 once commissions, etc are accounted for.

This merits a new category of baller.

I was mainly investing other (much richer) people’s money, and rearranging my asset allocation away from cash so the £172k figure should be ignored, but the intense buzz I got from it - from going out and buying all that stuff - really worries me.

[stefan]

Patrick, you do just what I was thinking of--trading in wine for store credit for wine. That way you do not have the tax consequences of selling wine (assuming I understand the law in this matter--I am no expert on tax law). Trading "like for like" is common among real estate investors, mainly because an investor can depreciate property obtained through a trade even if the other party has depreciated it to zero!

[s*d*r]

an investor can depreciate property obtained through a trade even if the other party has depreciated it to zero!

Isn’t that like the square root of -1?

[Blanquito]

It’s funny, but I still consider a $50 bottle of wine fairly pricey. There are so many wines that I get great enjoyment from that run between $25-$35 that a $50+ wine better be great or I’m disappointed. Now for 80’s bordeaux, the bar is much higher and nothing else really scratches that itch, so for wines I know I like from that era, I’m willing to go $100-$150 a bottle, sometimes up to $200. But that’s it. Wines like the 1986 Pichon Lalande, which not long ago were obtainable for $150 (but are now sadly well north of $200).

I usually open 3-4 bottles a week and it’s been closer to 5 during lockdown as we are cooking at home every night, and a good home cooked meal just doesn’t taste right without a glass of vino. But with the big 5-O looming, I definitely intend to scale back. And I have beaucoup cellar defenders to keep things well managed.

[Nicklasss]

OMG, i'm out with my what? 12 k $CAD spend on wine yearly. But i have more bottles than you all, all 2 bucks Chuck!

Seriously, price of wine is so high in Canada, makes you think twiçe or three times before buying.

Nic

[Tom In DC]

So, marcs, if someone were to offer you the BWE'er-price-paid-on-release price you mentioned in another thread, you're still out?

[Racer Chris]

I met my goal for 2020 of buying less than I drank: 297 purchased, 304 consumed. Dollar amount was in a similar ratio. I expect to do about the same in 2021.
Although I'll soon have a dedicated wine cellar with more space than I have wine...
which begs the question: How many bottles will fit comfortably in a 7.5ft x 8.5ft wine room?


...to be continued...

[stefan]

Chris, it depends a lot on whether you go for quantity or utility. I had to make that decision when I converted a large clothes closet to a wine closet. I ended up using single bottle racking that holds 400 bottles, but I could easily have more than doubled that by using double racking or another kind of shelving. I already had a 11' by 11' wine room and just wanted a place that I could keep some bottles at a lower temperature, which made my choice easier. But I now have wine stored in three locations in my house in addition to those two, so the real answer to your question is "not enough".

[DavidG]

Happy New Year all! Fun thread Marcs.

My primary goal for 2020 was to buy no more than 1 case of wine. Twelve bottles.
Ten cases later, I must own up to my failure. Though I did manage to drink a bit more than I bought.

I will set the bar a touch lower for 2021: buy less wine than Ian.

I think we need a counter to the what have you purchased thread to stay on track.

[Blanquito]

As part of the healing process, I just checked my credit card statement and all together I spent just over $12k on 256 bottles of wine in 2020. But this is misleading in that I also had $5.7k of store credit which I plowed back into wine (reflected in that 256 bottle count), so it was really $17.7k in wine of which $12k was new expenditures. That's a lot!

[Blanquito]

Actually, 256 bottles is 79 bottles less than I bought on average from 2013-2019! That's real progress!

[marcs]

Happy New Year all! Fun thread Marcs.

My primary goal for 2020 was to buy no more than 1 case of wine. Twelve bottles.
Ten cases later, I must own up to my failure.

ANOTHER all-time BWE quote! We have to start tabulating these.

Maybe at our next in-person dinner (when it happens) we should have a match the quote to the person game.

[marcs]

I think what did it for me was drinking a lot of high quality wine over the last couple of months and realizing -- hey, it's just wine. I mean, yes, it can produce transcendent experiences and I definitely want it in my life. But you can't guarantee a transcendent experience with any one bottle. It's just a bottle of wine, any wine, no matter how expensive, can be a letdown, the circumstances under which you drink have to be just right and you have to make the proper space and occasion for drinking, etc. So given that I ALREADY have well over a thousand bottles of (mostly) very high quality wine, and only a limited number of opportunities to drink it over the rest of my life, what is my marginal gain from spending another $X thousand on wine? Almost nothing! The only reason I'm buying is because I'm saying to myself "this is a terrific wine at a (relatively) decent QPR, so I want to feel like I own this terrific wine". Well guess what? There are an INFINITE number of terrific wines at approachable QPRs I could get, it is impossible to draw the line that way, it's an infinite rabbit hole. In contrast, there are other things in my life for which I can really use money. And the pleasure you get from "feeling like you own" something, while it's the big lure of collecting, is very insubstantial.

Not to offend Ian, but while it may be true that "cash is trash" that doesn't mean wine is the best investment asset. A diversified portfolio of bonds and stock index funds is not trash.

[Dandersson]

My resolution is to buy more Bordeaux than I drink. Second resolution is to drink more Bordeaux than last year. Third resolution in to go for the 2020 Futures if prices and quality looks good.

[DavidG]

I think what did it for me was drinking a lot of high quality wine over the last couple of months and realizing -- hey, it's just wine. I mean, yes, it can produce transcendent experiences and I definitely want it in my life. But you can't guarantee a transcendent experience with any one bottle. It's just a bottle of wine, any wine, no matter how expensive, can be a letdown, the circumstances under which you drink have to be just right and you have to make the proper space and occasion for drinking, etc. So given that I ALREADY have well over a thousand bottles of (mostly) very high quality wine, and only a limited number of opportunities to drink it over the rest of my life, what is my marginal gain from spending another $X thousand on wine? Almost nothing! The only reason I'm buying is because I'm saying to myself "this is a terrific wine at a (relatively) decent QPR, so I want to feel like I own this terrific wine". Well guess what? There are an INFINITE number of terrific wines at approachable QPRs I could get, it is impossible to draw the line that way, it's an infinite rabbit hole. In contrast, there are other things in my life for which I can really use money. And the pleasure you get from "feeling like you own" something, while it's the big lure of collecting, is very insubstantial.

Not to offend Ian, but while it may be true that "cash is trash" that doesn't mean wine is the best investment asset. A diversified portfolio of bonds and stock index funds is not trash.

This is a very logical post.

Now, shall we start a pool on the date that passion trumps logic and Marcs buys his next bottle?

[Blanquito]

Now, shall we start a pool on the date that passion trumps logic and Marcs buys his next bottle?

Can we put the over/under on tomorrow?

[Blanquito]

The main reason I still buy wine, hands down, is the ‘fun of the chase’. This is another reason to sell some wine (for me at least) as I get nearly as much a thrill selling wine (for a profit) as I do buying it (at a bargain price).

It’s a hobby, it’s a pastime, it’s fun.

[OrlandoRobert]

The main reason I still buy wine, hands down, is the ‘fun of the chase’. This is another reason to sell some wine (for me at least) as I get nearly as much a thrill selling wine (for a profit) as I do buying it (at a bargain price).

It’s a hobby, it’s a pastime, it’s fun.

I have only sold one bottle my entire life, my 92 and 93 Mayas. Paid $50 on release and sold for $475 in 1999. That was crazy money back then.

I have no desire to sell, but you also have more wine than me! I do think my cellar is overloaded with some geeky wines that have appreciated stupidly, like Juge, Rougeard, Gonon. The Gonon is the though one, as I used to pop them regularly, thinking they are priced as weekly drinkers, though knowing for my palate that they are excellent. Now my allocation is down to six of each red, and I understand they are more sought after, so I am tending to sit on them more.

[Nicklasss]

I think what did it for me was drinking a lot of high quality wine over the last couple of months and realizing -- hey, it's just wine.

Yes. But you can say the same thing about everythings : cars, houses, travels, jewelry, arts...

Money for retirement, for having the nicest wheelchair or more efficient diapers? Na na na, not me. I prefer a badly corked and poisonous Lafite...

INFINITE amount of great qpr wines. Yes kind of. But no INFINITE number of great bottles of wine. These are the one to look for and buy what you will drink, report how great it is, and let other wine lovers having their chances to copy your great experience.

I think what did it for me was reading a lot of high quality post like that over the last couple of months and realizing -- hey, it's just an opinion, and people do the useless thing they want with their money.

Nic

[JimHow]

It's like my doctor told me: Everything in moderation.

I have not bought wine since early December, and have not consumed wine since New Year's Eve.

[s*d*r]

Money for having the nicest wheelchair or more efficient diapers? Na na na, not me.Nic

Wait a few more blanquitos and that will sound pretty good.