BUYING WINES DURING THE 2020 BUYING MORATORIUM

jal · Post by **jal** » Mon Jan 27, 2020 9:13 pm

Six Zalto Universal glasses from CJF. I wanted some Grassl Liberté but they're gone.

DavidG · Post by **DavidG** » Mon Jan 27, 2020 9:28 pm

I was eyeing those but couldn’t think of a reason we need more wine glasses.
Bought some caviar instead.

jal · Post by **jal** » Mon Jan 27, 2020 9:36 pm

DavidG wrote:I was eyeing those but couldn’t think of a reason we need more wine glasses.
Bought some caviar instead.

I can justify and rationalize any purchase of any wine related item

Racer Chris · Post by **Racer Chris** » Mon Jan 27, 2020 9:43 pm

I bought two of the Grassl 1855 glasses for my regular use and six tasting glasses for guests who don't know when to stop pouring.
I also bought some more Veleta olive oil.
But I bought no wine. I'm saving my money for the NH liquor store this Friday.

stefan · Post by **stefan** » Mon Jan 27, 2020 10:30 pm

I bought 2 ten packs of Repour to get a free third ten pack, and the small amount of wine I listed on the other thread. I wanted to try some Kelley Fox wine because she is an Aggie, but her verticals were gone immediately and I don't want to buy a six pack of a wine I have not tasted.

Maybe I'll go look at the glasses and caviar. No yuppie beef for this Texan.

jal · Post by **jal** » Mon Jan 27, 2020 11:09 pm

stefan wrote:I bought 2 ten packs of Repour to get a free third ten pack,

Ooooh, good idea about the Repour, thanks Stefan.

DavidG · Post by **DavidG** » Tue Jan 28, 2020 12:12 am

jal wrote:
stefan wrote:I bought 2 ten packs of Repour to get a free third ten pack,
Ooooh, good idea about the Repour, thanks Stefan.

Yes, thanks, just ordered some of those.

DavidG · Post by **DavidG** » Tue Jan 28, 2020 12:12 am

jal wrote:
DavidG wrote:I was eyeing those but couldn’t think of a reason we need more wine glasses.
Bought some caviar instead.
I can justify and rationalize any purchase of any wine related item

The force is strong in this one.

JimHow · Post by **JimHow** » Tue Jan 28, 2020 12:37 am

What is RePour?

What is Berserker?

Blanquito · Post by **Blanquito** » Tue Jan 28, 2020 1:27 am

I love my Zaltos. I use the Zalto Bordeaux stem for most reds. Gabriel Glas Gold is my white wine stem and the Zalto white is my champagne stem. I bought these all in Austria where they’re ~$30 a stem, and hand carried a silly number of them back in my carry on luggage, including a big, beautiful Zalto decanter which I never seem to use.

And I used to think luxury-priced stems were ridiculous! (On some levels, I still do)

stefan · Post by **stefan** » Tue Jan 28, 2020 1:53 am

https://www.wineberserkers.com is the second best internet wine forum, Jim.

We have discussed Repour on BWE a few times. Repour is used to recork a wine you have opened. It eats the oxygen in the bottle and keeps the wine fresh for quite some time. Tonight I will use one on a lovely 1999 Groffier Chambolle Les Sentiers. Lucie drank only a small glass and I would rather have some tomorrow than finish the bottle myself. If I get thirsty later I have a lot of Sauternes that are crying for attention.

Tom In DC · Post by **Tom In DC** » Tue Jan 28, 2020 6:04 am

Dang. I guess skiing in Aspen/Snowmass is a good excuse for missing Berserker Day.

brodway · Post by **brodway** » Wed Jan 29, 2020 2:09 am

Stefan

thank you for the reminder. picked up the Repour for the first time. if it really does what it advertises it will save me from trashing a good amount of wine as my wife rarely consumes any alcohol

DavidG · Post by **DavidG** » Wed Jan 29, 2020 2:11 am

I've been very impressed with the Repour's ability to preserve a half- or third-bottle for a few days to a week.
Trick is to put it in immediately after pouring out a glass. Don't leave the bottle open all evening before placing the Repour.

Blanquito · Post by **Blanquito** » Wed Jan 29, 2020 3:30 am

How well does Repour work on old and delicate wines extra sensitive to oxygen? Also, does each Repour work only once?

I gave up on my Coravin because it only seemed to work well on the young, vigorous wines that my freezer method works well for.

But if Repour is just as good with fully mature bottles as with young bottles, I’d be very interested.

DavidG · Post by **DavidG** » Wed Jan 29, 2020 12:54 pm

I found Repour to work just fine on old and delicate wines. A couple of 1994 Rosenblum zins and 1990 Raffault Picasses were frozen in place for 2-3 days after opening and drinking 1/2 to 2/3 of the bottle. Didn’t lose any of their complexity or develop any signs of oxidation or tiring out.

The Repour apparently has enough stuff (iron?) in it to absorb the oxygen in about a liter of air, so they’re good for one bottle. I keep my thumb over the opening while pouring and put it back in the bottle immediately after. I’ve heard stories of imperfect seals but that hasn’t happened yet to me.

JCNorthway · Post by **JCNorthway** » Wed Jan 29, 2020 1:43 pm

It looks like a volume purchase of these prices out to about $1.70 each. Assuming you use it just once and toss, how does that compare to other options?

DavidG · Post by **DavidG** » Wed Jan 29, 2020 2:01 pm

I know of no other effective options, Jon, at least not for older wines. Presence of sediment makes Coravin a no-go for me, and it's not reliable beyond a week or two in my experience.

For younger wines, I'm not sure. People complain about the cost of the Coravin argon capsules but I think there are cheaper alternatives. I never use mine so I've never done the math.

Blanquito · Post by **Blanquito** » Wed Jan 29, 2020 7:45 pm

Just ordered a 4 pack of Repour to give them a try!

jal · Post by **jal** » Fri Feb 07, 2020 3:44 am

2 2018 Clape Vin des Amis
2 2018 Clape Cotes du Rhône

11 to go. The heat is on

Gerry M. · Post by **Gerry M.** » Fri Feb 07, 2020 1:40 pm

Just over one month in and my only purchase has been 6 2008 Cristal allowed under the special Champagne exemption.

Winona Chief · Post by **Winona Chief** » Fri Feb 07, 2020 4:28 pm

So far, only 2 bottles purchased: 2 2008 Dom P to replace the 2 consumed so far this year.

Chris Bublitz

Blanquito · Post by **Blanquito** » Fri Feb 07, 2020 5:19 pm

Excluding champagne and wines from 1971, I've only bought 2 wines in 2020: the 1983 l'Arrosee and the 2014 Pepiere Muscadet Sèvre et Maine Briords Vieilles Vignes

Blanquito · Post by **Blanquito** » Fri Feb 07, 2020 10:11 pm

And I’ve only purchased one bottle of 1971, but the bubbly buying has been a little silly.

Winona Chief · Post by **Winona Chief** » Fri Feb 07, 2020 10:20 pm

Blanquito,

I’ve got a bottle of 1971 Tokaji Aszu waiting for you.

Chris Bublitz

Blanquito · Post by **Blanquito** » Fri Feb 07, 2020 11:42 pm

Winona Chief wrote:Blanquito,

I’ve got a bottle of 1971 Tokaji Aszu waiting for you.

Chris Bublitz

I’m touched, Chris. I’ll look forward to enjoying it together hopefully some time soon.

DavidG · Post by **DavidG** » Sat Feb 08, 2020 1:28 am

Still 0 for 2020.
Those wine.com $100 off $300 purchase coupons are tough to resist, but holding firm so far.

JimHow · Post by **JimHow** » Sat Feb 08, 2020 1:33 am

Well done, David.
Well done indeed.

The NH store is holding six more bottles of 2008 Cristal for me at $178 for pick up.

The Winona Chief Exemption is proving to be one of the most valuable exemptions of the Great 2020 BWE Moratorium.

DavidG · Post by **DavidG** » Sat Feb 08, 2020 2:41 am

I’d buckle if 2008 Cristal was available for $178 around here.

JimHow · Post by **JimHow** » Sat Feb 08, 2020 2:43 am

Shall I see if they have three more for you David?
I can buy them and get them to you either next week or in DC.

Blanquito · Post by **Blanquito** » Sat Feb 08, 2020 3:18 am

I did buy a few 2002 Piper Heidsieck Cuvée Rare for $127 on sale.

DavidG · Post by **DavidG** » Sat Feb 08, 2020 1:35 pm

Very kind of you to offer to schlep them Jim. You enabler, you!

I can fit only 1 Champagne bottle in my luggage so would need to limit it to 1 if in FL - we're in the airport waiting to board now. If you could bring them to DC I'd take 3.

Blanquito · Post by **Blanquito** » Thu Mar 05, 2020 7:23 pm

I had a bad month in February. Somehow I ended up buying 14 bottles.

In my defense, these were all won with very lowball bids at KL auction, stuff I’d never normally ever get close to winning in a non-COVID-19, Wall Street-correction week when everyone was running for financial cover.

Must be strong.

marcs · Post by **marcs** » Thu Mar 05, 2020 7:39 pm

Lowball auction bids are the kryptonite of self-control in buying. After all, you're not definitely *buying* it, you're just engaging in a dance with fate...

My problem was that I sold about $5K worth of wine, and have been having a lot of difficulty treating that revenue as savings (which is what I intended it for) instead of a buying slush fund. I had a somewhat dramatic self-control breakdown around magnums of 2009 Bouchard Le Corton (a favorite wine) at $180/per.

Comte Flaneur · Post by **Comte Flaneur** » Thu Mar 05, 2020 8:17 pm

I think wine prices could take a 10-20% hit over coming months...

The big temptation right now over here in Blighty is 2016 Barolo and Barbaresco.

Two weeks ago if you wanted a six pack of Vietti Ravera (rated 100 points by some novice) you had to buy one six pack each of the rest of the range plus three six packs of their entry level Barolo. Now you can buy untied.

I tasted some 2016s last night including Giacosa Rabaja and Falletto - man they were good but, happily, ridiculously unaffordable.

Blanquito · Post by **Blanquito** » Thu Mar 05, 2020 8:42 pm

One of the Italian wine buyers at Chambers St Wines told me in January that the 2016 Piedmonts are the best he and the rest of the staff had ever tasted.

Better than the 89s and 90s, I asked?

Best. Ever.

What about the 71s and 74s?

Best. Ever.

Holy moly! This from a store that champions traditionally styled wines and regularly features pristine Barolo and other Italian wine from the 60s, 70s and 80s, painstakingly sourced in Europe.

marcs · Post by **marcs** » Thu Mar 05, 2020 10:05 pm

Comte Flaneur wrote:I think wine prices could take a 10-20% hit over coming months...

This seems very possible to me in a global recession, especially since I think wine is overpriced for long term supply and demand fundamentals. In fact I think we will see it sooner than that as it appears the stock market is going to settle in on a significant drop. My conception of wine value has been rewritten over the past couple of years, I find myself thinking of good $150 Burgundy Grand Crus as a "good value", which is pretty absurd. Going to be an interesting readjustment; it will be nice to see lower prices but it will make me kick myself over what I spent over the last year or two.

those 2009 Bouchard Corton magnums were me saying to myself "it's like $90 per 750 for a great Burgundy grand cru, isn't that a BARGAIN"?

jckba · Post by **jckba** » Thu Mar 05, 2020 10:20 pm

marcs wrote: those 2009 Bouchard Corton magnums were me saying to myself "it's like $90 per 750 for a great Burgundy grand cru, isn't that a BARGAIN"?

Or $200/btl for a ‘super’ super second bottling for that matter, thinking more specifically of Ducru Beaucaillou or Leoville Las Cases or Montrose or Pichon Lalande, and I guess it’s all relative until it’s not

stefan · Post by **stefan** » Thu Mar 05, 2020 10:51 pm

>>
these were all won with very lowball bids at KL auction
>>

Must have been something I missed. I thought you were a WineBid guy. We should coordinate on K&L.

Blanquito · Post by **Blanquito** » Sat Mar 07, 2020 3:49 am

Winebid was my people, for many years, and I got so many great wines and deals there. But first they then started charging sales tax (for Californian and Colorado residents at least), then they raised their premium, then they raised their prices, and in the final coup de grâce, they stopped getting interesting and worthwhile wines.

K&L gradually replaced Winebid, for their huge retail selection, direct imports and deals (especially for champagne), and an always interesting selection of well-stored auction items, which I usually get outbid on (sort of a win-win for me).

BUT I AM DONE. DONE BUYING. NO MORE WINE.