Commercial Wine to Keep Stocked

[Tim3]

Besides your own, do you have a particular bottle or two that you believe represents the best quality to price? Wines where you’d think would be 2 to 3 times their price if tasted blind and inevitably stock up when given the chance? Please provide purchase source.

I’ll go first,

Castellare Chianti Classico: $22 at total wine.
Le Marogne El Nane: $33 at Chigazola Merchants.

2010 Le Marognole

Description Specs The winemaker crafted this fantastically rich wine in loving memory of his grandfather Giovanni, "El Nane", who dedicated his life to the cultivation of his vines. Produced in an “appassimento” style, the Corvine, Corvinone, Rondinella and Croatina grapes are estate grown and...

www.chigazolamerchants.com

I’m interested to hear your thoughts!

 

[jswordy]

Five favorites from all price ranges. I have reordered all of them at least once:

Penfolds Bin 389 Cabernet-Shiraz 2018 (Last Bottle) A screaming deal at $30 with free shipping when I bought it the first time. Expect to pay around $69.

Chateau Clos du Roy 2016 (wine.com and vivino.com) A $15-18 bottle that drinks like it is $29+. Multiple reorders.

Chateau Mayne Vieil Fronsac 2015 (wine.com) Can't find the 2015 anymore, and at $16 the 2018 price is already double what I paid for the 2015 if you do happen to find it. Multiple reorders of the 2015 and one of the 2016. This finds its place in a lot of cellars.

Jim Barry The Lodge Hill Shiraz 2015 (I think it came from wine.com, too.) This was a 16.99 bottle when I first bought it that is currently about $21 for the 2016. Tastes like it ought to be about $35. Multiple reorders.

K Vintners The Hidden Syrah 2017 (wine.com) I bought this as part of a percentage off deal so I paid $49. The 2017 retails for $69.95 now. It tastes like $100+. Suckling 98; Dunnuck 97; Wine Advocate, 96.

 

[Tim3]

Jswordy this is exactly what I’m talking about. I’m going to pick these up!

 

[winemaker81]

@Tim3, do you have a Total Wine near you? We have several locations, and getting qualified help has been easy. I tell 'em what I want and what my price range is, and get good advice. It helps if you're in their system -- I get coupons for 10%-20% off "winery direct" wines fairly regularly, although typically you have to purchase 12 bottles.

Due to this practice, I don't have any particular bottles to recommend.

 

[Tim3]

I do have a total wine, but I find the employees’ recommendations are generally biased. I have a hard time trusting when they only recommend options that are “winery direct”, i.e. high margin. Perhaps that’s all the business let’s them taste? Also, my favorite wines that they do carry are never marketed with any fanfare, usually just with the simple white price tag. So I thought it would be an interesting question to pose to this group instead. But I thank you for the advice.

 

[winemaker81]

@Tim3, my understanding is the Winery Direct wines cut out distributors, so the price with a coupon can be significantly better. The advice I've received from multiple people has been good. Of course, local management will affect this, as if the manager of your local store is pushing his/her people to push the highest margin wines, you'll get biased results. I also note that not all Winery Direct wines are that great -- I've been directed away from a few labels as the salesperson quietly said they weren't as good.

Unfortunately, wine distribution is totally uneven in the USA, and probably more so around the world. A lot of bottles get recommended that I can't find, like all the ones Jim recommended.

This is not to say this thread isn't a good idea! I like this, even if I can't find the wines.

 

[jswordy]

Unfortunately, wine distribution is totally uneven in the USA, and probably more so around the world. A lot of bottles get recommended that I can't find, like all the ones Jim recommended.

Really? Three below, one stop. Buy 4 of each.

Jim Barry Lodge Hill Shiraz 2016 | Wine.com

Jim Barry Lodge Hill Shiraz 2016 from Clare Valley, South Australia, Australia - This wine is a deep red with a bright magenta hue. Vibrant aromatics of red and black berry fruits, a lift of violet florals, clove spice and mixed garden herbs...

www.wine.com

K Vintners The Deal Sundance Vineyard Syrah 2018 | Wine.com

K Vintners The Deal Sundance Vineyard Syrah 2018 from Wahluke Slope, Columbia Valley, Washington - Liquid olive, black fruit, campfire ash; penetrating and insistent degrees of gravel, warm earth, dark coffee, cool stone. Medium bodied, full-flavored. Complet...

www.wine.com

Penfolds Bin 389 Cabernet-Shiraz 2018 | Wine.com

Penfolds Bin 389 Cabernet-Shiraz 2018 from South Australia, Australia - A bright, crimson red color. The nose is lifted, fragrant, and immediately Penfolds. Aficionados may quickly identify and proclaim 389. Aromas like that of laye...

www.wine.com

I don't have all these fancy national wine retailers, so I let the truck bring them. Looks like all three ship to NC.

I found the Mayne Vieil online, too, but it is in Missouri and they do not ship.

 

[jswordy]

@Tim3, if you get to the point where you have certain brands, type or vintages you are always on the lookout for, Wine Til Sold Out and Last Bottle are good too, if you can handle their incessant notifications of the next bottle up. There are some screaming deals, if you can separate the wheat from the chaff.

www.wtso.com
www.lastbottlewines.com

The Last Bottle descriptions are so over the top, they are sometimes fun to read.

 

[winemaker81]

Really? Three below, one stop. Buy 4 of each.

S&H are the killers for online purchases.

 

[She’sgonnakillme]

Mine for “value”: Everyday drinking Red is Townshend Vortex Red Bordeaux Blend $13 @ Total Wine or Columbia Crest Grand Estates Cabernet Sauvignon $9 @ Total Wine

The wife’s: Latah Creek Huckleberry D’ Latah $12 @ Total Wine

 

[jswordy]

S&H are the killers for online purchases.

I disagree. If you really want to pay to ship (which is really not necessary in many cases if you play your cards right), then just be price conscious. When I have to pay, I add the price of the wine and the price of shipping, then divide by the number of bottles. Most of the time, it comes out to less than I can buy it for locally or elsewhere online. If not, I go to the "elsewhere."

But it is so rare to pay for shipping every single case. At wine.com, join Stewardship, and for one annual fee all your shipping charges are done for the year. That has saved me hundreds of dollars – plus I get Stewardship coupons that save me 20% and 30% off entire purchases. At the auction sites (and many other online sellers), a minimum bottle purchase will get free shipping. It is often as low as 3 bottles.

Going online freed me from the constraints of local supply, provided me with tons of information about various wines, and is almost always a low-cost way to buy as long as I am a shopper.

The only constraints would be any your state imposes on deliveries of alcohol, and the fact that in many states you must be home to sign for the delivery. Wine.com even eliminated that, by letting me ship to a nearby Walgreens and then pick it up anytime I want.

I even order cases of Haitian hard liquor out of a DC liquor store. It is a brand and type I cannot get here under any circumstances. But it can come on the truck, and cheaply.

Drink the world, I say!

 

[ibglowin]

Not always. Depends on where and when you purchase. Last Bottle always has free shipping if you purchase a certain amount. From 2-6 bottles depending on price.

I just received a half case from my favorite wine retailer K&L. I was charged $18 for 6 bottles. FedEx ground. Ordered on Saturday and they were delivered 3 days later.

S&H are the killers for online purchases.

 

[live4artwine]

I haven't ordered from a retailer in awhile since I have friends who work at liquor stores and order whatever I need but these are my faves minus the white I usually get for guests when they are in town. I don't have a preference for white since not my palate.

 

[Tim3]

Awesome! These profiles are right up my alley. I’m excited to give them a try! You might really like that Castellare Chianti I referenced.