OK - starting to feel like a drain of Bryn's resources.
While at Costco today I noticed high-end wines being offered; La Tour, Lafite, Pavie among others. Prices seemed reasonable (still spendy but a bit less than I'd supposed) - can this be trusted? I'd never have thunk to shop Costco for wine! Anyone had any experience with their offerings; good, bad or indifferent? I bought 1 '99 Lafite (all that I could justify spending) but won't know how I feel about the purchase for a few years. On the other hand I may be kicking myself in that time for not having bought more.
Costco - not just for kitty litter anymore?
I live in Virginia and have been buying "fine" wines from Costco for years. I have never been dissappointed. As a matter of fact, I bought a case of 1977 Warre's port there. Great price and the wine is perfect. I have spoken to many people who buy their wine there, and all have expressed positive sentiments. I don't usually buy my wine anywhere else -- except my Turleys, which I can't get but from the winery. Shop with confidence.
I saw one claim that Costco is now one of the largest fine wine retailers in the US. I've bought Ca., French, Italian and Port there with no problem. You won't find many boutique cult wines; after all, it is Costco. But very highly rated larger production wines often show up at great prices ('97 Chat. St. Jean Cinq Cepages for $34, for example). They used to post Spectator ratings but stopped recently (at least in my neighborhood)after screwing them up too often, so do your research before you go.
See the NYTimes article of May 29, 2002. There is a guy named Dave Andrew who has made himself into Costco's Wine Sommalier. He is trying to become a MoW, Master of Wine. Very impressive. Apparently Costco is only marking up the bottles up to 14%. Amazing. Also, he has been training 10 buyers on Wine and sending them to Italy for individual tastings. If Costco has it, it is as good as a book on Oprah's book club, according to the article from AMANDA HESSER in the NYTimes.
Mark
BUSINESS | May 29, 2002 Who's Vintner to America? One Hint: Volume Is the Key By AMANDA HESSER (NYT) News Costco, the national warehouse club, has become one of America's largest retailers of wine. And winemakers everywhere have taken note. ...
I too have been buying fine wine at Costco for years. BV Georges De Latour Private Reserve, Opus One, Smith Haut Lafitte (W.S. # 9 last year) are just some examples. I have always been very pleased.
Check out the Costco newsletter(Costco Connections) that you can pick up in their store. David Andrew has an article that has updates on what's going on with wine at Costco.
Sometimes the prices are the best for the local area, but not always (so shop around). I have purchased wines from Costco at various states, and the prices and items do vary from state to state.
I will be interested in the longevity of the wines that are cellared from Costco. Remember that the provenance of a wine is all important. At best, the wines will last as long as those from your neighborhood retailer. At worst, they have been kept at nonoptimal temperatures in brightly lit warehouses. Caveat emptor....Yogi
Yes, Costco can be trusted, and I too have made some great price discoveries there over the years. One great one that jumps to mind is "86 & "89 Phelps Insignia. I was able to get 6 of each years back, and according to my records, the "86 was $22, and the "89 was $31. I still have a couple of each left, and the value has considerably risen over the years. About 2 years ago, I was able to pick up a couple of "98 Opus One, as well as the "96 Silver Oak (Napa) at what I found to be 12% or so off decent retail prices. Hope this sheds a little light on the Costco story.
almost always the cheapest, and yes, i get most of my wine there. except for older vintages: you'll never see them there, and if you wait long enough, sometimes the cellar sales at the winery are substantially discounted, and are stored immaculately. i.e. beringer's semiannual cellar sale had 94 pri rsv cab for $50.
We would really like to hear what you have to say
You are currently logged on as a Guest User. In order for you to
make comments on harvey you need to have your own account. Please
Signup for an Account now.
