Since I order Bordeaux En Primeur from Totalwine, I’m on their concierge list. Normally I ignore it, but I’ve notice some… well, just weird wines lately at insane prices. Specfically culty Spanish wines way above Vega Sicilia prices.
Today it was a 2014 Teso La Monja for an insane $1,499. A while ago it was the 2010 Sierra Cantabria, Magico for $500.
These struck me as wierd. I’m no expert in Spanish wine, but I’ve had a bunch of them and certainly seen alot of them at auction. Is this just selling to people chasing the latest “high score” and gouging them? Or are these truly world class wines?
Total Wine Concierge Sales is pitching Teso La Monja, a $1,500 Toro from Sierra Cantabria. First off, I’m confused. I’ve never heard of a “quantity to quality to price ratio.” And it seems to me that, if you start off with a high QPR wine but it’s made in minute quantities, you end up with a very, very low QQR.
Second, in this case it strikes me that, even at 98 points from Jeb Dunnuck, this has an extraordinarily bad QPR.
Though Spain hasn’t always come first to mind in producing the most sought after, scarce and highly collectible (AKA…expensive) wines in the world, this is all changing with the legendary Pingus, Vega Sicilia’s Unico and the kingpin of them all, our offer today - ‘Teso La Monja’. Competing with the world’s elite, the astronomical quality is not only playing into people’s desire for this wine but the scarcity is driving a frenzy to find this unattainable bottle. With only 60 cases produced compared to the 2,500 cases of Petrus, 500 cases of Screaming Eagle, and 300 cases of Pingus – > the quantity to quality to price ratio is astounding. > For the most exclusive wine produced from vines planted in 1885, this is a rare pinnacle of perfection. Today, with a limited allocation, we are excited to offer you the first opportunity in the market to secure your bottle of the 2014 vintage before it’s gone.
How do you say “chutzpah” in Spanish? Maybe there’s a Ladino word.
I cannot help you with Spanish or “Ladino” slang - you will have to rely on a real Latino like Jorge - but clearly you are missing the Baller status of owning one of the 30 of these rare bottles. I think FU already grabbed 29 for him and his posse. They have been driven to frenzy.
I expect that quantity to quality ratio is a comparison of the high quality of the wine to the small quantities in which it is produced coupled with a claim that such a ratio is rare. The perfect quantity to quality ratio would be a wine of which only one bottle was produced that was scored an infinite number of points and would cost the GDP of a medium sized country.
I’m impressed that the same winery can market wines ranging in price from $13 to $1,500. Or maybe they can’t … which is why the super rare one is available in several places.
FYI, if anyone’s in the market for one with a little age, the '08 is available for under $900 in New Jersey.
I’m pretty sure the tasting note listed on this one should go into the “Tasting notes that make you run” thread.
“Smoky and big on the bouquet, with black fruit galore, shoe polish, peppercorn and chocolate aromas. Intense and tannic but layered and deep, with a granite body and dark, ripe flavors of blackberry, fig, spice and chocolate. Huge, toasted and modern in every way”
The market for supremely expensive, modernized Spanish wine is virtually non-existent, at least in my experience. The wines may be good, great, delightful or life-changing, but I know of no one who wants them. I inherited a few bottles of JSM highly-rated Rioja and sat on them for years before finally finding them a buyer. In the meantime, comparably-priced bottles of classically-styled wines from Europe trotted in and out the door.
See also: Australia that wasn’t Grange and to a lesser extent Hill of Grace or Astralis (and mybe Mount Mary).
I can understand them having a go - it’s not like you need a massive number of people to get caught up in the excitement. Certainly, for most of us, the recent four-figure pricing for “cult” Spanish wines is too extreme. I’ve not had a lot, but have had late 90s versions of Pingus and l’Ermita with some age on them. The former pretty boring and the latter quite excellent - BUT for my tastes not on a par with Unico (though on a par with Rayas, say). So I would rather spend $400 on l’Ermita than Rayas (both unrealistic price expectations) but rather spend that $400 on Unico over either (which is a realistic price expectation).
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