Leonetti Cellar - Purchase from list or secondary market

WINE TALK
1

I recently made the list for Leonetti after a short wait. During this time I’ve certainly learned quite a bit about wine buying and whether or not buying direct from the list or on the secondary market makes sense.

I have enjoyed every bottle of Leonetti I’ve had and am grateful to have the opportunity to purchase these wines now.

My question relating specifically to Leonetti, is there better value to be had purchasing from the list or from the secondary market?

Also, for those on the east coast that are on the list, what do shipping costs typically look like?

Thanks.

2

David - to me provenance is everything. If you can order directly from the winery, I’d encourage you to do so. Every time a wine takes a trip from cellar to cellar, or (eeks) closet to closet, or from under the bed (yes, I know people who store wines that way), then by ground or air to you, there is increased risk of a challenged bottle.

3

I’d buy from list unless you live in WA where you can find it at local wine shops relatively easily.

4

I like supporting the winery directly, so mark me down as “list,” also.

5

I would only buy from a list if you can not get the wines cheaper at retail shops.

6

In order of preference: mailing list > retail >> secondary market for exactly the reasons mentioned by Merrill and others: provenance. Trusted retailers are pretty reliable so I’ll go there for a significant price break.

Of course for backfilling older vintages it’s almost all secondary market, even if buying from retailers, so I factor in the added risk when deciding how much I’m willing to pay.

7

Thank you all for the replies, much appreciated.

8

Yet another reason I so enjoy this site…an amazing well of experience…all I can add is that in my own experience, maybe 5 bottles, I really enjoyed Leonetti. Because of this post, I’m signing up…

9

List is comparably priced to secondary in my experience. Dont feel you have to take the full allocation when first offered- usually a huge amount (2-3 cases). You can usually wait for the secondary offering and get what you want in the quantities you want.