Sherry-Lehmann Master Thread (NY Times Article, Lawsuit, Retail, etc)

I bought a case of Lynch Bages 2016 and Ormes de Pez 2016 on future from Sherry-Lehmann. I paid for the wine through their sales person in 2017. They still haven’t delivered me the wine and are not giving me a response as to why? I’ve received Lynch Bages 2017 and 2018 from other retailers already. Has anyone had a similar experience with Sherry-Lehmann? Are they legit? Are they trustworthy with wine futures? Are they going out of business? These are all questions I have, but i have no idea what to think right now. Any thoughts on what i should do?

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While I haven’t shopped there since they moved locations they are one of the oldest wine stores in NYC. I’d be surprised if they wouldn’t deliver on futures but I admit that they’ve fallen off my radar in the last decade or so.

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I’ve had only positive experiences

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They are a very well known operation, I’d be very surprised if anything nefarious is going on. Perhaps you can call and ask for a manager?

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Haven’t bought anything from them in years. But made enough purchases, mostly Bordeaux, with positive experiences and with impeccable-looking bottles that were delivered on time.

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One of the most solid reputations in nyc. I’d call and ask for a manager or email and tell them you’re asking on this board because your experience is so concerning. That should get some action.

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I’ve only had a few experiences with them but they went flawlessly as expected. They are old NY for sure.

I am also waiting on my futures. I spoke to them many times and the response has been the same all the time "we dont know when we will get it. " They even tried to substitute it with some crap by telling me it’s the same $ value.
Let me know if you get some positive direction from them.

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Sherry is absolutely legitimate, but I will never buy futures from them. I waited four years for both 2014 and 2015. They arrived after a lot of pestering, and I even called then CEO Chris Adams to try and get them. As you say, by the time I got my 2014s, the 2017s were available.

Not sure whether they have the wines and are not efficient or figure four years of free interest motivates them.

Weird, as I can’t believe the damage outweighs the gains.

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Logistics are a total freaking mess right now. If you are concerned I would specifically ask them if the wines are waiting for transport (which would not shock me).

I am being quoted three weeks from Bordeaux not three years.

I get the sense that this is a merchant which is coasting off 50 years of prior good will. I used to live by them and walk by them all the time. Never had anything but positive experiences (if one forgives them for their Georges Duboeufery) but they have the look of a venture that was unable to adapt to a modern era, trapped in a world of costly rents and clients who needed paper catalogs mailed to them. Personally I would not extend them credit on casual/loose/unsecured terms.

I think the last time I transacted with them was cleaning up a wedding gift card…

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I was told it was in transport 2 years ago.

This is very weird, since for decades, they functioned as, effectively, the retail arm of Chateau & Estates, when C&E dominated the Bordeaux trade in the US.

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Interesting, i called some folks in the wine trade in Bordeaux, and they seemed to indicate Sherry wont be able to get the 2016s. I don’t know what this means.

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My office window looks out on their store on 59th and Park. I can confirm they are legit. Never bought Bordeaux futures from the.

Why not? If Sherry decided to order '16 bdx, they cant get it or the wines they ordered during EP?

This makes no sense - if they could not or cannot get them, they must make things right with their customers. My assumption is that they have had your money the entire time, right? Strange . . .

Cheers

I assume that means that the '16s are hard to obtain now if they weren’t previously purchased. But it would be a bit unnerving if Sherry sold uncovered futures (i.e., sold futures to customers without having made deposits with the producers or brokers).

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That’s what scares me. They sold the future, but didn’t purchase the wine or make deposits at the time. The wine is readily available today, but it has appreciated considerably since 2017.

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