Classic retailer response to a corked purchase

I was just deleting some wine emails and came across this. Too good not to share.

Due to the subjective nature of wine tasting. All wines sales are final.

We’re sorry with your experience with the Jadot Clos Saint-Denis.
We examined some of the other bottles we have and noticed there is considerable sediment present. This is normal with older wines. This is why it is essential to stand an older wine for a considerable amount of time (3 to 7 days). Before serving it should be decanted.

This is probably why the wine did not show properly.

The tasting of wine is highly subjective. A person’s taste is as varied and diverse as the individual themselves. It is for this reason we can not extend credit for any wine, that in our qualified opinion, we judge to be sound.

All wines are final sales.

Verbatim
after I reported a wine that had been received 3 days prior was corked. (96 Jador Clos St Denis) Store: WH Frank Long Island, NY
I didn’t know that sediment causes TCA.

The ignorance of that response would actually make me mad. Pathetic response from a wine retailer. Absolutely Pathetic.

I bet everything under

We’re sorry with your experience with the Jadot Clos Saint-Denis.

is cut and paste boilerplate form-letter response.

“Probably.”

Yep, sounds like a form letter to me.

We just took back an 08 D’Angerville Taillepieds b/c the customer said it was “sour”.
I wish all bad wine tasted this good.

“All wine sales are final. All wines are final sales.”

I might have to donate again so I can add that to my signature.

Well,we learn something new every day,eh?..

Many years ago, I called up a retailer after I opened a corked bottle of Grange Hermitage I had purchased from them. They said bring it back, but when I got there, the manager said “we can’t take back this bottle, it’s been opened!” None of the “how would I know it was bad if it hadn’t been opened” worked.

Luckily, the nationwide wine buyer for the chain saw my post on the subject (another board) and replaced it (it was Cost Plus).

How many people think retailers should replace corked bottles? Obviously there are two points of view. I have always taken the stance that this is a known risk with wines bottles under cork. This is not to say that the two stories above aren’t ignorant.

“Should” they? I don’t know. That’s their decision to make.

What I do know —> I don’t buy wines from retailers who don’t replace/refund corked bottles. That’s my decision to make.

One of my favorite retailer stories was when I had ordered a bottle of Drouhin Chambolle Musigny 1er Cru from Sherry Lehmann and they accidentally sent the village wine. Easy mistake to make, the labels look identical except for the premier cru designation.

I called them (half intending to just let them credit me the difference since I like the village wine too), explained what had happened, and the salesperson very patiently explained to me that “Sir, I believe they are the same wine”. At that point I got annoyed and said “No, they are not the same wine.” She replied in a very condescending tone “Sir, I know my Burgundy!”

She eventually took the wine back on the grounds that I had received something different from what I expected (but not admitting that they had made a mistake).

Brian,

Have you had luck returning corked bottles to retailers in the uk?

Dan

The two times I’ve done it (same retailer), I had no problems doing so. Granted, I am a regular customer, and have spent many many hours with the store’s owner (and have even spotted a couple slightly corked wines at tastings held in his shop that others hadn’t previously noticed), so he knows me quite well and trusts me when I tell him a wine is corked. We’ve discussed the matter at length, and he replaces/refunds corked bottles for most folks, even though they’re sometimes wrong.

I have stopped buying from many places that won’t make good on premoxed whites-usually the argument is, “well, you bought it years ago,” even when I respond, “and I was told to age it for years
before opening, too.”
alan

Depending on the train, I’ll be right over.

I have never had a problem returning/getting credit for a corked/damaged bottle…and I have thanked and appreciated the vendor’s integrity by continuing to give them my business…notably Jamie from Chambers and Ian from Wine Library.

Seriously. I just checked, and it looks like you’re out of inventory.

No need, really, as you don’t need your last name in your signature as it’s in your username - you might have enough characters…