Another producer exiting, and abruptly at that. I am not familiar with this one, they have about ~4K cases in IRI so they’re not huge but were big enough to distribute in syndicated channels.
Never heard of any of those brands, and why are there so many to begin with?
Good question. If this unraveling is really occurring, it’s been a long time coming- at least 15-20 years in the works.
In COVID, there was over buying… which led to a decline… would more overbuying… lead to a greater decline?
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Did overbuying lead to decline, or was the issue always overproduction, oversaturation, and just generally too much wine at prices that were often too high? I feel that it came to a head at approximately the same time as Covid rather than Covid overbuying actually causing anything. I’m assuming that production didn’t actually increase as a result of Covid buying, but correct me if I’m wrong.
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I agree that Covid was the straw that broke the camels back here. How big that straw actually was is another question.
This is wild
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But we can always tell when someone has done to many barrel tastings and opts to post afterwards! 
Post your real name, post the name of the place and town where you work, or I will go to the mods. This charade needs to end.
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This is more of a self-own than you likely realize…
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I was watching a couple of DRCs in that this morning, many of the not-RC and LT lots after around 2000 seemed fairly soft, going closer to the low estimate than the high.
Which auction?
HDH single collection sale, first day. I believe it’s the one Dennis was referring to.
I just looked, prices were about where they should be.
I saw the usual outliers (2013 Richebourg for too much, 2009 RSV for a pretty solid value), but nothing that pointed to an off day. Most of the lots did quite well (considering many had condition notes, and a number of 5 and 10 packs)
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Agree, but my stereotype is they have a reputation of reaching high estimates more than other places, especially with this sort of provenance and sale.
They have been bumping up their estimates.
I also have my own opinions on estimates, so I never hold a lot of weight with them.
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DRC pricing is indicative of nothing in the market except DRC pricing.
So as of now, it appears to me that:
(1) the low end of the wine market is doing badly
(2) the middle and upper end of the price scale – the wines that we here at WB generally care about – are maybe holding flattish on pricing (with individual exceptions of course) with occasional and/or quiet deep clearance pricing for those following closely.
(3) some middle tier wineries have been closing their doors and probably that will continue or even accelerate some.
I guess my question is how broadly the larger wine industry issues (declining alcohol consumption, shifts to other types of alcohol besides wine, pot, etc.) are going to affect category (2) wines. Should consumers be jumping to get load up on cases of good wines that are getting cleared out at steep discounts, or is there a lot of that coming in the years ahead, such that you should keep your money and storage space powder dry to a decent degree?
I wrote this somewhere else, but being a consumer right now feels like the first plate you get at the AYCE seafood brunch buffet. You want to pick light foods and keep portions smaller so you can go back and keep enjoying other things. If you get a stack of pancakes and a muffin first, you might end up missing out on enjoying the seafood, lamb, sushi, etc.
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Your strategy is spot on.
I would however add that buying older wines right now (if that is your thing) is very prudent. We are seeing big movement in terms of buying habits in that direction that will only lead to rising prices.
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