That was not BTG, but allocated goods and their refusal to sell to a specific account.
Then they found other things going on (like extending terms beyond what was legally allowed) and a bunch of ticky tacky stuff (like out of date permits for the reps)
The secondary market is saturated with these wines, and collectors seemingly aren’t drinking young wines at this point.
For decades in NY there were wink-and-nod understandings about tiny production wines, especially Burgundies. If an importer/distributor got 10 cases of a sought-after bottling, the same few stores and restaurants would divvy them up every year. Nobody else could get even a bottle. Lawsuits were eventually filed and I believe the practice was curtailed if not stopped. I’ve been out of the market for too long to know where that stands now. If anybody knows, please post.
The SLA changed the landscape to “balance” the allocations.
Issue is, it’s hard to balance out when there is a tiny amount of the wine that comes in.
Isn’t this one of the major reasons that most allocated wines are grey market in NYC restaurants now?
Yes, but also no.
The expectation of the ancillary business to get those allocated items is often too far out of whack.
I’ll give you a for instance of something I went through recently.
I got offered a weird allocation of Coche (all bottles), and when I dug into the prices, they were all higher than the lowest prices on Wine Searcher!
A few days later I got an offer out of France for 2021 Coche Dury Bourgogne Blanc at a price way, way under what I was offered from the wholesaler. The better part? I could buy 3 cases, not just 2 bottles. (I bought a bunch of other Coche stuff with it too)
I may not be a restaurant, but that’s a broken system.
A pretty classic example why many of us here in the US hunt for deals out of Europe. I’ve found a few (but mostly I’ve found the savings to not be worth the hassle at my scale as a small buyer).
I’m no international trade expert, but aren’t exploiting global market inefficiencies the focus of lots of businesses in every industry? Information flow has increased in the Internet age for sure, but that has changed the opportunities, not killed them.
So, do all the inefficiencies in the global system of trade, finance and shipping mean that the system is broken? Or just really really complicated?
So that’s my experience with Kermit Coche, my wholesale is at or about W-S low for what I’m allocated (i.e. not CC or Perrieres). I’m assuming that Kermit is the importer for that NY wholesaler (AFAIK there is no other authorized importer for Coche) and that the other Coche was grey market.
It’s complicated for sure.
Think about the number of great restaurants in America. There’s a ton! They all want to build amazing lists and have the big names on it. Then add in all the top retailers who want to do the same. It’s an overwhelming number. Then KLWM sells a bunch of the wines directly to people in the US. How does this all get pacified? Simple answer, it doesn’t.
As far as “blue chip” wines, I am really not seeing any softness at retail. Dunn, Ridge Monte Bello, Chateau Montelena, super second Bordeaux all seem to have strong pricing. Any good Sancerre has drifted north of $20, no deals for chablis, Burgundy or Champagne. The only softness I’ve seen is domestic producers that don’t have much name recognition yet are pricey for some reason.
Buy at auction, not retail
Pricing is one thing - but are they selling?
That’s my line! 
At KL auctions, prices for mature Bordeaux seem to be holding. Not sure if that’s true at other outfits like WineBid though. I heard secondhand that winebid has lowered their reserve estimates substantially on consignments but I’ve not noticed any deals there when I’ve (sporadically, haphazardly) checked out their latest auctions.
At least from Benchmark, the wines disappear from their website within a few days so I think they are.
Kermit likes those 8x and 10x margins.
I would too if I could get them.
It’s shocking to me the producers let him do it too.
That’s not representative of reality though. Some of those offers may be timed offers out of Bordeaux, meaning they are given a short window to sell the wines, thus them disappearing from the website. (yes, I’m well aware that they are selling private collections too, but I also see plenty of Bordeaux offered many times).
Also, Zachys moves a ton of Bordeaux over true market price at retail.
Im no defender of Kermit INC policies/handling of such uber market cherries, but I do think one needs to differentiate between “him” (Kermit Lynch the man, who is long retired living the sweet life now) and Kermit INC, the corporation operating in his name.
Big business doing its big business thang, whilst the man who built the empire has checked out, his name now the brand.