I am a huge fan of Corton. Not DRC Corton, but Corton in general. I generally prefer Cote de Beaune reds over Cote de Nuits, but Corton especially is my jam.
Never had DRC, but I actually saw a bottle of DRC Ech in a Total Wine for about $500 one time. Now ask me why I didn’t buy it!? Still kicking myself.
That would be awesome if, for each bottle of DRC allocated, you had to buy a case each of Domaine de Villaine Mercurey and HdV “Californio” Syrah.
I’d willingly buy cases of the de Villaine Bouzeron for the ability to buy Montrachet 
I do believe offers to the US list were distributed in mid/late March 2019 - for the 2016s - so maybe sometime soon. Allocations to others seems to happen after this from what I can ascertain… If y’all are wondering - yes, we’re all guilty here - our contribution to the demand for DRC (our cherished domaine) is well, demanding 
. As long as we’re all to blame then it shouldn’t be a surprise that prices will increase in an open market where supply (or control thereof) is also being portioned out.
That sound good to me. Next tasting group you can bring some DRC and I’ll show up with Davenport Mr. B’s that I got for $11. We can see what we like best. 
Slight thread drift. I cellared some Corton from the vineyards DRC bought, specifically the '08 Prince Florent de Merode Corton Les Bressandes. Anybody want these for 1/2 the price of the DRC? Just kidding.
Actually, I am wondering if anyone is familiar with the wine–had some lately, and, if so, what they think. CT seems positive, but thin reporting. (I see I also have an '88 Corton des Marechaudes, backfilled, which I will have to open soon.)
Last Corton I received was in 2010 for ~300bucks.
Price for Tache is exactly same as last year at ~1500bucks.
Delivery here in Central Europe already took place; California normally takes a quarter or so more asaik.
I don’t see a lot of bargain hunting for DRC based on cost… of you pass up your allocation then someone else will jump… of course, at least in the states you have to jump through a lot of hoops to even get an allocation if your a bottle shop so some of the price is built in… I’ve seen where a lot of DRC goes in our state and people don’t really care about price… now you might,but the next guy up will take whatever you don’t want and not at close to real pricing.
Another reason why people don’t talk about price, if they get a particularly good price it can be almost guaranteed they’ll get messaged asking where, if there are leftovers, if they can get connected.
Andrew, which retailer did you get it from? are there left overs? if so, can you connect me?
The thing is, stores that are selling these wines at reasonable markups usually have to buy a whole bunch of other stuff to get their allocations. Then they use those allocations to reward their best long-standing customers. One can’t just go in there and say “hey, will you please sell me DRC at prices way below market value?” and expect anything to happen beyond an eye roll. Those stores could sell what they get at higher prices. The point for them is rewarding their best customers and hopefully earning some ongoing loyalty. I don’t mean to condescend or give you a hard time if you already know some of this, but you seem not to. If someone tells you where they get that kind of pricing and then you go asking for it, that retailer might not be so happy with that customer.
As for importer direct pricing, maybe it’s easier to come by in Europe, but here in the US, it is definitely not anywhere near as easy to become a Wilson Daniels direct customer has William has made it sound. I have no idea how many of those customers get added each year, but I do know the importer uses DRC allocations to pressure their distributor partners to sell more of the other wines in the portfolio. So, there’s direct incentive for WD to sell DRC through distribution rather than directly to consumers, and DRC really has no say in that even if they might want it to go another way. I am in no way trying to demonize Wilson Daniels. To some extent and with some variations, this is how the wine business tends to work in the US for those few importers who get wines where demand is so high. It’s not always such a quid pro quo situation as it definitely is in this case, but every distributor and retail/restaurant buyer knows that if you want those wines, you do your best to support that company as a whole.
So, yeah, the prices you’re paying are significantly higher than what some people pay, and lower than what some other people pay. The market for these wines is bizarre. If you want to pay less, you can move on and try to be an important customer to another retailer that probably gets a decent allocation. It’s only gambling at that point.
Wilson Daniels selling direct to consumers in the US legally? Huh?
Thanks, absolutely agree. Sorry for any confusion, I’m well aware of the quid pro quo, which is why I’ve established relationships with these retailers and purchased quite a bit of other wine from them in the past year. I’m going to buy a lot of wine anyway, so I’ve targeted my purchases when possible through these retailers to give them as much business as possible. That’s precisely why I’m on the list to get part of their allocation this year. But that’s also why my expectation is that they will give me reasonable prices on what they get. The thing is I just don’t know what constitutes a “reasonable price”. I want them to make money, of course, but I would expect no more than a standard 20-30% markup. If they are marking it up 100% to sell it to me, after all the other business I’ve given them, I would certainly be upset.
I know with the 3-tiered system in the US, the wines that are well sought after, everybody wants to take their cut. So the importer marks them up more than usual, the distributor marks them up more than usual and the retailer marks them up more than usual. I just really don’t know how much markup there is before it even gets into the retailer’s hands. If they are paying high prices from their distributor, I can’t expect them to give me DRC at their cost or a loss.
That’s why I was hoping to gather some data points from others on what I should expect. (My library purchase last year is not a valid data point since it was unusual.) If, for example, others are getting Corton for $700 and they offer it to me again this year for $1400, I would like to be able to say, “what’s the deal? You pay $550 for this wine. Other retailers are offering it for $700. If you want to gouge me I’ll take my business elsewhere.” But if $1400 is what everyone else is paying for Corton because the retailers pay $1100, it is what it is. I just don’t feel like I have enough information to know for sure at this point.
I do appreciate (most 
) everyone’s comments and I do believe it has given me more information to at least believe that the prices they charge me should be significantly below market price and if they are not, I’m going to have a conversation with them.
They probably have a retailer who gets an allocation clear the sale for them.
Most retailers gotta spend a ton to get DRC with Wilson Daniels… and most of Wilson Daniels portfolio is… not that good to say the least. So i don’t really begrudge them if it’s above their normal markup. As long as it’s a good chunk below auction pricing i think it’s still a fair deal.
Any thoughts on why DRC would give the gift to WD? If WD is getting a huge boost to their otherwise underperforming portfolio, what is DRC getting out of the relationship?
two things—W-D has, I’m told, has in recent times moved to more of a restaurant model and has shortchanged even long time retail buyers. Secondly, the secret list does exist—I tried without success to get on it. Somehow favorite people of W-D or its reps get access at great pricing. Now w restaurants shuttered, I don’t know if there will be re-evaluation of their model.
for sure, i know a few people on the WD client list.
It’s a fascinating glimpse into a world I’ll never inhabit, people trying to spend a ton of money in order to get on a secret list to be able to buy the world’s most expensive wines, but being careful not to tell other people how much those wines cost, and so forth. It’s like DRC is the secret orgy society from Eyes Wide Shut.
I don’t begrudge anyone what they do with their money, but it’s a pretty amazing model.
Two things:
First @Andrew K. In my experience (27 years in WS), Wholesalers do not mark up highly sought after, very allocated items more than anything else. We sell a few of these, Rousseau, B Mascarello, Jacques Selosse etc…, and they are marked up just like some Chinon or Napa Zin. I can’t speak for Importers and obviously there is much variation among Retail. 40-50% is normal Retail markup, I think it is unrealistic to expect less than this no matter how much you buy.
Secondly WD has made a strong push to self distribute in a number of States. Here in CT they opened up their own Wholesale operation about 18 months ago. It is my understanding that DRC allocations will be more generous in those markets they self distribute.