I could make it more complicated by calculating the inflated cost of the bottle: the $45 I paid for 1982 Mouton futures in 1983 is worth about $150 today. Or what it would be worth if I’d invested the money back then or sold the bottle today. An accountant would tell me that’s a more realistic cost. But I bought it to drink, not as an investment, so I use my purchase price. It’s also easier to open a $45 bottle than a $1000 bottle.
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It had 3 but lost one last year.
My wife and I are having dinner there on Friday. I don’t plan to fly out there with wine so will be buying off the list. Not seeing a ton of great options in terms of value but I’m sure I’ll find something I can live with.
What it does, is make me raise my game. If I am paying that much for corkage, I am not going to bring a $100 bottle. This is when I pull out mature wines; the first growth Bordeaux from a great vintage or the special Burgundy I have been saving for the right occasion.
My wife and I have stopped giving each other Christmas gifts; instead every quarter, we head into Manhattan for a special lunch. Generally, I try and choose a restaurant that is both special and offers corkage. Again, I make sure that I dig deep to pull out a wine worthy of the occasion.
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When do you fly in, and to where?
If time and logistics permit, why not buy a bottle of something spectacular and pay the corkage?
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Good suggestion, but shopping is unlikely to work due to tight timing. We will actually have a couple of bottles with us, though nothing too exceptional, and plan to bring one the following night to dinner where corkage is only $45. We’re staying at Glen Gordon Manor, a small Inn about 15 minutes from the Inn at Little Washington. With weekend reservations they require one dinner at their restaurant Houndstooth. Reviews are good and pricing seems reasonable. Two large dinners in two nights is itself a bit much, but we’ll try to hike it off in between and Sunday, weather permitting.
We could pivot and bring a bottle to both but nothing that we will have with us really seems to justify the $200 corkage.
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The pricing on the list is generally pretty awful, but obviously there’s lots of great wine there (though it feels like a pretty boring list–as if you just asked someone what the “best” three producers were in a bunch of regions. I don’t get the sense that they’re willing to champion anything outside the most narrow of consensus bottles). I personally find it objectionable to pay these sorts of markups–to the point that it would ruin my enjoyment of a lot of the wines–so my recs are solely things that I think are relatively solid bottles for the price.
I do see a couple gems in the Oregon Chardonnay section: 2017 Cameron Clos Electrique Blanc, 2017/18 Evening Land Summum, and 2016 Walter Scott X-Novo. The X-Novo would have been from younger vines, but if Ken decided it merited single-vineyard status I’m sure it is excellent and all three wines should be in an absolute sweet spot right now, especially for ~$200. Certainly I’d rather drink any of these than any of the Inn’s white Burg under $300.
The two 2017 Bellivière Chenins should be in a great place right now (I think the Rosiers is very worth the extra $), and although both are marked up from retail by a good bit, they at least have the benefit of some proper bottle age as well. I’m also curious about the 2013 Von Winning Sauvignon Blanc I --it’s their “serious” (ie: oak-aged) SB, and although it was a tough year, that wine is generally a rockstar. Pricing does not seem to have been updated since release, so if they’ll let you send it back if it’s over the hill, I’d give it a whirl. There’s also a bunch of stuff in the Austrian section that’s more than I’d like to pay, but properly aged and at least closer to market rate.
The red side seems pretty rough, markup wise. 2014 Esprit du Tablas might be cool–no idea why it’s less expensive than more current releases, but that wine ages well if you like Cali wines with age. Olga Raffault is always great, and the '17 and '09 should both be drinking well, just don’t look them up on wine-searcher. The older ArPePe Riservas seem interesting, though I’d be a tiny bit worried about how long they might take to open up. The 2019/20 Terre Nere crus are “only” 3x retail, and should have a really lovely amount of bottle age on them, plus they’re really food friendly. I’d probably head that way.
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Thanks for the recommendations Saul, including on the OR whites and the Chenin. I am very much considering the Ar.Pe.Pe. offerings and plan to talk to the somm later today to get thoughts including on those wines. Also considered the Terre Nere but those are more readily available than older Ar.Pe.Pe.
I agree, much harder for me to find reds I want to drink than whites that aren’t marked up too much for comfort. That said, my take on a place like this is a lot different than many folks here. I’m there primarily for the food then the experience. If corkage is $200 and there are wines I enjoy drinking anyway under $200 that aren’t marked up 3x retail, I’m good. For myself, I’d probably get '11 Bongran Thevenet at $115 ($50 retail) and '22 Mugneret-Gibourg Bourgogne at $220 ($150 retail). Multiple other potentially interesting “little” red Burgs under $250, and as usual 70% of the Germans Austrians and Beaujolais are under $200. Same with French roses, and Musar blanc…a pretty nice selection of whites and roses.
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