My recent experience with an incredible '90 Ch. Figeac, and reading Kevin Shin’s shining report on the '82s, propelled me to do yet a bit more backfilling starting the year. I’ve purchased a mixed case from a couple of sources, including some very solid '82s and '86s. Seeing MacArthur’s ad on WB.com, coupled with Faryan’s recommendation, I ordered some '82s from MacArthurs, speaking with Phil Bernstein in the process. A very knowledgeable, helpful guy.
So today my first shipment comes in, and aghast, the wine I really wanted was seeping. On closer inspection, the cork was floating in the bottle. Somewhere in transit, the cork had dislodged. Who knows why, chalk it up to the risk of the hobby we all pursue. Took some pictures, sent them to Phil, and left the office early to at least see what I had on my hands. Oddly, my good friend and fellow board member, Marc Frontario, was very close to my house, probably stalking my wife again, so I invited him over for this little science experiment.
Label, perfect. Capsule, perfect. In fact, the tight capsule had kept the wine from gushing out. The other bottles I ordered, perfect on inspection. Does not appear to have suffered any shipping issue or weather issue. Perhaps just a simple case of a slightly older or flawed cork slipping loose. Has happened before, will happen again.
Poured the wine into a decanter. Coloration slight more brownish-red than other '82s I have recently had. Nose, a bit muted. So Marc and I head out to the deck to enjoy a perfectly crisp afternoon lakeside. In the meantime, I get an immediate email back from Phil offering, without question, to replace the bottle in kind, with something else even if a bit more costly, or refund me the money. Plus, shipping at his expense. WOW, amazing customer service.
Marc and I enjoyed some time on the deck trying to coax some love out of the bottle, but alas, it was not showing what a well-stored '82 from a top-tier Pauillac estate should. Fruits were dried out. Earth tones, though, were quite nice. Tannins resolved. Drying, clipped finish. It was just lacking that freshness one wants and expects from this ripe vintage. I’m assuming the cork had dislodged a day or so earlier or perhaps it had some flaw that allowed some air transmission before.
In any event, I trusted Phil to replace in kind and said I would cover fed ex overnight. We all need skin in the game. I feel badly for a retailer when a purchase goes wrong, but when you get service like this, it buys loyalty. The replacement arrives tomorrow!
A+++ to MacArthur’s. And thanks to WB and Faryan to turning me on to this retailer.
All ended well, except for my cancelled weight training session with my medieval trainer (on second thought, perhaps all ended better!).
Robert