As I find myself in my early 60’s, I see the value in purchasing already aged wines. What Internet retail stores have you had the best luck for buying 10 - 20 yr. old wines? Since I live in Oregon, I’d prefer west coast operations, but if there is an especially good source in the east, that could be helpful as well. I thank you in advance for your answers.
Auctions are probably your best bet, but K&L used to carry some older selections, as well as places like Blicker-Pierce.
When buying Médocs/Pessac-Léognans, I typically buy them at 10 years from vintage and up (nb: I order almost all my Bdx from the US and fly them to Manila because the prices in the US are, in general, the best). Some shops I buy from are:
KL Wines***** (SF, CA)
Cellaraiders****** (CT)
Marin Wine Cellar******* (San Rafael, CA)
NapaCabs (Riverside, CA)
Beltramo’s (Menlo Park, CA)
I used to buy Burgs somewhat regularly from Premier Cru (CA), but stopped a few years ago because they started stocking mostly very young wines.
***** I used to buy a lot of aged PL from KL (e.g., '78 and '79) because I knew these were supplied by LD Vins and that the latter got them ex-château.
****** Ben Wallace, the owner, is very helpful, accommodating and candid. Once, when I wanted to order a few expensive bottles, he actually discouraged me from buying them because the last couple of those he tried he didn’t find very interesting. He certainly made a loyal customer out of me by doing that. I also like buying Burgs from Ben.
******* Marin doesn’t have the best prices, but convenience (i.e., lots of old vintages from good châteaux) makes it a place to order from for me. The case discount makes the higher prices less of an issue.
That said, buying older wines, is, of course, riskier than buying younger ones. It goes with the territory.
Best,
N
I can vouch for old CA Cabs from Blicker-Pierce. Buy without hesitation.
Ditto on Cellarainders (CT). Ben is awesome. He knows the provenance of everything I’ve ever bought and he’s always done me right.
Like you, I’m in my 60s, and I’ve been buying older Bordeaux and Burgundy for years from http://www.brentwoodwine.com" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; - specifically their weekly European auctions. They have never supplied me with an OTH bottle! I don’t particularly trust winebid, as individuals may try to get rid of bottles they don’t want there! I suspect that Brentwood gets a lot of their wines from estate sales, when some conscientious wine lover passes away!
Contact WB member Mike Sai, at Benchmark Wines. They buy up older cellars and pricing is very competitive. Mike can give you an insight as to what’s available as well as what’s worth your money. He will also track down special requests whenever he can. Here’s the link to their website.
Chambers St Wines is in NYC but they ship and often have reasonably priced older selections.
So this is what old bankers do in retirement-look for old wine? Doug welcome to the board! I, like the other Randy, have had great luck with Benchmark wines out of Napa. Everything I’ve bought has been as described and appropriately priced. Hope all is well.
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I’m curious how many pre-2000 bottles you’ve purchased from WineBid. If it’s just a few, 1 or 2 bad bottles could be bad luck. If it’s hundreds, that many bad bottles could indicate a more systemic problem. Have you reported the bad bottles to WineBid, and did they do anything about them ?
I sell older CA wines from my cellar through WineBid occasionally. I think their reputation is critical to my sales being successful, and experiences like yours give me some concern.
No question that Rare Wine Company in Sonoma is the place for vintage wines. Their quality is impeccable.
I have been hit and miss with places like Benchmark, Winebid, Acker and others.
I purchased a very expensive bottle that was a fake, it appears as the wine was drunk at certain point and the original cork was put back. If I were to buy wines with some age on, ie I wouldn’t consider 10 to 20 as old, I would buy from a major auction house.
Anyone ever buy from RLliquidassets.com?
Would appreciate any feedback.
One of the owners used to participate on ERP. They seem reputable. I believe they are a broker.
Another vote for Rare Wine Company.
Very particular about provenance.
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I’ve had limited, but very positive experience with both the wine and customer service at Benchmark.
Have purchased successfully from Liquid Assets.