Yes it does. I would never ask them to refund a corked bottle, but have asked for refunds on a couple of dead Barolos. They accept responsibility graciously; and are easy to work with.
If you need an absolute guarantee on older bottles (and I don’t know any store except Chambers that gives that for secondary market wines), you should look for library / ex-cellar releases. Steve Edmunds will do this on occasion. You may also be able to contact wineries directly to try to convince them to sell you older bottles they might have. And when purchasing through stores, they should give you their normal guarantee on library releases. Certain French wineries do library releases, not all expensive. In the Loire noted domaines Huet, Luneau-Papin, Olga Raffault, and Pierre and Catherine Breton do library releases. Bordeaux does them. Ducru did on their “guaranteed” mid-80s release recently. Then certain stores seem to arrange for ex-cellar or negociant releases of older Bordeaux wines they should in principle guarantee. . . .
I have found that great provenance costs money. You buy wine at auction that has sourced it directly from the property, and prices rocket. I think that unless you are lucky and find a great source, you need to be prepared to pay a premium for the best bottle, that has perfect color and a great fill.
My apologies for confusing corked wines with provenance. My concern when I started this thread was finding sources that if I pay what I consider a large amount of money for wine that I am reasonably sure that the wine will be good because it was stored properly.
I now understand that no secondary source will guarantee what may or may not have happened at the winery.
Thank you for some of your thoughtful responses!
Sounds like your answer is Chambers.
Chambers Street guarantee and service is singular. I received store credit for two bottles of '58 Borgogno Barolo that were completely over the hill (despite long, gentle aeration). I’ve had great luck purchasing bottles from the '50s/'60s/'70s. Not provenance related, but to illustrate their approach to service: on one occasion when I was traveling to NYC, they double decanted a '70 Oddero for me in the morning so I could pick up on the way to the restaurant for a special dinner with my wife.
They are a pleasure to deal with, and their level of service steers my spending towards them, even when they’re not the absolute cheapest price. Lovely people without an ounce of pretension.
Re Benchmark - four years ago some friends and bought a bottle of '01 Vogue Musigny as a group buy. Before purchasing, I called and clarified exactly what would and wouldn’t be covered by their guarantee. The bottle was in great shape so didn’t have to test it, but their response indicated pretty comprehensive scope over condition, including cork taint. I’d suggest giving them a call or writing to them and asking directly and specifically about your concerns.
Michael - you can also overthink it. Chambers is a great store and they’re good people. But unless you’re buying a release from a chateau or a producer, you’re always going to take some kind of chance when it comes to provenance. Most places selling an older wine will do a bit of checking on the source. One basic thing they look at is whether the wine has been resold before. You can always ask the particular vendor if you’re interested in a specific wine. Cellaraiders, Benchmark, and several other places offer older wines from time to time and if you’re insisting on pristine condition direct from the producer, you’ll pass on a lot of deals that can be pretty good. Wine goes through a lot before it gets into the consumer’s hands and it survives pretty well for the most part.
Don’t be afraid to ask vendors what they’ve done to reassure themselves about the wines they’re selling and make your decisions accordingly. Good luck.
More good news: Bordeaux from the 90s and Cal Cabs from the 2000s are just not that old. If conditions are good (see my earlier post) you can probably buy with confidence from almost any reputable outlet.
You are expecting the unexpected. No sellers is going to guarantee aged wine is not corked. Corking is generally a random phenomena so how could they? All you can guarantee from old wines is the fill level. Otherwise, it’s a crapshoot.
Totally agree. I rarely get a poor quality wine from a winery’s library but it has happened. No winery can guarantee the wine is not corked, though, but many will replace a corked bottle.
I have bought several lots of old bottles from them (>10 years aged) and have only had to return one bottle for VA that they did exchange. Benchmark is the only one I have had do this. I received a 3-lot from Winebid that was all corked and they would do nothing about it.
I’ve returned at least one old bottle to Chambers that was corked.
I really like Benchmark, although, I’ve yet to have to utilize their guarantee and get a refund. Their customer service in general, however, has been great.
Thinking that I will pull the trigger on Benchmark and will definitely start following the Chambers street web site.
Thanks again for all the great advice!
Flaws aside, you also have bottle variation. Two bottles stored in perfect conditions, in the same case since bottling, can show quite different from each other a few decades down the road. They can all be really good, with a lot of commonality, but have individual distinctions, so blind they may seem like different vintages of the same wine. One bottle may be lively, while another somewhat tired. Maybe one is phenomenal, while another “just good”.
My advice is to take a realistic long view of your buying. If you only buy the most in-demand wines, you may find you’re paying a premium for a best case enjoyment scenario that will often enough disappoint. If you can find excellent producers that aren’t in the spotlight, you might be much more satisfied with the performance for the price. Vintage is another thing. Aside from critics missing the call occasionally, a vintage rating is a broad brush. There are great wines from secondary and lesser vintages. Another aspect is some of the best wines from the best vintages require a lot more age to really shine. So, the “best” vintage of a wine may not be all that enjoyable yet at 25 years out, other vintages, “lesser” vintages, may be singing already at 15 years, and a fraction of the price.
+1 on that Cabot deal. I had a 2011 Cabot Syrah last week. To get that kind of age for $30, it is a no-brainer purchase.
Especially with aged wines, youse pays your money and youse takes your chances. That’s the way it works.