I’ve heard the “its on the boat” line a couple of times, only to wait another year for the wine. That said, having just tried the 04 DP, as well as having tried 4 separate bottles of the 04 Comtes, its not a bad thing to have to wait.
Mike
Never had a problem with PC. Great pricing. I’ve always found James, who handles my account at PC, to be courteous and professional. I haven’t had any bad experiences waiting for delivery, but I’ve got plenty of wine to drink if I was to wait on delivery. And in any event most of what I order is probably better off left untouched for a while.
Last fall picked up a couple of cases of 02 Dom from PC at $99/bottle. The wine arrived in Cali sometime during the winter, was shipped to me in March and now safely resides in my cellar.
To compare, got an email a few minutes ago from another retailer in Scarsdale with a deep discount on 2004 Champagne, including the dp. $179 on 1. $176 on 3. $165 on 6. I’ll wait for pc.
Oh yeah, how could I forget:
Never forget.
I’d probably pay an extra $50/100 to drink this wine with Lonely Island.
In all seriousness, I find the Premier Cru rep/argument pretty simple; your paying less for their questionable sourcing approach. If you value near-term delivery/consumption or a (perceived?) greater certainty of delivery pay slightly more at K&L or JJBuckley (both which are great stores IMHO). Personally, I’m glad to wait for wines that should be laid down for 3-5 yrs anyways and at a price I can afford (at the top of my per bottle comfort range though) while possibly getting a temporal tax arbitrage if/when the online tax bill goes through. Finally, I don’t really buy the tied up funding argument, bank accounts pay 0 interest right now and wine is a luxury good.
Of course my view will change if post-arrival wines are corked/damaged etc. and they don’t have a reasonable return/credit policy, but that’s a separate concern.
FYI, 2004 Dom Perignon and Taittinger CdC back on for $100; also briefly had some 99/2000 Churchill, but those look gone.
I have a bridge to sell you might want to buy. ![[berserker.gif]](/uploads/db3686/original/2X/8/8600bbd4810d342b8fbd4ffb62b4f0026275fd37.gif "berserker"){kind=small}
Actually, I buy from PC often. But, I never believe the “it’s on the water.”
As I predicted price is currently at reasonable levels from non-PC retailers. Any recent opinions on this wine? Should I pick up some or just wait for 2008? (Not a fan of 05/06/07 vintage Champagnes I’ve had from other houses so I will be skipping those regardless; however I’ve enjoyed many of the 04s I’ve had.)
I saw it at my neighborhood Costco for $125. I’ll prob pick up some.
Nick,
I am always a fan of picking up some DP just to see how it ages. The 04 is not DPs best effort in my opinion, but Richard Geoffroy thinks it will be a late bloomer. He probably knows better than I and is pretty honest about things. I will agree that the 05-07 trio of vintages is not at the level of 02 or 04, but 06 has promise. 08 and 09 will be awesome and so will 12.
Hmm interesting. I’ve always trusted your opinion so to me this is a signal to hold off. I think I’ll pick up more 04 Grande Dame which I really loved (as in one of the best Champagnes I’ve tasted). Or some Bollinger Grande Annee 2004. Damn, there is just too much good stuff out there…
I am looking forward to a visit there on 17 December 
Nick,
The 04 Grande Dame is an awesome wine and I will have more of that than the 04 DP in my cellar. Love the 04 Bolly too and will have more of that in my cellar too. It also helps that both are less expensive than the DP. Still - I plan on cellaring at least a (6) pack of 04 DP just to follow it over the years.
Dallas area Costcos have it for $119 a bottle right now.