Very happy with Premier Cru--even when they could not deliver

WINE TALK
1

Called today and spoke with Rob about a bottle of 3L 2003 Pavie Maquin that was purchased in June 04 but never showed up. Rob explained to me that they had problems with the larger formats of PM and offered to send out a six pack of the 750’s.

Very happy with their offer, satisfied customer here.

2

Wow, 5 years later…

I wonder why they had problems. You ordered it on futures.

3

Otto

You may be happy, but now someone else will not be getting their six bottles of 2003 Pavie Macquin.

4

I’m still waiting for my 2003 clerc milan…

Glad things worked out for you Otto (that sounds facetious for some reason, but I am being sincere). PC has great deals and the people who work there are generally pretty good, but they just never seem to have my wines

5

Zachary

Do you continue to order?

Otto,
Just curious…you bought 2003 BDX futures in 2004, in 3L, which PC orders directly with their supplier (presumably a BDX negociant). The wine releases in 2006, maybe they deliver in 2006, latest 2007? Now it is practically 2010…do you think that those 6 btls were purchased en primeur and sitting in the cellars of PC?

I do not mean to be a PITA, but I am just curious about how people think BDX futures really work. Payments for 2008 are due right now…6 months after the futures prices released. Then the wines should arrive in 2011.

Theoretically, there ought to be no delays in the process, unless you (the merchant) do not pay on time.

6

Dan, so far I have not had any problems with PC. Not a big or even medium buyer here, but I’ve had nothing but good experiences with them. The only time I had a problem was with 6 half bottles of Pierre Peters that were cooked. Made the mistake of trying to get this resolved via email and that’s just a waste of time.

But in the 7 or so years I’ve bought from them, they delivered good wines.

Once I get the PM I will open up one and if the wine is not ok, then we will see how they handle it, but I think they’ll do the right thing.

Ok, no more bad vibes on my wines.

7

If I had bought a bottle in June of 04 and just got the issue resolved I would not be happy…period…

8

Matt, I am sure that this could have been resolved some time ago if I had bothered. You need some nice customers like me. I would like to get some more 06 Flaccianello for $69.

Jeff, in the end all private goods are a zero sum game. pileon

9
  • 1

I stopped buying…er lending them my money a long time ago. Imagine, a thread starts with “very happy”, and it ends with"5 yrs later, the told me they were having problems…"

Wish people would buy things from me and let me hold onto their money for 5+ years. [whistle.gif]

10

I guess that is my point as well. And as someone else pointed out, maybe you got someone else’s 6 btls of 2003 PM…now they will have to fight the fight.

Barring unusual circumstances, which I cannot fathom what those would be in this instance, I believe you ought to receive the wine that you purchased.

11

Premier Cru is the Goldman Sachs of the wine world. Tough to make money their way, huh? [swoon.gif]

12

Interesting…I remember selling 12 cases of Pavie Macquin 2003 to a CA merchant a few months back. You have to thank me, Otto, for finally getting your wine. Sorry, didn’t have any double magnums… [rofl.gif]

13

I don’t know if their reputation was as well cemented in 2004 as it is now, but I think that everyone who buys pre-arrival from them knows they will likely have to wait a while for their wines.

Not having the statistics at my disposal, it is difficult to comment, but I would suspect they have a very, very, very high rate of fulfilling orders. If you are especially nervous about how they do so (grey market, buying at auction, buying from Max, etc), it is best to pay more and go someplace else.

Leave more bottles for me!

14

So are you okay, with the fact that they took Otto’s money in 2004, for wines due to arrive in 2006, and then in Nov 2010, cancelled the order?

15

First off Dan, it is November 2009 not 2010. Second, I am very happy. You and a few others seem to be unhappy. Since Iam the customer, who gives a shit what everyone else thinks! neener

16

Yes Otto, 2009. As for your happiness, will you be ordering Bordeaux futures from PC again?

17

My thanks to those like Otto who have been sitting waiting for their futures for a while and posted about it. The delivery uncertainty has made it easy to avoid their “pre-arrivals”. There’s so much good affordable wine out there (including in stock at PC) that doesn’t require years of post-payment waiting. No doubt I’ll miss some deals…but I appreciate understanding the options.

RT

18

I don’t order Bordeaux from them or anyone else on futures. I just don’t love that wine that much. Now if they would have some super deal on a few bottles, I would not hesitate even as pre-arrivals. So yes, i will continue to buy from them.