Wine & Spirits Bargains at the PLCB (Part 3)

[Dennis]

Are you sure you didn't mistake it for the Chapel Hill cab @ $12.99.

Best,

Mike

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Well Mike, it looks like we were both right. Here's my answer from the LCB;

24995 Chairman's CHAPEL HILL CABERNET SAUVIGNON 06

$12.99 750ML n/a 5485

Dennis, above is the item you had seen, a couple of weeks ago I had noticed this Typo and had it corrected, instead of Chapel, Chalk was mistakenly entered, Chalk Hill at $12.99 would catch my eye also. FYI, if you like Ca. Cabs. I just purchased two which are great, code 11522- Bighorn Cellars Cab Sauv, $40.00 to $14.99, already in stores

Code 11770- Arthur Hills Cab Sauv 2006- $22.00 to $9.99

Will arrive in about 3-weeks

Thanks Steve Pollack

[mike volker]

Dennis,

I don't think even our esteemed exchairman could have got Chalk Hill at $12.99. These new guys aren't getting the same kind of deals he got. I was in the Collegeville store wed and they had Trilogy for $35, I bought the '00 for $20 and the '01 for $25 under the old regime.

Best,

Mike

[wilkinsmd]

Dennis,

I don't think even our esteemed exchairman could have got Chalk Hill at $12.99.  These new guys aren't getting the same kind of deals he got. I was in the Collegeville store wed and they had Trilogy for $35, I bought the '00 for $20 and the '01 for $25 under the old regime.

Best,

Mike

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Don't mean to be a defender of the PLCB, but...show me where you can get the '05 Trilogy for less than $35?

Flora Springs admitted that they got ahead of themselves and overproduced Trilogy. They made 10,000 cases of the 2001 which we got for $24.99. The 2002 (7700 cases produced) and 2003 (6200 cases produced) were $29.99, and now the 2005 is $34.99 where only 5000 cases were produced. So clearly they are reducing supply to try to solidify pricing.

What about Kilikanoon? We have almost the entire product range and nearly all are far and away the best prices anywhere. Steven Kent Cab, Testarossa Chard, Gloria Ferrer sparkling, all cheapest in the country.

The thing to keep in mind is that the ex started with only a handful of terrific deals. It's become a recognized "brand" and now they have well over 100 offerings. Should we expect insane prices on every one?

Mark

www.pawinetalk.com

[mike volker]

Mark,

As the largest single buyer of wine and spirits in the country I would certainly expect the lowest prices in the country, but we all know that that isn't so.

Best,

Mike

[Dennis]

I hate to say it but I had another disappointing CS tonight. It was the Perrin & Fils 2004 Chateauneuf-du Paupe Les Linards. Cork was fine, color was leaning towards brown and the tannins were long gone. I thought it was flat. What made it especially disappointing was the fact that we were having it with Beef Bourgoine which we don't have very often. It actually reminded me of the Quorum that I had a few weeks ago that I thought had turned. I only bought one of these so I won't know what I may have missed. If anyone out there had this wine and liked it, please let me know. Otherwise, I'm going to start wondering if we are actually getting wines that may not have been stored properly. This wine was kept in my small wine fridge so I don't think it was anything that I did after the purchase that could have affected it. Now with that said, I have to admit that my wife did not agree with me, she thought it was fine.

[wilkinsmd]

Agreed Mike. Also they have to add the taxes created by the legislature.

Mark

[lancastermike]

I have enjoyed several bottles of the Chapel Hill Chardonnay. This is a unoaked chardonnay from Australia. It is part of one of the many promotions underway right now and is going for 12 bucks or so. My darling wife loves those big oaky California chardonnays. I think they are akin to gnawing on a stick of butter.

The unoaked chardonnay is much more to my taste. This is no special wine but I found it to be very drinkable at a decent price.

[Dennis]

Eureka Moment! No more exploring with CS select wines on the weekend. I just went went thru 2 new French wines that almost ruined a nice steak dinner.....should have known better. I swear that several years ago your odds were much better of getting a very pleasant surprise with Newman's Selects. Neither of the wines I had tonight had the color or nose that I would expect from a wine that was less than 3 years old. Advertised as $20+ wines for $10+ they were no baragin at all in the long run. I capped the first one after 1 glass and the second after 2. I would have been better off buying a good bottle of Providence or Franciscan.....

I guess I miss the Hannah's. Providences'. Montes Alpha, & St Francis wines that we use to get.

[mike volker]

Amen to that, although I've got to admit I haven't been thrilled enough by his new wines to make the trip south.

Remember when this was the hottest thread on the Pa board?

Best,

Mike

[Carole]

Remember when this was the hottest thread on the Pa board?

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I think another huge impact on the usage of this thread was caused by the Pennsylvania Forum split into two. I still don't understand how the PLCB thread ended up in Cooking and Baking and not Dining.

[mike volker]

Carole,

I would think all we need do is ask?

Best,

Mike

[Capaneus]

Do any of you crawl the online store site often looking for such deals? I'd be interested in re-invigorating the thread with deals once again, to the extent there are any to be had. Happy tasting. Cheers,

Carrington

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Not so much crawling, lately: the PLCB started making the process into an organized series of clearance sales. The Cobos Malbec was part of one of those, a while back. Believe it or not, there were any number of better deals involved, from Guigal Hermitage to Whitehall Lane Reserve. Never got around to the Malbec before I topped off my budget.

You can sign up at your local store to receive e-mail notification (and, because the PLCB is a Government shop, they won't sell their e-mail lists). There's also an unaffiliated website, pawinetalk.com, which has been a fount of invaluable information on all things PLCB.

As for free shipping, when they've had it completely free, it's been well advertised. Otherwise, it's always free for orders over $200. But even when it's not free, it's still much cheaper than other e-retailers I've dealt with.

Edited April 19, 2009 by Capaneus (log)

[lancastermike]

On the rye whiskey front the Wild Turkey rye is currently on sale and seems to be in stock most places. The WT rye is bottled at 101 proof and is good stuff for mixing use.

[Dennis]

On the rye whiskey front the Wild Turkey rye is currently on sale and seems to be in stock most places. The WT rye is bottled at 101 proof and is good stuff for mixing use.

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I read an article in Esquire a few months ago that declared Evan Williams to be the Best cheap bourbon in the country and an excellent one at any price. So, I tried it and to tell you the truth for $11.89 it has become a regular for me. I still drink the Bulleit, Buffalo Trace, Eagle Rare, & WT but you can't beat the price of the EV and they've been making it longer than anyone else in the country.

On another note, I wish I would have stockpiled those 1.75litre bottles of Eagle Rare when they were on sale a few years. I keep looking for it to go back on sale but I think that was a one time deal only.

[KatieLoeb]

Tonight I cracked open a bottle of 2007 Mad Bay Shiraz I'd picked up at Columbus Blvd. store a few days ago and was pleasantly surprised. At $9.99/bottle it's a good deal for a nice spicy, jammy berry flavored shiraz. Tannins aren't overwhelming either. I suspect it might be even better with food, but not too shabby as "cocktail wine", the category I use for sippable-without-food wines.

[Dennis]

Here's a good deal for Irish Whiskey drinksrs. I picked up 2 bottles (all they had in Glenside) of Auchentoshan single malt Scotch Whisky (no e ). It is triple distelled like Irisk Whiskey ( got the E) and quite frankly tastes as smooth and good as the Jamison's and Tullamore Dew's that I normally drink. The clearance price is $17.29 and I've seen it for $29.00 in Delaware, so I think it's a good deal. With that said, I don't know how to use spell checker on here and I'm tired I've corrected my spelling...

[Dennis]

Here's a good deal for Irish Whiskey drinkers. I picked up 2 bottles (all they had in Glenside) of Auchentoshan single malt Scotch Whisky (no e ). It is triple distilled like Irish Whiskey ( got the E) and quite frankly tastes as smooth as the Jamison's and Tullamore Dew's that I normally drink. The clearance price is $17.29 and I've seen it for $29.00 in Delaware, so I think it's a good deal.

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[KatieLoeb]

Sipping a glass of Airlie Willamette Valley Pinot Gris 2006. $16.99/bottle. Bought mine at the Columbus Blvd. store, but they're almost out according to the website. This is a very flavorful summer white. Big peachy and apricot flavors along with a hint of citrus peel on the back end. Soft enough to drink alone but also enjoyed it with some rotisserie chicken. Great pairing with the chicken.

This would compliment a wide range of foods, from the rotisseried chicken I mentioned above to light pasta dishes or grilled fish and seafood. It's almost a lateral move from overoaked California chardonnay, but in a good way. Quality Oregon Pinot Gris is hard to find at this price point. I'm going to try snag a couple more bottles of this before they disappear. Seems I might have to search outside of Philadelphia County though.

Seems the PLCB has quite a few wines available from this winery. It doesn't seem a huge leap in logic that if their Pinot Gris is this good that perhaps their treatment of other Alsace varietals might be equally successful. Makes me curious to ty their gewurztraminer or the riesling as well as the blends....

Edited June 27, 2009 by KatieLoeb (log)

[Capaneus]

Utterly absurd prices in current CS Sale:

http://www.lcb.state.pa.us/plcb/cwp/view.asp?a=1328&q=559709

[Jeff L]

Utterly absurd prices in current CS Sale:

http://www.lcb.state.pa.us/plcb/cwp/view.asp?a=1328&q=559709

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I was wondering when someone was going to post this and I almost did yesterday.

Just picked up 10 bottles of KILIKANOON ORACLE SHIRAZ 05 for $20 per, amazing wine at an amazing and unheard of price point. I also am waiting on 3 cases of Valdubon at $6 bucks per to be shipped from the Wayne store. I've been drinking this almost daily at 10 bucks so I'm stocking up some.

As Pedro says, lots of insane prices on some pretty good juice here.

[Dennis]

As usual. it seems like most of these wines are in western PA, and I was told that they would not transfer any of these "Hot Summer Saving" wines to my store. However, I did notice that the Davis Bynum Pinot Noir is available thru the online store and there are about 300 bottles left. I tried googling the vintage but can't seem to find anything on the Rochiloi vineyard, every review I found was for either the Russian River or the Mishoni? vineyard. Does anyone have any opinions on this wine? I'd appreciate your recommendations. Thanks

[KatieLoeb]

Enjoyed a bottle of Guigal Cotes du Rhone Blanc 2007 over the last couple of nights. It's $13.99/bottle and fairly available at most of the Wine & Spirits shops. 55% Viognier with smaller percentages of Roussane and Marsanne fermented in stainless steel. Lots of those lovely floral and peachy/apricot aromas from the Viognier. A nice round medium bodied quaffer for summertime. I had it with roast chicken and cooked wheatberries topped with stir fried zucchini. It was just perfect with that, as the nuttier notes in the wine were delicious with the nutty grains. I'd definitely buy this again as I suspect it would pair with a wide variety of foods pretty well. Always a good bottle to grab and go to the BYO when you aren't sure what you'll be having.

[Jeff L]

As usual. it seems like most of these wines are in western PA, and I was told that they would not transfer any of these "Hot Summer Saving" wines to my store. However, I did notice that the Davis Bynum Pinot Noir is available thru the online store and there are about 300 bottles left. I tried googling the vintage but can't seem to find anything on the Rochiloi vineyard, every review I found was for either the Russian River or the Mishoni? vineyard. Does anyone have any opinions on this wine? I'd appreciate your recommendations. Thanks

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I didn't have any problem shipping the Valdubon to the Newtown store although it hasn't arrived yet..

[Capaneus]

As usual. it seems like most of these wines are in western PA, and I was told that they would not transfer any of these "Hot Summer Saving" wines to my store. However, I did notice that the Davis Bynum Pinot Noir is available thru the online store and there are about 300 bottles left. I tried googling the vintage but can't seem to find anything on the Rochiloi vineyard, every review I found was for either the Russian River or the Mishoni? vineyard. Does anyone have any opinions on this wine? I'd appreciate your recommendations. Thanks

←

Dennis, a couple of things:

If they aren't shipping to your store, someone has decided not to do it for you, out of malice, ignorance, or laziness. I'm expecting a couple of things to come in to mine, and there seemed to be no problem with getting it done. I checked with Harrisburg in advance, and they most definitely have no general rule against it - but General Managers do have some discretion in the matter. If you make no headway - go to another store. Stuff transferred in counts as sales for the receiving store, someone will do it.

Don't believe the stock numbers you're seeing. They're upgrading systems, and inventory is way off. I called the online store, trying to bet more of the Bynum Allen Vyd., which I really liked, and they are sold out. Got some of the Rocchioli Vyd., which is supposedly not as good, but in ways that make me suspect I'll like it - not as big, more acidity. Just received it, haven't tried it. There's still some of that (or there was some yesterday), and there's still some of the Simonnet-Febvre "Les Preuses", which I do have, have drunk, and like - and I liked it when I'd paid $30 for it.

Anything else is going to be hit or miss, but the online store's own system is accurate: if you click through and it says they got none, it's the truth. But there's no list of what they have, so you have to check each wine you're interested in.

Other than online, I would call to check stock actually exists before going somewhere to grab something, or asking to have it transferred in.

Hope any of this comes in time to help you out.

[Dennis]

I went to the store in Flourtown last week after reading your reply and asked them to order 2 cases of the Clos La Chance chardonay. He said he would do it on Monday, so hopefully he did.

On another note, I stopped in the state store tonight and discoverd that the Wild Turkey Rare Breed is on clearance for $21.99 which is a huge discount. I've only had it once before because it's usually about $35/btl. I intend to pick up more tomorrow night.

One more thing, how do you invoke spell-check?