Wine & Spirits Bargains at the PLCB (Part 2)

[Dennis]

Too bad I haven't been paying attention to the site lately, all of these wines are gone from what I could tell.

I'm gonna see if I can search the catalog for some deals of my own. BTW, do you search the closeout section for these?

Hi everyone (or those few who still on reading on this topic!). I have not posted in forever and thought I would chime iin with some recent purchases and comments. My recent PLCb strategy has been to look through the online store for bargains which appear to be high QPR. I have not been to a physical store shopping in a while, although I do pick up my shipments there. Some outrageous deals can be had if you are a searcher. Here are a few recent purchases (I typically email these to my friends (after I buy what I want!), so I have copied my notes):

1. 2004 Louis Latour Puligny Montrachet les Folatieres

WS 91: Very elegant, this white displays graceful floral, mineral and anise flavors in a well-integrated frame. Intense on the finish. Needs time to smooth out. Best from 2008 through 2015

Released @ $75, now $12.99 at PLCB ; retails elsewhere for $50-80

Of course, there was only 1 bottle...

2. MAS BELLES EAUX

Coteaux du Languedoc Ste.-Helene 2005

Rich, ripe aromas and flavors of kirsch, dark plum, chocolate and spice are backed up by a chiseled structure and firm tannins. The lush finish echoes the spice, with touches of pepper and beef. Syrah, Grenache and Carignane. Best after 2014. 250 cases imported

$12.99 vs. $45-50 elsewhere:

WS 92

3. 2004 Vina Cobos Bramare Malbec Marchiori Vineyard on sale for $19.99 + free shipping to your fave store + about $1 per bottle tax. What's so special about this wine you might ask?

First, ratings (this is long, and I go on afterwards):

Wine Spectator rating 92: Vivid, with racy purple flower, licorice, graphite and crushed boysenberry fruit flavors, all caressed by mocha and mineral on the long, pure finish. Has a healthy layer of toast that's well-integrated and polished. Drink now through 2008. 1,252 cases made.

Wine Advocate did not rate the 2004 but consider 2005 and 2006 ratings/notes from Wine Advocate:

2005 Rating 96: The Bramare “Marchiori Vineyard” wines are from 100% estate grown fruit located in Lujan de Cuyo. The 2005 Bramare Malbec “Marchiori Vineyard” received essentially the same oak treatment as the Cabernet. Nearly black in color, it coasts the glass with glycerin. Its super aromas of violets, spice box, cedar, tobacco, espresso, black cherry, and black raspberry leap from the glass. The wine is full-bodied, concentrated, and possesses layers of complex flavors. This hedonistic effort will benefit from at least 4-6 years of cellaring and should drink well through 2025.

The Bramare series is sourced from Lujan de Cuyo, a prime zone in Mendoza. Some of the fruit is from Cobos’s estate vineyard, the balance from contracted fruit. The wines at this level receive more oak, longer macerations, and wild fermentations.

Vina Cobos is the Argentina winery of the renowned Paul Hobbs, best known for his namesake wines from California’s North Coast. Hobbs began consulting in South America in 1988 and, early on, became involved with Nicholas Catena in the startup of that winery’s Chardonnay program. In 1998 he temporarily left his consulting projects to start Vina Cobos with the first vintage coming in 1999. In 2005 Vina Cobos constructed its own winery.

Paul Hobbs is high on the 2005 and 2006 vintages. At first he felt that 2005 was the finest year (along with 1996) since he started working in Argentina, that is until the 2006 vintage rolled around. It was, he says, “a mild, moderate year with no problems.”

2006 rating 96-99: The Bramare “Marchiori Vineyard” wines are from 100% estate grown fruit located in Lujan de Cuyo. The 2006 Bramare Malbec “Marchiori Vineyard”, tasted from a barrel sample (the wine should be bottled by the time subscribers are reading this note), is even better than the 2005. Vintage conditions were ideal and, for the first time, Hobbs stopped irrigation 12 weeks before harvest, most unusual in Mendoza’s arid conditions. There was better natural acidity with little acidulation required. The wine offers more flavor complexity, vibrancy, and aromatic lift, and sensational length.

The Squires bulletin board has a whopping ONE thread about this - for people in PA who were willing to fork over the $20 perbottle. Here is the tasting note:

Very dark in the glass, no light gets through. A nice ruby edge to it. Giant nose of black pepper, violets, red berries, tobacco leaf, coffee, and a bit of forrest floor. The fruit is dominant though, and the nose changes 3 or 4 times over the same number of hours. Is continually gains power. The palate is thick and full of glycerin. Immediately after pouring it it was sweet, almost too sweet but over a few hours it starts to show some more complex flavors of black and red cherries, a little leather, caramel and mocha. Nice acid streak very reminicent of cherries. There is a bit of alcohol present and some nice tannins with a long long sweet finish.

The WS says this should be drunk by 2008...I respectfully think...ARE YOU ON CRACK?!?!?

I went back and ordered three more after my original order of 4.

Im not one for looking for cheap wine, but this is the buy of the year for me. I like a fruit monster though.

followed by

Day 3 follow up to add crazyness to the drink by 2008 window. The wine is still huge. The nose now shows menthol and barnyard to my surprise. As I pour it in the glass it still needs a little air and swirling (only about 10 minutes now) before it comes together. And still the body is massive and thick with a long fruity finish. Boy...I went and ordered 6 more to complete the case...

4. Product Description: ST. MARY'S BELLS AND WHISTLES

Item Number: 01749 Size: 750ML Year:2005

Quantity: 6 Unit Price: $5.99 Ext. Price: $35.94

Wine Advocate 87: The 2005 Bells & Whistles is composed of 65% Cabernet Sauvignon, 20% Shiraz, 11% Cabernet Franc, and 4% Merlot. Dark ruby colored, it delivers a nose of spice box, clove, cassis, and black currants. Full and quite rich on the palate, black cherry flavors emerge to add a bit of complexity. Meant for near-term consumption, this attractive, forward wine should provide pleasure over the next 4-6 years.

5. Product Description: BLEASDALE SHIRAZ/CABERNET

Item Number: 01750 Size: 750ML Year:2004

Quantity: 6 Unit Price: $7.99 Ext. Price: $47.94

Wine Advocate 88: Aged in 300 liter hogsheads, the 2004 Shiraz/Cabernet Sauvignon is slightly more monolithic than its siblings, but it possesses a deep ruby/purple color as well as a chunky, fleshy, muscular, tasty style. It should be drunk over the next 3-4 years.

6. Product Description: HEWITSON OLD GARDEN MOUVEDRE

Item Number: 01740 Size: 750ML Year:2005

Quantity: 6 Unit Price: $14.99 Ext. Price: $89.97

Wine Advocate 92: The 2005 Mourvedre “Old Garden” is purple-colored with an enticing aroma of cedar, Asian spices, damp earth, game, and plum. Medium to full-bodied, it is dense and packed, with layers of savory flavor and ripe tannins. Give this lengthy wine 2-3 years to unfurl and drink it through 2020.

So, if you're still reading, I have found all of these excellent (both in taste/what i expected and in price). You can't touch them around the country at these prices. The Bells and Whistles is still there and for $6.99 now is still a good price (free shipping). At each purchase, I thought I was getting a wine bargain of the year but they keep slowly adding up.

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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[Misha]

QUICK, the '06 Amalaya that LaBan wrote about in the Inky on 3/29 and got a WS90, is back in stores. I heard that Marnie Old also spoke about this on the radio but did not hear her myself.

I only managed to just snag two last weekend. I've almost never seen a wine fly off the PAWS shelves as quick as this did.

Here's my review off Cellartracker: Score 90.

Dark ruby. Nose of Mexican cocoa and dark fruit. Smooth mouthfeel. Tannins are soft and the acidity does step up afer a few seconds. Nice finish. For $10. quite the QPR. The Inky reviewer LaBan got it right! 55% Malbec, 25% Cabernet Sauvignon, 10% Syrah, 5% Tannat and 5% Bonarda.

[Carrington]

My strategy for searching the online store is varied but more or less goes like this:
1) go to online store: http://www.pawineandspirits.com/webapp/wcs...catalogId=10051

2) Click Search at top of page

3) Search all items in price range you like (results are limited to 300 hits, so I usually search in ranges like $5-10, then $10-15, etc.)

4) Look through the results- sometime a wine will stand out due to your recognition of it and/or the price seems oddly low. Sometimes it will be shown as 'spectacular savings' - I usually have parker ratings online available to search for candidate wines.

5) My policy - only buy wines when shipping is free (the site will not tell you this until you load purchases into cart and start the checkout process - you will then see which if any wines have free shipping). Sometimes, the extra $1 or $2 for shipping makes the deal a non-starter.

Have fun shopping - I have noticed that Sundays seem to be their reload day, maybe, when new stock appears. If you find something, BUY IT, because it usually disappears quickly.

C
 

 

Too bad I haven't been paying attention to the site lately, all of these wines are gone from what I could tell.
I'm gonna see if I can search the catalog for some deals of my own. BTW, do you search the closeout section for these?

Hi everyone (or those few who still on reading on this topic!). I have not posted in forever and thought I would chime iin with some recent purchases and comments. My recent PLCb strategy has been to look through the online store for bargains which appear to be high QPR. I have not been to a physical store shopping in a while, although I do pick up my shipments there. Some outrageous deals can be had if you are a searcher. Here are a few recent purchases (I typically email these to my friends (after I buy what I want!), so I have copied my notes):

1. 2004 Louis Latour Puligny Montrachet les Folatieres
WS 91: Very elegant, this white displays graceful floral, mineral and anise flavors in a well-integrated frame. Intense on the finish. Needs time to smooth out. Best from 2008 through 2015

Released @ $75, now $12.99 at PLCB ; retails elsewhere for $50-80

Of course, there was only 1 bottle...

2. MAS BELLES EAUX
Coteaux du Languedoc Ste.-Helene 2005
Rich, ripe aromas and flavors of kirsch, dark plum, chocolate and spice are backed up by a chiseled structure and firm tannins. The lush finish echoes the spice, with touches of pepper and beef. Syrah, Grenache and Carignane. Best after 2014. 250 cases imported

$12.99 vs. $45-50 elsewhere:
WS 92

3. 2004 Vina Cobos Bramare Malbec Marchiori Vineyard on sale for $19.99 + free shipping to your fave store + about $1 per bottle tax. What's so special about this wine you might ask?

First, ratings (this is long, and I go on afterwards):
Wine Spectator rating 92: Vivid, with racy purple flower, licorice, graphite and crushed boysenberry fruit flavors, all caressed by mocha and mineral on the long, pure finish. Has a healthy layer of toast that's well-integrated and polished. Drink now through 2008. 1,252 cases made.

Wine Advocate did not rate the 2004 but consider 2005 and 2006 ratings/notes from Wine Advocate:
2005 Rating 96: The Bramare “Marchiori Vineyard” wines are from 100% estate grown fruit located in Lujan de Cuyo. The 2005 Bramare Malbec “Marchiori Vineyard” received essentially the same oak treatment as the Cabernet. Nearly black in color, it coasts the glass with glycerin. Its super aromas of violets, spice box, cedar, tobacco, espresso, black cherry, and black raspberry leap from the glass. The wine is full-bodied, concentrated, and possesses layers of complex flavors. This hedonistic effort will benefit from at least 4-6 years of cellaring and should drink well through 2025.

The Bramare series is sourced from Lujan de Cuyo, a prime zone in Mendoza. Some of the fruit is from Cobos’s estate vineyard, the balance from contracted fruit. The wines at this level receive more oak, longer macerations, and wild fermentations.

Vina Cobos is the Argentina winery of the renowned Paul Hobbs, best known for his namesake wines from California’s North Coast. Hobbs began consulting in South America in 1988 and, early on, became involved with Nicholas Catena in the startup of that winery’s Chardonnay program. In 1998 he temporarily left his consulting projects to start Vina Cobos with the first vintage coming in 1999. In 2005 Vina Cobos constructed its own winery.

Paul Hobbs is high on the 2005 and 2006 vintages. At first he felt that 2005 was the finest year (along with 1996) since he started working in Argentina, that is until the 2006 vintage rolled around. It was, he says, “a mild, moderate year with no problems.”
2006 rating 96-99: The Bramare “Marchiori Vineyard” wines are from 100% estate grown fruit located in Lujan de Cuyo. The 2006 Bramare Malbec “Marchiori Vineyard”, tasted from a barrel sample (the wine should be bottled by the time subscribers are reading this note), is even better than the 2005. Vintage conditions were ideal and, for the first time, Hobbs stopped irrigation 12 weeks before harvest, most unusual in Mendoza’s arid conditions. There was better natural acidity with little acidulation required. The wine offers more flavor complexity, vibrancy, and aromatic lift, and sensational length.

The Squires bulletin board has a whopping ONE thread about this - for people in PA who were willing to fork over the $20 perbottle. Here is the tasting note:
Very dark in the glass, no light gets through. A nice ruby edge to it. Giant nose of black pepper, violets, red berries, tobacco leaf, coffee, and a bit of forrest floor. The fruit is dominant though, and the nose changes 3 or 4 times over the same number of hours. Is continually gains power. The palate is thick and full of glycerin. Immediately after pouring it it was sweet, almost too sweet but over a few hours it starts to show some more complex flavors of black and red cherries, a little leather, caramel and mocha. Nice acid streak very reminicent of cherries. There is a bit of alcohol present and some nice tannins with a long long sweet finish.
The WS says this should be drunk by 2008...I respectfully think...ARE YOU ON CRACK?!?!?
I went back and ordered three more after my original order of 4.
Im not one for looking for cheap wine, but this is the buy of the year for me. I like a fruit monster though.
followed by
Day 3 follow up to add crazyness to the drink by 2008 window. The wine is still huge. The nose now shows menthol and barnyard to my surprise. As I pour it in the glass it still needs a little air and swirling (only about 10 minutes now) before it comes together. And still the body is massive and thick with a long fruity finish. Boy...I went and ordered 6 more to complete the case...

4. Product Description: ST. MARY'S BELLS AND WHISTLES
Item Number: 01749 Size: 750ML Year:2005
Quantity: 6 Unit Price: $5.99 Ext. Price: $35.94
Wine Advocate 87: The 2005 Bells & Whistles is composed of 65% Cabernet Sauvignon, 20% Shiraz, 11% Cabernet Franc, and 4% Merlot. Dark ruby colored, it delivers a nose of spice box, clove, cassis, and black currants. Full and quite rich on the palate, black cherry flavors emerge to add a bit of complexity. Meant for near-term consumption, this attractive, forward wine should provide pleasure over the next 4-6 years.


5. Product Description: BLEASDALE SHIRAZ/CABERNET
Item Number: 01750 Size: 750ML Year:2004
Quantity: 6 Unit Price: $7.99 Ext. Price: $47.94
Wine Advocate 88: Aged in 300 liter hogsheads, the 2004 Shiraz/Cabernet Sauvignon is slightly more monolithic than its siblings, but it possesses a deep ruby/purple color as well as a chunky, fleshy, muscular, tasty style. It should be drunk over the next 3-4 years.


6. Product Description: HEWITSON OLD GARDEN MOUVEDRE
Item Number: 01740 Size: 750ML Year:2005
Quantity: 6 Unit Price: $14.99 Ext. Price: $89.97
Wine Advocate 92: The 2005 Mourvedre “Old Garden” is purple-colored with an enticing aroma of cedar, Asian spices, damp earth, game, and plum. Medium to full-bodied, it is dense and packed, with layers of savory flavor and ripe tannins. Give this lengthy wine 2-3 years to unfurl and drink it through 2020.

So, if you're still reading, I have found all of these excellent (both in taste/what i expected and in price). You can't touch them around the country at these prices. The Bells and Whistles is still there and for $6.99 now is still a good price (free shipping). At each purchase, I thought I was getting a wine bargain of the year but they keep slowly adding up.

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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Host's note:  this topic continues in Wine & Spirits Bargains at the PLCB (Part 3).

Edited June 28, 2014 by Smithy (log)