Wine shock at Petrus....

[sandra]

Dinner at Petrus on Friday night was outstanding, the room the food, and even the wine, despite a bit of a shocker when the bill came, read on:

My husband got the wine list, perused for a while (we giggled for a while) then the sommelier comes over and my husband points at one Margaux (£160) says the bin number, and the sommelier points out it may be a bit fruity, bla bla bla - he has a much better bin it's a 1966 Margaux and he highly recommends it. Fine. Out comes the decanter, the candle, the 20 mins trying to take the cork out...

Long story short, it's a fabulous red, definitely the best we have had... Then the bill comes.... £800 for the wine alone.

Now, we are not great conoisseurs of wine, but we know well enough and what we like, and in hindsight, maybe the 1966 should have set off a bell, but it didn't...

Of course we paid the bill and didn't make a stink, BUT, what's up with this????

We have always been under the understanding that if the sommelier is going to recommend something it will in the near vecinity of your selected wine/price, no?

I have never been in this situation before, what do people do?

[slacker]

Both guilty it seems....

.....and it's never happened to me. But I do remember sweating through a paella in Spain - aged 16 with Girlfriend and little cash - when the waiter bought us 1975 Rioja for Vino Tinto requested. Spoilt the meal, especially as it was only £3 in the end.

[tony h]

I think they saw you coming

800 - I think I'd have made more than a little stink

[balex]

Farr vintners has Ch. Margaux 1966 in magnums for £1350 a case. So it's a fairly steep markup (say £150 pounds a bottle wholesale) to £800 a bottle. That said, with older wines, there is always a risk that it is dead, and a good restaurant will take it back. (Some restaurants explicitly disclaim responsibility for older wine -- was that the case?).

It's a difficult situation -- my hunch is that is you ordered Ch. Margaux from a recent year ('95?) initially, then they probably assumed you were an expert and might be interested in the '66, and assumed you would know the price ratio. That is the most charitable explanation. Did they tell you the price at any time ? Did you have a wine list in your hand at the time? If not, then it is a bit cheeky.

I have acquiesced in suggestions from sommeliers without checking the price, and they have always been more or less the same 'ballpark' as the original.

[Andy Lynes]

Sandra, its always difficult to comment in these situations as only the 3 of you know exactly what happen at the table on the night , but given your account of the events, it appears you demonstrated amazing composure. I'd hate to think how I would have reacted in the same situation: tantrums, tears and forcible ejection being the most likely outcome.

I hope you'll let Marcus Wareing know what happened. He may of course do nothing, but at least he will have been presented with the opportunity to investigate the incident and give you his opinion on it.

[Basildog]

I think we have been here before, but do you not think that the waiter/bandit had some obligation to mention the price?????

If it was close in price to the original choice then fair enough but 5 times the amount???? Fuck my dog!!!!!

I mean how hard is it to say," well we do have a very nice 1966 Chateux Blah De Blah at £800 sir"

[Andy Lynes]

We have always been under the understanding that if the sommelier is going to recommend something it will in the near vecinity of your selected wine/price, no?

That has certainly been my experience. Sometimes the sommelier will give a range of alternatives that are both a little below and above the original choice.

[sandra]

Well, he never mentioned the price, we would have not accepted it! This is why we enjoyed the wine so much, had we known the price it would have gone down a bit sour!

balex, he did not make a disclaimer, as a matter of fact, he said he had tasted it last week and had been very impressed... we did still have the wine list, but it had been closed, as we had made a selection already. And thanks for pointing out Farr vintners, it may be worth a look for another VERY special occasion!!

Andy, I will certainly be writing a letter to Chef this week, in pleasant terms, of course, I don't want to go burning any bridges...

[Andy Lynes]

I think it would be unfair to second guess the sommeliers reasoning for handling the order as he apparently did, but I think Basildogs suggestion is a reasonable one.

This may not really be a meaningful comparison, but often in 2 or 3 star restaurants the waiter will offer a glass of champagne as an aperitif before a wine list has been offered. Because of the circumstances I would not feel comfortable asking how much it would be. I have to trust that they pour the house champagne and that it will be around a tenner a glass i.e. the going rate in London. I would be upset if a bill arrived for vintage champagne at say £25.00 a glass.

Here, it would seem there was a similar moment where it might have been awkward to discuss price, a moment of trust and reliance on experience of how things are usually done in these situations which has in fact turned out very differently.

[Andy Lynes]

Andy, I will certainly be writing a letter to Chef this week, in pleasant terms, of course, I don't want to go burning any bridges...

I'd be very interested to know what his response is.

[elyse]

Sandra, what an awful thing. I'm with Andy and Basildog. I would be irate.

[anil]

for 800BGP, I could fly from NYC to Amsterdam, stay two nights @ Renassiance/Marriott, indulge me'self and be back at work as if nothing happened

Edited October 5, 2003 by anil (log)

[docsconz]

Unless the sommelier personally knew you to be an oenophile without regards to price (at least at that level) he never should have sold you that wine without mentioning its price. That is simply appaling.

[elyse]

So sandra, when are you writing that letter?

[tony h]

letter

? lawyer!

[Bill Klapp]

At some point, abuse becomes fraud. What happened to you is fraud. 1966 is a forgotten vintage whose greatest virtue is being old. That price for that bottle is a rip-off, pure and simple. Based upon that event alone, I will never frequent that restaurant, regardless of its reputation.

[Sandra Levine]

I'm a little puzzled. A friend just called Petrus and was told that the restaurant does not carry and has never carried the wine is question. The sommelier says they do not and have never stocked tha 66 Ch. Margaux. They stock the 97,83,82 47. The 97 is £325 and the 82 is £1100.

Edited October 6, 2003 by Sandra Levine (log)

[Echezeaux]

A group was dining in San Francisco at the restaurant featuring a famous sommelier.

One of the 7 or 9 diners ordered a dessert, which was paired with a small glass of Port for about $15.

Two other of the party said "I don't want the dessert, but I'll have a glass of the Port."

The bill arrived as the dinner concluded and there was a charge of nearly $200 for the two glasses of Port. When they questioned this, the manager came to the table and said they'd been brought the 1937 Colheita and were charged for the same.

They explained they had only ordered the Port that went along with the dessert which, together was a mere $15.

The manager said "You were served the 1937 and you have been charged for the 1937." No apologies.

The credit card slip arrives and, of course, the place for the TIP is left blank. This, despite the fact that they add in 15 or 18% automatically for groups of this size.

Once these people returned home to the east coast, they exchanged correspondence with the restaurant. If I recall correctly, no adjustment to the credit card account was made, but I think a small "gift certificate" was sent in case these folks ever dine in San Francisco again!

Edited October 6, 2003 by Echezeaux (log)

[elyse]

letter

? lawyer!

What? Am I one? Shame on you!

[docsconz]

I'm a little puzzled.  A friend just called Petrus and was told that the restaurant does not carry and has never carried the wine is question.  The sommelier says they do not and have never stocked tha 66 Ch. Margaux. They stock the 97,83,82 47. The 97 is £325 and the 82 is £1100.

The plot thickens...

[estufarian]

The credit card slip arrives and, of course, the place for the TIP is left blank.  This, despite the fact that they add in 15 or 18% automatically for groups of this size. 

I take some pride in that, when encountering a similar situation a few years ago, I asked for the service charge to be removed (it's BAD service at a minimum to mislead the customer this way). This was refused as the policy of adding the gratuity had been fully informed. Thereupon, I replied that I would not pay ANY of the Bill, but would happily provide my name and address so that they could sue me for any amounts owing!

The gratuity, at least, was quickly removed.

It goes without saying that I never returned.

[Bill Klapp]

The 1983 would have been merely overpriced, rather than fraudulent. It is at least a good vintage.

[Sandra Levine]

What would you do if this happened to you?

[Louisa Chu]

Of course we paid the bill and didn't make a stink, BUT, what's up with this????

We have always been under the understanding that if the sommelier is going to recommend something it will in the near vecinity of your selected wine/price, no?

I have never been in this situation before, what do people do?

Sandra, that sucks! As for your questions - dunno, yes, and here's what I would have done, I would have quietly told the manager what happened - then to correct the bill - or I would call the police to file a complaint for fraud.

[elyse]

Excellent.