Wine & Spirits Bargains at the PLCB (Part 1)

[shacke]

TN: IL COLOMBAIO DE CENCIO,IL FUTURO 00

I couldn't wait, so we opened one last night. Decanted 4 hours.

This wine is all plums and spice with alot of oak. This is more oak than I like so the other eleven bottles are going in the cellar in hopes that the oak integrates with a few more years.

Best,

Mike

←

I too bought a test bottle yesteday and let it decant for about 1.5 hours. Super dark purple, agree with oak comment, fairly tannic but I like this 40/40 combo of cab and sangiovese 20 merlot too. $80? Never would I buy this. $18 - certainly worth a try. I will buy more but perhaps only a couple.

Evan

←

A follow up to include the inconsistent service in PLCB stores.

Went to Narberth as they had 30 bottles of the Futuro. Looked around and when I couldnt find them, I asked where they were. "These are the Chairman's selections right here". It was not there - I already looked. I told them I was looking for the futuro. He tells me he will ask someone who knows. She says "It's right there - the Latour". I said, no that is not it - I am lookng for the Futuro. She walks ove and points to the Latour and says "This is it. Right here". I kindly say that she is not correct. I am looking for an italian wine, chairmans selection, Futuro, 18 down from 85. The guy chimes in, thats not a chairman selection. Don't have it. I say "I saw you have 30 somewhere in this store". He asked a third guy who has no clue. I assure him that it probably came in that day or Friday and there are 30 bottles under his nose in the back. After 2 trips, he emerges with them. I buy one.

Part 2. Today, 1 day later, my wife goes in to get more. She asks for the Futuro. Guy shows her the chairman selections. She doesnt see it. He tells her they must be all sold out. She tells guy - "It is the Italian supertuscan, futuro, chairman selection and her husband was just here yesterday and there are definitely more here." Guy goes into the back and guess what..... out comes a box of em.

OK - maybe its not a premium store but these guys knew nuttin' about nada here.

Thank goodness for the website. I just feel bad for someone who really wants advice or counsel from these gomers. Or worse, coming in and asking for something they have and erroneously being told they don't have it.

This is pretty standard stuff - the cluelessness. Can't find an internet order after they call me that its in to pick up? That was a fun one. Can't find stock that you know they have? This wasnt the first time although this was the most entertaining.

Bryn mawr does not suffer from this illness and Robert at Ardmore is very helpful. Maybe if they would let me into the back room , I would only have to check out at the register.

Speaking of which, my kingdom for online ordering from the local store - when is that coming?

There (straightening out parted hair and wiping lapels), I feel much better now.

Evan

[Jeff L]

TN: IL COLOMBAIO DE CENCIO,IL FUTURO 00

I couldn't wait, so we opened one last night. Decanted 4 hours.

This wine is all plums and spice with alot of oak. This is more oak than I like so the other eleven bottles are going in the cellar in hopes that the oak integrates with a few more years.

Best,

Mike

←

I too bought a test bottle yesteday and let it decant for about 1.5 hours. Super dark purple, agree with oak comment, fairly tannic but I like this 40/40 combo of cab and sangiovese 20 merlot too. $80? Never would I buy this. $18 - certainly worth a try. I will buy more but perhaps only a couple.

Evan

←

A follow up to include the inconsistent service in PLCB stores.

Went to Narberth as they had 30 bottles of the Futuro. Looked around and when I couldnt find them, I asked where they were. "These are the Chairman's selections right here". It was not there - I already looked. I told them I was looking for the futuro. He tells me he will ask someone who knows. She says "It's right there - the Latour". I said, no that is not it - I am lookng for the Futuro. She walks ove and points to the Latour and says "This is it. Right here". I kindly say that she is not correct. I am looking for an italian wine, chairmans selection, Futuro, 18 down from 85. The guy chimes in, thats not a chairman selection. Don't have it. I say "I saw you have 30 somewhere in this store". He asked a third guy who has no clue. I assure him that it probably came in that day or Friday and there are 30 bottles under his nose in the back. After 2 trips, he emerges with them. I buy one.

Part 2. Today, 1 day later, my wife goes in to get more. She asks for the Futuro. Guy shows her the chairman selections. She doesnt see it. He tells her they must be all sold out. She tells guy - "It is the Italian supertuscan, futuro, chairman selection and her husband was just here yesterday and there are definitely more here." Guy goes into the back and guess what..... out comes a box of em.

OK - maybe its not a premium store but these guys knew nuttin' about nada here.

Thank goodness for the website. I just feel bad for someone who really wants advice or counsel from these gomers. Or worse, coming in and asking for something they have and erroneously being told they don't have it.

This is pretty standard stuff - the cluelessness. Can't find an internet order after they call me that its in to pick up? That was a fun one. Can't find stock that you know they have? This wasnt the first time although this was the most entertaining.

Bryn mawr does not suffer from this illness and Robert at Ardmore is very helpful. Maybe if they would let me into the back room , I would only have to check out at the register.

Speaking of which, my kingdom for online ordering from the local store - when is that coming?

There (straightening out parted hair and wiping lapels), I feel much better now.

Evan

←

So after all that how did you like the Futuro?

[lancastermike]

Hate to tell you this boys, but up here in the wilderness of Lancaster County I got some of each yesterday. Us rubes sorta like that fancy stuff too. I even used the clean jelly jars to pour it into.

[KatieLoeb]

I even used the clean jelly jars to pour it into.

[philadining]

I didn't ask for help, so I didn't experience any run-around like Shacke did, but I was looking for a bottle or two of il Futuro in West Chester over the weekend but saw no evidence of any, despite patrolling all of the aisles a few times. Of course the website said there was some... They were really busy when I was there on saturday evening, so I didn't feel like it was a good time to send anyone looking for it. But it certainly wasn't in a display with a Chairman's Selection sign on it.

And just for the record, I wasn't implying that people in the more rural areas wouldn't appreciate these wines, just that in the same way that there's more of a market for high-end dining in Philly and Pittsurgh, the same might be true for wine.

I gotta say i laughed out loud at the jelly jar line too...

Edited November 7, 2005 by philadining (log)

[Deidre Costello]

Hello

Doing what I do best (snooping) I wanted to touch base concerning the postings above about some of the Chairman’s Selections. Keep in mind that not all stores in a region get deliveries on the same day. For the Futuro of the 1000 cases that were ordered over 500 were going to the Phila region stores. Only the stores that received a shipment on Friday received half of their allocations. The remainder should be coming in soon to all the premium collection stores shortly hopefully this week.

As for the Latours’ only 300 cases were ordered of the Chassagne Montrachet and 300 of the Meursault the Phila region getting 152 cases of each of these. The remaining 148 cases of both of these went to the central and western part of the state. Both of these products hit the Phila region first…the other parts of the state are still waiting for their deliveries. Just on these three examples you can see that the Phila region gets half of all the Chairman’s Selections with the remainder going to the rest of the state. The distribution of the Chairman’s Selections is based strictly on past sales. As a point of reference Ardmore, Bryn Mawr and the Waterworks (in Pittsburgh) sell the most Chairman’s selections in the state so they get the most of any allocation.

This time of the year because of building up of inventory for the Holidays it is so hard to predict what areas of the state.

As I said earlier poor customer service gives all of us that try to enhance the LCB a bad name. Here is a number to report poor service 1-800-332-7522 option 3 or you can send an e-mail under contact us sections of the web sites, the web master will forward the information to our store operation bureau to handle each complaint.

As always I hope this is helpful. Deidre

[philadining]

Thanks for that info Deirdre.

I don't think there was any doubt that the Philadelphia *region* was getting a big percentage of the Chairman's Selections, it just seems odd that Center City appears to have so little. But maybe it's timing. I can certainly understand that product ships at different times, but again, Center City is not so far from Bryn Mawr or West Chester, it's surprising that there'd be such dramatic delivery date differences.

Of course it makes sense to stock most of the Chairman's Selections in stores that sell the most Chairman's Selections, but are there generally a lot of bottles left unsold in Center City Wine Specialty stores? Maybe there are...

[Capaneus]

Thanks for that info Deirdre. 

I don't think there was any doubt that the Philadelphia *region* was getting a big percentage of the Chairman's Selections, it just seems odd that Center City appears to have so little. But maybe it's timing. I can certainly understand that product ships at different times, but again, Center City is not so far from Bryn Mawr or West Chester, it's surprising that there'd be such dramatic delivery date differences.

Of course it makes sense to stock most of the Chairman's Selections in stores that sell the most Chairman's Selections, but are there generally a lot of bottles left unsold in Center City Wine Specialty stores?  Maybe there are...

←

That's the thing: there aren't. This was a particularly extreme example, with our allocation selling out within a day, but the pattern holds for most items: we get less, sell it faster, and then the argument becomes that we "only" sold our tiny allocation.

Maybe the problem is that the Chairman Selection allocations are tied to *overall* sales (which I have no idea whatever about). If that's the case, we could be getting hurt badly by the Jersey Factor, and the darn fault is no-one's but our own. But there should still be a way to correct for that, if only to reward those of us who have developed deep loyalties to the Selection program.

[philadining]

I drank a bottle of the 02 LaTour Muersault tonight, well, half of one. It's a lovely wine, mellow and fruity, but not frivolously light. I could see drinking this on its own, but it's also very nice with chicken and lighter fish, say, a grilled branzino with a little lemon (I feel confident of this, having enjoyed it with chicken and a grilled branzino with a little lemon...)

At $20 per bottle, it's not exactly cheap, but it's an excellent value. I'm getting more.

GALLONS of it out here in Exton and West Chester....

Edited November 8, 2005 by philadining (log)

[shacke]

As I said earlier poor customer service gives all of us that try to enhance the LCB a bad name.  Here is a number to report poor service 1-800-332-7522 option 3 or you can send an e-mail under contact us sections of the web sites, the web master will forward the information to our store operation bureau to handle each complaint.

As always I hope this is helpful.  Deidre

←

Don't be too hard on yourself. It only hurts when you have a consumer that knows about wine and I suspect 95% of folks who utilize the PLCB don't. They were friendly enough. Should you want to try and tailor the operations to oenophiles, then that is a different matter entirely. Then people who work there should be educated and at some locations they are.

One thing at a time. Fixing the top end of the PLCB is going well. I have never encountered a government run system where customer service in the trenches is A+. That's life to some extent. Have you ever heard the phrase "good enough for government work"? I think thats what I would say about my experience in the Narberth store.

The folks on the SLO and web end? In my experience, it's been very good. You - you of course are da' bomb, Deidre

Evan

[Jeff L]

I drank a bottle of the 02 LaTour Muersault tonight, well, half of one.  It's a lovely wine, mellow and fruity, but not frivolously light. I could see drinking this on its own, but it's also  very nice with chicken and lighter fish, say, a grilled branzino with a little lemon (I feel confident of this, having enjoyed it with chicken and a grilled branzino with a little lemon...)

At $20 per bottle, it's not exactly cheap, but it's an excellent value. I'm getting more.

GALLONS of it out here in Exton and West Chester....

←

Agree that this one drinks well all by itself. As a matter of fact, I drank about 3/4 of a bottle on its own last night. I love this wine, even more than the Domaine Michelot Meursault tasted here at the 2nd chairmans tasting event. Tough to top Latour in all varietals.

[mike volker]

Has anyone read the Squires board? There's a thread on it that really denigrates all of the chairman's selection wines. What snobs!!!

Best,

Mike

[mrbigjas]

i don't know what that is.

but here's a mildly interesting story: out in oregon last week i was talking to someone at... i think it was the carlton winemaker's studio? about how they make so much wine there that never gets out of the northwest. and when she found out where we were from, she mentioned that she'd heard that the head of our LCB was out there buying things right and left, so we have a much better selection than a lot of other states. and a quick search on the website confirmed that.

[philadining]

Has anyone read the Squires board? There's a thread on it that really denigrates all of the chairman's selection wines. What snobs!!!

←

Mark Squires' E-Zine

I hear ya, but I've met Mark Squires and in my brief interaction found him to be very thoughtful about wine. He's opinionated, but from a position of experience and knowledge, not snobby for the sake of snobbiness. He does indeed have a healthy skepticism about the Chairman's Selections, but he does not outright dismiss them.

He says the same thing as Chairman Newman was telling us at the Rx dinner: that many of the bargains we see are from "off years" or from wines that critics didn't rate as well as might have been expected, and as a result didn't sell as well as anticipated.

It comes down to a matter of perspective: whether those conditions create an opportunity for good deals on wine that's better than is generally acknowledged, or mean that the program gives OK deals on substandard wine. As Chairman Newman said, it can be good to go with a good winery in an "off" year, even if the collectors and critics are avoiding the wine because it's not as good as previous vintages. Or, it can be a disappointing batch of wine...

Squires admits that there are sometimes good deals to be had, he's just not thrilled by all of the offerings. And in the end it comes down to tasting the stuff and seeing if you like it. And I have to admit that some of his tasting notes, good or bad, jibe with my experiences.

Here's his manifesto about the Chairman's Selections.

I think it's healthy to have a critical perspective, I've heard plenty of people grumbling about the list-price comparisons ($80, now $20!!), it's easy enough to scan the web, or pop into another state's wine stores and see that some of these same wines are selling at decent discounts elsewhere. That being said, there's no doubt in my mind that Chairman Newman is wangling good deals for us, and i certainly don't think he's being duped by wineries into clearing out their crappy wine.

What the program does is give us better deals, often excellent deals, on an overlooked wine, or maybe a vintage that wasn't the best, but still good. This is inherently more interesting to the neophytes, the budget-minded, and the curious. It's not so compelling to the serious collector, who's looking to acquire the best of the best. In Chairman Newman's recent talk, he made it clear that he was hoping to get some of those budget-minded drinkers to bump-up a level, to try some seriously good wine, not just the mass-marketed safe wines. I think that's a noble goal.

From my perspective as a curious, budget-minded neophyte, I'm psyched the have the Chairman's Selections. And I'm not surprised that the serious oenophiles are not as impressed.

[wkl]

"Let me hasten to add that this does not mean that all of the LCB deals are bad, or that you should not try them. I try them myself, and often find interesting things to acquire."

Above is a quote from the Squires article.He is not denigrating all the chairmans selections and I don't see where he is coming off as a snob.

I really think he is just stating an informed opinion on the offerings from the PLCB.

[shacke]

"Let me hasten to add that this does not mean that all of the LCB deals are bad, or that you should not try them. I try them myself, and often find interesting things to acquire."

Above is a quote from the Squires article.He is not denigrating all the chairmans selections and I don't see where he is coming off as a snob.

I really think he is just stating an informed opinion on the offerings from the PLCB.

←

I find Mark Squires to be even tempered and he is not one of those shrill voices against PA that you will on his board. Truth is that his and other people's arguments are valid and I can see how these guys can be frustrated by the system given how and what they buy. PA prices to put it mildly are not the best - that is no secret and then there is all the tax . The CS program and the PLCB in general is not geared to the high end educated palate but toward the general consumer. Its simple dollars and cents. I would not expect many folks on that board to find that a cheaper wine from an off vintage would be worth it. Even if they did, we would only be talking about - what - like 0.005% of wine consumers in the state? Not a market worth trying to capture to help revenue.

Having said that, to poo-poo the whole program blindly is to miss out on some good deals. Granted, they are not all amazing buys, but some really are.

Random thoughts......

Edited November 8, 2005 by shacke (log)

[Capaneus]

"Let me hasten to add that this does not mean that all of the LCB deals are bad, or that you should not try them. I try them myself, and often find interesting things to acquire."

Above is a quote from the Squires article.He is not denigrating all the chairmans selections and I don't see where he is coming off as a snob.

I really think he is just stating an informed opinion on the offerings from the PLCB.

←

I find Mark Squires to be even tempered and he is not one of those shrill voices against PA that you will on his board. Truth is that his and other people's arguments are valid and I can see how these guys can be frustrated by the system given how and what they buy. PA prices to put it mildly are not the best - that is no secret and then there is all the tax . The CS program and the PLCB in general is not geared to the high end educated palate but toward the general consumer. Its simple dollars and cents. I would not expect many folks on that board to find that a cheaper wine from an off vintage would be worth it. Even if they did, we would only be talking about - what - like 0.005% of wine consumers in the state? Not a market worth trying to capture to help revenue.

Having said that, to poo-poo the whole program blindly is to miss out on some good deals. Granted, they are not all amazing buys, but some really are.

Random thoughts......

←

I would dispute at least part of that: the greatest virtue of the Chairman Selection program is that it allows those of us with palates different from Mr. Squires - and Robert Parker's - to have access to wines that are widely underrated simply because they do not match those gentlemen's likes. The flaw in the argument is to assume Squires' opinion, or Parker's, somehow trump your own, or mine, or anyone's. I like what I please to like, and so should any thinking wino. The Lancaster Red is a case in point: I enjoyed it greatly, and Mr. Squires throwaway comment that "...it will be better with food" got an uncontrollable "duh!" from yours truly. In fact, I truly *prefer* much of what I've gotten from the PLCB recently to anything I could have found at anywhere near the same price. Would I dump Mr. Newman for a lifetime supply of, say Leroy Richebourgs and first-growth Bordeaux? Who would I be kidding if I said "no"? But that isn't the choice, at least not for me. What Mr. Squires has failed to do is put forth the wines he feels are supperior to the Selections at the price-point offered. Then we will have an oranges-and-oranges discussion, and will be able to debate the merits of each palate.

Not to say he is wrong. Not in the least. Or at least not quite. His is clearly an informed and fair-minded opinion, and he states it clearly, giving the reader plenty of warning as to what his likes, dislikes and prejudices are. As, for that matter, does Parker. The culprits, in this as in most things, are the acolytes, those that follow after and have no sense or the relative and contingent nature of all aesthetic judgements. Their loud, unmodulated stridulations give me a sharp pain several places. For them I would prescribe a quick drowning in barely-fermented overripe grape juice. But they do not, if you pay attention, sound much like their leader.

And again, I wish them Godspeed in their quest to pay as much as humanly possible for alcoholic, viscous Napa fruit juice and likeminded garagiste St. Emilions. I will continue to seek out sleeker, more structured wines that actually harmonize with food. And, always, St. Estephe. I just wish Parker would go back to giving Cos D'Estournel crappy ratings, so I could afford it. But I cannot blame him too harshly: he's done his level best to steer the masses away from the wines I think are great.

And that would be my $.02. Which you cannot have, since I still have a case of Mersault to pay for.

[KatieLoeb]

Some very thoughtful and well stated opinions. This all goes back to what I've always believed to be true:

1) Barring a flood, plague of glassy-winged sharpshooters, hail storm or some other catastrophic event of Biblical proportions that effects every single winery in a given area, there are always good, and often great wines in a "bad vintage". A truly talented wine maker is the one that can spin gold out of straw or be an alchemist with judicious application of viticultural and winemaking techniques to create the best end product out of the juice he got dealt that year.

2) With all due respect to Mr. Squires and Mr. Parker and all of their ilk, their opinion is only useful if you know for a fact and through vast experience that their palates are similar to yours. Indeed, it is just as valuable to know that their palates are dissimilar to your own. Then you can take those "ratings" for what they are worth - to YOU.

3) The argument really has no basis until it becomes, as Capaneus pointed out, an oranges-to-oranges discussion. I'd be very interested to see any of the Talking Wine Heads come up with a list of selections that could compete consistently, bang-for-the-buck wise, with the Chairman's Selections program.

4) The Chairman's Selections program as a whole has done much to raise the level of quality of wines available to the consumers of the Commonwealth. And anything that can get the huddled-masses-yearning-to-drink-cheaply to step it up a notch makes them better consumers at the restaurants which provide my livelihood. So selfishly, I applaud the loudest.

[glepore]

Opened a second bottle of the Beaune-as I anticipated after reading others comments here, it is umm, really good. I suspect my first bottle was just a poor bottle.

As to the Squires debate, I must say for the most part I agree with what he has to say-don't expect a $60 wine for 19. What he doesn't say is that at 19 bucks many of these wines are exceptional, and more importantly, readily available to us. As I said earlier about the Sycamore, its a killer wine at 20 bucks, a good wine at 30, but at 60 you'd have to be nuts. Many of the the Chairman's selections are like this, decent wines in an off year, a bargain simply because the price is realistic or better, rather than overheated. Not necessarily that winery's best effort, but well crafted affordable wines, with an occasional total gem thrown in for good measure (hint-the big names in off years tend not to be the "occasional gem").

BTW, Mark is good people, sincerely interested in wine, and kind enough to treat me with enough respect that he and I became friendly despite the fact that he represented the plaintiff in a lawsuit against my firm, a rarity w/ most lawyers in our overheated climate.

[philadining]

This recent digression started with Mike talking about people on the Squires boards, not so much Mark Squires himself, and it's been accurately pointed out upthread that it's those folks that tend to be the most extreme and absurd in their criticisms. (There's something about internet boards that brings that out in people, present company excepted.)

But I thought it was interesting to see Squires' tasting notes about the Lancaster Red: he had a bottle, didn't much like it. He had an opportunity to try another bottle, which he reports was better, if still not a favorite. And then he went ahead and had a third, to try to solidify his opinion about it. Now you or I might not agree with his assessment, or share his preferences, but I have a great deal of respect for his procedure, that he even bothered to investigate more thoroughly a wine he wasn't all that charmed by at first.

And of course I know that wine is a delicate, living thing, and some surprises are unavoidable, maybe even desirable, but the bottle-to-bottle variations commonly reported here are reason for some concern, i would think. I have to say that my heart sank a bit to see stacks of the various LaTours right inside the front door of the West Chester store, not exactly ideal storage conditions... That really might be something for the PLCB as a whole to think about more. Of course one wants the fabulous Chairman's selections to be highlighted and easy to find, but maybe not out in the direct sun!

Edited November 9, 2005 by philadining (log)

[KatieLoeb]

This evening I have put a sizeable (nay, lethal) dent into (yet another) bottle of the Montes Alpha 2003 Syrah. I had it with some leftover roast pork and garlic doused yucca from Lechoneria Principe in North Philly, whose praises I have sung elsewhere in this forum. It was damned good. In fact, possibly one of the best $12.99 bottles of wine I've had the pleasure of making the acquaintance of (more than once at this point) in quite some time. The joy of the Chairman's Selections I think, is having fabulous wines sitting in my wine rack at the ready for everyday drinking, not necessarily the "special occasion" wines. I've found many of those as well (and I'm feverishly seeking the latest 1994 Burgess Library Selection Cabernet to complete my vertical tasting), but not feeling like I'm going broke on a regular basis when opening a recent selection has been a real joy.

[lancastermike]

The Chairman's Selections program as a whole has done much to raise the level of quality of wines available to the consumers of the Commonwealth

I agree here with Katie 100% I know that I drink wine that I otherwise would not. The Chairmans Selection has allowed me to taste different things. I doubt I would have without the program.

I clearly am not educated enough to really tell if something I am getting is from an "off" year. I do know that I have developed a better taste and, most importantly to me, a much greater understanding of food and wine pairings because of this program.

[mrbigjas]

i drank a couple of bottles of that montes alpha syrah, with grilled merguez and couscous with veggies and olives preserved lemons, with plenty of harissa. it's a great wine to stand up to a smoky, hot, salty meal like that.

[yeldarb]

IL COLOMBAIO DE CENCIO,IL FUTURO 00

Collegeville got 18 bottles today, I got 12. I'll post a note as soon as I open one.

Best,

Mike

←

You must be reading my mind Mike. Newtown got 35 cases today, I got 12 also, bottles that is. Also picked up some of the lovely Latour Mersault along with that nice St. Frances chard we had the other night at RX. Next for me is a few bottles of the ridiculously priced Chassagne Montrachet.

Jeff

←

Pop 'em open gents. Let's hear it. Still waiting here.....

At Rx, Deidre told me the Il Futuro benefited from 2 hours of decant time when she drank it.

Evan

←

Is there much of the Il Futuro left anywhere?

I feel like a second-class citizen, it seems the western and central part of the state got this first, then a few counties in eastern PA, but nothing near me (Quakertown, Lansdale, Allentown, Easton, etc) I really wanted to get some of this. I didn't see it available for order online either.

RATS!

I guess I should move to a snooty county.... ;-) Or be willing to drive farther.

[shacke]

IL COLOMBAIO DE CENCIO,IL FUTURO 00

Collegeville got 18 bottles today, I got 12. I'll post a note as soon as I open one.

Best,

Mike

←

You must be reading my mind Mike. Newtown got 35 cases today, I got 12 also, bottles that is. Also picked up some of the lovely Latour Mersault along with that nice St. Frances chard we had the other night at RX. Next for me is a few bottles of the ridiculously priced Chassagne Montrachet.

Jeff

←

Pop 'em open gents. Let's hear it. Still waiting here.....

At Rx, Deidre told me the Il Futuro benefited from 2 hours of decant time when she drank it.

Evan

←

Is there much of the Il Futuro left anywhere?

I feel like a second-class citizen, it seems the western and central part of the state got this first, then a few counties in eastern PA, but nothing near me (Quakertown, Lansdale, Allentown, Easton, etc) I really wanted to get some of this. I didn't see it available for order online either.

RATS!

I guess I should move to a snooty county.... ;-) Or be willing to drive farther.

←

You can search the catalog here.....

http://www.lcb.state.pa.us/webapp/Product_...plcbNav=|32369|