Confessions of a Wino

To pass the time during my New Year detox, I have been hoovering up wine bargains to stock up for the year ahead and to get my taste buds flowering in anticipation.

Two bargains stand out from the crowd, one from Costco, one from the Wine Society.  One Champagne, the other red wine but from a relatively close starting point.

Mooching through Costco, picking up bog rolls, washing powder and other such staples in bulk, I spotted a glass cabinet in the wine section containing a few high end special offers.  I hate paying full price for anything, but I am prepared to invest in quality.

Bollinger Grande Année 1999 is £63.60 at Berry Bros & Rudd.  At Costco you can currently get a bottle for £57.49 (inc VAT).  You might think that is a reasonable offer in its own right but throw in 2 Riedel Champagne flutes that normally retail at about £15 each?  You guessed it!  I am now the proud owner of 4 Riedel flutes, and looking forward to trying them out.  In fact I was so shocked by this superb deal that I got to the checkout and found lurking in my trolley a 70cl bottle of Chateau de Laubade XO Armagnac for £34.49 which also included 2 free glasses (not Riedel).  This pack retails at £49.99 at Wine Dancer.  Another steal for a fine sup.

The second super-bargain was a mixed-up Burgundy case from the Wine Society.  £119 for six composty, yet fruity little Pinot Noirs from the Côte d’Or.

Naturally I checked out the prices of each wine and they ranged from £14.25 to £25.95 with one notable exception.  The star of the basket case was a 2004 Roumier Chambolle-Musigny, normal price £56.75 (already reduced from £65).

The total value of the wines then, £153.45 against a price of £119.  Even Del Boy would be proud of that.

I don’t think these deals will be around for much longer.  So, if your resistance-to-a-bargain level is lower than the BoE base rate,  hurry hurry hurry.

This entry was posted on Saturday, January 17th, 2009 at 12:58 pm and is filed under burgundy, Rest of France, Sparkling. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.