These Prices Are INSANE!

Growing up in Connecticut, there was a commercial for an appliance/electronics store in NYC that aired week after week for years; named Crazy Eddie's, the (in)famous tag line at the end of each spot was "At Crazy Eddie's, his prices are INSANE!". The guy in the commercial had veins popping out of his neck and his fists were pumped as he screamed that famous phrase, something that regrettably stuck with me throughout my childhood.

Well, today I thought of that spot again as I perused the full price list of our 2005 Bordeaux pre-sell for the first time. I had heard for months that the prices were going to be unprecedented, and it turns out they certainly are. 1st growths at $1,200 per bottle. 2nd growths around $400 - $600, and so on. Most, if not all, classified bottles are going to retail at two to three times what the 2004's did, and while the ratings are universally high (check James Suckling's glowing reviews at Wine Spectator), it's hard to justify paying those kinds of prices. Laying down a grand for a bottle of fermented grape juice isn't just insane, it's downright obscene.

So, Sara and I have targeted a number of wines that have received great scores, but are south of the $200 price point. In fact, we have a few coming that are around the $100 mark and are 95+ rated wines, a good value all things considered. The classified '05 order should hit the market sometime in June, and we'll post a list of exactly what we receive at that time. Until then, we have started to receive a handful of inexpensive, unclassified 2005 wines from Bordeaux, one of which (2005 Chateau La Rame, 85 points from Wine Spectator) retails for $15. That, fellow wine lovers, is definitely NOT insane.