Now that we’re cranking through the Granndach 12 year after this morning’s big email blast (300+ bottles gone so far), I’m going to tell you about another reneged deal that just led to another stupid, ridiculous opportunity for Mission—one that I’m taking advantage of myself right at this moment.
If you’re following the pattern this week, or the news about supply chain logistics and the lack of warehouse space, then you probably know what’s happening. Retailers and suppliers have been ordering large quantities of booze 6-8 months in advance, only to find that the demand has dropped in the meantime. Not only does it mean they’re turning inventory at a slower pace, which means less liquidity, it also means they don’t have the warehouse space they were planning on at this point in the year.
We all know what it’s like to land at the airport, but have to sit in the plane for a half hour while the jet waits for a boarding gate to dock at. Imagine the same situation for wine and spirits coming in from abroad, but instead of waiting 30 minutes you have to wait 2-3 months.
No bueno.
Because the intended customers for these deals are big box retailers—powerful entities who can afford to push major distributors around without consequences—we’re starting to see deals that were put together earlier in the year fall apart on delivery.
As in: “I changed my mind. I no longer want it. You deal with it.”
And that brings me to today’s offering that I am OVER THE MOON about!! As some of you know, I drink a great deal of white wine just about every night and, if I can afford it, I prefer a large percentage of that wine to be white Burgundy.
If I can drink crisp and clean Burgundian Chardonnay for $15-$20, I’m pretty happy. If I can get a deal around $12-$14, even better. $10 is incredible. But $7.99? That’s unheard of in today’s market. If I could find a white Burgundy for $7.99 that I liked, I might buy 5 cases of it and shove it into my closet!
Louis Jadot isn’t the most romantic negociant (as in a producer that buys wine/grapes from small farmers and creates a larger blend), but it’s a staple of the bulk Burgundy market. You’re not going to excite a room full of sommeliers by bringing Jadot to the party, but no one’s going to kick it out of bed either. The wines can range from serviceable to fantastic, but that pretty much applies to all of Burgundy. Any serious wino knows that Burgundy is the ultimate crapshoot. Hence, when you get a sure-fire hit, you ride that horse until it bucks you.
Do a Wine Searcher query for the standard Jadot Macon Villages and you’ll find it clocks in between $16 - $20, depending on where you look. While I wouldn’t be excited to buy the 2019 Jadot Macon Villages for $20, I certainly wouldn’t be disappointed with it. But gimme that same bottle for $7.99? That’s a completely different proposition. Suddenly, it’s about the best dollar-for-dollar deal in the store on just about anything.
Crisp and clean on the palate with notes of melon and stone fruit, this is the house wine I’ve been searching for all month. Having exhausted my last bargain bottle (the Erste Neue White Peak), I’ve been ready for a change and this deal plopped right down in my lap at just the right moment.
If you even remotely like white wine, I’m not sure you can afford not to buy this deal. This is Burgundy—the most prestigious wine region in the world—that’s been picked, fermented, bottled, and shipped across the Atlantic, then trucked across the country, delivered and marked up by a retailer…..and it’s still just $7.99. I’ve got about 50 cases on hand at the moment, but I’m buying 5 today for myself, so that leaves 45. If 45 guys each buy a case, this thing won’t last until the end of the day.
Nothing makes me happier than deals like these. So long as the logistics situation remains in its current state, we may be seeing more deals like this in the near future. But don’t look a gift horse in the mouth right now.
-David Driscoll