I buy to drink, never to sell. As far as Costco TG, I buy quite a bit there. They are usually pretty good for first line retail, meaning they get stuff on release just like your local boutique retailer. However they aren’t as good for back channel, moving stuff that isn’t selling through normal channels at the expected price.

My theory on first growths is that they are great wine as long as someone else is buying. I have two bottles of Lafite just in case I get invited to a tasting where I have to bring something with that kind of marketing behind it.

I’m much more comfortable in the 30-50 dollar range and would like to concentrate on 3rd growth Bordaeux from 00 and 05 as well as premier cru Burgundy from 02 and 05. At least in France.

Dollar for dollar I think Italy provides the best wine for the money. Especially once you get into wine with food. TG by naming Molley Dooker as, “nectar of the gods” I see you are drinking wine by itself since that won’t go with food. I was just in Barossa last weekend, might I recommend Murray Street instead. Their $20 Shiraz isn’t bad. The next step up, the Greenock bottling was very Rhone like (balanced) but still had really good fruit.

Napa produces lots of good wine, its just to expensive for what you get. 2001 is my favorite year since it produced superbly balanced wines. 06 valley floor is looking to be similar.

All of which is tangential to being on the lookout for falling prices, not just on a single wine, but for filling out my cellar.

The reason behind this topic was an auction on winebid of AF Gros burgundy from 05-06. The prices seemed pretty good (relatively), yet nobody was buying. Either there is something untoward about this producers wine, or people are just that scared. I hope its the later and that prices for the premier cru’s fall into the 30 dollar range, for this particular group, but it will take time.