2004 Mont Perat – THE DEAL!

Shhh! Closer. We’re whispering here. You love Red Bordeaux. We love Red Bordeaux. What’s not to love, right? Well … pricing, but seriously, in spite of that, there is little doubt that bang for your buck-wise, Bordeaux delivers. Recently, while perusing an offering from a distributor, our eyes popped out at a ridiculous price on (what we know to be) a quality Red Bordeaux. The price was so ridiculous that our initial action was not to bother our rep about it, as we simply considered it a typo, and didn’t want to be yet another account bugging him about a slip of someone’s fingers. A couple of days later, he came into the shop to drop off some sample bottles of different wines. We took advantage of this situation to “kid” him about the wine, and how we wanted to back up the truck on the 2004 Mont Perat, figuring that he was probably tired of people trying to buy a wine that was miss-priced. Guess what? It wasn’t a typo! He said it was in stock; he said we could sell it for less than 15 bucks. We ordered EVERYTHING he had here in NorCal BEFORE we even asked for a sample. When the sample arrived, we all tasted it. Then we asked him to start getting his stash from SoCal up here!

Do you ever see those guys at the beach? You know, the ones combing the sand with the headgear attached to metal detectors. I often wonder, why? Is it worth it? The same question applies to sifting through wine distributors’ lists of close-outs. Well, in three words, IT’S WORTH IT! This is why we’re here. This is what we do. Find good wine and put it into your hands for a song. What we do. We sold through our initial drop by listing it in our paper newsletter and by word of mouth. We’ve secured another allocation, and are more than happy to now be able to offer it to you via another Saturday night ramble. I’m not kidding here. I often joke around and make tongue in cheek comments, but hold on, I’m serious here. THIS IS AN INCREDIBLE DEAL!

Okay. We opened our sample bottle, and guess what? It was great! It revealed a dense, rich purple robe woven around mellow tannins and well integrated oak. The palate was more of the same. We let the bottle sit until the end of the day and re-tasted it; the lush fruit mellowed a little as the wine revealed some secondary characteristics. Our entire staff was shocked that we could sell this for such a low price. That’s 5 endorsements! Then there’s my friend and bandmate. He’s in school right now, and watching his budget. He’s still drinking wine, don’t get me wrong; and he loves Red Bordeaux. I essentially issued him a case, and recently dropped it off. My mobile rang the next morning. “Hello?” “Dude! That is awesome! Opened one last night with my ribs. Holy cow! What a deal. Thank you!” “No problem. That’s what we do.” This one’s the kicker. A regular, long-time customer came in with paper newsletter in hand, and asked me about the wine. I looked him in the eye with 100% conviction and told him that this was, quality for price, about as good as it gets. He was all set to cram 3 cases into his small car, but after thinking it over, he asked me how much of it we had left. I told him 7 cases, but we would be able to get more. He decided to make room for a 4th case! First thing the next morning, while checking voice-mail, Anya proclaimed the wine sold out and insisted we listen to the message. It was said customer who busted open his first case, popped a bottle, and felt the need to call us. He said he agreed with us, the wine was a tremendous value, and that he would take the “other 3 cases”. He picked them up this morning. As long as this one stays in stock, if you ask me what the best deal in the shop is, I’m going straight to the 2004 Mont-Perat. As I said to another long-time customer just a few minutes ago. “This is it! I’m banging the table!!!” – Peter Zavialoff Please feel free to email me with any questions or comments about Bordeaux, The English Premiership, or anything else you may have on your mind: peter.winehouse@sbcglobal.net