Hi Everyone,

If you have spent time in France in January or July, you know what we are talking about when we talk “déstockage.” It is the French way of legally selling goods at below cost – Firms are allowed to use this practice for two government-sanctioned windows per year, which take place during these months.

On a recent trip, someone asked that question, “You were mentioning that we have a few thousand dollars worth of orphaned loads, most of which are pretty great, why don’t we do our own “déstockage,” via email offer, a couple times a year?”

…hmmm – What a great idea!

Yesterday afternoon we started climbing racks and popping corks.

Lots of racks and what turned out to be a modest-sized bucket full of corks.

As expected, there were a few duds (orange wine does not seem to age well, neither does early-2000’s Parkerized Napa Cabernet). There were though, at least a few dozen BIG winners, of which we located ample stock to share with you.

So…

Over the next month or so, let’s run insane pricing on these winning lots. Forgotten pallets of back vintage (tasty) Rioja Crianza? An extra container of 2020 Macon? Maybe random piles of Cru Rhone goods from the 2019 vintage that were part of a canceled wedding order? 

Why don’t we kick off round one with the wine that I just could not put down last night after that morning’s debauchery?

Yes, it is a doppelganger for gutsy Chateauneuf, and it came from the canceled wedding order.

With dark color, beautifully developed aromatics, deep palate detail, a modest-for-category 14.5% ABV, and the type of fine tannin structure that only comes after 5-6 years in bottle, nobody would be surprised to learn that this bottle is now empty on my personal kitchen counter this morning.

We are divvying it out at nearly half-price, $14.40 to be exact, and we aren’t looking back.