Port "deals" and "steals"

[Luc Gauthier]

I don't really have any super great buys... probably the best one is the magnum of 1994 Taylor Fladgate VP that I got for $200 (back when the bottles were selling for $180). A good deal to be sure, but nothing like Roy's $29 magnum!

I remembered one other really great deal...

I have a case of 2003 Quinta do Noval that I purchased as two separate six packs for (as I recall) $37 per bottle. Which is an awesome price, but is only background for the rest of the story.

As detailed in another thread, I recently attempted to purchase 2 bottles of 2003 Quinta do Portal VP. The store accidentally shipped me 2 bottles of 2003 Quinta do Noval instead, which I reported to them. They immediately sent me a new shipment of the Portal, and asked if I'd like to purchase the Novals at a steep discount. I related the above case and said that if they were in that neighborhood I'd be happy to buy them. They said they could sell them to me for $30, so I happily accepted. Yay! (The Noval is listed on their web site for $90.)

But wait, there's more...

The new shipment arrived, and contained... 2 more bottles of the Noval. I took a picture of the bottles including the packing label and emailed it to them. They apologized again, said that they would make sure the Portals got shipped correctly this time, and said I could keep the 2nd pair of Novals as an apology. Double yay!

The Portals have yet to arrive, so it's still an ongoing saga, but I've managed to acquire 4 bottles of the Noval for a total of $60 so far.

Glenn , off hand , do you know If they make errors for Canadians :hello:

[Glenn E.]

What is this store Glenn? I think I need to order some, umm, Portal

yeah, me too!

You might want to wait until they actually manage to deliver my Portals!

The store is http://www.drinkthegrapes.com and they seem very friendly, but their accuracy and promptness at the moment does not impress me.

It's all even more funny because the Portal is $46 on their web site while the Noval is $90. They keep shipping me a more expensive bottle, and I keep trying to return it in order to get the cheaper one. They were supposed to email me today with a status update, but I haven't received it yet. To be honest, I don't expect to get the update until I email or call to ask for it again. They're pretty much externally triggered in all communication so far, too.

[Eric Menchen]

I've found a deal online that falls in the "looks too good to be true" category. At this point I'm trying to decide if I should place an order. I suspect it is either a pricing mistake, or an item-price mismatch. I sent them an e-mail asking to confirm the price--no response. I tried calling: "The guy you need to talk to is on the phone. Can you call back in a little bit." So I won't feel guilty if I benefit from a price mistake, but I don't want to go to all the trouble if they are going to cancel my order, nor do I want to get a case of LBV shipped to me :|

I was in a similar situation a few months ago with a different merchant. After no responses to my inquiries, I placed an order. Then they called me up to tell me about their mistake. Oh well.

[Scott Anaya]

Had to use the search function on this site to find my post below and remember the price i paid for the '66 Rocha. By the by...i just opened that last bottle for a Port class I gave last week in Anchorage...so its all gone from my cellar now

1966 Porto Rocha Colheita
One of my favorite Colheitas.....especially since i scored 18 bottles for a complete song at auction ($20/btl) about five years ago or so. Still have one last bottle left!

[Eric Menchen]

I've found a deal online that falls in the "looks too good to be true" category. ...

Order pending for Fonseca 2003 at $22.99 a bottle. They've pulled the listing from their site, and I'm betting my order gets canceled. I haven't heard anything from them. I'll report back if I actually get bottles in hand.

UPDATE: As expected by both Andy and myself, LBV. Order canceled.

[Andy Velebil]

I've found a deal online that falls in the "looks too good to be true" category. ...

Order pending for Fonseca 2003 at $22.99 a bottle. They've pulled the listing from their site, and I'm betting my order gets canceled. I haven't heard anything from them. I'll report back if I actually get bottles in hand.

Somehow I think someone forgot to put those three little letters that make all the difference..."LBV"

[Todd Pettinger]

My own "best deal" story is most definitely a tag error - 2003 Offley Boa Vista for $18Cdn per bottle. I relieved them of all they had: a case and a half.

They eventually got more in but for the "disappointing" price of $80/btl.

Todd

[Al B.]

Asda - the UK arm of Wal-Mart - needed to clear some shelf space back in April 2007 for their new selection of wine. They did this by discounting the Warre 1995 Traditional LBV down to £5 a bottle.

We bought all we saw.

[Mahmoud Ali]

Todd,

That's great, I'm jealous, $18/bottle for '03 Boa Vista! Though they're young have you opened any of them?

Given your great deal I'm almost ashamed to say that the '95 Smith Woodhouse LBV is still available for $25/ bottle at the Delton Liquor Depot. I've also found the 1980 Gould Campbell for C$75. Do you think thats good?

We still have to arrange a Port tasting. Lets work on it.

Cheers................Mahmoud.

[Derek T.]

Asda - the UK arm of Wal-Mart - needed to clear some shelf space back in April 2007 for their new selection of wine. They did this by discounting the Warre 1995 Traditional LBV down to £5 a bottle.

We bought all we saw.

I only have 20 bottles left from that deal :twisted:

[Roy Hersh]

They did this by discounting the Warre 1995 Traditional LBV down to £5 a bottle.

You gotta love when that happens!

[Derek T.]

They did this by discounting the Warre 1995 Traditional LBV down to £5 a bottle.

You gotta love when that happens!

I have a better one than that. In mid 2008 the manager in my local Sainsbury's decided that their bottles of Graham's Malvedos 1996 must have been in stock for too long and needed a nudge so he knocked it down to £10 per bottle. I cleared the shelf and asked if they had any more in the store room. I was told no and that the discount price was only applicable while stocks lasted and that it would be replaced with a new port at the full price. When I went back to the store one week later the shelf was full of the "new" bottles of Graham's Malvedos 1996

[Glenn E.]

I have a better one than that. In mid 2008 the manager in my local Sainsbury's decided that their bottles of Graham's Malvedos 1996 must have been in stock for too long and needed a nudge so he knocked it down to £10 per bottle. I cleared the shelf and asked if they had any more in the store room. I was told no and that the discount price was only applicable while stocks lasted and that it would be replaced with a new port at the full price. When I went back to the store one week later the shelf was full of the "new" bottles of Graham's Malvedos 1996

Well, you know, gotta keep the stock fresh!

He may have had a point, though, if the bottles were on the shelf upright.

[Derek T.]

He may have had a point, though, if the bottles were on the shelf upright.

I can assure you he wouldn't know that was a problem. If he (and his thousands of peers across the UK) knew how to store VP it would be lying down in the rack containing their "Fine Wines" selection. Invariably you find VP on the top shelf - i.e. the place that is warmest and with most light in the store

[Marc J.]

The best deal was some 1954 Mackenzie for $0.00. Besides that I'd say that $23.00 for 1994 Churchill would be high up on the list. I also thought that $50.00 for 1976 Fonseca was a pretty good deal as well.

Marc

[Roy Hersh]

Marc,

Do you think you are going to get away with posting about that 1954 for $0 ... without having to tell us a story?



Derek wrote:

When I went back to the store one week later the shelf was full of the "new" bottles of Graham's Malvedos 1996

So, how much were they when you saw them the 2nd time?

[Derek T.]

Derek wrote:

When I went back to the store one week later the shelf was full of the "new" bottles of Graham's Malvedos 1996

So, how much were they when you saw them the 2nd time?

Full price

[Al B.]

I've just managed to buy a case of Ferreira 1963 port for a total of £210 - under £20 a bottle. The reason the owner was prepared to accept such a low price was because he had been clearing out his grandmothers house and had moved this case from the cellar to the garden shed about a week before I saw the case. The result of moving these bottles from a dark, damp and cool place to a warm and stuffy shed, heated by the sun, was expanding liquid, old corks and a sticky mess. But when I looked carefully at each bottle, 5 of them were still into the neck. 2 were top shoulder, 2 were low shoulder and 3 were below low shoulder. I bought the case as a gamble, worth the risk since the bottles had only been exposed to two day's heat and the heat had not been too intense.

They are delicious. My current house port is ullaged bottles of Ferreira 1963 - absolutely delicious and well worth the "less than £20" a bottle that I paid. I have already drunk my way through 3 bottles and given a fourth away.

[Marc J.]

Yeah, there is a long story behind that Mackenzie but suffice it to say that I showed interest in a bottling that is fairly obscure and this particular wine merchant was willing to let in go in order to generate additional business.