LCBO Price Alert

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Originally posted by Darcy Kelley:

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Originally posted by on the wine:
Based just on the teaser list they put out, there's one wine that I will be getting more of and that's the 2004 Paleo Rosso. I bought 6 at the original $99 price and will turn that into at least a case at the sale price if I can.

I haven't had Paleo Rosso before, but am a big fan of Cab Franc - when it's ripe & done well. Do you tend to pick up any heat, or taste the alcohol, in the Paleo Rosso?

The long growing period and often hot climate that you get in Tuscany ripens the fruit so that you don't get the vegetal flavours that so often come with cab franc, but I've never noticed the alcohol. (I just looked at the bottle and see it is posted at 13%)

I haven't quite tried all the vintages since they changed to 100% cab franc in 2001 (I've never even seen any 2002), but the 2001 and 2004 vintages are my favourite vintages. The 01 is very ripe and expressive, while the 04 has more structure and flavour depth. The price we are being offered here in Ontario compares favourably with the price in Italy (55-59 Euro) and is better than the US price.

The full sale list is up at vintages.com now. Other than the Paleo and a couple of Alsatian dessert wines, I don't see much to get me out of my easy chair.

I perked up when I saw 2003 Cerretalto on the list, but searching for inventory showed nothing available.

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Originally posted by on the wine:
I perked up when I saw 2003 Cerretalto on the list, but searching for inventory showed nothing available.

The JJ Prum reisling is also at zero inventory. I am convinced that half the reason they do this is to get around their exchange policy for those who don't have a receipt - mark down bottles with no inventory for anyone else who's bought it already to get squeezed on the exchange.

The double mag of the 05 Beaucastel seems like a good buy, to bad the inventory check is zero.

Great idea from the monopoly, lets have a bin end sale on bins that are empty.

The Clonakilla Shiraz/Viognier 2006 is excellent. The sale price makes it easier to stomach. I already have six that I purchased at a price lower than the sale though!

cain five 2004 is has lower price that states(never see that happened before)

and hill of grace 2001 is nice, but u can't which store have it~

The LCBO search engine shows no quantities of 03 Casanova di Neri Cerretalto available anywhere. However, at least some stores are being shipped cases of this wine prior o the sale.

Lesson is that you shouldn't assume that search engine is always correct. It might pay to ask at your local store.

quote:

Originally posted by on the wine:
The LCBO search engine shows no quantities of 03 Casanova di Neri Cerretalto available anywhere. However, at least some stores are being shipped cases of this wine prior o the sale.

Lesson is that you shouldn't assume that search engine is always correct. It might pay to ask at your local store.

right, i'll ask the people in the store, since they have a different search engine

There's another factor at play, too. The main warehouse may have product sequestered for the sale that has not yet been delivered to a retail location.

As it's been explained to me, when wine is received at a store, the quantity is then activated in the LCBO inventory system. So, store X might have a 1-case allocation but is showing quantity 0 now. When store X gets those bottles this Thurs or Fri, then that quantity would be updated to show 12. So, really, you have to check Friday evening to know what store has what physical quantity of a wine.

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Originally posted by Yuka:
right, i'll ask the people in the store, since they have a different search engine

It's not about the search engine but the inventory system. The search engine is just a query tool. And while store staff may use a different search engine, they're querying the same inventory system, so they're seeing the same data as you. That's my understanding anyway.

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Originally posted by Darcy Kelley:
There's another factor at play, too. The main warehouse may have product sequestered for the sale that has not yet been delivered to a retail location.

As it's been explained to me, when wine is received at a store, the quantity is then activated in the LCBO inventory system. So, store X might have a 1-case allocation but is showing quantity 0 now. When store X gets those bottles this Thurs or Fri, then that quantity would be updated to show 12. So, really, you have to check Friday evening to know what store has what physical quantity of a wine.

Someone from the inside might know better but my understanding the LCBO # is set up centrally but it's up to the individual stores to enter their own inventory they receive into the system. So it's totally dependent on store staff and in some cases it's missed entirely either because they forgot or the LCBO # wasn't set up or was cancelled centrally. For example, the Atrium store had the 2005 Flaccianello on the shelves for probably 2 months but it was never shown in the inventory system.

Looks like Summerhill and Queens Quay have received shipments of product that were not showing up earlier in the week.

Hi
Here are the links for Burgundy clearouts in ascending value from $28 thru $$80 ( stopped there ) - I see one or two - any additional pointers welcomed - looking for the funk-barnyard type and have only had a couple of Burg's which have been middle of cherry pop-funky continuum

Greg

http://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=629654
http://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=601567
http://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=201156
http://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=496442
http://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=200890
http://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=518624
http://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=661038
http://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=412443
http://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=332881
http://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=717049
http://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=616751

ps - was interesting to see LOUIS JADOT SANTENAY ROUGE CLOS DE MALTE 2005 9( CT # 412443 ) shows a street price of $25 - vs - clearout price of $60 - most of the others seemed much closer than this example

FWIW, the Queens Quay store has 2005 Caymus SS for $139 per bottle. The last time it was released here it was more like $155+

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Originally posted by theweb:
FWIW, the Queens Quay store has 2005 Caymus SS for $139 per bottle. The last time it was released here it was more like $155+

Probably the residual from the catologue Caymus release a month or so back.

How was it, by the way?

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Originally posted by WEc:

quote:

Originally posted by theweb:
FWIW, the Queens Quay store has 2005 Caymus SS for $139 per bottle. The last time it was released here it was more like $155+

Probably the residual from the catologue Caymus release a month or so back.

How was it, by the way?

There were so many wines being poured last night that I was a bit overwhelmed. I do recall the Cliff Lede stealing the show over the Caymus. I'll be doing them both again tonite so I'll have a better idea how it is showing.

I second that on the Cliff Lede. While I enjoyed the concentration of the Caymus SS, the Cliff Lede was a more balanced, elegant wine. Ripe, articulated fruit and a good deal of oak spiciness. I'm not a fan of spicy oak, in general, but here it works.

Did you guys catch the article in either the NYT or WSJ last week (can't find it now) about many of California's high end wines down 40% in price from a year ago? If they're that cheaper there, I can't see the LCBO not negotiating a similar discount when buying. Time will tell.

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Originally posted by Darcy Kelley:
Did you guys catch the article in either the NYT or WSJ last week (can't find it now) about many of California's high end wines down 40% in price from a year ago? If they're that cheaper there, I can't see the LCBO not negotiating a similar discount when buying. Time will tell.

Did not see that, but it makes sense since it seems like USA economy is about to hit the toilet again! Hold on to your hats, October is almost here!!

I love the Cliff Lede too, just having a really hard time with the $75 tariff. Probably will go back for a couple more because I'm weak, but this has really come up in price over the last few vintages.

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Originally posted by CSM:
I love the Cliff Lede too, just having a really hard time with the $75 tariff. Probably will go back for a couple more because I'm weak, but this has really come up in price over the last few vintages.

Yeah, I see it readily available Stateside for $20 less. I had it again last night along with 2005 Caymus SS. The Lede is a well structured bruiser and should be forgotten for several years. The Caymus was surprisingly good to go, a much more elegant Cab compared to Lede. Both great in their own way.

quote:

Originally posted by theweb:
There were so many wines being poured last night that I was a bit overwhelmed. I do recall the Cliff Lede stealing the show over the Caymus. I'll be doing them both again tonite so I'll have a better idea how it is showing.

Thanks!

Tons of 2006 Sori Patin finally arrived at QQ location

Anybody try one yet ???? Fut ???

Drank it over three hours on Wednesday and thought it was nice but not at the level of the 2005. It's very backward right now and much more traditional in style. I would give it 89 points and hope that it will improve with cellaring. I won't be touching my bottles until at least 2014-2016.

You'll find it quite austere right now, even with a lot of air.

They are obviously getting rid of Vintages-on-Line and are dumping the remaining inventory. But I have never seen such niggardly price discounts! Is anyone really going to buy a mediocre $50 wine for $5 off?

How about 2004 Alpha Estate Red from the leading wine regions of Macedonia for $35? I think they really want to keep these wines for themselves.

I meant to post about this a couple of weeks ago, but I'll add it now. I found a 375ml of 2003 Chateau Haut-Mayne Sauternes for $23 at my local LCBO clear-out bin. I haven't really been able to find any information about when this was released and what the original list price was. Most importantly I haven't been able to find any professional reviews on it though it has a ct avg of 90.8 which I would consider decent for the money.

Not sure if it was old stock or a return, but I'd guess the latter. The cashier told me it had been delisted the day I bought it which I thought was kind of strange.

Any thoughts?

It was released Sep 30, 2006 for... $23. LCBO strikes again!

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Originally posted by tannic bastard:
It was released Sep 30, 2006 for... $23. LCBO strikes again!

Thanks tb, 2/3 from Guide Hachette and the VA score are both really reassuring. I'll hold this for a few years and open and if it is flawed then it'll be going back.

On a side note I paid $23.05 for my bottle. Not discounted at all! I'm guessing the extra $0.10 is due to the increased bottle deposit since this was released.

When their inventory goes down to the last few bottles, the LCBO have been putting them into a 'last chance' bin which customers mistakenly assume is price-reduced. It looks like a clear-out bin, but if you read the sign, it doesn't actually say so.

Just part of the game.

Are there no more bin-end sales of unsold Classics wine?

I bet they'll roll out any bin end sale after they've taken our money for the Feb Classics. Wouldn't want to detract from the current offering.

Walked into Laird St LCBO yesterday and found a large number of items marked down by 30%. Picked up some:

2005 Hartford Court 4 Hearts Chardonnay (not as good as the 2007, but a good buy at $35)
2005 Roux & Fils Chassagne-Montrachet Les Macherelles
2006 Gunderloch Riesling Spätlese Rheinhessen Nackenheim Rothenberg
2006 Henri Gouges Nuits St George Les Pruliers
2008 Tenuta dell'Ornellaia Serre Nuovo

quote:

Originally posted by Darcy Kelley:
Did you guys catch the article in either the NYT or WSJ last week (can't find it now) about many of California's high end wines down 40% in price from a year ago? If they're that cheaper there, I can't see the LCBO not negotiating a similar discount when buying. Time will tell.

Yes, I can't see LCBO not negotiating a similar discount, AND I also can't see them passing the entire discount on to their customers.

Isn't this related to the whole pricing fiasco that was revealed a year ago by a number of folks here as well as columnists in the dailies - they work off fixed markups, so they can charge more if the supplier charges them more. I recall hearing something about the chateau/distributor being told by the LCBO to charge more or they'd be dropped. It's been a while though any my brain is increasingly foggy these days.

FWIW, HAWKES CABERNET SAUVIGNON 2004 is $29.95, down from its original $31.95 back in December 2009. Oddly, it seems to be selling in the US for about $40. The Can/US price differential caught my eye - not often seen on LCBO shelves.

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Originally posted by VinToronto:
FWIW, HAWKES CABERNET SAUVIGNON 2004 is $29.95, down from its original $31.95 back in December 2009. Oddly, it seems to be selling in the US for about $40. The Can/US price differential caught my eye - not often seen on LCBO shelves.

Saw this on the shelf at one of the satellite stores and recalled your posting. Definitely needs air; dranked over 2 days and was clearly better on day 2 - dense blackcurrent with hard but well integrated tannins, as good as other California cabs at twice it's price at least. Good structure and weight, this can be stored for another 5 years easy.

Excellent for $40 nevermind $30 at LCBO. Went back and cleaned the store of its remaining bottles. Thanks for the tip VinToronto!

You're welcome.

Interestingly, it looks as though jhcolman tried one last night too, but didn't share the same
experience

The '04 Hawkes Cab is disappointing.

There shouldn't be so much brett (if any) in an Alex Valley Cab. This has brett on the nose and palate. Strike two is the capsicum; is a noticeable bell pepper tang. Might be a 90+ point wine for some, but not me.

ADELAIDA CELLARS ANNA'S ESTATE VINEYARD SYRAH 2007 Delisted as of today, down to $22 from $27. Looks pretty decent, I'll give it a whirl sometime this week. Decent stock of this product throughout Ontario and the price appears to be at or below US prices.

Bumping to report back on the Adelaida. Drank it over the past couple nights and I would say it is definitely worth checking out for the price.

Also grabbed some TALTARNI BRUT TACHÉ 2008 that was also reduced down to $20.40 from $25.