I’ve been remarkably resistant to ordering wine from tasting rooms, particularly those on the West Coast. For one, you are way too vulnerable to the tasting experience, the fun atmosphere and the exaggeration of quality. I’m not the only one who has been disappointed once I re-taste the wine months later at home.
Nonetheless, I succumbed to temptation while visiting France recently. After tasting 17 red and white wines at Maison Drouhin, I shipped home a mixed case of chardonnays. And, I did the same after visiting Chateau Beaucastel.
Cyril Ponelle, Maison Drouhin
Not until I got back home did I do the math. The Drouhins were available in the United States; some of the Beaucastels were not because the case included the 2012 vintage.
Three of the Drouhin chardonnays — Clos du Mouches, Marquis Laguiche Chassagne-Montrachet and Corton-Charlemagne — were $30 less in France. The 20% French tax was dropped and I didn’t incur the markups from a wholesaler and retailer. However, shipping costs added about $16 a bottle. I probably would have incurred a shipping cost had I bought them from a retailer in the United States since they are not readily available in my local market. Still, the wine cost less in France but not as much as I imagined.
I didn’t lose any money and I don’t have buyer’s remorse.