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Outstanding Wine Values at Wine Commune
By perryd | November 15, 2007
Most of my Bordeaux comes from California. I used to spend a fair amount of time prowling the bargain bins at my local wine shops, occasionally sucking it up and buying half a case or a case or just an individual bottle at retail prices.
Then it happened. I was reading an article on Decanter about online wine auctions. At the top of their list was Wine Commune, based in California. It’s basically eBay for wine, where hundreds of sellers bring their wines to the table in a variety of auction formats. Even though some offers look tempting, I’ve done business with only one seller, JJ Buckley, which happens to be the shop that owns the site. 300+ bottles later I can still recommend them, and the site, as one of the best places to get excellent wines in pristine condition at outrageous prices.
How outrageous? JJ Buckley’s auctions are often without a reserve price and start at $1. Here’s a random sample from my recent purchases…the 2002 La Confession rated 90 points by Parker. At a fine restaurant the bottle will go for close to $100. At your local wine merchant you’ll be paying close to $50. On Wine Commune? $25. I typically see discounts of 50% to 75% off of retail prices. The wines are shipped weekly and arrive fully encased in protective styrofoam wine packs.
On the rare occasion that I’ve had problems, the folks at JJ Buckley have gone out of their way to make things right.
I’m sure I’ll be writing more about Wine Commune. Just stay out of the Bordeaux auctions!
Topics: Wine |