In article >,
Mark Lipton > wrote:

> Lawrence Leichtman wrote:
>
> > Can you really find bargains on these? I guess it all depends what you
> > consider a bargain. Marcassin and Kongaards tend to run over $200 per
> > bottle. Shafer is usually affordable but still expensive. Sine qua non
> > also tends to run on the high side of $150 per bottle. Same with the
> > other Cabs listed here. What auction site do you use?
>
> Good question, Larry. My experience in the auction market (mostly with
> Hart Davis Hart in Chicago) is that CalCabs tend to fetch fairly high
> prices, as do first and supersecond growths and DRC. OTOH, the wines I
> seek out (older Bdx, N Rhones, older Burgs, all from "under the radar"
> producers) are generally had at about 50-60% of retail. Probably our
> all-time best purchase was a mixed lot of 10 '88 Grand Cru Cote de Nuits
> Burgs, including Dujac's '88 Clos de la Roche and various Chambertins.
> We paid probably $500-600 for the lot and Dujac alone runs about $200
> retail. It helps that I seek out unpopular years ('70, '75 and '78 in
> Bdx; '88 in Burgundy; '86 in the N Rhone) and lesser-known producers
> (DeMontille, Lafon, Anne Gros, Clape, Verset, Ducru, Montrose,
> Gruaud-Larose), but that's how my tastes run anyway
>
> Mark Lipton

My preference is there too but I don't have access to auctions except
online and I don't see the great bargains there and I'm not always sure
of the provenance after receiving two Vieux Telegraphe wines with pushed
corks not in the summer.