We’re hoping to do six to eight 2019 Brunello di Montalcino pre-arrival offers over the next few weeks with most going only to customers on the 2019 Brunello Pre-Arrival list. We’ll accept orders as each offer goes out and require that we have payment information on file in the shop before your order is confirmed. But you do not pay for any of the wines until they have arrived (mostly in March and April) and are ready to pick-up and take home.
Reserving your 2019 Brunello on pre-sale ensures that you’ll get the wines you want at the very best prices we can offer. We receive better pricing when we purchase on pre-sale and we pass those savings along to you along with lower mark-ups based on our reduced inventory risk.
Will these be the very lowest prices you’ll see in the USA? Sometimes, and they’ll always be competitive with the best prices we can find at the time we make the offer. But lower offers could emerge. There are retailers in the national market that are comfortable buying wines from brokers and other third-parties in Europe and then importing the wines directly. These “Gray Market” wines avoid the mark-ups charged by US-based importers. But they also avoid the assurance that the wines are what the label says they are and that they were kept in perfect condition from winery to distributor to us and to you.
We’re taking an approach that makes sense to us and, we think, to you. We’ll invite you to reserve your favorite 2019 Brunello knowing that we’re sourcing them from quality importers/distributors and that the wines will arrive in impeccable condition. We’ll confirm your order within a week or two of receiving your request and make sure we have accurate payment info on file. And, again, you won’t pay for the wines until they are here and ready for pick-up – a big departure from the normal “futures” approach you’ll find most other places.
And, we’ll only offer you wines we’re certain you’ll love. We hope you think that’s a pretty good deal all the way around!
Chain Bridge Cellars 