Parkinson's grand cru fundraising ride: we crossed the finishing line

Riders and our helper with Fergus Henderson:

Jim, Lynda, Fergus, Carole and Max

Soon after 11am this morning we completed our fundraising ride for Parkinson's UK when we arrived at Ostal Cazes in La Livinière, Minervois. Although we actually started at Lafite, we rode past the entrance to Lynch Bages as well as the Hotel Cordeillan-Bages on our way out of Pauillac on Monday, so we essentially rode from Cazes to Cazes.

We set off a little after 9am from La Cité of Carcassonne. After a short ride on the busy main road from Carcassonne to Thébes, we enjoyed quiet roads through the Minervois passing by Laure-Minervois.

The fundraising total continues to rise – we are close to £5000 with gift and have crossed the £4K mark without the aid. Current total is £4075.00 and £4843.75 if you include gift aid. We are very grateful to our 98 donors! We are still aiming to reach £6000.

To donate please click here. Many thanks – together we make a difference.   

 Jim and Carole outsi Carcassonne  

 Lynda and Carole @La Cité

1855 (1855.com): towards the perfect zero (part 3) – Emeric Sauty de Chalon and Fabien Hyon up for it!

Château Lynch-Bages, Pauillac – still 12 bottles of 2005 owed to AS

AS offered by poor value deal by 1855

AS is another lost 1855 client. Tired of waiting for his 2005s he opted to go to court to try to get his remaining and has just received this offer from 1855's lawyers: 

'I received this from 1855's Lawyers.

In short, they now advise me that they are not able to deliver the last 36 bottles (12 x Lynch Bages 2005, 12 x Kirwan 2005 and 12 Rauzan Segla 2005), despite having told me otherwise last month.

They are therefore proposing the following:

EUR 2,164.28 refund of the contractual value of the wine

EUR 432.85 compensation (stating this corresponds to an annual rate of 4% which apparently is set by precedent)

EUR 998.95 reflecting the cost between the actual value of the wines and the contractual value

EUR 3,596.08 in total

**

I'm delighted to see that 1855's management (Emeric Sauty de Chalon and Fabien Hyon) appear to be fully behind aiming for 'the perfect zero' in respect to Bordeaux en primeur sales in 2012 as the very poor value deal offered to AS will surely never persuade him to place any further orders with 1855. 

If you check the current prices for the three wines still to be delivered on wine-searcher.com and restrict the search to France you will find that these 2005s are still readily available.

Cheapest selling prices shown (10.1.2012: 

€1,607.00 Lynch Bages

€1,265.00 Kirwan 

€1,282.60 Rauzan Ségla

Total €4154.06 without any compensation compared to 1855's offer of €3596.08 with compensation or  €3163.23 without compenastion, so nearly €1000 less than it would cost to buy these three wines.

It would be too easy, however, to think that de Chalon and Hyon are pushing a sharp deal here. Rather, bearing in mind all the complaints and court cases involving 1855, they probably have little actual experience of purchasing fine Bordeaux, so such accusations would be decidedly unfair.

'Management' and leading shareholder of 1855 

Emeric Sauty de Chalon and Fabien Hyon are the senior 'management' team of 1855 (1855.com, 1855.con). Thierry Maincent was an administrateur and one of the directeur général délégués until he resigned his posts for personal reasons on 30th September 2010. Businessman Jean-Pierre Meyers, who is on the boards of L'Oréal and Nestlé, is a long-term shareholder of 1855.

1855 is a probationary member of La Fevad.