The Swedish retail monopoly Systembolaget has announced that they will release the long awaited lot of wines from the Domaine de la Romanée Conti on October 19. It is various cuvées from DRC from the 2006 vintage which have been resting in the monopoly cellars for quite some time. The top wine is the Romanée Conti 2006 which will retail at 24,495 SEK, which is far below the international market price. There are 24 bottles of this wine and a few hundred DRC wines in total that will be released.
The wines can be ordered from 10.00 AM on October 19 in the Systembolaget shops. Queues outside the shops are expected to be long, but only a few happy buyers will emerge. Most likely, the 24 bottles will be rapidly sent out of the country and the happy buyers can make a quick profit selling them elsewhere.
We find it strange that the Swedish monopoly should indirectly subsidise these kinds of wines by selling them below market prices (foregoing profit). We also cannot fathom in what way one can sell these wines in a “fair” manner, other than organising a lottery (or selling to the highest bidder).
Can you?
