I'd heard that a local guy bought 2 cases of Lynch Bages for 50 bucks a bottle or so at costco, I guess the story's true. Every time I went to check they had very little or no 2000 Bordeaux.
Excellent prices. I'd have definitely gone for the Lynch Bages (that's like 1st tranche price) and H-B-Liberal at that price. Good price on Les Forts de Latour, I'm just a little down on seconds after a tasting last month (though I did buy some '00 Bahans). Enjoy them, in 10-30!
But they can't necessarily get it to you. Liquor restrictions of the various states have sway over where Costco can ship alcohol. For instance, at Costco.com they say they can only ship to addresses in Washington State.
Also, just because their computers say they have the wine doesn't necessarily mean you can find it. The February 2001 Costco Connection magazine listed a slew of 1998 Bdx they were going to stock, including the Ch. l' Angelus. SKU numbers were listed alongside the wines, so I kept checking to see when the Angelus was in. It never arrived. Or at least the Costco computers couldn't find it. I don't know what happened, but I miss it already. :)
Another case in point: I recently bought a real nice 1998 CdP at the Kirkland (Washington) Costco for $15.59. When I went back to get more it was gone, (Well, duh. heh) But the computer said there were 13 bottles at the Aurora Village store, so I streaked out there. Even with a massive amount of assistance from Costco customer service, we couldn't find a single bottle.
All was not lost, however. I did find seven remaining bottles of 2000 Font-Sane Gigondas for $13, and a nice selection of 2000 Bordeaux. I took home some Ch. Maucaillou Moulis, Ch. Haut-Brisson Grand Cru and Ch. Malecasse (Haut-Medoc). They were all $15-18. I passed on the Pagodes de Cos at $27, as it's $24 at K&L. (Anybody know what the Pagodes is like?) Didn't see any Lynch-Bages.
One other thing to know about Costco is that the various store managers can pick and choose what wines they feature. This can really make a difference in selection. The Kirkland store, for example, didn't have the 2000 Bdx's I listed above, but Aurora had them in a huge display separate from the usual wine bins. I'll never forget my visit two years ago to the Costco in Santa Cruz. Boo-yah, talk about a wine section! But that's the way wine works in Cal. In Washington we have a liquor board whose cork is tighter than a new CdP. :)
I'm not so sure about the demographics aspect. The Kirkland store is in the heart of the affluent East Side, a stone's throw from Microsoft and surrounded by a lot of people with expendable income. The Aurora store is in more of a mixed neighborhood, tending towards lower-mid income. I would have expected the Bordeaux display at Kirkland, not at Aurora. I imagine a factor is the availability of floor space, Kirkland being one of the older (and smaller) stores in the chain.
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