Condition and origin of older bottles at wine shops

Hi all, I’m fairly new to this hobby and advanced enough in years that I don’t think it’d be too wise to try to buy newly released wines for aging. So, I’m trying to find older bottles at local wine shops (Boston area).

What worries me is how the bottles have been kept in wine shops. Most of the ones I see just have their stock on shelves, though I do run into the occasional wine fridge. I have to assume that some of these bottles have been on the shelves for years and not in a temp or humidity controlled environment. One person said about a 2013 Northern Rhône that bottle’s been really hanging around for a while! Which I assume means since 2015 or 2016.

In addition, places such as monster retailer Total Wine seem to always have more than a few late 2000’s Bordeaux’s in stock. How does a large retail chain obtain these? And where have they been since the original release date?

Overall, should I be worried about the condition of wine shop bottles?

And how long is too long for a bottle to be on a shelf in a shop?

Finally, am I better off looking for older bottles (2010 and before) at Benchmark vs. wine stores? Or is there a reputable wine shop in the Boston area with well-kept older bottles?

Sorry for the numerous questions. Fine wine supply chains are a mystery to me.

Mike

An inherent roll of the dice, regarding authenticity and condition. Beware of things which appear too good to be true.

I tend to go for cheaper old stuff which is not worth faking.

Any trusting small wine retailer will be confident to let you know where they acquired the wines and at what temperature they keep the wines at (though the chill in the shop may already give you insight on that). I used to work at a very small wine shop and we kept the shop 65 degrees–the lowest setting–and drew down the blinds when the sun set. We would also reject deliveries if they were delivered on a hot day in an unrefrigerated truck.

If you are looking to beef up back vintage then I would suggest Benchmark as you mentioned over rolling the dice in a wine shop. Maybe something that is 5-10 years older than the “current” vintage the shops would have I would consider it - knowing the shop. However, something 20 or more years old I would worry what it has been through depending on the shop. I buy a lot of wine from Benchmark from 35-40 year old birth year wines to 10-25 year old mixed bag of wines and varieties across the board without second thoughts on worrying about the integrity of the bottle.
The other thing you may check out is K&L’s auctions which I’m also a fan of. You can also find pretty good deals on some 2000-2010s and such but you just may have to buy 3-6 or more bottles of it…but hey that’s the point of stocking up the cellar, right? You can usually find some 2nd/3rd growths in OWC or Barolo/Barbaresco too from their auctions which usually work out to a decent price/bottle.