01438 741177         thewinesociety.com

The Society's Community

Anyone used Decantalo since January?

Drinks Chat
#1

Has anyone used Decantalo since the dreaded Brexit?

I ask because I tend to use them once or twice a year to stock up on Txakolis & Godellos in particular, but things have changed since January for some other EU-based wine companies I sometimes use.

Their website says BaU again - duty paid at source and just delivery costs on top of the bottle costs - but I don’t want any nasty surprises; my orders are usually between 12-24 bottles, up to approx £200; no more than £300. I do know some EU-based wineshops I use do warn of potential additional duty / taxes etc on delivery in The UK.

Decantalo however are saying all duty / tax is paid and it’s job done. Confirmed too in an online chat with them this morning. To a limit of 60 bottles.

Can it really be this easy again??

#2

In the same vein - has anyone used Vinatis since January?

#3

I tried a Vinatis order, and got a message apologising and saying they’re not delivering to the UK at the moment.

Decantalo I’ve not braved yet. I was going to put in an order, but got side tracked by the Austrian EP, sorry!

1 Like
#4

Thanks, @strawpig… as I feared :cry:

#5

The prices have really increased so possibly it’s all ok to order, i guess you could always reject the delivery if you were asked to pay more?

#6

Two successful recent Decantalo orders reported on wine-pages.com

Haven’t heard anything positive about ordering from other continental retailers yet though :confused:

2 Likes
#7

Bullet Bitten. Small test Decantalo order made.

Due to be delivered on the 18th. I’ll keep everyone posted.

4 Likes
#8

This is an email from Giordano wines in Italy just out of interest. I wonder if they are planning price rises in the near future.

Dear Customer,

Events of recent months and the logistical impact of Brexit have put pressure on our work, making it more difficult to deliver your orders with the usual speed and diligence. However, we want to reassure you that we have overcome all of these obstacles and will continue to deliver our products safely and efficiently to your door.

We want to assure you that everything will now resume as normal, at no extra cost than before. No fees or charges will apply to your orders at Giordano.

We thank you for your understanding and are confident that we will be back very soon to share all the delights of Italian wine.

Buon vino e buona vita,
Giordano Wines

P.S. It seems some prices have already gone up.

2 Likes
#9

It does seem that now UK duty is being added at source (€2-3 per bottle) the economics of buying from Spain doesn’t add up for many wines. However the big online retailers do good promotions from time to time that are worth looking out for.

Just seen that Gravonia 2012 is in stock at Vinissimus T €24.50 but with delivery and the current fx rate it will probably be the same price here (if you can find it).

And there are many Spanish wines which aren’t available through UK merchants.

#10

Won’t those same price rises work their way through to merchants over here eventually too though?

#11

No, because they’re already charging UK duty (unless I’m missing something).

#12

He mentioned exchange rate

#13

The prices certainly aren’t what they used to be, that’s for sure; but the choices available are broader and open up doors to many excellent simple to mid-level wines that you can’t often / ever get here.

1 Like
#14

The wording on their website seems pretty unequivocal that it’s all sorted. However, sadly the prices now reflect it…just a brief check of a few wines where there is a direct comparison with TWS or other merchants I use suggest that some of the more compelling price advantages have all but disappeared…

Likely to be still useful for sourcing wines that aren’t readily available in the UK though and getting a decent sized order in.

2 Likes
#15

Yes, looked again yesterday, the Muga Rosé used to come in at £7.50 , its now £10.50. TWS had it listed last year for £9.50… guess who I’ll be buying from this year …

#16

The Montsant Blau was about £6 now about £9 so slightly cheaper than TWS but carriage costs will remove that.

TWS were actually slightly cheaper pre Brexshit for a couple of the Galician whites too. There are one or two wines I looked at where it might still stack up pricewise if you got a decent sized order. Also, for some of the wines not seen in the UK.

1 Like
#17

Well Waitrose had it last year for £9.99. They don’t seem to have this year yet, but perhaps worth checking the next time there’s a 25% off.

#18

They’ve got a pretty good spread of Raúl Pérez wines just now, if there are other fans of his reading this. I’ve hugely loved every single wine of his I’ve ever had; his “standard” wines are usually jaw-droppingly good for the price, while the Sketch Albarino, though expensive, is [for my tastes] on another planet. The Claudina Godello too.

I’m just glad they’re open for business again, even if more expensive now.

#19

Just taken deliver of 3 bottles (maximum allowed) of Os Cantals 2016 which made a fleeting appearance on the WS website recently at £25.

Decantalo want £37.

3 Likes
#20

Be sure to let us know how they go if you open one soon - I too snapped up three of these and am looking forward to them one fine evening/s. I’m inclined to sit on them a while yet but I’d imagine they might be in a pretty good place already.

1 Like