We acquire our unparalleled stock of fine and rare wine from well-maintained private cellars and reputable wholesalers, but only when our team of acquisitions professionals can verify provenance guarantee.
Before purchasing a private collection, a BWG representative will often travel to a cellar site to meet the collector and inspect storage conditions to verify provenance. As a result, we guarantee the provenance of all wines that we sell. If you open a wine purchased from us within six months of the purchase date and the wine reveals signs of damage due to improper storage, we ask that you re-cork the bottle with the remaining wine inside and contact us immediately.
Each bottle of rare and back-vintage wine is unique. When a new collection arrives, we inspect each bottle by hand to ensure the cellar’s overall condition meets our strict standards. When an individual bottle has a cosmetic blemish or other condition, our cellar team provides that notation. If no condition is cataloged, the bottle may still contain minor conditions reflective of the bottle’s value and/or age. When we cannot authenticate an exceptionally rare and valuable wine, that bottle is immediately returned to the source from which it was acquired.
While Provenance is always guaranteed, we want to ensure the best wine-buying experience every time. With that in mind, each bottle will always be noted with any information you’d want to know before adding it to your cellar- including cosmetic conditions, ullage, other various bottle conditions, and if it was sourced from one of our featured cellars. Check out our guide to navigating our website below!
Click here learn more about conditioned bottles and their journey from our cellar to yours.
Cosmetic Conditions
When an individual bottle has a cosmetic blemish or other condition, our cellar team provides that notation. If no condition is cataloged, the bottle may still contain minor conditions, which are reflective of the bottles value and/or age. *Minor conditions include cosmetic conditions such as nicked labels or chipped wax capsules.
Ullage
Ullage is the natural process by which the fill level in a bottle will drop over time. While a recent vintage wine with a low fill should be cause for concern, a bottle at 15+ years of age should be expected to have a less than perfect fill.
Other Bottle Conditions
Want to learn more about our Provenance Guarantee? Click Here!
Established in 2002, Benchmark Wine Group is the leading source of fine and rare wine retailers, restaurants and collectors around the world. Based in Napa Valley, we acquire the most sought-after wines from private individuals and professional contacts, but only when provenance can be verified by our team of acquisition professionals. Our staff draws on decades of industry experience and is dedicated to providing exceptional service to all of our clients. Benchmarkwine.com offers 24-hour access to our cellar, displaying inventory in real-time.
