Twenty Twenty Wine Merchants
Shrine to Wine with a 20/20 Vision
A Toast to Bobby G.

Back in 1957 Alex Golbahar got into the retail of wine and later purchased the now defunct Bel-Air Wines shop. It was the beginning of a revolution, when well known pink wines and other "blue" German imports started to give way to fine and rare wines—mostly first-growths from Bordeaux.

Now Bob, his son, carries on the tradition and has incorporated a bunch of other fine selections, namely those cult wines from the Golden State. Prices for some of these wines are reserved for captains of industry and astute collectors, which coincidentally are also Bob's sources for the old stuff. A bottle of 1808 Château Lafite Rothchild would set you back the equivalent cost of a midsize luxury sedan. You could turn in your bonus for a 1992 bottle of Screaming Eagle, providing the Big Cheese felt you deserved an extra $2,495. But rest assured that anybody can shop at Twenty Twenty Wine Merchants and bargains can be had, too.

There could be a sense or urgency to buy up some of the masterpieces as they are in finite quantity and are a disappearing brand, kind of like caviar from the Caspian Sea.

Beyond the 40,000 bottles displayed in the newly renovated showroom, Bob has access to over a million bottles and is certainly approaching some higher being status in his trade. He still has a developing vision for the store, which is continuously being improved. While there, you may also shop for caviar, spirits (that's an entire other story), stemware and wine accessories.

Services include cellar consultancy and storage on the premises for private collectors, Bordeaux Futures since 1979, wine dinner planning for charity and special events. As well, they will ship anywhere. On one account Bob sent one of his associates to Hong Kong to personally deliver 20 bottles of 1982 Petrus for a cool $200,000.

If you want to pass for Robert Parker call up the store and ask for Bobby G.

We like to go in and browse and sometimes exchange hard cash for a flask of elixir of the gods or go through the catalogue and dream a little.

Twenty Twenty Wine Merchants is located at 2020 Cotner Ave., West Los Angeles, 310-447-2020, www.2020wines.com.