Bordeaux Wine Enthusiasts

sdr

The ‘08 Cristal is indeed outstanding and drinking well already. There’s more to come however and to me at least will truly blossom in 4-6 years. I wouldn’t argue with anyone who suggests it’s the finest Cristal of the century although the ‘02 is a strong contender and the ‘04, ‘06 and ‘07 have thei...

sdr

2017 Niellon Chassagne villages tonight with baked char, seared green beans and whole wheat couscous... wow, this is great, on its own at least it is nearly equal to my memory of the single vineyards cuvées, only lacking some of the finesse of those. Long and intense, filled with lemon and dried gi...

sdr

Thank you, Jacques.

When the Bug finally dies, we need an unofficial BWE South meeting focusing on white Burg (and Florida fishies). Maybe you’d like to try some of that Lamy Criots-Bâtard-Montrachet.

Stu

sdr

Jacques, tell me about your experience with Roulot. Of the few I’ve had over the years, I found the premier crus mostly wonderful but the lieux-dits mostly disappointing. Of course the price difference is huge.

Stu

sdr

Thanks for the excellent educational piece, Stas. After years of searching I finally snagged at auction a few bottles of the Criots-Bâtard-Montrachet. I drank the ‘13 Haute Density and loved it. Unique, crystalline, flavorful, poised. I’d like to try some of the St. Aubin to see how close it comes. ...

sdr

Frederico wrote:No more Bordeaux for now. Scored two bottles of Spottswoode Estate Cab '16 instead.

But surely you know that one bottle of any Bordeaux is better than two bottles of any California

?

Stu

sdr

jal wrote:
sdr wrote:So is Jacques a better winemaker than brother François?

Stu
Stu,

Conventional wisdom that I agree with: Jacques makes the better wines

Yeah, too bad B-21 only carries the François “Just Don’t Call Me Fredo” versions.

Stu

sdr

For me, every very decade has left cali cab worse. The 70’s had some truly amazing wines, thrilling and unique and many still drinking well today. The 80’s by and large were a step down by there’s still many excellent wines. The 90’s continued the trend of less interest, less character, less age wo...

sdr

Notes from a tasting a few months ago. I GUESS I JUST DON’T GET IT - Ft. Lauderdale, Florida (2/4/2020) The host for this month’s tasting selected 2005 California Cabernet Sauvignon as his theme. Like most in the group, he loves the wines and wanted to display them at what he considered full maturit...

sdr

So is Jacques a better winemaker than brother François? Or is it the other way around? Or does it depend on the vineyard?

Things were easier when Dad Louis made them all.

Stu

sdr

Dan may be wondering why ‘19 futures are coming out at a discount while at the same time auction prices are skyrocketing, at least for some items. That’s because for the most part they have two different audiences. Futures and new releases are available in quantity and cover a wide variety of the pr...

sdr

Nice, Jacques.

I had my first ‘17 WB a few days ago and was suitably impressed - Sauzet Referts. As it warmed up a bit it displayed some of that earthy Chassagne character I like even though it is Puligny. I should hunt down some J. Carillon

Stu

sdr

What I DIDN’T buy from yesterday’s HDH auction - 2 old Bordeaux, 1 Soldera, 1 White Burgundy, very good stuff but not trophies. I bid “only” 120-150% of the estimate. Most of them went for over 200%. Too many rich people at home with nothing to do but pay more for wine.

Stu

sdr

Bois De Boursan Chateauneuf Cuvee Felix 2005. On the tin it says 14%. I think they have rounded it down. But it is vgi, and I am not generally a fan of C9, but this is a great expression full of Provençal optimism, sunshine and exuberance; within but close to the limit of my tolerance. If it had co...

sdr

Wow, Chris, I use CT every day for keeping track of my collection and TNs, but I had no idea the weeds were this deep. Bravo.

Stu

sdr

Chris, what is a negative drinking window?

Stu

sdr

Restaurants are now open here for indoor dining, but I am trying to figure out how it can work. If we are 4 couples, do we need to sit at 4 different tables spaced widely apart? If we want to share a bottle, do each of us have to disinfect it before passing it on? How can indoor dining ever be safe ...

sdr

Nicklasss wrote:
Need more dry white wines, as MC and Simone always want to eat salmon tartare.

Nic

Nic, why not a nice dry Rosé, especially in the summertime? Goes great with salmon.

I don’t have a specific suggestion but I’m sure others will.

Stu

sdr

If your effective rating scale is 95-100 you don’t need to ascribe points. Actually, I liked Broadbent’s star ratings, one though five stars, although he cheated himself by using half stars. Still he was not hesitant to give out one or two stars to anything he thought underperformed and always expla...

sdr

I’ve seen whole wine stores of obviously fake wine and fake booze in East Asia again and again. I mean obviously faked, with poorly photocopied labels, etc. Even in the duty free areas at international airports in Seoul, Kuala Lumpur, and Hanoi. Not just the expensive stuff either, lots of low end ...

sdr

Turkey frozen from November goes well with dry Riesling too. An ‘01 (Trimbach) Clos Ste. Hune tonight was impressive, the wine having survived the ages better than the turkey.

Stu

sdr

Nicklasss wrote:We also had a nice meal, but last night (foie gras with Champagne, and elk tartare
Nic

They eat a lot differently in the Canadian forest

Stu

Congratulations to you both for the anniversary.

sdr

2001 was the only German vintage I ever bought in any size - maybe 10 cases at the exhortations of Pappadoc and Lyle Fass and everything was fantastic. But what I have left can be counted on one hand, if that. Ever since then I only buy a few bottles as needed since nothing has ever seemed as aweso...

sdr

Chris, you had extremely bad luck with the ‘83 Margaux, so sad. Was it well stored? I’ve usually had great experiences with it. I hope you get to experience a good one. Here’s my most recent note: 3/7/20 95 points Compared with a recent tasting of a rustic ‘82 Margaux you would have to assume 1983 i...

sdr

Of course everyone who attended remembers well the dinner at Château Margaux in 2005. But what sticks with me is how Mme. Mentzelopoulos quickly became “Corinne” and how she spent much of the time at our table anguishing over how her daughter in Paris was making a huge mistake by becoming attached t...

sdr

Stu, that was a great evening at CabFan's. I don’t recall that phone call at all... ??? Did we have a good connection? Did I know who you were? The connection wasn’t perfect but adequate for me to hear you okay. I was in a taxi heading down from a wedding in Sonoma. I think we had not met in person...

sdr

April 2003. Wonderful dinner at Cab Fan’s house. He smoked half a pig outside in the yard. Guest list included little Julia and sister, DavidG, MichaelP., James Grandison. Can’t remember any of the wines except the excellent 1978 Bill Hill. Peter tried to get us to like Cal Cabs, almost succeeded wi...

sdr

I’ve only had three Bordeaux from 1945, La Mission Haut-Brion, Latour and Mouton, most of them about 25 years ago. My scores ranged from 82 to 100. Obviously, tremendous bottle variation on the ancients, none of them ex-Château but some of them allegedly from a cold British cellar. I would have assu...

sdr

Tofu is what you eat when you get tired of food with flavor.

Stu

sdr

Of course there is always champagne, the most reliable white wine of all. Stu Great stuff everyone, I have more thoughts to share shortly, but in the meantime, what's your go to bubbly for <$75, Stu et al.? A glass of Cristal Rosé. Stu Oh, maybe you meant a whole bottle, that’s different. I have en...

sdr

We all have in mind what are the ultimate best wine for each grape type. Cabernet franc is Cheval Blanc Grenache is Chateau Rayas Merlot is Pétrus Mourvèdre is Domaine Tempier Cabassaou? Nebbiolo is Giacosa Barolo Falletto red label Pinot Noir is Domaine de La Romanée-Conti Romanée-Conti Sangiovese...

sdr

stefan wrote:Nice, Stuart. Probably the proceeds covered a midweek dinner for you and Kathy.

No, not quite, just the dessert

Stu

sdr

I have pretty much given up on finding a substitute for white Burgundy. Sad but true :cry: Like many, I have learned to enjoy them younger than in the past. I wish I could discover that obscure producer no one knows who makes Grand Cru whites for, like 50€. But not yet, so I pay up for the classics...

sdr

Biggest score = ‘82 Pétrus @$185 from Zachys (1986).

But since it turned out to be very disappointing, I recently sold the last bottle for 1890% ROI.

Stu

sdr

Unfortunately, Ian, they're all Nuits St Georges Clos de la Maréchale There was I thinking copious amounts of Amoureuses and Musigny... Oh I wish, I used to buy these when the Musigny was $75 and the Amoureuses $60, and that was the 1996-2001 vintages. Probably the two best Burgundies I have ever d...

sdr

Pétrus

Maybe because I very rarely get to taste it, it’s so freakin’ expensive and because it’s usually not that great but when it is, it’s sublime. Gotta have some pain with my pleasure.

Stu

sdr

Happy Bday, Lucie, glad to see stefan opens something good for you.

Stu

sdr

Palmer Gorgeous midnight blue and gold colors plus superb design. Honorable mentions: Lafite and Haut Brion Classical, reserved, regal, traditional, even if haughty. 1970 Mouton (Chagall) could be in the running, but that was a one off. I was also trying to think of the ugliest Bordeaux label but I ...

sdr

I see I have sixteen notes in CT for 1970 Mouton, with scores ranging from 78 to 92 (plus one 96) from tastings 1994 to late 2019 (average = 88.6), so if great bottles are out there I managed to miss most of them. The 78 score was from the most recent tasting and the one great bottle was from 2013. ...

sdr

This is a very detailed impressive interactive graph you can play with. Try the most optimistic and most pessimistic scenarios.

http://gabgoh.github.io/COVID/index.html

Stu

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