It's hard to argue with Blanquito's list. My list would be very similar. I don't equate value with cheap. For me, it's a ratio of quality to price, and values can be found at most price points. With this in mind, I would find it hard to find a better value than du Tertre. The quality is generally fa...

Allison and I also had a wonderful night. Enjoying great wines (61 Bordeaux, no less!) with great friends is always special for us. We really enjoyed meeting Danny and Danielle; maybe we'll see you in Ottawa one day! And Stu and Kathy's generosity is second to none. As usual, I'm late putting togeth...

I agree with much of what has been written. Ormes de Pez was excellent -- best young wine from this property that I can recall. Pichon Lalande was WOTD for me, barely edging out the Baron. Lynch was slightly below. St. Julien was AOTD (Appellation of the Day) for me. Barton was my favorite, but the ...

Great write-up, Alex. I have dined multiple times in many of the restaurants you listed. I have my own theory on this. Bordeaux is much more laid back than people realize. It is completely different than Paris, where 3-star restaurants abound. Three-star Michelin restaurants, as much as I love them,...

I agree with AlexR. I get a little tired of hearing people say that first growth Bordeaux represents "the worst value in the world." This is an absurd take, especially considering the prices of Cult Napa and Burgundy these days. Clearly her blind love of Burgundy is clouding her mind. High...

One of my favorite books by one of my favorite wine authors. While some may some of the content dry at times, I really never have felt this way about any of his books. If you are a wine nerd (like myself), I would recommend this for you. Coming from a scientific background (he was the founder of the...

Jim, count me among the fans of 15 Malescot. I did not find it to be 'heavy handed' or over-oaked, but that's me. It's going to develop into a very nice wine, but will take at least 15-20 years, for my palate.

It's hard to find a better value today than Lilian Ladouys. Even in the excellent 2015 and 2016 vintages, I believe their futures were around $20-25.

Unquestionably Parker was good for Bordeaux. Even though perhaps he influenced a change in the wines, he also led to many chateau owners/winemakers opening their minds and adopting new winemaking techniques. Fortunately, there has been a correction from this, and more classic wines are being made ag...

As always, these large-scale population studies are completely flawed and prove little IMO. Even the authors note the flaws in the study, namely that it relies on self-reported data and there's no direct proof that alcohol increases risk. These studies always have an agenda, and that's the problem. ...

When are human beings going to be honest enough to admit the fact that it's perfectly okay that some behaviors are going to lead to some (even several thousand) deaths? I think it's okay (and I'm sure most of you do) that in order for alcohol to be available for personal use, it's going to lead to r...

Lots of good choices (as seen above). As someone mentioned above, choosing good QPR wines really depends on how much money you want to spend. I ended up listing two producers in some of the appellations. 1. Graves/Pessac-Leognan: Malartic-Lagravière and Larrivet Haut-Brion come to mind 2. Margaux: d...

Just went to La Grande Maison a couple of months ago. The previous chef was Joel Robuchon, and that was one of the dishes in his tasting menu. Robuchon left a little while ago, and his replacement was Pierre Gagnaire (another Michelin chef). My wife and I ordered the tasting menu, which we both enjo...

Thanks for welcoming me JimHow. But I will say, I really hope politics don't get discussed too much on this site. I would much rather discuss wine! That said, I don't know why people complain so much about what the first growths charge. If they are too expensive, just don't buy them. It's that simpl...

No offense JimHow, but I have to agree with Jeff on this one. We can blame Bordeaux for the 2015 prices all we want, but people are buying. In fact, Margaux (released at roughly the same price) sold out in most, if not all, of the U.S. on the first day. Mouton has also been selling very well. In the...