Bordeaux Wine Enthusiasts

JimHow

I’ve been so impressed with these wines, Nicola, and the pricing is rational.

Query:

2019 and 2020: Best back to back vintages in the history of Bordeaux?

JimHow

5 x 2020 Branaire Ducru
4 x 2020 d'Armailhac
1 x 2020 Giscours
4 x 2019 Labegorce
4 x 2020 Labegorce
1 x 2020 Siran
1 x 2019 Troplong Mondot
1 x 2020 Troplong Mondot
1 x 2020 Clos de l'Oratoire
1 x 2020 Beau Séjour Bécot
1 x 2019 Beausejour Duffau

JimHow

I agree SB, I don’t see this verdict changing things for the better for the Democrats. As a criminal defense lawyer I don’t believe prosecutors should be fitting square pegs into round holes, trying to “make it work,” in even the simplest of prosecutions… let alone political cases involving national...

JimHow

The 2020 Branaire Ducru is a Jean-Nicolas Maltais kind of wine. I hereby declare Bordeaux to be alive and well. This is a classy, everything-in-place St. Julien. Brilliant purple color, lovely lead pencil on the nose, medium bodied, elegant with a pleasant, distinctive backbone. When we went to Bran...

JimHow

Many know my story of my experience with the 1988 Dal Forno Romano Amarone in the Boston north end, circa 1998, my “greatest wine experience ever.” I’m happy to have three bottles of the 2017 vintage, at current prices the last bottles of this wine I’ll likely ever own…

JimHow

I have no doubt Aung San Suu Kyi got "due process" as she serves 20 plus years in Myanmar for such "crimes against the state" as carrying walkie talkies against state law. I have no doubt the "State" put on a compelling case that will survive all appeals. But, hey, we'r...

JimHow

Partisan Democratic prosecutors bringing square-peg-in-round-hole prosecutions against an opposition party president in the middle of a close national election. This is what they do in Myanmar and Venezuela. I don't know if the country is going to recover from this.

JimHow

What a week. I'm with Marcs, all things must pass, and I'm afraid this is the passing of our beloved republic into darkness. I was talking to our Maine senator Angus King who was in town this week, he is worried. Old white guys like me are going to be fine, and, what's more, I'm reaching the conclus...

JimHow

A beautiful evening here in the Great State of Maine, the weather report for the week ahead looks splendid. Unofficial summer has arrived, everything green and fragrant, like this 2020 Branaire, well, fragrant, not green, a stunning St. Julien purple, looking forward to pairing it with a nice strip ...

JimHow

Verdict

JimHow

3 x 2017 Dal Forno Romano Amarone.

JimHow

I was thinking of sending a group email to the same 20 chateaux/restaurants and seeing how many of them could accommodate us in the same timeframes.

JimHow

I think that’s an accurate assessment Jon based on my very limited anecdotal tastes of those wines. I really like the basic 2020 Felsina Chianti. The 2019 Rancia seemed harsh, although I’m wondering if it was just too young. I liked the 2021 Felsina Chianti as well but I think I like the 2020 a notc...

JimHow

The 2020 Chateau Siran is pretty keen, quite modern, reminded me in a sense of the 2020 Sociando in that everything was "perfect." Well, maybe I like a wine that's not too perfect, maybe with a little hitch here and there, a little personality. It's like in 2020 both Sociando and Siran are...

JimHow

The closest equivalent week in 2025 would be:

Sunday, March 23, 2025
Monday, March 24, 2025
Tuesday, March 25, 2025
Wednesday, March 26, 2025
Thursday, March 27, 2025
Friday, March 28, 2025
Saturday, March 29, 2025
Sunday, March 30, 2025

Does anyone remember what the size of our group was?

JimHow

Bump.

JimHow

BWE at Chateau Siran with Edouard Miaihle in October 2023....

JimHow

The 2018 Chateau Siran was the Wine Enthusiast magazine Wine of the Year.

JimHow

And then there's the price -- $36 for both the 2019 and 2020 -- I mean, come on man, just like last night's Lanessan, how can you find better quality out there from any region at this price level?

JimHow

One of the things about the 1855 classification that I really never knew much about, maybe I read about it somewhere along the way but forgot about it, was the extent to which politics played a role, whether a chateau owner was a monarchist or not, etc. Chateau Siran is right in there among the grea...

JimHow

Like James Suckling, we visited the Chateau Siran nuclear bunker. Yes, an actual nuclear bunker turned wine storage cellar of ancient vintages of Chateau Siran....

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EBbMVGBmTyw

JimHow

Tom, Gail, Tim, and I had such a fun visit at Edouard Miailhe's Chateau Siran last October. I've uncorked the 2020, with it's celebratory label, here on the back deck. I believe there is going to be artwork a la Mouton each year from here on out.

JimHow

Can’t get rid of this cough, feeling better this morning. Labegorce is a Nic Maltais/Alex Rychlewski kind of wine, great QPR. I also enjoyed drinking it at the 9 year mark, the fruit up front but showing some development. I have four more bottles of the 2015 which I will drink over the next decade. ...

JimHow

The 2015 Labegorce is superb. It is balanced, velvety, 14%, classy, everything in place, just amazing that wines like this can be had in the upper $30s range. Tremendous value. Everything in balance for me on the nose and palate, yes, this was a beautifully balanced 2015 Margaux. I would have guesse...

JimHow

Been sick as a demon for a week but my sense of smell seems to be intact, perhaps I should do a Covid test anyway. In any event, the color of this puppy seems a youthful purple/ruby, penetrating on the nose upon uncorking, 2015 seems to be a Margaux let's see how she stands up to a strip sirloin on ...

JimHow

BWEers have an open invitation to the back deck Mecca, M, the only complication is that I have been doing a lot more traveling in recent years, so just give me as much notice as possible. The men from Quebec are looking to make the pilgrimage this summer as well. But yes, many fine wines (and lobste...

JimHow

I have many fond memories of Manhattan in the hottest evenings of summer.
New York City is a great adventure in the heat of summer.
We'll make sure we get together in Manhattan, Nicola, but lobster and steak in Maine is also on the agenda!

JimHow

1 x 2019 St. Innocent Shea
1 x 2019 St. Innocent Freedom Hill
1 x 2019 St. Innocent Temperance Hill
7 x 2019 St. Innocent Momtazi
2 x 2020 St. Innocent Freedom Hill Chardonnay

JimHow

Happy birthday old man.
I’m not surprised by the 2013 Montrose.
They exercised strict selection that year.
I remember Alfred telling us that he was happy with his 2013 Pontet Canet, he just “wished they had more.”

JimHow

I've been sick as a bandit this week but when I get over this cold I will read your report.
I've been obsessing about the 2020 vintage lately.

JimHow

I'm not a big Ross Douthat guy but this is an excellent summary of why this current Trump prosecution is actually helping the Orange Man:

https://www.nytimes.com/2024/05/18/opin ... itics.html

JimHow

...seem to be about as reasonable as 2019, no?

JimHow

What I liked about it, Nicola, was that it tasted like a Pauillac. And it is 13% alcohol.
It is interesting how differently styled the 2019s and 2020s are but both excellent in their own ways.
A JimHow kind of wine, 95 points.

JimHow

This has a lovely ripeness and mouthfeel, I'm also finding it a nice representation of Pauillac. So far so good.

JimHow

It's a "glass staining"purple. I would call this more purple than deep ruby.

JimHow

I've really enjoyed the 2019 three times now, let's see how this puppy performs.
The color is an impressive purple/deep ruby.

JimHow

Thanks for the note SW, and welcome! That does indeed sound very much like a 2014 vintage wine. With the exception of a few, like Pichon Baron, I’ve been finding my 2014s drinking nicely at the ten year mark, with another ten years ahead at least for most of them.

JimHow

This story is confusing to me. The Louisiana AG is happy, the three liberal SCOTUS judges are sad, the NAACP lawyer is happy.

https://www.yahoo.com/news/supreme-cour ... 08393.html

JimHow

A little confused by what happened in Louisiana today because both the lawyer for the NAACP and the wild eyed Republican AG seem to be happy with a SCOTUS decision that seems to add a second majority Black congressional district? Not sure if this is good news or bad.

JimHow

12 x 2020 Felsina Berardenga Chianti

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