Bordeaux Wine Enthusiasts

AlexR

Thanks Ian.
Sounds like a fascinating tasting.
All the best,
Alex

AlexR

Lafite Rothschild They are renovating the cellars at Lafite, so the en primeur tastings were held at Duhart Milon this year. I was grateful for this because it is one of the great growths that I had never visited before. Monsieur Chevalier, manager of Lafite, is a very good-natured and personable ma...

AlexR

Otto,

I'm happy with your experience.

Yes, yes, yes, "bad" Bordeaux rocks!

And it certainly makes economic sense to buy it!

Alex R.

AlexR

Hi guys, I went to the UGC tasting of wines from the St. Julien, St. Estèphe, and Pauillac appellations from the 2009 vintage at Ch. Batailley on Tuesday. What was interesting is that both my Swiss friend and I (tasting separately) had exactly the same impression: that Lynch Bages and Pichon Baron w...

AlexR

David,

People are being very discreet about pricing.

You hear all sorts of things, although the comment I hear most often is that "the 2009s should come out at the same price as the 2005s".

I have no idea if this is the way things will go.

All the best,
Alex

AlexR

Hi, I spent today out in the Médoc, visiting 6 châteaux to taste their 2009s. First stop was Cos d'Estournel. In keeping with many of the wines I tasted all day, the colors of all the wines were gorgeous. I was interested in sampling La Goulée because this wine from another recent vintage had receiv...

AlexR

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/03/17/dinin ... ref=dining

And most of the first 4 paragraphs could apply just as well to affordable Bordeaux!

All the best,
Alex R.

AlexR

Just got mine today from Amazon.

Looks pretty good.

http://www.amazon.com/Great-Domaines-Bu ... 967&sr=8-1

Said to be the best book there is on the subject, and newly updated.

All the best,
Alex R.

AlexR

The guys at Haut Brion are sure shuffling things around! - The second wine of Haut Brion has become "Le Clarence de Haut Brion," a name not everyone finds particularly melodious... Bahans Haut Brion will disappear. - The grand cru classé La Tour Haut Brion was simply eliminated. The Châtea...

AlexR

Hi, There is much to be said for staying in or near Bordeaux: - easier to reach various vineyard regions - stuff to do once the sun sets I agree with Jon that Les Sources de Caudalie is neverthless a good compromise: in the country, but quite close to the city. In the city center, in the top-end cat...

AlexR

This is generally a good wine, but it is about twice as expensive as the next most expensive Côtes de Bourg.

Alex R.

AlexR

Otto,

Have you warned Pichon Comtesse of the danger they are facing?

All the best,
Alex R.

AlexR

Hi Jon, The wife and kids being away, I especially enjoyed reading your tasting note since I too had cooked myself a steak (panfried hanger steak with crushed pepper and shallots browned in butter) and enjoyed a Bordeaux with it all on my lonesome! This was a 2005 Ch. Fougas, Côtes de Bourg, Cuvée P...

AlexR

http://www.uexpress.com/dearabby/ 'IN VINO VERITAS' REVEALS PAINFUL TRUTH OF MARRIAGE DEAR ABBY: The other day I asked my husband a question and told him to be honest. If given a choice between giving up wine or giving up sex with me, which would he choose? You guessed it. He said, "Giving up s...

AlexR

Michael, It's always a pleasue to read your notes, and I'm especially glad for you that you have like-minded friends in you part of the world to share the joys of fine wine :-). General comment: It is possible - just saying it's possible - that the results of this tasting would be significantly diff...

AlexR

Hi Nic,

Great to read your posts from Seattle.

Thanks for sharing.

Have a good trip back,

All the best,
Alex

AlexR

Hi,

Sounds very exotic and exciting.

Please be sure to behave yourself, or otherwise they'll cane you in public or throw you in a dark hole...

Also hope you have a lot of light-weight clothing to cope with the climate.

Please keep us posted...

All the best,
Alex

AlexR

Sorry, typo in the body of the text. It was indeed a 1985 La Mission.

Alex

AlexR

Richard,

Good to hear from you and I'm glad you found wines representing such excellent value for money!

Alex

AlexR

Hi, Six friends came over to dinner last night, so I was not at my leisure to take any detailed notes… For the aperitif, we had: - Lustau Almacenista Oloroso (Angel Zamorano): dark, nutty, fresh, aromatic and seemed mostly dry to me. The French generally do not like Sherry, but my guests enthused ab...

AlexR

Hi Nic,

Sorry about the post that was swallowed up...

I know the feeling. You want a very expenive wine. But ask yourself "Is that *reasonable*?.
You were RIGHT to throw reason to the winds.

Jusqu'à preuve du contraire, on ne vit qu'une fois...
You'll NEVER regret the splurge.
Alex

AlexR

Really, MIchael, that's all you could manage to drink over the weekend? ;-). Just one question: did you pop and pour those babies, or decant/aerate any of them? I'm thinking in particular of the 2001 Pavillon Rouge (of which I have one bottle). That's the kind of wine that could change pretty dramat...

AlexR

Thanks for posting Rick.

This is a "name" wine from CDP I have never had.
I believe it is Parkertized (in the sense of being highly rated by the Man in Monkton) and therefore relatively expensive.

Still, I'd like to buy a bottle if I ever see it in these parts.

All the best,
Alex R.

AlexR

Ian,

Thanks for sharing.

I have a bunch of 2004s and am wondering when I should be opening them...

From what I gathe, Malescot is coming up in the world but this may mean (just a supposition) that it has more Parker points, thereby reflecting a change in style.

All the best,
Alex

AlexR

Couple of things here. I think the fact that the Bordeaux is being repatriated is less a reflection on Bordeaux than it is on the US economy, especially as compared to other countries. And, of course, part of the reason the wine is coming back to Bordeaux is because the owners of prestigious château...

AlexR

http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/ar ... N3CxC3gkPw

to be shipped to Asia?

Best regards,
Alex R.

AlexR

Albert, I think you would be doing a public service to post those notes on Lafite... Things have gone seriously wrong when: - the notion of value of money goes out the window but more importantly - the leaders, with the fantastic premium they demand, are incapable of strutting their stuff. All the b...

AlexR

Hi Stefan,

After my recent trip, and reading notes like yours, I'm thinking of getting more into Burgundy too

.

And they don't (as a rule of thumb) take so darned long to come around!

Alex

AlexR

Very interesting Jay. 2nd wines get a lot of flak, so it's nice to see one that delivers! Gazin sold their best part to Pétrus in 1973, but they have spruced up their winemaking significantly in recent years, and are doing good work. A Pomerol that's good value for money - now that's something that'...

AlexR

Jim,

I'm so glad you like those wines.

The Man in Monkton gives the Médoc communal appellatons a score of 88 I see.

The better 2002s represent excellent value for money, that's for sure!

Alex

AlexR

Yes, $ 33 dollars is dirt cheap.

I don't understand. Isn't that selling at a loss. Can a state liquor monopoly do that?

As for the wine, 2002s were pretty cheap, and some are undoubtedly good deals.

All the best,
Alex R.

AlexR

Hi Jay, I attended a BWE dinner in New York in October 2008. We had about 15 stellar Bordeaux wines (mosly Médoc) from the 1986 vintage, and there was pretty much of a consensus that Mouton was in the top three wines (there were 3 other first growths). What it goes to show is that "there are no...

AlexR

Hi Jacques,

Thanks for your note.

I was given a bottle of 98 Tertre Roteboeuf by M. Mitjaville because I did a few free translations for him.

Please tell me: do you think it'll keep another 5 or 10 years?

All the best,
Alex

AlexR

Ian, thanks for posting.

I had heard about Chris's talent, but now I have seen proof of it.

All the best,
Alex

AlexR

Hi Jim, I recently read a new book on the subject of your thread: http://www.amazon.com/What-Price-Bordeaux-ebook/dp/B002EEO72W/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=digital-text&qid=1264341530&sr=8-1 In fact, I was going to post a review on BWE, but decided against it because "What Price Bordeaux?&...

AlexR

Hi Chris, I've always had time for La Tour du Mons. It belongs to that category of "unsexy" wines that are well worth seeking out. By "unsexy", I mean that the owners aren't publicity-hungry, don't promote it, and the wine is made in a traditional rather than a flashy style. A fr...

AlexR

Hi Chris, I was thinking that this must be that 2nd wine of Château Aney, and my hunch turned out to be right: http://www.vinup.com/vins.lasso?vin=Château-Aney-d'Arnaussan&cp=1201 The estate is located in the stretch of AOC Haut Médoc between the communal appellations of Margaux and Saint-Julien...

AlexR

By the way, enjoy it while you can...

I just read that the NY Times will be charging people to visit their web site a year from now...

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/01/21/busin ... es.html?hp

Alex R.

AlexR

You guys have my admiration!

I rarely go more than 3 or 4 days without a glass of wine.

Tell us: do you miss it:
- a lot
- a little
- not at all...

All the best,
Alex

AlexR

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/01/20/dinin ... ref=dining

I find it pretty superficial, but still worth reading.

It really makes me want to drop what I'm doing and start selling great inexpensive Bordeaux to the US
(pipe dream of the day).

All the best,
Alex R.

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