Bordeaux Wine Enthusiasts

Winona Chief

Q. What is my favorite Medoc appellation?

A. Whichever one that is in my glass.

Chris Bublitz

Winona Chief

Those themes sound about right. Like to be able to do Burgundy (red and white) on Friday night. I have been encouraging my local DC wine friends to consider participating in on some of our events. Nothing definite yet but I think there will be some that join us. Thinking about Thursday and Friday ni...

Winona Chief

Don't worry, there will be wine dinners on Thursday and Friday nights. I'm working on it.

Chris Bublitz

Winona Chief

Other than the 1996 that Jim opened in Maine (2015) and the 1989 with Comte, Jim, Tom, etc., in New York (2009), I have not had a lot of success with Lafite. In a tasting of 1983 Bordeaux, Pichon Lalande easily topped Lafite. I gave my last bottle of 1983 to a charity auction. I was also underwhelme...

Winona Chief

Great idea, Stefan. I think 1998 Bordeaux would be an excellent theme for BWE 1998. Great vintage for Pomerol, St Emilion and Pessac/Graves.

Chris Bublitz

Winona Chief

Drank my last bottle of 2004 Pol Roger Rose on Wednesday night. Just terrific, full flavored with a wonderful hint of strawberry. I really like a nice Rose and this certainly had me in its spell. Several bottles of this were enjoyed at BWE DC in 2016. Liked it so much, I bought a bunch more but not ...

Winona Chief

I like the idea of a recent release. Not much experience with 2015 Bordeaux so it's hard for me to have an opinion. My favorites from 2014 are: Pichon Lalande Climens Coutet On the other hand, lots of great older Bordeaux to choose from. If we go in that direction, I think we should go with somethin...

Winona Chief

Good to hear, Jim. I'll be on the lookout for it. 2014, in general, is a very good year for Bordeaux (both red and white) and the prices aren't too bad. Pichon Lalande (about $100) and Climens (about $70) are both outstanding. I'm also a fan of the 2012 wines from almost anywhere in France - probabl...

Winona Chief

Great, the two best Champagnes at MacArthur. I am very happy.

Chris Bublitz

Winona Chief

I buy a lot of Champagne, mostly at MacArthur. My thoughts: I am a fan of the Cedric Bouchard Cote de Bechalin BdN - less than $100. For NV Rose, Ruinart, Vilmart, Laurent-Perrier and Billecart-Salmon are all good choices around $70. Pierre Peters BdB for $55 is good. I would be happy with any of th...

Winona Chief

I went for the same deal as stefan at the Marriott Georgetown. As noted, not really Georgetown more like DC West End neighborhood. A "neighborhood" that is mostly nice hotels but conveniently located within walking distance of Dupont Circle, Georgetown and Foggy Bottom.

Chris Bublitz

Winona Chief

I think we can come up with 24. Earlier in this thread, marcs expressed an interest. Plus need to find out if Rob & Susan and Jay and Peggy are able to join in. If necessary, I can contact some local wine people.

Chris Bublitz

Winona Chief

Not buying much in quantity these days. Most recently 4 bottles of 2014 Climens @ $65 each and 4 bottles of 2014 Pichon Lalande @ $99 each. Had a chance to taste both of them last month and was very impressed. Thought the prices were reasonable.

Chris Bublitz

Winona Chief

1985 was an excellent year for red Bordeaux and Gruaud Larose was one of my favorites (along with Leoville Barton and La Mission Haut Brion, of course). Have to agree with Antoine; my preferences in white Burgundy are 1er cru from Meursault, Puligny, Chassagne and Saint Aubin. Lots of great stuff le...

Winona Chief

Exactly, the Condrieu was nicely aromatic and like Patrick, I didn't notice any intrusive oak. The Canon was a bit grumpy at first but opened up nicely. Always been a fan of 1985 Bordeaux, it's not a classic "great" vintage but they just taste good and the wines have had an exceptionally l...

Winona Chief

There was also an outstanding 2015 Condrieu, I think from Guigal (not sure which one). A lot of great wine last night.

Chris Bublitz

Winona Chief

Looking forward to this. We will be bringing a bottle of 1986 Climens.

Chris Bublitz

Winona Chief

1967 Latour was (and still is) very nice.

Chris Bublitz

Winona Chief

This is so sad. I have been reading (on Facebook) about the devastating effects of wildfires in Sonoma (and parts of Napa) wine country. Much damage at a number of wineries.

Chris Bublitz

Winona Chief

I can work something out for the Thursday night dinner. I won't need to make arrangements until about 6 or 7 weeks before. Charlie Palmer needs to be done several months in advance.

Chris Bublitz

Winona Chief

Big problem is having a big group on a Saturday night - hard to do at most places on a Saturday night. Very difficult to get a big space for 6 to 8 hours Wednesday, Thursday and Friday nights are better for doing nicer restaurants, especially if the numbers are a little smaller. Most of the wine din...

Winona Chief

And he was also one of the stars in one of my favorite movies - Repo Man

Chris Bublitz

Winona Chief

Just watched it - end of an era.

Chris Bublitz

Winona Chief

Arv,

Perhaps you are unaware that Blanquito (like Obi-Wan Kenobi) is a Jedi Master. He whispers the magic words - a slight variation of "These aren't the Droids you're looking for" and then corkage is allowed.

Chris Bublitz

Winona Chief

I'm a fan of Certan de May. Love the 1982 - it's in a great place right now. I also liked the 1979 vintage, an under the radar but excellent Pomerol vintage. More recently, the 1998 CdM is very nice in a more elegant style.

Chris Bublitz

Winona Chief

Another Yeah! Congratulations to MC, well deserved.

Chris Bublitz

Winona Chief

That truly outstanding 2014 Coutet is widely available at $35 to $45. If you are fan of Sauternes/Barsac it should be on your shopping list. A 2001 Spatlese from JJ Prum is guaranteed to please and this Graacher Himmelreich was no exception - wonderful stuff. Jim is not exaggerating, that 375 of 198...

Winona Chief

Both the l'Evangile and Vieux Chateau Certan showed us the greatness of the 1998 vintage in Pomerol - stunning. All the wines were wonderful. We enjoyed them over a period of 6 hours so we had time to really appreciate each wine. The 1989 Lynch was perfection. I thought the 1996 Dom was at its peak....

Winona Chief

Stefan,

Great price on that 2000 Giscours. I drank a bottle a few weeks ago - very nice wine. It's in a good place right now.

Chris Bublitz

Winona Chief

That 2013 Ridge Geyserville was one of our July 4th wines - we liked it a lot. I have been buying Geyserville regularly since the mid-80s.

Chris Bublitz

Winona Chief

I don't drink enough Lafite to evaluate it fairly. When I first got into wine (late 70s), Lafite wasn't doing much - Latour was so much better. I didn't find Lafite particularly exciting in 1983, 1988 and 1990 vintages so I just concentrated on my favorites (Palmer, Gruaud, Pichon Lalande, La Missio...

Winona Chief

I attended a major Leoville Las Cases vertical in April and a similar comprehensive Mouton Rothschild vertical in May - each with the respective directors of each estate. I concluded that Mouton deserved it's First Growth status and that LLC wasn't far behind. I thought the Moutons had a special opu...

Winona Chief

What to do on another ho-hum Wednesday night in DC. Oh, wait, there is a dinner with Philippe Dhalluin, Managing Director of Chateau Mouton Rothschild and Bernard Burtschy, Paris wine critic (Le Figaro). The dinner was organized by local wine-lover Bijan Jabbari. Phillippe Dhalluin was extremely kno...

Winona Chief

Great Leoville Las Cases vertical at Ripple in DC last week organized by Panos Kakaviatos. The wines were presented by Pierre Graffeuille, Director of Domaines Delon who flew to DC for the occasion. We sampled most of the best vintages of LLC between 1975 and 1996 (1975, 1982, 1986, 1989, 1990 and 1...

Winona Chief

Sad to see Tom and Gail leave the DC area but hope to see them occasionally on our frequent trips out to Colorado. As to the dinner, a great time was had by all as we drank through a number of BWE legends. Both Champagnes were excellent - like others, I had a slight preference for the Pommery. A cou...

Winona Chief

Lafite: 1982, 1983, 1986, 1988, 1990, 1996, 2000 Mouton: 1982, 1986, 1988, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2002 Latour: 1982, 1983, 1988, 1990, 1995, 1996, 2000 Margaux: 1983, 1986, 1990, 1995, 1996, 1999, 2000 Haut Brion: 1982, 1985, 1989, 1990, 1995, 1998, 2000 La Mission: 1978, 1982, 1985, 1989, 1990, 1998, 20...

Winona Chief

Always been a fan, very reliable. I have been enjoying Ridge Zins since the mid-80s.

Chris Bublitz

Winona Chief

I am not one of those people complaining about 1986 Bordeaux. I like the vintage. I think most of them are really starting to strut their stuff.

I am a big fan of the 1996 Pape Clement. Very good plus it was relatively cheap for a long time.

Chris Bublitz

Winona Chief

2001 Suduiraut is doing very well right now, a bit on the young side but very enjoyable. Probably good for another 20+ years.

Chris Bublitz

Winona Chief

By Saturday night, I fear my brain was a bit wine-addled so I don't have a whole lot to say. My favorites were probably the 1982 L'Evangile followed by the 1982 Certan de May. I think I must be in a Pomerol state of mind because on Thursday night, my favorites were the 1989 Le Conseillante and 1989 ...

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