Bordeaux Wine Enthusiasts

Rudi Finkler

Another excellent wine from this relatively early maturing vintage. Not profound enough to be an extraordinary wine, but very elegant and pretty classic in style. Fresh acidity, lots of black fruits, minerals, and oriental spices, with a delicate note of bitter chocolate on the back palate. The oak ...

Rudi Finkler

For ages, people create idols, worship them and then destroy them. The last phase of such a spectacle is painful for everyone involved, particularly, of course, for the idol – or should I say the idiot - himself.

Rudi Finkler

Good luck for your run, Jim! As for the wine, I can’t remember having ever tasted a bottle of Ferrand Lartigue, but your note makes me curious. David, I had a great bottle of 2001 Les Grands Chênes Cuvée Prestige last year - complex, rich and made in a more traditional style. Certainly one of the mo...

Rudi Finkler

Of course, you cannot make wine in the tropics or in the desert, at least not yet. 8-) We are taking about regular terroir, well suited for viticulture. If the terroir is good, and the winemaker is great and wealthy, he can make splendid wines in lesser known appellations, every bit as good as the t...

Rudi Finkler

I have to disagree, David. The skills and the financial resources of the winemakers set the limit, not the terroir. Different terroir only means different flavors in an wine.

Rudi Finkler

No alcoholic heat, Robert?

Rudi Finkler

Izak, even in the worst vintages, some fine wines are produced by serious estates....

Rudi Finkler

"full of grace instead of power" sounds tempting....

Rudi Finkler

Could be... I had an outstanding bottle of 2007 Clos des Quatre Vents, Margaux recently. More classic and lighter in style than the Domaine de Chevalier, but equally captivating.

Rudi Finkler

Sorry, guys, a mistake on my part, first symptoms of Alzheimer’s, most probably. :roll: 1994 La Gaffelière was meant and the vintage 1994, of course NOT 2004! - I have made a correction! For the last time, I opened a bottle of 1994 La Gaffelière four or five years ago. I smelled, sipped, and poured ...

Rudi Finkler

Jeff has no love for the "charmless" 94's. Nor me. Even Las Cases was anything but a real pleasure. I have forgotten why, but I actually bought a case of 1994 (not 2004) La Gaffelière. Undoubtedly the worst St.-Emilion 1er Grand Cru Classé I have ever had. For me, 1994 (not 2004) is the c...

Rudi Finkler

I guess, both traditionalists and modernists can find here what their hearts desire. This is a compelling Péssac-Léognan made in a fruit driven, early drinking style, maybe a year or two away from its peak. All delicious, classic ingredients are available in abundance: Spices, cassis, blackberries, ...

Rudi Finkler

Well, as I said in a separate thread, I ordered my petition papers for a run in the Democratic primary for the U.S. House of Representatives in Maine's second congressional district. The primary is in June, and the general election is in November. This really means nothing, as anyone can take out p...

Rudi Finkler

I agree with the posters that stated there is in truth, no replacement for Bob. The market does not have the interest in supporting one name. It will be divided among several different people, and probably become more focused on tasters for very specific areas. For example in Bordeaux, people could...

Rudi Finkler

Comte Flaneur wrote: ...There will be great writers out there like Jeff and Neal, but no-one will have the same kudos as Parker had. Nobody will be able to move markets like Parker did...

Fortunately...

Rudi Finkler

I had the 2002 Batailley about a half year ago. A compelling wine to me, a little bit unconventional in style, but a truly classic Pauillac with considerable aging potential. Probably the best Batailley I ever had. BTW, I opened a bottle of 2002 Poujeaux last night. Moulis at its finest! Close to it...

Rudi Finkler

I think white smoke will arise and Kevin Shin’s uncle Bob will pronounce the Good News...

Rudi Finkler

1787 Château Migraine?

Rudi Finkler

No question, Robert, Sociando-Mallet is often an impressive Haut-Médoc, but ten years ago, I fell in love with the 1999 Charmail, a pattern of elegance, subtlety, and balance… The 2000 Charmail is superb and the 2001 even better. BTW, 2001 is my favourite vintage of the decade. The 2004 Charmail is ...

Rudi Finkler

Thanks for the interesting note, Robert! Sociando was my favourite Haut-Médoc for a long time, but today, my favourite is Chateau Charmail...

Rudi Finkler

Some people learn fast, some people learn slowly...

Rudi Finkler

...kosher Lafite.

Rudi Finkler

Yes, and a hint of port is always appreciated… but big jammy fruits are a stumbling block for any kind of subtlety, high alcohol destroys the balance, too much oak ruins the elegance, and that all together make Bordeaux just new world trash.

Rudi Finkler

Nice description, Nic! I had the 2000 Duhart Milon twice in recent years. Both times a great pleasure. For me, this delicate Pauillac is not only very elegant and well balanced in a classical sense, but also understatement in perfection.

Rudi Finkler

Good theory, Stefan. But I have another: The Bordeaux winemakers have lost their senses.

Rudi Finkler

No question, a matter of style preference, Jim. But definitively not my style, and not the style of most traditionalists. I'm through with this stuff.

Rudi Finkler

...helicoper crash Already the previous owner of Château de La Rivière, Jean Leprince, died in 2002 in a plane crash... http://www.ouest-france.fr/crash-en-gironde-le-chateau-la-riviere-theatre-maudit-1806120 http://racers-republic.com/science/the-seller-of-a-bordeaux-chateau-and-its-chinese-buyer-h...

Rudi Finkler

Nice report, Jim! I’m sure it is no surprise to you that I’m not surprised... :) Today it’s not easy to find acceptable stuff on the shelves. But yesterday I was lucky enough to get a few bottles of 2009 Léoville Barton, 13% alcohol, 2007 Léoville Barton, 13%, 2009 Langoa-Barton, 13%, and 2007 Domai...

Rudi Finkler

I agree completely, Jim.
BTW, I remember that Parker once called Rudy “a very sweet and generous man” on the Squires Board…

Rudi Finkler

Konrad Kujau, the notorious Stuttgart forger of the Hitler Diaries, got 4 years and six months. BTW, a few months after his early prison release, he called me and tried to convince me to make a film about him for the German television. The conversation was very amusing, but fruitless for him. I said...

Rudi Finkler

No problem, Jeff… I mainly thought about the immadiate influence of higher or lower levels of alcohol degrees... It’s no secret that alcohol has an immediate impact on the central nervous system and an immediate physiological impact on the brain. Alcohol produces happy feelings in a minimum of time....

Rudi Finkler

Jeff, for a traditionalist like me, the demarcation line is 13,5/14 % Alcohol. That is a fact, and no subject to negotiation. Despite all differences of perception, knowledge, taste, and opinion, the influence of higher alcohol on brain is another than the influence of lower alcohol levels...

Rudi Finkler

JimHow wrote:Rudi, we know Americans love the sweetness of these 14%-16% "Bordeaux" wines.
What has been the reaction in Europe?

The reaction here... incomprehension and a hint of mockery...
"So sind sie, die Amerikaner."

Rudi Finkler

...“It seems to me that Bourgogne has been doing just fine without selling its soul like Bordeaux has. Oh wait... Parker doesn't cover Burgundy.”... ...“It has gotten so bad, the world of wine has become so Parkerized, that a man gets ridiculed because he says he prefers the restrained 12.5% alcoho...

Rudi Finkler

Thanks for the interesting notes! Nice to hear that the 1979 La Lagune still is an exciting wine. As long as Jeanne Boyrie was responsible, La Lagune was one of my favourites from Haut-Médoc.

Rudi Finkler

Nic, thanks for the interesting note! I will have a look out for it.

Rudi Finkler

Alex, I remember only one bottle of L'Enclos in recent times, the 1999 L'Enclos. One of worst Pomerol I have had in decades...

Rudi Finkler

This Saint Estèphe has been well-stored for ten years in my cellar, and has now reached its plateau of maturity. There is an impressive earthiness and minerality at the heart of this wine, in great harmony with dark fruits, spices, ripe tannins, and agreeable acidity. Moreover, this classically styl...

Rudi Finkler

Jeff, you are a naughty boy....

Rudi Finkler

a little burgundian maybe, pomilion, but not enough for me to awaken a passion for the wines of Burgundy...

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