Bordeaux Wine Enthusiasts

AKR

PXL_20230713_013907526.jpg 2018 Ch. Ducasse 'blanc' [Graves] This is a wine where nomenclature is confusing . This is sold in the US under Ducasse, but is actually from an estate called Beauregard Ducasse, which has multiple bottlings of their blanc. To make things more confusing, Kermit Lynch impo...

AKR

I don’t see any reason why the negociants would do that as they have no say in the pricing. What I am expecting to see more of are cases of mixed vintages, which will help both trade and chateau to move bad vintages. I think it's basically the same concept, spreading the downside/upside of bad/good...

AKR

The reason the system has the long term resilience that Alex alluded to is that ultimately the laws of economics apply. A good example is when the Bordelais mis-priced the (mediocre) 1997 vintage after the acclaim of the 95 and (particularly) the 1996 vintage. The 1997 was nowhere close and attempt...

AKR

stefan wrote: ↑Wed Jul 12, 2023 7:40 pm I just bought some low priced Bordeaux for a large BBQ. I was surprised what was available for around $20--simple but reliable wines like Le Conseiller and Greysac.

Truth To Power!

AKR

But is it really a 'juggernaut' ? Are consumers actually avidly reading reviews and loading up on EP offers? I don't have data to support my hunch, but from what I observe on various wine boards, I don't think that is happening. There was some enthusiasm for 2019, especially for those prowling the c...

AKR

Nice, I hardly ever seem to encounter this.

AKR

Interestingly enough I had logged on intending to share the link, but Musigny151 beat me to it. It's an informative article, but I don't think there is anything particularly new/fresh for the BWE. I have felt for the last 10-15 years the market structure is imbalanced, and it doesn't make sense to s...

AKR

PXL_20230706_012258217~2.jpg Revisiting the 2000 Ch. Brown 'rouge' [Pessac Leognan] after many years, and it continues to be a joyous expression of red Graves. Medium bodied, and tannins now well resolved, and soft, if not silky. My bottle/cork are perfect, having been moved only 2-3 times over the...

AKR

JimHow wrote: ↑Thu Jul 06, 2023 10:45 pm Boy that's stretching it, Arv.
Those $80ish Cali cabs I had last month were pretty weak, the $40ish Mondavi was pretty good, but no $30 Meyney.

That's a fair point.

AKR

To me, Meyney is a shining example of value for money in Bordeaux. If I were being provocative, i'd ask: is there a California Cab that can compete in that price range? Alex R. BV's Rutherford, and sometimes Napa, bottlings are pretty solid at similar price points; I purchased the former in 2001 an...

AKR

I wonder if they will ever recover the magic they had a generation or so ago.

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That's one we don't see very often

AKR

PXL_20230703_011208829~2.jpg Some years ago I had picked up the 2015 Les Tourelles de Longueville [Pauillac] from Costco, and finally got around to pulling the cork on it, even though it had been slated since the fall (!) for consumption. The back label had the MISA import tag, so it was effectivel...

AKR

jckba wrote: ↑Sun Jul 02, 2023 1:01 am IMG_1560.jpeg
24x2016 CVNE Vina Real GR Especial

Nice I didn't know that they were declaring 2016 to be Especial level. They hardly ever do that.

AKR

One little historical note about JMC - because he was long involved in the insurance brokering business he helped introduce AXA to the region. Now that insurance company has a large portfolio of wine brands and vineyards, even beyond Bordeaux.

AKR

I think it's better to use a letter grading system (A+ down to F) like the schools use. Everyone can understand that. Of course one doesn't have to go to the intricacies like the credit rating agencies use (like Baa- or so)

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Do you hire help for these kinds of parties?

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That is quite the poetic homage! Congratulations

AKR

Wow we don't see that much commentary nowadays on the 1998 Graves. Looks like you picked up many of the high profile names

AKR

PXL_20230622_233048645~3.jpg I was reading my Peppercorn book on Bordeaux, chewing through the satellite St Emilion section, when it mentioned the obscure St Georges St Emilion, so I pulled my only example of that: 2015 Cap St George [St Georges St Emilion] . I think I'd had some of this AOC before...

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Nice score!

AKR

https://vinous.com/articles/moving-on-l ... 7-jun-2023

I was only able to read the first part since I don't have a subscription

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Wow there's an estate I hardly ever see or read about any more.

AKR

I had the 97 Caymus sort of recently (not their top cuvee) and it was pretty good actually. Maybe that was before the 'turn the volume up to 11' mode was activated.

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Does anyone think Trump can use the 'Not Guilty By Reason of Insanity' defense?

AKR

Was the Montelena the Estate wine? or was it what used to be called the Calistoga Cuvee, but now marketed without that? Marvin Shanken really ripped into Mondavi on a WS podcast recently. He said that there are now a 100 wines that are better than their upper tier labels, when a generation ago it wa...

AKR

Ahhh. Kind of like the 2 Drink Minimum at our (now defunct) Jazz Lounge.

AKR

Hah. Grilling is almost idiot proof.

Which is why my wife give Claret the tongs, so I would/could not create a 911 reportable event.

AKR

PXL_20230610_203232246.jpg I had some trouble getting the pix to upload properly, so this is appended separately. We trimmed up a bunch of NY strips, bathed them for 6 hours at 135F, and then flash grilled them for 90 seconds a side, before slicing. I think we might have overestimated our appetites...

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Some of the West Coast BWE gathered over the weekend for some grilling and swirling. It was nice to catch up and I hope more folk will be available as the summer goes on. Most of the bottles for the night had been held since release, and we were fortunate that everything was sound. We did take the e...

AKR

Nice. I saw a blurb in a recent WS tasting note for some recent vintage of La Grave a Pomerol, that only *50* cases were brought over for the US market. I rarely ever see current releases, and remember with fondness the era a generation ago when it could be found on the shelf in Manhattan retailers ...

AKR

If you care for NZSB, Loveblock is pretty good. It's from the same family that made Kim Crawford (and then sold that off to corporate Constellation, which diminished the quality). The selling family's 10 year non compete after sale ended, and Loveblock in the new venture.

AKR

This would be a very tough blind tasting kind of competition.

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Do you like it more than 2014 Canon?

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If there wasn't money to pay employees, why would there be any to pay plaintiffs?

This sounds like an enterprise where managers had an expensive bad habit ... even worse than classified growths.

AKR

I had not realized there was CS in the Destieux, which is kind of unusual in St Emilion, ex maybe Figeac or something like that.

AKR

As manufactured/commercial/industrial as NZSB can be -- just watch some of the Amazon Prime / Netflix documentaries on them - I do think they have actually helped make other regions versions of the varietal a little better. Even Entre des Mers or basic Graves blanc are better today than what I remem...

AKR

PXL_20230526_011323502~2.jpg I pulled another bottle of the 2000 Destieux [St Emilion] from storage and had it last night with burgers, oven fries, grilled zuch, and giardinera (pickled vegetables). In the half dozen years since I last recall tasting it, it seems to be holding at about the same lev...

AKR

I don't have the experience others above have with D-B, but I found 1993 and 1994 vintages to be fine. Maybe 30% flawed rate with the 1985-1990 era. Never tried the 1991 or 1992 though. Fortunately, I'm not overly TCA sensitive (probably average) so I'm sure the James Laube's of the world would disp...

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