$63 to $115 for Premier Cru's is a deal? Well, OK then...

2002 Lynch Bages -- this bottle felt quite different than the one I drank a few weeks ago and also wrote up here. Not sure how much of the difference was bottle variation vs. drinking this on its own instead of immediately after the lush, sweet but somewhat unbalanced 2003 Grand Puy Lacoste as we di...

Has Lynch been an underachiever in the 2000s? I haven't really kept up. Kind of weird when they had such a string of good to great vintages -- 1985, 88, 89, 90, 95, 96, 99, 2000 -- that they would fall back in the pack. 2008 looks like a fantastic deal if you trust Parker's notes. Less so if you fol...

Jim must be referring to the 1989 and 1996 as the two best LBs? I have had the 1996 LB and it was a pale shadow of the 2000 I just had. But I may have had a bad bottle, it was mediocre and not memorable anyway. Wine is so weird. I sometimes think that someone needs to have had a case of a particular...

The Barbaresco 06 I have is lot 9.120 and has the Cru juice in it (see other thread: after lot 9.110 is the cut-off): this is terrific but needs time. The nose is cherry liqueur and the wine is tight, surly and actually seems to fade in the last glass at present. But (at c£23) this is a world-class...

Infanticide, but whatever. This is the kind of wine that I hate, because it tempts me to spend money I don't have. Smelled like some kind of pure divine grape juice of the gods right out of the bottle, but the palate was closed. Nose opened up to layered brown sugar sweetness. When you stuck your no...

French cuisine at Michelin-starred restaurants *in France* is by so far the best food I've ever had, it's not even funny. Significantly better than even Northern California, which is in my experience the best North American cuisine area top to bottom. For the typical American city, good French resta...

Thanks, guys. I think we all know that so many years of writing about wine on the web have to leave their mark on Jim's prose style, even if just in subtle ways... That Burgundy possession story you linked is hilarious. At least, it started out hilarious, but then began to seem strangely realistic :...

(I know I'm new here, but I couldn't resist ...Jim seems like a good sports).

EXCERPT: "Half-concealed by the lengthening shadows, attorney Leo Barton waited across the street from the old courthouse. It wasn't like him to be furtive, but he needed answers. This case stank -- stank like blooming brett on an old Beaucastel. Margaux Lalande was a lot of things but she was ...

Bottle Shock. "Oh...Gustavo!"

When I first tasted the wine, I was like - "what's up with this?" -Chasse Exactly -- you got it. That baby was REALLY acidic for a high-level Bordeaux. You expect tannins but not so much the acidity. I guess maybe we just didn't give it time to integrate though, we tore into that bottle. ...

I have a bad habit of popping and pouring. I never know what I'll drink in advance, and once I decide I have no patience. Oh well, take these for what they are worth. 1996 Chateau Lagrange: This was a nice wine but not great. Had a sort of acidic slightly metallic thing going on, but mingled with a ...

If you're an actual wine drinker, those people Conrado linked to are basically the devil. I like the selling point that wine investmment gives "personal ownership of tangible asset". I would hate to be constantly tempted to drink up my retirement fund..."oh, honey, we're having steak ...

Lowest price winesearcher is showing globally for 2008 Lafite is about $1200 a bottle, and Farr Vintners has a case price close to $2000 a bottle, so $250 would indeed be quite the "deal".

Just had a 1997 Manzone Gramolere Bricat, got it for $46. Nice sweet licorice and a shit-ton of acidity. I guess good typicity from what I've heard of Barolo. But I think it could have used some more depth. Lacks that meaty element, high-strung. Not too experienced with Barolo...only other one I've ...

RPs OK on Bordeaux (am I allowed to say that, or will I get booted off the site?). He made his bones during the 80s and got enough experience with old-style Bdx that he learned decent judgement. Of course, I don't really have the $ for new cult right-bank stuff, and I usually stick with the old trad...

Has the green pepper, but the 96 also has a nice deep chunky / meaty quality that comes from rich fruit. That's what in my experience is hard to find in other years of S-M and puts this one over the top. Have a few bottles of the 2000 and 2003 aging away, not in a Scottish castle unfortunately but i...

Have not had the Saint Pierre. I may not have made clear just how good the 2003 Branaire is. I would say it's a clear, legit 94-95 pointer. Maybe 94 points today, 95 if it takes maybe a little additional step up while shedding tannin. It is structured -- it's hedonistic but not a big blowsy mess and...

You know what's really bizarre, the three major candidates-- the Republican governor-elect, the independent, and the Dem-- all came to visit me in Lewiston, looking for my support. Totally bizarre. I've been out of politics for nearly 20 years, haven't been involved at all. I have no idea why they ...

These are from memory, the Branaires from some weeks ago. I have grown too lazy to take notes while drinking and also to obsess about numerical point scores. But they should give a decent sense of things. 2003 Branaire-Ducru: This is fantastic, actually. Really plush, already multilayered and reveal...

Welcome, Marcs. Nice notes. One thing I like about the 1996 Sociando- it's the least green vintage I've ever had of it. Right now, even the 2000 and 2003 Sociandos have a fair bit of greenery. Sadly this was my last bottle of 1996. I don't mind my cab with a little green pepper if the fruit is ther...

Thanks for the nice welcome, everyone. I am indeed new here, although I used to post a lot on the Squires ebob board back about five years ago. I got into wine (and Bdx) back between 2001-2005 and then stopped buying for a while. That period left me with about 15 cases of what might be characterized...

Anthocyanin? Geez. "A legitimate scientific opportunity" to be a good vintage...got to like that, always good to drink some science. I'm hoping 2010 turns out great though, my hope is that if enough good vintages get stacked up behind the price control wall then the cartel dam will break a...

These are from memory so lack detail and had to run through the cliches, but will give you an idea: 2003 Grand Puy Lacoste: full, sweet, rich, and exuberant. Some heat and raspy tannins, but pretty buried in the plush fruit. Rougher than usual for this generally elegant chateau, but as usual with Bd...