Bordeaux Wine Enthusiasts

AlexR

Don't know Picourneau Nic, but you sure make me want to try it!

AR

AlexR

Mark, You are dead right about Beau Séjour Bécot. They owned a vineyard called La Carte, which they incorporated into Beau Séjour and so lost the latter's classification. However, I think this was mostly due to not going through all the administrative hoops and not sucking up to the powers-that-be r...

AlexR

Here are some thoughts I've just put on my blog: Recap: wine châteaux in the Médoc and Sauternes regions were classified in 1855, and those in the Graves (even though all in the Pessac-Léognan appellation, estates there remain “Crus Classés de Graves”) in 1953. Saint-Emilion introduced a new type cl...

AlexR

At 6-700 dollars a pop, I'm glad that 2000 Pavie is "tolerable"!

.
I'm in the camp that finds modern vintages from this château overblown, overoaked, and not to my taste.

AR

AlexR

Just a quick addition to this thread. I was in England during the period immediately following Queen Elizabeth’s death, and this made for a very unusual atmosphere. Example: at Luton airport, an announcement came over the loudspeaker asking everyone to respect two minutes of silence in honor of Her ...

AlexR

Hi, I tell you, Ian is definitely imbued with the BWE spirit. He has welcomed and looked after forumites no fewer than *five* times so far this year. My wife and I are having à tremendous time, and being on a foreign city with someone who lnows the ropes makes all the difference. It was also interes...

AlexR

Izak,

The fact that I don't think Corbin quite deserves to be bumped up to "A" category doesn't mean that I believe Trottevieille is entitled to be there...
Do you know if Annabelle tried to be an "A"?

Corbin is great value for money that's for sure.

Alex

AlexR

I was really pleased with a couple of Bordeaux wines I uncorked (and decanted) two nights ago. After a magnum of Charles Heidsieck brut (a house that has a lot of sentimental associations for me), we had the following with grilled duck breast. The 2009 Château d’Angludet was opened because my sister...

AlexR

Ian, I believe it was the 2015. That wine from that bottle on that day did not show well. Perhaps it was atypical. I have visited Corbin several times with Izak. I quite like the wine and the woman behind it, even if I do not think it should be bumped up to Premier Cru status. Please, izak, don't ta...

AlexR

Full classification here.

https://www.sudouest.fr/vin/vins-de-bor ... 202607.php

Let the comments roll!

Alex R

AlexR

https://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=ozzie

AR

AlexR

Sauternes is a good place to visit on Sundays.

Saint Emilion too.

The tourist offfices and Maisons du Vin will help you.

AR

AlexR

... and the *huge* advantage of Beaujolais (other than the price tag) is that you don't have to wait 20 years to drink it!!!

AR

AlexR

Izak, if you had asked me a while ago, I never would have believed you would be a fan of Beaujolais! I love the stuff - when it's good. My plan is to go to southern Burgundy next spring and visit vineyards in the Beaujolais, Mâconnais, and Chalonnais and come back with a trunkful of wine. I love Bur...

AlexR

Château Lanessan, a cru bourgeois in Cussac (AOC Haut-Médoc) has been sold by the Bouteiller family to Treasury Wine Estates AKA Penfolds. Treasury also own Cambon la Pelouse and Belle-Vue, both in Macau and also in the Haut-Médoc appellation. Lannessan is a 350 hectare estate with 85 hectares of vi...

AlexR

Thanks for the advice.
I'l have to try your suggestions ARV.

Alex

AlexR

I'm much more bullish on Grand Puy Lacoste than some of you. Jim, you are in danger of being served the wine blind by one of us and finding it to your liking! ;-). For my money, it should be bumped up not one, but two categories. I see that the wine is quite well noted on Cellartracker, but then the...

AlexR

I have a problem in that I have a couple of decanters from which I have removed all stains, but the glass remains *cloudy*.

Is there any remedy for getting rid of the couldiness?

Alex R.

AlexR

A recent thread on BWE asked people what they thought were the most overrated great growths. Several people suggested Château Lascombes. This prompted me, in the interest of science, to look at my cellar book to see if I had any. As it so happens, I did. And a bottle of 2000 Lascombes seemed just th...

AlexR

This is a two-day-old report from English journalist Jane Anson, based in Bordeaux: Rain and slightly fresher temperatures have returned to Bordeaux this week after six weeks with almost zero rainfall, and the driest July since 1959. The first white grapes are now coming in across Entre deux Mers, P...

AlexR

Why not both together?

https://www.millesima.fr/domaine-de-sul ... -2016.html

AR

AlexR

New Saint Emilion classification will come out on the 8th of September.

Get ready for another round of controversy....

AR

AlexR

Hey, it ain't over until the fat lady sings! As usual, the media either get it wrong, or distort things :-). There is, of course, such a thing as smoke taint, but there is also something called geography. The smoke from the fires about an hour's drive from Bordeaux drifted as far as hundreds of mile...

AlexR

The local newspaper, Sud-Ouest, reports that picking has started for grapes used to make Crémant de Bordeaux, as well as other dry white wines at estates such as Carbonnieux and Luchey-Halde. This is the earliest start to a vintage on record. There were three heat waves this summer and drought condi...

AlexR

Yes, the moto prior to 1973 was: Premier ne puis second ne daigne Mouton suis whose meaning is pretty close to what you wrote: I cannot be a first I do not deign to be a second I am Mouton When you visit Mouton, they make sure to point out that the first growths are listed in alphabetical order, and...

AlexR

No, Marc, that was Pavie.

And just think, if they keep their classification, they will be the only "A"!

AR

AlexR

Marc, Next month. By the process of elimination, those who have been excluded already know because letters have been sent out to those who have been accepted. Presumably, this is why La Gaffelière "withdrew" from the classification rather than be downgraded (Ausone, Cheval Blanc, and Angél...

AlexR

I think Larose Trintaudon is a very good wine, and excellent value for money.

This thread makes me want to go visit them.

Just imagine: they have 175 hectares of vines, i.e. more than entire Burgundian village appellations such as Vosne-Romanée!

AR

AlexR

By the way, Mark, the comment about detractors of La Lagune was not at all targeting you.

I was someone else in another thread.

AR

AlexR

I wistfully think of what the Quié wines (Rauzan Gassies and Croizet Bages) would be like under different management and with massive investment. Rauzan Gassies in particular has a very good terroir. To be fair, the wine is better these days than it was in the past, although it still falls far short...

AlexR

And then, of course, there's the famous - and somewhat arrogant - motto of Mouton Rothschild when they were promoted starting with the 1973 vintage :

Premier je suis
Second je fus
Mouton ne change

or,

I am a first growth
I was a second
(But) Mouton does not change.

Alex R.

AlexR

I love it when some wines I've bought have increased by hundereds of percentage points. But I would never be tempted to sell my wine. Anyone read this book? It kind of mocks the trading and retrading of name wines. https://www.amazon.com/Anatomy-Wine-Trade-Sardines-Stories/dp/0060157852 Best regards...

AlexR

Interesting question. By that, I assume you mean one that provide poorest value-for-money, *as well as* ones that show badly compared to their rank. In other words, there's the official classification and then classifcation by market price... If we were talking Saint-Emilion, Pavie and Angélus insta...

AlexR

Conor, Thanks for pointing out that I was laboring under a false impression with regard to the "A" on Saint-Emilion labels. My frame of reference is obviously outdated. It never used to be that way. I don't know when they started. Of course, Cheval Blanc and Angléus have now withdrawn from...

AlexR

I’m not really in agreement about the commercial impact of the 1855 classification at 3rd, 4th, and 5th growth level. While this may be inconsequential to some BWEers, I think you’ll find that the market does indeed rank prices loosely based on where châteaux fit into the classification, even though...

AlexR

Hi Guys, I have a more nuanced take on this subject, which reminds me of the belief expessed here that it doesn't matter whether a Saint Emilion grand cru is classified or not. Sure, there are plenty of consumers who see no difference, or don't know the 1855 classification by heart as many of us do....

AlexR

Hi, November is not a bad time to visit, but keep in mind that the 1st and 11th are public holidays. And the Bordeaux climate can be pretty gray and wet. The advantage here though is that this is well and truly outside the tourist season. The city of Bordeaux is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and a go...

AlexR

Picking up on Ian’s initiative, I thought it might be good to discuss the fifth growths of Pauillac, of which there are twelve. Some of these are not very well-known. Here’s my ranking with a few comments: Lynch Bages Pontet Canet Grand Puy Lacoste Clerc Milon d’Armailhacq Haut Batailley (this needs...

AlexR

Ohn, and L'Aura, the AOC Margaux from Cambon La Pelouse, is a really good wine.

AR

AlexR

Hi Ian, Very good idea for a post. For what it’s worth, here’s my feedback, thumbnail version. Yes, Margaux and Palmer are indeed head and shoulders above the others. Issan: This château gets a lot of love but, in my opinion, more than it deserves. There are ten third growths in Margaux. As I see it...

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