The 1998 Clos de l'Oratoire has been uncorked....

[JimHow]

...decanted in the beautiful decanter that Art and Kathy brought to Maine.

A licorice bouquet greets on the nose. A distinctive purple/maroon color.

[JimHow]

Boy, I'm emotionally exhausted by the state of politics in this country.
The crazy Tea Party guy ended up winning the governor's race here in Maine by two percentage points, everything worked out for him perfectly, he won with 38% of the vote as the liberal and the moderate divided up the rest of the vote.
I've been having people spread rumors about my candidacy for governor in 2014 since Tuesday night.

This is a pretty big wine.

[JimHow]

Boy these 1998 right bankers are big, aren't they?

[Comte Flaneur]

Jim - I took a case of this out of storage a few months ago - it had been stored in an underground cave - it was incredibly young monolithic big modern and lacking in personality - at Jacques's pool party it was passed up for many more interesting wines - will be interested in your impressions because I know you like 'em young

[JCNorthway]

Jim,

I will be interested in your overall experience with this wine. I have more rights than lefts in 1998, and although I might do it differently today, I am hoping to really enjoy the ones that I have.

Hey, you in politics would be a welcome dose of sorely missing common sense and pragmatism in addressing our issues - certainly relative to what we had this election season. I might even move to Maine so I could vote for you!

Jon

[Houndsong]

2014, eh? Tell you what. I was going to save them for charitable causes but I'll earmark two 2002 Lafite for auction for your campaign. There's probably more leverage in that than giving the dough to the food bank or the animal shelter.

[JimHow]

Boy, I'll tell you, Jon, this was the year to run for governor of Maine.
There were no invincible candidates.
There was a Democrat, who had her base.
There was a strong Independent, who all the votes broke for in the last week.
And there was the crazy Tea Party guy, who ended up winning with 38% of the vote.
This guy is insane.
No, seriously, he is insane. Literally.
Type in the words "Paul LePage" on youtube and watch the clips of this guy, this is the new governor of the great state of Maine.
It was a perfect storm, he got in there with a little more than a third of the vote in a big Republican/Tea Party year, with just a perfect division of the moderate/liberal vote.
He doesn't even come close to representing the views of a majority of the people of Maine, but the GOP also captured both houses of the legislature and he is going to have carte blanche to do his thing in Augusta. Crazy.

This wine is very good relative to, say, California. It doesn't seem to be very Bordeaux, though. But I'll give it more tme to develop....

[JimHow]

I appreciate the sentiment, Hound, but if I ever run it would be as a "clean elections" candidate, meaning I couldn't accept contributions.
That's okay, though, we'll do BWE '15 at the Blaine Mansion!

[JimHow]

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 would think I have any sort of political base of support after all that time.

Ian, this wine seems to be showing better with food, a nice grilled pork chop with vegetable, I'm expecting a fine showing with the whoopie pie.

[marcs]

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 would think I have any sort of political base of support after all that time.

Are you sure they didn't just want a drink? I'd definitely take any excuse to visit you if I were in Maine.

[JimHow]

I'd love to have you up here, Marc, I see you're in DC. We have an open door policy to BWEers here in Maine.
I really hope this guy doesn't ruin this state, it is such a cool place.
I'm all for fiscal restraint, cutting budgets, etc.
What worries me are his social and environmental policies, he is pro death penalty, supports election of judges, seems pretty intolerant, etc.
When I drive cross country it makes me sad when I pass through these beautiful states like South Dakota, Montana, etc., where the buffalo literally roam, and there are billboard that pollute the landscape seemingly every couple hundred yards. Maine is one of just a small handful of states in the country that bans billboards. It is such a green, pro-environment culture up here, I hope this rogue doesn't do harm to it.

[Comte Flaneur]

Stop bullshitting about politics you are really disappointed with this wine right?

[Comte Flaneur]

PS I am drinking a kiss-ass Haut Batailley 2002 - bet it sh1ts all over the Clos whatsit 98

[JimHow]

Well, Comte, it is all relative.
I agree, this is not a profound wine.
I will still take it over most California swill.
And I still have nearly half a bottle to go, so I'm reserving judgment.
Right now I have to sing the latest song I wrote on the piano to someone but I'll continue to sip this wine and assess it....

[JonoB]

Was this not also the wine that got destroyed by the 94 L'evangile or something that we had that night? I've completely forgotten what it was!!

[Chasse-Spleen]

I just want to clarify, I think our dear Comte meant to say, "Kick-Ass" when he was refering to the incredible 2002 Haut-Batailley that he was tasting, not "kiss-ass." We need to uphold a proper grasp on our grammer and spelling here at BWE, lest we fall victim to the brand of incorrigible winos that must surely await us if we fail... And besides, Haut-Batailley is surely a kick-ass wine.
-Chasse

[AlexR]

I brought this wine with me to the Tupina when Tom in DC and Gail came to visit two years ago.
I was expecting much more, but then the wine was also rather closed-in.
In any event, it was more powerful than elegant, but those of you who diss it might have a different take down the line.
The wine could very well blossom. It's been known to happen .

I see that I have 3 bottles from the 2000 vintage.
I hope it is more approachable, and more refined.

Best regards,
Alex R.

[Claret]

Fortunately sanity prevailed in Nevada and Harry Reid won over the crazy Tea Partier Sharon Angle who wants to eliminate Social Security, Dept. of Education and Medicare, and privatize the VA. Most of her votes came from hardcore right wingers opposed to Reid, and I never heard one of her outspoken Reid hating supporters actuall say that they endorsed her crazy notions.Thank goodness all of the hateful commercials are over!

My only experience with this wine was an okay 1995.

[RDD]

Hi Jim:
I am totally with you on politics.
There is no rational,functional,pratical middle anymore. The nation is totally polarized.
I mentioned to Susan, we only have two options:
Be owned by a corporation or be owned by the government.
I wish there was a new column on the ballet stating I have no conifdence in any of the listed candidates.

I also think the 1998 right bankers are very good and should be nice drinking from here on out.
I'll open a 1998 Pavie MacQuin this weekend.

Back to work. Been up since 2:00 AM trying to resolve a production sotware issue.

[JimHow]

This is as bad as I've ever seen it Rob.
I like that new governor of New Jersey, I wish more Republicans could be like him.
We've historically had clean elections here in Maine but this year it got really dirty, as mega-amounts of secret out of state money came pouring into the state.
One of the good things about running for statewide office in Maine is that it is a "clean elections" state. If you get 3200 people to contribute $5 to your campaign (which is a piece of cake), you get about a million and a half dollars in public funds, plus additional matching funds depending on how much your opponents spend.
So at least you don't have to spend all your time asking for contributions, which I used to loathe.
Running for statewide office now you just have to accept the fact you are going to become a pinata and that you are going to lose almost all your dignity in the general elections, the grass roots levels of the major parties are dominated by nothing but thugs.
Running a campaign for governor requires getting into marathon shape, both physically, mentally, and emotionally.
Maybe I'll take up bike riding!