What is your vote for 2012 BWE Wine of the Year?

[JimHow]

Past winners:

BWE Wines of the Year:

2000: 1996 Sociando-Mallet
2001: 1989 Lynch-Bages
2002: 1995 d'Yquem
2003: 1999 Haut Brion Blanc
2004: 2000 Pichon Baron and 2000 du Tertre
2005: 2000 Margaux
2006: 2003 Pontet-Canet
2007: 2002 Leoville Poyferre
2008: 2005 Burgundy vintage (protest vote)
2009: 1989 Lafite Rothschild
2010: 2005 Cantemerle
2011: 2008 Leoville Poyferre

[Jay Winton]

It would be fun to taste these wines in Dallas.

[stefan]

Great idea, Jay. A BWE wine of the year retrospective.

[JonoB]

2010 Gruaud-Larose (simply glorius and classic)... or 2009 Durfort-Vivens (reminds me of a young 1990).

To be fair, I haven't had a huge amount of Bordeaux lately.

[JonoB]

Mature, perhaps 85 Mouton??

[hautbrionlover]

I've gotta give this some thought, but the 1983 Palmer and 2000 Leoville Poyferre were pretty high on my list.

[robertgoulet]

Ya think a right banker is due?

[Comte Flaneur]

My candidates would be:
Pichon Baron 2002
GPL 1996
Pontet Canet 2009
Palmer 1985
Magdelaine 1982
Figeac 2006/1986/1976
Lots of 2010s (Leoville Barton, Branaire Ducru, Gruaud-Larose, La Conseillante, Pape Clement) but I would imagine they are not eligible

[DavidG]

I'll add my support for '96 GPL or '09 Pontet Canet.

[JimHow]

I wish someone would try the 2009 Giscours, priced at one fifth the cost of 2009 Pontet Canet.

[Blanquito]

1982 Chateau Margaux
1985 La Mission Haut Brion
1982 GPL
1983/85/89 Gruaud Larose
2003 Sociando Mallet
1983/96 Pichon Lalande
1996 Cos
1996 LLC
2005 GPL

Have only had one 2009, Vieille Cure which was awesome QPR at $18.

[JonB]

I've had the 2002 Pichon Baron three times this past year....it is consistently outstanding.

[Mrwinecabinet]

'09 Malescot St. Exupery gets my vote. It did quite a number on me...sumptuous intensity..

[Nicklasss]

A tough question Mr. Cole... I mean Jim.

The very best I had this year, is the 1982 Chateau Lafleur with SdR last March. Not far behind, the 1982 Petrus, also with SdR... I'm still not sure this dinenr really happened...

The 1982 Chateau Grand-Puy Lacoste at the dinner organized by Chriss Bublitz, as the 1982 Chateau Gruaud Larose at the same dinner were stellar.

I also liked a lot the 1985 Chateau Margaux, the 2000 Chateau Gruaud Larose, the 1995 Chateau Clinet and the 1989 Chateau Cantemerle.

In the latest vintage, well not so many wines opened, but I guess the 2006 Chateau Gruaud Larose or the 2009 Chateau Bernadotte or the 2009 Chateau Clauzet or the 2008 Chateau Léoville Poyferré could be selected as well.

But the problem is that 2012 is not over yet...

Nic

[DavidG]

I wish someone would try the 2009 Giscours, priced at one fifth the cost of 2009 Pontet Canet.

PJs tells me mine is due in "soon." Then I have to get it here.

[JimHow]

Maybe a VLT in a thread on the forum page?

[Comte Flaneur]

I remember the discussion last year we had about including a right banker. I recently bought a case of Chateau Cetan De May 2001 which has just been shipped from the Chateau. Got it for £30 a bottle ex taxes. Gosh what a bargain. Drinking my first one now. A traditional Pomerol with dark fruit and a gravelly minerally lift, Pomerol earthiness and good backbone. Very Pomerol, quite old school. Drinking sublimely already.

So this would be another submission from the right bank. The other RB I rember was a quite enthralling VCC 2000 - a very different creature to this -and so painfully young. These in addition to the Figeacs.

[Claudius2]

Guys
I have always argued for a current release or near release to be the winner as that way the wine is accessible to all.
Thus if 1947 Cheval Blanc wins it may be a great wine but it has been for a very long time.

My nomination is 2009 Chateau Clinet Pomerol.
Wow, what a mouthful.
It just hits you with masses of everything - wonderful velvety fruit, spices, oak, and firm tannins which wer so ripe and round it makes it drinkable even now.

[Blanquito]

Ian, that 01 Certan de May buy has to be the deal of the year, maybe decade.

[dstgolf]

Hands down wine of the year 2001 Charmes-Chambertin Dugat-Py Grand Cru. Amazing wine that had everything. Best wine for me through the year. Had this after a vertical of Pontet Canet 2000,2003,2005 and 2009 last month. Pontet Canet was simply humbled by this wine. Had another bottle of this 3 years back and this was so closed and awkward, almost undrinkable and now I recognize the true definition of infanticide. I couldn't believe the transformation in this short time. It's still in it's early rise to glory but this will last for years but is in a very good place right now.

[Claudius2]

Danny
I think we need to open another forum - Burgundy WIne Enthusiasts.
I love both - I drink more Burgundy by the way as it can be drunk youngish or old with pleasure and in a bloody hot country (Singapore) it is easier to drink.
But I really don't think picking a Burgundy is part of the act.
Okay, 2005 red Burgundy won earlier but that was also a protest vote (and I acept that this was a wonderful Burg vintage).
So I would nominate a recentlt guzzled 93 Rousseau Chambertin as Burg of the Year but not here.

[tim]

I'm going to throw in my nomination from earlier this year: 1982 Branaire Ducru. This has continued to be a winner at a non-outrageous price, 10 years after it first shocked everyone at the NYC Convention. Still plenty of it out in the market. Like Spielberg being passed over for the Oscar year after year, Branaire has never really been given the recognition it deserves. On this 30th Anniversary of the 82 vintage, it's day has come.

My vote: 1982 Branaire Ducru!

[DavidG]

Another worthy candidate, Tim. And it has a rich BWE history.

As Mark noted above, current releases are more relevant to the typical consumer. So an '09 makes sense as it's such a great vintage. It's hard to know which '09 this early in the game. And the BWE WOTY isn't necessarily a consumer-oriented pick. We're not Wine Spectator.

I see I'm arguing in circles here, so I'll just stop.

[robertgoulet]

Jim...just ordered 2 '09 giscours...not sure when I'm receiving them yet.

[JimHow]

Well done Robert. Very nicely done indeed.

[robertgoulet]

And with the giscours...1 '09 alter ego!!

[JimHow]

One of these days I gotta try me an Alter Ego. They have some of the '09 on the shelves in NH but I'm not big on second wines other than Les Forts. I've had big disappointment with wines like Carruades, La Croix de Beaucaillou, Bahans de Haut Brion, etc.

[dstgolf]

lter Ego has been more of a disappointment than Bahans or Les Forts for me. Only second that I've really enjoyed (if you call it a second) is Clos du Marquis. They actually have their own vineyard apparently rather than a true second that gets the grapes that don't make the grade for the first..

[robertgoulet]

My understanding is that Alter ego is not a true second wine...I went through a case of '04 and I absolutely adored them...some bottle variation but I generally scored them btwn 89-92 points. Jane Anson bordeaux correspondent for decanter scored the '09 alter ego 95 points..she gave the giscours 93pts ...she a actually preferred the du tertre 94pts over the giscours on this day...

Dstgolf...ive tasted one vintage of bahans..'01...it was utterly gorgeous...I was blown away by the effort...so far ive never tasted clos marquis..another not so true second wine....if im not not mistaken petit lion is the true las cases second label

[DavidG]

That's what our band of BWE brothers were told by Thomas Duroux at a dinner at Ch Palmer back in 2005. They don't consider Alter Ego a second wine.

[robertgoulet]

Thomas was on the berserker board recently amd we discussed alter ego...the thread is still there for review

[stefan]

I agree with should recognize 1982 Branaire Ducru, if not as WOTY then with a special award.

[Claudius2]

Stefan et al
I drank a full case of 1982 Branaire Ducru some yrs ago.
Nice autumnal medium bodied claret.
The 2009 Clinet leaves if for dead.
So if you want BD to be the winner maybe 09 would be a better choice.

Jim
have a case of 09 Giscours but its bweng stored in France to avoid the heat of Singapore.
Hope it is a great wine when I eventually get around to trying it.

[Harry C.]

One that has been consistent for a few years now is 2002 Dom Perignon.

[JimHow]

The 2002 Dom Perignon is a beauty. We really enjoyed our two bottles of the 2003 vintage on Thanksgiving. Both vintages seem to be very drinkable.

[Bacchus]

Gosh this is a tough one. I'm reluctant to go with the 2009 vintage, because it's not available up here yet! Besides, there's lots of time for them. Based on my drinking over the past year, I can recommend the following for consideration:

2005 d'Issan
2005 Sociando-Mallet
2006 Pichon Lalande
2006 d'Armailhac
2006 Duhart Milon

[JCNorthway]

I really like the idea of selecting a wine that is currently available in retail in quantities that enable BWEers to purchase and enjoy. I do think there could be another category to honor outstanding wines that really are not currently available (except perhaps by auction). Perhaps that could be the "BWE Hall of Fame wine for 2012." That way we can honor twice as many wines each year!

Regardless, I will have to give some thought to a nominee for BWE Wine of the Year. Much of the great Bordeaux wines I consumed this year were at the BWE convention in DC. This has been my year for drinking "small wines" - Chiantis, Dolcettos, Cotes du Rhones, Bourgognes, etc. I do plan to pull out a few nice bottles for the holidays, but that may be too late for a WOTY nomination.