I have not been buying much wine, and I feel fine.

[JimHow]

Despite the somewhat attractive prices for the 2006 Bordeaux on sale in NH, I just haven't been able to get excited about the vintage. And most of the good stuff, like Ducru, and Montrose, and Cos, etc., etc., is just too overpriced. The 2006 Burgundies are too expensive, and I just can't get excited over the 2007 Rhones, not at those prices, which seem very expensive. Whether it is the decline of the dollar, or greed, or both, France is seeing only a fraction of the business I used to send their way.

[Tom In DC]

Jimbo,

First, if France is seeing a lot less of your wine-buying dollar, is some other country (or countries) feeling your beneficence or are you just cutting back?

Next, maybe I'm out of touch with our BD's finances, but I can't imagine how you'd find the many excellent 2007 Cotes du Rhone Villages too expensive.

And you really oughtta look at some prices for 2008 Bordeaux...based on the pundits (yeah, yeah, I know...) there are some terrific deals. (My first case buys since 2002, but I'm a skin-flint ((That's old school for cheap SOB!)) )

Your humble servant,
Tom

[Jay Winton]

Jimbo,

First, if France is seeing a lot less of your wine-buying dollar, is some other country (or countries) feeling your beneficence or are you just cutting back?

Next, maybe I'm out of touch with our BD's finances, but I can't imagine how you'd find the many excellent 2007 Cotes du Rhone Villages too expensive.

And you really oughtta look at some prices for 2008 Bordeaux...based on the pundits (yeah, yeah, I know...) there are some terrific deals. (My first case buys since 2002, but I'm a skin-flint ((That's old school for cheap SOB!)) )

Your humble servant,
Tom

what 08s are you buying? how much and from whom?

[JonB]

France is seeing only a fraction of the business I used to send their way

93.3% of your cellar?

I've not been excited by Bdx '06s, nor the prospect of Bdx '07s, maybe because they were so overpriced here to begin with my attention turned elsewhere.....but there has been no lack of quality, reasonably priced alternatives, with CdR, Chianti, Riesling, and Washington Bordeaux blends, and others all representing better values. I'm still waiting for deliveries of '05 Bordeaux, so I'm not so excited about ensuing Bordeaux vintages.

[Tom In DC]

what 08s are you buying? how much and from whom?

Like voting in Chicago, I was thinking early and often. I've picked up Pichon Lalande, Duhart Milon, Clinet, Gazin, Clos Fourtet, Pavie-Macquin, and others. All of these estates seem to be on a roll over the last few vintages, and the pricing seemed silly compared to the last 3 or 4 vintages. As far as sourcing, I'm spreading the buys far and wide, hoping to avoid any implosions...

Still a lot of good pricing out there for these houses...

[JimHow]

The prices for French wines are still pretty grotesque. Wines like Ducru go for over $150 even in mediocre vintages like 2006. LLC is well over $300. The first growths are "only" $600. Wines like Clos des Papes, which you could get for thirty bucks as recently as three years ago, now can't be had for less than $150 merely because it was rated 98 points by some unemployed lawyer from Baltimore who couldn't tell a Hardy Rodenstock if he had one in his hand. These Paul Autard wines that could be had for under $20 three years ago are $60 and up for the 2007s. And I won't even mention the word Burgundy. Gross. Hellooo. Earth to France....

No thanks, send them on to Hong Kong.

[rjsussex]

Jim - 06 Bordeaux isn't mediocre!

Richard

[JimHow]

I'm not sure what to compare 2006 to, Richard. It's not like any other vintage that comes to mind. For whatever reason, the wines have seemed very closed to me, right from the beginning. One thing I'm pretty sure about is that it doesn't remind me of any of the so called great vintages of the past thirty years.

[JimHow]

The wine producers are just like the politicians in Washington: They still just don't get it. The world has changed fundamentally in the past generation, with gaps in wealth unprecedented in history-- and the Bordelais-- like American politicians-- are living like it's still 1989. Like the politicians of today, they are going to get burned very badly.

[dstgolf]

Jim,

I'll take exception to your statement that the 06's seem closed!

Yes there is great variability across the vintage and yes many of them are closed. Show me a Bordeaux vintage 3-4 years out that doesn't shut down though!
Thaere certainly are quite a number of beauties that are wide open right now including Leoville Las Cases. Mouton,Cos,Clos de Marquis,Domaine de Chevalier,Angelus and Clinet which are amazingly easy to drink right now with finesse,balance and soft tannins. The thing that I can't disagree with is that the prices are ridiculous and I'm happy that I've got more than enough wine sleeping in my cellar. If they come down in price in the next year or two then maybe I'll venture in but not until.

Tom,

Did the 08's come with a dribble cup and bib so that Gail can minimize they mess serving this to you in your wheelchair!

Danny

[stefan]

I am not looking for recently released wines and haven't been buying much of anything, but that is not for lack of trying. This %$&* distributor is sitting on a bunch of things I want but refuses to accept half his cost even though no one else wants them. Oh, well, I can wait.

I did buy a case of '05 Marquis D'Alesme Becker on sale last month. Lucie and I tried a bottle on Sunday with left over grilled quail from Saturday (when we drank a delicious '96 La Lagune). There are no Margauxberries yet in the bouquet, but the nose is developing. The tannins are soft and the wood is integrating nicely. The mouth feel is good except there is too much acid. There are tasty red raspberries and red currants in the mid palate and in the back. This estate produced plonk for a long time but now is making good wines; or, at least, made a good wine in 2005.

stefan

[JimHow]

Danny, you've had a lot more experience with 2006s than I have. Based on my dozen or so tastes of my usual suspects, it seems to me the wines have been more closed than normal, but that's just my anecdotal observation. usually I find the wines to be open and fruity for six to 12 months after they are released, before they close down for four or five years. In this case, they seem to be shut tight from the beginning.

[William P]

I have not tasted too many of the 06 but based on the Lagrange two weeks ago, I found it to be closed.

[Blanquito]

Most 2007 Chateauneufs are now over-priced, and some domaines are now always over-priced (Clos de Papes, take a bow).

That said, I am very happy with the prices I paid on these superstars (I bought some of these 6 months ago, some last week):
Clos du Mont Olivet - Cuvee du Papet 98+ pts $47
Raymond Usseglio - Cuvee Imperiale 96 pts $46
Santa Duc Gigondas Hautes Garrigues 97+ pts $45
Vieux Donjon 95 pts $45
Charvin 97 pts $60
Delas Haute Pierre CdP 94 pts $30
Clos St. Jean "regular" CdP 94 pts $25
Usseglio "regular" CdP 93 pts $25

If these wines are anywhere near as good as the unemployed country lawyer says they are, I consider them great QPR. Sure, there's been some inflation, but aside from the Charvin, none have gone up that much. But most importantly, these are estates whose style I know I like a lot.

[dstgolf]

Jim,

I'd classify the 06 vintage as a minefield with a few hidden gems. Absolutely there are a lot of closed wines. Lots are green,tannic,unbalanced and simply unpleasant with little hope for recovery. One with hope is Lynch Bages but still an underperformer. The Pichons were both good with the Baron edging out by a nose at this time but the Comtesse is better than it has been in some time. Palmer was excellant and currently drinking better than Margaux by a longshot. d'Issan was also showing beautiful fruit,very open with great mouthfeel and for the right price this should do well in any BWE'ers cellar along with de Chevalier,Fieuzal and a few others.I'll have to refresh my memory from my notes on other winners and losers.

Danny

[Ramon_NYC]

Most 2007 Chateauneufs are now over-priced, and some domaines are now always over-priced (Clos de Papes, take a bow).

That said, I am very happy with the prices I paid on these superstars (I bought some of these 6 months ago, some last week):
Clos du Mont Olivet - Cuvee du Papet 98+ pts $47
Raymond Usseglio - Cuvee Imperiale 96 pts $46
Santa Duc Gigondas Hautes Garrigues 97+ pts $45
Vieux Donjon 95 pts $45
Charvin 97 pts $60
Delas Haute Pierre CdP 94 pts $30
Clos St. Jean "regular" CdP 94 pts $25
Usseglio "regular" CdP 93 pts $25

If these wines are anywhere near as good as the unemployed country lawyer says they are, I consider them great QPR. Sure, there's been some inflation, but aside from the Charvin, none have gone up that much. But most importantly, these are estates whose style I know I like a lot.

That's quite a buy ... and, I agree, at good prices.

[Chasse-Spleen]

I just bought a case of 2007 Delas Cotes-du-Ventoux for $95! It is a delicious, balanced, light to medium bodied wine with excellent concentration... Not exactly a first growth, but very French.

-Chasse

[Rick]

Jim is keeping his powder dry for the even better blow out sales that will come as the world continues to become awash with very good wines

Blanquito wish I had seen some of the wines you referenced at those prices - do not think they came to Chicago

I see no Janasse's on your list .......all I have had are very good

Rick

[DavidG]

Not excited by '06 -'07 - '08 Bordeaux here either. If I were younger, maybe '08s - Tom's list is a good one and prices may be as good as they'll ever be. But still too high for wines I might not get around to drinking.

I am a lot more excited by the '07 Rhones. Patrick's list is a good one - I bought many of those wines, some at similar prices, and a few of the higher-priced ones. Yes they have gone way up in price compared to earlier vintages of CduPs, but they remain a bargain compared to similar quality from anywhere else if you like that style. And the '07 Cotes du Rhones and CdR Villages wines are like shooting fish in a barrel. Tons of great QPRs at under $20.

If I were starting a cellar today I'd be buying '07 Cotes du Rhones for drinking now, '07 CduP for medium-term cellaring and drinking over the next decade, and '08 Bdx for longer-term cellaring.

[Blanquito]

I only bought 2007 CdPs that I thought were reasonably priced (per David's rationale)-- that ruled out the Janasse line-up. Also, some notes out there make Janasse sound potentially too modern and extracted for my tastes, although I've enjoyed the Chaupin in earlier vintages. I've got a mixed case of 2007 Cotes du Rhones coming that I'm excited to try.

I am not excited at all for 2008 Bordeaux, and I'm guessing there's no way it goes up in price with the already-hyped 2009 coming fast on its heels. Plus, there's a ton of 2005 Bordeaux still out there at more or less the same price as release (if you avoid the superstars), an ideal vintage for building a cellar as the petit chateau are delicious and cheap, and the big guns will hold for a long time.

[Nicklasss]

Jim is probably putting many $$ aside to buy a s**t load of 2009 Chateau Lynch Bages, as many producers said that 2009 remind them the 1989 vintage...

Nic

[Houndsong]

Must buy the Parker Valentine Vintage (for the points, of course), as well as the 2009s, which will be the Grande Slam (as they say in Bordeaux) of the four vintages of the century in the past 10 years.

[Comte Flaneur]

what 08s are you buying? how much and from whom?

Like voting in Chicago, I was thinking early and often. I've picked up Pichon Lalande, Duhart Milon, Clinet, Gazin, Clos Fourtet, Pavie-Macquin, and others. All of these estates seem to be on a roll over the last few vintages, and the pricing seemed silly compared to the last 3 or 4 vintages. As far as sourcing, I'm spreading the buys far and wide, hoping to avoid any implosions...

Still a lot of good pricing out there for these houses...

And this could be an easily forgotten (Cinderella) vintage (arguably it has already been forgotten)

I am going out to buy two cases of 2008 bordeaux for my twin nephews born last December. Lucky the little blighters weren't born in January

Thinking of buying GPL and Calon Segur. This is what prices look like over here ((scores included for those interested (prices in GBP)); if I was feeling less impecunious I would go for Baron)

http://www.jeroboams.co.uk/bordeauxscores.pdf

[Jay Winton]

I have to admit I'm buying mostly 07 CDRs and CNDPs these days.

[Nicklasss]

for my part, the 2008 I bought are Malartic-Lagravière, Lafleur-Pétrus and Léoville-Barton. I never understood how come the 2008 Sociando-Mallet and Haut-Bailly are not available ''en primeur'' in Québec...

For the 2007 Chateauneuf-du-Pape, I plan to buy some, but on the low cost side of the curve.

Nic

[Jay Winton]

I have to admit I'm buying mostly 07 CDRs and CNDPs these days.

I generally avoid buying into wine hype but my thoroughly unscientific tastings of various 07 Cdrs were favorable so I bought some 07CNDPs-generally in quantities of 6. I'm also certainly not overlooking any older vintages such as 98 and 01 for any deals.