Bordeaux, Parker, etc... It's all becoming irrelevant to me.

[tim]

Myself, I try to keep my fees reasonable, I try to help people in need, I try to live a life not of greed and money, money, money, but finding value in other things.

But that's just me....

Slightly off topic, I have a colleague that was just convicted of murdering his wife, even though he is innocent. He is sentenced to life in prison. There was no evidence that he did it, and there was physical evidence that actually proved he did not do it. The judge, an ex-ADA and ex-police officer, allowed mostly hearsay from the prosecution, and excluded expert testimony from the defense. Unfortunately, he is also broke now since the in-laws drained him of all his finances when he was fighting to keep custody of his kids. Do you know who will represent his appeal pro bono?

[JimHow]

You guys DO realize I'm just busting your chops here, right?

[JimHow]

Good grief, Tim, what state is that in?

[tim]

North Carolina

[tim]

You guys DO realize I'm just busting your chops here, right?

yes, but i think most people have something of a masochistic streak of enjoying you getting riled up

[JimHow]

Hmm I see NC has an office representing indigents in criminal cases:

http://www.aoc.state.nc.us/www/ids/

My friend Effie, who is in law school at Temple, has some familiarity with Barry Scheck's Innocence Project, I'll check if she has any ideas.

http://www.innocenceproject.org

Of course I would help but I'm not licensed in NC.

The streamlining of the rules of evidence, the watering down of the centuries-old hearsay rule, has been one of the biggest scandals in American jurisprudence in the past 20 years. It is actually one of the issues raised in my novel.

[JimHow]

Just as David thinks that it is HE who is abandoning JM Cazes rather than vice-versa, I think it is ME Who is riling YOU guys up....

I'm just trying to dig this site out from under the vanilla eropertparker.com funk it has fallen into the past couple years.

[tim]

Hmm I see NC has an office representing indigents in criminal cases:

http://www.aoc.state.nc.us/www/ids/

My friend Effie, who is in law school at Temple, has some familiarity with Barry Scheck's Innocence Project, I'll check if she has any ideas.

http://www.innocenceproject.org

Of course I would help but I'm not licensed in NC.

The streamlining of the rules of evidence, the watering down of the centuries-old hearsay rule, has been one of the biggest scandals in American jurisprudence in the past 20 years. It is actually one of the issues raised in my novel.

Thanks. The Innocence Project was actually present during parts of the trial, so I anticipate they will be active in this one. There is a push to get Alan Dershowitz on it as well. It was very high profile, on Nance Grace and such, and the longest non-capital trial in the state history.

[tim]

I'm just trying to dig this site out from under the vanilla eropertparker.com funk it has fallen into the past couple years.

Please, Jim, this is a family site. No need to use such vulgar language.

[Tom In DC]

Well done, BD, well done! I can't wait to get together next week.

All chopbusting aside, selling Lafite into the bubble just seems like common sense. Particularly if -- as some of our participants have done -- the funds are used to buy many more bottles of other, more reasonably valued wines. I'm not suggesting that Latour and Lafite are interchangeable, but trading some number of bottles of Lafite for twice as many bottles of Latour in the same vintage seems like a great play at this point. Over time, there seems a high probability that the wines will go back to having similar values: should that happen, trade half of your Latour to get back your original quantity of Lafite (free Latour!); if not, you drink great wine twice as often.

I've never tasted Le Pin, but I don't have any feeling of deprivation from that fact. If Lafite stays overvalued, I can accept that and move on. In recent years, BWE'ers knew Pontet Canet and D'Issan were undervalued well before the rest of the world, right? We'll find more gems ahead of the pack again.

[Jay Winton]

In honor of our visit to the left coast next week, I'm sipping a 375 of 2005 Ridge Geyserville which is just delicious. I don't drink a lot zin but Ridge is a consistent winner for my lousy palate. And the big news today, Animal House will be released on Blu-Ray this summer. They can't do that to our pledges, only we can do that to our pledges (this is for the new attendees at our dinner.. Drop and give me 20!)

[JonoB]

On 2010 Montebello is a steal compared to all these overpriced Bordeaux me thinks!

Ridge always seem to be the most Bordeaux-esque of Cali producers, with Chateau Montelena a close second.

Although sometimes I do like the sluttiness of Joseph Phelps Insignia!

[Bacchus]

So, Jim, does that mean you won't be selling your Duhart-Milon! Damn!

[JimHow]

Bacchus, I'm not selling any Duhart, but if I see any cru bourgeois on sale for under $80, I'll let you know!

[JonoB]

Bacchus, I'm not selling any Duhart, but if I see any cru bourgeois on sale for under $80, I'll let you know!

I'm selling Duhart 08... Half the price of Curraudes is a steal...

[JimHow]

I'm selling Duhart 08... Half the price of Curraudes is a steal...

Indeed, Jono.
As usual, we were saying that here on BWE about five years ago.

[Michael-P]

Jim:

Funny you should mention drama queen and Lamborghini, as the Lamborghini Club of America had a ton of drama about a month back where the President was thrown out, then lawyers sent nasty letters to the new President asking for lots of money, etc, which prompted the new President to promptly resign, all the normal operating modes for the past 30 years are now unknown and likely to change (unknown if for better or if the club will fold), blah, blah. And likely all about money. You can get on your stump again....

Michael-P

[JimHow]

If you took out the word Lamborghini from your post and inserted Bordeaux, Michael, no one would notice.

[Houndsong]

In what sense has this site fallen into a vanilla funk?

[JimHow]

Too erobertparker.com-like sometimes, IMHO.

[Houndsong]

I wouldn't know what that means. The only times I ever visted that site was when somebody posted a link here to a squabble there. So I'm not aware in general what it was like.

[JimHow]

Alex, I tried a very nice 2008 Lagrange yesterday, only $35 at K&L here in SF. Heavy oak blew off after the first few minutes to reveal a classic claret that features some of that "crunchy" profile we saw with the 2004 vintage. Beautiful youthful deep purple color. Satisfies the Bordeaux craving very well, and reasonably priced. Year after year this property is the model of consistency. I'm surprised it hasn't risen closer to the price ranges of the Lynches, Pontets, Duharts, etc. Rating: 91 points.

[stefan]

Shh, BD. Your campaign to lower the price of Bdx by pretending it has become irrelevant was beginning to work; don't spoil it.

[JCNorthway]

Great, Stefan!

[Houndsong]

$100 (OK $98) for 2010 Beychevelle. Speculation was GPL was the next Lynch was the next Lafite.

[JonB]

This is only $95 at Zachys. Quick, buy, before the Chinese recognize the potential of this 90-92 RP wine.

[AlexR]

Why don't we just invade China?
Do we really need any other pretext?

Alex R.

[Houndsong]

Jon, you ridicule the cachet of the "dragon boat?" You know that's very important over there.

[JonB]

Au contraire, I am quite appreciative of the Dragon boat. I am taking a case of 2004 Lafite, purchased on release locally at $186/750, to K and L today to test their auction market, where they've indicated $1000+/750.

[Houndsong]

I concur.

[JonoB]

It is all just bloody ridiculous [in my best cockney accent!]!!!

Lagrange is a Very good estate... And probably the reason that it isn't spoofulated and thus considered (although these wines arent) in the Duhart, Lynch, Pontet league is because HWSRN likes those and not Lagrange as much. Also, it is owned by Suntory and the Japanese have a sort of romantic love for classic Bordeaux (which is why I find their constant quotation of HWSRN baffling!!).

[JimHow]

We had the opportunity to meet Marcel Ducasse a few years back in NYC as part of a BWE event.
Like his wine, he personifies class.