BWE in Ft. Lauderdale 2023

JimHow · Post by **JimHow** » Fri Feb 17, 2023 1:38 am

Hanging out with Tom and Gail on an ocean view deck, sipping champagne....
Great friends after many years here on this special site!

jal · Post by **jal** » Fri Feb 17, 2023 1:39 am

Nice, what a good looking crowd.
Have a blast guys!!

stefan · Post by **stefan** » Fri Feb 17, 2023 1:45 am

Looks like you are having a great time. Wish we could be there.

JimHow · Post by **JimHow** » Fri Feb 17, 2023 1:51 am

We’ll miss you guys!
Not too late, Jacques/Jill, a quick skip and hop across the Everglades!

JimHow · Post by **JimHow** » Fri Feb 17, 2023 1:58 am

There are unconfirmed reports that one Cab Fan and Julia have landed in the greater south Florida area.

Nicklasss · Post by **Nicklasss** » Fri Feb 17, 2023 1:59 am

You look healthy, sunny, and good! I wish MC could have come, and we would be right there with you! Can’t make them all, unfortunately. We’ll make it back to Florida soon.

But see you in the Union Jack flag country, to enjoy a pale ale, in just a bit more than a month…

JoelD · Post by **JoelD** » Fri Feb 17, 2023 3:19 am

Lovely. Hope you all have a great time. Well earned Vacation for you, Jim.

robert goulet · Post by **robert goulet** » Fri Feb 17, 2023 4:43 am

Orlando is 2.5 hours north

JimHow · Post by **JimHow** » Fri Feb 17, 2023 3:03 pm

Let's get this party started!

Comte Flaneur · Post by **Comte Flaneur** » Fri Feb 17, 2023 3:29 pm

Not a shabby line up. Have a lot of fun guys!

DavidG · Post by **DavidG** » Fri Feb 17, 2023 5:50 pm

As a certain benevolent dictator might say: Mmmm, doggie!

Nicklasss · Post by **Nicklasss** » Fri Feb 17, 2023 5:55 pm

What? No 2019 Montrose?

Seriously, very nice, even dream line up!

Have fun.

dstgolf · Post by **dstgolf** » Fri Feb 17, 2023 6:47 pm

Everyone's looking great! Have a wonderful weekend and we certainly miss the Florida sunshine/warmth on the west coast last week that we enjoyed so much. 10 inches of fresh snow today has brought back to the great white north reality hard and fast! Looks like a good start to the weekend festivities and pretty nice lineup from Jim's stable! Enjoy and keep us up to date.

JimHow · Post by **JimHow** » Sat Feb 18, 2023 4:47 am

We drank a 1947 Cheval Blanc tonight… More to come.

JimHow · Post by **JimHow** » Sat Feb 18, 2023 6:03 am

So we had some epic wines tonight with Stuart Roberts and a group of Bordeaux Wine Enthusiasts in Fort Lauderdale. Peter Evans (aka Cab Fan) and I were in semi amazement as we attempted to get the group focused on Stuart’s presentation of a 1947 Cheval Blanc, perhaps the most epic moment in the 23 year history of BWE, the madness of which I attempted to capture here:

https://youtu.be/kjg9CL0X438

Comte Flaneur · Post by **Comte Flaneur** » Sat Feb 18, 2023 8:22 am

That was epic BWE footage … congratulations to you all …. and so generous of Stuart to share…wines don’t come more legendary than 1947 Cheval Blanc

I think I saw a couple of bottles of Lafleur on the table too…

JimHow · Post by **JimHow** » Sat Feb 18, 2023 1:34 pm

Indeed, it was an absolutely epic night at the Vienna Wine Bar in nearby Davie. I thought the 1947 Cheval Blanc was exactly the way I've heard it described over the years -- it did indeed have a subtle port like profile, but not at all unbalanced, to the contrary, holding up beautifully on the nose and palate after all these years. This was beautifully balanced, pure class, not in any way unbalanced by alcohol. The color was still a healthy purple, aged but so noble. There was no doubt in our mind that this was the real deal, Stuart was harsh in his assessment, saying it didn't match up with a previous bottle, but I'm hard pressed to see how this wine could be any better at age 76. The cork was authentically seeped through, the bottle seemed to have great provenance, the markings on the cork matched the lettering on the soiled label, with reference to a Christie's auction sale in May of 1979. I kept the bottle and cork with pictures, I'm going to ask Maureen to take a look at it next time I see her, there is certainly no doubt in our minds. It was an absolute thrill to be a part of such history and, of course, to be the recipient of such legendary generosity from Stu and Kathy Roberts. Peter and I were giddy over at our end of the table. Wow. Absolutely epic. 100 points.

We started with the perfectly delightful 168th edition of Krug, a wine I have in my room that we'll be sipping again later this afternoon, this wine in the past has been my Krug epiphany and it was a wonderful start to the evening.

Besides the Cheval Blanc, the 1990 Beausejour Duffau was a wine of the night, again, breathtaking on both the bouquet and palate, hedonistic but pure merlot class, aging beautifully. This is the second time I've had this wine and this time I get what all the fuss is about. 100 points.

Tommy's 1988 Lafleur was another stunning 99-pointer, my first Lafleur ever(?). 99+ points. At some point I stopped taking notes as one 1982 and 1990 after another appeared at the table, including 1982 Vieux Chateau Certan, 1982 Magdelaine, 1990 Clinet, 1982 Canon, 1979 and 1982 Trotanoy, and on and on.... Both the 1982 and 1990 L'Evangile were absolutely brilliant, still youthful and everything we look for from 1980s-era right bank. Tragically, my 1988 Haut Brion was corked.... Peter and I were convincing ourselves that it was just cold and needed to open up but the other side of the table detected taint and, sure enough, when I revisited it towards the end of the night, it was dead as a doorknob. Peter's 1959 Guirard was a fresh, balanced caramel beauty to end the night. Oh what a night!

On the agenda for tonight: the northern Medoc.

SF Ed · Post by **SF Ed** » Sat Feb 18, 2023 2:22 pm

Wow.

I especially liked the video - it captured the dry wit of BWE extremely well.

I also liked the attitude toward the authenticity of the 1947 Cheval Blanc. It may have been real; it might not have been. You can't tell from the taste (which is super annoying), but you all enjoyed it, and that's the point. I hope someone kept the bottle itself with the label - the level of photo resolution you took is probably not enough for Maureen to be able to tell if it is a good fake or not.

And all the other wines too - classic BWE over the top super high quality.

I am definitely looking forward to next month in London!

SF Ed

JimHow · Post by **JimHow** » Sat Feb 18, 2023 2:25 pm

I do indeed have the bottle and cork Ed. See you soon!

stefan · Post by **stefan** » Sat Feb 18, 2023 3:24 pm

Marvelous wine for marvelous people. Congratulations! Lucie and I hope to all of you soon.

dstgolf · Post by **dstgolf** » Sat Feb 18, 2023 3:37 pm

Always an amazing jaw dropping evening with Kathy and Stu which never disappoints. Looks like they've exceeded expectations once again. Thanks for sharing the experience.

JimHow · Post by **JimHow** » Sat Feb 18, 2023 4:01 pm

More pictures from Peter and Julia....

jal · Post by **jal** » Sat Feb 18, 2023 4:07 pm

Another wonderful event and this time with one of the GOATs of the wine universe. Thank you for sharing the moment on YouTube and great to see everyone enjoying themselves.
Hope to see you guys soon

jckba · Post by **jckba** » Sat Feb 18, 2023 4:09 pm

Wonderful lineup, pics of what looks like an epic evening from start to finish.

JCNorthway · Post by **JCNorthway** » Sat Feb 18, 2023 4:41 pm

Thanks for sharing an amazing experience. Stu always finds a way . . .

Nicklasss · Post by **Nicklasss** » Sat Feb 18, 2023 7:07 pm

Nice video and pictures, make us feel we’re there! I can almost feel that bottle of 1947 Cheval Blanc!

Happy to see everyone healthy and having a great time. Hello to Kathy, Stu, Gail, Tom, Julia, Peter, Jim, and all other guesses attending.

Would have liked to be there, but at the same time, this is sooo much generosity from Kathy and Stuart, too big generosity for my little person!

I remember in 2008 in Miami Beach, we had 2 dinners with Kathy and Stuart, MC was pregnant of Simone. Even if we drank exceptional wines in these two dinners in 2008, what I really wanted to do was to go to one of those crazy dance bar of Miami Beach with them. I remember Stuart answering me « not tonight Nicolas, but who knows, maybe next time »! That would surely be more special or unusual than drink great wines together…

AKR · Post by **AKR** » Sat Feb 18, 2023 7:08 pm

Amazing lineup!

JoelD · Post by **JoelD** » Sat Feb 18, 2023 8:02 pm

Looks like an Epic night. How did the 82/90 L'Evangile hold up next to each other? Also the 82 VCC vs the 82 Trotanoy?

AKR · Post by **AKR** » Sat Feb 18, 2023 9:28 pm

https://www.reddit.com/r/wine/comments/ ... sotatampa/

jal · Post by **jal** » Sat Feb 18, 2023 9:46 pm

AKR wrote: ↑Sat Feb 18, 2023 9:28 pm https://www.reddit.com/r/wine/comments/ ... sotatampa/

Ouch! I just bought a new wine fridge two weeks ago when my old one broke for the third time. Timing is everything

JimHow · Post by **JimHow** » Sat Feb 18, 2023 9:54 pm

I did a little research, there was indeed an auction at Christie's in London on May 22, 1979, including the estates of Lord Astor of Hever, Douglas Fairbanks, Jr., the Earl of Clanwilliam, and others.

Joel, to me both of the L'Evangiles were smoking. It was the best of the 1982s, I thought.

robert goulet · Post by **robert goulet** » Sat Feb 18, 2023 10:28 pm

This is how you do it

....our wines in Orlando aren't quite as good Jim!

JimHow · Post by **JimHow** » Sat Feb 18, 2023 11:37 pm

Come on down, Bobby G, we’re only 2.5 hours away, it’s northern Medoc tonight!

robert goulet · Post by **robert goulet** » Sat Feb 18, 2023 11:48 pm

Damn..I would of !....hey Monday is a holiday?

JimHow · Post by **JimHow** » Sun Feb 19, 2023 4:58 am

So tonight we did northern Medoc at Wine Watch in Ft. Lauderdale.
It's late and I have a flight in the morning back to Maine, I'll report more later.
For now, suffice to say that we drank:

2009 Dom Perignon
1982 Leoville Las Cases
1986 Pichon Lalande
1986 Montrose
1989 Montrose
1990 Montrose
1955 Cos d'Estournel
1982 Lynch Bages
1989 Lynch Bages
1982 Mouton Rothschild
1986 Mouton Rothschild
1959 Lafite Rothschild
1986 Lafite Rothschild
1988 Lafite Rothschild
1990 Lafite Rothschild
1955 Sigalis Rabaud

It was, um, insane. More tomorrow, I'm off to bed....

SF Ed · Post by **SF Ed** » Sun Feb 19, 2023 6:31 am

Clearly I don't hang out with the right people often enough

That looks a fantastic lineup.

SF Ed

JimHow · Post by **JimHow** » Sun Feb 19, 2023 3:02 pm

Another night of legendary generosity and camaraderie in Ft. Lauderdale as Stuart and Kathy Roberts again host us at Wine Watch. The wines were presented in several flights. We started with an accessible 2009 Dom Perignon, our second Dom of the evening, as we had uncorked an equally forthcoming 2012 Dom on the ocean view deck at the Hilton, along with yet another bottle of 168th edition Krug.

The first flight was 1982 Leoville Las Cases (93 points) and 1986 Pichon Lalande (91 points), which Peter had uncorked 24 hours earlier. The last two times I've had this 1982 LLC beast it has finally come to show its complexity. The Pichon Lalande, on the other hand, does not seem to be improving.

We then moved on to three vintages of Montrose. We were pleasantly surprised by the 1986 Montrose (93 points), monolithic in the past but then again I haven't consumed it in probably 20 years. The 1989 Montrose (95 points) was singing in all its glory, a wine that has historically stood up to the acclaimed 1990. They say the 1990 Montrose (n/r) at our table last night was corked, it certainly was dominated by overwhelming brett. Tommy's 1955 Cos d'estournel (93 points) was a fun addition to the flight, fully resolved, lighter rose colored, almost burgundy-like, very fragrant, one of the bouquets of the night.

Next up were two brilliant examples of 1982 Lynch Bages (95 points) and 1989 Lynch Bages (100 points), the '89 my wine of the night with its hallmark lead pencil and cassis, and virtually no signs of aging. For me, 1989 Lynch Bages is just the ultimate expression of Pauillac. This BWE icon is a 200 year wine. I think Peter liked the '82 Lynch better, they were both brilliant. 1982 and 1989 Lynch are the two great book ends of that legendary 1980s stretch for Jean-Michel Cases, the 1982 initiating the transition from old school Lynch to a more modern model. always a thrill to drink these wines, it never gets old.

So then of course Stuart decides to throw a couple Moutons into this northern Medoc tasting, oh, the 1982 Mouton (97 points) and 1986 Mouton (95 points).... I mean, come on now. The generosity is legendary. I kept coaxing the 1986 Mouton for its legendary finish but on this night the rich 1982 may have edged it out, these two wines have battled it out before, they are evenly matched but differently styled.

And then out came the Lafites. Oftentimes when we have Lafite at these dinners it gets overshadowed but not on this night. These Lafites were absolutely breathtaking in their elegance and strength. The 1986 Lafite (96 points) is still monolithic but there is a big core of fruit that smacks you in the face. The classic 1988 Lafite (98 points) is an ultimate Jim How wine, I drank more of this wine than any of the others and it was otherworldly in its classicism and restraint with the cheese and dessert. The 1990 Lafite (98 points) was in full glory, just totally open on the nose and palate, just wow. And then... Stuart pulls out a freaking 1959 Lafite (100 points).... OMG.... These few 1959s that I've had over the years have such unique character and personality, I think I've enjoyed them even more than the epic 1961s. This is a 100 point wine, rivaling the 1989 Lynch.

We finished with Peter's 1955 Sigalas Rabaud (96 points) I'm pretty sure was a first for me, heavenly decadent with the cheeses sourced by Stuart from frommages.com.

Holy smoke, what a night. What a memorable weekend. That 1947 Cheval Blanc from the night before was the thrill of a lifetime, and the 1959 Lafite Rothschild was not far behind. In the end, of course, BWE is more about the people, and less so the wine. It was so much fun hanging out with the crew at the hotel and the wine dinners. We'll see you again next month in London! THANK YOU STUART!

JimHow

Nicklasss · Post by **Nicklasss** » Sun Feb 19, 2023 4:53 pm

Thank you Jim for reporting. What a weekend! And impressed by your 1989 Lynch Bages assessment!

Tasting all those wines in two days... what a job!

Enjoying life and good wines, with great people, surely one of best thing to do in life!

Looking forward to London in a month. Can figure out last time i saw many BWEers at the same time was in spring 2020... fortunately, saw Comte Flaneur twice last July, but in March, should be very special.

Musigny 151 · Post by **Musigny 151** » Sun Feb 19, 2023 5:31 pm

JoelD wrote: ↑Sat Feb 18, 2023 8:02 pm Looks like an Epic night. How did the 82/90 L'Evangile hold up next to each other? Also the 82 VCC vs the 82 Trotanoy?

Also curious about the other 1982s.
Really enjoyed the notes on the other wines.

JimHow · Post by **JimHow** » Sun Feb 19, 2023 6:02 pm

The 1982s were a real treat, Mark and Joel, although I thought the VCC, Magdelaine, and Canon were a notch below the '82 L'Evangile, which was one of my wines of the weekend. The 1982 Certan de May seems to have had its better days. I was talking to Tom and Stuart the next day about the 79 and 82 Trotanoy as they seemed to get a little lost in the shuffle for me, perhaps in the excitement of the '47 Cheval Blanc, but I think they both thought the Trotanoys were not at the top of their game. A mixed bag overall on the 1982 right bankers on Friday night, but the 82 Lynch and Mouton were stunning on Saturday night. The 1982 and 1990 l'Evangiles just seemed so fresh and alive, firing on all cylinders, drinking brilliantly now, but more years ahead of both of them. I think there was general consensus on the quality of the l'Evangiles, they were quite thrilling.