Bordeaux Wine Enthusiasts

The First are all good. For the 2nd, 3rd and 5th Cru Classés, it is easy to identify 1-2 wines that are better than the others.

In the group of the 4th, a bit harder to tell which one is the best.

Let say we start from 1980 to now… which 4th Growth wine is your favorite?

For me, the clear result is Beychevelle. Every bottle that I've had has been quite good. 83,85,89,00 are standouts. I just bought a whole case of the 2000 recently after having it the first time. I haven't tasted almost any of these young though. But have obviously had some very good Talbot, Duhart. Prieure Lichine is one that I think is underrated.

'89 Bey was delish last year

Branaire Ducru.

I wanted to say Beychevelle, But then I figured I should let Cellertracker tell me what my “favorite“ was by which wine I’ve bought and drank the most of. Branaire edged out Lafon Rochet.

I should ask a follow up here. Was this factoring for QPR or no? If not then my answer stands. If so then I would probably switch to Branaire Ducru. But it would still be very close.

Tough call between Beychevelle and Talbot. Went with Talbot on the strength of those great Cordier wines. For some reason Branaire has been hit or miss for me.

Guys
I voted for Beychevelle as it is on a roll now and is unfortunately getting more expensive. It was the first classed growth I ever drank - a long time ago - and along with LB, GL, Branaire and a few others, led me to admire the wines of the Medoc. I got into the right bank a bit later though more due to availability in Australia.
Cheers
Mark

Have a case of the 2016 Beychevelle so we'll see how that works out (once the 2016s come round -- hoping it won't be a 1995 type vintage).

Branaire Ducru has been reliably good but not great for me, but the best 4th growth I ever had was the 86 Talbot and it's not close

marcs wrote: ↑Wed Oct 04, 2023 2:27 pm Have a case of the 2016 Beychevelle so we'll see how that works out (once the 2016s come round -- hoping it won't be a 1995 type vintage).

Branaire Ducru has been reliably good but not great for me, but the best 4th growth I ever had was the 86 Talbot and it's not close

We had a 2000 beychevelle together last fall that I would personally rate ahead of the 86 Talbot that I’ve had a couple times. The 83/85/89 are right there with the 86 Talbot and speak to me more. Although I’ve rated them similarly in the 93-95pt range

JoelD wrote: ↑Wed Oct 04, 2023 3:07 pm

marcs wrote: ↑Wed Oct 04, 2023 2:27 pm Have a case of the 2016 Beychevelle so we'll see how that works out (once the 2016s come round -- hoping it won't be a 1995 type vintage).

Branaire Ducru has been reliably good but not great for me, but the best 4th growth I ever had was the 86 Talbot and it's not close

We had a 2000 beychevelle together last fall that I would personally rate ahead of the 86 Talbot that I’ve had a couple times. The 83/85/89 are right there with the 86 Talbot and speak to me more. Although I’ve rated them similarly in the 93-95pt range

I don’t even remember that 2000 Beychevelle…what event was this at?

I usually have a decent wine memory but sometimes it fails me, particularly at large tastings. If I don’t remember it it probably didn’t transfix me for whatever reason though…

Can’t vote against those 1982, 1983 and 1986 Talbots - they were all fabulous over and over again.

Chris Bublitz

Winona Chief wrote: ↑Fri Oct 06, 2023 2:40 am Can’t vote against those 1982, 1983 and 1986 Talbots - they were all fabulous over and over again.

Chris Bublitz

I still have one lone 82' left that I am holding out for the right occasion. I don't doubt it's seen its' best day but I can think of some good times looking at it.

I voted for Saint Pierre as it's a wine that's never let me down. I can understand Branaire Ducru getting most of the votes however, as its arguably the most elegant of all of the wines listed. In fact, all of these wines I have typically enjoyed with la Tour Carnet being the only exception. Bit of "meh" wine that one for me.

My pick: Lafon-Rochet. Late 20th century vintages were consistently good, in my opinion. I haven't had any post-2000 vintage.

I finally made my choice. It was not easy as this category has many excellent candidate.

Unfortunately, i did not had many vintages of the 4th growth.

I finally choose Talbot. I can't ignore the great wines they made in the 80's. I did tried any 90's. The 2002, was good only, but for the price i paid, 22$, surely can't complaint. Few years ago, tried the 2015 and 2017, and though they were just excellent, balanced, complex and very "Saint Julienesque". I have to admit, the 2017 impressed me at UGC Montréal. Since director is Jean-Michel Laporte (previously at la Conseillante), the wine, confidence and critics score went up. Bought some 2019, as it is supposed to be a superb wine... This is as wine to search for in the latest vintages i guess.

Branaire would be my second choice. I clearly like Duhart and Beychevelle too.

My pal David Kaplan and I had a superb bottle of 1995 Lafon-Rochet at lunch this afternoon at Gabriel Kruether in Manhattan. We drank it with two courses: smoked duck breast and pasta with a chestnut and white truffle sauce. The flavors of the food were assertive, and the Lafon-Rochet was a wonderful match.

Talbot #1