The 2000 GPL and 2000 Pape Clement have been uncorked....

[JimHow]

Finishing up a whirlwind four month stretch of activity that has amazed even me, experiencing the first chance to breathe in months.
Very exciting things going on.
Two distinct bouquets here, can you guess which of these two glasses is which....

[JimHow]

I see they're playing basketball in the Garden tonight.

It's all academic, anyway, Chicago is gonna win it all...

The consistently great 2000 Pape Clement jumps out to an early lead.

The consistently disappointing 2000 GPL is coming out a notch above supermarket level quality, but it may have some potential yet.

[JimHow]

Boy we had some shennanigans going on with the Lafite/Carruades/Duhart inventory in New Hampshire this past week.
I had to rip into the powers that be, they claim that it'll never happen again.
Suffice to say we are not going to be getting any 2008 Lafite this year at $379.

Boy, GPL just has not been the same post-1996, I don't care what anyone says.

[JimHow]

Celtics cooking with grease tonight over the Knicks, up by 23 after three quarters....

I've got the sound off but I haven't seen any sign of Spike Lee.

Well, the T-Bone should be just about ready out on the grill, let's see how these left bankers do with some food....

Let's take a sip of each wine and see how they're doing....

Yeah, nothing changing, the GPL shows some snippets of its past Pauillac glory, but it seems almost watery to me.

The Pape Clement is a giant of a wine.

[Gerry M.]

Boy we had some shennanigans going on with the Lafite/Carruades/Duhart inventory in New Hampshire this past week.
I had to rip into the powers that be, they claim that it'll never happen again.
Suffice to say we are not going to be getting any 2008 Lafite this year at $379.

Boy, GPL just has not been the same post-1996, I don't care what anyone says.

Actually Jim I had to pay $379.99. I didn't get any of the Carraudes or Duhart but the Lafite is what i really wanted.

Now I wish I bought more of the Pape Clement from all I've read rather than the GPL.

[JimHow]

Just saw Spike for the first time, leaving the arena.
Celtics with an epic performance tonight.
As for the wines, nothing has changed from beginning to end.
The Pape Clement is great, the GPL is good but not great.
GPL certainly a disappointment in the context of the vintage.

[JimHow]

Congratulations Gerry!

[Gerry M.]

Thanks Jim.

It certainly was the most aggravation I've ever had trying to buy wine. I think calling the commissioners office directly is what did it for me. I made it plain that I wasn't going away and they relented.

Are you going to finish those wines tonight or tomorrow? I'd be interested in how they are a day after opening since these are still babies. I'm really in love these days with 20-30 year old bottles. Michael, Andy and myself went to a tasting this past weekend where the WOTN was a 78' Pichon Lalande I brought. We also had strong showings from 78' Ch. Talbot, 89' Pichon Lalande and 89' Pichon Baron. Drinking those flights I was in heaven. I'm sure Michael will post his notes at some point.

[Gerry M.]

Speaking of NH, the 2008 release is shaping up to be pretty poor. First, the prices have jumped significantly with the exit of Diageo & Estate. Second, the selction is the weakest I've ever seen with an absense of most of my perrenial favorites except Lagrange. the price however is now $56 so it's now a pass.

[JimHow]

Yes, I exchanged animated emails with the powers that be in NH, Gerry, they basically lied to me but I don't care, the fight is gone.
They did indicate the pickings will be slim from 2008 in NH.

The GPL is just not improving... but that's been my experience with this particular 2000 nearly every time.

[johnz]

I would guess now to be just about the worst time possible to try the 2000 GPL -- quite possibly hiding most of it's qualities until it's closer to being mature in another ten to twenty years. I'd agree that the '82 and '90 were good at ten years of life, but i don't think vintage 2000 is much like those past vintages . . . especially in Pauillac. 2000 Medoc's are going to be slow in coming around . . .

--Gary Rust

[JimHow]

Eleven years after the vintage? These have got to be well into HWSRN's drinking window.

[JCNorthway]

At my wine club's annual dinner a few weeks back, the 1978 Pichon Lalande was my favorite wine of the evening. It seemed to be at an ideal place in its development.

[johnz]

"Eleven years after the vintage? These have got to be well into HWSRN's drinking window."

That got me curious, so I looked. Surprisingly, even HWSRN advises no drinking until 2014, and personally speaking, I usually add another 5-10 years on an opening window date from Him. But that's just me. I like old wines. Bordeaux in its grapey, and sometimes sleepy, youth just doesn't interest me much.

--Gary R

[Gerry M.]

At my wine club's annual dinner a few weeks back, the 1978 Pichon Lalande was my favorite wine of the evening. It seemed to be at an ideal place in its development.

JC, That's good to hear. Our bottle was outstanding and I had the same impression as you that it was just in a really nice place now. It was a surprise since the cork was totally saturated when opening. The fact that it turned into a swan was a pleasant shocker.