2010 La Gravette de Certan (Pomerol)?

[OrlandoRobert]

Anyone try this second label yet? VCC is now out of my league, as are most Pomerols. For $55, this seems like quite a deal in Pomerol.

Uncle Bob raves over it, but I have not seen any other critics commenting on it. Crush Wine in NYC just issued a release email and they drool over it.

Anyone take one for the team yet?

[OrlandoRobert]

Just got a drunk text from BoobyGoulet at 11:52 PM EST, saying nobody cares about my second label VCC and I'm losing my mojo. Evidently he's having a spiritual moment, or perhaps some other moment, over a '98 La Grave a Pomerol.

Do share, Bobby, do share . . . .

Notes?

[robert goulet]

Lmao......yes it's gone!!

La grave a pomerol.....glorious.....notes later

[AlexR]

The 2009 is wonderful. I was able to pick up 4 bottles for a song.
The 2nd wine here is not only good, but underpriced.

Alex R.

[OrlandoRobert]

The 2009 seems readily available at about $45 USD.

So worthy buying, Alex? Can you offer up some notes?

Thanks!

[AlexR]

Robert,

I tasted it at the estate a year and a half ago. It is the archetypal elegant Bordeaux, with smoothness and elegance rather than power.

At the price, you really aren't taking a big risk.

I know that some people are existentially opossed to 2nd wines, but in this instance I compared the grand vin and its younger brother, and there wasn't an enormous gap between them by any means. Furthermore, what can 2009 VCC cost today? 4, 5 times as much?

Alex R.

[robert goulet]

2nd wines can be awesome eg. '04 reserve comtesse...considerably better than '02 bigger brother 3 years back (at that point in their evolution) and another tasting last year with OrlandoRobert tells me the comtesse is the real deal.

[Tom In DC]

I count myself among those "existentially opposed (sic) to 2nd wines". If I had routine access to taste the seconds side by side with the grand vin, I might change my stripes, but my long experience is that few second wines remotely approach their respective firsts in quality, and more significantly few stand up to other wines at their price point.

Yes, examples of overachieving 2nd's abound -- I still have '82 Forts de Latour and '82 La Tour Haut Brion in the basement, and I wish I had more '89 Bahans Haut Brion, '96 Clos du Marquis, '99 Alter Ego, or any recent vintage of Chapelle du Ausone. But taking a critical look at my experience with seconds overall, I nearly always come away believing (knowing!) that my money would be better spent on someone else's first.

Your NNofN,
Tom

[robert goulet]

I'll jump on the Bahans wagon....'01 floored me, just fantastic

Love Alter Ego, but it's not a true second wine

[DavidG]

Like Tom, my experiences with second wines have more often than not left me disappointed in the QPR. I'm not existentially opposed to them (Alex uses hyperbole in inverse proportion to Schildknecht's use of periods). I just haven't found them to be such great bargains for what's in the bottle. Maybe because I'm pining for the real deal?

[AlexR]

Tom,

Of course, Bahans exists no more (transformed into "Le Clarence de Haut Brion" - terrible name, isn't it?).

It's interesting the names you cited as "second wines" because the owners of La Tour Haut Brion (a former great growth in its own right*), Clos du Marquis, and Alter Ego will all fall over themselves telling you that these are NOT second wines.

Not that they are very convincing...

There *are* some disappointing 2nd wines out there. For sure. But some real winners too! I would definitelyi add Les Tours de Longueville to that list.

Best regards,
Alex R.

* Since incorporated into La Mission Haut Brion and the second wine thereof, without the proportions exactly stipulated...

[Bacchus]

On the affordable side of Pomerol is Chateau La Pointe, supposedly on the up swing since 08. HWSRN gave the 09 a 91, WS gave it 92.

[Winesense]

Ever tried Lalande Pomerol? The are some prperties run by great winemakers. The obvious choice is La Fleur de Bouard by Hubert de Bouard (Angelus). But also famous
Denis Durantou runs Les Cruzzels. http://www.thewinecellarinsider.com/bor ... eaux-wine/. BTW: The petit Eglise is a great second Label.

[OrlandoRobert]

Hey hey, my local retailer B21 just got in the 2010 La Gravette for $50 USD. I'm a buyer!