Bordeaux Wine Enthusiasts

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/12/17/dinin ... ining&_r=0

Alex R.

Lucie and I drank a lot of white Graves years ago. Now the really good ones are not good values, IMO. As expensive as Burgundy is, the QPR is better there. Burgundy continues to have a premox problem, but I was also burned with premoxed Laville Haut-Brion.

At times, I drank Pavillon Blanc, Haut-Brion Blanc, and Fieuzal Blanc in earlier days. But since more than two decades, I'm obsessed with German Weissburgunder. Sauvignon Blanc doesn't appeal to me very much...

A little personal anecdote concerning Haut-Brion Blanc springs to mind: Shortly before Christmas in 1989, I saw a case of 1985 Haut-Brion Blanc for an astonishingly low price in a Supermarket in Saarbrücken. Only DM119,- (Deutsche Mark), just about the equivalent of Euro119,- today.
I seized the opportunity without hesitation and bought the case. A week later, I returned to the well-sorted wine department and saw a new case of this wine, but now for DM1119,-. As it turned out, a new employee of the department simply could not believe that a case of white wine could be that expansive and had modified the price without consulting anyone.

Lol, what a story Rudi!
White Bdx.... Hmm... The ones that truely were great were exensive. Olivier and Carbonnieux are nice weekend sippers for 20+ Eur, but the great ones are too expensive. And they are 'just' white wines in the eyes of many consumers and enthusiasts.

From my perspective, Bordeaux blanc doesn't mean the same thing as to other posters. It's the 5 euro bottle of Entre-Deux-Mers that goes down a treat with my oysters.

Alex R.

Some of my greatest white wine experiences have been with white Bordeaux, with the apex being '89 Haut-Brion Blanc. But pre-mox hit white Bordeaux as hard as white Burgundy at about the same time and the price explosion makes them poor bets. I really miss them, though.

Stuart

I've to say I find some comments here pretty ridiculous.

Premox white Bordeaux?? I haven't experienced this for my 30 years experience in drinking white Bx!

As expensive as white Burgundy. Bull s...White D.d Chevalier, one of Bordeaux's best whites is at least three times less expensive that corresponding white Burgundy.

There're so many low priced white Bxs as Reynon, Clos Floridene, Le Sartre, Couhins Lurton, Brown, Chantegrive Cuvée Caroline (one of the best buys for money), de Cruzeau, de France.

I love the freshness, acidity, crispy taste and purity of white Bx and I love Sauvignon Blanc.

I can't comment from personal experience on premox in white Bdx because I don't drink much of it. But it's not just Burgs that are at risk. I've seen it in white Rhones. And if Stuart says he's seen it in Bordeaux Blanc, I believe it's happening. I wonder if there's a greater risk with wines that make the trans-Atlantic voyage.

With respect to price, it's the Haut Brion Blanc that has gone off the charts. DdC certainly hasn't hit anywhere near those highs.

I've however experienced very few premox white Burgundies the last thirty years, maybe I'm just lucky. 0.1-1% at most.

One more thing - I have opened several bottles of white Bx which tasted oxidized shortly after pulling up the corks. 1/2 - 1 hour later, the oxidized thing was gone away completely! So don't be too quick to judge the wine.

Maybe in northern Europe the premox problem is less serious, Izak. I assure you, Stuart is not alone in experiencing premoxed white Bdx as well as premoxed white Burgundy. Like many Americans, I now buy mostly village white Burgs and drink them young because I am tired of pouring fancy whites down the drain.
In my experience the percentage of premoxed white Burgundy and white Bdx from 1996-2005 is around 25%. I have had some '07 and '08 1er crus that I was glad I was drinking too young as they were beginning to show the problem.

I recommend that you avoid backhand insults, such as suggesting that Stuart is a neophyte. Of course he, as well as I, know to air a white Burgundy, especially when it shows some oxidation.

I think it's possible to mistake the earthy Semillon flavor profile for pre-mox (much like the usual profile of Northern Rhone whites, in my experience) but like sdr, I have experienced white Bordeaux that showed lots of pre-mox. I'll be sure to give the next one I encounter the benefit of some air, but that's hard to do in the real world of opening a white to go with an first course at dinner.