I hate prosecutors... But I LOVE 2014 Lafon Rochet.

[JimHow]

Being a criminal defense lawyer in this day and age is a really, really tough job.
The criminal courts are really unfair, skewed in favor of the police and prosecutor.
But, hey, nobody said life was fair. And every once in a while you have weeks like the past one, when your crush these assholes, and you defend the abject poor with every ounce you have, for inadequate compensation, and you kick their asses... yet again. These assholes must be REALLY getting tired of losing to me.

And then you reward yourself with a nice Bordeaux and a steak. Tonight, a 2014 Lafon Rochet that is absolutely spectacular. Not yet closed up, dense, black/purple, just so refined, rich, full, so youthful but showing so much promise. Wow. Even better than I remember it from a year ago. This wine is great. Great finish. I have about a dozen bottles left in my cellar and I'm glad I do. Great Bordeaux, and it just confirms even more the quality of 2014. I think this is an excellent/outstanding vintage, at least on the left bank I want to say, but, damn, that 2014 Tour St. Christophe was great, even better than the '15 if you ask me.

2014 Lafon Rochet: 95 points.

[Gerry M.]

Jim, great to read your comments on this. The one bottle I've opened was close to as you described and am happy to have six more. I only wish now I had grabbed more at just under $35/bottle. St. Estephe really hit on all cylinders in 2014 between Lafon Rochet, Calon Segur and Meyney for outstanding value.

[JimHow]

I agree, Gerry, we got some excellent 2014s at great prices last year in NH.
The northern Medoc is a particular sweet spot in 2014.
I really expected this to have shut down but to the contrary it was singing.

[robertgoulet]

Great price on this $39.99 local

[Nicklasss]

Nice report Jim. Maybe I should buy more 2014. I don't know what happened in Québec with the 2014 Crus Classée, but almost none available. I'll check for good Crus Bourgeois.

Nic

[JimHow]

2014 Lafon Rochet is a Nicola kind of wine, Nicola.
Gerry and I were really lucky late last year, NH had some excellent deals on quality 2014s that were on sale.
I'm just so impressed by that vintage.

[Comte Flaneur]

Presumably this wine is automatically disqualified as a contender for BWE 2018 woty?

[JimHow]

Ha not at all Comte.
It really is one of those wines that combines the best of the modern winemaking world while still maintaining a very characteristic northern Medoc profile.

[Nicklasss]

Just ordered a single bottle of 2014 Château Deyrem Valentin (Margaux) and a single of 2014 Château de Pez (Saint-Estèphe).

We'll see what these 2014 have to offer.

Nic

[JimHow]

I have like 20 bottles of 2014 Calon Segur, I'll bring you one when I see you.

[marcs]

I nominate this post for 2018 BWE Subject Line of the Year

How good is Calon Segur really in 2014? Some of the critics said it was overextracted/too heavy

[Racer Chris]

How good is Calon Segur really in 2014? Some of the critics said it was overextracted/too heavy

Blanquito and I both like it.

[jckba]

I thought it was very good too when I tasted it at Zachys last December and while it was ripe I would not use the word overextracted or heavy in describing this wine.

2014 Calon Segur - my 1st taste of this and it did not disappoint, killer nose of tobacco and briary fruit while ripe and tart on the palate (94-96)

[AlohaArtakaHoundsong]

I had a $9.99 2014 Ch. l'Argenteyre (Medoc) last night, sourced from Costco. If this is anything representative there are going to be some very fine northern Medocs out of this vintage. Full, structured, ripe and dry. Blew away expectations. There is no way I would have guessed this was from a "lesser" vintage (compared to 09, 10, 15 etc.). It actually reminded me of LR, or at least something like Lilian Ladouys.

[marcs]

As usual you guys have loosened my inhibitions and destroyed my willpower. Picked up two bottles of Calon Segur at what I believe is the national low price ($62/bottle).

[RPCV]

Best 4 year stretch ever for red Bordeaux starting with ‘14. Just saying....

[Blanquito]

Best 4 year stretch ever for red Bordeaux starting with ‘14. Just saying....

Is '17 supposed to be good too?

[Blanquito]

How good is Calon Segur really in 2014? Some of the critics said it was overextracted/too heavy

Blanquito and I both like it.

I was pretty wowed by the bottle of the 2014 Calon that Jim opened in BWE SanFran 2017.

But I think the best play of the 2014 vintage is probably the Leoville Barton, which I recently bought for $59/bottle including shipping.

[JimHow]

They had a warm September in 2014.

[Racer Chris]

But I think the best play of the 2014 vintage is probably the Leoville Barton, which I recently bought for $59/bottle including shipping.

How did you get a price that low for L. Barton? At $81 I wasn't willing to buy more than one. I'm able to get L Poyferre for $63 which is reasonable.
Don't overlook Domaine de Chevalier either.

[Blanquito]

I got it at WineConsignors in the LA area, found using Wine-Searcher. They have a "make me an offer" option on their website, so when I said I wanted at case at $55, they countered with $59/bottle with free shipping (they did charge me $10 for the wine shipper box later, but still a great deal). Their website shows they have more still at $61 (before using the "make me an offer" option): https://wineconsigners.com/products/201 ... on-6-750ml

One note of caution: at least previously, they had a strict policy of requiring immediate shipping upon purchasing, so I only buy from them when it is still cool enough to ship. I suggest calling before buying to confirm they'll hold for free in temperature controlled conditions until ~October.

[JCNorthway]

So Colorado is one of the few remaining states that allows wine shipments from out-of-state retailers? I think I will need to factor that into my deliberation about where I will consider living after I retire . . .

[Racer Chris]

I got it at WineConsignors in the LA area, found using Wine-Searcher. They have a "make me an offer" option on their website, ...

A great deal for folks on the left side but not something most New Englanders can take advantage of - although at $61, if you're up for buying a case and willing to spring for upgraded shipping it's still an excellent opportunity.
Another 2014 St Julien I like, and can get at a great price ($45) is the second wine of Ducru Beaucaillou - La Croix.

Edited to add:
Oh, I'm also happy buying Talbot and Branaire at $45 per.

[Blanquito]

So Colorado is one of the few remaining states that allows wine shipments from out-of-state retailers? I think I will need to factor that into my deliberation about where I will consider living after I retire . . .

This situation is changing rapidly and it is very dependent on the risk tolerance of the store. It seems that UPS will no longer ship wine at all to Colorado from anywhere, so the shops that still ship here all now use FedEx or other means (see below). A few big retailers Cali will no longer ship to CO at all via common carriers, and most retailers in NY will not ship to CO at all anymore (yet a few smaller operations in NY will). Hart Davis Hart will no longer ship to CO, but some other big stores in Illinois will.

One remedy is that many shops are now using "third party" shippers to send wine shipments. I've found this to be no more expensive than FedEx or UPS, but the hassle is higher (it takes longer sometimes 2+ weeks, you have less control over where it is routed through so it could get cooked in Texas which happened to a friend's shipment). It's bad enough that I won't buy from most shops now, which is ok since I'm trying to buy less wine.

Folks in the "know" claim that things will get worse before they get better, and they predict that shops which still use FedEx to ship to most states will soon be out of luck as well. Wine could end up stranded in California, etc.

[JimHow]

I think the price we ended up paying for 2014 in New Hampshire was about $67 on sale.
I agree, it is a stunner.

[AKR]

I believe you Blanquito.

If I was living in the American West, within 1000 miles of say Bay Area or LA Basin, I'd just plan on finding stores that will do some 3-6m storage and once a year plan on a mega road trip with a truck. That is assuming you are still buying huge quantities.

======

I'm still chewing through lots of older years of Lafon Rochet though, so don't need any more!

[William P]

Jim, I agree with both your points.

Bill

[JimHow]

This new breed of prosecutors watches too much TV Bill.
There are some bad apples.

[AlohaArtakaHoundsong]

I believe you Blanquito.

If I was living in the American West, within 1000 miles of say Bay Area or LA Basin, I'd just plan on finding stores that will do some 3-6m storage and once a year plan on a mega road trip with a truck. That is assuming you are still buying huge quantities.

======

I'm still chewing through lots of older years of Lafon Rochet though, so don't need any more!

Some Hennessey lover in NY just tried that at several New Hampshire state liquor stores. He was followed by NY revenue agents scrupulously to each one and arrested as soon as he made the NY state line.

[marcs]

especially if you have any ability to acccess national low prices, this would be an incredible time to be building up a collection. So many fantastic Bordeaux in the $55-65 range, and if you go up to the $100-160 range and shop wisely you can get wines that probably would have been considered first growth quality back in the day. Problem is I'm a little too old for it; I will be in my mid-60s by the time 2014s are ready and not sure I can count on the 2016s being ready for me at all. Plus I already have enough wine given my fairly low rate of consumption.

Still I did splurge (for me) on 2014s...21 bottles of good stuff, plus I got in on some of those 2015 Margaux.