Bordeaux Wine Enthusiasts

JonoB

Ian, that's great... Bordeaux whites are seriously underrated. Had some 1998 Larrivet Haut Brion tonight... lovely but perhaps a bit old for its time (I think storage may have been an issue somehow). I still remember a big 82 BX tasting at the Square organised by Shama, where the 82 Pavillon Blanc s...

JonoB

Back in 2008 when I was at Jeroboams we were the UK Importer of Gavoty... for the money a really lovely Rose... I didn't realise it was over in the states. Thanks for the tasting note Nick. Takes me back to waiting in St. John's Wood branch over the summer for customers with a glass in hand worrying...

JonoB

Wonderful descriptions and I concur on the SHLs... going good places. shame they didn't give you any whites. 07 and 10 are magnificent. The 2010 Ducru is superb but as you would call slightly spoofulated. Lynch seems to be stagnating since 08, 09, 10. Haut-Bailly is another estate doing good stuff. ...

JonoB

I love what J-M has done at La Conseillante and hopefully whoever takes over will do as good a job.
I remember two verticals and my visit to taste the 2010 primeurs with him fondly.

JonoB

Its good to be back and posting properly again!!!! Last night, I had the wonderful pleasure of having dinner with Beth Novak Milliken of Spottswoode (as I will be running the Cambridge Uni Wine Soc next year) and then a tasting of her wines (because I had bought a ticket to the Societies tasting tha...

JonoB

I'm another who will jump on the 2001 bandwagon.

I've loved the Right Banks that I have tried and am increasingly coming round to the left bank wines as well.

JonoB

1945 Chateau Mouton Rothschild
1978 Vosne-Romanee 1er Cru "Cros Parantoux"; Henri Jayer
1985 Romanee-Conti; DRC
1947 Barolo "Monfortino" Reserva; Giacomo Conterno
1961 Chateau Cheval Blanc

JonoB

2012 Riesling Trocken, Pfalz; Weingut Mugler olive oil, apples and a delicate fruity character. Oily, with some hints of sesame. Quite round and balanced but not as fresh as I would like. Definitely a modern style with round phenolics. Grapefruit and green apples, some white peach and jasmine. Plen...

JonoB

2007 Bourgogne Rouge; Domaine Anne Gros smoke, meat and a rich textured nose; earth, soil, Indian spices and plenty of depth for a little wine. The oak has really integrated and it is well balanced. Not particularly high acid, cassis, graphite and some raw wild raspberry. Subtle and delicate, from ...

JonoB

2011 Nas del Gegant; DO Conca de Barberà: Celler Escoda-Sanahuja smoke, earth, meat and stewed plum, quite bold and full but with a linear bright acidity that runs underneath holding everything together. It has the "natural" tart apple feel to it. Rich and fruity but racy and lean all at ...

JonoB

Since 2000, 02, 04 and 07 for me. why not 06... 06 was pretty warm ~(in terms of the fruit I am finding in the wines). Case in point. We received some samples of 06, 07 and 09 Fleur Cardinale the other day. 06 and 09 were licquorice and cola infused messes, whereas the 07 showed terroir and breeding...

JonoB

Congrats...

Praying al goes smoothly.

JonoB

AlexR wrote:Wine and food: I just love a good Port and a well-aged English farmhouse cheddar.

Alex R;

Non, Monsieur le port est pour le roquefort ou les stilton ou les stichelton's!

JonoB

Musigny, I think you have made some good points. If there isn't a good source of anything mature, how can a restaurant buy it and cellar it. It is different if the wine is incredibly rare, not too expensive and key to the list. There are some wines that we buy, but in tiny quantities such as rare Bu...

JonoB

I think California has banned the "sale" but not consumption of it, but then all you need to do is drive to another state to pick some up.
I don't know if that includes movement and shipping (i.e. buy in neighbouring state and then have then send it to you)??

JonoB

To add, Ossobucco on a bed of Saffron Risotto and Crociani Vino Nobile di Montepulciano Riserva 06 the other night was pretty special.

JonoB

Passion-fruit SOuffle (the first incarnation when the Ledbury was still a one star) and 99 Rieussec.

That wine was made for that dish, and is indelibly etched on my brain.
Each component lacked what the other had, and so the two together lifted the whole to an infinitely higher plane of existence.

JonoB

My only Petrus was the 78 and it was stupendous. Have tried it twice within a week as well from different sources! Nothing else, and it remains in my top 5 wines ever drunk! 64 La Conseillante is a fantastic wine and whilst I love the estate until recently, there isn't the consistency to make it my ...

JonoB

Tough one, but I'm going to go a bit left-field and say: Domaine Rossignol-Trapet. Not because they are the greatest wines, but Nicolas Rossignol is an absolute gent, and you can pick up his superb Chambertin in the most recent bottle vintage for less than Euro 100 a bottle (09 was about 89 a bottle...

JonoB

I'm surprised that the BWE didn't know about the blending of previous vintages. It was originally allowed to beef up poor vintages. So a 91 would have some 90 in it to keep it from being awful. Well 92 is just pants! 93 is thus clearly a bit better, and then 94 is better still. Of course, someone un...

JonoB

Mao Feng Co-op, Keemun 397 (lowest grade of this black tea style, brewed for three minutes at 73 degrees Celsius): clean, crisp, camphor and tea tree mushroom. Plenty of dried plum and earth, oxidative and fairly fresh. Hints of grass and spice, nutmeg and almond. Good breathe... Very pleasant but ...

JonoB

2010 Plantagenet Riesling, Mount Barker, Western Australia lemons, lines and ripe apples, quite full and broad, good acidity and metallic bite, with hints of minerals, almost slaty but it is all about fruit. A hint of angostura bitter and biting fresh lemons and a sort of lemon cheese cake note. A ...

JonoB

94s from Pomerol are excellent and underrated. Saint-Emilion, I am less convinced by. I tried the 2010 twice, and whilst the second showing was infinitely more enjoyable as they hasn't overdone the oak, the rate of development in two years in barrel hints at Barosan Shiraz and not of the highest ord...

JonoB

I guess so. I had always wandered why I would have mild attacks with some wines, and then when I was doing some winemaking in Burgundy, I was told to smell some sulphur (used in winemaking, so not naturally occurring) as a safety precaution so we could clean up or keep people away when there was som...

JonoB

All a bit of fun when I read that Yquem would not make a 2012.

JonoB

The 1s are probably the worst.

0s and 6s looking like the best selection.

JonoB

Jeff, I think you might want to clarify. You are talking about Grand vin. Alex is talking about total production at each property. These are two entirely different things. Alex is on the ground, and translates work for a lot of top estates. He lives and breathes the air there, and the Feret info is ...

JonoB

AlohaArtakaHoundsong wrote:Camensac's a 5th Growth! Rolland used to consult there!

All the moe reason not to get excited by it...

JonoB

Alex, very correct, but don't worry in burgundy, Bordeaux is more expensive than in Bordeaux. Perhaps because there is so little available. I still remember picking up 2004 Poujeaux from L'Eclerc in 2011 for Euro 17! I have even heard stories from sales people that Mssr. Borie has often called up to...

JonoB

Well, OK, there are some anomalies... but think. 70, 80 (not a disaster), 90, 00, 10 71, 81, 91, 01, 11 (all average to decently underrated; many of the top wines are still lovely) 82 (an anomaly) but 72, 92, 02, 12 (No Yquem) 73 (good at Mouton, ;) ), 83 (good in places), 93 (good in places), 03 (e...

JonoB

Alex, You have made some fair points, but one has to remember that that wine retails for 10 euros in the region of origin. As a rouge calculation to the UK, and translated into retail prices in US$, that bottle now costs $20 retail. More than double what you have paid for it. This is based on assumi...

JonoB

Surely the question should be: "have you had a $30 or less bottle of Bordeaux that was super for the money?" The question as it is doesn't lead you to the necessary conclusions. Are we talking about the local wine shop collection? Or are we talking about the whole of Bordeaux. The great gr...

JonoB

I'm pretty sure that it was Lascombes was sold to a pension plan or something of that ilk in 2011/2012. It was certainly for sale in April 2011. Lagrange has been owned by suntory since about 1980. That was a property that became a lot more-interesting and not stupidly priced after the takeover. So ...

JonoB

With or without the meteorite... living without precocious vintages of Mouton & Lafite would be a disaster in our household, so my answer is the same for both!

JonoB

I sold my soul many years ago...
I drink Bordeaux to remind myself that I once had one!!

JonoB

There was a dog point tasting of all their wines, there was so much sulphur I could hardly breathe, but with the older bottlings, it had blown off and they were superb. Strangely if I know to expect lots of sulphur (say young Prüm) it doesn't have the same affect. I'm no scientist but perhaps the br...

JonoB

I have to say that my go to is usually Pauillac. I like the minty-structured nature of the wines. The quality levels are high across the board as well.

How many Croizet-Bages types appear in other appelations? Far more than in Pauillac, but then other areas can show their magic as well.

JonoB

With all the wine you taste as part of the job, Jono, and the supposed link between sulfites and your asthma, it's a wonder you can ever catch your breath! David, It is a problem, but I can pretty much pick up the free SO2 on the nose, and then try and swirl it away. If it has reduced into the wine...

JonoB

I don't think it is particularly exciting. Don't get me wrong, there are gems, but the majority are going to be dull as dishwater. This is no different to any other region in the world... luckily my job involves tasting all this dishwater, so that you don't have to!!

JonoB

As you all know... I like natural wines. For two reasons: 1) Free SO2, i.e. not when it has reductive flavours, bring on my asthma, and so I tend to notice it very quickly and am very sensitive to it. 2) there is something endearing and charming about the wines, I feel them to be "fairly honest...

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