Bordeaux Wine Enthusiasts

Comte Flaneur

Excellent detailed notes Nick for three legendary wines. In my experience the Palmer was effectively shut down until only very recently and the LLC and Latour have been more approachable but they are all still basically on the upslope or the early stages of their arc of maturity. Hopefully will be t...

Comte Flaneur

Oh no! Sorry to hear that

I acquired a batch of those and so far so good

But with a 47 yo it is a bit of a lottery

Comte Flaneur

I posted this on the UK wine forum last night and got a huge response, so I thought I would replicate that here. In the UK forum Bordeaux hardly gets a look in and burgundy is clearly king of the castle, with notably strong showings by German riesling, Spanish rioja and some South African wines. I w...

Comte Flaneur

I have wondered about those photos too. As it happens, I had the 1966, 1986 and 2009 Gruaud Larose side-by-side two weeks ago. All of them were excellent or better. To my surprise, however, the consensus favorite was the 1966, which I had been concerned would be in severe decline. It was lovely! Ha...

Comte Flaneur

Last time I had this wine was in August in London when Joel was here.

It was brilliant - I don’t remember it tightening up but I do remember it running rings around a by comparison out of sorts 2005 Haut-Bailly - iirc I gave the 2000 94 pts

Comte Flaneur

Comte, Great review of the 85s and couldn't disagree with your assessments. One comment is regarding LLC. For me this is a perennial disappointment. I've never been wowed by this wine and all I ever hear in reviews(my own included) is it needs more time!!! I don't mind hearing the wine is drinking ...

Comte Flaneur

I don't have any of your 2014 Giacosa Nic - may be you left it somewhere else? But I do remember drinking much older Giacosa with you and your lovely family, and I still haven't drunk those two lovely bottles of claret you kindly gave me - 95 Haut-Bailly and the 02 Pichon Lalande. Hi Ian. I checked...

Comte Flaneur

Very nice report Ian. Again from that read, the conclusion on the 1985 is that balance is the key to longevity. Some of the wines like Gruaud, LLC, Mission Haut Brion or Pichon Lalande seem to be good forever. But i find you a bit tough on 1985 LLC not being ready… i will possibly open a bottle of ...

Comte Flaneur

Thanks for the report, Comte. I have exactly one bottle of 1985 Bordeaux - a magnum of Pichon Lalande. I probably should drink it soon, but the first magnum drunk three years ago was still quite youthful. Hi JC ... we did not have that in our line up, but from what I have heard, and experienced, yo...

Comte Flaneur

Very nice report Ian. Again from that read, the conclusion on the 1985 is that balance is the key to longevity. Some of the wines like Gruaud, LLC, Mission Haut Brion or Pichon Lalande seem to be good forever. But i find you a bit tough on 1985 LLC not being ready… i will possibly open a bottle of ...

Comte Flaneur

I think it does particularly well in non-trophy/less celebrated/cinderella vintages like 1994, 1999, 2002, 2004, 2008, 2014, 2017...

Comte Flaneur

My theory is that Leoville Barton gets slightly better with each passing decade. The 1985 we had two days ago was very good and probably the strongest Leoville Barton from the 1980s - certainly better than the 1982 - though 1989 would run it close (and 1990 too). I am half way through my first of tw...

Comte Flaneur

At Piccolino restaurant in London EC2, 4/17/25 2008 Moet Chandon This has a recognisable mass produced Moet Chandon signature. It is a crowd pleasing formulaic style but I found it a little bit on the sweet side for my liking. Very different creature to the much more serious and brooding 2008 DP. Lo...

Comte Flaneur

The United States is no longer a safe country to visit

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/202 ... d-deported

Comte Flaneur

Sorry I wont be able to join you all, it looks like you have a fabulous line up in the making

Comte Flaneur

Maybe we should also be buying the 2023?

https://www.frw.co.uk/editorial/what-li ... h-montrose?

Comte Flaneur

I never got on with the 2004 Marc.
The 2001 got some great reports but some complain it is still not ready. Haven’t tried it for many a year, nor the 2000 for that matter.
The next one I am going to pop is the 2006, a gift from Joel

Comte Flaneur

Interesting notes Marc - I got on the PYCM bandwagon early but jumped off it quite early when prices really escalated - maybe these wines have too much acidity? - Vaucrains, surely the greatest expression of Chevillon? - Reassuring to see a positive note on 1996 PLL, a wine that seems to have been g...

Comte Flaneur

When I tasted them initially I preferred La Conseillante RP. In fact La Conseillante was iirc my equal favourite 2016 with LLC and PLL, when I first tasted them - the quality across the board was jaw dropping - and that was when I predicted that 2016 was going to be the greatest ever vintage - and w...

Comte Flaneur

Both wines are from the era of Jean-Michel Laporte. He's now at Ch. Talbot. Since 2015, Marielle Cazaux has been playing the strings at LC, and, in my humble opinion, the wines are better. I wouldn’t disagree with that Izak. But I think the 2005, 2010 and 2012 are the best wines he made during his ...

Comte Flaneur

I tried two young vintages of La Conseillante in March and both showed well: 2005 La Conseillante IMG_5103.jpeg I have tried this a few times and it struck me as a really accomplished wine with the structure to age for decades. Since I last tried one a couple of years ago this wine has blossomed and...

Comte Flaneur

One of the merchants here in the UK is offering discounts of up to 49% on the 2021s (Canon and La Mission), 48% on Pichon Lalande and 30-33% on Leoville Barton depending on the format. While I am tempted I am far from ready to dive in because more than anything these discounts reflect how egregiousl...

Comte Flaneur

greatbxfreak wrote: ↑Sat Mar 22, 2025 6:46 am Ian,

Oops, I meant some from the upper shelf, but I admit I was too quick to post my comment. Sorry.

Yes Izak sadly no Cheval Blanc, Ausone or Petrus and the organiser had a biking accident and the bottle of Ch Margaux got smashed

Comte Flaneur

Izak, I saw Magdelaine and La Gaffelière starting flight for the reds. Very nice Comte. From the ready, I feel also that you had a better général résultat of thèse 1975 that expected. Showing that good bottles of 75 deliver a lot. La Mission seems extatic! There is a rumor you would do a visit to L...

Comte Flaneur

greatbxfreak wrote: ↑Fri Mar 21, 2025 8:43 pm No Right Bank wines??

Rtfq

Comte Flaneur

1975s at Noize Restaurant, Fitzrovia Central London To celebrate the birth year of Leon the organiser. Ominously the day before the dinner a cabbie shunted him on to the pavement, which put paid to his bottle of 1975 Chateau Margaux, but fortunately the 1975 Mouton survived. More importantly Leon em...

Comte Flaneur

Gevrey Chambertin 2005 Mes Cinq Terroirs, D. Mortet Bottle (2) 2005 Cuvee de l'Abeille, Domaine Ponsot nl Bottle (1) 2017 Lavaut St. Jacques, L. LeMoine Bottle (1) Chambolle Musigny 1993 1er Cru, J. Drouhin Bottle (2) 1998 La Combe d'Orveau, Vieilles Vignes, B. Clavelier Bottle (2) Nuits St. George...

Comte Flaneur

Ian, You must have some inside information.... I don't believe a single word you are writing. For me, it is sad to see an Englishman influenced by Trump. It is not inside information Izak. Watch the Jeff Sachs video to the European Parliament. Everything he says is verifiable, and can be looked up ...

Comte Flaneur

Folks I'm not arguing for or against any politician, I don't even get to vote anywhere as I'm not a citizen here and am a non-resident in Australia. So I am not on anyone's side nor have I ever been. I DO however shake my head in disbelief at politics pretty well everywhere. Luckily Singapore is on...

Comte Flaneur

I'm glad you liked the 85 Lynch, Jim. That was one of the best bottles that I've had of it. Hopefully the 89 comes out of its weird slumber at some point during my lifetime, but until then I'll happily open more 85's. Ian, while I definitely respect your opinion, I still currently disagree. 1981-19...

Comte Flaneur

Ian, I am no fan of either Trump or Zelenskyy, but I'm a little shocked that you are predicting an assassination. I suppose Iran is as good an excuse as any. Do you really expect it? I do however agree with your point about Zelenskyy - Ukraine was known to be corrupt since the break-up of the old U...

Comte Flaneur

I totally agree with Jim. Mark Corruption in Ukraine - give me a break! Conspiration theories. Ian - conspiration theories! Orange is a bully and has always been like that. No class, no grace. Try to listen to republican senator Becca Balint speech about him in Newsweek - the truth. Taking Greenlan...

Comte Flaneur

That is how the western media is portraying it I spent the last year doing a deep dive into global geopolitics - the truth is very different to what is portrayed in the media To be sure Trump is an evil narcissistic man child but his election was the lesser of two evils If you really want to underst...

Comte Flaneur

Thanks Joel for the great read and vicarious tour of two fascinating nights. Good to see the wheels cranking and the show getting back on the road. There is no sugar coating there, in your notes and scores. I can’t help feeling, aren’t we missing a trick or two by focusing on the same wines from the...

Comte Flaneur

Fabulous occasion Stuart especially for those lucky enough to be invited and great notes too. The only thing I disagreed with was your statement that 1989 Lynch Bages is better than 1989 Lafite, Latour and Mouton. Every bottle from my case of 1989 Mouton has been thrilling. And 1989 Lafite famously ...

Comte Flaneur

It was such a pleasure to meet up again with Howard and Lisa again at the venue of the apotheosis of the March 2023 BWE London convention. They were ‘getting the hell out’ of there during the inauguration week. We had a nice little gathering with Brett and Michelle from Arizona, Howard and Lisa’s fr...

Comte Flaneur

Heart emoji

Peace and goodwill to all men and women

(Belated) Happy Christmas BWE

Comte Flaneur

Thanks guys for the comments This was arranged a good while ago so we weren’t trying to rain on Jim’s parade and Jim I can assure you there is no conspiracy to unseat you. There never has been as far as I am aware. It is all in your mind. You have said on some occasions that you have wanted to step ...

Comte Flaneur

Comte Flaneur

Last night we had dinner at Cabotte in London where we had a BWE event in March 2023. The theme of the dinner was mature first growths, and all of them showed well, and demonstrated the virtue of patience. We had three vintages of Haut-Brion: 1966, 1985 and 1990 and two 1989s: Margaux and Mouton. Th...

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