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+--- Forum: Bordeaux (https://www.wines.com/wineboard/forum-18.html)
+--- Thread: my favorites from a bordeaux grand tasting (/thread-6285.html)
- newsguy - 04-30-2002
Tasted a little more than half of the 50 or so bordeauxs Sunday at my regular wine shop, B-21. Up until this point, I’d only tried about a half-dozen bordeauxs, and no first-growths, so this was a very educational afternoon. No tasting notes, but here are my favorites, in descending order of preference. I rate all of them very good+ to outstanding wines (w/ the top 3 potential to be classics):
1999 L’Evangile (88-92 RP) $149.99
1998 Monsbousquet (94 RP) $69.99
1999 Lafite Rothschild (93-95 RP) $149.99
1998 Margaux (91+ RP) $159.99
1998 Palmer (91 RP) $79.99
1998 Latour (91+ RP) $149.99
1999 Clinet (88-92 RP) $79.99
1998 Pavie Decesse (91+ RP) $69.99
1998 Leoville Barton (90-92 ST) $49.99
1998 Petit Cheval Blanc (89 WS) $56.99
1998 Roc de Cambes, Cotes de Bourg (91 RP) $44.99
And in the bargain, I-can-actually-afford-these range, my favorites were:
1998 Cotes de Baleau (91 WS) $19.99
1999 Roland La Garde Grand Vin $19.99
As you can see, these are all very young wines. My favorite wine of the day was the 99 L’Evangile. Not a first-growth, but certainly a first-growth price ($149). I was a little underwhelmed by my first taste of first-growths. I know these weren’t great vintages, but I was expecting a little more. I think my ratings of them would improve as they age, especially the Lafite Rothschild. (Caveat: I've never had an aged bordeaux.) This wine seemed to be the best made of all that I tasted, but a couple are drinking better now.
Random notes: My second favorite of the day and perhaps the best bargain (at $69) was the 98 Monbousquet - an excellent wine that already is drinking wonderfully. In the nearly-too-close-to-call department, I had to taste the 98 Margaux and Palmer twice to decide which I preferred. The Margaux had more complexity and would probably age better, but at half the price ($79 vs. $159), the Palmer, for me, is the better buy. I was really looking forward to trying the 98 Smith Haut Lafite. WS gave it a 94, and at $49.99 it was priced to where I could maybe splurge and buy a bottle or two to age. While it was a nice wine, I didn’t think it came close to meriting the score (I’d give it an 89-90), and others there agreed. In all, I became familiar with the nuances of the different regions, had some very nice wines, and reinforced that my preference is for California cabs.
P.S. If you make large bordeaux purchases, you might want to consider attending this event next year as they roll out the 2000s. On Sunday, they were offering 20 percent discounts on total purchases of $500 or more. if you buy a couple cases of the big boys, you've more than recouped the cost of your plane ticket. and grabbing a lafite rothschild at $119 a bottle is pretty appealing, no?
FYI: just looked up scores on these wines and just added them.
[This message has been edited by newsguy (edited 04-30-2002).]
- wondersofwine - 04-30-2002
Thanks for the benefit of your notes.
- winoweenie - 04-30-2002
Newfeller. Did you mean to say that the 2000 Lafite Rothschild is being sold for 119? If so, this is the lowest price in the whole UsofA. I've purchased lots of 2000 futures on their first tranch and have never seen this pricing. If it is true, have the store send me the info and I'll give that lil' sucker some Biz. Oh, and by the way, L'Evangile is considered a first growth by people in the know. No Pomerol is rated in the French Classification, nor for that matter any St Emilions', but the most expensive and most sought after wines are from these 2 appellations. WW
[This message has been edited by winoweenie (edited 04-30-2002).]
- newsguy - 04-30-2002
weener,
if they were offering 2000 lafite futures at $119 per, i'd be on my way to being a rich man :-) sorry if i got you hot and bothered. actually, $119 was the tasting special 20 percent off discount from their regular $149 price for the 1999 bottling. B-21 is currently offering the 2000 futures at $349. i'm not sure what they opened at (i think it might have been $299). as for whether they'll be offering such a deep discount at next year's tasting, who knows. anyhow, their website is:
http://www.b-21.com/
the owner is bob sprentall: BobS@B-21.com
i know he's going to spain on tuesday for a 10-day tasting/buying trip, but he'll be back after that.