Cal Cabs Thrashed In Decanter!

[Van The Man]

Misterjive -

Pretty hard to argue with anything you said. Especially the "innovative" part.

I can tell you this however. I do agree with the article that many of these wines are somewhat overpriced especially if you are looking at them relative to many Classified Bordeaux and some of the better Cru Bourgeois. And I can also tell you this, it's not the fault necessarily of the wineries, but in fact, the market. WE cause high prices by increasing demand. And franfly, I don't buy the 1st Growth any longer either. Not because of quality but due to the prices. $300 is just not a good price for a bottle of wine for me. :-)

On the subject of ageing, I can't agree that California Cabernet will age as well as Classified Bordeaux. They simply, for the most part, aren't built for it. Sure, there are some, but it's hard to find a bottle of Claret from any of the Classified Chateau that won't go the long haul in a good vintage. Conversely, one has to search a bit for a 20 year wine these days from California. Maybe not 15 years ago, but for today, the wines are, in large part, built for the restaurant crowd who love a young and flashy wine.

One last comment. When Chuck Wagner came out and said he took the huge price increases he did because his wines were "on par" with the 1st Growth Bordeaux, I nearly choked from laughter. May, just maybe his best vintage of Special Select MIGHT match up well with say, a '91 Lafite, a '92 Mouton, an '87 Latour, an '84 Haut Brion or an '80 Margaux, but I'd doubt it. On another page I participate on, we all nearly blew up our PCs laughing at the prospect that Charlie's wines are equal to even some of the Classified Chateau.

Make no mistake about it, the prices are a result of demand, which is how a free market should work and not the result of across the board quality.