Classified Bordeaux's

Rob,

You can use www.wine-searcher.com to check prices across the markets. There is likely to be a wide range on the prices as the classified growths do not always come through single distribution channels.

Probably more than you want to study but left bank and right bank are regularly broken apart for vintage comparisions. The sides are also part of the difference between the amount of cabernet versus merlot.

Not on your list but every bit in the same first growth category, if not even held in higher esteem, are Le Pin and Petrus. Probably far beyond the level of pain you are willing to endure.

An alternative would be to go for Chateau d'Yquem. It will age over very long times. Available in half bottles so the cost would stay in range.

For source material to determine what Bordeaux might be over achievers and under performers look for Robert Parker's Wine Advocate and even Wine Spectator. Read the description and not just the scores. Since you are doing this as a commemorative for the birth you need to be especially concerned for the maturity in 20+ years.

Jeff

 

Was there a question or a comment in all that?

 

Hey Rob - is your intent to celebrate to keep to drink or to be a gift to her once she turns 21?

The think to do used to be to buy En-primeur - which is literally a wine future, good wine merchants can arrange that kind of thing for you. However since the 2000 vintage there hasn't really been a saving - that may of course change with this economy!

Have you drunk any of the 1st growths? One positive side effect of the challenge series has been a number of (expensive!) dinners that featured many of the wines on this list, including one dinner where we had two different vintages of Haut-Brion They are all interesting wines, but with the cost of them you need to be ready to store them properly so they don't spoil, especially if you plan to keep for 20 years.

I'm a fan of Pichon Lalande which you should be able to buy in the 60-80$ a bottle range, my current favorite of bordeaux style is actually a tuscan wine - Ornellaia, fabulous stuff at about 175$ a bottle.

I would recommend trying a few of these

 

Not on your list of Premiere Gran Cru but should be is Pavie. Excellent year to year. No doubt the 2006 will be another wine-of-the-vintage contender. I haven't seen prices vary much from store to store (or auction), but occasionally Buckley offers a deal on new vintages. Cheers!

::JK::
www.winecomplements.net

 

A habitual overachiever is Lynch Bages. A fifth growth that should not still be classified that low.

Pavie has been controversial because they are noted for making a bit more in the new world style.

At the prices you give for the d'Yquem those should be 750s. Check for 375s as they will be substantially less. It is tough to drink a whole 750 of d'Yquem as it is best for appetizers or desert.

Chateau Margaux is really nice and mostly/all merlot. We've still got a 1983 in the cellar.

Dan360 has a good point about looking beyond France. Sassacia, Ornellia and the Gaja wines, all from Italy, are superb.

We are doing a big tasting in St. Louis on the 24th and 25th where some great wines from around the world are being poured.

Jeff

 

I like wine and not to be a snob, but Bordeaux are for show... the realy good wines and expensive are in burgandy.... I would reccomend a case of chambertin clos de Bez from Labour Roi et fils... might be $1500 to $2k for 1997 or a bit more for 1995.... you can keep the wine for ever, and it ACTUALLY gets better... with modern bordeaux they are designed to be consumed within the first 5- 10 years of production and trail off. since they stopped using sulfites as a preservative they just dont last as long.

that being said a 1982 0r 85 Laffite is a thing of beauty!!!

if you are going to buy a birth year, you could always buy a pipe of port from Qinto do Noval.... they will store and ship as you need... that is a very classic first born wine thing to do

Yquen is fantasitc, but for the money not really worth it unless you realy like sweet wine... you can keep Yquem for a long time, but its an acquired thing. ... I love it... had a 1967 ( my birth year ) for new years two years ago with Foie Gras ...yummmeeee!!!!!!!!!!

 

Rob,

05 prices are dropping. Wine Exchange in Orange is a good source.. Good prices and service......

I would go 05... jmo

 

Oops sorry I missed the birth year!!

 

Rob,
Having visited the Bordeaux several times, and most grandcru Chateaux.
I hope she learns to appreciate the wine you appreciate.

Would be kind of disapointing in time when she doesn't like a Bordeaux

Personally, I prefer several lower cru's The grandcrus are to commercial!

Best experience in the Bordeaux?
November, 1990 a cru bourgeois estate. We had roasted beef from a fire from wood of the trimmed vineyard, in the attic of a 200 year old barn with the smell of fermenting wine coming from open brickstone tanks below. A few glassed of the wine of the house made it feel like Heaven!
Experiences like this make you appreciate wine more than just drinking it.. talking with the patron about his passion is priceless, its better than taking a guided tour at Mouton Rothschild!

For the price of 2 cases grandcrus, you can present her a trip into the culture of wine for her 18th birthday, and that is something she will probably never forget!

Its about the wine, and enjoying it, not the name on the bottle...

 

If I'm following the jist, you want to lay down a bottle for the birth year of your daughter?

I'd suggest a single bottle of D'Yquem for a girl: The romantic aspect is that it is sweet like a little girl and the practical is that at 21 years of age (assuming that is the event you open it for), your daughter will actually like it, as opposed to a fine Bordeaux, which may not be as enjoyable to the younger female palate.

For a boy, any from your list of first growths would be outstanding. Me: I'd do Cheval Blanc, from St. Emilion. Since you will be opening this with a 21 year old man, you can have something less delicate, but it won't go as far, so you either have to drink a celebratory bottle alone with your son before the celebration or lay down a case, which could get pricey. I'd go with the former, drink it with him alone, or include Mom as well. Either way, the moment will be more special and memorable than with a larger group.

I don't think you mentioned St. Emilion in your original post, so here they are categorized:

St Emilion

1er Grand Cru Classé A:
Ch. Ausone
Ch. Cheval Blanc

1er Grand Cru Classé B:
Ch. Angélus
Ch. Beau-Séjour-Bécot
Ch. Beauséjour
Ch. Belair
Ch. Canon
Clos Fourtet
Ch. Figeac
Ch. La Gaffelière
Ch. Magdelaine
Ch. Pavie
Ch. Trottevieille

Grand Cru Classé:
Ch. Bellevue
Ch. Canon-la-Gaffelière
Ch. Fonroque
Ch. Grand Corbin Despagne
Ch. Grand Mayne
Ch. Larcis Ducasse
Ch. Larmande
Clos de l'Oratoire
Ch. Pavie-Macquin
Ch. Troplong-Mondot

Grand Cru:
Ch. Faugères
Ch. La Tour Figeac
Ch. Rol Valentin
Ch. Teyssier

 

Great suggestion!

 

Brilliant, both the suggestion and the wine. The content of my wine refrigerator is 98% reds, but d'Yquem is nectar...and I often describe it as flowers in bottle.

For whatever reason, 1986 has always been a favorite!

Rob, best to you and your lucky daughter!

 

I don't think you will find any Margaux or Rothschild etc. for under $200. But that is what I recommend. Instead of a case of a lesser wine, I would buy as much 1er Crus that you can afford. Half a case perhaps? I don't trust Jim or Brian with alcohol as far as I could throw them. I'll store the case for you.

2000 or 2005 should be way better than the '06, but the birth year is a great idea. I had a '66 (birth year) Lafite Rothschild a few years ago for my birthday and it was great, but it would never stand up to a '61 for example. My point is the significance of the birth year out weighs the better vintage.

 

As above, the best time to buy Bordeaux is En Primeur which was in the Spring of 2007 for 2006 vintage. You buy based on the barrel tastings from the wine gurus. Many find that Parker likes big & bold & all of his recommendations are tainted by this. Wine Spectator is also prone to falling into this trap too. They both also tend to be very optimistic in their ‘drink now’ suggestions. Decanter is more traditional.

Here is a link to Decanter’s barrel tasting report for 2006 Bordeaux:

http://www.decanter.com/recommendations/recommendation.php?rid=456

A lot of reading but it might help you choose. Right Bank wines – Pomerol, Saint-Emilion - seem to have fared better than the Left Bank.

If you must have Left Bank (your first list above – the 1855 classification) some of the best buys are often the second wines from a First Growth – Les Fort de Latour, Carruades de Lafitte-Rothschild, Pavillion Rouge, Clos de Marquis etc. They are made in the same Chateau as the greats but from lesser vines on their property.

For Bordeaux (or any wine), the big names will always have a decent product. But you will often find wines as good or better if you do some research & buy as an educated buyer.

Ian

 

En Primeur is futures. You buy in the spring following the vintage (while the wine is still in barrels) & take delivery 2 years later. This is how wine merchants buy. The 2006s will be released over the summer.

Ian

 

True but . . . how was the wine kept? Was it cellared properly all of those years? Was it sitting upright & in the sun on some bozos shelf for 1/2 its life? It's a roll of the dice. When it's in your own cellar (or cooler) you know. But futures can be a bit of a risk too. Wine prices for any given year may rise or fall depending upon how the vintage is perceived over the years. I buy futures just to ensure supply. I don't buy quantity every year, I buy quality.

Ian