Bordeaux Newbie

I am a newbie to old world wines. I’ve been drinking a lot of Cali cab’s for the past couple years. My preferences have changed since I first started drinking wines. I use to exclusively drink Pinot Noir’s from Oregon. A friend of ours ordered a Cali Bordeaux blend a few weeks ago at dinner (09 Dominus), and we really enjoyed it. My wife and I have been watching some documentaries on Netflix (A Year in Burgundy and Red Obsession) and this has sparked some additional interest in giving a try at some French wines. There is just so much out there and I have no clue where to start. Can you guys recommend some Bordeaux’s that are easily to find and priced under $40? Thanks in advance for the recommendation!

Wow, huge question, but overall I’d suggest sticking with the really good vintages, in lesser houses/regions, like Pessac-Leognan or Fronsac. More well known regions have plenty of lesser houses that produce great wine in great vintages, too. I’ve heard Château Capbern-Gasqueton recommended quite a bit, and I purchased some 2010 on those recommendations, but haven’t tried it yet. Château La Vieille Cure is always a good value, and Larcis Ducasse used to be a great value, but no longer…

A couple favs that may be under $40 in some/most vintages:
Chateau Poujeaux
Sociando-Mallet

Sociando-Mallet is a good call if you can get a good vintage under $40

Brian/Todd thanks for the recommendations. I’m guessing 09,10,11 and 12’s are good years?

For sure the first three, not sure about 12, but don’t forget to look at backfilling - some good prices on 2000’s and 2005’s right now, and those are great years of relatively recent vintage

I have not had enough 10s, 11s, or 12s to form an opinion. 2009 is a ripe year and many of the wines are closer to new world than would normally be expected. They are good wines for sure but maybe not as much a contrast to California than other vintages.

I like Ch. Meyney and Ch. La Louviere. A cheaper alternative to the latter is Ch. Rochemorin.

I have often found Chateau La Tour de Mons in Margaux to be a good deal for what it delivers in your price range.

Vintage styles vary a LOT in Bordeaux, as the weather isn’t as uniformly warm as California. The higher rated vintages tend to be riper and more accessible young. But some highly rated vintages might also be tannic and need 15 years to come around (the best examples might need 25 :slight_smile: ). You can check the “Vintage Rating” page on the www.erobertparker.com website for an overview. This part of the site is for free.

The wines also tend to be less open than American Cabs, so more breathing time is usually needed.

I’m also a newbie and when looking at labels is Grand Cru
Classe supposedly better than Grand Vin de Bordeaux?

Today I bought a bottle of 2005 Clos los Lunelles and it said Grand Vin. I mainly went by the year thinking it was a good vintage. I wanted something that wasn’t to new and hopefully drinkable now.

Grand Vin just means it is the 1st wine of the estate. So Chateau Mouton Rothschild is the Grand Vin, and Le Mouton de Chateau Mouton Rothschild is the 2nd wine. So Bordeaux estates will often put Grand Vin on their labels if they make more than one wine to indicate which is their “best” wine.

Grand Crus Classes is a quality assessment of the Right Bank properties. Under the new system there are four "Premiers Grands Crus Classes (A) properties, a dozen or so "Premiers Grands Crus Classes (B) properties, and maybe 40-50 “Grands Crus Classes” properties. However, sometimes used to refer to the classed growth left bank properties as well (from the 1855 classification)

You might have to do some shopping around, but I think the best red Bordeaux in the $30-$50 range is Cantemerle, Potensac, Siran, Clarke, Clos Floridene rouge, and Ormes de Pez (2005 Ormes de Pez can be had for $40, and is an absolute steal, though it is in a bit of a closed phase).

I’d recommend a more interesting area, like Italy.

Learned a lot in this post and I just watched those documentaries on netflix and they are very interedting

I would take your $40 and go to look for some older bottles from average years at auction. I’ve been able to get some 3rd-5th growths from the 80’s for around 45-55. You’ll get great bottles that cost more to buy the current vintages.

I’m new and would like to know how and where to find these wine auctions? And are they in every state? I am in Dallas. Thanks

Www.winebid.com

Best way to start out until you’re in a situation where you want to buy larger volumes.

I would recommend getting a few older bottles of interesting wines to see what you like once it’s matured. That strategy worked well for me.

best bet is to look for second labels of good house
reserve de la comptesse, Pavillon Rouge de Château Margaux, Ségla, Les Pagodes de Cos are some of my suggestions - you can find a list here: Second wine - Wikipedia

also if you really want to fully experience Bordeaux, try to get something with some age to it - the second labels can usually be found at that price point with a good 5-10 years on them. For me, Bordeaux is not really all it can be without some age to it – the older the better --just my .02 –

Pomerol can be an accessible entry to Bordeaux. Not necessarily on price, but for the style, in particular tannins are rarely oppressive.

$40 puts many of the names out of the equation, but we’ve had reasonable success at that level. Something like Clos Rene might still be in that range, but there should be plenty of others.

Chateau Lilian Ladouys is a good value St Estephe wine.
Both 2009 and 2010 are available right now, usually for $35 or less.
Chateau Lalande is a decent St Julien for about $30.
At my local Total Wine, 2009 Chateau Gaby (Canon-Fronsac) is on sale right now for $19.99.
All drink well now with sufficient decant time.