Understood. I won’t be able to stop myself from popping one just to see what’s its like. And spread it out over 3-5 days. And then I’ll see about sourcing some others wines if I like the Lanessan, including some 09’s, which will be more open. I expect I’ll love it even though its backwards, especially on day 3+.
I have a bit of an obsession with old world $20-30-40 good value red and white wines that need medium+ aging. Chianti’s. Piedmont Nebbiolo. N Rhones. A couple of S Rhones. Spain. And Loire if there was more selection. I buy these by the case or more. And I’d love to get in to Bordeaux too. I can keep myself very content with this strategy for years. Especially when my stock starts to mature, and by sustaining with vertical vintages including riper ones for earlier drinking, and by expanding out to other regions. It’s all about good value old school wine, variety, depth, and time.
It sounds like I better track down some 09’s of some of these wines so I have something to drink over the next few years. I went with the 10 Lanessan because it’s what was available. But I’m left with a big void from between now and 10 years out. That is a big gap to fill and I better get started because 09 affordable Bordeaux are going to be hard to find here now. Most are probably gone.
2009 is an exceptionally friendly, if not classic, vintage. Nearly everyone made at least good wine; I wouldn’t hesitate to buy a bottle of any inexpensive 2009 you happen to see for evaluation. The ones mentioned above are sort of the usual suspects, but this is a vintage in which you can safely stray if you cannot find Lanessan or the others mentioned.
Another one I failed to mention is La Prade. Again, it won’t change your life but it is a very enjoyable drink.
Great thread. I have just developed an interest in Bordeaux (not sure why it took so long). I’ve picked up some 2010 Lanessan that I need to try soon, even if it is very young. I liked the 09 Lilian Ladouys, though it was more modern that I expected. I also like the 2010 Cap de Faugeres which is around $25.
I tried the 2012 Phelan Segur and La Tour Figeac earlier in the week and both of them were solid. The LTF was a little oaky though. 2012 Cantermerle was decent too.
What are your thoughts on Monbousquet? I’ve never tried one.
It is a Perse wine, which means no expense is spared. They use a ton of oak, but the wine often exceeds what one would expect from the terroir. The 2000 is a very nice wine. Some more recent vintages are less pleasing to me. In every vintage, it is going to be as Robert indicates: a good example of so-called “modern” Bdx. That may be good or bad depending on your perspective.
My favorites from a 2012 tasting earlier in the week are: Les Carmes Haut-Brion, Larrivet Haut-Brion, Smith Haut Lafite, Troplong Mondot, Cantenac Brown, Malescot, Leoville Barton, D’Armailhac, Grand-Puy Lacoste, and Pichon Longueville Comtesse de Lalande. I can only hope some of these might fall into the $50ish range.
The Chevalier was very solid and if it fell into the $30ish range it would be a no brainer for me. The Talbot was a little bretty on the nose but would also be a good deal in that range.
Your Bordeaux palate seems to span the spectrum from classic to full-on modern based on your favorites identified above. Wines like Troplong Mondot, SHL and Malescot are very modern stylistically, I have not been able to deal with Troplong since the 2000 vintage. It’s 2010 broke 15% alcohol. If you like these wines, you may like Monbousquet as well. For my palate, from your list, I like Leoville Barton, D’Armailhac, GPL and Pichon, been drinking all of these wines from the '80s vintages forward, though sadly, some have gotten too expensive for me now.
I haven’t had the Ladouys, but it is hard to imagine that that wine is more modern than Monbousquet. Perse (and Rolland at Perse’s properties) make wine about as modern as they come. For better or worse.
Especially with the Euro under attack against the dollar, my wild guess is that a number of the wines you liked in 2012 will be at or below $50. I have bought very few 2012 (not a vintage one needs to buy as a future) but I did pop for some Pontet Canet at $55 and Ruazan Segla for about the same price, as I recall. Carmes, Larrivet and Cantenac, at least, should be below $50 at some point. Keep an eye out.
Robert, I guess that doesn’t surprise me. While my palate has shifted to more old world wines, though not as far as Chinon yet, I still like Carlisle, some Bedrock, Windgap, and other new world board darlings.
I do try to steer away from the higher alcohol wines though as it is harder on me as I get older.
So what is a good plan of attack in Bordeaux for someone who rarely spends above $75 a bottle? Most bottles I purchase are around $40-$50 but I love finding gems around $20-25. I generally buy from producers that I like regardless of how the vintage is rated by the so called experts. Due to the way Bordeaux is priced, it sounds like buying the “lesser” producers in “good” years and the more prestigious producers in the “off” years is a good approach?
By the way Neal, I am a fan of Pontet Canet and Rauzan Segla too so I will look for them too. Thanks.
Not sure how helpful I’m being, if L-L has changed its style recently, but Monbousquet is made in a made in a typical modern style - oaking, destemming, tough selection etc. I quite like the wine, but it doesn’t scream St Emilion if tasted blind the way a Figeac might. Some might say its doesn’t have a sense of place, but I think its great to share with people who may not be into the more exotic, esoteric regions.
Lilian Ladouys, at least the older ones (I missed 09/10) was generally a bit chunkier, less refined. They made great wines in 90 and 03 which for my palate, I enjoyed more than the professional critics did. That might be because they are so merlot heavy, and in a good ripe year, things work out well for them. For whatever reasons, over the years, it seems like they have been somewhat less available at retail compared to the above. Of course, I could be a bad sample set.
Not sure how helpful I’m being, if L-L has changed its style recently, but Monbousquet is made in a made in a typical modern style - oaking, destemming, tough selection etc. I quite like the wine, but it doesn’t scream St Emilion if tasted blind the way a Figeac might. Some might say its doesn’t have a sense of place, but I think its great to share with people who may not be into the more exotic, esoteric regions.
Lilian Ladouys, at least the older ones (I missed 09/10) was generally a bit chunkier, less refined. They made great wines in 90 and 03 which for my palate, I enjoyed more than the professional critics did. That might be because they are so merlot heavy, and in a good ripe year, things work out well for them. For whatever reasons, over the years, it seems like they have been somewhat less available at retail compared to the above. Of course, I could be a bad sample set.
I try not to be so formulaic in my purchasing decisions. Some of the so-called “off-years” are actually damn strong, vintages like 2001 and 2004 thrill me. In those years, I have the luxury of buying better producers. And like you note, in so-called quality vintages, say something like 2005 and 2010, the quality at the lower tiers can be quite high. I rarely spending more than $75 on Bordeaux these days either, and there is an abundance of quality for far less. I have a stable of producers that fit my palate very well in most years, so tend to hit them up most.
A “must-try” for a 2010 QPR is Chateau Cambon La Pelouse. Excellent for under $25.
A “must-buy” in 2010 for any Bordeaux aficionado is the Cantemerle, amazing and a value play at $45. The 2009 is a worthy purchase as well.
2010 Citran (Haut Medoc from Margaux) for about $25 at Trader Joe. Pretty decent, good Bordeaux typicity, no Merlot-ass overripeness (the recent plague)…