In the business; have had them all except Pouget. Will rectify quickly.
Remember when I was trying to stay awake to feed my then 2 months old son, trying to list all the grand crus. Without cheating, see how many you can manage; it’s tougher than you think.
For the red wines, I have not tasted between 5 & 10 of the 3rd, 4th and 5th growths. The more difficult challange is, how many of the originally classified wines of Sauternes have you tasted? I’ve tasted all 12 of the First Growths, but only half of the 14 Second Growths. Sauternes Classification of Sauternes and Barsac Wines 1855
Jeff, I KNOW that.
But it got back to existence around 1900 and only disappeared again around 1960 - so there are still older bottles around - and can be tasted/drunk … so why not on the list!
What I am not sure of is, what was it Classified as when it was reintroduced? I think it was classified as a Cru Bourgeois Superieur. Regardless, I have never even seen a bottle. Today the property no longer exists. It was divided into Malescot and Durfort and even Chateau Margaux.
Robert–My list is similar to yours, although I’ve tasted a few that you’ve missed. Of course, I’m not counting wines that I may have tasted decades ago and have forgotten due to the mists of time or wines that I may have tasted but didn’t look at the labels.
The many recent Bordeaux threads, including the current one on identifying Chateaux that have remained “traditional,” got me thinking of this old thread. Was curious where I stood in comparision to 6 years ago, not that I actively seek out trying to taste everything in the 1855 Classification. Well, I have ended up trying a handful of ones that I had not tried before, oddly enough, most from Margaux. Perhaps not odd, though, as historically that has been my least favorite of the major appellations. Either my tastes have changed a bit or Margaux has been improving over the years, as I now seem to own more Margaux that I ever have before (still not a lot, but much more). I also think Margaux may be producing one of the most classic, unique expressions of Bordeaux that I have had in recent years: Clos du Jaugueyron. Granted, I’ve only have vintage 2000, but it blew me away.
Of the wines that I have recently tried and added to my list of “yes,” Brane Cantenac has been my favorite.
That list really got My brains going!
The horse-shoe wine , Marquis d’Alesme Becker, (the '86) was a favorite house wine for Me in the mid Nineties. Found in better supermarkets, fair priced. I really liked it back then.
I have not been able to find the same joy in later vintages, and the once juicy '86s must be singing the last tones by now. The 96 could be a candidate for today. It was very primary when last tasted in 2005.
I got a handful of Croizet-Bages 96s. Also a supermarket growth, not charming young, I remember! I’ll try one soon and post.
I think there are a few obscure estates on that list I’ve missed, but some are genuinely hard to find stateside. Many of the ones that people have collectively missed never got flashy reviews, and thus the US supply chain was never going to send them 3000-6000 miles. Some like Pedesclaux, D’Ausac etc. seem to be making better wines, by critics comments, and I see them now on store shelves.
Although not classified the same way, there are many more right bank wines I’ve missed. I’ve never even seen a Le Pin. Never had a Valandraud or new flashy l’If. The only Petrus I’ve had was poured by Kapon/Kurniawan, so was not likely real.
Pomerol has lots of tiny estates that don’t make it over the pond. So on my rare trips to Europe/UK I try to look for names to bring home that I’m unlikely to find normally. Often they are nothing special anyways, but its interesting to hunt for them.
Someone wanna start a right bank classification thread? Would be cool. Of the biggies, the only one I think I have not had is Le Pin. In fact, I have never even seen a bottle of Le Pin.