Thoughts

What would you rather buy? A lesser producer from a great vintage or a great producer from a weaker vintage.

Great producer from a lesser vintage is an easy choice for me.

+1 Thinking the same thing about Or. Pinots in the 09 vintage…

I was thinking of bdx but Or. Pinot works.

great producers from a “lesser” vintage

04 bdx is a great example

Okay, would you rather buy a 91 Pichon Baron? or a 82 La Lagune?

Buying from a lesser producer in a great vintage is a bit like buying a bottle of Cold Duck in the hopes it will become Krug in the fridge while you’re sleeping.

I would take the pichon at almost half the cost

What’s a great vintage?

Really? I’ve had both and the 91 PB is shit and the 82 La Lagune is quite nice.

well thats cheating isnt it?

I have had the 82 La Lagune and it is good, never had the 91 PB. I have had PB in other off vintages, (75, 85, 88, 94) and they were all great.

That’s why it’s a tough question.

It’s interesting, but my quick gut response was that Bordeaux is the only place that I would take vintage over producer. And La Lagune 82 was one of the wines I thought of (I think it was $15 futures at the time). It’s complicated by the issue of what is truly a great vintage. What’s a great vintage in burgundy? Is 2002 great? Is 1990, where there have been a number of disappointments, great? what do you do with 2001, which was initially an "off’ vintage, but now contains many wonderful wines?

Lesser producer from a lesser vintage!!!

Even I know the answer to that question.

Great winemaker from a great vintage from an unknown region and/or grape.

I’ll take my chances with the great producer every time.

That’s funny that anyone would call 75, 85, and 88 “off vintages”. When they came out they were each thought of as excellent vintages. Since then, many have considered 75 and 88 perhaps too tannic, while some say 85 lacks the structure of a excellent vintage.

To the original question: It matters whether that producer has tended to produce excellent wine in off vintages. I would certainly buy off vintages (at a good price) from Latour or Giacosa, but not necessarily from an arbitrary great producer.

If you are asking would I rather have a cellar full of “great” wine or a cellar full of “good” wine than I think you know the answer, even if it was at the expense of quantity. If it is a one time purchase than circumstance has to come in to play. In general, however, with the state of the wine market these days I’m not sure this is a decision that I am forced to make all that often. There are still numerous deals to be had out there and lots of old vintages (great and lesser) to be had for excellent prices out there.

But I think the biggest factor is maturity. I will choose the lesser producer/vintage 9/10 if it is a young wine (especially off of a restaurant list) and I am drinking it immediately.