I’m noticing that some expensive Bordeaux are being sold as “bottom neck fills” or “shoulder top fills”. Why is this noted? And why are some wines sold as “shoulder top fills”? Is this due to age? How it might have been stored? Etc. Anything to be concerned about?
A new wine will intrude into the neck of the bottle and come to just below the cork. Bottom neck or top should fills have had some loss of wine ( called ullage). That’s typical of very old wines. The risk is oxidation, i.e the cork’s compromised. It’s not a big deal on a 40 year old wine but is a red flag on a 15 year old wine. The linked bottle doesn’t look bad for a 30 year old wine. I’d not PAY that for that bottle but that’s because I’d not pay that much for any bottle… 
That’s what I was thinking. Possibly a little wine loss due to possible oxidation (cork). But you say it’s not a big deal and typical of older wines. Especially for a near 30 year old bottle. And that it doesn’t look that bad on the bottle of CH Mouton I provided a link for. Something to keep in mind. Thanks.
Don’t mistake me… ideally you’d see zero ullage. But a small bit isn’t unexpected in decades old wine. Sometimes you’ll see mid-shoulder fills which, well, are worrisome. At least in the wines I drink. In a 70 year old bottle, perhaps not, but… i don’t drink that kind of wine.
Just wanted some confirmation as I’ve never bought a bottle of wine older than a 2004. So basically just young wines. If I buy something like a 82 Mouton-Rothchild it would be for investment mostly (though who knows…wink). Never really looked at old wines. So I was wondering about notations like “bottom neck fill”…etc. If I should totally avoid them or if it was indeed common.
I just checked a few bottles. A 1982 that I believe has been stored very well since release has a slightly better fill than the bottle you linked to, but only by a bit. My bottle is not Mouton so it’s possible that there are differences in the bottles, but in general Bordeaux bottles are quite uniform.
In contrast, a different 1982 that was purchased from a store around 1989-90 (say 3-4 years after release) has a fill slightly below the top of the neck - this would usually be called VTS for very top shoulder.
Some stores and auction houses provide these annotations only when the condition differs from what they expect for a wine of that age, so it is probably best to check with them. At K&L you can file a case on their website. They have always responded quickly to me.
What bottles of '82 did you check? Curious. 
Regarding the bottle of '82 Moutons the bottle sold at K&L looks to have the best fill. Though there is another LA wine shop that has 12 bottles. http://www.aabalat.com/stores/?storeID=143 Not sure how respectable they are. They do seem to have a good inventory though. So, I might pay them a visit later.
I’m not buying now anyway. Was just looking for more information on old wines like the one I provided a link to. If it’s still around in 2 months (roughly the time I’ll be in LA) then I might pick it up. I did also find bottles of '05 Latour with a good fill. As it should I suppose…might opt to pick up a bottle of that instead. Will see when the time comes. But definitely a Bordeaux from either the Pauillac or Pessac-Leognan appellations. The markup on Bordeaux is ridiculous up here. Over 100%!!!
I checked Cheval Blanc and Gruaud Larose.
Did you get a chance to sample some '82 Cheval Blanc before you bought your bottle (s)? Some one on this forum said he thought Cheval Blanc lacks finish. Had good bouquet though. What are you opinions? Seems to be differing opinions…many others say the finish is long…
the air space in a bottle is referred to as the ullage. With Bordeaux-shaped bottles (unlike Burgundy), the bottle has a shoulder and a neck. Neck fills are typical with newly-released and young wines. As the wine ages, some evaporates through the cork, increasing the air space or ullage. A collector learns over time what are typical ullages for various ages of wine. The ullage is reported as a data point for prospective buyers, as is label condition and often the capsule. Some wineries fill bottles notoriously high (Raveneau), low (Grange), and variable (Leroy). Often Burgundy tolerates a surprisingly significant ullage without compromise, but other wines don’t. Too big an ullage can imply less than ideal storage (low humidity).
alan
I missed this somehow when you posted. I have had several CBs: 81, 82, 90 and perhaps one or two others. I was a little underwhelmed by the 82 given its reputation. The others were great. 81 is lighter but I love wines in that style too. None lack finish.
I hadn’t tasted the 1982 before I bought mine. It was an opportunity out of the blue where some friends bought a cellar and sold off some of the wines to finance it. I picked up a bunch of Bordeaux that have been really good, including 1985 La Conseillante which is one of my all-time favorites.
I have a bottle of 85 CB as well that I’m looking forward to. I have rarely met an 85 Bdx I didn’t like. My favorite CT note is on that wine. Look for the note by BradE on 4/9/2010.
I think the point was made, but also remember that ullage in Burgundies is noted in centimeters and it is not uncommon to see fairly large ullage in older Burgs.
A helpful description of all the terms
http://www.ackerwines.com/onlineauctions/Terms.cfm?page=Bottle