My local retailer also had the 2004 for $45.
I am curious about one thing, though - really a question specifically for Pat Martin - what could possibly make this wine in this vintage your biggest holding?
I mean, I get that the wine may have “beaten the vintage”, and I’m actually a fan if the chateau - I still have '86 and '89 in my cellar.
But unless your a collector that only buys three or four of a particular wine, what would possess anyone to load up on any particular wine from Europe in this vintage?
I have been sorely tempted by the 2010 at $50.
I’m a little surprised at this thread (about the 2003 only). All the original critics’ notes that I see have red flags in them: Spectacularly concentrated, blockbuster, verging on confectionery, a little baked.
Grab that 04 Alfert
Well, you always did say I had the palate of a Yak.
I had not read the “critic’s notes” on this wine, but just did based on your post. I have to admit, for my showing, Parker was more on point than Tanzer or Martin. They all liked it, though. My OP clearly shows that this wine is ripe, you will know it’s 2003 if you are doing a vertical of this wine. It’s large-scaled, ripe, but also has plenty of acid, low alcohol and burly, almost-coarse tannins. Eat it with steak.
So far, many 03 Bordeaux have lived up to the stereotype of the vintage – excessively ripe and roasted, low acid, high alcohol, out of balance, etc. – but not the 03 SM. While it seems to do well in all kinds of vintages, for my money it excels in hot/dry years that make very ripe wines (like 1982, 1989, 1990) where all of its charming rusticity and throwback style are combined with extra fruit and depth. The 2003 is true to type, see Robert’s note above. (I’d love to try an 2009 of this wine).
Arv, Not side by side but IMO 90 blows 03 away. I’m not as impressed with 03 as others are on this thread.
That’s what’s makes this fun. We both are fans of the 1990, I went long on the 03 after tasting it 3-4 times after release, mostly because I imagined it could equal the 90, but only time will tell. I remain optimistic.
The good 03 from the Northern Medoc don´t show roasted characteristics IMO. Did drink SM and Duhart Milon Rothschild recently and both were outstanding. Very much in the style of a superb 1990.
I think the wines from the far north, with clay soils, were able to tolerate 03’s heat.
I quite liked the St Estephe’s from this year, and S-M has somewhat similar terroir, if not the pedigree to entitle itself as such.
But other bdx from less favored soils have not aged well, getting more out of balance with time. The fat, jacked up right banks are (to me) the ones suffering from this.
(sadly sort of related, I found an 03 Vieux Donjon among my clutter. The first one was terribly disappointing, and I wish I’d drunk this a decade ago)
Thanks Paul for the comment on 1990 vs. 2003. I too have hopes the 2003 will perhaps one day reach the 1990s heights. I drank up the last of my 90 S-Ms a few years ago.
Well, I traded away/sold, the 6 bottles of 2003 S-M that I purchased at EP. That’s after 3 tastings at just post release. I liked it at first, then the subsequent bottles just didn’t sit well with me on the high level of ripeness and some heat melding well (or not melding well, in my estimate) with the regular going-ons of an S-M, like for example, the slight green component. I may be wrong, but given that these wines don’t seem to escalate in stratospheric pricing level, I was willing to let go, suck it up and just buy back in the future if I’m wrong. At best, I can attend an offline in the future and somebody can bring one.
That is perfectly rational. Storage in NYC should be assigned a high ‘cost’ and if the wine isn’t constantly going up in value, and is plentiful (whether in the market or among your tasting group) then why let it consume precious rack slots?
Wasn’t this the wine that RMP said he’d drink it out of a milk carton it was so good?
Yes, back in eBob (when it was free) as part of a discussion about new bottles and redesigned labels coming out of bordeaux with the 2003 vintage, I recall.
Hit it again last night. This is tasty stuff.
I actually popped one too a couple days ago. Impromptu grilling of grassfed sirloins, bc the weather was nice. I’m not a Bordeaux fan anymore, but this bottle was quite nice. No signs of flabbiness, instead quite fresh tasting. Does have a good nose.
What a great thread.
How is the 1986 drinking?
Ready to go. Has some time if well stored, but it won’t improve any more from here IMHO.