A True Second Wine For Leoville Las Cases

WINE TALK
1

Excuse if this has already been discussed . . .

http://www.decanter.com/news/294415.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Seems like a good idea to me. Better selections equal a better Gran Vin . . .

2

Sounds interesting - definitely something to look for

3

Not a real second wine at all - the article says it will represent rejected lots not merely from Chateau Leoville Las Cases but from Clos du Marquis as well.

4

Still a good idea, in this day and age.

Clearly 2007s will be a struggle, but if they can take a few thousand cases and make it a $20 wine, much more likely to sell it, and keep quality at Clos du Marquis and LLC higher.

5

Call me a jaded old cynic, but isn’t this just an endeavour aimed at milking more money from wine which they’d normally have to sell off for hardly any cash to the blenders/merchants? LLC can be really good, but I don’t really want to pay top dollar for their off-casts. And I bet it will be top dollar in a wanton attempt to screw more money from the Claret lovers who already have to pay so much to get their favourite wines.

Cheers,
David.

6

I think the price jump (from $35 a bottle to $350 a bottle) for Carruades de Lafite has the gears grinding away in several Bordeaux Châteaux. If you want to see the effect Asia can have on the wine market, that’s it in a nutshell.

7

I go the other way on this.

I think part of this wine will be composed of “bulk” juice that would typically be sold off, but I think the other part is composed of LLC and CdM that will only make the final blend of those wines even stronger by taking some of this “lesser” juice out.

8

This is a first, I don’t think you’re being cynical enough. LLC is Parkerized Bordeaux. If they’re going to be culling out any more juice than they did before, it’s going to be the least Parkerized portions. I’m sure it’ll make LLC even more unpalatable.

9

Sorry to disappoint you, Keith. All of this Parker bashing has me feeling bad. newhere

10

Hello Keith,

Wow, that is a really top piece of cynicism; well done, I’m impressed! I’ll certainly use that gem when discussing Bordeaux with my friends who like the stuff. [wink.gif]

Cheers,
David.

11

Well, surely it’s not a coincidence that “stricter selection” is always the first thing Parker cites when defending the purported “improvement” of Bordeaux over the 20 years they’ve been slavishly catering to him.