It all comes down to personal preference, but when I tasted both side by side at UGC, I thought the LB was the better of the two. Who knows if that will still be true in 20 years, but on that day it was.
Wow, surprising. Maybe it’s just a set prejudice of mine but I’ve never had a PB and LB from the same year where I thought the LB was better. It could happen though!
I’m generally in agreement, 2014 I definitely preferred the PB (it was my wine of the UGC tasting). Who knows, if I tasted them again might be different, just the one side by side experience.
My impression of several decades of following this silliness is that the real impact of the WS top spot for a bottling is to raise the prices in following vintages in a sustained fashion . Sometimes sticks, sometime doesn’t but they always try- usually 25-30%.
No worries. While this accolade may very well impact the pricing of this vintage, LB will remain a stalwart in the category of well-priced Bordeaux for years to come, and there remain and will remain plenty of good back vintages at reasonable pricing to enjoy.
Yo that’s a lot of work! I’d retire from wine if I had to do that for a living!
But it would be kind of interesting to see the overlap. And I’d throw in WA as well.
The thing about Suckling is that he did something you wouldn’t think possible - he reviewed Italy for WS for years and he lives there and somehow he should have the best perspective but he’s kind of killed his credibility regarding Italy in general. Oh well.
I used to buy Alma Viva, but not recently for no good reason other than I thought the price had gotten crazy. I just checked with Wine Searcher and it’s not that bad. Here’s my fun note on the 2004.
2004 Viña Almaviva S.A. Almaviva- Chile, Maipo Valley, Puente Alto (2/10/2015)
Decanted at 1:30 pm, poured back into the bottle after cleaning the bottle (tons of sediment) at 6:30, brought to Mortons for dinner and followed for about an hour.
WOW. This wine is in an incredible spot right now. Balanced fruit - neither sweet nor dark and brooding. A bit of cherries but nothing like the Glaetzer Anaperenna we drank after it, some plums and some dark berries. The flavors were so well integrated that it was difficult to distinguish one from another, but it didn’t matter because the overall flavor was just great and it went down so well. There was a bit of cocoa but very light along with a touch of berry. The tannins have quietly disappeared into the night. Color was very dark, finish was average.
AND in the “You can’t make this up” category, I notice that a guy at the table next to us has called over the waiter and is obviously talking about our wine, so I lean over to talk to him. It turns out that he is a member of the family that controls or runs Concha y Toro. Alma Viva is a Chilean project of Baron Rothschild and Concha y Toro, much the same way as Opus is a project of Mondavi and Rothschild. He told me that they have a periodic event at Mouton and they pour the Alma Viva, the Opus and the Mouton together. He claimed that the Alma Viva always comes out on top. After this bottle, I am not surprised.
According to the tech sheet on the web site, this is 72% Cabernet and 28% Carmenere. The exact blend varies vintage to vintage. I was surprised at the lack of merlot because this has a very velvety merlot feel to it.
NOTE: This is the third Alma Viva bottle I have opened. There has been a lot of sediment in all the bottles. A careful decant is essential to the enjoyment of this wine. (94 pts.)