Too bad all wines aren’t rated on the Burgundy scale 
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Yup. Thread drift is a berserker specialty. Welcome.
You may get your wish and we will have a discussion about the wines, once the critics have had their say, but prices and scores will be an important part of the conversation.
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Further to the price discussion, interesting and timely article on how the 2022 en primeur campaign
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And considering at most 3 people have even tasted the wines !
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Those numbers aren’t remotely comparable. Suppose Latour, Lafite, Mouton, and Margaux each had 40 different owners making 40 different wines, how many 100-point wines would you expect to see then?
I was not that joker, I was kind (prolly drunk when I wrote it…):
You won’t have to wait too much longer
I crunched the numbers and my median score for Burgundy and Bordeaux are within one point.
The strength of Bordeaux has always been obtainable excellence. Bordeaux trying to follow the Burgundian business model won’t work, because it’s a different case.
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Question-
There does seem to be more “small estates” (by Bordeaux standards), like Carmen Haut Brion and Millery that are popping up. We will see that trend continue?
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That’s actually my argument for why the number of high-scoring Napa cabs shouldn’t be surprising. But the point of my post was simply that there are more 100-point Burgundy wines than people seem to think.
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Both those vineyards have long histories. Les Carmes has been making wine for over 200 years.
Aside from those two estates, it’s been a teen since the early 90s for smaller vineyards to step up and make some very good wines from vineyards or estates not previously well known. Though most are in Pomerol and St. Emilion
You review a lot more (with a broader swath) Burgundy vs. Bordeaux. I would actually expect your Bordeaux median to be higher, possibly much higher, since you are effectively limiting yourself to the top 5% of the Bordeaux wines produced.
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I wonder if that’s true. For example, Lafite and Mouton combined are the same size of the entire Volnay premier cru AOC. And in Volnay, there are over 35 domaines (how many can you name?).
I review around three times more cuvées from Burgundy, but I am not sure I taste any more than the top x per cent of Burgundy than Bordeaux, if we are talking about per cent of a region’s total production of bottles.
And, I’m fine with that. The future of wine criticism, in my view, involves, among many other things, amplifying the importance of selection, i.e. what is tasted, to the same level of how what is tasted is rated. Today, there has never been more choice, but it is also easier than ever to track down a given wine; so the necessity of reviewing every wine someone might reasonably expect to find in their local wine store no longer applies.
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I’d like to point something out.
We may not be in Bordeaux, but we have people that are actually in Bordeaux reporting in real time what they are seeing and learning.
I feel like I missed an opportunity to ask more questions. Pretty damn cool.
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Do Chateaux ever pull the current En Primeur offering for the standard tour/tasting, or is that generally just for higher profile visits and critics?
Not following the question?
What I think will answer your question is that this past week was the En Primeur tastings. It’s basically a 4 day marathon where all the wineries open their doors and you can (by appointment only) visit and taste barrel samples of the vintage. Someone is there to speak to you about the vintage, or just any other general questions you have too. If it’s a newer winery, they will also give you a tour to show off the new digs.
Last year I went to 4 out 5 first growths, along with the vast majority of the seconds (as well as places like Figeac, Carmen Haut Brion, VCC, and so on)
Is that what you mean?
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Thread drift but which 3 wines from last year stood out to you most in a positive way?
Outside of the obvious-
VCC- They are doing a smashing job, and they are probably never going to have a bad vintage again. They care so much about quality.
Palmer- same as above. They want to be second fiddle to no one. Quality is spectacular.
Rauzan Segla- They brought in a new winemaker after 2014, and the changes are just awesome. Huge jump in quality since 2015.
Suduiraut- The most ridiculously well made sweet Bordeaux wine I have had not made by Yquem. It’s also the craziest circumstances that made it. Yield is 1 hectoliter per hectare.
My value pick- Trotte Vieile. They are really pushing the envelope too, and using a lot of Cabernet Franc in the blend. Really interesting and balanced. Tried the 2020 recently and was also impressed, so for those worried that this is a big, bombastic right bank wine, it’s absolutely not.
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Yes, frequently. During my summer visits I’ve often tasted the most recent vintage from barrel - it’s always fascinating.
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No, I was just referring to visits that occur after an En Primeur campaign. I’ll be in Bordeaux in three weeks and didn’t know if they ever offer a barrel sample, or if they just offer the most recent bottling (2020).
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Oh, got it.
Sorry. You can ask, but the samples won’t hold out for another two weeks, so my guess is that it’s highly unlikely.
Usually they will show the Grand Vin, Second wine, and possibly another estate (or a small production white they might happen to make), and then usually an older vintage to show how it will age.
It varies from estate to estate. When I sent my parents to Mouton, they ended up buying 2011 Aile D’argent because they loved it. They were there in 2018.
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