I use Jeff’s notes to stay away from wines if I don’t have enough other information, which I find genuinely useful.
Robert/ Gerhard,
Since you both recommended La Mission Haut Bruin, I was wondering if you have had a chance to taste both 2008 & 2014 and could offer a perspective. Most of the better rated vintages (2005, 2009, 2010, 2015, 2016 etc) are outside my price range.
Of the two, I would go with 2014. However, that means that it will be many years before it will be ready
Another question is the preference of the lesser perceived vintage of L Mission HB or multiples of top vintages of Smith Haut Lafitte/Les Carmes HB or even a top vintage VCC.
Would be curious of the perspective with only a handful of LMHB under my belt. Thanks
That one is easy. VCC.
VCC!
And SHL and Les Carmes are now pretty modern stylistically. There is no circumstance where I would buy SHL. Leve talked me into 2016 Les Carmes, so will see… The 2014 was a stylistic shift. I just backfilled some more 2000. Check Cellaraiders NYC. At $90, a no-brainer.
Thank you for confirming. VCC is one of if not my favorite Bordeaux wine and just tasted the ‘15 2nd label La Gravette. The LMHBs I have tasted have been the better vintages (but not sub 2000).
What a knockout VCC’s second label wine is and might be one of the best out there for ~$70 USD (silky texture, integrated tannins and flavor profile). Drinks way above its fighting weight.
Thank you for the input.
Thank you Robert. I might lean a bit toward modern but appreciate the classic style as well.
What a silly comment. Old does not equate to better, it simply means it’s old. Green, hard and charmless is not quality in my mind. Glad you like it.
Right Bank Bordeaux are generally extremely good, and Pomerols are extraordinary.
Right banks are also hard and tannic, and i have. tasted them all except Lafleur. You probably disagree you like those wines.
heard from all those great critics whose palate you share, that La Mission was pretty good in 1975.
And I tried selling you mine because it lacks elegance.
I understand that. And I think it’s great. It doesn’t matter if we like the same wines. My job and goal is to hopefully provide a good idea on what to expect from a wine. That note should tell you if the wine is in your wheelhouse or not, so you know what to buy, and what to avoid.
My site, with its info and notes are there to help you find the wines you like, regardless of me scoring it high or not.
La Mission Haut Brion 2014 is outstanding … but cannot remember having tasted LMHB 2008.
However imho LMHB has lost a bit of its personality which I adored in the 70ies and 80ies … it´s less of a typical Graves anymore …
confirmed by the tasting of the 2016 last week.
Before I would pay 180+ for LMHB I´d buy Smith-Haut-Lafitte (yes, modern, but less so over the last 2-3 vintages), Haut Bailly (!), Pape Clement, Carmes HB - or better as Mark said VCC … or Pontet-Canet …
While 1975 is absolutely not my favorite vintage, not even in the 70ies, there are some really good wines, not only LMHB (yes, not really elegant, but there are other “qualities” 
), but L´Evangile, L´Eglise-Clinet (!), Trotanoy, VCC, Latour, Giscours (!) … I also like Meyney very much … and I´m happy about the bottles I had or still have in my cellar.
It is absolutely fair if you do not want a person with a Yak palate as a friend 
I will still visit your site, though
Thanks Gerhard. Have bought 16 and 18 Pontet Canet and planning to backfill 2010 in the UK. I thought 2012 Pontet was a very good QPR.
Have 2015 VCC and planning to buy 2014. Even 2014 though is $180-$200.
Also planning to backfill 2005 & 2010 Haut Bailly from the UK.
Need to look into SHL and Carmes HB.
As I´ve written somewhere else here: Pontet-Canet 2016 is imho better than Mouton 2016 - tasted side-by-side a week ago.
Ducru-Beaucaillou 2016 is a textbook of elegance …
Jeff, you are suffering from straw man syndrome. If I had said “old is better”, I agree it would have been a silly comment. But I never did say it. But what I did say was that you don’t understand old, but then again, I don’t think you understand young either.
We could go on like this, back and forth, back and forth, but after your idiotic comments about the 1975 vintage, I am just going to rest my case.
I haven’t ever tried Ducru but bought 2010 blind.
Someone recently said Ducru tends to be big and Pinot drinkers (which I am) tend to like Figeac more. How true is that?
Based on personal experience, I can say that pinot lovers tend to like Clos de la Roche better and not to look for Bordeaux to taste like Burgundy.
Howard, while in the past I have gotten quite a bit of helpful advice from you, no need for a snarky comment, which seems to be a habit of yours.