Yes, I tasted numerous wines from 2005-2008, but informally i.e. with friends over dinner etc. I found a lot to like in those wines, which is why I added the domaine to my coverage in the first place. When I went the first time, Kellen Lignier told me the other major critics weren’t tasting at her domaine at all. Whether that was her choice or theirs, I don’t know. I thought the 2009s were gorgeous from barrel, but something changed in between the time I tasted the wines from barrel and bottle. My impression is that the wines were bottled too late and as result lost much of their fruit. As a reminder, 2009 is a vintage in which many growers in Burgundy bottled earlier than normal, so the delta here may have been significant. Wines from barrel are much more of a moving target, so I reserved judgement. The cellar was also very dirty. Now, that alone is not a big deal because there are plenty of great wines that emerge from pretty funky places. But when there is an issue, an unclean cellar may be a contributing factor.
I thought it was important to let readers know of the change in these wines, hence the updated scores. That is far different from dismissing an entire set of vintages. I could have just let the old scores stand, and believe me, it was heartbreaking to publish those reviews. Being a single mom raising two children in France and trying to make ends meet has to be incredibly hard. But at the end of the day I made what I thought was the best decision for the people who (at the time) paid my salary, TWA’s subscribers.
BTW, I don’t mind disagreements or critiques at all. You have to have a thick skin in this business. It’s just the way it goes. But misquotes or incorrect attributions, especially when it comes to someone else’s work (the winemaker’s in this case) help no one.
Thank you on both points. I seriously wanted your take on post-2005 because there is a chance those wines are relative bargains. The 2005s are killers but from a different time.
I can imagine how furious the branch of the Lignier family, that might still feel she has vineyards that should have stayed with them when her husband died, must be that she lost two whole vintages. It happens. A friend of mine’s wine consultant forgot to top off barrels one vintage with disastrous results between barrel tasting and bottle tasting, and Helen Turley’s 2001 Bryant seems to have gone through something similar, and in both cases the wines had to be filtered for the only time ever.
For those of you in Southern California, Vons is part of the same parent company and its 30% off their somewhat inflated prices plus another 10% for 6+ units. Unfortunately no Geyser or LS down my way (San Diego) but they do have the 2013 Virage Cab Franc Rose that has been the target of a recent WB love-fest for just under $20 per and $18 in a 6-pack.
Since you didn’t limit it to wine I’ll add an incredible bargain… but first a little story behind it.
I use to go duck hunting in LA at a club where one of the members was Paul Mclhenny, who before he passed away was the CEO of Tabasco. The family has owned Tabasco for over 100 years, so he’s not short on cash and could buy cases of 25 year old single barrel Van Winkle. One night I struck up a conversation with him and asked him what he was drinking. He said an “Old Fashion”. I asked him what Bourbon he used and he said “Weller”. He asked me if I’d like an Old Fashion and I said, “Sure!” He whipped one up and it was mighty fine.
When I got back home I found the Weller bourbon at Total Wine. Price $9.99!!! This wheated gem is worth 4x to 5x that price. I’ve turned on a number of people to this bourbon and I’ve noticed the W.L. Weller Special Reserve has climbed to an astronomical $11.99, so I hesitate to share my secret, but I love you guys, so sacrifices have to be made.
I just did some research and Paul made the Old Fashion from W.L. Weller Antique, which is 107 proof. The wheated Special Reserve is smooooooooooth, but believe it or not they use to make a lower end that wasn’t labeled Special Reserve that I liked even more. It’s all good though and for the price it can’t be beat.
And some Total Wine stores have the Antique 107 for $19.99. That is as cheap as I have ever seen it. On the other hand some stores marked that bottle up to $45 on the “rarity” factor.
Look, I’m not calling you a liar, but there are three Weller bourbons (not counting BTAC WLW), and they are all decent, but none of them sell for under $20, at least as far as I have ever seen or heard.
If any of you come to San Diego, and you want to get a taste of Pappy at somewhat reasonable prices, Starlite
has all the PappPappy’s. The 15 is $45 for a 1.5 pour, and the 23 for $75. They have the 10, 12, and 20, but I can’t remember the prices. Food is also very good.
I assume you’re talking about Pappy Van Winkle… if so I’ve had all of them and my favorite is the Van Winkle 12 year old. However, the 15 year old Pappy is also very nice. I was slightly disappointed in the 20 year old. Their new bourbon is made by Buffalo Trace.