Be sure to haggle!
I’ve always had a soft spot for Calon Segur. Reasonably priced, ages well. I try not to drink any of it before it hits 20yrs old and have never been disappointed.
Then you’ve never had the '95.
no but I’ve had very delicious bottles of '82, '85, '89, '90, '92, '96 off the top of my head
Hard to drink, too, in my experience.
I’ve always had a soft spot for Calon Segur. Reasonably priced, ages well. I try not to drink any of it before it hits 20yrs old and have never been disappointed.
Thanks! But I have to agree with Craig - the 03 is surprisingly weak compared to other 03s in St.Estephe. On the other hand, when it’s good, I completely agree that Calon is wonderful. Fond memories of the 88, and I had a superb bottle of 96 two weeks ago. Perhaps they went through a bad patch because the 00 is nothing special either.
'03 d’issan most gorgeous nose
'06 d’issan also a winner
'03 sociando is awesome, but not sure she would enjoy it
Thanks Mark - hopefully she’ll like the SM 03, because I got her some! Actually I got them both some, although the 06 in magnums. I’ll definitely hunt down some Issan 06.
The good thing about both these vintages is that the operation isn’t as painful as it could have been (buying back stuff I had originally bought EP), because apart from a few stars the prices haven’t risen that much, especially 06.
Julian asked for a wine for 2024+ … and the last bottle I´ve tasted (9 months ago) showed that the wine is changing (from the initial fruity monster) into a typic Hermitage of 1st rate … slowly but steadily …
I´ve absolutely no doubts about this wine being great to drink in another 10+years … and for another 2-3 decades …
(absolutely nothing hard …)
He also asked for Bordeaux, and something he could afford 
2003: I would look to Champagne…you can get Krug, DP, and a few others great wines that will likely age until your kids are 21 with little problems.
2006: Barolo & Barbaresco is THE place I’d go…Champagne is also affordable and widely available.
Pardon me, but it sounded
that you think it is a bad wine … and I disagree with that …
Gerhard - thanks for the great idea - sadly Craig’s right about the price. I looked it up on my local auction site and was gobsmacked! I had no idea, which shows what an ignoramus I am with Rhone wines! But I’m sure it’s an excellent wine.
Kirk - sadly it’s hard to find anything Italian in France apart from bottles covered in straw! I like the champers idea but is 03 a keepers vintage?
That would be a question for Brad Baker…he’s probably tasted more Champagne in the last year than I have in the last decade. As to Italian wines…isn’t it only about 6-8 hours by car to Piedmont for you? Why not take a weekend trip and head to Barolo land…or other wine shops around Piedmont? It’s beautiful there…
Vieux Chateau Certan 2006 is also a lovely 2006 option.
Thread-drifting: Gerhard, I’ve not actually had the Chave 2003. I have, however, had a whole bunch of the other 2003 Hermitages, with an experienced tasting group that includes people who like “modern” styling as well as those who don’t. Every single wine was flawed; badly. Nobody had anything positive to say about the vintage, and nobody thought any of the wines were good (let alone great). It appears to me the worst Hermitage vintage I’ve come across. If Chave did well (and Chave rules, so that’s quite possible) it must be one heck of an outlier.
We flew to Chicago this weekend for dinner at Gibson’s with my parents, on their 62nd Anniversary.
Our wine was Leoville Poyferre 2003, which was spectacularly elegant. No heat, sugariness, or oak. Just almost-Burgundian fruit, with rich spice and pinpoint balance.
Montrose would have been my recommendation as well. Worth keeping an eye out if it pops up more affordably. I confess to not being a Poyferre fan anyway, but 2003 (for my tastes) was particularly ripe, and noticeably oaky. I’d add Pichon Baron to your list, I actually prefer it to Barton.
I’ll chime in again that I think the 2003 Léoville-Barton is one of the few that will age well and have beautiful balance. I haven’t tasted Montrose…but know it has a good reputation.
Were it me, I would tread lightly in 2003 Bordeaux for all the reasons that caused you to unload without regrets in the first place. I think Montrose is a safe bet. My advice is to consider buying less and sticking with those that are unlikely to unwind. I think Sociando is the cheapest safe bet. Based on my last bottles, Leoville Barton is a better bet than Poyferre, IMO. Pichon Baron is a better bet than PLL. If you’re going to buy PLL (among my favorite Bordeaux) – why buy 2003?
In the next month or so my cellar is going to be finished and my 2003s will be moved from offsite. I’m going to bore everyone to tears with TNs on all my 2003s because I need to decide whether I’m going to keep them or loose them.
Cheers, and good luck whatever you do.
Thanks Victor, that’s extremely kind of you to have remembered after all this time! Thanks also to Alan, Kirk and Jim - much appreciated.
I’ve been busy over the last few months, hunting down most of the wines originally recommended, only one or two of which I’ve been able to try so far (summer in France is never the best time for claret and this summer was particularly hot).
2003: the more difficult of the two, for the reasons Jim and others have pointed out. I did get some Léo-P, more than I had planned - that’s the trouble with auctions: you put a bid for more than one lot in and nobody else bids…so you end up with the lot! It’s in my list to try over the next few weeks. I tried and enjoyed Duhart and Pontet, so got some more. The same with SM - I’m now after the Cuvée Jean Gautreau, but that’s more elusive. I got some Pichon Baron, Léoville-Barton and one bottle of Montrose. Turning away from Bdx, I found some Huet 1ère Trie which sounds promising. That’s it for the time being, but I will get a Cos when the price is right.
2006: far easier, there’s an awful lot around, so I was able to get both Pichons, Lynch, Léo-B, Léo-P, Cos, SM Cuvée Jean Gautreau, Chevalier, Haut-Bailly, Pontet, Brane, Rauzan-S, GPL, plus a few outsiders like Lagrange, along with several Baroli (none of which I have ever tried). Also Coutet and one Huet 1ère Trie. Still after a Trotanoy but otherwise sorted there! In fact it’ll be more a case of whittling the selection down so as to have the same amount for both girls.
It’s been a lot of fun - so thanks again to all who made the suggestions. When the time comes in the future to give them the wines, I’ll explain how I was able to choose them - it’ll be fun telling them that a bunch of winos from around the world, none of whom I had ever met, all popped up with the ideas. Pretty damn cool.