My blog is totally non-commercial.
Best regards,
Alex R.
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Might be worthwhile to post in the BDX 2023 master thread…
While minor, using " * " for stars is a bit difficult to parse out. Might be better off just using numbers like “3 - 3.5 stars”
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I llike the separation between people like me pontificating on price, and actual notes.
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Thanks for the notes, Alex.
Welcome to the site, Alex! Always appreciated your posts on BWE! There is a big Bordeaux following here.
Cheers.
Hey Alex…good to see u on here brother… U were a great asset to BWE…appreciate your Bordeaux coverage 
I’m confused, wasn’t Alex already a contributing member of this site for the good part of the last decade (save for the last few years)?
Edit: I see now most of his Alex’s prior activity was before 2015. Man I’ve been here a while. Anyways welcome back Alex.
Indeed. And a ragtag collection of former BWE refugees. Berserker’s gives good asylum.
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I attended these UGC tasting at Cipriani, in Manhattan. It’s a beautiful venue, but given the crowds, it may be a good idea to look elsewhere for a larger space. While still a bit of a zoo, it was less crowded than last year, but still not easy to focus.
Overall, it was a little bit of a mixed bag; the strength of the vintage seem to be with Cabernet. I liked the wines. The better ones are elegant and classic, and the best examples had enough intensity to make for long aging. Choosing which of these wines is important, because a lot had the elegance, but lacked the stuffing for long term cellaring. These will however show well young; it would be a perfect restaurant vintage at the right price.
One thing that did strike me was how many wines were suffering from reduction. It seemed to be mostly obvious with the properties that had a high percentage of amphorae, which seemed to react with higher percentages of Cabernet Franc. It made it difficult to taste the wines, so I am less confident in a lot of my Right Bank notes and am extrapolating a little.
My clear winner for the second year in a row was a magical Pichon Lalande. Whether it will end up better than the 2022 is debatable, but it will be fun to watch. It is close to if not better and the 2022, and buyers younger than me should buy both and enjoy comparing the two for many years.
The other wines I really liked were Beychevelle, Lynch Bages, a classic Leoville Barton and Rauzan Segla. At a lesser price, Giscours and Les Ormes de Pez. The ever reliable Phelan Segur made something rather special this year.
On the Right Bank, Canon, Valandraud and Beausejour Becot. I liked Pavie Marquin, but I think I was in the minority.
The perfect follow up to a primeur tasting is Pekin Duck, at Pekin Duck House on 53rd Stree. Pekin Duck and salt and pepper shrimp, Prawns with Chili Sauce and Grand Marnier Prawn. We had a number of German wines, (I was a little tired to take notes ) but I did enjoy an interesting Beaucastel 1998 which surprisingly adapted to some of the dishes, even the shrimp ones.
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I see 2023 prices are currently lower than what I paid for them at EP…. and some of my orders are still stuck in Europe and want an additional tariff! I thought 2023s were supposed to be cheap during EP.. but they clearly got cheaper!