Just curious, anyone else heading to the UGC Bordeaux Tasting in Washington, DC this Friday Jan 17th? Should be a pretty amazing event.
I won’t be, but I will do my best to give a full report from the stop here in Toronto on Jan 16.
Make sure you guys report in as we’ll be hitting the L.A. edition thereafter (1/24). I do too much chatting and can never get to more than 2/3 o the wines. I need to prioritize what I hit.
No problem, I’ll happily give you guys an update afterward. ![[cheers.gif]](/uploads/db3686/original/2X/0/0ff9bfcdb0964982cd3240b6159868fbdf215b1a.gif "cheers"){kind=small}
I’m particularly excited for Lynch-Bages, Troplong Mondot, and…well…all of them really.
I’ll also be doing a lot of chatting, but for different reason—I want/need to set up appointments for a visit to Bordeaux in May 
I chatted up a nice young lady from a not to be mentioned chateau a few years back and she gave me a go bottle! I’d like to think that it was because of my dashing looks and quick wit, but it was probably just because I liked the wine and she was too tired to carry it out.
I do have an inflated sense of my own charm and wit so I would probably conclude the same thing.
Haven’t decided. I may head over there. I’ll make a decision tonight.
Hi Kevin and others. You’ll unfortunately probably get to taste every single wine poured at your event, as I learned tonight that the UGC group is splitting up, with half, I believe going to St. John, New Brunswick (a curious choice, but kinda glad to hear it, though sad for the DC crowd). I talked to Comte Stephan von Neipperg, among others, about this (he’s not coming to DC). So see if you can check exactly who’s coming.
I will post much more detail in TNs tomorrow, but overall, I tasted 37 wines, including the bulk of the dry whites, probably about 30-40% of the reds—and almost all of those I really wanted—and all of the Sauternes.
I would generalize and say that people have, for the most part, made “honest” wines—that, with my limited experience from each house, they reflect the house style, but most more as a reflection than as true wines of distinction, at least at this stage. There was, for me, only one real star (and the only wine I bought, and I bought two since, at a $125 price point, I had to have 'em), that being Pape Clement. Larrivet Haut-Brion Blanc surprised me as the best dry white for my tastes, and very good efforts from Coutet and La Tour Blanche for Sauternes, with a big surprise for me from de Fargues, the first vintage from them that I’ve ever truly enjoyed.
Everyone seemed in fairly good spirits—I even got complimented once or twice on my French!
Hope whoever goes has a great time.
OK, full TNs here
Mike