Probably because it is too extracted and not my style. Many of the highest points go to wines that tend toward bigness, not always, but often. Plus, many of these wines need 20+ years to show themselves best and I don’t think I’d want to spend for that at my stage in life.
The 1996 and 1998 Haut Brions were drinking wonderfully a couple of years ago when I had them, although they likely will continue to improve. I liked both more than the 1990, although others at the table disagreed. No really wrong decision here. If you want to drink the wines now, these are a much better bet than a 2016.
My personal preference is Haut Brion over Lafite. If you want to try a first growth and most of us do, a 95 point wine for half the price (or a case of a good QPR wine) will not scratch the itch, no matter how good these wines are.
Lafite makes great wines and there is nothing wrong with buying Lafite, but it sells for a premium because of its name and I just love the flavor profile of Haut Brion. Whether you will prefer HB or Lafite probably is more a matter of taste and less of quality, so unless you have some idea that you will like the Lafite better, why not pay half the price?
Curious. Why did you decide to buy a 2016 rather than a mature wine. Do you plan to hold it for 20-30 years?
Have you tried a Pavie? A fundamentally different profile. I do not like Pavie at all, but my friends that like Napa Cabs, like Pavie but Haut Brion is just ok. Totally different plates. I think some people like both modern and traditional styles, but to me these are so different.
And FWIW, it’s fun to try all these wines and styles, and fortunate for you that you can clearly afford to do it. Makes exploration easier!
I would do the same mostly because there is an artificial premium added to the price of a wine thats out of line with the increase in rating going from a 99 to a 100. for example, the steady price increase you get as you go 95 to 96 to 97 to 98 gets totally obliterated at the 99 to 100 range.
especially with a wine like Haut Brion, where in recent vintages even a “bad” vintage is a damn good wine, the price increase reflects the fact that it is a commodity and collectors item in the 99-100 range mores than the amount of increase in enjoyment you get as you move to those levels.
not to mention, as someone above has said, there is a big difference typically between a Parker 100, a Galloni 100, and a Suckling 100. From a cost standpoint AND from a wine profile standpoint.
I would agree that I would rather have a case of 95-97point wines over a single bottle of 100 point wine. mostly because I know that, for me, the pressure would be too huge on opening a bottle like a 100 point HB or Lafite. Is the occasion ever big enough for that ONE amazing bottle?? I might be thinking 20th wedding anniversary, but isnt 50 an even bigger deal for my most expensive wine? haha
I do plan on storing the wine as to me that is the best part about collecting wine. I love the whole process
There is definitely something to be said for that. I still have a few of the bottles I bought when I first started collecting 20 years ago (whoa!), and it’s fun to pull them and see why i bothered in the first place. There’s no rational reason for feeling this way, but those couple of bottles are more special to me than anything I’ve bought more recently that was libraried, etc.