help needed dropping bombs

J

Joel Stewart

Joel Stewart
ok, i made a mistake and allowed myself to be talked into sharing a 2005 futures order with a couple of friends who i thought knew bordeaux well. the wines are all in...and i'm not sure i want what appears to be a handful of fruitbombs. before i jettison any though, i thought i'd ask any bordeaux freaks here what their thoughts are on these wines.

i do not have extensive experience with bordeaux, but i am not looking for wines that conjure up comments like "inky black", "hedonistic", "gobs" etc. the few bords i have really enjoyed in the past were: sociando-mallet (with 20 yrs of age), lynch-bages, and duhart-milon. to me, these were wines which showed elegance, balance and structure...not over the top in any sense. conversely, i was repulsed by a recent 2000 smith-haut lafite, which tasted like it came from mclaren vale.

thanks in advance for your thoughts

Carbonnieux
Destieux
Lafon Rochet
Pipeau
Faizeau Montagne
Sociando Mallet
 
Not trying to sound mischievous, but the selection makes me wonder what your friends base their buying decisions on: merrily following the Pied Piper? Seriously, were it not for ratings by influential wine critics, who'd even know Chteau Pipeau exists?

There is a chance that the Carbonnieux, unless filtered too severely and stripped of some its characteristics, may be to your liking. The Destieux, from a stylistic perspective, may not be (I have friends who like the wine, definitely a matter of taste - it's a Michel Rolland wine, any questions?). The Faizeau Montagne is another New World wine erroneously labelled as Bordeaux. Experience has taught me to never prematurely give up on Sociando-Mallet (which I must admit is the only wine in this selection I would have bought in the first place) - but patience is required! Were I in your position and had already bought it on subscription (assuming this means at a fair price), I might also give the Lafon Rochet the benefit of doubt.

By the way, die-hard fans of Lynch-Bages will tell you it is the epitome of hedonism!

Greetings from Switzerland, David.
_________________

J'ai gch vingt ans de mes plus belles annes au billard. Si c'tait refaire, je recommencerais. Roger Conti
 
originally posted by Jeff Grossman:
Many moons ago I liked Lafon Rochet.
Click to expand...

If it is sufficiently many moons ago, I don't think you'd find it recognizable as the same wine. I haven't tasted it recently, but something happened around 2000.
 
originally posted by Jonathan Loesberg:
If it is sufficiently many moons ago, I don't think you'd find it recognizable as the same wine. I haven't tasted it recently, but something happened around 2000.
Click to expand...
94 - 98, or so. You're probably right.
 
originally posted by Jeff Grossman:
94 - 98, or so. You're probably right.
Click to expand...
I had the '94 Lafon Rochet a few months back (bought a bottle from HDH at a really good price), thought it was a really good wine that had everything I look for in an older Bordeaux. Would be a shame if they've also gone the inky/hedonistic route since then.
 
I still enjoyed the '98 Lafon Rochet.

I thought the Sociando might turn out fine. Not had the others on the list.

But prices being what they are, I only really enjoyed one '05 Bx, the Gressier Grand Poujeaux, which was available even here of all places for about 20! Oh yeah, and the Chasse-Spleen, too, though that did remind me more of the old York Creek's from Ridge that I have had than Bordeaux.
 
thanks for the input, people. i learned my lesson.

David, thanks. ll probably just keep the SM and the Carbonnieux, and get rid of the rest. (Online notes for the L-R don't point to a wine that I'm interested in sitting on for years.)

Rahsaan, sorry to disappoint you, but maybe this helps?
 
had the 00 lagrange over the last couple of nights. first impressions were bad.....very opaque fruit bomb stuff that disappointed. blind tasting Oz cab's were about as much as i could compliment the wine. (that said, i would easily take this over the smith-haut-lafite any day.) 2nd day more balance, but still...unremarkable.
 
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