Bordeaux Premier Cru Reds

Mouton-Rothschild, because I like pretty paintings.

Especially the ones with boobs in them.

I've only had the 93 Mouton of this lot. Had the 97 Margaux and the *3 Haut Brion, at the same tasting. The Margaux was my fave.
Om nom nom.
;)

these wines are all absurd

i've had a wine from margaux but not from the actual chateau margaux; it was good

i've also been to pauillac, which is a depressing and dirty little town

Voted for the Haut-Brion but I'd gladly take any of these.

i'm pretty much against all of these in principle. it's like buying a $100 perfume. does it really smell THAT good? on the other hand, the rothschilds are some of the most irritating people ever, so i maybe hate those a little more.

Here's a vintage that might be more your speed:

http://www.starbrite.com/Prodimages/31400-RV-50-Antifreeze.jpg

Voted for the Haut-Brion but I'd gladly take any of these.

x2

If you want to try a few of these with the proper age on 'em, come to Chicago this weekend.

Aw, sounds good. Are you going?

i'm pretty much against all of these in principle.

I have tasted all of these (can't remember the vintages, though) and yes, I'm pretty sure I don't have the palate to appreciate their true value but if someone wanted to share any of these with me, I certainly wouldn't refuse on principle.

i'm pretty much against all of these in principle terms of not being able to afford them.

have you ever had someone give you a really nice bottle of wine? it becomes like a millstone, it's awful. "no, we can't open it". i know it's dumb to behave this way but when you know something costs like $75 it just feels wasteful to drink it. (which is exactly why some people love it, i guess)

my guess at the true value of all these is about $35 tops

of course see king boy's post for the real "true value" hardware of spirits

my guess at the true value of all these is about $35 tops

Please refer to the law of supply and demand.

Luckily, I drink less and less red and almost exclusively with food, now, though I really do like good Bordeaux as much as anything. To be fair, good Barolo or Burgundy can be just as dear but mediocre Bordeaux, of which there is plenty, is awful. It's interesting to me, in passing, that I've very rarely had truly 'fine' wine in France; most of my friends being of ordinary means, they have a native knack for finding good regional wines suited to taste and let collectors and foreigners pay the export prices.

I've only had nice Bordeaux a handful of times, but I gotta say it's worth every penny. Spectacular.

I agree about the awkwardness about getting a nice bottle of wine as a gift. I usually just say fuck it and open it.

I feel like it depends on the circumstances. According to proper etiquette, just because someone brings over a fab bottle of wine to your party/dinner does not mean you have to drink it; the host being expected (unless otherwise mentioned) to provide libations and if it's a grand marque but the cru is too young, I'll put it away for a couple of years until one of my oenophile friends tells me it's likely to be good. This happens rarely enough, though, and if you've ever been to one of my parties, you know that by the end of the evening, most everything has been guzzled.

xxp
Just open it! It's Tuesday! ;D
I did save my bottle of Pol Roger Winston Churchill 93 for a special occasion, either buying a house or my 50th birthday, whichever came first.
Had it on my birthday.

"...if it's a grand marque but the cru is too young, I'll put it away for a couple of years..."

I agree. Plus I assume that a guest who would bring such a bottle would understand that it would have to lie down for a while.

Exactly. Actually, that's the second part of the equation of politeness; you put it down for four or five years or whatever and when it's ready, you damn well make sure, if possible, that they get invited when it's time to quaff it.

Automatic thread bump. This poll is closing tomorrow.

Automatic thread bump. This poll's results are now in.

revive, trolling for recomendations if you have any.

trawling?

they are all great

is it a gift?

actually, no. have you been to Bordeaux tho?

about three times a year. my wife is from there. as i think i've said upthread, the wines in the poll are the kind of overkill that only really make sense in the context of trying to impress a potential business partner or something

Whoa awesome! If you have any recommendations in the area I would be super stoked.

We're stopping by on the way from Paris to Hendaye. I still have my international drivers license, I imagine hiring a car is necessary?

Yeah. Avoid the autoroute - it'll take longer, but it'll be cheaper and you'll see some beautiful vineyards. Some of the chateaux will be closed because it's after the season now, but many will be open and will give you a tour. There are signs along the road pointing out pretty much every chateau so just pull off the road and poke your nose around.. If you get a tour, you'll also get a little tasting at the end and the opportunity to buy some bottles.

My in-laws feel the Medoc, just west of Bordeaux, has the best wines in general (that's where Margaux is, but also Le Grand Listrac is from there too: awesome and like 6 euros a bottle) .. hard to go wrong though really. Further south you might want to try a Sauternes or two - I really like it now (and it goes great with the foie gras that you're going to be bringing as a present to whoever lives in Hendaye, right?)

Oh and get ready for people to tailgate you and generally drive like assholes

but anyway, my picks?

Chateau Chasse-Spleen
Chateau Larruau
Le Grand Listrac

tracer what are yr thoughts on chateau palmer? we were given a few bottles of the 1994 (but havent had them yet)

I've never had it. Try it and tell us! A quick Google makes it sound like it will probably be very good.

i hope so! im not the fussiest person when it comes to wine so im pretty sure it will meet my standards

just sayin, do you know the Palmers? O_o

(Freakin small world if so)

Palmer means that an ancestor was a crusader.

(I'm having lunch with one of them today)

A crusader?

No you buffoon, a winemaker. He invited us to stay with him at CP, we're going to talk about it at lunch to see if we can work it out.

haha no! my grandfather just had a few cases so gave us some to take home last time we visited him

ha Shasta I think M. Palmer can probably give you better advice than us

Such harsh words, Steve! :(

Btw, make it work out. That sounds awesome.

Ha Steve I mentioned you might be staying at Chateau Palmer to the lovely Emma B and she was like "whozaaaa, really?"