Boycott Bordeaux! (and others)

[JohnL]

To John L.'s post above only one word:  Bravo!!!!  And if I had to add three more words those would be "Continuez, Monsieur.....Continuez!"*

*For those not familiar with French colloquialisms, there is no higher compliment one person can pay another.

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Daniel!

I am honored and humbled that someone of your stature has found some points of agreement with my position.

I would like to note that I am not disparaging the original post by Busboy. In fact, his post inspired me to think about the issue.

Prices for wine are quite high, in general, but so are prices for many things.

(in 1972 I bought a brand new automobile for $3,500, my latest car of similar quality set me back $40,000)

I too have "discovered" a wine only to see it become priced either too highly for it to represent a good value to me or worse, become priced too high for me to even afford.

The wine press has become fixated on prices of some wines and seem to prefer the attention grabbing headline "A California Cabernet for a thousand dollars a bottle!" to any kind of insight or perspective (good reporting). They would rather create a controversy and feed off of it than to present a well informed look at the situation.

In turn, consumers get caught up in the hullabaloo and lose sight of reality.

That thousand dollar bottle of cabernet is, in reality, often a two hundred dollar bottle--its true initial offering price. But a thousand dollars (its secondary market price) is far sexier in a headline.

What is a wine worth?

I firmly believe that each wine deserves to be judged individually in terms of its quality. Tasted blind. Then we can debate its "value."

In the end, value is always a relative term whose definition is determined by the individual (sometimes collectively).

Time and the marketplace seem to take care of prices, moderating the hype and PR.

Also many highly prized wines often live off of their reputations, a reminder that man plays an awfully important role in quality. We'd like to believe the hype that Margaux, for eg, is always "Margaux" but the truth is before the current regime (ownership and wine maker) Margaux was often of less than first growth quality (and price). All wines regardless of provenance and terroir can have their ups and downs--they are after all, only"human" (endeavors).

Let's not forget nature! A bad vintage is a bad vintage (sometimes overcome by man often not).

So first growths are priced dearly. Those lucky enough to afford them will have a great time drinking them--I simply can not get inside their heads and determine if they appreciate them to my satisfaction--their "worthiness" to own and drink these wines. But the silver lining is many lesser growths are now of great quality and lower price. Some upstart vintners are populating every corner of the globe and making some exciting wines. New generations are taking ownership of hallowed and not so hallowed properties.

I recently tasted an Argentine Malbec that reminded me of a young Haute Brion from a great vintage.

The Haut Brion is several hundred dollars, the Malbec eighty!

The number of good quality wines under even ten dollars a bottle is staggering.

There is a trickle down effect with wine.

I have only begun to explore the Middle East! As you can attest far better than I--this is an area with a great future for wine (hopefully some enduring peace will promote the evolution of wine making).

I can't help but be a glass is half full person.

Sure one half of my glass is empty--but look--I have some wine left!!!!

Cheers!!!

[Capaneus]

Sorry if this is a topic better left for dead but I just nearly choked on my evening tipple reading the wine ads in the NYTimes food section (yes, I know, it is very sad). To wit:

'05 Chateau Petrus - $2999/btl

No case price given.

Can anyone come close to this on a release price?

Edited September 28, 2006 by Capaneus (log)

[JohnL]

Sorry if this is a topic better left for dead but I just nearly choked on my evening tipple reading the wine ads in the NYTimes food section (yes, I know, it is very sad). To wit:

'05 Chateau Petrus - $2999/btl

No case price given.

Can anyone come close to this on a release price?

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Gary's in NJ offers it for $2500 a bottle--that's a savings of

$4,800 on a case!

(I don't know if a case discount applies.)

Sad?

only if your "evening tipple" is first growth Bordeaux.

I doubt that many people will even see 05 Petrus when it arrives

there are only around three thousand cases of the stuff to meet a worldwide demand.

[MaxH]

'05 Chateau Petrus - $2999/btl

No case price given.

Can anyone come close to this on a release price?

Sure! Several years ago I strolled the aisles of a warehouse-type wine shop with a fine-wine newbie who'd expressed an interest in Burgundies. This particular shop had eclectic inventory. From open boxes on each side of the aisle I pulled out leading white and red produce from vineyards under the Societé Civile du Domaine de la Romanée-Conti and casually suggested these two wines for a well-balanced collection (in order to see the reaction). The white's price tag said $1400 and the red's $4000. (Le Montrachet and Romanée-Conti vineyards respectively.) The suggestion was of course tongue-in-cheek. (I handled the bottles carefully.)

Ironically the report of the Pétrus above is a report on our times at least as much as on the wine. I remember in 1980 that you could (a) find Pétrus bottles on shelves from the 1970s; I priced the 1970 (it was under $100, in 1980 dollars) and (b) more broadly, you'd find the last decade or so in shops. The inventory stayed on the market for years, and got pricier as it got older.

Where would the price of Pétrus be without so much name recognition and trophy value?

What does this say about where astute consumers seek fine-wine values?