Bordeaux Brilliance

As I reflect on another great year of wine drinking, it has dawned on me that much of what I’ve consumed has been Bordeaux. More importantly, I’m thinking about how much I have enjoyed drinking it, and have found a renewed love for it. As I was creating this list it dawned me that I’ve personally had quite a few of these, and can offer my own first hand feedback about quite a few of these bottles and won’t have to just rely on the critics to provide reviews for us.

For me, the wine that stands out as a clear not-to-be-missed bottle, and one that I would immediately jump on, is the 2000 La Mission Haut Brion. It’s a wine I’ve had regularly over the last 20 years, and one that I fell in love with when it hit the market back when it was first released. The great news is that this wine continues to flourish and is turning into the brilliant masterpiece that we would all expect from it. To think what the price of this wine would be if it were a 1999 Burgundy? There’s probably a zero missing in the price. What about a Harlan or Screaming Eagle? Certainly far more expensive than this. There are also 2000s from Calon Segur, Lynch Bages, Ducru, Cos, Latour and Margaux, and you simply can’t go wrong with any of them, though I would leave the Latour and Margaux in the cellar for a few more years (or at least a 3+ hour decant).

Another highlight from this list for me are the 1999 and 2012 Palmer. The 1999 was a wine that has always punched above the vintage and continues its amazing maturation with ease. I frankly think that is what makes Chateau Palmer so special, that even in generally solid years, they are making great wine that always stands out. I just had the 2012 a few weeks ago and can easily attest that it was a wise decision for them to re-release this wine – it’s stunning right now. Other highlights of strong wines from not the most standout vintages come from names like Lafite, Latour, Petrus, Margaux and Haut Brion- and thankfully come with a more friendly price tag too.

Of course, it is always easy to select one of the 7 triple digit rated wines in this offer, including 9 other wines that rated 97 or more!