Good Bordeaux can come at all price points in a great year
In the past, I have written avoid Kongsgaard Chard as high quality but overpriced. Recently Kongsgaard Napa Chard 2008, 94 points, was advertised at $86, down from $108. The wine is at its peak the next three years. It is a good buy at this level and age, if you wish to try one of the best Napa Chards made by an iconic producer. My rap on pricey California Chardonnay has always been that it doesn't cellar like the best white burgundy. That is the case with this Kongsgaard as well. Only buy what you can consume before 2014. It may cellar longer, but maybe not.
More in keeping with our budgetary guidelines is the 2007 Angel's Landing Cabernet Sauvignon rated 89 by many. I added two points on price. You would be hard pressed to locate this high quality for $17, down from $25. I am sure wise buyers can also earn 10 or more percent on a case buy. Deep, dark wine colored Cab with a great depth of blackberry, currant and mocha. Very good structure with very ripe tannins; 2007 compares favorably with 2001 and '02.
Another gem is Go Figure Lot 9 Spring Mountain 2008 on sale under $250/case. Loads of raspberry fruit, mocha, spices and a structured finish. Aeration is appropriate unless you cellar it a few more years.
For those who think good Bordeaux must be expensive, keep in mind that in great years, it's all good. The 2009s I have sampled are all terrific. If you are looking for a day-to-day Bordeaux, check out some of the 2009 QPRs. Here is what you will be looking at in a broad- brush approach.
Classed-growth Bordeaux are generally based on Cabernet Sauvignon. However, Merlot, Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot play important roles in adding tannin or color or complexity to the finished wines. Winemakers in each locality in each region can decide which blend is suited to their unique micro- or meso-climate. The most famous of these, the big five, have some general traits specific to the locale.
St. Estephe: big, rustic wines, from heavy clay soils. Most famous is Cos Destournel 2nd Grand Cru. Paulliac: considered to be more elegant with a balance of ripe fruit, minerality and structure, Lafite, Latour and Mouton O'boy! Pomerols from the smallest of the regions are my favs, with their ripe, juicy, softer, Merlot-driven productions. Chateau L'Evangile 1998 may be served at communion - in heaven. St. Julien's always aromatic, blackberry core and supple mouthfeel provided by the sun exposure is home to the Leovilles. You can buy from any local farmer and find great stuff in this region. In Margaux, we often find a softer wine with floral and berry notes. Of course Chateau Margaux is famous. Graves produces wine redolent of tobacco, gravel and smoke; Haut Brion and the Pessacs live here. St. Emilion, with its wonderfully ripe Cabernet Franc, produces the dark, ripe wines. There was a great deal of controversy when the region was added to the 1885 classe. One only needs to sample Chateaux Ausone or Cheval Blanc to realize it was pure unadulterated snobbery.
I would be remiss indeed to leave Pomerol from this listing, although Pierre breathe de La Grenouille has. It is home to a fairly nice label. Chateau Petrus - you may have heard of it. In a blatant snub the French wine experts refuse to rate Petrus. Nearly every writer, rater, ranker and consumer who has tried this spectacular offering has been reduced to a slobbering addict who would sell Granny to get another taste. Or so I have heard. Chateaux LePin and Ausone are also up to snuff.
