La Source has panache in chardonnay culture

By the time you get around to this week’s column, the last of the turkey on rye will be gone. As usual we had family and a few friends over to enjoy the day. Thanksgiving is truly a thankful time of year for me. My wedding anniversary and Connor’s birthday coincide. The celebration goes on for days. As usual, I’m  skipping black Friday, ugly Saturday and hangover Sunday this year. The news cycle has me ready to put on my jammies, pull the blankets over my head and go quietly into that long, long night. Nothing super has come out of D.C. in quite a while.

So, what’s a guy to do? After careful consideration, I decided it was time to crack open a 1988 Chateau Mouton, carefully laid down when Connor was born, to celebrate birthdays after 21. If you are a cellarer try to remember that older red wines throw off sediment. It is wise to turn them up onto their base several days in advance to allow that sediment to slide to the bottom of the bottle. Be careful not to jostle the bottle too much, as it takes a while to resettle the more it is disturbed. I’ll let you know next week how the wine held up.

For those who have Chardonnay buffs to gift over the holidays, look around for Evening Land Eola-Amity Hills, Oregon Seven Springs Vineyards' La Source 2009, 97 points by WS and W&S.  RP stiffed them with 92. Their genuflection wasn’t French enough.  Pale, golden- colored, bouquet of pineapple, mineral, oyster shell and talc leads to pear, quince and lemon blossom flavors enhanced by tight minerality and proper acidity.  The finish is long and creamy with hints of hazelnut. Drink 2013-20. Reminds me of a top Pouilly Fuisse. The problem is the $60 price sticker. You can buy a Les Combettes Pouilly, 2006 for $54. Still the La Source has more panache in today’s Chardonnay culture.

Just read an enjoyable price comparison by Greg dal Piaz writing for Snooth in which he illustrates the ripoff in the premium wine markets. Folllowing is a brief excerpt: "I didn’t buy any first growth Bordeaux back in 1986. I was both too poor and too stupid to know any better. Chateau Lafite Rothschild has been the poster boy for wild price escalation over the past decade, so it’s very interesting to see what has happened with their pricing. In 1986, the 1982 Lafite was a lofty $83.99 while the 1983 was only $49.50. Today 1982 Lafite Rothschild average price: $5,500 (6,548 percent appreciation); 1983 Lafite Rothschild: $1,100 (2,220 percent); 2008 Lafite Rothschild: $1,800 (more than the ‘83, you have to be nuts!).

According to dal Piaz's calculations, $83.99 in 1986 dollars should translate into roughly $173 with inflation. The 2008 is selling for over 10 times more! What is up with that? And what the heck is up with Lafite selling for 40 times the price of Prieure Lichine these days? Oh, the horror! Greg goes on to explore less well-known production. In this exhibit he used Chateau  Prieure Lichine, both vintages purchased at $13.89 - 1982 average price now $115 (820 percent appreciation); 1983 average price: $110 (785 percent appreciation), 2008 average price: $45. “Well," writes Greg, "it looks like both the 1982 and 1983 vintages have worked out well as investments, and the 2008 is less than twice the price of those earlier vintages.

I have recapped Greg's column to reinforce the information provided in a recent column regarding the 2009 vintage in Bordeaux. Folks, this vintage is so great that you can buy nearly any red Bordeaux and lay it down. Don’t let the high- priced prostitutes have their way with you. First search out a well-known bottle that is very highly rated, taste it, then look for an inexpensive bottle that tastes the same to you. Trust your buds.  Buy as much of this as you can. Lay away.  Place in dark cool spot and leave it alone for six to eight years. Drink with great joy through 2040.