Help a newbie with 2016 BDX in the ~$50-$75 range

So I know nothing about Bordeaux beyond the basics. I buy mostly most California, Burgundy, and Rhone wines. My only real experience with Bordeaux is at the high end when friends bring nice bottles for dinner. Over time, I’ve been to discover my California cab palate is trending towards more Bordeaux-like, so trying to explore it more. I bought some futures a while back so I have some exposure at the higher end (Lynch-Bages, Pontet-Canet, etc), but given 2016 being such a strong vintage, what should I be exploring in the $50-$75 range?

It looks like Brane Cantenac just might squeeze in there, on futures.

Oddly, I just bought some 2016 Bdx, and literally have nothing in that range – I have under that, and a few over that. Very odd. The closest at 49 is Phelan Segur. I can’t seem to find my notes from the UGC SF tasting, where i think I liked some in that price range but for whatever reason did not bite.

SHL Blanc is now about $100 on futures - yikes.

But you might be able to find Johnathan Maltus’s Clos Nardian blanc in that price range [if he even made it in 2016 - it’s not showing up on Wine-Searcher right now].

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Chateau Monbousquet.

I would expect that most of the wines in this range will appear in the market after release around the same price or slightly higher, so you probably don’t need to rush, and waiting would offer the opportunity to sample them.

I haven’t tasted the 16 but one chateau I like a lot at the low end of this range is Gloria.

Well, to start, why 2016? 2015 is excellent also and may be a bit less $ for some wines, and 2014 is good with much better pricing. But for even for 2016, there are lots of choices in your price range. There are a couple threads here on WB from recent mass 2016 bordeaux tastings. Maybe those notes will help. If you liked Lynch Bages and Pontet Canet, then other wines from Pauillac may appeal,to you: Grand Puy Lacoste, and Clerc Milon I bought. Somewhat similat woould be St. Julien where the aforementioned Gloria is from, but also Branaire, Beychevelle, langoa barton, and for just a bit over your range, Leoville Barton. Other purported stars from the left bank include Rauzan Segla and Carmes Haut Brion. And there are many more.

Domaine de Chevalier, Brane-Cantenac, Langoa Barton. I thought all 3 represented good value in that price range (value for the vintage that is. Not sure it represented good value in an absolute sense). If you’re buying Bordeaux in that range, I would also consider stretching out for Gazin, which was very nice.

I agree that it is foolish for a newbie to Bordeaux to buy 2016s, esp. in this price range. Virtually all of the 2016s mentioned above need a decade or more of aging before they begin to show why people love Bordeaux. The OP should look for 2001s, 2004s, 2006s and 2008s in this price range that he can drink now.

+1 on the Dom. Chevalier.

I would also echo the sentiment of going for 2014s instead of 2016s at the very least

cantenac brown

Another vote for Domaine de Chevalier.

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Brane Cantenac ($70-90); Beausejour Becot ($75-80); Domaine de Chevalier ($70-75); Lagrange ($50); Malartic Lagraviere ($55-65); Malescot St. Exupery ($55-60). These are all 95 points or higher. Get down into the 93-94 point range and there are boatloads more in the price range: Gazin, Giscours, Larcis Ducasse and St. Pierre for starters. Some of the 94 pointers are actually less than your $50 cut-off (Labegorce, for instance). Yes, points aren’t everything, but the point is that there are lots and lots of good wines in that price range for you to try.

If you were going to go a little above this range, but below the prices of the wines you listed, I would seek out Leoville Poyferre and Leoville Barton (the latter if you are young and have a long life ahead of you).

I picked up some Branaire-Ducru and Gruaud Larose this weekend, both in that range, the latter close to being over. It’s easy enough to backfill Bordeaux but I want to start laying some stuff down from strong vintages and sampling my own bottles purchased on release, in 5, 10, 15, 20 year intervals.

For my palate If I had to pick just one appellation I’d go Pauillac and look at stuff like GPL, Duhart-Milon, Pontet-Canet and Lynch-Bages but obviously above $75.

Are you looking for BDX whites as well?

Contrary to some opinions here, I wouldn’t buy anything 2014-2016. I’d go back to 2000, 2001, 2003, 2005 and 2006 and buy some of the producers or regions suggested, find what I like and what I’d like to age more and then buy 2014-2016 accordingly based on vintages.

Malescot St. Exupery
Labegorce

Speak it! In the last two years, I’ve had 8 bottles of Bordeaux, with the youngest being from 2005. I’ve learned that I like it with a certain age (or right on release), so I’m sitting on wine instead of enjoying it. Even if you were to go back to '08, '09, and '10, you will have a big head start compared to current releases. It helps to diversify. Bordeaux is practically indestructible.