GOOD NEWS! My wife is mad at how much I have bought in response to all of you kind people responding where I asked “if you could collect one Bordeaux over the last 20 years, which would it be?” I have been rapidly trying to buy 2016’s wherever I see them for good prices. In fact, if you haven’t seen it, there is a deal on 2016 Bordeaux happening here right now: 2016 Bordeaux – Internet Wines.com
I also just purchased a couple en primeur for the first time (2019). So, now I have a different sort of question that I would like some thoughts on as I tend to be a fan of consistency and verticals (over time). So, that leads me to ask a random question, but a thought provoking one in my mind. Sorry to be lengthy, here goes…
Question: If you could collect the wine of a single Chateau from each of the 5 classes of the 1855 classification (left bank) consistently over the years…which would it be? Please consider price/value and consistency as the main two criteria.
Thanks in advance as you are all so helpful for us “youngins” trying to get into the game.
I can’t comment on first growths because they’ve always been too expensive to be a part of my life.
2nd: Leoville Barton (edging-out Pichon Baron, due to QPR)
3rd: Malescot St. Exupery
4th: Branaire-Ducru
5th: Grand Puy Lacoste (hard to choose between GPL, Pontet Canet, and Cantemerle … just depends on how important QPR/Value is — I went in the middle)
First growth is hard to pin down (Latour doesn’t offer EP any longer) - most consistent IMHO is Lafite Rothschild
2nd. Leoville Barton or Poyferre depending on what style you prefer (Poyferre is more austere)
3rd. Giscours offers good value as well as Kirwan (Have a soft spot for Margaux that punches above its class)
4th. Beychevelle
5th. Grand Puy Lacoste seems to offer consistent drink ability, age worthiness, and QPR. Pontet - Canet also a close second.
Beychevelle because they have been consistently increasing in quality over the last 30 years, OP asked for consistency while minding QPR. But Beychevelle is in a class of its own for a 4th growth IMHO
The exercise is a little strange as it is based on a hierarchy that was drawn up over 150 years ago that was meant to be an exercise for a specific fair and never to be the straitjacket that it later became. It has limited relevance now, as chateaux get better or worse, increase or decrease and sometimes just disappear. The fact that so many of the chateaux mentioned in this thread are values because they far exceed their place in the classification. They are also far more expensive than others in the same growth.
Lately it has become even more irrelevant, as we can focus on individual wines from a specific year. Much more useful than an outdated, often incorrect work done so many years ago, and now pretty useless. Not completely and better than nothing. And they did get the First Growths right.
Totally agree, but it is one way to see what might be considered consistent wines rather than just “the best” Bordeaux. Also, if you include the idea of QPR, I think being forced to give one per level is an exercise that would help me (and others hopefully) notice certain producers that have been overlooked because you are comparing them to “roughly” their long term counterparts. Another way I could have done this would be to ask for levels of costs of Bordeaux…but that would be tough as so much can change around a certain wine and the vintage of that wine (which you noted above). Consistency and Value. That is what I was looking for. Sorry you didn’t like the question.
Over time the performance of many properties has varied, and consistency over more than 20 years has not always been achieved. Add in the fact that styles have changed as critics influences have come and gone and different properties have floated my boat in different decades. However the following have given me a lot of pleasure or in recent years a lot of promise and have strong QPR.
I can’t afford the firsts.
Léoville Barton
Lagrange
Lafon Rochet
Cantemerle