2014 Bordeaux Vintage

[Brian_G_r_a_f_s_t_r_o_m]

That’s how I feel about Capbern, too.

[Marcu_Stanley]

Disappointing to hear as I have a couple of bottles of the LMHB and was looking forward to them. It’s been the one of the cheapest LMHB on the market for a while - I’ve seen them going at auction for well under $200/bottle. It does have some positive CT reviews

[Craig_G]

2014 VCC showed really well at last week’s tasting.

[Marcu_Stanley]

@Jeff_Leve

Leave it to me to disagree with most of you

Wines clearly display their character, personality and potential by 10. Most are IMO, ready to drink. That doesn’t mean they are fully mature, but they are, what they are, good or bad, and that’s not going to change.

Leopards do not change their spots.

This is an odd claim to me. I had a number of 2000s that were very hard drinking at 10 years old but have emerged since.

With that said it is true that the basic vintage character tends to be evident by 10

[Mark-C]

I’ve only drank two bottles from 2014: Lynch Bages and Leoville Poyferre. Both were excellent but I’m easily impressed by good Bordeaux. Maybe it was the meal or the friends I was eating with at the restaurant but LB stood out as one of the best wines I’ve ever drank. I was quite surprised to find out it wasn’t as highly rated as other vintages close to the same period. I’ve bought some more vintages since then but have not had the opportunity to drink any. I thought the LP was also very good and have been looking for good prices on both to acquire more. I didn’t take a pic of the LB.

[Adam_Powadiuk]

@Mikko_Tuomi

It’s almost funny to see people asking $500 for 2013 Margaux. I had it at a tasting and consider it almost undrinkable.

Do you know of any 2013s that are worth drinking?

A friend was hosting a night of blowout wines that included the Margaux 2013. I thought the Larcis Ducasse 2010 and Calon-Segur 2010 were leagues better at a fraction of the price. Obviously there is a vintage advantage when comparing 2010 to 2013 but these wines are not supposed to be on the same level as Chateau Margaux.

[B_Beachy]

@Adam_Powadiuk

@Mikko_Tuomi

It’s almost funny to see people asking $500 for 2013 Margaux. I had it at a tasting and consider it almost undrinkable.

Do you know of any 2013s that are worth drinking?

A friend was hosting a night of blowout wines that included the Margaux 2013. I thought the Larcis Ducasse 2010 and Calon-Segur 2010 were leagues better at a fraction of the price. Obviously there is a vintage advantage when comparing 2010 to 2013 but these wines are not supposed to be on the same level as Chateau Margaux.

2013 is unanimously the worst vintage in Bordeaux red wine for quite some time and it isn’t close, though. I’ve not tried any, but from what I’ve read, it would be like comparing the day old dumpster remains at a Michelin restaurant to the best night at a gastro pub.

[Carter_Pelham]

I think the point is - why are the wines still valued at those levels, it doesn’t make sense. I had an absolutely drinkable 2013 Montrose recently, but it’s still overvalued. I have to imagine the first growth price to quality is inflated even more.

[B_Beachy]

@Carter_Pelham

I think the point is - why are the wines still valued at those levels, it doesn’t make sense. I had an absolutely drinkable 2013 Montrose recently, but it’s still overvalued. I have to imagine the first growth price to quality is inflated even more.

I think I jumped in and commented without reading back in the conversation far enough. I thought it was a commentary on Margaux being overrated in general based on the 2013 vintage . I certainly don’t disagree on the 2013 prices sounding crazy for almost everything. (I also don’t have enough experience with Margaux to say if it’s overrated or not in any vintage)

[Mark_Golodetz]

Petrus 2013, which is not a terrible wine sells for between $2400 and $3000. Not terrible translates into a wine that breaks 90 points but not by much, and in the context of the vintage, a success.

This is obviously all about the label not the wine.

Now play the game. That equals

18 bottles of Montrose 2019 or 12 bottles of 2016
8 bottles of most vintages of VCC
4 bottles of 2016 Cheval Blanc
12 bottles Pichon Lalande 1989 or 14 bottles of 2019
4 bottles of the magnificent Mouton 2016 (my choice). Etc etc.

Questioning how Petrus or Margaux can make mediocre wine and still charge top dollar, is a why do dogs lick their balls question.

[JLuch]

Curious Mark and others, do you have a top 5 list you like from the 14 vintage. Excluding first growths?

[MChang]

@JLuch

Curious Mark and others, do you have a top 5 list you like from the 14 vintage. Excluding first growths?

Vcc

[JLuch]

Are you listing just VCC because it’s the only non first growth you’d buy or because you just listed one of your top wines of the vintage?

[Mark_Golodetz]

I have not tasted 2014 exhaustively, but here are some that I have liked

VCC
Eglise Clinet
Montrose
Ducru
Leoville Barton
Palmer

[Mikko_Tuomi]

The fact that some critics gave 13 Margaux 95 points shows that some critics are more interested in keeping their freebie allocations than actually amd honestly rating wine.

[ErlendFA]

Leoville Barton ‘14 is approachable now?

[Jim_F]

I had 2014 Montrose a couple weeks ago. I liked it, but not nearly ready. Balanced, tasty but tight as a drum imo. Maybe another 5+ years?

[Adam_Powadiuk]

I spent the morning reading all about Bordeaux 2014 in this thread. That same afternoon I was at the wine store and spotted a bottle of Cos d’Estournel 2014 for a very good price. I figured it was the universe sending me a message so I bought it.

[Chris_Seiber]

[Jim_F]

I should add that I am happy that I have a few more, so that I can see if any “magic” occurs down the road a bit.