Value for money Bordeaux producers

[Chad]

Following on from Teisto's thread on wine styles and also some recent experiments with some Euro wines I would like some advice on purchasing good value Euro wines. In particular any recommendations on Bordeaux producers. To be honest my budget is $50-$150/bottle so obviously no first growths, but I would like to start putting down some ggod value for money Bordeaux at my price point.

Any recommendations would be appreciated. Give me a place to start looking.

Cheers
Chad

[Waiters Friend]

G'day Chad

The question is:

a) do you want to buy current vintages to put away for the future?
b) do you just want to buy Bordeaux, perhaps to drink relatively soon?

If the latter, you can get back vintages at auctions (e.g. Langtons or Sterlings).

Cheers

Allan

[daver6]

Excellent question Chad.

Id be interested in hearing others thoughts on this too. Actually from both option a) and b) as Allan put it.

Thanks

David

[tpang]

I can offer a suggestion for Option B as I've just bought some Duhart Milon Rothschild 2006 for $100/btl for short term drinking.

For Option A), try Sociando Mallet perhaps?

[Peter NZ]

For Option A), try Sociando Mallet perhaps?

Good choice ... my only 2010 EP purchase (at least so far ... )

[Mahmoud Ali]

At similar price points I would alway go for option B. However I would not consider 2006 Bordeaux to be short term drinkers unless we're talking ordinary Bordeaux Superior.Good Bordeaux is mede to cellar. It is very expensive in Australia (relative to the UK and US) and it seems a watse to pay so much and not enjoy it at it's best, with about 20 years under the belt. Even Cru Bourgouis from the 80's are drinking well.

Cheers......................................Mahmoud.

[Mahmoud Ali]

Terence and Peter NZ both recommended Sociando Mallet, an excellent Cru Bourgouis that has a reputation for making very long-lived wines.

I like mature wines so I'm still waiting for my bottle of 1986 Sociando Mallet to come around. According to the reviews it still needs a few more years.

Mahmoud.

[Polymer]

You're not going to find any good values for any recent vintages of Bordeaux...

If you want to experiment, there are a number of older (1980s to early 90s) Bordeaux available at auctions for a reasonable price. Nothing fantastic but in line with what you might buy it for in other countries. Of course, with auctions you never know what you're going to get but buying something retail means you only have to get something decent half of the time and still come out ahead...

[Craig(NZ)]

Terence and Peter NZ both recommended Sociando Mallet, an excellent Cru Bourgouis that has a reputation for making very long-lived wines.

yes but sociandio has become expensive for a Cru Bourgouis

you honestly have to be a bit careful especially at the prices that are around these days. I found that a number of the highly rated 2005's that I bought by the time the total cost was paid that they didn't stand up to a good Hawkes Bay. ie by the time you pay for it, duty, gst, excise, frieght cost of money bla bla the $30-$40 bdx's were no match for a te mata awatea for example

now there are exceptions but even with research pre purchase you are risking it a bit. Personally id dive into some of the cheaper the classified growths where at least the quality is exceptional in a good year

[Mahmoud Ali]

Craig,

You're very right, Sociando Mallet has become expensive, as have many other Bordeaux. The term "good value Bordeaux" is almost non-existent in New Zealand and Australia where the taxes are higher and the selection small. At home in Edmonton the Bordeaux selection has all but disappeared with the elimination of the government board that bought Bordeaux futures (the one silver lining).

I find little of value in Bordeaux these days and tend to look for bargains among the less fancied wines from around the world. At least here the selection in Edmonton is getting better though nowhere near that of the UK and US. when it comes to NZ's Hawkes Bay reds I certainly wish we had a better selection over here and again price is a concern because the specialist importers tend to price them at the top end of the market.

Cheers........................Mahmoud

[TiggerK]

Went to a good Bordeaux tasting last week with wines priced from $30 to $900+ (AU retail).

It's an acquired taste young (2005 etc), and even the 95/96/98 wines were showing as quite young, closed and tannic. Certainly some enjoyable wines, very refined, but definitely best with food and 15 years minimum age. So you'll have to be very patient indeed, and then take a risk with the cork since bottle variation was very obvious, and especially so as one went up the price ladder! Always a worry.

If I had money to burn, I'd be in like Mr Errol. Since I don't, I head more often towards NZ and WA for my Cab Merlot fix.

FWIW, I most enjoyed the Ch Les Clauzots Cuvee Maxime Graves 2005 ($50ish) and the Ch Rauzan Segla 1996 ($200ish). The Latour 2001 I tried was both too small a portion to get a feel for it, and was apparently from the least good of the three bottles, so nothing to impress me there which was sad. Certainly had a very silken mouthfeel to it though. I look forward to being blown away by an old Bordeaux one day. Could be dangerous though...

Cheers
Tim

[griff]

The title made me chuckle a little. Its difficult. In a bull market you could say that some Bordeaux is good value but only relative to its peers. Historically prices are at a high. But then if you can predict a market peak then don't just stick with wine! I would be inclined to check out Antipodean cabernets. For the futures then it looks like 2010 Château Batailley is the wine many are talking about having a good QPR. Available for £300 in bond over here so should wind up under budget in Australia.

cheers

Carl

p.s. the 1996 Duhart for $100 is a good buy!

[rooman]

The title made me chuckle a little. Its difficult. In a bull market you could say that some Bordeaux is good value but only relative to its peers. Historically prices are at a high. But then if you can predict a market peak then don't just stick with wine! I would be inclined to check out Antipodean cabernets. For the futures then it looks like 2010 Château Batailley is the wine many are talking about having a good QPR. Available for £300 in bond over here so should wind up under budget in Australia.

cheers

Carl

p.s. the 1996 Duhart for $100 is a good buy!

I tried locating the 09 Batailley but without luck. Turns out Langtons was the only local supplier I could find after the fact.

FYI I have also grabbed a case of the SM 10 and Cantemerle. Aiming to add a case of Pontet Canet, Dom Chevalier, Clos Fourtet , Chasse-Spleen and some Calon-segur

[griff]

The title made me chuckle a little. Its difficult. In a bull market you could say that some Bordeaux is good value but only relative to its peers. Historically prices are at a high. But then if you can predict a market peak then don't just stick with wine! I would be inclined to check out Antipodean cabernets. For the futures then it looks like 2010 Château Batailley is the wine many are talking about having a good QPR. Available for £300 in bond over here so should wind up under budget in Australia.

cheers

Carl

p.s. the 1996 Duhart for $100 is a good buy!

I tried locating the 09 Batailley but without luck. Turns out Langtons was the only local supplier I could find after the fact.

FYI I have also grabbed a case of the SM 10 and Cantemerle. Aiming to add a case of Pontet Canet, Dom Chevalier, Clos Fourtet , Chasse-Spleen and some Calon-segur

It shall be interesting where the Pontet Canet ends up. Do they raise the price yet again after reaching the heady highs for 2009? I'm surprised that there is only one importer of the Batailley. Perhaps because the others couldn't get allocations?

cheers

Carl