NY Times article on affordable Bordeaux

http://events.nytimes.com/2010/08/25/di ... ref=dining

God, do I love it when journalists wake up to the fact that 95% of Bordeaux wines are *not* classified growths .
And that there are some great wines out there at competitive prices.

I would contest the impression the journalist conveys that small quality-oriented family estates are rare, but otherwise he makes some good points, especially about the ignorance and/or lukewarm approach of many American importers when it comes to affordable wines from the Bordeaux region.

Best regards,
Alex R.

[David M. Bueker]

Interesting piece. Thanks for posting the link Alex.

Of course once one gets to the last page where the importers and suggested retail prices are listed the other shoe drops.

The "brimming with soul" Jaugaret retails for somewhere in the mid-50s to mid-60s (per Wine Searcher), hardly making it affordable. In fact setting it as a prime example of non-luxury goods Bordeaux seems almost laughable. How many people are really going to pony up that kind of money for any wine, much less something they have likely never heard of?

On the other hand, Lanessan has remained more affordable (still available for under $20 if you poke around), but the majority of the wines are not going to steal dollars away from things like Cotes du Rhone that sell for $15 or so for easier to find wines.

Don't get me wrong, I applaud Asimov's effort, and hope that more of the non-classed Bordeaux make it in the states (and elsewhere), but I think the article speak too much out of both sides of its mouth.

Hi David,

As for speaking out of both sides of his mouth, it also seems to me that the same Asimov wrote a piece earlier this year that was pretty damning about Bordeaux!

I have never, ever seen a Bordeaux or Bordeaux Supérieur sell at that price (sorry, I'll take that back, there's a cuvée from Dourthe that's just as expensive).

So Ch. Jaugaret is about as atypical as you can get!!!

Being one who roots for the underdog, I would neverthless like to try the wine to see if it's in fact realy, really good, or just really, really hyped...

Alex

I agree that is an interesting piece by Asimov on lesser known, if not always economically priced, Bordeaux estates.

It is a good point to remind us that family owned estates are an endangered species in Bordeaux due to French inheritance laws. Luc Thienpont, who being Belgian is a regular visitor here, had to sell his admirable Labégorce-Zédé, which used to be priced around €20, for that reason; he holds onto another Margaux estate, Clos des 4 Vents, which IMO makes fine wines, c.€35.

Alex, if you attend the preview to Carrefour's Foire aux Vins, it would be interesting to know what gems you pick out.

Moulin Pey-Labrien, which Azimov mentions, is on sale here at a local wine merchant for about €16 and always represents excellent value.

Not a criticism of Eric Asimov whose writing I find refreshing and without pomp, but he does make a point that is true and at the same time self-contradictory when he writes that the critics do not review such wines and that they are barely mentioned in guides. Self-contradictory because immediately after saying this, Asimov goes on to review a generous handful of such wines. True, however in that there are more than 8,500 producers in Bordeaux alone and no critic, even one who writes exclusively about Bordeaux, can possibly hope to taste the vast majority of those.

The "problem" with such wines for the consumer is that while many of them are well worthy of our attention, quite a few are mediocre at best and when potential buyers sees one or more on the shelves of their local wine shop or, in France their supermarket, it is difficult to decide which are worth buying. Considering that if these small producer wines are exported, an at least partial solution is to know the integrity of the places at which we buy. If the importer is known to us and relied upon, a good sign because the probability is that they will not be importing junk.

Moral of the story: Trust thy wine merchants until they prove untrustworthy.

Best
Rogov

The Decanter Magazine Bordeaux 2009 issue has some good reviews of affordable wines. While many are not available in the Western United States, I know the Greysac can be picked up at the local BevMo.

Moral of the story: Trust thy wine merchants until they prove untrustworthy.

Best
Rogov

I usually work the other way around, distrusting advice until it proves itself trustworthy. But still, I agree. Trusted merchants are vital.