I was dining out recently with my wife, daughter and her boyfriend at a cozy yet festive restaurant. The dining area is quite small, seating only around 35 guests with a bar that I would guess seats 15 or 16 more. We sat down around 6:00, slowly ordered some appetizers and wine and just enjoyed the prelude to our dinner. It probably took us until around 7:00 to finally get around to ordering dinner. Between eating, enjoying the wines and festive conversation, followed by dessert, the clock hit 8:30 and then some. The check arrived promptly with dessert, but we just took our time to enjoy the end of the evening, observing strolling passersby from the large picture window. With our plates and coffee cups long since empty, we renewed conversation when our server approached us politely and requested that we “donate” our table to those in wait. Oblivious to the crowd that has assembled at the bar, including those standing, waiting for their turn, I apologized for the inconvenience, paid the bill and well wished the owner for a delicious dinner. After we left the premises, my wife and daughter expressed dismay that we had been asked to leave.
Taken for face value, I certainly understood their rational. We were paying customers and why shouldn’t we have the right to remain as long as desired? My approach to that question, however, came from an alternative vantage point. This is a small and popular restaurant. As such, the tables and bar fills quickly, most at the bar waiting their turn for a table. It’s ok to occupy the table for dining purposes but to simply hang out and schmooze, denying waiting patrons a space, not mention ownership risking the patrons defecting to a competitor down the street, is very understandable. This was not, after all, a large multipurpose restaurant with lots of available tables. Remember, this is, after all, a business and the goal is to monetarily support it through the best service to a medley of guests. We had our time, we were serviced impeccably, contributed in our own small way toward “supporting” the restaurant, but it was time to move on. Sometimes, we need a subtle reminder of the right thing to do and if it’s executed with finesse and diplomacy, then I’m happy to oblige. What would you have done?
Casa Lapostolle Clos Apalta Colchagua Valley, 2005:
This is perhaps the top Chilean red blend produced over the last several years for this high quality winery, produced from Carmenere, Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Petit Verdot. Weaving a blockbuster teaming dark fruits with earthy notes, this wine has the body and structure to cellar next 6-8 years or be enjoyed now. The first taste makes an impression with dark raspberry, currant and mocha notes. Within seconds, the supporting structure becomes a dominant feature with fig, licorice, graphite and forest floor notes filling the nose. Just a great wine with perfect balance in the heavyweight category. Runs ~$120. Wine shops such as Pastiche (www.pasticheme.com) carried this last year for ~$86……Great wine to pair with meats.
I have not been a big Merlot fan over the last several years, probably because so many tasted the same to me and the pricing was a bit overdone. Then recently, I enjoyed a couple of Italian Merlots that reacquainted me with how rich and multi-dimensional the varietal can be. With that in mind, I scoured the Tucson landscape for those that I felt were either top wines or good values for the money. Surprisedly, I came away with some worthy candidates and those were very reasonably priced.
One new addition to assist you. We are adding an asterisk * to those wines that are good quality for the $$.
Jonathan Landeen is renown for his flavorful style of dishes from seafood to ostrich. This time, Jonathan has suggested that you sample two of his seafood menu items, one a starter and the other an entre.
The first item on the menu is a starter. It's the Crab Cakes made with Blue crab meat combined with a savory bread crumb dressing, then sautéed to a golden brown for $9.50. This one is made for a white....the Spanish Quarter white a Spanish blend w/ chardonnay and albarino.
Made entirely from the Tinto Fino grape, thought to be an older clone of the Tempranillo, this is a very well structured wine with muscle at the core from notes of bacon, leather and 15% alcohol, surrounded by beautifully smooth tannins which linger at the end. Distinct notes of blackberry, blueberry, plum and chocolate simply enrich the delight of the wine. While the wine was delicious now, it can easily be laid down and enjoyed from time to time over the next 5-10 years. You won’t find this in Tucson, but that shouldn’t stop you from searching elsewhere…..runs ~$60. Pair this wine with a Paella of chicken. Also works with perfection with rabbit. (If you want to go one better, think about the 2004 Aalto PS….a magnificent expression of deep dark berry, velvety smooth chocolate, spice and minerality with sweet tannins that glide into a long finish………….~$110 but gives you the best of what a Ribera del Duero can offer and a good decade still ahead of it).
They’re record breaking……….just no other way to say it. With the first Bordeaux futures tranches or allotments now released, they’re every bit as staggering as envisioned. Chateau Lafite and Mouton Rothschild and Margaux released their first tranche pricing from the Chateau’s at $550US while Haut Brion went one better at $612US. Remember, these are not the final consumer prices as negociant and retail pricing must be added in. When all is said and done, some of these will approach or even exceed $1000US. Fueled by a slowly rebounding US economy, efforts to stabilize European countries such as Greece and Spain and still vigorous and financially flushed China, vintners are counting on a brisk consumer response to still another “Bordeaux vintage of the century,” right on the heels of the 2000 and 2005 (not that 2003 was shabby either). Right out the gate, they appear to have some justification for elation. Many US merchants report that consumers are ruefully paying up for the rights to own some of these treasures in 2012 while others say that there is some sticker shock and restraint. The strongest consumer push behind these prices seems to be flowing from Beijing, Shanghai and Hong Kong. It remains to be seen whether they have force to maintain the early intense demand.
As a framework for comparison, these futures prices are the highest on record, surpassing even the hot 2005 futures prices, this while our equity markets have essentially stagnated for the last decade and we emerge from the worst economic environment in nearly 80 years! How about that for a disconnect! So how does one make sense of all of this? In a nutshell, it’s a case of another great Bordeaux vintage along with a keen sense of marketing and timing by the Bordelais region that convinces wine enthusiasts around the globe that you just “gotta have it, right here, right now.”
As mentioned earlier, only a fraction of each of the first growth’s futures have been made public, perhaps only a third by some estimates. Does this mean that pricing for future tranches will change? Possibly. If China (with the support of other markets) can exhaust the supply, then prices will either maintain or increase (pretty scary). If, however, it becomes clear that the initial fervor has subsided and demand has stabilized at a lower level, perhaps pricing will soften slightly. Either way, I don’t envision any bargains based upon the initial response.
So where do you (and I) fit into this equation? Do we close our eyes, open our wallets and pull out the credit card? In order to answer this question, we need to look at some very basic parameters. At the very foundation of it all is what you can afford? If you can’t afford what you want, then afford what you can. The great equalizer in a superb vintage such as the ’09, the 05 and the ‘00 is that it tend to lift “all boats” or all wines, in our case. If the first growths are out of your range, don’t hesitate to explore the 2nd through 5ths as well as the non-classifieds.
“American wine drinkers are balking at the high prices for….. Bordeaux prices, despite the……..classic quality. More than a month after the first….futures went on sale, retailers across the country report that consumers are buying them, but not in large amounts. The……futures were offered at the highest levels in history with the retail price…..averaging $545 a bottle. The increases are staggering with the…..Cheval Blanc futures….selling for 110 percent higher…….the Chateau Palmer 89 percent higher and the Chateau Haut Brion at $571,” versus the average auction price of $423 for the for stellar 1982 that is ready to drink tonight. “You have to buy 1961 wines to find Bordeaux more expensive than this.” Re-read this paragraph carefully because it’s a quote from a Wine Spectator article published in July of 2006 right on the heels of the ’05 “Bordeaux vintage of the century.” You can also find similar articles that describe the fervor over the turn of the century 2000 vintage. Does this ring familiar, right here…..right now about the ’09 vintage? The looming question is can we learn anything about the pricing evolution of top vintage classified Bordeaux that can help you (and me) make some purchasing decisions about the ‘09’s?
Let start with the year 2000 wines. While I don’t have a long list of futures pricing on first growths, I do recall ordering a little of the Lafite and Margaux in 2001, plunking down about $300 per bottle. I remember feeling aghast that I would spend so much on a single bottle of wine that I would not see for a couple of years. The wines were bottle released in ‘03 at ~$400, the Lafite selling today for $2000 and the Margaux a bargain at ~$1100. Remember, this was the post internet bubble burst. The Haut Brion which was bottle released at $424 today goes for around $600. Let’s take a gander at the 2nd growth Cos d’Estournel which was bottle released at $95. Today is goes for a moderate $150. On the other hand the Leoville Las Cases, released at $170, has skyrocketed today to a cool $360!
Loading ...
Visit us on…