Well I hope you enjoy the wine and the evening.
I’m having a burger and a beer at the local while Mrs Pete’s in Sydney
Indeed I will Pete - they were my kiwi neighbours when I lived in Birchgrove
Maybe I’ll take the Bindi Quartz Chardonnay also - time to consume that
Keep rubbing in pal. 
Mrs Pete spends quite a bit of time in Sydney
Yes we have a family issue where she needs to be with our son while he has access. He’s had a few breakdowns and his x won’t let him see his kids without her being present.
Oh apologies for asking Pete, didn’t mean to, I’m sure all will come good mate
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No worries, families are complicated.
Good to know as I have a few left.
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The 15s seem to me to be going through a shaky patch right now (angular, yet to soften). I’d hang on to them I reckon, esp if 1er Cru or higher.
In a totally different wine place this evening. It’s probably a lot warmer in S.A. than here, where it’s just around freezing.
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Youngest son’s birthday so a well aged bottle of champagne and a three year tour of Italy. The Quintarelli received top marks. I preferred the Ornellaia but others thought it was a bit reserved.
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I think you may be the first to post a Quintarelli here. I have 2 in my cellar. A 2007 Rosso ca del Mer!o, and a 2009 primafiore.
I had a 1982 Reccioto which we drank about 15 years back, and I have had a few of his Amarones - 74 & 80 something, but I have never had the Rosso del Bepi. It was wonderful I’m sure. I don’t think I’ve had the Valpolicella either, I’ll have to look around for one.
Nice line up …
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Thank you Rod, that is useful intel! I have a few 2015s not yet started, but the one I’m most struggling to decide on is a case of 2015 Domaine Jacques-Frederic Mugnier Clos de la Marechale, still in bond. It has shot up in value (almost 4x) since I bought it en primeur, tempting me to sell it.
But then, if people are willing to pay so much for it, it must be good, so I should have it myself?
What a dilemma!
That’s a wonderful looking evening! I’ve had the Biondi Santi some years ago and it stuck with me as being a great Brunello. I recently bought a case of the 2016, which I’m excited to try (in a few years!).
You didn’t mention the Brunello in your report - was it just outshone by the others?
I have been stocking up my cellar and have also bought a few bottles of Bordeaux on subscription, some of them dear enough, but then I came across a bottle of Haut-Brion 1er Cru Classé 2017 for €250 (£215) at today’s rates.
This seems a ridiculous price to pay for a bottle of vino and yet apparently seems to be good value compared with some other dealers’ prices.
I would appreciate your valued opinions on this and would be interested to know if any of you have similar wines in your cellars (and prepared to admit it).
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I have a great love of Haut Brion but the prices these days are beyond me. I have drunk all the bottles I used to have which I collected during my time working with a wine merchant back in the late '80s. Well, all bar one, a bottle of Haut Brion 1967 (I’m told that although a pretty awful year, H-B was just about tops of the vintage) that may never be drunk…
Apart from that I have some old odd bottles of Latour, Cheval Blanc and La Fleur Petrus, and the last of a case of '86 Lynch Bages that took decades to become even vaguely approachable, but that’s about as good as it gets here. These days I’m lucky if I buy anything beyond a Cru Bourgeois or 3rd, 4th or 5th growth from Bordeaux.
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Re Haut-Brion 2017
This is what I thought En Primeur, and I have tried once subsequently.
**"Haut-Brion **
53 M 41 CS 6 CF
Super concentrated black fruit aromas, with just a tinge of oak, and a whiff of ripe menthol and peppermint. Brooding, with tar and violet complexity. Rich in the mouth with concentrated fruit flavours, spices, and damson notes. Dry tannins, fresh acidity. Very long indeed. For me, La MHB has it this year, with just a little more layered complexity. 95 – 97 "
Perhaps the rest agreed with me that the sister estate La Mission HB edged it in 2017. It was not the greatest year in Bordeaux (in fact a poor year for lesser properties. But at this level they always make good - great wine irrespective). This does however affect present, and future, values.
But you are buying its rarity - that is what accounts for the price. There are - without doubt - better wines for that money. But it is a chance to drink Haut Brion and there are more people who want to do that than there is Haut Brion.
So, the price goes up.
There is not sixty million dollars worth of paint on a Van Gogh canvas. That isn’t the point.
If you do buy it, then enjoy! Just try not to think about the money once it has been spent.
Don’t buy it to keep it in expectation of future financial return - there are more effective ways for that.
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Excellent advice Rod, thank you for the insight. Funnily enough one box of the wine I subscribed to is La Mission HB 2021.
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