Good Friends renewed my subscription for Wine Spectator and I'm glad they did. It will be an amazing year for the release of 2000 Bordeauxs and 2001 Rieslings. Of course the top wines of these varieties don't come cheap. The main release is this spring and I can hardly wait. I'll be thrilled to even see them even if they are out of my budget.
Three Bordeauxs received a Wine Spectator score of 100: Chateau Lafite Rothschild ($400), Chateau Latour ($475), and Chateau Leoville Las Cases ($170). The 2000 Chateaux Petrus, long considered the gem of the Bordeaux region, scored a 98 and can be yours for a mere $1,800! What is even more amazing to me is that if you are willing to pay this much, they don't recommend you open the wine until after 2012.
Don't despair though because there are values to be found. The Clos du Marquis scored 94 yet has a retail of $30 or the Chateaux Labegorce-Zede which scored a 92 and costs $20 (both still not drinkable until 2009). Even the Bordeaux I spoke about in a previous post tasted great yet only cost $9.99 and I was able to drink it right away.
The Rieslings had a great year and the top one was a 100 pointer that costs $259. The description of this Riesling is enough to interest me in trying some of the lesser cost bottles. I think there should be a prize just for saying the name:
Gunderloch Riesling Trockenbeerenauslese Rheinhessen Nackenheim Rothenberg is "Spellbinding. Forest underbrush after the rain comes to mind while smelling this ethereal Riesling. Then a kaleidoscope of mint, caramel, pineapple, lemon candy and stone wash over the palete, melting away into an endless finish of mineral and tropical fruit. Each sip offers a different nuance. Best from 2005 through 2030." What's the kicker on this one aside from the price? Only 20 cases made!!!!!
The plus with the Rieslings is that you can get many of them for substantially less then you'd pay for a comparable Bordeaux just because Rieslings have fallen out of popularity over the years.
Before the advent of White Zinfandel, Riesling was the crossover wine for people who drank cocktails but wanted to drink wine. White Zin was much cheaper and that was the deciding factor among those who's palete wasn't appreciative of the nuances to be found in a spectacular Riesling. Vintages of this quality along with reasonable prices may indicate a rise in Riesling's star among wine drinkers.
Posted by bbarton at February 22, 2003 01:01 PM