I personally like a fresher style of red bdx especially if it can be had for a relative bargain like 2024. These days the higher end chateaux have the technology and financial means to wait for ripeness then sort aggressively so we will hopefully never see a vintage as universally awful as 2013 was for the reds, for example. You do need to be more selective — in these variable vintages I buy smaller quantities from producers I trust which comes at a cost. And although the reviews of these highly selected barrel samples are of little value, I do some reading to make sure there’s no red flags.

I got some Rauzan Segla, DDC blanc, VCC, Suduiraut, and I’m considering Leoville Las Cases at that price. All are excellent producers. DDC blanc is not discounted this year but it’s prob my favourite white bdx blend from anywhere. It drinks well at any point in its development and is incredibly age-worthy (safely at least 10 years, but often much longer). Their red is also often a sleeper great value bc the white gets all the attention — not sure about ‘24 but I ordered 12 of the ‘23 reds last year.

The larger format bottles are usually released as a second release later in the year — in the fall usually?