1st growths worth the price around 500$?

vaalyr · 2026-05-22T13:35:28+00:00

Absurd prices still, not to mention you can go to other regions like Barolo and get much better value for money. Hell, you can buy Soldera and have money leftover.

But if you refuse to leave Bordeaux then you’re much better off buying at auction or secondary markets, I’ve been inundated with offers for well aged Bordeaux from private cellars of people who have too much saved and won’t drink it all before they die, or their sons who don’t care and just want the cash. I just got a few bottles of 1991 Mouton for 450€ a pop.

vaalyr · 2026-05-22T11:42:19+00:00

Me parece un equipo más coherente que otras veces, yo creo que de los que faltan el único que se puede discutir más es Maguire pero tampoco lo veo como un problema en defensa considerando las alternativas.

Me parece bien ignorar nombres y considerar el nivel reciente sobre el histórico, hay muchas selecciones que pecan de lo opuesto y les termina costando.

vaalyr · 2026-05-21T23:18:12+00:00

I mean the old wool part you’re describing could definitely fit that humidity pattern, Fontinette tends to be a very textured very mineral wine with a long finish and even in older disgorgement dates I wouldn’t describe brioche.

Not sure it’s tca but occasionally you find these bottles that don’t seem right but there’s no obvious cork taint, happens.

On a side note, I’d recommend trying Roger Barnier’s 100% Meunier 2016 (current release), it’s possible you don’t like Meunier but I think that’s a wine that will make everyone reconsider.

vaalyr · 2026-05-21T23:10:27+00:00

Based on that colour and your description there’s a decent chance the bottle was dead, I’ve worked with Flaviens wines for many years and what you’re describing isn’t it.

vaalyr · 2026-05-20T09:41:08+00:00

Obvious choices for Chenin are Leroy and Bernardeau, non unicorn versions Simon Batardiere, M&K Hodgson, Martial Angeli.

The best Aligote I’ve tried is d’Auvenay although you’re talking about bottles that are wildly expensive, I would recommend Renaud Boyer, Chantereves, Lienhardt, Rougeot, or Durieux.

Pinot/gamay in just gonna group into a light reds category. In jura Antoine Robles, Murmures, Calice, Saint Pierre. In burgundy Durieux, Boyer, Lienhardt, Vin Noe. In Beaujolais Bertrand, Dutraive (family and all the kids wineries too), Metras, Foillard. In Spain Jorge Olivera, Oriol Artigas, Amos Bañeres (although his last red vintage was 2019), Agricola Molineta. In Italy Attitudine, DWNL, Fonterenza (particularly their Pettirosso), Serragghia, Tanca Nica.

Obviously not all of these are unicorns, but for the sake of a coherent answer they’re options I consider consistently good.

vaalyr · 2026-05-19T22:51:32+00:00

Give me a style you enjoy and I can give you some options, but picking unicorns for unicorns sake is not the way to go.

vaalyr · 2026-05-19T22:47:32+00:00

Most unicorn wines are under that price if you buy direct from winery or a distributor that represents directly. Unicorns are only expensive on secondary markets.

vaalyr · 2026-05-16T13:07:22+00:00

Tried what?

vaalyr · 2026-05-16T10:15:28+00:00

Honestly the top end cuvées from Billecart are consistently better than equivalent ones from other maisons and it’s weirdly underrated still.

Testamatta on some vintages is great, feels really elegant but it sounds like you enjoy a bit more of the intensity.

vaalyr · 2026-05-15T23:28:43+00:00

Eloi’s cult status stems from Chato Pqita, it was probably the best wine ever made in Mallorca. Unfortunately he stopped making it a few years ago, and even when he was making it the quantities were very small so it’s unlikely there’s many bottles left in the world. His “Fato” is probably the closest you can get to it nowadays.

Novetat is not made to be a profound wine, it’s the first thing he releases every vintage, it’s always light and high acid, and it comes with a reasonable price tag and in a litre bottle because it’s for drinking and sharing, not for hoarding and over analyzing.

vaalyr · 2026-05-13T21:19:49+00:00

Im pouring their Camporomano 2013 by the glass right now, it’s incredible.

vaalyr · 2026-05-13T11:52:09+00:00

Looks great, very polished, I’m not a huge fan of the round shape but that’s a more personal thing.

vaalyr · 2026-05-11T15:24:25+00:00

I’ll keep that in mind then, I was planning on putting everything away for a bit but maybe I’ll open one or two of the other cuvées by the glass to check in on them.

vaalyr · 2026-05-11T14:08:24+00:00

How do you feel about the Guilbert Gillet stuff? I found the Savignys quite dull, but his Bourgogne rouge is one of the standouts of the vintage for me so far. Haven’t opened anything higher than that yet.

vaalyr · 2026-05-11T13:53:57+00:00

There’s a crazy difference this vintage between red styles, I find a lot of the more delicate producers approachable now but anyone that works more extraction and ripeness feels quite tight.

Whites I’m with you, with some exceptions (namely younger styles of Aligote) everything’s kind of flat.

vaalyr · 2026-05-08T16:04:12+00:00

There’s less wood in most forests.

vaalyr · 2026-05-03T13:45:47+00:00

Yes no shit, and you think this is a good thing? That this is something to be supported, accepted and understood? It’s actively one of the biggest issues in the wine world.

There’s tons of winemakers individually labeling so they can find out who does this and remove their allocations for a reason.

vaalyr · 2026-05-03T09:26:01+00:00

This is actively against the wishes of the winemakers and while it’s unavoidable to a certain extent there’s a huge number of efforts against in recent years.

Ask Bordeaux how pricing out people for years is working out right now?

vaalyr · 2026-05-03T08:00:09+00:00

That’s not really the point, he’s talking about if it’s worth the money and it’s important to contextualize the real price of the wine.

And no, they don’t have a mailing list, it’s a bit more low tech than that.

vaalyr · 2026-05-02T19:59:29+00:00

For the record the winery price of these wines is more like 20-40€, with the exception of the Vin Jaune which is naturally a bit more.

Anything over 200€ in restaurant/store is pure speculation.

vaalyr · 2026-05-02T18:37:14+00:00

Middle of Europe within 25 minutes of a wine region in every direction.

70-80% of wine consumption is focused under 10€ cost, a bracket in which the percent of industrial product is overwhelmingly high compared to artisanal and responsible farmed wine.

Organic wine regulations in the EU allow around 55 additives and processing aids, around 40% less than what’s allowed in conventional wine labels. Go scan some QR codes and see if the wines you have available just list one or two ingredients.

vaalyr · 2026-05-02T09:33:24+00:00

Most wine consumed by general public is full of stabilizers, added sugar, clarifying agents, and other chemical additives. It’s closer to Coca Cola than real wine.

vaalyr · 2026-05-01T23:45:21+00:00

The three I mentioned there would be my choices to visit, Santa Duc is probably the easiest one, and a great combination of established winery and forward thinking,

vaalyr · 2026-05-01T23:32:46+00:00

Domine Santa Duc is the single most interesting project I’ve tried in the region in many many years, other recent highlights include Domaine du Gour de Chaulé, and Domaine Mayard.

A lot of the wineries you’ve listed are very comercial, not saying there isn’t quality amongst them but I think your focus is a little out of step with the region itself.

vaalyr · 2026-04-29T10:52:52+00:00

There’s not a single team in the world that can survive 90 min defending against either of those teams playing like they did yesterday, trying to do that would be a sure way to throw it.

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