These days everyones favorite first growth is HB. But drinking HB reminds me of a top St. Estephe like Montrose/Cos and certain Pauillacs like Pontet Canet. These 2 regions have such similar characteristics imho.
@@Spiritchaser93 Wow, so I've only had one '82 Haut-Brion and I would've never compared it to Montrose. I never was a fan of Montrose, can't get behind it. I've had a few vintages of Montrose and it never excited me. I'm gonna try to taste more HB but I really don't see myself comparing it to Montrose
@@mcwine18 ive had more recent vintages (HB 98, 05, 19) and, similar to wines from the region, exhibit typical graves character of dried earth, warm bricks/clay... not too dissimilar to montrose or cos d'estournel with the st. estephe dry and cardboard/antique wood notes. Personally im not a fan of montrose or cos, quality wines but not my style. HB is also not really my style either though I greatly admire that its much longer aftertaste.
One of my big splurges 20 years ago was a '75 Haut Brion. Its been a while but it was redder than amber, smelled of mild cedar and maybe smoke...Some cherry with beef, tobacco. It was quite mellow too, but powerful like a really mellow Clydesdale. I kept the bottle. My only other big massive bottle was an '82 Leoville las cases I got for $50 due to a vendor error. 86 Beychevelle was corked at a restaurant that didn't allow corking.... 97 Latour Magnum I won at a raffle. A bunch of 83 pavillion rouges... My life story. Really enjoy the channel!
Well done. Your use of primary, secondary, and tertiary flavor distinctions is probably known by many--but I didn't know about it--and it seems a very intuitive and useful way to talk about what we're tasting in wines. Thank you.
I was in Bordeaux in 2000 and 2005 when they were going nuts over the expectations of those years. And they did prove to be some of the best ever produced. Amazing
@@Yeoldelole It's easily one of my favorites and it was accessible till recently. I feel like the Northern Rhone is somehow under appreciated and the prices are going through the roof at the same time. I don't understand it.
@@nickolausj123 Hmm, do you mean the mid ranged quality producers around 30 E-$40? Because the higher end stuff here in the States has always been super high, like Hermitage, Cote Rotie, etc
@@Yeoldelole I bought JL Chave for $150-$200 on release, and some aged over seas around similar prices. Now Everything seems to be $250-$350 a bottle. Breaks my heart.
Thanks for your persistence with your videos. It’s been so good seeing your channel growing and getting the attention it deserves. Keep it up and keep giving us great wine videos!
Gevrey-Chambertin Clos St Jacques. Do a video where you try all 5 producers head to head from the same vintage! Armand Rousseau Domaine Fourrier Louis Jadot Bruno Claire Sylvie Esmonin
Your notes on the 86 made me smile!....absolutely my kind of thing 😋🙏. I'm taking a 2001 Saint Emilion to a blind Bordeaux tasting this month.....fingers crossed it's still in a good window ☺🙏
I had the same experience with corks from Chateaux Margeaux. They were of such high quality that only going back to 1979 there started to look "old". The corks from 88,89,90 looked as if the wine could have been corked in the last 5 years. It shows that these houses invested in great quality cork. I have a lot of Bordeaux bottles from the 80s where the corks are almost dissolved although they stayed in the same cellar and conditions as the Chateaux Margeaux bottles.
Great explanatory video on aging wine. I remember buying and tasting a 1984 (not a great year) 25 years ago for my birthday and it just cost the equivalent of 30 EUR... Fyi, we do not pronounce the 't' in 'Haut'.
I love HB and I have a friend who loves it even more. Lucky to have tasted a lot of vintages of it, oldest was a 1920 that was a bit tired though but 100% drinkable and mature (91 points, semi-blind) I have never tasted it as a vertical, but had had La Mission as vertical - The backbone and the depth is amazing, the brute force of the older vintages is amazing! La Mission 1955 is a HUGE wine and maybe the best wine I've had in the last 5 years.
I'd love to see more tastings looking for value. I rarely spend more than $40 for a bottle as I just can't afford to buy it at higher prices, so I'd really enjoy some suggestions of where to find top value at that price range.
I am so happy to start wine investing back then in 2012 , it has yield me so much profit , and I have also have the ability to drink some good wine and have amazing collection ! It has been a good experience for me as a lover of wine to have the ability to go for wine testing around the world ! I think wine testing is better than buying stocks 😆
I have suggested this before. It would be really fun to stage a repeat of the 1976 Judgment of Paris tasting. Select favorable vintages from Chateau Montelena (Chardonnay) and Stag's Leap (Cabernet Sauvignon) compared to two of the selections from France. I actually tasted some Chateau Montelena last year and did not care for it at all. It is one of those Chardonnays that forgoes malolactic fermentation, so it was much too sharp and sour for my tastes.
I'll say it any time you ask, but I'd love to see a Jura tasting. I'd also be thrilled to see you taste some wines from British Columbia. We have some fantastic wines here, and not just Icewine!
New to the channel, been catching up over the last couple months. Loved seeing this tasting. My Daughter was born in 2011 and I bought her a 2011 HB for her to enjoy later in life to celebrate a major milestone. I hope I will be able to enjoy the bottle with her.
Some wines I would love to see you taste: 2010 R. Lopez De Heredia Tondonia 2010 R. Lopez De Heredia Bosconia Both the Lopez's are supposed to be super good and both around the $50 mark! Also 2010 Chateau Giscours Margaux, because I selfishly would love to know how the bottle I bought myself for a special occasion will be! Thanks!
This excellent video reminds me I should slowly start to drink some of my older vintages. In the late nineties I once had the fortune to taste the 1967 Haut Brion (I know, not a outstanding year). What I remember was this animalistic perfume, like walking into a cattlebarn. On the palate it was super silky. Not that much fruit driven anymore, cedar, leather and pencil aroma's had the upperhand, when I remember well. Interesting wine, very pleasant to drink.
Konstantin - another classic tasting. Here’s an idea for your next tasting: chateau D’Yquem - an oldie (rated 99-100) and a relatively new one(?). Maybe just the half bottles as (slightly) more affordable option for us mere mortals? Keep up the excellent work. A really well grounded set of shows. Cool too!
Especially with older wines decanting is often mostly necessary to seperate the residue rather than aerate. Often old wines will give away their magic aroma quite fast after opening and you risk missing that if you decant. I used to decant mature wines unnecessarily and excessively. I rarely do it anymore - only when a wine does not open up in the glass.
Hi Konstantin and thank you for another great video! Some ideas for a next tasting video could be to do comparative tastings between varietals or wine regions that are usually compared: xinomavro and nebiolo, chianti classico and Bordeaux, chenin and chardonnay, pinot noir and gamay etc etc.
My grandfather (who transmitted his passion for wine to me) still has a Haut Brion 70 in our cellar that he bought for the birth of my father, they opened a few early on, two more when he turned 18, and kept one that is still to be opened for a special occasion. We are torn apart between the excitement of opening it one day (even though we know that there’s a big chance of it being nothing more that bad vinegar that’s only good for the sink) or keeping on building the excitement… we talked about it again a few days ago, I guess that’s the true value of these beautiful wines, not only they are an incredible experience, but also when linked to a story they are a major part of the moment.
I passed up buying an '89 and '88 from a friend in 2019. Wish I had! Petrus was most likely voted most sought after because of how popular and well marketed the chateau is in the wine community. But, Chateau Haut Brion is far from being a slouch. Fantastic quality and heritage.
Love the pronunciation of the diarist Samuel Pepys, Konstantin! It is 'peeps' rather than 'pappis'. Beautiful to be able to try 2 different vintages from this esteemed winery....you better check you don't glow in the dark after you finish them!
I love these tastings, and would also like to see you get back to a budget option. What about comparing a $20, and $50 bottle, so we can see the leap in quality you get?
Fun and informative as usual 🙌 And thank you Konstantin for that. Well, I go with the Super Tuscan camp and wish to see some old vs new Sassicaia/Ornellaia comparisons. Cheers.
11:09 "The reason for it were some cooler periods during the growing season" ...yeah, like late may when Peter Gabriel released his album So and the song Sledgehammer. Those were cool weeks 😄😄
I was lucky enough to taste the 86 vintage 20 years ago and it was at a top Bordeaux tasting where they put up against other top grrowths. Great tasting. Thank you Constantine
Great Video Mate, I'd love to see you do a deep dive on Australian Riesling and it's new found fame. The variety is having an explosion 💥 in popularity and quality over the last couple years in Australia. The country really has predominantly drunk Chardy and Savy B but in a span of two years I've seen Riesling go from our least popular wine to having a 328% increase in sales (atleast at our restaurant) and now we're selling more than we can buy. Especially within my own age demographic it's absolutely the most popular varietal.
Interesting tasting, thank you. I have an empty Haut Brion 1985 bottle in my cellar. This was given to me in 1995 by a friend who was part of the Financial Times ten-year claret dinner that year and contained the remains of eight 1985 first-growths (including Haut Brion of course) not drunk the night before by Jancis Robinson, Michael Broadbent and others. I pulled the cork the next day (48 hrs after the special dinner). The colour of this first growth blend was astonishing, ditto the nose and the unbelievable concentration and range of flavours in the mouth… then after 30 minutes the whole thing fell apart. A little piece of history!
My wife and I are getting more and more into aged wine and building a cellar collection. I would love to see more videos about how to spot good finds for great wines that will age and maybe such wines that are under $100 in general. Anything to help budding wine enthusiasts start building great collections would be fun.
By $100 I assume you're talking USD. The opportunities are almost endless in that bracket. Not every wine ages well, and likely you won't enjoy every wine that does age well. Best bet is to find great aging wine that you enjoy young, then you get to experience the journey. Find a couple of wine writers you like, try the wines that they taste (best to do blind so you aren't biased by notes - it's a thing) score them yourself, compare your notes with theirs. Wine writers are going to taste thousands of bottles a year, finding someone with a similar taste profile and pallette to you is going to save you a lot of money and a lot of headaches. Build up a couple names, and when they recommend a wine with a very high rating, it's likely a good sign - if there are multiple names on your list, cross-reference that wine with the other writer (try to find people in different regions - region bias is a thing too), if they all recommend it, it's likely going to be worth trying at least if not buying immediately. That's the stuff I do, be interested to hear from Konstantin on his advice too.
I had a 2011 Haut Bryon just last month! I did it to surprise a friend who works at a local wine shop and he was blown away. It was by far the most complex and dynamic wine ive ever tasted
Hi Konstantin, I wish in the future, you can visit Buçaco Palace in Portugal, the Palace makes wines since 1917 and only serve their wines to the royal families without release to wine merchants or private collectors. They keep the vertical vintage both for reds and whites since the first vintage in their cellar and you can enjoy the wine dating back to vintage 1945, the second world war II. It's incredible to have this kind of old wines experiences especially the wines were kept in the same cellar for more than 100 year.
Hello, I would like to see you taste a horizontal from Burgundy from the following premier cru villages of Volnay, Vosne-Romanee, Nuit St. George, Gevrey Chambertain, Aloxe Corton, Pommard,
Last year I had a 2006 Bahans Haut Brion and absolutely loved it. I bought three more bottles and also a 2006 Haut Brion to see how much better it is over their second wine. I have not had the opportunity to do this yet because I’m waiting for a special occasion with friends and family. I also picked up two Chateau La Mission bottles to maybe have at the same time to see how those compare the the Haut Brion. I need enough people before I open everything.
Great wine! Love your honest reviews! I have one bottle of Haut Brion in my wine cooler waiting another five years to open it.Would like to see a review of red wine from Chile.
Love a good vertical, thanks for sharing this with us… I enjoyed a 6 vintage vertical with wines from the last 25 years at Cos d’Estournel last summer, being able to taste the tertiary increase and primary mellow was unforgettable… maybe do something similar for another video?
What a video! 🤩 HB is high on my wishlist. You’re probably still meditating on these two bottles right now.. For another video: try Musar from 2 or 3 vintages, one at least 20+ years. These wines age very well.
Thx again for another solid performance. What to taste next? My first idea was for something really special, but special in a different way (not expensive or old special). A couple of months ago I tasted a dry hopped chardonnay. Acquired taste to be honest, but combined with the right food it works. There must be more experimental things to be found like this.
1970 Haut Brion Blanc I had last year is definitely in my top 10 wines of all time. And it made me realize why people drink Bordeaux blanc in the first place as I was never a fan. Which other Bordeaux Chateau can boast having a white wine that is as good as their flagship red? Probably many that I don't know about so maybe a good topic for an upcoming video?
What a great tasting! Thx for wonderful video. For the next review, i would recommend comparative tasting between super tuscan wines with left or right bank bordeaux. I am sure many subscribers would want to see that!
This is very interesting, @Konstantin. The '86 is a wine you describe at its peak or near the end of its peak life. Instead there are a few youtubers that are right now drinking old vintages of first growths ( including HB) from the 50s and 60s and descibe them as "legendary" and saying they are at their peak, and they have still some life left. I find it hard to believe there are dry reds that are still alive after 60- 70 years in the bottle.
. . . The best Bordeaux’s require numerous decades to begin to even approach … “ ready to enjoy “. FACT . I will forever regret opening a ‘64 Latour - not a great year at all for the very many Bordeaux estate’s. However, after ‘only’ 22 years, that Latour was a deep purple, multi-layered wine so obviously another 20-30 years from being ‘ fully mature ‘. My mistake .
Another great video, thanks! Please could you consider doing another episode on South African wines! I was a little disheartened by your blind tasting a while back. Biased because I'm from SA but I really love our wines, would love to see what you think of some of our more locally cherished vintages 👀
I already tasted the 2011. It’s a fantastic red wine; it gave me so much pleasure. I tasted the 2002 vintage too. It was not so brilliant like the 2011…
Great video as always, Konstantin! Would love a comparison of new vs. older Chateau Musar reds, especially if you are able to get hold of a bottle from before the Lebanese civil war!
Hi Konstantin, this was a great vid. I had fun watching it! And in your descriptions of flavours I could find many things I learned during a Sensorik & Aromen Seminar and from my preps for WSET Level 2. it would be interesting to see you tasting two different years of Montrachet or Pouillac etc. Keep up your high-quality Vids 👍🏻
Thanks for sharing this wonderful experience! Should all Bordeaux wines necessarily be stored for a long time? If I opened a 2017 vintage of GCC wine today and it was less impressive, would it have made a spectacular difference if I opened it 10 or 20 years later?
If it's not good after 5-6 years it's probably not going to improve that much... depends on why it was less impressive - was it green/unapproachable/etc? Likely will do better with more time. Otherwise could be a bad vintage.
I have limited experience, but I would say no, not all Bordeaux but most GCC winemakers do make their wines in a specific way as to purposefully prolong their wines lifespans and some of those characteristics especially the tannins do benefit from a long time in the bottle, I will say if you didn't enjoy it the first time around it's likely not going to float your boat in 10 years either
Most wines from Bordeaux is not made for aging. It is a big region with massive amounts of cheap stuff too. The best wines can age gracefully for a long time.
great episode. I have only tried maybe 75 or so Bordeaux including some greats like the 1995 Ducru Beaucaillou, 2000 Chateau Pavie, 2000 Leoville Las Cases and some lesser labels, but I still consider myself a novice when it comes to the great region of Bordeaux. Looking forward to exploring it more. I would love to see you try the three La, La wines from Chateau Neuf Du Pape. La Moulin, La Tourque, La Blonde ( am not positive on the last one). But those are legendary or so I have read about them
I have being watching lots of this +30 years bottle openings, and by now I can tell that none of them are worth the price or patient and seems to be more kind of a curiosity exercise rather than true enjoyment
Hello Konstatin Many thanks for spending the time (and DOLLARS) to put together another outstanding and enjoyable video. You asked for suggestions on new tasting ideas. Here is one: Assess the differences and attractiveness of different blending “partners” to Cab /Merlot: The stb Bordeaux Blend as the default VS WITH Sangiovese (e.g. Tignanelo) Vs with Malbec (eg, Catena Nicholas) vs WITH Shiraz (eg Penfolds 389)
Old Riesling x new riesling would be my first pic! Next would be top new world versus top old world ! And third , blind expensive syrah from northwest USA, Australia both Margaret’s river and Adelaide, and Rhône ! Cheers !!
Great video as always, maybe even more, as a Haut Brion is just special, but two... damn thats awesome. For your question of the day I have only one thing to say: "G-Max"
Thanks for a great video! I’d love to see you do a tasting of single vineyard Riesling Spätlese or Auslese from Mosel from different vintages. Maybe the same producer/ same vineyard. Egon Müller???
I had a great drinking few aged Gruner Veltliner and dry Riesling in my time in Austria and it really opened my eyes to aged dry white wines -maybe you could do a video along those lines? Great video - I really enjoy your channel!
If you have any chance on getting your hands on a few bottles please try Josef Fischer - Grüner Veltliner Smaragd. I tasted this wine from 2-18 years aged. And they were all absolutely amazing
What a great video to stumble upon! I'm only a couple of months into my wine journey (trying as many different styles as possible - although not at this level!) My dad opened a bottle of 1966 Haut Brion at Christmas (22) that he'd been given as a present a while ago. I wasn't really sure what to make of it as was so earthy/mushroomy, in my uneducated way I thought it must just be corked. The cork didn't come out in one go, and some fell into the bottle. We decanted it (which i understand may now have been a mistake) and all I really got was tertiary flavours but without any fruit at all. He has another bottle of 1966, should he sell as a collectors item or is it worth drinking without decanting? Dad was very sad as had been saving for a special occasion.
Thank you again for a great video! Would be intresting to see an episode about drinking windows in general. A comparison of an early / mature and late vintage, and to discuss bottle maturation in general. Is a young wine of a great producer “wasted” if consumed outside the drinking windows (early /late)?
Excellent video…I really enjoyed your tasting. Thank you 🍷 I like this format. I would really enjoy your comparing an older vintage of Ornellaia (Bolgheri) to a more recent vintage.
Nice tasting thank you. Last week I purchased a case of 6 bottles of 2005 Ausone and 1 bottle of Cheval Blanc 1998. Have you tasted those yet? I am looking to buy a case of 2005 Haut Brion next.
Most definitely my go to for expensive luxury wine, it's something a person with normal means can only have very rarely for very special occasions, but man is that good.
I think you should do a basics in wine parring vid. Both what usually works and not works but also based on what people might have in the fridge or could eat on a Friday or a Saturday. I.e most people do not have truffles or foie gras lying around at home :D Keep up the good work!
Kostantin! I’d love for you to try a wine from Gaja! I was very lucky enough to try a 2018 Barbaresco from them, and the pure emotion the wine presented me has definitely never left my mind almost 1 year ago!
Забавно, что в 1986 году нам рекомендовали пить больше красного вина. :) Такая весна была! Так цвела сирень! Надо будет купить бутылочку премьерки 1986 года.
Peter Koff will envy you if he watches this video :)
😂😂😂😂
I would have invited him to join me
These days everyones favorite first growth is HB. But drinking HB reminds me of a top St. Estephe like Montrose/Cos and certain Pauillacs like Pontet Canet. These 2 regions have such similar characteristics imho.
@@Spiritchaser93 Wow, so I've only had one '82 Haut-Brion and I would've never compared it to Montrose. I never was a fan of Montrose, can't get behind it. I've had a few vintages of Montrose and it never excited me. I'm gonna try to taste more HB but I really don't see myself comparing it to Montrose
@@mcwine18 ive had more recent vintages (HB 98, 05, 19) and, similar to wines from the region, exhibit typical graves character of dried earth, warm bricks/clay... not too dissimilar to montrose or cos d'estournel with the st. estephe dry and cardboard/antique wood notes. Personally im not a fan of montrose or cos, quality wines but not my style. HB is also not really my style either though I greatly admire that its much longer aftertaste.
I would love a sweet wine comparison, such as Sauternes, Trockenbeerenauslese and Tokaji Aszú.
@SM-mf2ty Sweet wines are unbelievably underrated at this point.
Thoroughly enjoyed this one. Thank you!
1986 Haut Brion was my first real aged Bordeaux experience. I will forever remember that evening on the balcony of my good friend Jakob!
One of my big splurges 20 years ago was a '75 Haut Brion. Its been a while but it was redder than amber, smelled of mild cedar and maybe smoke...Some cherry with beef, tobacco. It was quite mellow too, but powerful like a really mellow Clydesdale. I kept the bottle. My only other big massive bottle was an '82 Leoville las cases I got for $50 due to a vendor error. 86 Beychevelle was corked at a restaurant that didn't allow corking.... 97 Latour Magnum I won at a raffle. A bunch of 83 pavillion rouges... My life story. Really enjoy the channel!
I absolutely love older vintages of Chateau Musar it's so undervalued and is always the favourite wine at tastings 👍
Ive done quite a few Musar vertitcals and they're very age worthy.
I hve done a tasting of aged Musar. Spectacular. I now live in France so it is hard to find Musar.
Well done. Your use of primary, secondary, and tertiary flavor distinctions is probably known by many--but I didn't know about it--and it seems a very intuitive and useful way to talk about what we're tasting in wines. Thank you.
I was in Bordeaux in 2000 and 2005 when they were going nuts over the expectations of those years. And they did prove to be some of the best ever produced. Amazing
This is my dream route. I hope one day you may go through this:
Aubert/Marcassin Chardonnay -> Penfolds Grange -> SQN/Harlan -> Sassicaia -> Yquem -> Raveneau Clos -> Ornellaia -> Selosse Rose/Substance-> Chave Hermitage/Guigal Rotie -> Vogue Musigny -> Domaine Leflaive Chevalier/Ramonet Montrachet -> Chateau Margaux -> Latour/Lafite/Cheval Blanc -> Screaming Eagle -> Domaine Leroy 1er Crus -> DRC RSV/Grands Echezeaux -> Selosse Millesime -> Rousseau Chambertin/Clos de Beze -> Petrus/Le Pin -> Roumier Les Amoureuses -> Keller G Max -> Coche Dury Meursault Perrieres -> Krug Clos du Mesnil -> DRC La Tache/Richebourg -> Coche Dury Corton Charlemagne -> DRC Montrachet -> Roumier Musigny -> Liger Belair La Romanee -> Ermitage Cuvee Cathelin -> Domaine Leroy Chambertin -> Romanee Conti -> Henri Jayer Cros Parantoux -> Egon Muller Trockenbeerenauslese -> Domaine d'Auvenay Chevalier Montrachet -> Domaine Leroy Musigny
I had my first bottle of 95’ Haut Brion a couple weeks ago and I was blown away! I would love to see you try some of JL Chave Hermitage.
Chave is absolutely world class
@@Yeoldelole It's easily one of my favorites and it was accessible till recently. I feel like the Northern Rhone is somehow under appreciated and the prices are going through the roof at the same time. I don't understand it.
@@nickolausj123 Hmm, do you mean the mid ranged quality producers around 30 E-$40? Because the higher end stuff here in the States has always been super high, like Hermitage, Cote Rotie, etc
@@Yeoldelole I bought JL Chave for $150-$200 on release, and some aged over seas around similar prices. Now Everything seems to be $250-$350 a bottle. Breaks my heart.
We had the 95 HB and it was top wine of the tasting
Thanks for your persistence with your videos. It’s been so good seeing your channel growing and getting the attention it deserves. Keep it up and keep giving us great wine videos!
Gevrey-Chambertin Clos St Jacques. Do a video where you try all 5 producers head to head from the same vintage!
Armand Rousseau
Domaine Fourrier
Louis Jadot
Bruno Claire
Sylvie Esmonin
Mixing old and new. Tasting them side by side. This is a great formula and excellent to watch. Thanks!!!
I love these prestigious bottle breakdowns. There should be a fund for more! Or maybe have a collector as a guest in a video, sharing a bottle? Hmmm.
Your notes on the 86 made me smile!....absolutely my kind of thing 😋🙏.
I'm taking a 2001 Saint Emilion to a blind Bordeaux tasting this month.....fingers crossed it's still in a good window ☺🙏
I had the same experience with corks from Chateaux Margeaux. They were of such high quality that only going back to 1979 there started to look "old". The corks from 88,89,90 looked as if the wine could have been corked in the last 5 years. It shows that these houses invested in great quality cork. I have a lot of Bordeaux bottles from the 80s where the corks are almost dissolved although they stayed in the same cellar and conditions as the Chateaux Margeaux bottles.
Great vid! 1986.... The vintage that needed decades to come around. Glad both bottles were very enjoyable. Haut-Brion remains a real gem.
Great explanatory video on aging wine.
I remember buying and tasting a 1984 (not a great year) 25 years ago for my birthday and it just cost the equivalent of 30 EUR...
Fyi, we do not pronounce the 't' in 'Haut'.
I love HB and I have a friend who loves it even more.
Lucky to have tasted a lot of vintages of it, oldest was a 1920 that was a bit tired though but 100% drinkable and mature (91 points, semi-blind)
I have never tasted it as a vertical, but had had La Mission as vertical - The backbone and the depth is amazing, the brute force of the older vintages is amazing!
La Mission 1955 is a HUGE wine and maybe the best wine I've had in the last 5 years.
I'd love to see more tastings looking for value. I rarely spend more than $40 for a bottle as I just can't afford to buy it at higher prices, so I'd really enjoy some suggestions of where to find top value at that price range.
I am so happy to start wine investing back then in 2012 , it has yield me so much profit , and I have also have the ability to drink some good wine and have amazing collection ! It has been a good experience for me as a lover of wine to have the ability to go for wine testing around the world ! I think wine testing is better than buying stocks 😆
love these type of videos! keep 'em coming
I have suggested this before. It would be really fun to stage a repeat of the 1976 Judgment of Paris tasting. Select favorable vintages from Chateau Montelena (Chardonnay) and Stag's Leap (Cabernet Sauvignon) compared to two of the selections from France. I actually tasted some Chateau Montelena last year and did not care for it at all. It is one of those Chardonnays that forgoes malolactic fermentation, so it was much too sharp and sour for my tastes.
They did try it few yrs ago.
2018 Leeuwin Estate Chardonnay Art Series Margaret River won the whites.
Great video! Next needs to be a Lambrusco tasting 😂
I'll say it any time you ask, but I'd love to see a Jura tasting. I'd also be thrilled to see you taste some wines from British Columbia. We have some fantastic wines here, and not just Icewine!
New to the channel, been catching up over the last couple months. Loved seeing this tasting. My Daughter was born in 2011 and I bought her a 2011 HB for her to enjoy later in life to celebrate a major milestone. I hope I will be able to enjoy the bottle with her.
English sparkling, which has become an excellent and sometimes better alternative for expensive out of standard French bubbly!
Some wines I would love to see you taste:
2010 R. Lopez De Heredia Tondonia
2010 R. Lopez De Heredia Bosconia
Both the Lopez's are supposed to be super good and both around the $50 mark!
Also 2010 Chateau Giscours Margaux, because I selfishly would love to know how the bottle I bought myself for a special occasion will be! Thanks!
This excellent video reminds me I should slowly start to drink some of my older vintages. In the late nineties I once had the fortune to taste the 1967 Haut Brion (I know, not a outstanding year). What I remember was this animalistic perfume, like walking into a cattlebarn. On the palate it was super silky. Not that much fruit driven anymore, cedar, leather and pencil aroma's had the upperhand, when I remember well. Interesting wine, very pleasant to drink.
Konstantin - another classic tasting. Here’s an idea for your next tasting: chateau D’Yquem - an oldie (rated 99-100) and a relatively new one(?). Maybe just the half bottles as (slightly) more affordable option for us mere mortals? Keep up the excellent work. A really well grounded set of shows. Cool too!
I like how you compare the dates of the wine with events
I did not know that you could damage a wine by decanting it. Thank you for the heads up.
Especially with older wines decanting is often mostly necessary to seperate the residue rather than aerate. Often old wines will give away their magic aroma quite fast after opening and you risk missing that if you decant. I used to decant mature wines unnecessarily and excessively. I rarely do it anymore - only when a wine does not open up in the glass.
53 Haut Brion was one of the best wines I have ever had. Love great old Bordeaux. 86 is not old. :)
Hi Konstantin and thank you for another great video! Some ideas for a next tasting video could be to do comparative tastings between varietals or wine regions that are usually compared: xinomavro and nebiolo, chianti classico and Bordeaux, chenin and chardonnay, pinot noir and gamay etc etc.
My grandfather (who transmitted his passion for wine to me) still has a Haut Brion 70 in our cellar that he bought for the birth of my father, they opened a few early on, two more when he turned 18, and kept one that is still to be opened for a special occasion. We are torn apart between the excitement of opening it one day (even though we know that there’s a big chance of it being nothing more that bad vinegar that’s only good for the sink) or keeping on building the excitement… we talked about it again a few days ago, I guess that’s the true value of these beautiful wines, not only they are an incredible experience, but also when linked to a story they are a major part of the moment.
I passed up buying an '89 and '88 from a friend in 2019. Wish I had! Petrus was most likely voted most sought after because of how popular and well marketed the chateau is in the wine community. But, Chateau Haut Brion is far from being a slouch. Fantastic quality and heritage.
Hey Konstantin thanks for great content. Would be great with a review of Jura.
Love the pronunciation of the diarist Samuel Pepys, Konstantin! It is 'peeps' rather than 'pappis'. Beautiful to be able to try 2 different vintages from this esteemed winery....you better check you don't glow in the dark after you finish them!
I love these tastings, and would also like to see you get back to a budget option. What about comparing a $20, and $50 bottle, so we can see the leap in quality you get?
Fun and informative as usual 🙌 And thank you Konstantin for that. Well, I go with the Super Tuscan camp and wish to see some old vs new Sassicaia/Ornellaia comparisons. Cheers.
Great idea!
11:09 "The reason for it were some cooler periods during the growing season"
...yeah, like late may when Peter Gabriel released his album So and the song Sledgehammer. Those were cool weeks 😄😄
. . . As the saying goes … “ There is NO accounting for taste “…
I was lucky enough to taste the 86 vintage 20 years ago and it was at a top Bordeaux tasting where they put up against other top grrowths. Great tasting. Thank you Constantine
Great Video Mate, I'd love to see you do a deep dive on Australian Riesling and it's new found fame. The variety is having an explosion 💥 in popularity and quality over the last couple years in Australia.
The country really has predominantly drunk Chardy and Savy B but in a span of two years I've seen Riesling go from our least popular wine to having a 328% increase in sales (atleast at our restaurant) and now we're selling more than we can buy. Especially within my own age demographic it's absolutely the most popular varietal.
Interesting tasting, thank you. I have an empty Haut Brion 1985 bottle in my cellar. This was given to me in 1995 by a friend who was part of the Financial Times ten-year claret dinner that year and contained the remains of eight 1985 first-growths (including Haut Brion of course) not drunk the night before by Jancis Robinson, Michael Broadbent and others. I pulled the cork the next day (48 hrs after the special dinner). The colour of this first growth blend was astonishing, ditto the nose and the unbelievable concentration and range of flavours in the mouth… then after 30 minutes the whole thing fell apart. A little piece of history!
My wife and I are getting more and more into aged wine and building a cellar collection. I would love to see more videos about how to spot good finds for great wines that will age and maybe such wines that are under $100 in general. Anything to help budding wine enthusiasts start building great collections would be fun.
By $100 I assume you're talking USD. The opportunities are almost endless in that bracket. Not every wine ages well, and likely you won't enjoy every wine that does age well. Best bet is to find great aging wine that you enjoy young, then you get to experience the journey.
Find a couple of wine writers you like, try the wines that they taste (best to do blind so you aren't biased by notes - it's a thing) score them yourself, compare your notes with theirs. Wine writers are going to taste thousands of bottles a year, finding someone with a similar taste profile and pallette to you is going to save you a lot of money and a lot of headaches. Build up a couple names, and when they recommend a wine with a very high rating, it's likely a good sign - if there are multiple names on your list, cross-reference that wine with the other writer (try to find people in different regions - region bias is a thing too), if they all recommend it, it's likely going to be worth trying at least if not buying immediately.
That's the stuff I do, be interested to hear from Konstantin on his advice too.
I was fortunate to have a 1982 Chateau Haut Brion back in the 90's. Best bottle I've ever had was a 1990 Chateau Latour.
I had a 2011 Haut Bryon just last month! I did it to surprise a friend who works at a local wine shop and he was blown away. It was by far the most complex and dynamic wine ive ever tasted
Hi Konstantin, I wish in the future, you can visit Buçaco Palace in Portugal, the Palace makes wines since 1917 and only serve their wines to the royal families without release to wine merchants or private collectors. They keep the vertical vintage both for reds and whites since the first vintage in their cellar and you can enjoy the wine dating back to vintage 1945, the second world war II. It's incredible to have this kind of old wines experiences especially the wines were kept in the same cellar for more than 100 year.
Love your work, Konstatin.....the 2009 Chateau Margaux... a super model of a wine. I still think about it often.
Love the Bourdeaux wines and as someone who also wants to get into more Burgundy wines, excited to see if we get some of those on the channel!
Picpoul de Pinet…I’m loving trying these wines at the moment. Great channel! Keep up the good work!!
Hello, I would like to see you taste a horizontal from Burgundy from the following premier cru villages of Volnay, Vosne-Romanee, Nuit St. George, Gevrey Chambertain, Aloxe Corton, Pommard,
Wow, I bet these are both beautiful. Nice one Konstantin! 🌟👍
Last year I had a 2006 Bahans Haut Brion and absolutely loved it. I bought three more bottles and also a 2006 Haut Brion to see how much better it is over their second wine. I have not had the opportunity to do this yet because I’m waiting for a special occasion with friends and family. I also picked up two Chateau La Mission bottles to maybe have at the same time to see how those compare the the Haut Brion. I need enough people before I open everything.
Great wine! Love your honest reviews! I have one bottle of Haut Brion in my wine cooler waiting another five years to open it.Would like to see a review of red wine from Chile.
Love a good vertical, thanks for sharing this with us… I enjoyed a 6 vintage vertical with wines from the last 25 years at Cos d’Estournel last summer, being able to taste the tertiary increase and primary mellow was unforgettable… maybe do something similar for another video?
What a video! 🤩 HB is high on my wishlist. You’re probably still meditating on these two bottles right now..
For another video: try Musar from 2 or 3 vintages, one at least 20+ years. These wines age very well.
Interesting comparison, thank you!
Fabulous video , love to see a series of videos on champagnes below $60 then $60-$120 and above $120
Thx again for another solid performance. What to taste next? My first idea was for something really special, but special in a different way (not expensive or old special). A couple of months ago I tasted a dry hopped chardonnay. Acquired taste to be honest, but combined with the right food it works. There must be more experimental things to be found like this.
1970 Haut Brion Blanc I had last year is definitely in my top 10 wines of all time. And it made me realize why people drink Bordeaux blanc in the first place as I was never a fan. Which other Bordeaux Chateau can boast having a white wine that is as good as their flagship red? Probably many that I don't know about so maybe a good topic for an upcoming video?
What a great tasting! Thx for wonderful video.
For the next review, i would recommend comparative tasting between super tuscan wines with left or right bank bordeaux. I am sure many subscribers would want to see that!
This is very interesting, @Konstantin.
The '86 is a wine you describe at its peak or near the end of its peak life. Instead there are a few youtubers that are right now drinking old vintages of first growths ( including HB) from the 50s and 60s and descibe them as "legendary" and saying they are at their peak, and they have still some life left. I find it hard to believe there are dry reds that are still alive after 60- 70 years in the bottle.
. . . The best Bordeaux’s require numerous decades to begin to even approach … “ ready to enjoy “. FACT .
I will forever regret opening a ‘64 Latour - not a great year at all for the very many Bordeaux estate’s. However, after ‘only’ 22 years, that Latour was a deep purple, multi-layered wine so obviously another 20-30 years from being
‘ fully mature ‘. My mistake .
GOAT ! Such a Great Video ❤
Another great video, thanks! Please could you consider doing another episode on South African wines! I was a little disheartened by your blind tasting a while back. Biased because I'm from SA but I really love our wines, would love to see what you think of some of our more locally cherished vintages 👀
I already tasted the 2011. It’s a fantastic red wine; it gave me so much pleasure.
I tasted the 2002 vintage too. It was not so brilliant like the 2011…
Chateau Haut-Brion makes just beautiful wine. I do hope to get one of their whites into my hands or rather glass some time
Great video as always, Konstantin! Would love a comparison of new vs. older Chateau Musar reds, especially if you are able to get hold of a bottle from before the Lebanese civil war!
Hi Konstantin. The name Pepys is actually pronounced Peeps like peeps thru the window. Other than that, another perfect video. Thanks.
Hi Konstantin,
this was a great vid. I had fun watching it! And in your descriptions of flavours I could find many things I learned during a Sensorik & Aromen Seminar and from my preps for WSET Level 2.
it would be interesting to see you tasting two different years of Montrachet or Pouillac etc.
Keep up your high-quality Vids 👍🏻
Thanks for sharing this wonderful experience!
Should all Bordeaux wines necessarily be stored for a long time?
If I opened a 2017 vintage of GCC wine today and it was less impressive, would it have made a spectacular difference if I opened it 10 or 20 years later?
If it's not good after 5-6 years it's probably not going to improve that much... depends on why it was less impressive - was it green/unapproachable/etc? Likely will do better with more time. Otherwise could be a bad vintage.
I have limited experience, but I would say no, not all Bordeaux but most GCC winemakers do make their wines in a specific way as to purposefully prolong their wines lifespans and some of those characteristics especially the tannins do benefit from a long time in the bottle, I will say if you didn't enjoy it the first time around it's likely not going to float your boat in 10 years either
Most wines from Bordeaux is not made for aging. It is a big region with massive amounts of cheap stuff too. The best wines can age gracefully for a long time.
great episode. I have only tried maybe 75 or so Bordeaux including some greats like the 1995 Ducru Beaucaillou, 2000 Chateau Pavie, 2000 Leoville Las Cases and some lesser labels, but I still consider myself a novice when it comes to the great region of Bordeaux. Looking forward to exploring it more. I would love to see you try the three La, La wines from Chateau Neuf Du Pape. La Moulin, La Tourque, La Blonde ( am not positive on the last one). But those are legendary or so I have read about them
I had a tasting of 8 wines from one winery from 2012 to 2021. Was enjoyeble.
I have being watching lots of this +30 years bottle openings, and by now I can tell that none of them are worth the price or patient and seems to be more kind of a curiosity exercise rather than true enjoyment
Haut Brion is my grail wine. Can’t wait to try it one day
Hello Konstatin
Many thanks for spending the time (and DOLLARS) to put together another outstanding and enjoyable video.
You asked for suggestions on new tasting ideas. Here is one: Assess the differences and attractiveness of different blending “partners” to Cab /Merlot:
The stb Bordeaux Blend as the default VS WITH Sangiovese (e.g. Tignanelo) Vs with Malbec (eg, Catena Nicholas) vs WITH Shiraz (eg Penfolds 389)
Had the pleasure of trying a 90 and 03 haut brion, french family in law has its uses 👍🏻
Glad to hear you use the term 'rustic'. I fall back on that all the time when I'm at a loss for words! :-) How about a d'Yquem vertical?
Old Riesling x new riesling would be my first pic! Next would be top new world versus top old world ! And third , blind expensive syrah from northwest USA, Australia both Margaret’s river and Adelaide, and Rhône ! Cheers !!
Great one!
Great video as always, maybe even more, as a Haut Brion is just special, but two... damn thats awesome. For your question of the day I have only one thing to say: "G-Max"
Thanks for a great video! I’d love to see you do a tasting of single vineyard Riesling Spätlese or Auslese from Mosel from different vintages. Maybe the same producer/ same vineyard. Egon Müller???
I had a great drinking few aged Gruner Veltliner and dry Riesling in my time in Austria and it really opened my eyes to aged dry white wines -maybe you could do a video along those lines? Great video - I really enjoy your channel!
If you have any chance on getting your hands on a few bottles please try Josef Fischer - Grüner Veltliner Smaragd. I tasted this wine from 2-18 years aged. And they were all absolutely amazing
What a great video to stumble upon! I'm only a couple of months into my wine journey (trying as many different styles as possible - although not at this level!)
My dad opened a bottle of 1966 Haut Brion at Christmas (22) that he'd been given as a present a while ago. I wasn't really sure what to make of it as was so earthy/mushroomy, in my uneducated way I thought it must just be corked. The cork didn't come out in one go, and some fell into the bottle. We decanted it (which i understand may now have been a mistake) and all I really got was tertiary flavours but without any fruit at all.
He has another bottle of 1966, should he sell as a collectors item or is it worth drinking without decanting?
Dad was very sad as had been saving for a special occasion.
1990 Latour. I have 2 bottles left, wonder if I should continue to hold or drink now.
I had a bottle of the 1986 in 2008, it was spectacular. Rich tannins and not much fresh fruit . At least that's what my notes from the meal say.
Loved the video!!!
Next time you should try some hermitage rouge from Chave!!
Thank you again for a great video! Would be intresting to see an episode about drinking windows in general. A comparison of an early / mature and late vintage, and to discuss bottle maturation in general. Is a young wine of a great producer “wasted” if consumed outside the drinking windows (early /late)?
Excellent video…I really enjoyed your tasting. Thank you 🍷
I like this format. I would really enjoy your comparing an older vintage of Ornellaia (Bolgheri) to a more recent vintage.
Texas has some really good wines now maybe do a video on this region.
Nice tasting thank you. Last week I purchased a case of 6 bottles of 2005 Ausone and 1 bottle of Cheval Blanc 1998. Have you tasted those yet? I am looking to buy a case of 2005 Haut Brion next.
Great review, Master! Ch. Mouton next!
Most definitely my go to for expensive luxury wine, it's something a person with normal means can only have very rarely for very special occasions, but man is that good.
2 questions:
1. Why did you taste the younger wine first?
2. Why were you considering to decant the older but not the younger vintage?
1 because it felt right. 2 I don’t like to decant if I don’t need to and the 11 did not need it
@Konstantin Baum - Master of Wine thank you for the reply. how did you know that the 11 didn't need to be decanted before you even tasted it?
I think you should do a basics in wine parring vid. Both what usually works and not works but also based on what people might have in the fridge or could eat on a Friday or a Saturday. I.e most people do not have truffles or foie gras lying around at home :D Keep up the good work!
HB!!! First Growth Bordeaux (or any other cru classe) should be aged!! 😁 Don't drink really good green bananas!! Wait for them to turn yellow lol.
Konstantin, you are my hero.
I think a comparison of the first vintage to a fairly new vintage of super tuscan wine (for example Tignanello or Sassicaia) might be interesting.
Kostantin! I’d love for you to try a wine from Gaja! I was very lucky enough to try a 2018 Barbaresco from them, and the pure emotion the wine presented me has definitely never left my mind almost 1 year ago!
Thanks for the video! Would love to see you do a tasting episode on Syrah+Shiraz! Cheers!
Забавно, что в 1986 году нам рекомендовали пить больше красного вина. :) Такая весна была! Так цвела сирень!
Надо будет купить бутылочку премьерки 1986 года.