An Amazing Tasting!!

BigBear
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Fri Jul 23, 2010 1:19 am

I founded and belong to a group of old friends called the G.L.O.W. Society of Oregon (Great Lovers of Wine). Almost 20 years ago we made a buy for a special tasting to enjoy in the future. All of us were together for the first time in years so we decided the future was now. Here are the wines we enjoyed last Saturday:

Chateau Le Bon Pasteur, Appellation Pomerol Controlee, 1988 [valued at purchase $29.95]. Current high retail is $100. no rating

Grand Vin de Leoville du Marquis de Las Cases, Appellation Saint-Julien Controlee, Recolte 1989, Saint-Julien [valued at purchase $79.22] Current auction opening bid $145. Highest retail $255. Rated 96

Chateau Pichon Longueville Comtesse De Lalande, Grand Cru Classe, 1989, Pauillac [valued at purchase $66.50] Current auction opening bid $165. Highest retail $320. Rated 98

Grand Vin de Chateau Latour, Premier Grand Cru Classe, 1990, Pauillac [valued at purchase $119.00] Current auction opening bid $605. Highest retail $1295. Rated 100!!

Chateau Mouton Rothschild, Premier Grand Cru Classe, 1989, Pauillac [valued at purchase $139.99]. Current auction opening bid $270. Retail as high as $595. Rated 98

Chateau Mouton Rothschild, Premier Grand Cru Classe, 1988, Pauillac [valued at purchase $125.00]. Current auction opening bid $250. High retail is $530. Rated 94

Chateau Lafite Rothschild, Premier Grand Cru Classe, 1989, Pauillac [valued at purchase $125.00]. Current auction opening bid $635. Highest retail $1200. Rated 94

Chateau Haut Brion, Premier Grand Cru Classe, 1989, Cru Classe De Graves [valued at purchase $150.00]. Current auction opening bid $950. Highest retail $1395. Rated 100!!

For anyone keeping track, Chateau Margaux was only of the first growths missing. Ch. Haut Brion was the best by a wide margin which is cool because it has always been my most favorite wine in the world alongside Caymus Special Selection.

Total replacement cost of this tasting at current retail prices is $5,690!! We paid $835 for it 20 years ago.


Now I love good wine and by any standard this was good wine, even great wine. But the whole time I couldn't shake the feeling that for the value of this wine we slugged down I could buy a really cool guitar!!! And I'd have the guitar for a long time!!

After the tasting we sat out on the deck of my friend's condo, right on the banks of the Willamette River and watched the sailboats and water skiiers go by and smoked Arturo Fuente Chateaus (6x48) and drank German brandy.

Pretty amazing evening overall! I could get used to this, but I still was thinking about that Taylor 914!!! :cheer:


Lavallee
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Fri Jul 23, 2010 8:41 am

Hi Rick, It is smart to invest in future pleasure. Were the bottles kept in a cellar?

Marc


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Music Junkie
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Fri Jul 23, 2010 9:42 am

Ahhhh Bear..............

You might want to rethink your clu name, as it might get confused with G.L.O.W. more widely known as the Glorious Ladies of Wrestling........... :P :P :P

Kidding aside, that sounds great. I have a few friends of mine that are taking part in a very small scale thing similar to this only with low class beer.....lol We are fans of the Stone Brewing Company in Northern San Diego County. The brewery has been releasing a yearly addition to its Vertical Epic line since 2002. They release these on dates like 2/2/02, 3/3/03, 4/4/04, etc. Then on 12/12/12, we shall crack them open and enjoy. I am looking forward to the tasting. They will certainly not gain in value, but if their other beers are any indication, it ought to one hell of a night.....lol

Thanks for sharing the story, it is also nice to hear that your friends were all together for wonderful evening. Better investment that you would get in the stock market...... B)

J


dennisg
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Fri Jul 23, 2010 11:06 am

Bear,

As a former wine retailer and wine columnist, I can vouch for the wonderfulness of those wines. But as someone who survived acute pancreatitis and can no longer touch alcohol, I'm very envious that you got to taste that stuff. It must have been a magnificent evening. The closest I can get to wine these days is to sniff the glass after the waiter pours it for my wife.


BigBear
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Fri Jul 23, 2010 11:18 am

Lavallee wrote:
Hi Rick, It is smart to invest in future pleasure. Were the bottles kept in a cellar?

Marc
Marc- they were kept in a basement cellar but it wasn't temperature controlled. Several of the wines were showing a bit of age which was surprising since they should have had more time left on them. But several seemed too young to drink, even at 20+ years.

I think the best part was that good friends were still good friends 20 years later and we were all well albeit a few pounds heavier and a lot more gray! lol! :laugh:


BigBear
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Fri Jul 23, 2010 11:25 am

Music Junkie wrote:
Ahhhh Bear..............

You might want to rethink your clu name, as it might get confused with G.L.O.W. more widely known as the Glorious Ladies of Wrestling........... :P :P :P

Kidding aside, that sounds great. I have a few friends of mine that are taking part in a very small scale thing similar to this only with low class beer.....lol We are fans of the Stone Brewing Company in Northern San Diego County. The brewery has been releasing a yearly addition to its Vertical Epic line since 2002. They release these on dates like 2/2/02, 3/3/03, 4/4/04, etc. Then on 12/12/12, we shall crack them open and enjoy. I am looking forward to the tasting. They will certainly not gain in value, but if their other beers are any indication, it ought to one hell of a night.....lol

Thanks for sharing the story, it is also nice to hear that your friends were all together for wonderful evening. Better investment that you would get in the stock market...... B)

J

Jason- One of our group is a serious craft brewer and has won many, many prizes in local beer contests. Apparently, Oregon is one of the micro-brew capitals of the world and also has a very strong amateur base.

His beer is labelled "Bad Dog Brewing" and the names of his various concoctions are incredibly funny but most of them I can't post here for decency reasons! lol!

I love good beer having lived in Germany for three years but my spouse is a pure wino, oops, I mean wine lover! :laugh:


BigBear
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Fri Jul 23, 2010 11:35 am

dennisg wrote:
Bear,

As a former wine retailer and wine columnist, I can vouch for the wonderfulness of those wines. But as someone who survived acute pancreatitis and can no longer touch alcohol, I'm very envious that you got to taste that stuff. It must have been a magnificent evening. The closest I can get to wine these days is to sniff the glass after the waiter pours it for my wife.

Dennis- I forgot you were in "The Trade" at one point. It's a tough business right now. I was reading recently that most of the big names in Oregon and Washington have had to really cut their prices drastically just to move their wine. Many Oregon wineries have several years worth of product in their warehouses. Not good!

As a former grower (Pinot Noir and Pinot Gris) now would be a lousy time to be growing fruit. Production costs keep increasing and per ton prices are waaaay down. Growing wine was fun for the first 10 minutes or so and then it's just damned hard work. Every waking moment there is something to do unless you are wealthy enough to be able to hire all the work out.

Not being able to enjoy fine wine really, really sucks. As an insulin diabetic I have to be really careful and I drink very little wine, or anything else, much anymore. I just don't feel good when I drink. But for this group of wines I made a big exception.

It will be a long time before another tasting like this one! :cheer:


Lavallee
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Fri Jul 23, 2010 11:50 am

I think the best part was that good friends were still good friends 20 years later and we were all well albeit a few pounds heavier and a lot more gray! lol! :laugh:[/quote]


Isn't the meaning of life: family and friends (especially the ones with good taste :laugh: )

You have done something good to deserve this

Marc


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Music Junkie
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Fri Jul 23, 2010 12:04 pm

BigBear wrote:
Jason- One of our group is a serious craft brewer and has won many, many prizes in local beer contests. Apparently, Oregon is one of the micro-brew capitals of the world and also has a very strong amateur base.

His beer is labelled "Bad Dog Brewing" and the names of his various concoctions are incredibly funny but most of them I can't post here for decency reasons! lol!

I love good beer having lived in Germany for three years but my spouse is a pure wino, oops, I mean wine lover! :laugh:
Oregon has some of the BEST micro breweries in the world (IMHO). Deschutes Brewery, Steelhead Brewing, Klamath Basin Brewing, Hair of the Dog Brewing, Cascade Lakes Brewing - just to name a few. All with very tasty concoctions....... B)

I have to admit that I have slowed down on the beer these days, as it fills me up so fast now.....lol Now I really enjoy a good single barrel bourbon....... B)

J


BigBear
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Fri Jul 23, 2010 12:18 pm

Music Junkie wrote:
BigBear wrote:
Jason- One of our group is a serious craft brewer and has won many, many prizes in local beer contests. Apparently, Oregon is one of the micro-brew capitals of the world and also has a very strong amateur base.

His beer is labelled "Bad Dog Brewing" and the names of his various concoctions are incredibly funny but most of them I can't post here for decency reasons! lol!

I love good beer having lived in Germany for three years but my spouse is a pure wino, oops, I mean wine lover! :laugh:
Oregon has some of the BEST micro breweries in the world (IMHO). Deschutes Brewery, Steelhead Brewing, Klamath Basin Brewing, Hair of the Dog Brewing, Cascade Lakes Brewing - just to name a few. All with very tasty concoctions....... B)

I have to admit that I have slowed down on the beer these days, as it fills me up so fast now.....lol Now I really enjoy a good single barrel bourbon....... B)

J

You even named a couple I don't know!! Cascade and Klamath Basin must be southern Oregon and ship their products south. Deschutes is an excellent brewer as is Rogue, Widmer, Portland Brewing, Bridgeport, Full Sail and others!

I can't drink beer anymore either. I had two beers on Father's Day and I was full. I think my 26 year old finished off the half rack!

I'm gradually getting into single barrel bourbons but I love single malt scotches so much and I drink so little anymore that I doubt I will ever get into them too far.

Cheers! :cheer:


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