Also new to the futures game but didn't want to miss out on the vintage. Didn't go too wild (depending on whether you ask me or my wife of course) and got about 5 cases total:

Leoville Barton
Pontet Canet
Certan de May
Lascombes
Malescot

quote:

I'll be at the Union des Grand Crus 2005 Bordeaux tasting in Chi-town. I'll make more judgements there.

I've been told that there will be no public tasting in Chicago this year with the Union des Grand Crus. Among other reasons it seems that this group doesn't feel the need, given the demand. Is customer service in France just an afterthought??

Customer service in France? Sometimes there is but it can be pretty dismal, especially anything having to do with the government. But top end shops such as Hermes or Louis Vuitton, top restaurants or hotels, have great service. That makes me think that the Bordelais should be doing Chicago this year just to showcase the wines to the people who bought them. Los Angeles is going to be a mess on Friday. I heard close to 1,000 people are expected.

1000 People? Yikes! I am going in SF on Saturday. It has been sold out for a while. Does anyone know how many tix were sold?

quote:

Originally posted by khmark7:
I've been told that there will be no public tasting in Chicago this year with the Union des Grand Crus.

I haven't looked into public tastings but I and a few other Chicago members of the board will be going to the trade tasting in Chicago on Monday. The demand was so great that instead of holding it from 2-6pm as originally planned, they broke the attendees into 2 groups. 2-4pm and 4-6pm.

VM

I am confused. So there is a UGC tasting in Chicago?

quote:

Originally posted by khmark7:

quote:

I'll be at the Union des Grand Crus 2005 Bordeaux tasting in Chi-town. I'll make more judgements there.

I've been told that there will be no public tasting in Chicago this year with the Union des Grand Crus. Among other reasons it seems that this group doesn't feel the need, given the demand. Is customer service in France just an afterthought??

There will be a UGC tasting on Monday 21st in Chicago at the Drake. You must had RVSP and be on the list to be able to attend.

I forgot the UGC did public tastings last year...

I don't think it is going to be very easy to make judgements at such an event. It's going to be like being in a mosh pit at a rock concert...

They should spread the tasting over 2 days to make it less crowded and give time to really taste the wines.
Last year, I had time to taste only 1/3 of the wines (also mainly because it is a great occasion to talk to the winemakers/owners).

quote:

Originally posted by James Suckling:
I don't think it is going to be very easy to make judgements at such an event. It's going to be like being in a mosh pit at a rock concert...

Amateur!

VM

quote:

Originally posted by khmark7:I've been told that there will be no public tasting in Chicago this year with the Union des Grand Crus.

I just saw this public event at Sams:

Sams UGC tasting

VM

Some friends tried to talk us into going to the SF event which K&L had tickets for. I compared and contrasted it to a party we usually have the same night:

Hours :
K&L 3-6
Paganalia 5PM -Until you pass out or Sunday whichever comes first.

Location:
K&L Stuffy old bank
Paganalia - Living Room

Parking
K&L $20 an hour in downtown S.F.
Paganalia - Free, I'll give you $5 if you park in front of our stupid neighbors house. $10 if you block their driveway, $100 if you abandon your car there.

Dress:
K&L - I bet pants are required
Paganalia - Jammies, pants optional

Crowd:
K&L - 800 people you'll want to punch in the mouth after 90 minutes
Paganalia - 25 people you like, and Peer (punch him if you want)

Ambiance:
K&L - see 800 obnoxious people above, and a bank
Paganalia - Fire in the living room

Sleeping / Passing out:
K&L - likely to result in bail being needed
Paganalia - we'll throw a blanket on you.

Food -
K&L - stale cold snacks that you'll have to beat down some old lady for
Paganalia - Roast Beast and all you can eat

Beverages -
K&L - 80 wines, all the good ones will be drained before you get to them, likely to be able to taste 20 and that's if you beat up people in front of the table
Paganalia - 30-40 we'll open more if you want.

What if there's a wine you really like and want more of?
K&L - Tough luck
Paganalia - Take it to a corner and hide under a blanket with it.

Cost-
K&L - $85
Paganalia - The bringing along of hot chicks is encouraged, but you're not required to pay for the hot chicks, otherwise - free

Your party sounds much better Paul, especially the "pants optional" and the hot chicks.

Gosh, I think I can remember First and Second Growth Bordeaux Wines! I don't buy them any longer, and as a result, I have lost all interest in Bordeaux!

Although I do have some great memories, paying $1000 for a 2005 Chateau Latour or Chateau Margaux is a gouge, IMHO! This almost makes the 1990 Chateau Margaux look like a bargain at $1000 per bottle! A bottle of wine for $1000 Think about it!

Paul- What were the date, time, and place of the next Paganalia get together? Sounds like a hell of a lot of fun.

James the UGC group as a whole is only doing a tasting in Chicago for the trade. A few individual owners are doing tastings in the area. Last year there was a very nice public tasting in which I attended, and would have very much liked to have attended this year given I buy enough of the stuff. What upsets me is that they only offer a tasting to the public peons during an average year, next year they will be begging us to attend. I'm not worthy of the 2005 Bordeaux so it seems....

quote:

Originally posted by khmark7:
What upsets me is that they only offer a tasting to the public peons during an average year, next year they will be begging us to attend. I'm not worthy of the 2005 Bordeaux so it seems....

I can somehow understand your frustration but you have to realise that they really have no obligation to do that and even without that they would sell their wines without any problems.
Look at it the other way:
-At least you don't have to be on a mailing list and buy 15 crappy wines to get one bottle of a wine you want
-I have yet to see a Napa Cult wine Union to organise a tasting anywhere in the world (and I think I can wait a few more centuries...)
-There are quite a few tastings all over with 2005 Bordeaux

So it is not that bad....
-

french16 I'm in no way suggesting they have any obligation to hold a tasting, but I do believe it is good business practice to remember your customers in good and bad years. Their obligation is to their customer base. Just because you have an outstanding year doesn't mean that you can just ignore or forget those customers. Most the 2005 Bordeaux tastings I have come across are highlighting the lesser known Chateau's, very different than the UGC tasting.

Think of it this way. It's like that friend that only calls you when they need to borrow something...

quote:

Originally posted by James Suckling:
But top end shops such as Hermes or Louis Vuitton, top restaurants or hotels, have great service.

LVMH is overpriced, given their generally over-hyped products whose prices increase and quality drops after being acquired...

quote:

Originally posted by khmark7:
french16 I'm in no way suggesting they have any obligation to hold a tasting, but I do believe it is good business practice to remember your customers in good and bad years. Their obligation is to their customer base. Just because you have an outstanding year doesn't mean that you can just ignore or forget those customers. Most the 2005 Bordeaux tastings I have come across are highlighting the lesser known Chateau's, very different than the UGC tasting.

Think of it this way. It's like that friend that only calls you when they need to borrow something...

I certainly agree with you that it is a good business pratice and I wish it was done by a lot of other people (by that I mean other than Bordeaux).
The problem is that with a big part of the wine buyers shifting to Asia (and Russia), with a lot of wealthy collectors and buyers, Bordeaux wines can sell easy at a high price, and this, even for less regarded vintages.
We can only hope, but I don't really know how realistic it is, that prices become somewhat stable at a level it was like 10 years ago...We'll see how it goes.

quote:

Originally posted by latour67:
Gosh, I think I can remember First and Second Growth Bordeaux Wines! I don't buy them any longer, and as a result, I have lost all interest in Bordeaux!

Although I do have some great memories, paying $1000 for a 2005 Chateau Latour or Chateau Margaux is a gouge, IMHO! This almost makes the 1990 Chateau Margaux look like a bargain at $1000 per bottle! A bottle of wine for $1000 Think about it!

Latour67,

While I agree with you about pricing, the demand is not like it was back 15 or 20 years. Today, EVERYONE is into wine, especially people with more money than brains who purchase 1st growths because it's trendy or hip.

But you can't ignore a whole region based only on high prices of the very few wines at the top of the heap. There is so much more to bordeaux than the top 5.

That's for sure. People generalize too much about Bordeaux being expensive and all the new markets that are replacing America and Europe. This still represents a small percentage of the total production of the region. Consider this quote I have from a well-known Bordeaux negociant:

“The super expensive wines only represent about 2 million bottles of the 900 million produced in Bordeaux in 2005,” said Mathieu Chadronnier of CVBG, one of the region’s biggest fine wine merchants. “It’s not that much of the production when you look at properly.”

“The super expensive wines only represent about 2 million bottles of the 900 million produced in Bordeaux in 2005,” said Mathieu Chadronnier of CVBG, one of the region’s biggest fine wine merchants. “It’s not that much of the production when you look at properly.”[/QUOTE]

Although I purchased three cases of futures.. I would not mind seeking the 2nd cru's of the top chateaus such as Croix de Beaucaillou, anyone have the 2005 at all??

Mike R.

I'll bump the Paganalia/St Vincent's day thread. It's almost upon us.