Red Bordeaux

I want to preface this article by restating that I am not now and never have been and probably never will be a wine expert. I am a person that really loves a wine that tastes good to me. Price is not a consideration for two reasons. First I am not wealthy and cannot afford hundreds of dollars for a bottle of wine. Second if a $5.00 bottle of wine tastes good, then that’s fine with me. If you want a wine-snob’s opinion on wine then stop reading here and go find a wine snob blog or website, there are lots of them. This blog is more about what you like and when you tell me what you like I may find after trying it that I like it too. In addition, by me telling you what I like maybe you will try something new and find that you like it as well.
Some years ago my wife and I stumbled upon a White Bordeaux and it was very good, clean, crisp and not bitter or bitey at all. It was just a good wine and we enjoy it often. The brand was Barons De Rothschild [Lafite] and it sells in my local liquor store for anywhere from $8.00 to $13.00 a bottle which is within my budget. Last night my youngest daughter (over 30 in case you were thinking I was drinking with a minor) came over and wanted some wine so I pulled out a bottle I had bought a few months ago of Barons De Rothschild [Lafite] Red Bordeaux 2005 and served it.
I had a glass mostly just to be sociable but upon the first taste I was taken aback by its smooth delicious taste. No bite, no bitterness, none of the nastiness that sometimes accompanies various red wines. The only other red wines that I can even kind of compare it to for smoothness is a Red Zinfandel or the first bottle of Beaujolais Nouveau drank on the first day after it arrives in the USA. Not that Bordeaux tastes like either one of those exactly, that is not the case. The comparison I am making is on smoothness and the lack of bitterness or bite. The Red Bordeaux was so good it probably lasted all of 15 minutes with my daughter and me downing it in between sessions of heaping praise of upon it. We both really loved it.
This family of wineries produces some great wines and Bordeaux ages well with some of them costing many thousands of dollars a bottle dependent upon vintage, rarity, etc. I am very happy that there are at least some versions of this wine that are in my price category and I don’t pretend to understand what makes one vintage worth thousands and another $8.00 a bottle. I’m sure there is some business reason that I just don’t know. The bottom line is both the red and white Barons de Rothschild [Lafite] wine really tastes good and I cannot recommend it enough. You should be able to find some well under $20.00 and I feel sure the more expensive stuff is wonderful but I can’t afford much more than $20-30 for a bottle of wine with most of my wine purchases being under $15. If you go to their web site you can see all kinds of brands that they produce and in all sorts of price ranges. For fun sometime do a search on wine auctions and just see for yourself how much some of these wines can go for. The prices are astounding.
Try a Red Bordeaux soon, I think you will really enjoy it. In central Florida the ABC Liquor store chain carries the lower end ones and I usually buy them there. Note that while the bottle in the picture is from Barons de Rothschild it is not exactly the same one I tried but the closest picture I could find. The one I tried looks 90% like this one with only minor differences , just want to be upfront and honest with you.
I wish you a very enjoyable drinking experience.
The Whisky Warrior