2016 Pedesclaux has been uncorked....

[JimHow]

I had this a few months back and I recall liking it, thought I would try it again to see if I want to buy some more.

[JimHow]

I've been really enjoying my return to Barbara Tuchman, it is astounding the parallels between 14th century Europe and what we are seeing today.
And I'm not a very religious man -- indeed, I'm an atheist -- indeed, some have called me the anti-Christ during my political days -- but I enjoy a good passage from the Bible every now and then. Still can't get over that little stunt Orange pulled last night. I see the Republicans in Congress are lining right up with him.

[dstgolf]

Jim,

Nice to see a good atheist hedging his bets with a bible beside his glass to carry him some day to that grand drinking room in the sky!!

[Racer Chris]

At least you know which side is up with that book.

[Nicklasss]

I guess you have to be atheist to take the defense of criminals...

Looking for your report on the Pedesclaux. I'm definitely in a Bordeaux "creu de vague" myself, not opening the Holy red wine from Aquitaine lately.

Last night Langhe nebbiolo was just excellent to impressive for the low price. I bought some more today.

Nic

[AKR]

This is a rare wine stateside!

[Blanquito]

Never had a Pedesclaux...

[JimHow]

The problem with Pedesclaux is that it has become about ten dollars too expensive.
It is a delicious Pauillac, very representative of 2016 Pauillac, but at $48 per bottle on sale in NH I'll stick with my one remaining bottle in the cellar which I will blanquito a couple times and drink it in my early seventies. A very nice Pauillac, though, true to its terroir.
Rating: 92 points.

[stefan]

Lucie and I drank Pedesclaux pretty often back in the 1970s and liked it for the price. Later we upgraded to D'Armailhac. I just checked and was surprised to see that in 2016 these two Pauillacs are about the same price.

[Ianjaig]

Had only one glass of this at a 2016 tasting a few months ago, but was impressed also. I know very little about this producer but understand the current owners also own Lilian Ladouys and have a part ownership in D'Issan?

[AlexR]

Jim,

Pédesclaux is one to watch. I was bor-ring for many years, but has been on the up and up since it was bought by Italian-Swiss businessman Jacky Lorenzetti who also owns half of Issan, in 2009.

The château was entirely renovated and the wine has little in common with that made under previous ownership.

I don't know how many bottles of the 2016 you have, but I'll wager that if you have any more and open another bottle in a few years' time, you'll think you made a wise investment.
Personally, I have only 1 bottle of the 2015, bought recently.

I think this is a wine whose star is rising and that the current prices do not reflect its intrinsic quality. I think you were wise in buying some and that it will shortly be far less of a dark horse.


All the best,
Alex R.

[Comte Flaneur]

A dark horse maybe Alex, off most of our radars, but aren’t they putting the cart before the horse with this kind of pricing? Letting the market drive up the price, because the market has discovered how improved it is, is surely a wiser strategy?

Californian wines don’t sell in the UK because they made this mistake after the Judgement of Paris. OTOH Aussie wines sell very well in the UK because they were priced so competitively in the 1980s.

[Dandersson]

The 2019 is here "now" (EP) for $36, vs $44 for the 2018. Around me the 2016 is selling for $50+ on sale.

[William P]

I enjoyed the 2015. A solid Pauillac for the money. As I recall it was $42.00. Arv this was so at the Costco by REI last year.

Bill

[AKR]

2014 was at that same Costco (#471 to the cognoscenti) for maybe $20ish. I picked up one, put it away, and have not tried it yet.

There may be some price signaling going on with bump up in their offer. Salespeople generally know that the single most important product descriptor is the price. Asking for more money, with some improvements in the product, is the surest confidence that one has something better than the historical output.

Time will tell, but I think any sub $50 Pauillac would normally get some consumer interest from this board.

[AlexR]

Ian, Arv, et al,

I think that pricing is a question of perspective.

If, for instance, au under-the-radar wine like Pédesclaux starts getting its act together and seriously improving quality, they have to do something to pay for the investments necessarily made to that end, and also understandably feel moved to charge a price in keeping with the changes.
However, people who had been used to the wine at a certain price point may very well be destabilized...

Interesting Ian that you should speak of the cart before the horse. It brings up the subject of how reputations are made, by whom, and what the lead time is to make or break one.

If Pédesclaux was boring in the past, it was also quite inexpensive. I can understand the new owner's desire to up the price significantly, both for economic reasons and also a question of ego (never to be underestimated in Bordeaux...).
The point is that when you start out with an inexpensive underprerformer, and move onto something much better, then maybe it is best not to see price increases in terms of percentage, but rather as a different "new" product to be compared with its peers, let's say a good mid-range Pauillac 5th growth (there are 12 of them altogether) or a good, rather than great California Cabernet (which I believe is in the same price bracket).

Of course, when quality goes up or down, there is a time lag with market awareness. Should Lorenzetti have waited until critical acclaim drove up demand and *then* increased prices? Or was he justified in charging more as soon as he felt confident that the newfound quality deserved this?
Time will tell .

All the best,
Alex R.

[JimHow]

You have convinced me to buy a few more bottles of 2016 Pedesclaux when it goes back on sale in NH at $48.
It truly is a very well made wine that admirably represents the terroir of Pauillac, the greatest appellation in Bordeaux, indeed, the world.

[Blanquito]

Another success in 2016. Jim is on a roll.

[Dandersson]

You have convinced me to buy a few more bottles of 2016 Pedesclaux when it goes back on sale in NH at $48.
It truly is a very well made wine that admirably represents the terroir of Pauillac, the greatest appellation in Bordeaux, indeed, the world.

I agree that, according to my taste I would also say that Pauillac is the greatest appellation in Bordeaux. But, which are the best QPR wines in Pauillac?

[Blanquito]

I still think the 16 Branaire could be the steal of the 2016 vintage.