Claret Sender: Ian

Salut-Hi interested,

Just a thought, before you ask here, a very quick google will give you a lot of information.

I typed Chateau Haut Simard into French Google and got several references, including this one.

They sell it at €29, so your £17 is a fair price. For a 15 year old wine, a lot depends upon how it was stocked.

le-on Tue, 26 Jul 2005 15:05:10 GMT, tu disais-you said:-

My feeling is that you should pbutt YOUR judgement on it and tell us what YOU think!

Humph. The estate isn't in the VERY top rank (implied IMO by the use of the word "supreme"). In fact it's not really in the second rank IMO. However it IS unusual to find clarets with that kind of bottle age outside the auctions. I don't know where you live - though your quotation of a price in sterling implies the British Isles. If you care to search through Sotheby's and Christies (UK on both counts) wine auctions you will see not only that many prestigious wines are sold, some with many more years under their belt.

English word for a red Bordeaux, dates from the days before bottles when the wine was imported in barrels, and was very pale in colour - almost rosé. They still make a wine in the area called "Clairet" but it's not of great merit.

Absolutely as are nearly all reds from France. However you may be confusing "dry" (as in without any residual sugar) with "tannic", which dries out the sides of the mouth, like strong tea or banana peel.

See ads as quoted. An honest price. A "supreme red bordeaux" (which wouldn't in fact be ready for drinking IMO) from 1990 could easily cost in excess of £200 a bottle, so don't expect too much. However a minor St Emilion with 15 years bottle age should be pretty tasty served with a nicely roast leg of lamb. Decant 1-2 hour to 1 hour depending upon the air space between the wine and the cork.

Laithwaites (yes I also did a Google.co.uk search) are pretty respectable, so I'd expect the wine to have been well stocked at least. However, you might like to tell them (from me) that calling a minor St Emilion "Supreme" is a little like using that epithet to describe a Toyota Camra!! I'd reserve it for a Lamborghini or a top Porsch. -- All the Best Ian Hoare mailbox full to avoid spam. try me at website