Any recommendations on a solid value for a $500-600 dollar bottle of wine

[Icarium]

Pretty stupid request I know. Apparently my brother is trying to help his friend who is buying a bottle for his wine geek brother. I have no other preference details besides maybe a bordeaux or californian vintage.

Not sure why people make these kinds of poorly thought out extravagant gifts. Feel like it's similar to if my brother asked a headphone audiophile what they think is awesome and they say Grado PS1000 and he gets me a Grado PS1000.

That being said... that's the gift givers problem not mine I guess. Said I'd ask though so here I am Throw out whatever you'd get if you won 500-600 bucks in a lotto and felt like blowing it on a bottle of wine. Thanks in advance.

Edit: Tips on where to buy/source would be good to. No one involved in this game of telephone or game of shitty gift giving knows anything about wine.

Edited April 5, 2012 by Icarium

[Augsburger]

First of all, this is not a stupid request. Difficult yes, but very reasonable. (coming from an insufferable wino)

What wine has the recipient tried, liked or want in his collection? Wine newby with label envy or an experienced sophisticated vino person.

Must this be only one bottle, or a three pack is OK?

As above, red or white? What type of food does the recipient usually enjoy? Steak eater or vegan?

To help select a winery direct or on line secondary retailer source, where does the potential wine purchaser live?

This is a start, more questions to follow.

[The Monkey]

Agree that this is not a stupid question. And I readily defer to Greg's judgment. The only bit of advice I will offer is to piggyback on a thought offered by Greg above: consider a three-pack. As a wine lover, I would much rather receive 3 bottle of ~$200 wine than 1 of ~$500-600 unless the one bottle was something absolutely unique.

Also, sometimes it is worth considering a great bottle of something else for the wine lover. By answering Greg's questions above, perhaps we can come up with some non-wine alternatives that might do the the trick. I find this useful with my dad who has vastly more wine knowledge than I. If I can find the "wine lover's scotch" I sometimes give him that instead.

[TMoney]

one bottle, maybe this.

Agree, this looks perfect given what you've specified.

When you are buying wine for a real collector, IMO it's best to not try and wow them with some obscure cult wine that they may or may not have heard of. I personally think it's best to stick to the big guns, even if there are better wines and better values out there. When you go with the tried and true, odds are the person will know what you are giving them and will appreciate the significance of the gift.

In that vein, any of the Premier Cru Bordeauxs from a decent year are an easy recommendation. The place you want to order from can definitely help you with the year. The Premier Crus are (from Wikipedia):

Premier Grand Cru

• Château Lafite Rothschild Médoc (Pauillac)
  
• Château Margaux Médoc (Margaux)
  
• Château Latour Médoc (Pauillac)
  
• Château Haut-Brion Pessac-Leognan
  
• Château Mouton-Rothschild Médoc (Pauillac)
  

[The Monkey]

The above are solid suggestions. Few wine lovers would be disappointed with an '82 First or Second Growth Bordeaux.

[guzziguy]

I exuberantly second Jacob's suggestion. I bought two bottles of the 1982 Pichon Lalande Comtesse when I lived in France. At the time, it was rated the best of the 1982 vintage (Bordeaux). I drank one too early, but drank the second bottle in 2002 or 2003. It was perfect, the only wine that I would rank 100. If the wine is in good shape, it would make a wonderful gift. I would verify that the seller has a return policy though.

[bhjazz]

I like Dinny's idea of a three-pack. One of which should be:

Quilceda Creek Cabernet. The '03 and '08 are usually rated quite good. I had part of a bottle of the '87 a month back and once it was decanted and really aired out, it was pretty amazing.

[grawk]

300 bottles of 2 buck chuck

[dsavitsk]

^ this, because this

[Icarium]

First of all, this is not a stupid request. Difficult yes, but very reasonable. (coming from an insufferable wino)

What wine has the recipient tried, liked or want in his collection? Wine newby with label envy or an experienced sophisticated vino person.

Must this be only one bottle, or a three pack is OK?

As above, red or white? What type of food does the recipient usually enjoy? Steak eater or vegan?

To help select a winery direct or on line secondary retailer source, where does the potential wine purchaser live?

This is a start, more questions to follow.

Nod, the reason I said this was a stupid request is that I was told that there's no way to get answers to any further questions so we can't get additional criteria to make the decision. I have no problems with buying a 600 dollar bottle of wine as a gift, but blindly buying 1 seems stupid to me unless it was for someone that cares more about the $ cost than the quality of wine.

Though I was told it was to be for 1 or 2 bottles of wine with preference on the 1.

That being said Edipis and Tmoney's info probably will fit the bill! Forwarding this to my brother. Thanks guys!

Edit: Nvm just checked in with my brother and he had been following the thread and based on advice given his friend picked up a bottle of '90 latour.

Edited April 6, 2012 by Icarium

[shellylh]

300 bottles of 2 buck chuck

I would be really unhappy if someone gave me 300 bottles of 2 buck chuck.

[guzziguy]

Latour is always a good choice. Hopefully he bought it locally so that he can easily return it if it is corked.

[jantze]

Maybe a proper stick blender and various Bomex Beakers to match the wine?