The first flight included Lenz merlots and wines from Château Figeac, a well-respected producer from St. Emilion. Lenz makes three merlots, ranging in quality and price from the basic Lenz Merlot ($15), via the Lenz Estate Selection Merlot ($23), to the Lenz Old Vines Merlot ($55). The objective of the first flight was to see how the 2 lower-priced Lenz merlots would compare with quality St. Emilions.

RANK POINTS WINE VINTAGE PRICE RATINGS
1 89.0 Lenz Estate Selection 2000 $30 Not Rated
2 88.8 Château Figeac 2002 $58 Robert Parker-88; Wine Spectator N/A
3 88.1 Lenz Estate Selection 2001 $30 Not Rated
4 86.9 Château Figeac 2000 $100 Robert Parker-93; Wine Spectator-89
5 86.8 Lenz Merlot 2002 $15 Not Rated
6 85.4 Château Figeac 2001 $65 Robert Parker-89; Wine Spectator-N/A

Comments:

  • Lenz‘won’
  • Each Lenz ‘Estate Selection’ wine (our ‘middle quality designation’) was ranked higher than its vintage counterpart, i.e. 2000 E.S. > 2000 Figeac and 2001 E.S. > 2001 Figeac.
  • The Lenz Merlot (our lowest-priced merlot) was commendably ranked within the group.
  • The average retail price of the 3 Figeac wines is $75 per bottle, and the average of the 3 Lenz merlots is $25: you could buy 3 bottles of Lenz Estate Selection Merlot for the price of a bottle of Château Figeac.
  • The average score for this flight was 87.5, the lowest of the 4 flights, perhaps reflecting the wines’ lower pricing, and the ‘point spread’ for this flight was 3.6.
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