Wine: My Bordeaux wine for daily drinking

[Mike Buckley]

The 2009 and 2010 vintages for Bordeaux were fantastic. Most reporting indicates that their quality since then has been equaled only by the 2015 vintage, which is not yet released.

I bought about four cases each of the 2009 and 2010 vintages of the wine shown below made by Chateau de Macard. It's not a great Bordeaux but at about $13 per bottle it's a fabulous Bordeaux value; I've seen it selling usually for $20 and as much as $25 per bottle. Better yet, it tastes as good as any $25 bottle of Bordeaux I've ever enjoyed, so it's my go-to Bordeaux for daily drinking.

I stockpiled it because I didn't know at the time what the next great vintage would be. The bottle from the 2009 vintage shown in the photo is my last bottle of that vintage. I've only had one or two bottles of the 2010 vintage. At a rate of two bottles per month, it will last until the 2015 vintage becomes available.

Almost all red Bordeaux is primarily made from either Cabernet Sauvignon or Merlot. Both of these wines are 50% Cabernet Franc, 30% Merlot and 20% Cabernet Sauvignon. My wife and I thoroughly enjoy 100% Cabernet Franc, so it's no surprise that we like this wine.

Setup
The tabletop is fabric and the background is brown art paper. The bottles are raised on a small platform, allowing the fabric in the foreground to fall off the platform onto the main level of the tabletop. A small continuous-light lamp fitted with a flag to limit the amount of light falling on the background lights the subjects from above and on the right. A speed light set at 1/16 power is fitted with diffusion material. It is hidden behind the subjects on the tabletop and lights the lower part of the background.

The eagle eyes around here will no doubt quickly catch my mistake. I made it somehow despite that I triple checked to ensure that I wouldn't make it.

[Shadowman]

Nicely done.

[Wavelength]

You are the one who uses darkness as a powerful tool in images in our forum; this time you let the bottle dissolve into darkness; did you want it that way?

[Mike Buckley]

Thank you to John and Nandakumar!

this time you let the bottle dissolve into darkness; did you want it that way?

Great question! When viewing the image on my calibrated monitor, there is at least a slight separation between all edges of the bottles and both the background and fabric. I wanted that slight separation, though another perfectly viable way to make the photo would have been to make a greater separation.

[Wavelength]

On my laptop monitor (may be because of that) distinction is poor; yet i liked the image that way too

[bje07]

Nice shot, as usual, you present bottles of wine like jewelry, as it can be with the high prices.
Thank you again for your set up explanations .

[bnnrcn]

Very nice image Mike The red covers of the corks are not equally lit , is this what you call a mistake ?

[Mike Buckley]

Thank you also to Jean and Binnur.

The red covers of the corks are not equally lit , is this what you call a mistake ?

No, that's not a mistake. It's impossible to equally light two side-by-side subjects of this size when using just one light source of its size and no reflector, which is how the two wine bottles were lit. As an example, notice that the shadow on the left side of the left label is both darker and harder than the comparable shadow on the other label. If I had wanted both bottles to be evenly lit, I would have used a different setup.

I fully expected you to catch my mistake, so I haven't given up on you.

[bnnrcn]

I guessed that it wasn't a mistake but even so I wanted to make sure. I will look at the image again after taking my dog out for a quick walk. Let's see if I can see what you call a mistake

Thank you also to Jean and Binnur.



No, that's not a mistake. It's impossible to equally light two side-by-side subjects of this size when using just one light source of its size and no reflector, which is how the two wine bottles were lit. As an example, notice that the shadow on the left side of the left label is both darker and harder than the comparable shadow on the other label. If I had wanted both bottles to be evenly lit, I would have used a different setup.

I fully expected you to catch my mistake, so I haven't given up on you.

[bnnrcn]

I think I saw something before going out. The line of the red cloth between to bottles is at the same level as the bottom line of the label on the left. Have I found it ? I wouldn't call it as a mistake if this is the one.

[Mike Buckley]

I can imagine some people considering that a mistake, but I don't. I actually noticed that when I was fairly early on in the setup and decided there was no reason to change it.

[bnnrcn]

I can't see anything wrong except for the very tiny grey dot at the lower part of the bottle on the left Mike

[Mike Buckley]

I'll let others have a chance to find my mistake.

[NorthernFocus]

I'm not on a calibrated monitor and similar to Nandakumar's observation the bottles disappear completely into the BG along the outside edges. All I see are labels, the top foil, and a patch of grey between the bottles.

For my favorite table wine I've taken the next logical step beyond buying it by the case. Finding the empty bottles a real hassle to deal with I've started buying it by the cask. Though one might consider it a rather liberal use of the term when applied to a cardboard box with a plastic bag inside

[Mike Buckley]

Way too funny, Dan!

[Mike Buckley]

My mistake is that the wine label on the right is not centered on the bottle. I apparently moved the bottle a little bit after centering the label and forgot to check that detail afterward.

[madcrow]

My eye not good enough to see any mistakes only a well executed image.

[bnnrcn]

Well, for me that's not a mistake Mike

My mistake is that the wine label on the right is not centered on the bottle. I apparently moved the bottle a little bit after centering the label and forgot to check that detail afterward.

[Mike Buckley]

Wishing that more of my mistakes are to your liking! If only the same would be true with my wife.

[madcrow]

Mike, as regards to your wife, you will never win. I speak from lots of experience gained over many years, I have yet to win.