Category Archives: Earlier Vintages

Bordeaux 2008 Grands Crus Classés: Final Call for Value

Having posted my scores of 2008 Bordeaux Grands Crus Classés from the bottle, I’ve taken a look at the prices on the UK market (via Liv-ex and wine-searcher) to see what values there are before Parker releases any moment now. Spend a few moments checking the current price of the 2008 v the 2009 (2010 won’t be cheaper) and you could nab some top wines from great estates at reasonable prices. V? = Value? y = yes, p = possibly.

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Bordeaux 2008s: Those were the Days

Having just posted my 2008 scores for the Grands Cru Classés in bottle, I made the mistake of flicking through the article I wrote for Harpers Wine and Spirit for the 1 May 2009 issue, just before Parker posted his scores from the barrel tastings.

img_5462Here it is, in full. Let me say that, from the bottle, I can confirm that ‘St-Julien and Pauillac produced some top flight efforts’ but probably more than a ‘few really exceptional ones’. As for the prices, especially of Lafite and Mouton – now trading at £13,500 and £8,000 a case respectively – I think I’ll go and weep. For the wines, patience is required for all those Left Bank wines from the top estates, contrary to what some critics have said.

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The Bordeaux 2008 Grands Crus Classés from bottle

The top Chateaux in Bordeaux bottled their 2008 reds last summer, from May onwards. Since the autumn I’ve popped into all the Grands Crus Classés of the Left Bank (i.e. those in the 1855 classification) to taste them.

img_4608Given that you can only taste the First Growths and others in situ, it seems the fairest way to assess all the wines on a level playing field, even if it’s time consuming. It also gave me a chance to taste the increasingly relevant second wines, and a few other wines that are owned by the Crus Classés (such as Pibran being in the same ownership as Pichon Baron).

I also tasted the St-Emilion Premiers Grands Crus Classés  (excluding Cheval Blanc, Ausone, Belair Monange and Magdelaine) in a single sitting. Although I’ve tasted plenty of Pomerols, these tastings are incomplete so I’ve left them out (Le Pin and Clinet are very good, though…). Likewise Pessac-Léognan and other wines from St-Emilion.

Robert Parker is about to release his scores on 2008 from the bottle, in tandem with his initial 2010 scores from barrel. Here are my scores for the 2008 in bottle, alongside Parker’s original scores from barrel. Many of these wines are substantially less expensive than their 2009 and 2010 counterparts, so there are some deals to be had outside the First Growths. Further reports to follow.

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Best Buys from Bordeaux 2009

All over now bar the shouting.

Here, in my humble opinion, are the Best Buys – at the opening prices – of Bordeaux 2009, broken down as follows:

10 Expensive wines – but sound investments.

£400 to £1000 – 17 Fabulous quality, blue chip names.

£200 – £300 – This is where the values of 2009 lie: 20 cracking wines.

Under £200 – 12 lovely wines from the Left Bank. Keep reading

Bordeaux 2009 v 2008 v 2005: Comparing Points and Prices

For those who like lists: with the massive ‘en primeur’ price increases from 30 of the famous Bordeaux Châteaux last week – 196% up on average on 2008 – I thought it would be useful to compare points and prices of the top 2009s with both the 2008s and the last great vintage, 2005.

The table below shows my scores (GQ) and Robert Parker’s (RP) for the 2009s and 2008s from barrel, and the price in British pounds En Primeur (EP) from UK merchants. On the right hand side, I tasted all the top 2005s in bottle for Wine & Spirit magazine for the Dec 2007 issue, five months before Robert Parker released his final scores. Buyers are dipping back into the market for the 2005s and 2008s against the more expensive 2009s: there’s a lot of sense in that.

dsc_06672008 was a very good vintage, even if, in many people’s view, Robert Parker was a little generous with some of his scores. It makes for some bizarre comparisons: Ducru Beaucaillou 2008 was rated 96-98 and the 2009 96-98+, yet the the latter is three times the price of the ’08. I’ll be re-tasting the 2008s from bottle in the autumn – follow me on Twitter http://twitter.com/GavinQuinney for updates.

Meanwhile, the better deals on 2009s were to be found on wines released earlier in the campaign, so it’s worth searching them out as many are still available. See also my separate post to follow for my ‘Best Buys of Bordeaux 2009’ and my summary of tweets throughout the campaign. Keep reading

Clowns to the Left of me, Jokers to the Right

“The Bordeaux circus is over until next year but it is already clear from British drinkers’ inquiries that there are as many clowns in the audience as there are on stage. Make certain you are not one of them.”

This stern warning came from Jane MacQuitty in The Times on May 5th, 2001, following the En Primeur tastings of the much-hyped 2000 vintage. Jane might have been a little wide of the mark in terms of investment advice back then, but her words ring true for many of the top end 2009s released this week.

Don’t get me wrong – there are some fantastic wines in 2009. It’s just that the market for them has gone bonkers and I believe that this time it’s different. I was a big fan of buying the 2000s and the 2005s En Primeur, despite warnings from many observers at the time that prices were too high: writing up the ’05 Primeurs for Wine and Spirit magazine, I urged readers to buy the wines, and re-stated that in December 2007 after I’d tried them all in bottle.

There have been some terrific 2009 values, and I’ll highlight those shortly. However, the prices for many of the ‘second’ tier of top 2009s from Bordeaux, released this week, simply beggar belief (see below). According to Liv-ex, prices announced in the final week are up nearly 200% over 2008 and 57% over 2005 – and much more than this above ’05 in £ terms. Even more astonishing is that many are selling out, apparently. I have been receiving emails, asking advice on ‘should I buy this, should I buy that, what should I buy?’ which I’m only too happy to answer. I usually refer to my up-to-date list of 2005s v 2009s. Keep reading

The Big Match: Bordeaux 2009 v 2005 – The Buyer’s Guide, Updated as Prices Released.

Updated regularly in June: So the big guns have left it until after the World Cup kicks off before launching their 2009 sales campaign. In the meantime, I’ve been looking at prices and scores against the last vintage of the decade/century/lifetime: 2005. The table below should give you a feel for what the right price should be on 175 leading wines. All things being equal, a 2009 – still in barrel – should be cheaper than the 2005 from the same estate, yet things aren’t always that simple.

dsc_0726The 2009 columns, on the left, are my scores (GQ) and Robert Parker’s, using the 100 point system, Jancis Robinson’s out of 20, and then the price in £ En Primeur from UK merchants. The spaces indicate the wines that have yet to be released, although I’ll keep the list updated.

On the right hand side, I tasted all the top 2005s in bottle (except Château Ausone, sadly) for Wine & Spirit magazine for the December 2007 issue, five months before Robert Parker released his final scores, shown here also. Buyers are dipping back into the market for the 2005s against the more expensive 2009s: there’s a lot of sense in that. Keep reading

‘Ere we Go, ‘Ere we Go: Calon Ségur 2009

Along with Grand-Puy-Lacoste, Château Calon Ségur is the first ‘top’ Left Bank 2009 claret to be released En Primeur today. UK merchants are offering the wine at around £600 a case, in bond (ex-duty and Vat), two years before delivery.

Here is the announcement on the website of  the UK’s biggest Bordeaux merchant, Farr Vintners, whose owner has just bought Crystal Palace FC:

“Also released this morning was the superb Calon Segur. At the moment (even by calling in favours in Bordeaux) it looks like we will only have enough wine to satisfy about half of the pre-orders and certainly not enough for this great St Estephe to ever make it to general sale.”

dsc04672Blimey. I thought the 2009 was a fabulous wine when I tasted it in April, and rated it 92-95, while Robert Parker gave it an almost identical 92-94+. Jancis Robinson awarded it a very high, for her, 18/20. But ‘sold out’ at £600 seems crazy in the context of earlier vintages.

Calon Ségur, owned by the formidable Madame Capbern Gasqueton, right, is a traditionalist’s favourite and patience will be required – drink 2023-2040+. In 2009 there is a whopping 90% Cabernet Sauvignon in the blend, compared to 82% for the 2008, and by my calculations, they made about 15,000 cases of the first wine: with 46 hectares in production in ’09 from 55 ha overall, and yields of 53hl/ha, 58% went into the Grand Vin, 25% into the second wine and the rest a third wine. Keep reading

Bordeaux 2009 En Primeur: UK Merchants Premier League

Any pro will tell you that buying top wines from Bordeaux En Primeur, or splashing out while the wine is still in barrel and two years before delivery, is a risk. So you should buy from reliable sources.

old_image_croppedThe following 20 UK merchants have a strong track record, and could be considered the Premiership as far as En Primeur is concerned, with other candidates in the frame for promotion – see below and feel free to comment. I’ve listed the 20 in rough order of Bordeaux muscle (think allocations), range, prices, services and website. Prices are always quoted In Bond, which excludes Duty at £20+ and VAT on the lot. Check for extras, such as delivery.

For ‘Deal or No Deal?’ updates on wines as prices are released, follow me on Twitter: http://twitter.com/GavinQuinney

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