Bordeaux 2008 primeurs
A remarkable vintage which frankly no one is more suprised by than the producers themselves. Nobody was expecting the quality that has come from this late harvest. Continue reading →
View Article2009 Bordeaux Primeurs
As I prepare to go to Bordeaux to taste the 2009s over the course of next week, the air is thick with hyperbole and excitement, and these first wines to be tasted from the 2009 vintage are awaited with...
View Article2010 Bordeaux Overview
Well, we are off! The first runners in what promises to be the marathon of the 2010 Bordeaux Primeur campaign have been released, so that we are under way, even if, with Vinexpo this year, there's the...
View Article2010 Bordeaux – Pierre Taix’s ‘La Mauriane’
Pierre Taïx's 'La Mauriane' comes strongly recommended if you are looking for Cru Classé level drinking at a very modest price. Continue reading →
View ArticleThe Daily Telegraph exposes how Bordeaux prices are fixed
"Under the midday sun, on a lane in Pomerol, two men are locked in a frenetic waltz that might also be a fight. “This is the tango of the en primeur,” explains Denis Durantou, maker of the sublimely...
View Article2010 Bordeaux Primeurs – just getting going
Several new releases in the 2010 Bordeaux campaign, some solid value, others seeming to test the market. Continue reading →
View Article2010 Bordeaux Primeurs – Ormes de Pez, Raymond Lafon
2010 Les Ormes de Pez has been released at the same price as the 2009. Given the reasonable price level of this excellent and consistent wine, this is really the best one could have hoped for. Goes...
View Article2010 Bordeaux Primeurs – Cantemerle, Beychevelle
Releases continue this morning. Slight doubts in my mind about Cantemerle – as you will see from the note I only saw it once, and the sample may have been tired. Steven Spurrier, Neal Martin, Robert...
View Article2010 Bordeaux Primeurs, Château Labégorce
Nathalie Perrodo is bringing her father's dream closer to reality with this 'first' vintage from the newly reunited Labégorce vineyards, after they had spent a couple of centuries split into three. The...
View Article2010 Bordeaux Primeurs – Capbern Gasqueton and Laforge
Under the same ownership as Calon Ségur, Château Capbern Gasqueton is a Saint Estephe which offers cru-classé level drinking at lower-end Cru Bourgeois pricing. Continue reading →
View Article2010 Bordeaux Primeurs – beginning to speed up
Regular customers will know that we have has a soft spot for L'Arrosée ever since the Cailles took it over in 2002. Continue reading →
View ArticleBordeaux 2010 – the ups and the downs
If your wine sold out in seconds last year, and you have even better notes than last year, the temptation must be to hike a little. Sarget de Gruaud Larose flew last year, when it seemed one of the...
View Article2010 Bordeaux Primeurs – Wednesday latecomers…
Bravo again to Francois Despagne for this year's Château Grand Corbin Despagne which is a Saint Emilion which just tastes real, remarkably unforced, and unites the English palates: "Good juice and...
View Article2010 Bordeaux Primeurs – Chasse Spleen, d’Aiguilhe, Trois Croix, la Garde
Chasse Spleen is out this afternoon, up around 7% on last year. Continue reading →
View Article2010 Bordeaux Primeurs – Friday 27th
Château Poujeaux has followed Chasse Spleen onto the market at the same price. Château Bernadotte, the 'entry-level' wine from the Pichon-Lalande stable is out this morning too. This offers good value...
View Article2010 Bordeaux Primeurs – Bank Holiday Monday releases
The French (and Bordelais in particular, it seems) being not respecters of English bank holidays, we do have a few releases today, but seeing as I'm at Seaview and should be watching my son sail, I'm...
View Article2010 Bordeaux Primeurs – Wines from Denis Durantou – and the day’s other...
As attentive readers of earlier blog posts like this one about the 'tango of en primeur' will know, we are avid fans of Denis Durantou, maker of Chateau l'Eglise Clinet. Denis also makes a line-up of...
View Article2010 Bordeaux Primeurs – d’Armailhac, Croix Saint Georges, Le Boscq
Château d'Armailhac, made by the Mouton team, is out this morning. It is up just over 17% on the 2009 release price. The wine is well-regarded, and reputedly selling fast in Bordeaux - offered subject...
View Article2010 Bordeaux Primeurs – Beauregard, Hauts de Pontet, Parde Haut Bailly
The Château owners are rather boxing them selves into a corner by continuing to wait to release their wines. The reason today seems to be a holiday in China. A couple of second wines with good...
View Article2010 Bordeaux Primeurs – Gruaud Larose, Haut Bages Liberal, de Fieuzal
The morning's big news is the release of 2010 Château Gruaud Larose at £530 per case in bond. This is up on 2009 (which looked a bargain at the end of the campaign by comparison to wines like Lynch and...
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