It has all been rather quiet on the Bordeaux front, but now that Robert Parker has published his views I suspect things
will start to hot up. He has given ten wines a potential 100 points and I have included some of his comments from Issue
# 94 which was published on May 2nd below:
"....the world continues to change, and it is an inescapable truth that 2010 has produced another year of
compelling Bordeaux that will go down as a prodigious vintage alongside 2009....I have tasted enough wines
from 2005, 2009 and 2010 to realize that these may be the three greatest Bordeaux vintages I have tasted in
my career."
"While massive and highly extracted, the 2010s are also fresh and incredibly pure. Moreover, they will enjoy
astonishing longevity."
"2010 seems relatively homogeneous throughout Bordeaux. The Cabernet Sauvignon has once again done
exceptionally well, while there may be a handful of Merlot-based wines where the tannins are unusually rustic and
excessive, by and large this is a great vintage in every appellation. As time elapses, I do believe it will be the Cabernet
Sauvignon-based wines that put on the most weight and reveal the greatest nuances."
"The Bordeaux marketplace is a global one and more and more it is apparent that a caste system has developed. One
could argue that this has existed ever since the famous 1855 Classification of the Wines of the Gironde was published.
Today, the world is shocked by skyrocketing prices for 30 or 40 châteaux. Normally this would look like a bubble
ready to burst. However, that does not look to be the case. The fact is, the demand continues to increase and the
quantity of these wines remains the same as it has for decades. In fact, for many of these estates the selection process
has become so draconian that there is actually less wine being produced than in the past......However, some
Bordeaux wines still represent phenomenal bargains, and, hopefully, many of them are covered in these reports.
Additionally, in the middle category of $30-$75 a bottle offerings, there are many great wines that represent fabulous
value in terms of world-class wines that will age for 25-30+ years."
"What this all actually means is that readers need to forget about the first-growths, super-seconds and a handful of other
limited production glamour wines as they will be beyond the reach of all but the wealthiest millionaires and billionaires.
However, these represent only a tiny fraction of the entire Bordeaux production. There are many, many good values and
great wines to be found at far lower prices. It makes sense to buy those wines as futures if you are dealing with a
reputable merchant with a history of buying and delivering Bordeaux futures."
I broadly agree with everything he says here and especially that there are still plenty of excellent wines that will be
released at fair prices that are worth looking out for.
I suspect that we will start to see the real action starting over the next 2-3 weeks, it will be interesting to see where
prices come out cometh the hour.
Click here to view the Bordeaux 2010 offer and our wishlist.
James Price
Director
