Bienvenue au Cirque de Bordeaux
BySpring sunshine and temperatures of nearly 30*C brightened the mood during the annual circus when all Bordeaux châteaux display the new vintage for the first time. We have found some outstanding wines and many good wines in 2010. The best wines are intensely flavoured with great keeping potential.
The bad news is that the top names have mostly made as much as 20% less wine than in 2009 and international interest in buying them is as strong as ever, so prices are unlikely to come down. Some will increase from the all-time high levels of last year.
The good news is that, if you look hard enough as we do, there is absolutely no need to pay top prices. We found excellent Claret to drink over the next 5 to 15 years among the properties with less fancy names.
We will return to Bordeaux later in May, when the world has gone away, to double-check the quality of our favourites and give you the lowdown in more detail.
Am I the only member who gets frustrated with the current Wine Society allocation system for en primeur?
I wish to support my Society, however to make sure I have the wines I want to order and not be entered into a lottery for them I find myself ordering from other merchants.
I appreciate that it may be ‘fairer’ however it creates a reluctant shopper at your competitors!!
Thanks for your comment.
It is hard to be fair and as responsive as we’d like, and with some of the higher-priced wines in short supply and with their prices coming out late then it is frustrating for members as well as for us! Rest assured that we shall be buying as much as we can of the most sought-after wines (though they will still be allocated) and a plentiful supply of the best wines from the more approachable and affordable wines from second growths downwards. We will keep members updated on which wines we’re likely to have and on the timings of our offers through e-mail, the web and the SocietyGrapevine.