2010 Bordeaux: some good buys and the first sign of silliness
By
The barrel room at Château Palmer
We are currently putting together a tasty selection of 2010 Clarets at affordable prices that will provide drinkers with plenty to enjoy over the next 20 years. This, our first Bordeaux 2010 Opening Offer, will be mailed and available online in early June.
Our selection of classed–growths will take longer to finalise. We had the first sign of silliness today when Château Beychevelle announced a 22% increase in its price, even though the wine is no better than last year. This is largely because the Chinese market knows the brand and likes the dragon and boat label.
But for drinkers this is a bad buy and we have refused it.
Prices of the more famous, highly priced Clarets are slowly being released. We will judge each wine on its merit and finalise a second offer as soon as we can.
I wonder whether the time is fast approaching when buying claret en-primeur that is no longer worth investing the money up front. As the team regularly remind us, it is history of the producer and not just the cask samples that the Society relies on to select wines. Only when in bottle, and with a couple of years of age, do we really get an understanding of the quality of that vintage. As the producers demand ever more silly prices, I just wonder whether it is better to wait and perhaps pay a little more for wines that you know wll be good.
Thank you for your comment, Robin. Bordeaux is indeed a changing market because of increasing worldwide demand for top names, but the quality of Claret being made has never been better. In the case of Beychevelle, we just think that Asian demand has caused the wine to be overpriced.
We are absolutely confident that en primeur is the best way to purchase Bordeaux: it remains the cheapest way to buy and is the only way to obtain wines in limited supply. We have a great deal of experience tasting young wines en primeur and both my colleagues and I are confident that we have chosen and will choose some stunning wines, and that we can give members good advice about which to go for. I hope this goes some way to reassure you.
Sebasian
Many thanks for this. I will consider the Wine Society’s offer when it comes out and no doubt you are reflecting the views of members to the producers. I know that you will only select those wines that you think are worth their price and was very pleased to note that you are willing to remove those that are not..
Robin
Sebastian
Having reflected on this a little further, I wonder whether the Society maintains, and could publish, data it might hold on prices that tracks a wine’s price at en-premier offer, first release in bottle to public, and 5 years after release. It would also be interesting to further refine this by wines (at en-primier) below £150 per case, wines between £150 and £300 per case and wines at more than £300 per case. Not sure whether you would hold such information but thought members might find it interesting and a good guide to whether or not en-premier is good value.
Robin
We’ll consider it but it is very much complicated by the fact that some years prices rise immediately and in others they take a little longer and then jump. But, of course, one never knows this in advance. It’s not as dodgy as house prices, however,but it is equally important to buy something good in the first place. Then you cannot really go wrong.
I’m hoping other members like me are buying wine to drink and not for investment. Whilst I think it is useful to know you are saving money by buying E.P. if The Society provides too much info on price rises, we are at risk of people buying for profit and thus depriving other members of wines to drink.
Hugh
Rest assured, I only buy to drink. However, when on a budget it is really important to me that I do not buy EP wines unecessarily if I can buy slightly more mature, or mature wines without having the expense of storage, etc, etc.
Robin