2010 Bordeaux: To buy or not to buy?
ByThe first of The Society’s two Bordeaux 2010 opening offers is now live on the website, and will be mailed shortly.
We, along with record numbers of the world’s Bordeaux buyers, embarked on this year’s primeur tastings with some trepidation. A second good, potentially great, vintage in a row, with the crop down by as much as 50% in some cases, meant prices might be high again. That has since proved to be the case, with many significantly higher than the earlier fêted 2009.
We were also led to believe that the tastings themselves would be more challenging than usual given reports of record tannin levels. Would the wines have the balance and appeal after such a successful 2009 campaign?
In the event, the best wines have it all. They are ripe and balanced, solidly structured and with all the elements for a long and rewarding future; and they are different in style from 2009. More importantly for us, there are delicious and exciting wines at all price levels.
So, yes, for the Bordeaux drinker, enthusiast, collector, this is a vintage to buy. The Society has, and negotiations have now started at home!
Joanna Locke MW
Bordeaux buyer
I’ve recently received my 2 opening offers for Bordeaux 2010.
All can I say is the Bordelais need to reduce thier consumption of thier product, the prices can be only be described as ludicrous bordering on insane. I will not be buying this year or any further year if they keep on this track.
I think its safe to say I’ll be buying up as much of the 2005/2006/2008 as possible in the next few years. £150 per bottle for the 2nd Margaux, get serious !!.
I seriously hope for the Bordeaux producers that the Chinese love affair with expensive red wine keeps going, because nobody I know is buying new releases anymore. For me the double irony is Red wine tastes foul with Chinese food. Thank goodness for comman sense in the rest of France and Australia.
Regards
Richard
I am afraid that I completely agree with Richard. Both I and a number of friends have stopped buying EP for now. I am also questioning the en-premiur offer of lessor wines at all. A very brief review of prices of lessor wines seems to suggest that the argument for investing up front is becoming less persuasive. For example, the current list is offering a series of excellent lessor clarets from 2009, 2008 and 2007 (try the Chat Talaise 2009). Separately, take a look at the 2010 white Burgundy offer of D’Allaines wines and then take a look at page 88 of the current list where you will find the 2008 of the same wine at the same price as the offer post duty and tax.
I think that the Society needs to undertake a thorough analysis of price trends, comparing its EP prices (having added duty and tax) with those of the same wines post release and also to the same wines when they have 5 years maturity to really understand whether members are still benefiting investing early. Perhaps this then needs to be embedded as a process conducted by the buyers.
In essence, I wonder whether the balance of investment has tipped too far toward the producer/agent who benefits from the early cash flow whilst the buyer, who, in many cases, needs to keep the wines for a number of years to enjoy them at their best is bearing all the cost.
As many wines at various price levels become oversubscribed (particularly in vintages such as 2010), the need for us to offer wines en primeur is vital: we cannot make assurances that we will have stocks once the campaign finishes, meaning this may be the only chance to guarantee an allocation of a particular wine. We also take lower margins in the process making it probable that the wines will be cheaper. Markets, interest and currency rates may change; and as the reputation of each vintage and demand differ from the outset, starting prices do vary. For example, both 2009 and 2010 started higher than 2008 Claret because demand was much stronger and supply no greater.
Sebastian
Many thanks for this explanation. I fully understand the desire to gain allocations of wines and the balance that you and the team must strike when seeking to put together an opening offer. However, I wonder whether a reinforcing loop is being created for lessor wines by our support for buying them EP. The very fact that you can offer excllent wines from the 2009 vintage in the list already suggests that supply is not always tight at the lower end of the market.
Robin