Talking about primeur wines (previous note on Lafite), Château Latour has announced its intention to stop selling its wines en primeur, that is to say, in spring following the harvest. Vintage 2011 will be the last vintage they sell in this manner. Instead they will sell their wines when they are ready to be drunk. [...]
Tag Archives | primeurs
Lafite Rothschild 50 % cheaper than last year. A bargain?
In early April journalists and wine merchants tasted the new vintage, the 2011, during one week in Bordeaux. This is called the primeur tastings. The wines are not ready to drink yet, of course, they still have at least a year and probably more to spend in oak barrels, but this is the Bordeaux way [...]
So how did the Bordeaux primeurs 2010 taste? – Featured Contributor Article
Tasting primeurs is not as difficult as it is sometimes said. Wines that young, just barely six months after harvest (tasted in April), can be wonderfully attractive: lots of fruit, hopefully ripe tannins and not too much wood (they have only spent six out of 18-24 planned months in barrel). But there are three things [...]
Prices on Bordeaux primeurs mostly going up
Prices for Bordeaux primeurs are mainly going up. Again. Is that a cause for concern? No, we argue. Most if not all chateau in Bordeaux will have announced their prices for the primeurs 2010 by now although many of the “releases” seems to have been done later than usual. Perhaps that is because they wanted [...]
Prices on Bordeaux primeurs mostly going up
Prices for Bordeaux primeurs are mainly going up. Again. Is that a cause for concern? No, we argue. Most if not all chateau in Bordeaux will have announced their prices for the primeurs 2010 by now although many of the “releases” seems to have been done later than usual. Perhaps that is because they wanted [...]
Interesting interviews with top chateaux in Bordeaux
I’m not quite sure why they have done it but it is a very ambitious effort. The Swedish wine importer Hjo Grosshandel has published a dozen video interviews with a handful of the great and glorious chateau in Bordeaux. The interviews were done (it seems) at the primeur tastings earlier this year, and the main [...]
2010 Bordeaux tasting notes: Haut Medoc & Moulis
Tasting notes, reviews, and ratings of the 2010 Bordeaux primeur campaign, by Jeff Leve of The Wine Cellar Insider. You can read more by Jeff Leve on 2010 Bordeaux on The Wine Cellar Insider. 2010 Chateau Belgrave uses 52% Merlot, 41% Cabernet Sauvignon, 4% Petit Verdot and 3% Cabernet Franc in this vintage. Stone, cassis [...]
2010 Bordeaux tasting notes: Satellite Appellations
Tasting notes, reviews, and ratings of the 2010 Bordeaux primeur campaign, by Jeff Leve of The Wine Cellar Insider. You can read more by Jeff Leve on 2010 Bordeaux on The Wine Cellar Insider. 2010 Bordeaux Wine: Satellite Appellations, Cotes de Castillon, Fronsac, Bordeaux Superieur vintage report, reviews, tasting notes and ratings. The satellite appellations [...]
2010 Bordeaux tasting notes: Saint Emilion
Tasting notes, reviews, and ratings of the 2010 Bordeaux primeur campaign, by Jeff Leve of The Wine Cellar Insider. You can read more by Jeff Leve on 2010 Bordeaux on The Wine Cellar Insider. 2010 Chateau Adaugusta 80% Merlot and 20% Cabernet Franc from vines that average 40 year of age produced a medium bodied [...]
2010 Bordeaux tasting notes: Lalande de Pomerol
Tasting notes, reviews, and ratings of the 2010 Bordeaux primeur campaign, by Jeff Leve of The Wine Cellar Insider. You can read more by Jeff Leve on 2010 Bordeaux on The Wine Cellar Insider. 2010 Chateau La Chenade lalande de Pomerol 80% Merlot 20% Cabernet Franc combine to make a medium bodied, lighter, Pomerol styled [...]
2010 Bordeaux tasting notes: Pomerol
Tasting notes, reviews, and ratings of the 2010 Bordeaux primeur campaign, by Jeff Leve of The Wine Cellar Insider. You can read more by Jeff Leve on 2010 Bordeaux on The Wine Cellar Insider. 2010 Chateau Bon Pasteur This is the home estate of Michel Rolland. The Bordeaux wine opens with black cherry, coffee, black [...]
2010 Bordeaux tasting notes: Graves/Pessac Leognan
Tasting notes, reviews, and ratings of the 2010 Bordeaux primeur campaign, by Jeff Leve of The Wine Cellar Insider. You can read more by Jeff Leve on 2010 Bordeaux on The Wine Cellar Insider. 2010 Chateau Bouscaut Smoke, earth, burnt wood and blackberry scents , this medium bodied Pessac Leognan wine ends with an earthy, [...]
2010 Bordeaux tasting notes: Margaux
Tasting notes, reviews, and ratings of the 2010 Bordeaux primeur campaign, by Jeff Leve of The Wine Cellar Insider. You can read more by Jeff Leve on 2010 Bordeaux on The Wine Cellar Insider. 2010 L’Aura de Cambon From an equal blend of Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot, this soft textured Bordeaux wine is filled with [...]
2010 Bordeaux tasting notes: Saint Julien
Tasting notes, reviews, and ratings of the 2010 Bordeaux primeur campaign, by Jeff Leve of The Wine Cellar Insider. You can read more by Jeff Leve on 2010 Bordeaux on The Wine Cellar Insider. 2010 Chateau Beychevelle A blend of 54% Cabernet Sauvignon, 38% Merlot, 5% Cabernet Franc and 3% Petit Verdot create a structured, [...]
2010 Bordeaux tasting notes: Pauillac
Tasting notes, reviews, and ratings of the 2010 Bordeaux primeur campaign, by Jeff Leve of The Wine Cellar Insider. You can read more by Jeff Leve on 2010 Bordeaux on The Wine Cellar Insider. 2010 Chateau d’Armailhac 60% Cabernet Sauvignon, 23% Merlot, 15% Cabernet Franc and 2% Petit Verdot produced a wine that opens with [...]
2010 Bordeaux tasting notes: Saint Estephe
Tasting notes, reviews, and ratings of the 2010 Bordeaux primeur campaign, by Jeff Leve of The Wine Cellar Insider. You can read more by Jeff Leve on 2010 Bordeaux on The Wine Cellar Insider. 2010 Le Petit Bocq Situated on gravel based soils not far from Calon Segur, this blend of 58% Merlot, 29% Cabernet [...]
Bordeaux Primeurs, part 4: tasting notes on some 2010s
Some interesting wines of vintage 2010. Some new names, worth remembering. Château Puygueraud, Francs – Côtes de Bordeaux Very fruity, really easy to taste and juicy. Château Puygueraud, Cuvée George, Francs – Côtes de Bordeaux This wine is made of 45 % Malbec and 35 % Cabernet Franc (the rest is Merlot) so an exciting [...]
Bordeaux Primeurs, part 3: A head start with Stéphane Derenoncourt
We tasted primeur wines already this week (last week, when this comes on the blog) here in Paris. Monday this week Bordeaux consultant Stéphane Derenoncourt invited to a tasting of 2010 from all the chateaux where he and his team work as consultants, in total over 100 chateaux and some domains from outside of Bordeaux [...]
Bordeaux Primeurs, part 2: wines difficult to taste
It is not easy to taste the primeur wines and judge the potential quality and taste. Bordeaux is a wine blended from different grape varieties and at the moment they are kept separately in the barrels. For the primeur tastings the cellar master makes a blend that resembles as much as possible the final blend [...]
Bordeaux Primeurs, part 1: Let the circus begin, ed. 2010
The week of the primeur tastings in Bordeaux is approaching fast. Next week it starts (first week of April – current week when this is published on the blog). Wine merchants and journalists will, during one week, taste and spit hundreds of Bordeaux wines of the new vintage 2010. The wines that are being tasted [...]
Bordeaux primeurs 2010, a new vintage circus
Let the circus begin, ed. 2010 The week of the primeur tastings in Bordeaux is approaching fast. Next week it starts (first week of April – current week when this is published on the blog). Wine merchants and journalists will, during one week, taste and spit hundreds of Bordeaux wines of the new vintage 2010. [...]
Publish and be damned! Or should we have a plan economy for Bordeaux wines?
In an article last week Jancis Robinson advocated a freeze period for comments and reviews on wines tasted at the Bordeaux primeur circus next week (presentation and trade tasting of the new 2010 vintage) until after the chateaux have announced their prices. She argued that holding off on comments may have a dampening effect on [...]
Is the market for Bordeaux wine a market economy or should it be a plan economy?
Jancis Robinson, the heavy-weight British wine critic, wrote an article last week about the imminent Bordeaux Primeurs circus called “Bordeaux 2010 – when to publish?” It has sparked an intense debate both on her site and on the internet in general. Read it all here: http://www.jancisrobinson.com In her article Jancis advocates that wine journalists and [...]
Be careful when you buy wines en primeur – especially from 1855.com
Jim Budd is a wine journalist with a penchant for writing about wine fraud. He runs a site on hazy wine investment schemes called www.investdrinks.org (and a normal wine blog on http://jimsloire.blogspot.com). He has recently taken to write about 1855.com, a French-based online wine shop. 1855.com is well known in the French wine press for [...]
Much criticism against Bordeaux primeur prices
When the prices for the Bordeaux primeurs of the 2009 vintage started to be announced earlier this spring it led to quite a lot of criticism both from the trade and in the press. Are they over-priced? It is interesting to note that sales of Bordeaux fell dramatically in 2009 and most of the classed [...]
Bordeaux prices continue up for 2009s?
More and more “release prices” have been announced from the chateaux in Bordeaux, for the wines that were tasted a couple of months ago at the “primeurs”. The tendency seems to be upwards, sometimes a lot. However, it is a little bit early to judge the total picture. But from what has been seen so [...]
Bordeaux primeurs prices falling
Quite as expected (and demanded by many) the prices of the Bordeaux Primeurs (2008 vintage) have fallen. As we reported in the last Brief, Angélus set the tone with a release price down 40% from last year. Many other chateaux have now announced what price they demand for the latest vintage. It is decreasing prices [...]
Falling Bordeaux prices?
It is still too early to say what will happen to the Bordeaux prices. The presentation phase of the primeur campaign (wines from 2008) is now over and we are moving to the “price game”. Up? Stable? Down? We will know in the coming days and weeks. The UK market (most loudly) has clamoured for [...]
The Damocles Sword? Will there be any Bordeaux Primeurs 2008?
Not sure about the English equivalent, but in Swedish you say that one should not swear in church. Perhaps the alternative is, one does not use screw cap in Portugal? That’s similar to what Jean-François Moueix (chateau Pétrus, négociant Duclot) has done, according to a blog post on The New Bordeaux written by the usually [...]
Bordeaux primeurs 2007 finds a tough market
The primeur season for the Bordeaux 2007s has ended and it seems to be, just like our summer weather, with a lot of clouds in the sky. The international market is notably less interested in the wines this year. Or at least, the reaction seems to be “it’s too expensive”. It is most of all [...]
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