Posted by: Anders on Jun 28, 2011
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Chateau Ducru Beaucaillou, one of the most-praised wines of 2010, has dropped 16% in price.
Bruno Borie gave the 2010 en primeur campaign a boost yesterday, when he released Ducru Beaucaillou at €150 ex-negociant, a drop of 16.7% from 2009, despite most critics saying it was the best example of the wine for years.
‘This was smart timing, especially after Cos d’Estournel earlier in the day, which did also drop its price (-5.7% to €198 ex-negociant), but not by a large enough percentage to get buyers excited,’ one Bordeaux negociant said.
Posted by: classifiedwine on May 04, 2011
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Wine description | Robert Parker rating |
Chateau Lafite Rothschild 2010 |
Posted by: Mohan on Apr 20, 2011
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come in pairs. For those who have tasted as far back as the twenties, there was 1928 and 1929—two summers that produced glorious wines very different in style. The hard and tannic '28s were followed by the softer, suppler '29s. In my lifetime, there has been the '85 and '86, and the '89 and '90. The great 2005 was preceded by the inconsistent, but still very good 2004, and now we have the 2009 and 2010, two vintages that have, in many ways, rewritten the Bordeaux history books.
In 2009, the weather was immaculate, facilitating a growing season that produced wines with harmonious fruit, high acidity and firm tannins—wines that are supple and easy to drink. Some described 2009 as one of the best vintages the old region has ever experienced. Certainly, it was a year where châteaux on both sides of the Gironde, such as Château Margaux and Vieux Château Certan, made some of the best wines in their history. Now we have 2010, undoubtedly a great year, but a vintage that has produced wines high in alcohol, acidity and tannin—in short, wines that aren't easy to taste when young, but have all the components, including the key one of freshness, to last a long time and improve with age. As Paul Pontallier, director of Château Margaux says, 2010 is a vintage that will age for a century.
The Wines
This is undoubtedly another great Bordeaux vintage. Very different in style to 2009, the 2010 wines are fresher, with more tannin, alcohol and acidity. On the Gironde's left bank, there are some beautiful wines, particularly in Saint-Estèphe. On the right bank, the picture is more mixed, but Pomerol has once again produced some sensational wines. As with all great vintages, the bargains are to be found at the lower end in areas such as the Cru Bourgeois.
Posted by: Patrick Koo on Apr 20, 2011
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Having had the quote "the best vintage in my lifetime" splashed across the cover of last June's Decanter magazine, I can only agree with the title above from Bill Blatch's highly-regarded Vintage Report and most of the châteaux owners share this view, writes Steven Spurrier.
Plainly, when vintages of such high quality appear back-to-back and recalling 2005/06, 1995/96, 1989/90, 1985/86, not to speak of 1947/48 or 1928/29, comparisons are immediately made and the general word this year was 'more classic'. In the past, 'classic' has often been used as an euphemism for 'lack of ripeness', but not for 2010, where the fruit was only slightly less exuberant than in 2009 owing to the highest tannins ever recorded in Bordeaux and a freshness due to the very dry conditions - Bordeaux's third in a row - that prolonged the ripening with no loss of acidity. Emmanuel Cruse of Ch. D'Issan summed it up as 'more Bordeaux style, more serious'.
The only problem seemed to be a little over-extraction on the Right Bank, with Troplong-Mondot weighing in at 15.8, but on the other hand, both Canon and Figeac, often more reticent in the early tastings than their peers, took the robust ripeness of the Merlot in their stride to produce marvellous wines for the long-term. Here the Cabernet Franc ripened to perfection and Cheval Blanc's final blend showed it dominating the Merlot, resulting in a perfect 20/20 from my Decanter colleague, James Lawther MW. The usual question, "Is it a Right or a Left Bank year?" can be answered by saying that it is a Cabernet year, Franc for the Libournais, Sauvignon for the Medoc and both for Pessac-Leognan, whose wines were, in my view, their best ever.
Posted by: Patrick Koo on Apr 20, 2011
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Attend a formal business banquet in China and chances are you’ll end up consuming glass after glass of baijiu, a clear grain alcohol with a pungent scent reminiscent of industrial solvent, to cheers of ganbei! – drain the glass!
The bottles of “white liquor” haven’t disappeared. But the nation’s movers and shakers, eager to reflect the more international outlook that comes with being part of the world’s second-largest economy, are turning to a more bourgeois drink.
China, including Hong Kong, became the world’s largest consumer of Bordeaux wines in 2010, importing some 33.5 million bottles at a cost of $475-million (U.S.), according to data from the Bordeaux Wine Council. Overall, the country now imports more than $1-billion in wine each year, a number that has quadrupled from about $250-million in 2004.
Posted by: bencurtis on Apr 13, 2011
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Reports from the trade tastings in Bordeaux this week have been a mix of compliments and cautions. It would seem that the old mantra of “all things in moderation” doesn’t apply to Bordeaux 2010 – a year of high tannins, high acidity and, in many cases, high alcohol. The general feeling seems to be that the vintage is good to great, but unprecedented alcohol levels (15.1 per cent for Mission Haut Brion) have been a note of discord – even, it seems, amongst winemakers. According to a recent Decanter article, local oenologists fear that rising Merlot alcohol levels are threatening regional style. Read the full article here.
Over the next few days, the critics will continue to taste, rate and tweet their way through the rest of the primeurs. In the meantime, James Molesworth of the Wine Spectator has published his list of the wines of the vintage. The table below shows a selection of his favourites. (His First-Growth scores are available here.)
Scores from Winespectator.com
Posted by: classifiedwine on Apr 13, 2011
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We’re now into the fourth day of the Bordeaux 2010 tastings. As we will probably have to wait until next week for the critics’ enthusiasm/reservations to translate into ratings, here are our own thoughts on this year’s primeurs.
The wines
Posted by: bencurtis on Feb 21, 2011
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Guest blog from Gavin Quinney
With the Bordeaux crop now safely in barrel, rumour has it that 2010 may be another great vintage. Here, Liv-ex is opening up the blog to Gavin Quinney (@GavinQuinney), a local grower and winemaker, for an insider's view on 2010. Gavin is an experienced taster and has covered the Primeurs for Wine & Spirit magazine – and latterly, Harpers Wine & Spirit Trades Review – since the 2005 vintage. Today's report will focus on the weather in 2010, whilst next week's follow-up report will cover the wines.
As wine merchants and critics make their travel arrangements for the En Primeur barrel tastings in late March and early April, here are some early conclusions that can be drawn about 2010 - with the help of a few weather charts.
Posted by: bencurtis on Feb 21, 2011
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Guest blog from Gavin Quinney
Liv-ex is opening the blog once again to Gavin Quinney (@GavinQuinney), a local grower and winemaker, for an insider's view on the wines of 2010. This report follows on from his analysis of the weather during the 2010 growing season and harvest.
There’s an embarrassment of riches in the best barrel cellars of Bordeaux right now. The relatively inexpensive 2008s are being shipped out (the first tranche offer of 100€ ex-cellars for First Growths in April 2009 seems a long time ago), leaving row upon row of French oak barriques bearing the precious, pre-paid 2009 vintage. And, currently being assembled in the ‘first year’ cellars, there’s another great vintage waiting in line.
Posted by: on Nov 26, 2010
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Including
Prestigious Cuvées from the Legendary House of Krug &
A Stand-out Selection of Historic Vintages of Château Palmer
Hong Kong – Christie’s Autumn auction of Finest and Rarest Wines will take place in two sessions on Friday, 26 November and Saturday, 27 November at the Hong Kong Convention & Exhibition Centre. Featuring over 600 lots valued over HK$60million (US$7.7 million), the sale contain a number of extensive collections, ranging from ten years of Lafite- Rothschild (1992-2002) to a sensitively chosen group of first growth Bordeaux and Dom Pérignon champagnes as well as a marvellous collection of wines from Domaine de la Romanée-Conti.
Leading the sale is a stand-out collection of Château Palmer coming directly from Bordeaux, which Christie’s will presents in three auctions in Hong Kong, London and New York this season. The sale will also offer an extraordinary presentation of prestigious cuvées offered by the legendary house of Krug, featuring Krug Clos du Mesnil, Krug Clos d’Ambonnay, Krug Vintages, Krug Collections and Krug Grande Cuvée. This marks the first and only time in its history that Krug is putting to auction a magnificent set of champagnes from the 1980’s and 1990’s and as such it will be among the highlights of the sale.
