Even More on 2009 Bordeax

It is just over 2 weeks until the start of En Primeurs, and the articles about the 2009 Bordeaux vintage are starting to flood news outlets. Here are a couple of new ones:

Everyone has acknowledged that 2009 will be an incredible vintage, so now there is a lot of worry about pricing. From this article in Drinks Business:

In terms of pricing 2009 he said: "Unfortunately, because the vintage resembles 2005 in quality terms they are talking about 2005 prices."

With the 30% depreciation of the pound versus the euro since the 2005 en primeur campaign, if 2009 release prices were set at a similar level it would be the most expensive vintage on record for UK merchants.

The expectation of increased Asian demand for the vintage is providing further encouragement to price the wines ambitiously.

However, Staples warned: "The interest in Hong Kong is only in the top five or six wines and all we've been selling over the last year has been Lafite, Mouton and Latour."

He also questioned the potential impact of Robert Parker on this year's pricing. "He was the only person on the planet who thought that 2008 was sensational - and it was better than we initially thought - but how can he upgrade 2009 on that."

The other big story to follow is the impact the Chinese will have on this year's En Primeurs:

China bought 13.7 million litres for 74 million euros (£67 million), overtaking the United States, which took 11.6 million litres for 139 million euros. Japan came third, with the same volume as the United States.

Hong Kong is counted as a separate market, where 4.2 million litres were sold for 109 million euros.

"The rise of China is undeniable and we expect that market to move up the value chain just as has happened in Japan," said Bertrand Carles, a wine trader for the Ginestet group.

More on 2009 Bordeaux

Bibendum Wine Ltd. has a report on the 2009 vintage:

There is a big vintage buzz in the air round here and the 2009s we have tasted so far are living up to the hype - full of silky fruit and ripe round tannin.

The first gulp of a hyped up new vintage is always an interesting one - will it live up to expectation? The anticipation was heightened by the fact we were tasting Gruaud Larose and Gruaud can be difficult from barrel. In fact, it was easy: lovely silky texture and oodles of blackcurrant flavour. It was supple, natural and unextracted with fresh and rich ripe fruit. And just 13% alcohol which is great. A delicious start.

I am really looking forward to En Primeurs this year!!

Vintage Wine Bar in Dubai

The other wine bar I visited in Dubai was Vintage. Vintage is located in Wafi a "city within a city" in Dubai. Wafi is a series of shops, restaurants, a spa and a hotel situated inside four pyramids in the middle of Dubai.




Vintage has a very different vibe to it than The Agency. It is a more formal environment, the type of place where you might bring a client for a dinner, and the wine list reflects that.

There is a heavy concentration of Bordeaux, and less emphasis on by the glass selections. The wine bottles decorating the bar include a bottle of 1983 Petrus. In fact, the manager was very proud to point out a lot of the one of a kind bottles of Bordeaux they have available.




To complement the wine, they have a tremendous selection of cheese, a fact they brag about on their menu with the phrase, "Blessed are the cheese and wine makers, for they shall inherit the earth." They serve a wide variety of these cheeses in fondue form, and the staff there is very good at recommending a fondue to pair with your wine.

Brane-Cantenac on Pardon that Vine

I always worry that people will think I spend too much talking about how great Chateau Brane Cantenac is. But, I am not the only one. Chris Riccobono, from Pardon that Vine feels the same way. You can watch the video on his site

He even got to taste their 2009 vintage, which was recently blended.

Collective Brands in Wine

Evelyne Resnick, author of Wine Brands (great book) has a blog post about promoting collective brands:

One of the most interesting challenges for a wine marketer is promoting a collective brand. Champagne was certainly the most successful example of such a strategy: it is now synonymous with party, special occasion and pleasure. Unfortunately we know it backfired: consumers don't see Champagne as an everyday drink but more as the special drink open for a specific event. High prices, down economy and depressed consumers halted the trend.

The second side effect of this collective promotion was the emergence of a few internationally recognized brands and a lot of brands left in the shadow of the leaders. That's at least what a lot of smaller Champagne producers complained about. It's the case also in other areas where an umbrella brand is carried to the front. But is it really the case? Wasn't there a missing step in the Champagne smaller producers' strategy?

I see two different ways this type of collective branding occurs. The first occurs in homogenous regions like Champagne and Bordeaux, where the style of wine is similar across all producers. In this case, I think Bordeaux has actually done a better job of marketing its brand then Champagne has.

While I agree with Evelyne that Champagne has done a great job of associating itself with special occasions. I think Bordeaux has done a better job of associating itself with good wine. of course, like Champagne, it is has also come to be associated with expensive wines. Hopefully that will change with campaigns like Enjoy Bordeaux that highlight some of the more affordable Bordeaux wines while still focusing on the quality of those wines.

But, I also see the collective branding in emerging wine regions. For example, Loudoun County has its DC's Wine Country Campaign, the Winegrowers of the Grand River Valley in Ohio have Ohio Wines, Love at First Sip, and Georgian Wines have the Georgian Wine House.

These efforts are different because they aren't marketing a style of wine, instead the focus is on the region. All of these regions boast wine producers with a variety of types and styles of wine. I think this makes it hard to associate these regions with a type of wine, instead they work as a destination, or a new region to explore.

The Chinese Love Affair with Bordeaux

While naysayers like Gary Vaynerchuk are telling people to stay away from Bordeaux because it is overpriced, the Chinese are embracing and even accelerating their purchases. From the article:

The 10-hour sale yesterday of more than 800 lots tallied HK$52.9 million, beating host Sotheby's own forecast of HK$40 million. Bidders at the Mandarin Oriental Hotel drank glasses of Louis Roederer Blanc de Blanc 2003 and Haut Brion 1998 as they competed with online bidders for choice items, such as twin 1.5- liter bottles of Chateau Petrus 1982 that fetched HK$435,600, against the lot's top estimate of HK$130,000. Estimates don't include commission.

If you visit the websites of the top Chateaux in Bordeaux almost all of them have Chinese versions of their pages and many offer tours in China.

I have heard the argument that the Chinese only buy older Bordeaux, they won't embrace the En Primeurs system and the futures market, which is what people like Vaynerchuk are recommending US wine buyers avoid. That doesn't appear to be true, there are going to be many wine buyers from China at En Primeurs this year.

Top Bordeaux are always going to be a scarce product (as they should be), if the Chinese eat into that limited quantity in significant amounts that will make it more expensive to buy top Bordeaux in the US.

Un week-end d'exception a Margaux

Maria, from Chateau Brane-Cantenac sent me a note about this event, hosted by Terre de Vins.

Un week-end d'exception a Margaux an incredible weekend-ish getaway to Margaux! The trip starts off on Friday with lunch at Chateau Brane-Cantenac, followed by a tasting at Chateau Margaux.

After the Margaux tasting, the next stop is Chateau Palmer for dinner. After dinner, guests will spend the night at the Relais de Margaux.

In the morning guests will do tastings at Chateau Kirwan and Chateau Rauzan-Segla. The weekend finishes up with a lunch and reception at Chateau Lascombes.

The best part, is that these are not the ordinary tastings, the Chateaux have really gone all out. Chateau Palmer is serving their 1998, 1990 and 1983 vintages and the 2000 vintage of their Alter Ego. Chateau Brane-Cantenac is serving their 2004, 2002 and 1996 vintages and Chateau Lascombes is serving their 2007, 2006, 2005 and 2001 vintages, plus the 2005 vintage of their second label.

The price is 1290 Euro per person and there is only space for 25 people. This is an incredible opportunity, one that I would take advantage of, if I wasn't already going out to Bordeaux in March/April.

Chateau Palmer and You

I am a sucker for unique marketing ideas, especially when they come from old-school companies and it does get much older than Chateau Palmer. Labelled a third growth in the 1855 Classification wine has been made on the Chateau Palmer property since the 1750s. It is one of the top wines from the Margaux region, and one of the few to have a Twitter account.

They've set up a website called Palmer and You where visitors can "share a memorable moment with a wine of Palmer..."

It is a very simple idea, but I think potentially very powerful. Wine is all about the moment, a great bottle of wine is great because of the people you share it with or where you are experiencing it. Reading through the stories reminded me of the last bottle of Chateau Palmer I had, and makes me want to order more.

Betting on Bordeaux

I feel like a broken record with repeated articles on the value of Bordeaux wines. But, I think someone has to counteract the impression most most Americans seem to have that Bordeaux wines are overpriced.

Will Lyons has an article in the WSJ about 2009 Bordeaux and what people are saying:

One Bordeaux buyer quietly confided in me that when he visited the region a couple of months ago he was allowed to taste the juice. "It's very rare that growers let you taste anything at this stage," he said. "It was really rich and sweet -- 2009 will be a cracker."

He goes on to compare 2009 Bordeaux to 2005 and talks about some of the great values that wound up coming out of that vintage. If 2009 is as good as everyone has been saying, then there will be incredible deals. Sure, Chateau Margaux may be priced out of most people's reach, but but there will be great value in some of the 2nd and 3rd growths, just like there always is.

Remember, too, that the Bordelais do not live in a bubble. When I was in Bordeaux all of the winemakers I talked to do were aware of pricing and the economic conditions. I think that will factor into the pricing considerations for the 2009 vintage, no matter how good it is.

We'll know for sure beginning in April.

On the Cost of Classified Bordeaux Wines

Lindsay Morriss is a very good young writer based out of Bordeaux. She has an article on the Cork'd website about the cost of Classified Bordeaux wines. She makes some excellent point, most notably that most Bordeaux wines are actually quite affordable. But, the classified growths will always be more expensive because:

However, looking ahead, basic supply and demand factors virtually guarantee that the region's Grand Cru wines will continue to fetch high prices. The supply is static - government regulation ensures that vineyards don't overproduce in order to maintain high quality. Globally, demand is actually rising, with new markets emerging in China, Russia and beyond. Couple this with a great image and reduced wine tariffs (just look at Hong Kong) and you've got your answer to the original question..basic supply and demand.

A very good article.

Brane-Cantenac Part II

After my tour of the property, I was invited to have lunch at the Chateau. Keep in mind that (as I am sure you all are aware) I'm nobody. I am not a buyer and while I write about Bordeaux a lot on this site a good day for me is 100 visits, so I have no influence in the wine world whatsoever and yet Henri, Corinne and Maria took time out of their day to have lunch with me.

This is one thing that stood out during my trip to Bordeaux: just about everywhere I went I was met with warmth and openness. Everyone was friendly and accommodating - which was especially nice considering how bad/non-existent my French is. In America, we often see French people portrayed as snotty and stand-offish. That may be true in some parts of France, but it was definitely not true in Bordeaux and the surrounding regions.




Lunch started off with hours hors d'oeuvres served with Champagne. This was followed by a 4 course meal, each course paired with a vintage of Chateau Brane Cantenac, selected by Henri. It was excellent, and by far the best meal I had while I was in Bordeaux (i didn't have any bad meals while I was there, this was just the best :)).

Aside from the great food and superb wine what made the meal great was how quickly the conversation ramped up. Very quickly it felt like I had known these people for years and the two hours I had set aside for lunch passed so quickly that I almost missed my appointment at Chateau Margaux.

One of the advantages of being a blogger and not a wine journalist is that I get to show my love for wine properties that I think do everything right. You read that here in my constant posts about Breaux Vineyards, Fabbioli Cellars and when I write about Chateau Brane Cantenac. To me, these wineries not only make great wine but do a tremendous job of taking care of their fans and I have no problem repeatedly telling the world how great they are :).

Brane-Cantenac Part I

This is the first part of my last post about Chateau visits while I was in Bordeaux and the one that I am the most excited to write. Chateau Brane-Cantenac has long been one of my favorite wines. To me, it is the quintessential Bordeaux: complex and elegant, with well-structured tannins and a long finish. Plus, with most vintages in the $50-$70 range it is a wine that I can (and do) drink regularly.



The history of Chateau Brane-Cantenac dates back to at least the early 18th century when the property was known as Chateau Gorce. Even then it was recognized as a quality wine. The estate was purchased Baron Hector de Brane in 1833. Baron Hector de Brane -- a staunch advocate for making Cabernet Sauvignon the primary grape in the Medoc -- renamed the property to Brane-Cantenac in 1838 and that is the name that was used in the 1855 Classification.

Chateau Brane-Cantenac is classified as a second growth.




Like many properties in Bordeaux, the estate fell on hard times between the late 19th and early 20th centuries. It changed owners several times before finally being sold to Leonce Recapet and Francois Lurton in 1925. The estate was passed to Francois' son Lucien Lurton (I have a couple of bottles of Brane that have L. Lurton etched into the wax covering on the bottle). In 1992 Lucien passed the property to his son, Henri Lurton. It is Henri who runs the Chateau today.



Henri Lurton is well-known for innovations in the wine making process. While I was visiting the Chateau I was fortunate enough to have him give me the tour, and I have to say it was a real honor talking to him about his winemaking process and philosophy.

There is an old adage that if you want to sculpt an elephant you simply get a block of marble and chip away anything that doesn’t look like an elephant. That appears to be Henri's philosophy when it comes to making wine: Because of Brane-Cantenac's terroir and the care he shows the vines there is great wine in the fruit, he just needs to chip away everything that is not great and the wine will manifest itself.

Of course it helps that Chateau Brane-Cantenac sits on one of the best spots in the Margaux region. Directly in front of the Chateau is the Plateau de Brane. The Plateau de Brane has an elevation, at its peak, of 22 meters above sea-level. It is comprised of large gravel that extends as deep as 10 meters. This is an ideal environment for Cabernet Sauvignon. The gravel improves the resilience of the vines and generates additional heat.




Harvesting and sorting are done by hand. Initial fermentation is done in temperature controlled steel, concrete and oak vats (Henri has a preference for oak). Malolactic fermentation is done inside the barrel, one of Henri's innovations. Racking is done every three months. To make that process easier Henri has begun using twist on bungs (see the last picture) in the barrels. Fining is done with egg whites and the wine is typically aged 18 months.

There are a total of 75 hectares under vine. 55% of those are Cabernet Sauvignon, 40% Merlot, 4.5% Cabernet Franc and .5% Carmenere. The average age of the vines is 35 years.

Chateau Perenne

When I went to Bordeaux, I had some very specific destinations in mind. I've been drinking wine from Bordeaux for more than 10 years, and I have a really good idea of what I like and what I don't. The first part of my trip was spent visiting those Chateaux that I have always wanted to see: Margaux, Brane Cantenac, Lynch Bages, Lascombes, etc. The second part of the trip was spent exploring the city of Bordeaux.

The last leg of my trip was supposed to be spent in St. Emilion, but rental car issues (thanks again, Hertz) made that difficult. Instead I decided to explore regions that I wasn't as familiar with; to do that I turned to the Office de Tourisme de Bordeaux. The Office de Tourisme de Bordeaux has a number of vineyard tours including one out to Blaye and Bourg. It was reasonably priced at 30 Euros and it gave me an opportunity to see part of the region that I other i probably would have missed.

Obviously touring a chateau with 40 other people is not nearly as personal as the one-on-one or one-on-handful tours I did at the chateaux in the Medoc, but it was worth the trade-off to explore new regions.




Cotes de Blaye is just north of Cotes de Bourg (well, north and west) on the right bank. Vines have been planted here since the Greeks and Romans first settled the land, wine has been made in this region for thousands of years.

Cotes de Blaye is also home to the Citdel of Blaye, which is extremely imposing, even from a distance.




On the tour we visited Chateau Perenne a Bernard Magrez property. If you take a look at the 4th picture one of the first things you'll notice is all the grass between the vines. Unlike the more gravelly terroir of the Medoc, this part of Cotes de Blaye is mostly limestone.

Harvest and sorting are done by hand. Depending the quality of the fruit fermentation is either done in steel or or oak vats (the best of the fruit is isolated, fermented in oak, and used to make the equivalent of a reserve wine) and then barrel aged. There are 57 hectares under vine (for red vines) with an average age of 30 years. The wine is 85% Merlot, 13% Cabernet Sauvignon, 1% Cabernet Franc and 1% Malbec.

2009 Bordeaux and Google

I try not to do too much navel gazing in my posts. I figure you care more about the wine than about me (which is how it should be). But, I noticed a lot of traffic coming to this site from Google with the phrase "2009 Bordeaux". I checked and if you Google 2009 Bordeaux this site is the third one listed.

I am not sure how that happened...but cool :)

Grand Vins Versus Second Labels

Second label wines from Bordeaux have gotten a lot of attention lately because of their relative value, especially in years like 2005. A second label wine is one that is made on an estate but from vines that are either younger, did not produce as much fruit as the winemaker would like, or a variety of other reasons.

The point being that for whatever reason, the fruit from these vines did not meet the high standards to make it into the first wine, but the fruit is still good enough to be used to make a quality of wine (don't get the impression that not good enough for the first wine means that the fruit is terrible, nothing could be further from the truth).

Second growths have benefitted from the improved quality and consistency of Bordeaux wines over the last few decades, to the point that many have become sought after in their own right.

The French Wine Society, here in DC, is doing a fun tasting on the 28th of January: Bordeaux: Grands Vins vs. Seconds Labels. Lisa Airey is leading the tasting and it includes the following grand vins and their second labels:

Grand Vin	Second Label
Chateau Cantemerle	Les Alles de Cantemerle
Clos du Marquis	Leoville Lascase
Chateau Ducru-Beaucaillou	Croix de Beaucaillou
Cos d'Estournel	Les Pagodes de Cos
Chateau Montrose	La Dame de Montrose

It looks to be a fun night, and I can't wait to try some of these wines!

Snow in Bordeaux

Based on all the Twitter and Facebook comments, I believe it is snowing in Bordeaux. Also, based on those comments, I gather the people of Bordeaux deal with snow about as well as people in the DC Metro area do. Yet another thing the two wine regions have in common :)

Update:: My friends at Brane Cantenac have some great pictures on their blog.

Chateau Tayac

As long time readers of this site know, I tend to prefer Bordeaux wines from the Margaux region. There is something about the elegance and finesse of the wines from the region that I love. Of course, there are twenty six other regions within Bordeaux, all of whom produce excellent wines.

Chateau Tayac is part of the Cotes de Bourg appellation. Cotes de Bourg saw its first vine plantings back in the 2nd century, making one of the oldest winemaking regions in Bordeaux. Located on the right bank, about 20 km north of Bordeaux Cotes de Bourg is known for producing high quality, yet inexpensive Bordeaux wines.

Chateau Tayac dates back to the 14th century when the town of Bourg was annexed by Eouard Woodstock and the land divided amongst the noblemen.




Chateau Tayac has a total of 33 hectares, with 30 of those under vine. From those 30 hectares they produce around 200,000 a year. The vineyard is comprised of 45% Cabernet Sauvignon, 5% Cabernet Franc, 25% Merlot and 25% Merlot a queue rouqe (which translates roughly to red tail Merlot).

Diageo Exits U.S. Bordeaux Market, Joanne Enters

This story is a couple of weeks old, but I wanted to do some research before I posted it (unfortunately, that research has gone nowhere fast). I've mentioned a couple of times that there is a lot of (in my opinion misplaced) pessimism about the Bordeaux 2009 vintage in the U.S. market. No one -- at least no one I have read -- doubts the quality of the vintage, there is simply a lot of concern that it is going to be too expensive and with a lot of Bordeaux inventories still sitting on the shelf large buyers don't see a need invest in 2009.

The latest sign of this is the news that Diego is abandoning the Bordeaux futures market for the second year in a row:

Diageo is exiting the market for first-growth Bordeaux wines in the US due to falling prices and lower market demand.

Diageo's fine wine arm in the US, Chateau & Estate Wines, did not participate in this year's sale of Bordeaux wines from the 2008 vintage and currently has no plans to return to the market, the company has confirmed to just-drinks.

The group is selling off existing stocks of Bordeaux in the US, where market conditions for so-called wine futures have deteriorated.

The company is getting out and dumping as much of their Bordeaux inventory as possible.

Five days later, Eric Asimov reported that Joanne Bordeaux created a U.S. subsidiary:

A leading French Bordeaux negociant is moving to step into a vacuum at the top of the Bordeaux market in the United States. The negociant, Joanne Bordeaux, has formed an American subsidiary, Joanne Bordeaux-USA, that it hopes will fill the role left vacant by the withdrawal of Diageo Chateau & Estate Wines, the leading American Bordeaux importer and distributor, from the Bordeaux marketplace.

I have not been able to get in touch with anyone at Joanne Bordeaux-USA to get information about their plans, but as soon as I do I will share with you all.

Chateau Marojallia

The only big disappointment I had during my trip to Bordeaux was not being able to visit Chateau Marojallia. My schedule just did not match up with any availability on their part. I did get some pictures of the Chateau.



I have repeatedly heard Chateau Marojallia referred to as a "garage wine" so I was expecting a small, unassuming building in the middle of town. As you can see from the pictures, the French have a very different idea of what a garage is than I do :). All joking aside, it is a surreal experience to see row after row of meticulously tended vines in the middle of town.

The vineyard is small at only 4 hectares, with the average age of the vines at 32 years, and Chateau Marojallia only produces 500 cases a year. The vineyard is made up of 74% Cabernet Sauvignon and 24% Merlot.




Chateau Marojallia is the name Ausonius, a Roman philosopher, gave to what is now called Margaux.

The property is beautiful, hopefully when I return to Bordeaux I will be able to make time to visit the Chateau.

Update on 2009 Bordeaux

There has been a lot of talk about how well the 2009 Bordeaux vintage is coming along. With the Primeurs just over three months away, I imagine there will be even more talk. Stephane Derenoncourt recently conducted an interview on the topic. Among other things he had this to say:

It’s undoubtedly a great vintage. Now that the fermentations have finished, we can observe very promising balances in the wines. They combine power with fresh fruit aroma, though without much exoticism. It’s always tricky to decide which vintage it resembles most, but the closest to me would be the 1989.

The interview is a quick read, and worth it.

Jane Anson also has some into this vintage. She and Derenoncourt both remind readers that 19.000 hectares of vines were lost to hail in May, which will mean less production than in previous years.

Anson also goes on to speculate about pricing for this vintage, especially if continues to develop as well as it has. Many argue that producers in Bordeaux were slow to drop their prices as the global economy collapsed, but 2007 to some extent, and most definitely 2008 have seen pricing more in line with the economy. The question becomes will producers continue to reduce their pricing, even if the vintage continues to surpass expectations?

I will keep you all posted on additional 2009 Bordeaux reports as I come across them.

Pictures from the D2

I made you all not only read, but read in four languages in my last post, so I thought I would share some pictures from along the D2 in Bordeaux. The D2 is the highway that runs through the Medoc. Most of the Chateaux on the left bank have signs along it guiding visitors. It is an absolutely beautiful drive, and I highly recommend it..

These shots are of nothing in particular, just pictures that I took between Chateau visits.