Jane Anson in Bordeaux – Chateau Lafite Rothschild has released a first tranche of its 2009 en primeur wine at €550 per bottle. This is a rise of 323% from last year’s exit price, and 53% on 2005. But the majority of merchants will not put the wine onto the market until larger quantities – with a greater clarity of price – has become available. Continue reading “Chateau Lafite releases at €550″
By Jane Anson in Bordeaux – A Salmanazar of Tenuta dell’Ornellaia 2007 has raised $45,000 for the Whitney Museum of American Art in an auction held by Sotheby’s New York. The auction – the second edition of the Vendemmia D’Artista ‘L’Armonia’ organised by the Bolgheri estate – raised a total of $167,000, with the proceeds going to the restoration and preservation of American works of modern art. Continue reading “Ornellaia sells for record $45,000″
Jane Anson in Bordeaux – A group of former Cru Bourgeois Exceptionnels are boycotting the new Alliance Cru Bourgeois system, and forming their own group. The members of the group include Chateau Chasse Spleen, Chateau Les Ormes de Pez, Chateau de Pez, Chateau Potensac, Chateau Poujeaux and Chateau Siran.
Chateau Labegorce-Zede has merged with Chateau Labegorce and is not eligible to join, but older vintages of the wine will be included in certain tastings.
Christophe Labenne, co-director of Chateau Poujeaux, told decanter.com, ‘This is a group that was originally formed in 2003, when we were first named Cru Bourgeois Exceptionnels. Continue reading “Former Cru Bourgeois Exceptionnels boycott new system”
Adam Lechmere, and Jane Anson in Bordeaux – Bordeaux’s top 2009s could reach prices as high as €1000 per bottle by the end of summer, experts are predicting. Setting prices for the first growths and other major properties is an arcane business, but most observers are certain they will go high, inflated by many successive ‘tranches’ or releases of stock from the chateaux.
Jean-Guillaume Prats at Chateau Cos d’Estournel said that the gap in price between the First Growths and the rest ‘will be enormous.’ ‘The price of the firsts [to consumers] will be at a very high level, easily reaching €1000 over the summer,’ he said. Continue reading “Top wines ‘could reach €1000′”
By Jane Anson in Bordeaux – As the first Bordeaux 2009 prices begin to appear, trade buyers are complaining of a ‘slow start’ to the campaign. Mathieu Chardronnier, managing director of Bordeaux negociants CVBG, told decanter.com that despite a lack of prices, interest in the vintage was ‘definitely as high as hoped.’
‘It is a slow start, not because of a lack of interest, just because too few wines have been released to really get people excited.’ To date, Chateau Le Petit Bocq (€10.50 ex-negociant), Chateau Beaumont (€7.20) and Chateau Fourcas Dupre (€7.95) have released, all at prices higher than 2005. Continue reading “Bordeaux 2009: ‘Slow start’ to en primeur campaign”
Jane Anson in Bordeaux – The former owner of Chateau Pichon Longueville Comtesse de Lalande is about to formally open Glenelly, her South African estate. May de Lencquesaing, who sold Pichon Lalande in Pauillac to Champagne Roederer in 2007, bought the 65-hectare Glenelly in 2003.
The official launch has been delayed until the sale of the 2008 vintage, which is the first to use grapes grown entirely on the Stellenbosch estate. A new winery was completed in 2009. When it bought the property, Roederer became 15% shareholder in Glenelly, but following some distribution issues over the wine, de Lencquesaing became the sole owner in December 2009. Continue reading “Ex-Pichon owner opens Stellenbosch estate”
Jane Anson in Bordeaux, and Adam Lechmere – As the Bordeaux 2009 campaign starts in earnest, there is no shortage of hyperbole – but some voices are calling for restraint. Berry Bros’ director Simon Staples was unambiguous on his return from Bordeaux earlier this month. ‘What is clear is that we are onto something spectacular again… but with an ever-increasing demand, especially from Asia, it won’t be cheap.’ Continue reading “Bordeaux 2009: will hype translate into sales?”
Jane Anson in Bordeaux
A vine disease, Flavescence Dorée, is taking hold in Bordeaux, and threatening to become as big a problem as Phylloxera. The disease – the ‘golden’ name comes from the colour that it turns the leaves before they die off – is carried by the cicadelle (an insect known as a leaf hopper) and causes the slow destruction of vines. Continue reading “Bordeaux: Dangerous vine disease ‘threatens to be as destructive as Phylloxera’”
Jane Anson in Bordeaux
The Barclay brothers, owners of the Daily Telegraph newspapers and the Ritz hotel in London, have recruited Bordeaux winemaker Alain Raynaud to plant a vineyard on the island of Sark in the Channel Islands. The famously reclusive identical twin brothers own the neighbouring island of Brecqhou and own land on Sark which has a population of around 600, has no cars, and offers its residents tax-free status. Continue reading “Barclay Brothers to create a vineyard on the island of Sark”
Jane Anson in Bordeaux - The new Cru Bourgeois label has been officially ratified by the French agricultural ministry – and the decree signed by prime minister François Fillon. This means that from the 2008 vintage onwards the word Cru Bourgeois will once again appear on wine labels from the Médoc. But this time it is an assurance of quality, rather than an actual classification. Continue reading “New Cru Bourgeois label signed and sealed”
Jane Anson in Bordeaux - Hanna Agostini, Robert Parker’s former translator, has been found guilty of complicity in a fraud. The judgements were given yesterday by the Bordeaux Tribunal, where Agostini received a one-year suspended sentence.
Her co-accused Isabel Pinto received three years, and a third woman, Monique Caro, received three months, both also suspended, ‘due to the time that has passed since the events took place’. The main case rested on Isabel Pinto, who was accused of false accounting practices – specifically sending invoices to clients for work that was not done, and using the money to buy items for herself and her family – while she was administrative director of the Dutch-Belgian Geens wine group,
Agostini, who consulted for Geens between 1999 and 2001, and Caro were accused of complicity in her fraud. The 12 wine companies who brought the action have been awarded €780,000 from Pinto, and €25,000 from the three women together.
Jane Anson in Bordeaux, and Panos Kakaviatos - Manual sorting tables will soon be a thing of the past as the top chateaux embrace €100,000 laser sorting technology. New sorting machines, using laser optics, have been introduced at Chateau Pavie and Chateau Grand Corbin Despagne, and Chateau Margaux has an entirely new gravity-led reception system for the grapes, taking them first in small trays and then by a pulley system into the vats. Continue reading “Lasers to overtake manual sorting in hi-tech Bordeaux”
Jane Anson in Bordeaux – Languedoc negociant and wine producer Jeanjean has merged with Michel Laroche in a €52m deal, creating one of France’s biggest wine companies. This union – effectively the sale of Laroche to Jeanjean – will create the biggest quality wine producer in the country. The new company, JeanJean-Laroche, will have 1,450ha of vines and a turnover of around €200m, around 50% of that figure coming from overseas. Continue reading “Michel Laroche and Jeanjean merge”
Jane Anson in Bordeaux – Chateau Lafite and its second wine, Carruades de Lafite, continue to defy the fine wine market, with prices of both continuing to rise week on week. Lafite 2008 is currently trading at around £3,800 per case, rising in price by around £90 per week, even though it is not due to bottled until next year. Margaux 2008, in contrast, is trading at just over £2000. Continue reading “Carruades de Lafite set to overtake first growths?”
Jane Anson & Rebecca Gibb – A new Bordeaux Premier Cru category is a ‘flamboyant title’ to disguise quality issues in the region, a leading British merchant has warned. An application for a Bordeaux Premier Cru appellation has been lodged this week with the French appellation body, the INAO. The idea is to create an extra appellation sitting above Bordeaux Superieur, to further differentiate its entry level wines. However Simon Staples, sales and marketing director at Bordeaux specialist, Berry Bros & Rudd, attacked the proposal. Continue reading “New Bordeaux appellation attacked”
Jane Anson in Bordeaux – Bordeaux chateaux are coming up with radical schemes for kick-starting next week’s en primeur campaign – including giving hefty discounts on the 2007 vintage. Continue reading “Bordeaux offering discounts on ‘slow-selling’ 2007 vintage”
Jane Anson – First growths must ‘send a shockwave’ by releasing their prices straight after the en primeur tastings in order to save the 2008 campaign, a prominent negociant has said. Philippe Tapie, managing director of negociant HMS Bordeaux, told local paper Sud Ouest that first growth chateaux must jump start the campaign by releasing prices immediately after the tasting week held for buyers and journalists in early April. Continue reading “Bordeaux first growths must send ‘shockwave’”
Jane Anson in Bordeaux – A small vineyard in the middle of the Haut Brion domaine is to begin bottling its own wines. Domaine de la Passion Haut Brion is a 3-hectare parcel of vines situated in the heart of the Haut Brion vineyard. Continue reading “Vineyard in heart of Haut Brion to launch its own wine”
Jane Anson in Bordeaux, and Oliver Styles
As the Bordeaux 2007 campaign reaches its final stages, merchants are reporting that sensible pricing is starting to be rewarded, Continue reading “Cos d’Estournel, Pichon Lalande release”
