25 Value Picks from Bordeaux 2009
April 27th 2010, by Gavin
Here’s hoping that prices for these 2009 red wines will remain reasonable when they are released in May and June. Is there a use for Twitter here - ‘Deal or No Deal’ as each price is released?
Most of the Châteaux below have a track record for being fairly priced, year in year out, so 2009 is a vintage to buy, despite exchange rate woes, as each have made lovely wines. You may not be familiar with some of the names - which is why they are better value. And just because old names like de Fieuzal, Labégorce (now merged with Labégorce Zédé) and Poujeaux are not as fashionable as some these days, they are estates that are certainly on the way up.
25 Collectables from Bordeaux 2009
April 27th 2010, by Gavin
Latour, Château Margaux and Pétrus are among my favourite wines from Bordeaux 2009. My interest in those wines is, regrettably, academic - yet if I could afford to stuff my cellar with the following wines from the next tier down, all for under a grand a box, or much less in some cases, I certainly would. (OK, the four top Pomerols here will be over a thousand a case so my rules have gone out the window.)
April Newsletter
April 27th 2010, by Gavin
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Bordeaux 2009: my Top 150
April 24th 2010, by Gavin
I tasted all the top 2009 red wines from Bordeaux in late March and earlier this month, with the exception of Château Ausone. I didn’ t taste any of the so-called garage wines from St-Emilion*, so this list represents - in my humble opinion - nearly all that is worth considering as an en primeur investment.
As it happens, the random figure of 150 relates to all those wines which should have an ‘outstanding’ rating of 90 points or more when bottled next year. In separate articles, I’ll list a few potentially ‘good value’ buys, and the best dry and sweet white wines.
March Newsletter
March 27th 2010, by Gavin
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Rollover Darling
March 26th 2010, by Gavin
Captain Darling slipped another 10p on a bottle of wine in the Budget, taking the duty, and Vat on the duty, to £2. He also extended his ‘duty escalator’ of around 5% extra each year until 2015. On a £4.75 bottle of wine - higher than the average spend - over 50% is trousered by the government even now. By 2015, if Labour are returned to office this summer, duty will be over £2.50 per bottle as the escalator allows for duty rates to increase annually by 2% above inflation.
