Looks like all the conditions are there for it to be more painful than 2002. Which was painful for the chateau owners and not the consumers as that still was one of the best value vintages offered on futures. I was offering all five first growths for $100 on my first tranche which was not THE first tranche but pretty damn close. Parker will not go to retaste the '06 vintage in bottle and he is very iffy about tasting the 2007's in barrel as his back might keep him out. So with the weak dollar, no Parker and prospects of an average vintage, the conditions are ripe for maybe the weakest futures campaign ever. Could this be the end of Bordeaux futures as we know it. Quite possibly. The Bordealaise are at a crossroads. They priced the 2006 vintage way over the top for a very good but not world-beating vintage like 2005. So they need to price 2007 at least 30% off of '06 or maybe even more to make it a remotely successful campaign. The last Bordeaux futures campaign?
Friday, January 18, 2008
Could 2007 be the most painful Bordeaux futures campaign ever?
Looks like all the conditions are there for it to be more painful than 2002. Which was painful for the chateau owners and not the consumers as that still was one of the best value vintages offered on futures. I was offering all five first growths for $100 on my first tranche which was not THE first tranche but pretty damn close. Parker will not go to retaste the '06 vintage in bottle and he is very iffy about tasting the 2007's in barrel as his back might keep him out. So with the weak dollar, no Parker and prospects of an average vintage, the conditions are ripe for maybe the weakest futures campaign ever. Could this be the end of Bordeaux futures as we know it. Quite possibly. The Bordealaise are at a crossroads. They priced the 2006 vintage way over the top for a very good but not world-beating vintage like 2005. So they need to price 2007 at least 30% off of '06 or maybe even more to make it a remotely successful campaign. The last Bordeaux futures campaign?
I want to care on a certain level, but the whole scene has been so crazy for so long -- for me, right after I got into wine in the early-mid nineties -- that I just can't seem to get worked up over it. Now, the dismissal of the Jefferson btls fraud case, that's really too bad. I was looking forward to that.
ReplyDeleteMany Bordeaux customers are exhibiting symptoms of Battered Spouse Syndrome. Sufferers should understand the following:
ReplyDelete1. JUST BECAUSE HE'S SOMETIMES NICE TO YOU DOESN'T MEAN THE ABUSE WILL STOP. Abusers don't change. When an abuser realizes he's gone too far, he will often try to make up for it with a showing of kindness. He is just seeking your forgiveness for his own inexcusable behavior and manipulating you into enabling his abuse. It doesn't make the abuse okay or make it go away. A small discount on mediocre wine from 2007 doesn't excuse what he did to you in 2005 and 2006 (and what he will do to you again in 2008 and 2009, if he thinks he can get away with it).
2. IT ISN'T YOUR FAULT. Abusers abuse to establish their power. They are addicted to making you feel powerless because your independence threatens their power over you. You didn't do anything wrong to deserve the abuse, and you don't have to take it.
3. IT IS OKAY TO LEAVE AN ABUSIVE RELATIONSHIP. You are a strong and independent person. Anybody that treats you the way Bordeaux treats you doesn't really love you. You deserve better than that, and many other wine regions would be thankful to have a customer like you and would treat you with the respect you deserve.
Well said, Keith. That's quite the parallel. I for one would love to see the practice of futures and the institution of brokerages in Bordeaux go by the wayside. Not that the fame of the classified growths would decrease but it could could provide a slow but sure impetus to bring a more natural, quality driven pricing scheme back to the overall market. It might even encourage a few more producers to make wines to be drunk and enjoyed rather than rated and hoarded.
ReplyDeleteI am with Cliff - I have stopped caring given the recent prices, and I am finding some nice values in the '01s (have not picked around the '02s to any great extent, but I see them rotting on the shelves so I might go give them some love as well). What's your favourite price:quality vintage of this decade?
ReplyDeleteJoe,
ReplyDeleteI am not Cliff but 2002 seems classic and priced very fairly. Look for VCC.
Although Bordeaux is off-the-charts expensive these days, especially 2005, I find that there are some bargains to be had in 2006, even among the classic classified growths. Sure the prices are higher than they used to be, but many wines cost less than my pain threshold permits. That being said, I just bought close to a case of 2006 Bdx on futures that I thought were fairly priced for their quality and trackrecord. I probably will buy a little more, and then move on to 2007 in very selective terms.
ReplyDeleteHi Lyle, yes, I was asking you...Thanks, the only '02 I have right now is the Ch. de Chambrun - had a bottle already, really liked it, socking the 5 others away. I will look for the VCC - we only have the 98, 99 and 00 up here right now (the 98 and 00 are very pricey, but the 99 is much cheaper).
ReplyDelete