our everyday selection and our personal recommendations

Friday 8th May

We resisted writing anything yesterday when Cos d'Estournel released at the same price as last year. Should have been no surprise after their comments during the tasting. Their wine is undoubtedly good, but the world is a different place and some sense and sanity needs to prevail. It hasn't. We will not be offering Cos this year. Good value is a philosophy of ours....

Wednesday 6th May

Pontet Canet was released this morning - exciting as it was one of our favourite wines from the tastings last month. Not so exciting was the price. In € terms, it was the same as last year, so with the weakness of the Pound it is more expensive. I think the château have read the mood entirely wrong. Yes it's a good wine, but prices are too high. Those who have made good wines and have been sensible with price have seen their wines well taken up. I will leave Pontet-Canet to others. Fingers crossed for Montrose and Lascases. I am beginning to fear the Bordelais are paying too much attention to Uncle Bob and realism has gone. Just off to the 2007 Port tasting. Now that is something to look forward to!

Tuesday 5th May

Pinch, punch, first day of the month....or first comment of the month at least. There is something wonderfully refreshing about the May bank holiday, and I wasn't distracted by constant offers on my Blackberry from the négociants on Monday as the offers continued to come through. At least they have a holiday on Friday so there will be some peace! Nothing much new to change our tack. The Firsts are doing well, and by and large everything else is fairly quiet. Léo. Barton is now sadly sold out, and we are very low on Pichon Lalande (today's release of Pichon Baron looked overpriced for a wine which is inferior to its neighbour - priced at £520 - shop elsewhere). We have added Léo. Poyferré to our offer. Derek scored it 87-91. Uncle Bob was a little higher, and stocks were going fast so we locked in a little. We still await the release of Léo. Lascases and its second, Clos du Marquis, Montrose and its second, La Dame and Pontet Canet.
EPW Offer:
Ch. Grand-Puy-Lacoste, 5ème Cru Pauillac 2008 £280/case In Bond
Ch. Léoville Poyferré, 2ème Cru Saint Julien 2008 £325/case In Bond
Le Pavilion Rouge de Ch. Margaux, Margaux 2008 £315/case In Bond - SOLD OUT
Ch. Pichon-Longueville-Lalande, 2ème Cru Pauillac 2008 £485/case In Bond
Ch. Ormes de Pez, Cru Bourgeois St Estephe 2008 £165/case In Bond
Ch. Léoville Barton, 2ème Cru Saint Julien 2008 £335/case In Bond - SOLD OUT
Ch. Langoa Barton, 3ème Cru Saint Julien 2008 £240/case In Bond
Ch. Latour, 1er Cru Pauillac 2008 £1,600/case In Bond - SOLD OUT
Ch. Mouton-Rothschild, 1er Cru Pauillac 2008 - SOLD OUT
Ch. Margaux, 1er Cru Margaux 2008 - SOLD OUT

Thursday 30th April 2009

So the long awaited pronouncement on the vintage by a certain Mr. Robert Parker has been made. We can all sleep in peace again. Uncle Bob has come in fairly positive on the vintage and has likened some wines to being close to or as good as some of the wines from 2000 and 2005. Praise indeed and, while we don't want to dampen Uncle Bob's fervour, we would want to remind people that in 2000 and 2005 the quality of the wines was nigh on universal. Not the case in 2008 - remember there are some dusty, fruitless horrors. He is very enthusiastic about the Pichon Lalande, saying it is better than the 2005. That wine is currently priced at £780/case vs. the 2008 at £465 (although I do notice one or two of our competitors beginning to creep this price higher!). From our perspective, it is one of the bargains we can see in the vintage so far (along with other we have been harping on about - Léo. Barton, GPL in particular.)

Tuesday 28th April 2009

One of our favourites, Grand Puy Lacoste, has just been released. It was well scored by Derek (92-95) and nearly always offers good value. We are delighted to say that is the case this time (not something we have been saying much). We can offer it at £280. For those who would like to pop away a really decent case of claret (drinking 2015-2035). No need to get carried away by the vintage, though. Haut Batailley managed to only cut the price of their wine by €1!
EPW Offer:
Ch. Grand-Puy-Lacoste, 5ème Cru Pauillac 2008 £280/case In Bond
Le Pavilion Rouge de Ch. Margaux, Margaux 2008 £315/case In Bond - SOLD OUT
Ch. Pichon-Longueville-Lalande, 2ème Cru Pauillac 2008 £465/case In Bond
Ch. Ormes de Pez, Cru Bourgeois St Estephe 2008 £165/case In Bond
Ch. Léoville Barton, 2ème Cru Saint Julien 2008 £335/case In Bond
Ch. Langoa Barton, 3ème Cru Saint Julien 2008 £240/case In Bond
Ch. Latour, 1er Cru Pauillac 2008 £1,600/case In Bond - SOLD OUT
Ch. Mouton-Rothschild, 1er Cru Pauillac 2008 - allocation only
Ch. Margaux, 1er Cru Margaux 2008 - allocation only

Thursday 23rd April

Still here! Nothing hugely interesting. This week (so far) the limelight has probably been taken by Palmer which released at £1,030. Too high. We believe the patient will buy it below £900 later this year, if they want to. It's a decent wine, but not at that price. I hope that doesn't spur on other wines in a similar class (particularly Lascases). We do fear Cos will be coming out at an unrealistic level, but I suppose they do need to pay for their smart new winery!

We still like the Leoville Barton and Pichon Lalande prices, and we are awaiting the release from Grand Puy Lacoste, Pontet Canet, Montrose and Leoville Lascases. All could offer some upside if priced well. We have added Ormes de Pez to our drinking list (inc Langoa) and we are awaiting Dame de Montrose, Clos du Marquis and La Petite Eglise to potentially put them on that list.
EPW Offer:
Le Pavilion Rouge de Ch. Margaux, Margaux 2008 £315/case In Bond - SOLD OUT
Ch. Pichon-Longueville-Lalande, 2ème Cru Pauillac 2008 £465/case In Bond
Ch. Ormes de Pez, Cru Bourgeois St Estephe 2008 £165/case In Bond
Ch. Léoville Barton, 2ème Cru Saint Julien 2008 £335/case In Bond
Ch. Langoa Barton, 3ème Cru Saint Julien 2008 £240/case In Bond
Ch. Latour, 1er Cru Pauillac 2008 £1,600/case In Bond - SOLD OUT

Friday 17th April
 
On it all rolls. Sensible pricing by the top wines, whihc are in very short supply due to the smaller yields in this vintage. But those one step down don't seem to have got the message. In our opinion, pricing so far does not make this an attractive vintage in general. Is a case of Lynch Bages at £360 which scored 87-91 from Derek really that exciting? Bearing in mind the 2005 was released at £470 and the 2002, a vintage which has evolved rather well, was released under £200! As more and more châteaux are released, we are getting steadily more and more frustrated by the lack of realism being reflected in the prices. So, onward we go. We are delighted to buy any wine should it specifically be desired.
EPW Offer:
Le Pavilion Rouge de Ch. Margaux, Margaux 2008 £315/case In Bond - SOLD OUT
Ch. Pichon-Longueville-Lalande, 2ème Cru Pauillac 2008 £465/case In Bond
Ch. Léoville Barton, 2ème Cru Saint Julien 2008 £335/case In Bond
Ch. Gruaud Larose, 2ème Cru Saint Julien 2008 £285/case In Bond
Ch. Latour, 1er Cru Pauillac 2008 £1,600/case In Bond - SOLD OUT
Ch. Angelus, Grand Cru Classé St Emilion 2008 £725/case In Bond

Thursday 16th April

There are more releases coming now. Clerc Milon, one of those on our watch list, came out late yesterday and the price in Sterling is actually higher than last year. Real shame - another who didn't listen. And we have seen Léoville Poyferré this morning with the price cut by 23% in € which equates to a 11% fall in Sterling. Again, not enough and the wine was not one that particularly caught our eye. So far only the Latour and Léoville Barton has made any sense at all.

Wednesday 15th April

Anthony Barton has released his wines this morning, both of which Derek scored relatively well. After the excitement of Latour yesterday, we are rather disappointed by his pricing. Léoville Barton has been priced at £335, a fall of only 9% vs. 2007 (still it is the cheapest Leoville Barton of any vintage at today's prices), while Langoa Barton is priced at £240, a fall of 11%. The 2002 and 2004 are similar prices. We feel there is no need to rush for either. Our target prices to buy were £285 and £220 respectively.
EPW Offer:
Ch. Léoville Barton, 2ème Cru Saint Julien 2008 £335/case In Bond
Ch. Langoa Barton, 3ème Cru Saint Julien 2008 £245/case In Bond
Ch. Gruaud Larose, 2ème Cru Saint Julien 2008 £285/case In Bond
Ch. Latour, 1er Cru Pauillac 2008 £1,600/case In Bond - SOLD OUT
Ch. Angelus, Grand Cru Classé St Emilion 2008 £725/case In Bond

Tuesday 14th April

Woaw! Ch. Latour steals a march on the other 1st Growths releasing this morning at a 46% price cut in Euros vs. its 2007. In Sterling, the price is £1,600. Our trigger price for getting really excited is £1,500 so this is interesting. And what if the Euro was to weaken 10% as many are speculating? One small catch - the initial release from Latour doesn't look very bit and so we suspect they will be looking to release a second tranche at a higher level. No other vintage of Latour trades below £2,000....
EPW Offer:
Ch. Latour, 1er Cru Pauillac 2008 £1,600/case In Bond
Ch. Angelus, Grand Cru Classé St Emilion 2008 £725/case In Bond

Monday 13th April

Following a review of our tastings, and having discussed with Derek and looked at his scores, we believe the following to be the best 10 wines of the Vintage:

Ch. Le Pin (94-98), Ch. Margaux (93-97), Ch. Leoville Lascases (93-97), Ch. Lafite-Rothschild (93-97), Ch. Cheval Blanc (93-96), Ch. Latour (92-96), Ch. Mouton Rothschild (92-96), Ch. Haut-Brion (92-96), Ch. Palmer (91-95), Ch. L'Eglise-Clinet (91-95).

Our Best Ten by Value (we will be shortly identifying a 'buy' price) are as follows:

Ch. Montrose (91-96), Ch. Clerc-Milon (90-93), Ch. Grand-Puy-Lacoste (92-95), Ch. Pontet-Canet (89-93), Ch. Langoa-Barton (90-92), Ch. Léoville Barton (91-95), Vieux Ch. Mazerat (89-93), Ch. La Grave à Pomerol (89-93), Ch. La Petite Eglise (89-93), Vieux Ch. Certan (91-95).

Thursday 9th April

All quiet on the En Primeur front, but here's a thought. With the Euro sitting at €1.10 to Sterling, something we believe has a profound impact on the 2008 campaign, we have been doing a little digging about. We are wine merchants, not foreign exchange dealers, but we can take informed decisions....we believe. It seems asking around the traps in the City that there is consensus that the Euro is overvalued vs. the Pound, and fair value is around €1.25. Why's is not there? No idea. But should the Euro weaken by 10% in the next 3-4 months, a case of Angelus would cost £650/case. Now we are beginning to talk bargain, aren't we? So why not wait? While Derek has identified some cracking wines, we know this is not a vintage where have to tear our hair out. So patience might be wise. We will shortly be putting up our top wines from the vintage (Top 10 of the Vintage and Best Value Ten), while we await more pricing.

And have we mentioned the 2007 Port Vintage which has been declared? We taste them on 6th May. Now that might be very interesting.

Monday 6th April - encore

We had rather hoped to be doing 'other' things today, but much to our surprise Ch. Angelus, Grand Cru Classé St Emilion released its 2008 this afternoon, stealing a march on the others. In € terms they cut the price by 41%, which isn't bad. Maybe someone has listened. By the time we reprice in British pounds, we would be able to offer Angelus at £725, a cut of 27% from last year. Derek scored the wine 91-94 vs 89-92 last year. The 2002 and 2004 wines are both priced in excess of £900/case. No rush - let's see what others do.
EPW Offer:
Ch. Angelus, Grand Cru Classé St Emilion 2008 £725/case In Bond

Monday 6th April

Following a glorious weekend in the English spring sunshine, below is a brief summarise by Derek of his thoughts on last week:

"Comparisons with other vintages and ratings are always misleading. It is nothing like 2005 and not like 2000. It is a vintage where there are some great wines and some real horror stories. It is very classic in style, wonderful concentrated fruit with firm but ripe tannins and a lovely backbone of acidity, the best are wines that will last well into the future. The concentration is not surprising as God as well as Man green harvested. Advice on which are good and which bad is essential.

The dry whites are very attractive and Sauternes, although light and not very sweet, has a certain charm

A decision to buy will be down to price. The message from many is “we appreciate that a significant drop is needed; a 20% drop is stand still due to currency so it needs to be more than that” . Only one, Cos d’Estournel, was really arrogant in their approach."

After a week on the hoof, our initial thoughts of the vintage are to remain cautious. There are some decent wines (but remember, there are in every vintage and if these prices are not lowered enough buy wines from other vintages), and there is more fruit than we expected. The Merlot on the right bank was a surprise, and we were pleased in general by St Julien and Pauillac, while St Estephe and Margaux fell a little short (how often do we say that about Margaux?). A brief trip into the Graves and Pessac-Leognan revealed some good wines, and if prices are cut properly, Haut Bailly is something worth looking into.

Friday 3rd April

Time for us to go and compare our notes, gather a few thoughts, and start seeing how the Bordelais react to our (and others) pressure on prices. For the moment, we remain neutral at best.

Thursday 2nd April

From a wine-making perspective the key to this vintage boils down to a signal word - selection. Where a property has taken the time to select their grapes both in the vineyard and on the sorting table, the wine have proved to be good. Not the green, flabby wines we feared. There are wine-makers who do take great care, and we hear many wine merchants who are beginning to say how much better this vintage is than feared, but just be careful. This is NOT a great vintage. It is better than we thought, but there are some horrors out there (we will be keeping you in touch with those).

Wednesday 1st April

Seems the Merlot is not bad on the Right Bank. Those who have succeeded in their wine-making have done a decent job. But we are still not hopping up and down.

The key to this vintage is one of price. Taking into account the appreciation of the Euro (or is that the depreciation of Sterling) we believe we need to see prices being cut by 40-50% to offer buyers any value. Where will 2008 sit against other vintages? Some suggest it is akin to 2002, others 2004 (which we doubt). Quality wise it might just pip 2007 but hey-ho. We would be thinking more about buying 2002, 2004, 2005 (keep buying, it's almost impossible not to have enough) and 2006 rather than over-priced 2008's. What if the Bordelais do surprise us a radically cut prices? I am almost willing to suggest I might eat my hat.....

Tuesday 31st March 2009

Early reports coming back from Bordeaux are slightly better than we had anticipated. Derek is flogging around the chateaux trying the 2008's for the first time in barrel. There are some nice wines with good fruit and firm tannins suggesting longevity, but there are some horror stories, particularly in the lesser names who don't have sufficient wine making resourses. Lafite and Mouton stand out on the top of the Medoc, but it was a delicious Margaux as well.