Bordeaux 2009 Report – Robert Parker

One swallow doesn’t make a summer, and one report from a wine journalist doesn’t make a vintage, but they both help. Uncle Bob remains the single most influential individual in the wine industry around the world, and so if he is saying the Cabernet Sauvignon he tasted is the best in the 32 years he has been going to Bordeaux, then a lot of people are going to take that pretty seriously. He notes the vintage doesn’t have the broad consistency as the 2005, but where there are peaks in excellence they exceed 2005!

What will his comments mean for pricing? I am afraid they will prompt the châteaux to increase their release prices, but I still strongly believe the market will remain exceptionally well bid. I think the French will be mindful of not taking the proverbial as they are nervous about scaring off the new Asian buyers and the Americans do get twitchy about prices they feel are excessive, but the demand for this vintage is huge (and will now get bigger). If I was to make a guess about release prices, I now believe that they will exceed 2005 by 20%, and I believe the wines will see offer buyers good value.

I think this also means there will be a game of cat and mouse by the bigger, more prestigious properties. They will all be cautious about releasing their wines at the ‘wrong’ price, so I imagine we will see a small first tranche, with the second and third tranches being more sizeable and at higher prices. It is going to be a long, and exciting, campaign.

Ed