Just came back from London, where I spent two days (19-20 October) tasting nearly 80 cru bourgeois from the celebrated 2009 vintage. It was a blind tasting for Decanter magazine, in the company of some far more experienced palates, including Stephen Spurrier, Stephen Brook, Hugo Rose MW, and others. It was my third time in […]

I love Bordeaux. I first visited Bordeaux in 1998 to complete a CIVB tasting class. Two years later, I visited Langon, the heart of the southern Graves region, to participate in the harvest festival for what turned out to be the first of three vintages of the century in less than 10 years. And now, […]

Yes, they do exist with the few chateaux that have been released so far. Today, 14 June, Calon Segur for €58 per bottle. I really like Chateau Poujeux at $27 per bottle for example. You may even find it for less. That was one of the star Moulis Medoc wines. Now, of course, I recall that […]

‘In a good economy we talk about allocations, and in a difficult economy we talk about price,’ said Dave Sokolin of the Sokolin & Co in Bridgehampton, N.Y. ‘My hedge fund friends are not feeling good about that [having paid $700 a bottle for some first growths in 2005]’, said Sokolin. ‘If Latour comes out at $600 a bottle, I think it will sit. At $400, it has an opportunity.’

2009 Bordeaux: just how high can it go? By Panos Kakaviatos When Robert Parker issues his make-or-break scores on the latest ‘vintage of the century’ – the third in less than 10 years – wine shoppers will wonder how high both price and quality can go. The economy remains somewhat patchy, international demand coupled with […]

Harvest Chronicle A week in Bordeaux for the 2009 harvest: sunny skies and patient pickings… By Panos Kakaviatos Before you plow through my copious notes on Bordeaux 2009 – hundreds from cru bourgeois level to the first growths of the Medoc – please plow through my day-to-day impressions at various châteaux on location at the […]