Bordeaux 2011 – Beychevelle – another gun to the head

by Charles Lea

If Beychevelle had any other label on it I would not even consider offering it. Down 15 or so % on the 2010 price, and frankly the least interesting (as a wine) of all the Cru Classé Saint Juliens.

But a bit like Lafite, its got a story, and that story is Asia, where this is a very strong brand for the sake of the ‘Dragon Boat’ label. Consequently at £495 ib en primeur it looks quite a deal when the cheapest deliverable vintage on the market is around the £600 level.

As one of my sinophile customers remarked a couple of months back, ‘I wouldn’t trust the Chinese to remain interested in anything for more than five minutes’.

If the Chinese market stays strong, this looks like a possible deal (but bear in mind you would pay commission on the sale). Seeing as this is otherwise a pretty dull wine at a bubble price, the question is do you fancy your luck?

Well do ya?

Also out this morning is Rouget in Pomerol, which Robert Parker liked quite a lot.

One thought on “Bordeaux 2011 – Beychevelle – another gun to the head

  1. ChinaBounder

    Fine article – made me smile and you raise some good points. It’s great to see a professional give an objective look at Bordeaux 11.

    I certainly would not touch Beychevelle 11 at these prices; I believe pricing should be relative to similar EP prices (ie 2008 EP in this case) rather than current value of prior releases.

    As for China, I suspect there will be little interest in 2011 EP but a few years down the road Chinese buyers will pick it up. Bordeaux has cachet and China is the home of conspicuous consumption.

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