By Charles Lea on 10/05/2016
There is a wealth of choice of critical reporting on Bordeaux 2015. Maybe too much for any one voice to be heard. Perhaps the merchant's view is becoming more important again in the absence of the absolute arbiter that has been Robert Parker - but in the end it is your casting vote - 'is it worth a punt?' - that matters.
By Charles Lea on 03/05/2016
Releases continue to trickle out in Bordeaux, rather slowly given that, according to one rumour coming out from the Bordeaux trade, the majority of the big names intend to be out before Vinexpo Hong Kong, which runs from the 24th to the 26th May, and that's a lot of wines to release in a month with more French holidays than you'd think possible in a country that only works 35 hours a week anyway.
By Charles Lea on 29/04/2016
Today is the day when we expect Neal Martin's verdict on the 2015 vintage. Many critics have already given their opinions, with a rave review (six hundred pointers and lots of 'best-evers') from James Suckling (jamessuckling.com), enthusiastic set of notes from Roger Voss of the Wine Enthusiast (wineenthusiast.
By Charles Lea on 29/04/2016
Almost our last visit of primeurs week in Bordeaux was back to see Stéphane Dief up in the northern Médoc at Saint Christoly. Stéphane has made his usual success of his two wines, Clos Manou and Petit Manou. The Clos Manou has, unsurprisingly, the majority of the Cabernet, (69%) while the second wine is 88% Merlot.
By Charles Lea on 21/04/2016
There are various people in Bordeaux (or rather in the vineyards around Bordeaux) who are prepared to be intelligently honest in their appraisals of vintages, and that can really help sort out what one's thoughts about a vintage are.
By Charles Lea on 21/04/2016
The Left bank of the Gironde - the Médoc, encompassing the villages of Margaux, Saint Julien, Pauillac and Saint Estèphe as well as the actual Médoc and Haut Médoc appellations, mostly had a very different experience of the 2015 vintage to the Right bank.
By Charles Lea on 12/04/2016
The Bordelais are displaying their usual respect for the work of their importers by rushing out some prices early (La Couspaude and La Tour Figeac out this morning), long before there is any real chance of us having our notes completed. There is no rush for these wines so remain calm and survey the scene for a moment.
By Charles Lea on 31/03/2016
Well it's (nearly) that time of year again. Early news suggests that this really is a top-drawer vintage, but there are also reasons to believe that it may not be quite such a homogeneous success as either 2009 or 2010. In essence the issue is that some rain fell in September and early October before the harvest.