St-Baillon Rosé de Provence (& Bordeaux 2010 - a sniff)

My weekly e-mail should have winged its way to you yesterday on Wednesday as per usual but we were instead on the slopes of St-Émilion sampling from the Grand Cru to the Grand Cru Classé to the Premier Grand Cru Classé B to the Premier Grand Cru Classé A. Not as easy a job as it sounds. Blackened teeth and red faced (from the three uninterrupted days of sunshine) I am now back to mull over the details and with not to dissimilar weather, for now, making our first Provence Rosé offering.

Slightly up in price from last year with the recent increase in Import Duty (and still poor Euro exchange rate!):

Château St-Baillon Rosé “Reserve du Château” 2010 Côtes-de-Provence

At £ 11.50 per Bottle (£ 11.00 last year)

At £ 25.00 per Magnums of 2009 (Same as last year, same Vintage)

At £ 63.75 per Double Magnum (£ 61.25 last year)

Stock will be in, chilled, from early tomorrow.

Next week:

Chianti Classico 2009 Castellare di Castellina

We have just run out of the textbook Chianti Castellare from the 2008 Vintage at a very sensible £ 15.50 per Bottle. Fortunately the 2009 is an absolute delight and will be at the same price. Details and tasting notes on this little charmer next week.

Bordeaux 2010 – En Primeur

My initial notes and overview on the merits (and otherwise) on Bordeaux 2010 as an En Primeur Campaign will be ready in about a week or two. I really feel there is no rush at this particular juncture as I fear the Bordelaise will be releasing their prices even later than usual and anyone who is anyone, likely after the June Vin Expo (19-23^rd June). Just be warned that this is a very different Vintage from the easy charm and understated balance of 2005 and the terrific character and variation of 2009. My immediate thoughts are that this is not a Vintage to literally stick a pin in the map and buy absolutely anything (like in 2005) but in amongst the hype (and I expect this to build to a veritable crescendo over the next 2-3 months) there will still be Estates worth buying for value and undeniably for quality. Despite clear recessionary issues for most of us, do not remotely expect the Bordelaise to take any of this into account when looking at anything Grand Cru Classé or anything over £ 250 a case. Bordeaux has traditionally responded well in difficult economic times but I detect the playing field has been shifted of late so do not hold your breath as you’ll likely be sorely disappointed. The perceived Trade wisdom is that 2010 will be price on a par with 2009. I pressed many a Château owner on this subject, not one committed to their 2010 likely to match their 2009. They all felt their 2010 was better than their 2009 (I would disagree on a good 60% of those) and there will have to be some early and notable failures to keep the price even at parity. Currently I have an intended shopping list of about 40-45 Estates (half of my picks in 2005) but I am convinced this ideal list will be seriously eroded on price, let alone the game playing that ensues with allocations from the Bordeaux end.

I anticipate a campaign of absolute extremes. Timing…pricing...quality…successes…failures. Those wines that are sufficiently well-balanced will be predominantly ones for considerable cellaring potential. With that in mind I think Estates that excelled in 2005 like Château Beaumont will in 2010 make an ideal opportunity to still buy modestly but in larger formats (Double Magnums, Jeroboams, Imperials…) and simply put away for that unique occasion in 2020, 2030… I stress that selection for Bordeaux 2010 is very, very important and therefore so is your choice of Wine Merchant. I intend to buy heavily but please do not be sucked in by every mail shot or e-mail or call trumpeting “wines of extraordinary power and concentration…” because in amongst the good and the great I certainly detected the downright ugly!

Tuggy & Henry