Vitiblog

Source : Domaine de Lagrézette

The « Revue des Vins de France » (RVF) devotes an article to this topic in its June issue, under the signature of Jérôme Baudouin. Robert Parker, in his latest review published in « Wine Advocate », also insists on the matter of the price of advance sales.

Parker asks: « Who will buy 2007 Bordeaux, and at what prices? »

And Jérôme Baudoin goes further: « Prices must go down. But how far? »

Considering how little they have in stock, many producers hope to be able to go on with the outrageous escalation in prices experienced since 2005. And yet, all the parameters require a downturn.

The weakness of the dollar is a first factor, now accompanied by that of the pound sterling. If prices simply stay at their present level, foreign exchange rates will mechanically render 2007 wines more expensive than their predecessors. Now, as we have said and repeated, the 2007 vintage is distinctly inferior to those that went before it. In Pauillac, Parker has not awarded a single grade over 90, and likewise at Saint-Estèphe, where Montrose alone gets a 92. The Saint-Julien wines fare no better. Labels above that same threshold are rare among Margaux and Pomerols. This year, high marks will go only to the very great sweet white wines.

If prices fail to go down significantly, the great international critics (American or Asian) could also issue more radical judgments, thus expressing their lack of enthusiasm. Now, as the RVF article clearly indicates, lower prices would not penalize sales nor increase stocks. Japanese buyers, for instance, understand very well that advance sales may « remain interesting », and that a « modest quality » vintage may also be less expensive.

As a vineyard owner in the Lot, I do in fact feel concerned by these market developments, for a simple reason: the dizzying rise of Bordeaux wines comes down to stating, in denial of the truth, that they are the only high-quality French wines. Steamrollered by the omnipresence of Bordeaux vintages in the media, productions as diverse as those of the Loire valley, of the Southwest, of Languedoc , of the Rhône valley or of Alsace cannot assert their qualities. This is not only a competitive imbalance. It is a blow to the entire wine industry and to all producers, whatever their size and region of origin [..]