Burgundy 2008 tastings -Day 1

Standing in Jean-Noel Gagnard's cellars at 8.45am this morning seems like a long time ago. A long but rewarding day has passed.

Often intense but distinctly 'adolescent' when tasted from barrel, Caroline Lestime's white wines are serious, often backward and always take a couple of years in bottle to blossom. The 2008s, though, are a really impressive range that already show tremendously well, offering a great balance between "gras" and freshness, the Bâtard was sublime. A tour of the Marquis d'Angerville vineyards followed. Guillaume d'Angerville's commute to and from his vines is enviable, within minutes we were admiring the view from the sun-kissed Champans vineyard, followed shorty afterwards by a trip to the even higher, stonier Taillepieds, all the while the steep tilt of Clos des Ducs to the north stayed in sight. All were within minutes of each other yet so different, this is the essence of Burgundy. The difference between the terroirs was amplified further during our tasting of 2008s, each wine was very clearly defined. On the day Champans was the stand out, so seductively Volnay - Guillaume's accession to duties at Domaine the d'Angerville has definitely coincided with the big qualitative resurgence of this classic Volnay vineyard. Dominique Lafon was next and did not disappoint, he is such an enthusiast and perfectionist. 2008 is a small crop here for reds and whites alike (the smallest ever that Dominique can recall for his Volnay.) Exciting wines from top bottom, the Macons were quite possibly his best yet, the Meursaults and Montrachet were as smart as usual, the pick of the cellar,though, went to Perrières. Finally we braved the back streets of Beaune in search of the Hospices de Beaune cellars. Confronted by a vast chai like room of new wooden barrels of seriously embryonic wine, we picked our way through an interesting but not necessarily homogenous 2009 crop. The best red wines are powerful yet already highly flattering to taste at this very early stage. Tomorrow sees a change of Cotes as we head for Gevrey and Nuits.

The Mosel 2009: "Wonderfully Healthy and Golden Yellow in Colour"

We have been busy harvesting for two weeks now. Although we had a few rain showers last week, we are now experiencing a really golden October. It is quite frosty in the mornings but then wonderfully warm and sunny in the afternoons.

Thanks to a very selective harvest, we gain a fantastic quality every day, ranging from Qba through the finest Grand Crus to the Gold Capsule selection.

We have a little less quantity this year however qualitatively this harvest will turn out to be an excellent one.The grapes are wonderful healthy and golden yellow in colour.

We think that it will take us another week to finish a successful harvest.

Clos des Papes as popular as ever

Yesterdays offer of the 2006 vintage saw huge demand and we sold our entire parcel from this cult Chateauneuf domaine in a matter of hours. We apologise if you didn't manage to secure an allocation, and would urge you to sign up to our mailers at http://www.justerinis.com/ for instant notifications of future releases.

The Bordeaux circus rolls into town

Today, the Union des Grands Crus swapped their Chateaux for the Royal Opera House in Covent Garden. This annual event has become an enlightening tasting as it often presents the first opportunity to taste a vintage from bottle. This year was the turn of the 2007s. Widely rubbished before the barrel tastings, some Chateaux defied the miserable conditions and with an extraordinary amount of hard work in the vineyard and no lack of skill in the winery, have produced some half decent wines - but how are they showing now?

Well, the pick of the reds are elegant and refined, with pure fruit cores; they will be attractive early drinkers. Those who extracted too much have made unbalanced wines with tough tannins, but in the main, winemakers have been gentle and have produced simple but charming wines. The stars of the show included, Pontet Canet, Pichon Lalande, Pichon Baron, Léoville Barton, Langoa Barton and Beychevelle. These were really well made wines that will reward medium term cellaring.

The real winners in 2007 though are the whites. The dry whites from Pessac-Léognan are aromatic, concentrated and possess lovely crisp acidities. Highlights included, Carbonnieux, Domaine de Chevalier, Smith Haut Lafite and Picque Caillou. The sweeties are quite exceptional too. There is ample botrytis, richness and complexity - all framed by delicious racy acidities. Suduiraut, Doisy Daene, Doisy Vedrines, de Fargues and Coutet all shone, but a particular attention should be drawn to Climens, who have made a blockbuster to rival Yquem. Berenice Lurton has made a wine of mammoth proportions; a truly exceptional Climens!

So, in summary, the best reds are charming, balanced wines with fine structures, which will reward early drinking. The whites are outstanding; if you haven’t already bought them for your cellar, then hurry…

Robert Parker: France 2009 and Rhone 2007

A recent news letter from Robert Parker extolling the potential of the French 2009 harvest, and the realised (and bottled) greatness from the 2007 Southern Rhone vintage. We will be re-offering a selection of 2007 Rhones with our 2008 Rhone release.

"2009 in France
Having been in France in late August and early September, this is going to be a potentially great vintage in virtually every wine region. In thirty years of visiting France in the fall, and seeing how vintages unfold, I don't remember a better set of climatic conditions than those that occurred in the critical months of August and September as well as the early part of October, 2009. Burgundy, Loire, Alsace, Bordeaux, the northern Rhône and probably the southern Rhône as well appear to have had phenomenal vintages, which is certainly good news. If there is going to be any weaknesses, it may be because of the severe drought France suffered, which was abated somewhat in certain areas by some late rain in September. That may have caused some hydric stress and tannin issues with some wines, but we won't know for sure until the wines are tasted in the spring of 2010.

You can't buy enough of the 2007 Southern Rhônes
As my report that will be coming out the end of October states, from top to bottom, this is the greatest vintage I have ever tasted in any viticultural area. Most consumers who have already tried some of the generic 2007 southern Rhônes have already seen what they are in store for given the fact that these wines are well above their humble pedigrees. At the top level are the great wines of the finest appellation of the southern Rhône, Châteauneuf du Pape, but Vacqueyras, Gigondas, and Rasteau are the real value picks as almost every domaine in Châteauneuf du Pape that has a noteworthy reputation is already sold out. The wines are just hitting the distribution channels in the United States and Europe, so move quickly. Despite the worldwide economic woes, these wines are disappearing at a rapid pace."

The smiles say it all...

Our recent sojourn in Bordeaux has been quite enlightening. Chateaux owners are positively beaming at the prospect of their 2009s. Our time in the Medoc included engagements with two of the most influential Chateau directors, Frederic Engerer and Paul Pontallier (right).

Chateau Margaux has enjoyed a wonderful summer, with hot, exceptionally dry conditions. The harvest was the longest on record, starting on the 8th of September for the Pavillon Blanc and finishing today! (15th Oct). Paul was deliberating over which vintages to pour at `la gerbaude`, the traditional end of harvest party. Sugar levels are historically high in 2009, with some parcels of Merlot hitting 15.5% and 16%. Cabernets are a more modest 13%. If there's one problem with the vintage, it's that the dry autumn has resulted in smaller yields than we had hoped for. 36-37hl/ha, slightly below 2008.

Frederic Engerer explains that 2009 is an 'extreme vintage' at Chateau Latour. It is undoubtedly a great harvest, but he expects a `tumultuous` time during vinification. 'Everything is so extreme - concentration, alcohol, even acidities'. Alcoholic fermentations will certainly be lengthy. Cabernets look 'fabulous', but alas the yields are low. Frederic recorded temperatures of 28 degrees on the 28th of September. This extreme heat in September has resulted in tiny, concentrated berries with very little juice - he expects a crop slightly smaller than 2008 (itself a very small harvest).

Piedmont 2009 : "Harvest is finally over"

We were very worrried about the rain we had in the middle of September, but we soon got happy again seeing as afterwards the sun started shining and we had warmer days. Even today, while I write this, I'm wearing a t-shirt sitting outside and it's 25°!

The last few grapes were picked by our crew without any hurry or overly stressful selection - the grapes were healthy and fully ripe.

It looks like this is going to be another (!!) great harvest for Barolo, perhaps with a little too much alcohol, but definitely with good acidities and balance.

The last tank of nebbiolo was pressed on Sunday. For the first time we fermented longer than usual, we left it for a week on the skins..."just a week" some might say, but for us it's a "record". We tried to keep the temperature lower than usual, about 28°, and for longer. We will see the results soon as the juice is almost dry now.

Luckily this year we haven't had any arrest of fermentation, all tanks are turning dry naturally and some have even started their malolactics already.

We never inoculate with powdered yeast, preferring to create a "mother yeast" that we carry on for the whole vintage. I think that is a very good natural way of working and of giving your wines a special "familiar" taste every year.

Now that the crazy action is over we start to realise just how much work we have done and how many hours we have worked. Sleeping till 7,30am now feels like a total luxury!

This morning we racked the Dolcetto from one tank to another. It has such a nice aroma of violets and cherry that you almost want to eat it!

Just a few more day of moving stuff around, racking, then putting the new wines in barrel, turning the heaters to help malolactic fermentation and.....finito!!!!!!!!

Wines in the Press: Mas Doix, Salanques 2005

It might not be outrageous to suggest that Spain, the country with more land under vine than any other, is also the country that is pushing winemaking boundaries faster than anywhere else. Whilst Rioja has its new wave of modernists , Toro, Rueda and Priorat have all seen considerable investment of late and are producing world class wines that don't necessarily cost the earth.

It is no coincidence that Spain happens to be one of the fastest growing areas on our list.

One such wine that has recently been featured in Decanter Magazine's in depth look Spanish wine's exciting new hotspots, is the Mas Doix, Salanques 2005.

Five Stars - 18.5/20

"This is a small, family winery harvesting individual plots at just 500-1000kg/ha (versus a legal maximum of 6000kg/ha). Salanques is made mainly from Garnacha and Cariñena with 15% Merlot, Cabernet and Syrah. It has lovely dark, concentrated fruit aromas, big (but not excessive) extraction and generous fruit and tanin balance, with a long, rich finish. Drink now-2015."

The Mosel - Fritz Haag's harvest is about to begin.

The grape harvest is now imminent.

The weather in September was very nice and a lot of sunlight made the grapes ripen perfectly.

Small berries, golden yellow coloured, promise to give an excellent vintage. Due to the rainfall during the last days, we have decided to start harvesting this weekend and are pretty excited how the wine will turn out.

Patrick Javillier gives us his thoughs on Meursault 2009

News from Meursault and it seems they too have harvested a very fine set of wines in 2009. Here's what Patrick Javillier had to say about the vintage:

"The weather conditions in spring and early summer were favorable to the occurrence of oidium and downy mildiou. Because of this we have had to be very vigilant in administering any interventions. Fortunately our vigilance paid off and we have harvested a very healthy set of grapes.

The summer has seen very hot days alternated with cooler days. A few periodical thunderstorms and cool nights have allowed the grapes to reach maturity with superb balance. The vines did not suffer from drought, even with the hot days, for every one to two weeks we have had stormy rains that have washed down the soil. The cool nights have allowed the crop to preserve it's fresh aromas.

The 2009 vintage wines in red and white harvested at 95 - 100 days to flower, should be free from over-maturity and should have a balance of sugar and acidity with remarkably fresh and elegant flavours .

The tasting in a few months should confirm that these rare qualities are present."

Pomerol 2009 - Harvest complete

We have now finished the harvest and are astonished with the quality of the vintage.It has been a very long harvest, in two periods:

- The first one for the younger vines and gravelly soils of Pomerol before the rain of September 19th and 20th;

- The second, from September 25th until October 6th for the older vines and clayey soils in Pomerol, and the Merlot of Saint-Emilion, followed by the Cabernet Franc from both appellations to end.

Some tanks have already been drained and pressed, and we are finding extremely complex wines with a creamness that could be a typicity of the vintage.

Despite the high level of alcohol, there is a freshness, giving great balance in the wines, held tight together by a certain structure of ripe and round tannins.

The only disappointment is the small yield. We were expecting more wine, but the warm and sunny early fall along with dry winds concentrated the berries.

I can clearly say that it is the most amazing quality I have seen so far, and some people in our team who have been around for much longer than I have claim the same thing.... Il semblerait que nous soyons en face d'un très grand vin de garde!

Vosne-Romanée 2009 - "A beautiful crop"

The 2009s have finally been pressed, we are starting to rack off the wines and put them into barrel. What a healthy and beautiful crop of wines we have just made! Exceptional maturity has allowed for very agreeable vinifications that were simple in the extreme! The goal was to make the best of the great grape maturity we had without extracting too much, to obtain that real velvety character of our wines and to retain their drinkability. They will now be in their barrels for between 13 to 18 months, depending on their evolution during elevage. We can now take a short breath before starting to think of racking the 2008s, with a view to bottling them in the coming months. Its also necessary to get back into the vines, to start preparing for the 2010 vintage!

Frenzy for 2006 Italians

Yesterday saw the release of the eagerly anticipated Masseto 2006, the `Petrus of Tuscany`. The flagship wine from Tenuta Dell Ornellaia clearly made the most of the wonderful conditions in 2006 and merited a whopping 99 points from Robert Parker’s Wine Advocate.
Next to come will be the equally hotly anticipated Gaja 2006s. This magnificent vintage has produced great wines throughout Italy and Gaja’s Barbarescos are no exception. Keep your eyes peeled and be swift to avoid disappointment.

La Tour du Rhône - Day 5

Friday 2nd October - Condrieu, St Joseph and 2008 Vintage summary

Andre Perret could be domaine of the week, having produced the most impressive and consistent range of 2008s we have tasted. Few are simultaneously adept at red and white winemaking, Andre (pictured) achieves both with aplomb. The whites are superb - as racy as 2002 but with greater ripeness, none of the whites were chaptalised, both Clos Chanson and Coteau de Chery rival the Chave and Colombier whites for wine of the vintage. Grisieres will not be bottled separately this year so the regular St Joseph red cuvee has benefited enormously from its old vines, a ripe refreshing and perfectly proportioned wine with complexity of flavour.
Francois Villard makes wines in a totally different style to Perret, they are later picked and richer. His two stand out whites were the Grand Vallon and the Deponcins Condrieus, less expressive than Perret's, but full-bodied and very intense. The Vins de Pays Contours de Deponcins, was also very impressive and could look excellent value. As for the reds, Francois has been extracting less and reigning back on the new oak the last few years to great success. The two very fine, elegant Cote Roties, Gallet Blanc and Brocarde, were the pick of the reds here.

Its been a less exhausting week than anticipated, which is always a good sign. Following a great vintage is never easy and with challenging conditions in the summer of 2008, the vintage will no doubt have its detractors. This is not a homogenous year when just any old producer could have made good wine nor is its a big rich "trophy" vintage, however the important point is that there are enough good wines that will give plenty of drinking pleasure, from the serious producers. The reds will drink relatively early but the best will certainly last well into the mid term (5-7 yrs.) Less rain fell in the south than the north during the summer and, bar the northern sector of Chateauneuf where there was a hailstorm in September, the wines are a shade more consistent, however the top wines undeniably come from the granite slopes of Cornas and specific parts of the Hermitage hill. The whites are of excellent quality, particularly those of the northern rhone.

Alongside the 2008s we tasted the 2007s in bottle. I was delighted to find that these were every bit as impressive as from barrel, my tastings reconfirmed that this is a truely great, must-have, Rhone vintage.

La Tour du Rhône - Day 4

Thursday 1st October - More Hermitage, Crozes and Côte Rôtie.

Today the 2008s of Domaine du Colombier and Bernard Faurie particularly surprised me, they were much more complex, intense and riper than I was expecting.

After a tasting of 2008s with Marc Sorrel, who looks like he will put all of the "Greal" components into the one standard Hermitage cuvee , we head for Domaine du Colombier. Here a garrulous Florent Viale greeted us, we joked about the disproportionate amount of hairdressers operating in Tain, 12 on the last count, and then moved onto the serious business of tasting. Whilst 2009 was a "hands in pockets" vintage, he proclaimed, 2008 was a lot harder. He employed 30 pickers as opposed to the 18 he normally uses. "Conditions were not favourable in 2008 but the results are honourable," was his summary. The reds are good, the white Hermitage is outstanding and nudges the Chave version very closely for top wine so far this trip. I enjoy Faurie's red Hermitage blend every bit as much as Colombier's, if anything it has a shade more vitality aligned to the ripe fruit that both display. Crozes will be one of the patchier areas in 2008 I suspect, particular where vines are grown on moist clay soils. Pochon has made some lovely whites and improved the potential of his standard wine by adding the old vines Curson into the blend.

In Côte Rôtie it looks as if Clusel Roch will keep the 2008 Les Grandes Places as a separate wine, though the final decision has not been made. I think its good enough to stand alone but if they do blend it in, the straight Côte Rôtie could make for a good buy. The 2008s of Bernard Burgaud seems to be up there with those of his rivals, he put it down to "hard work, good weather in September and a bit of luck." Fresh and elegant but with enough body and fruit maturity, an excellent effort. Whilst at Rostaing the distance between Côte Blonde and the rest of the wines is clearer than ever before. The La Landonne was its usual surly, backward self, but there is good power and complexity there.

As for 2009 its obviously early days, but the growers I saw today seem as happy with the quality of their 2009s as those in the southern Rhône. The only difference is that the size of the crop in the North is thankfully quite good, whereas in the South it will be a small vintage.

Tomorrow St Joseph, Condrieu and Lyon St Exupery!

La Tour du Rhône - Day 3

Wednesday 30th September. Cornas and Hermitage.

It is becoming clear that 2008 is a "granite year". The well drained granite slopes of Cornas and the heavily granitic parts of Hermitage have produced the vintage's top performers so far.

At our first visit Jean Louis Chave discusses with us the paradox of the hot sunny vintages that produce big alcoholic, critically acclaimed wines and the cooler, sometimes more difficult vintages that produce lower alcohol wines that are the ones you actually want to drink. 2008 whites here are stunning, the most magical we have tasted yet, his reds are pretty smart too. All purity and vivacity, no big blockbusters.

Up the treacherous Cornas slopes to Allemand's cellars . As Thierry puts it " Cornas is great in a little vintage". A heavy selection has been made in 2008 resulting in yields of 20 hl / ha, about 9 hl / ha less than usual. All cuvees will be blended into one wine. It was typically inky in colour but more generous and smoother than usual, and very sensual. It does however still show a good bit of backbone and mineral intensity. Bravo!

At Chapoutier the stand out wine is l'Ermite white, which further confirms how extremely good some of the whites are in this vintage. The red l'Ermite is quite useful too - it is certainly the pick of their reds.

We leave plenty of time for our last visit - the excitable Mathieu Barret of Domaine du Coulet can talk the hind leg off a donkey. We taste whilst admiring his new cement eggs, ala Pontet Canet - fermentation vessels that make very precise wines. "Ah we are in Burgundy" he says of the first 08 barrel. Certainly true aromatically but there is more grip here than you would find further north. There will be only one Cornas bottling this year. It is impressive and certainly surpasses the general quality of this vintage. As successful as Allemand, perhaps a shade better. We re-taste his 07s which are even more stunning than from barrel. This domaine goes from strength to strength, and it will soon be considered one of the greats of the Rhone, not just of Cornas.

Tomorrow more Hermitage, Crozes-Hermitage, then onto Cote Rotie.

La Tour du Rhône - Day 2

This morning we headed into the wild hills of the north sector of the Cotes du Rhone to Mondragon, hunting an elusive Chateaunneuf called Bois Pointu made by Charles Blagden and Eric Michel of Cros de la Mure. Last year was an excellent debut vintage - beginners luck? how would they cope with the more challenging conditions of 2008? Exceptionally well is the answer. Being biodynamic did not make life easy because of early season disease, however the benefits are that later in the season the grapes ripen much more quickly. A sensual fragrant and really quite intense wine, very long flavours, in a light to medium bodied style. Seductive Grenache rather like its close neighnour Rayas. Absolutely loved this. Stardorm awaits this small Chateauneuf producer.

Back south towards Vacqueyras and Gigondas, where the 09 harvest is still continuing particularly in Gigondas' high, late-ripening Dentelles to Montmirail hills. The new vintage sounds like a small one, 20hl/ha have been reported in parts. Clos des Cazaux and Cayron offered us good, fragrant 2008s, juicy and rewarding wines that will drink relatively early. The tranquility of Gigondas village centre is briefly interrupted by a grower on his tractor belting noisly past as he returns home from the vines, its midday and nothing gets between a frenchman and his lunch! That's our cue to leave.

Beaucastel is next, stunning whites particularly the regular Chateauneuf and the Roussanne Vieilles Vignes, they show a freshness and finesse you would not normally associate with the southern Rhone "meridional." Not much red has been made, yields of 10hl/ha versus the usual 25hl/ha. Beaucastel red took me by surprise totally - rich very nearly jammy and structured which is at total odds to the rest of the 2008s, a wine of broad shoulders that should impress tasters. Further South in Bedarrides Vieux Telegraphe finished the 2009 Chateauneuf harvest yesterday and they too verify it is very small, half a crop in parts. In 2008 they have made 30 percent less than usual due to a mixture of difficult flowering, a concentrating north wind in September and a severe selection in the vineyards and winery. The result is a classic mix of Vieux Telegraphe composure and complexity, its not flashy but it never is. It grows on you , very moreish, all red, sloe and bullace fruits no raisin or animal here. An accomplished effort, should be a good mid termer. Finally to Versino, no Felix here in 2008, all of the old vine juice went into the straight Chateauneuf and this has made it, for me, joint wine of the day with Bois Pointu. Complex, smooth, spicy and ripe, not big but far from weak, it should be good value too. Jean Paul thinks the wine is soft like 1996 but richer, similar in structure to 2004. End of the day. Up north here we come.

La Tour du Rhône - Day 1

Monday, 28th September

Don't let the title concern you, the J&B buying team haven't taken to the bicycle just yet, though that might have been preferable to the beaten up Mazda Hertz tried to force on us at Toulouse airport.

An early start this morning as we headed along the windy roads of the Rousillon hills. Our destination was Clos des Fées. The beautiful, tranquil almost otherworldly scenery surrounding their village, Vingrau, is truly something to behold. The difference between here and the low plains of the Roussillon is stark, not only in terms of beauty but also in temperature. A distinct chill in the air attested to this. 8.30 am and my mouth was awash with old vines carignan, grenache and syrah. The cellar/garage is tiny. How they produce 3000 cases here is a miracle. Vintages are pretty consistent up here, so not surprisingly 06, 07 and 08 were all impressive. 07 was the richest and silkiest, 06 much more serious and classic with 08 somewhere in between, and perhaps the most lifting of all. These wines really show what greatness the relatively unchartered waters of the Roussillon hills can achieve.

We leave uncharacteristically on time and bat east accross the Roussillon towards Pezenas - a quick pit stop to see our old friends at Domaine Montrose. Having seen the success of their flavoursome and elegant looking rosé magnums, they seem to have caught the large format bug. They now produce some quite stunning looking jeroboams - we'll be shipping these in as early as we can in 2010.

After a minor disagreement between myself, Hew and the rather authoritarian French lady on our navigating system that takes us through some less than salubrious parts of Montpellier, we end up at Mont-Redon in Châteauneuf-du-Pape a little late. We taste a fantastically fresh white 2008 Châteauneuf. The red is admirably complete with good body, fruit and freshness. It does not have the power of 07 but will prove to be a very good drinker. We revisited the red 2006 Châteauneuf, a vintage I adore, but this seems to be going through a closed phase and needs to age for a good two years or so. We also took a fresh look at the 2005, and how this has come on. Brooding and surly for years this is now sumptuously rich, velvety and starting to drink very well indeed.

Across the village to our next stop, Pierre Usseglio. There will just be one red Usseglio Châteauneuf in 08 - but what a beauty. Ripe, floral, teaming with lush opulent fruit. Once again there is not the density or raw power of some more recently celebrated vintages but you certainly wouldn't turn this back in a restaurant. And it's no weakling either showing a nice touch of stuffing that should see it through to the mid term.

Onto our final tasting at Pegau where there was a flurry of activity as usual. A throng of Far Eastern tourists, German private customers and two weary British merchants all waiting in anticipation. Laurence Ferraud eventually arrived, closely followed by a tractor with 09 grapes from one of the last parcels to be picked. It seems that most in Châteaneuf are finishing harvest today, in glorious baking-hot sunshine. We watched as the 09 Pegau grapes were transferred to vat, and when offered by Laurence a testube of free run 09 grape juice Hew accepted with remarkable alacrity. Luckily he left some for me - nectar. Juicy sweet and packed with fruit.

2008 followed and while there will be no Da Capo a decision is yet to be made on the Laurence. The regular cuvée will please Pegau followers enormously. Classic, not heavy with plenty of fruit and savoury character in equal measure. After dropping off our bags at the hotel we headed back to Mont Redon for dinner. We were greeted by 100 delirious, singing and dancing portuguese pickers who were celebrating the Féte de Vendange, the last day of harvest. We escaped before being caught up in an increasingly raucous congo. Over dinner we tried some excellent bottles with the Fabres and Abeilles, who run Mont-Redon, the highlights of which were an excellent red Châteauneuf 1998 that is really starting to open up beautifully after so many years in the doldrums and an incredibly rich and spritely 1967. Mont-Redon make honest pure wines, they aren't flashy and don't get big press but they are wines you get immense pleasure from drinking. And what more can you ask? Well, an early night for one thing... more Châteaneuf, Gigondas and Vacqueyras awaits tomorrow.

The rise and rise of Carruades

If you analyse the top investment wines over the last five years, there's no doubting that there have been some meteoric risers - none more so than Carruades de Lafite. To put it in context, Carruades has outperformed Gold and any of the major world indices over this time period. The Lafite brand is the darling of the newer and increasingly important parts of the Asian market and the insatiable demand has driven prices to extraordinary levels. Only a year or so ago we surmised that Carruades had hit the ceiling at £1000/case. How wrong we were; now most vintages trade at circa £2000/case.

So to be very tabloid and vulgar about it, what does £2000 buy you. Well it probably doesn't even fill the tank on the latest luxury yacht, or pay a premiership footballer's salary for a day, but it can buy you a case of Mouton Rothschild 2002 or 2004 and there'd still be change for dinner at one of London's Michelin starred restaurants. Alternatively, and rather extraordinarily, you could buy over seven cases of the wonderful 2008 Grand Puy Lacoste, one of our star Pauillac buys from the acclaimed 2008 vintage.

It has never been our position to dictate what represents value to our clients. After all, we are all individuals and we each assign a different worth to nearly everything we buy; we merely select and point out wines based on our tastings. But if you purchased Carruades with the intention of drinking, you might like, given the astronomical prices, to reconsider your position. If you are a stockholder or simply a follower of the fine wine market, you may be interested to see our purchase prices listed below:

Carruades de Lafite 1996 - 1800GBP/cs
Carruades de Lafite 1998 - 1620GBP/cs
Carruades de Lafite 1999 - 1620GBP/cs
Carruades de Lafite 2000 - 1890GBP/cs
Carruades de Lafite 2001 - 1710GBP/cs
Carruades de Lafite 2002 - 1620GBP/cs
Carruades de Lafite 2003 - 1620GBP/cs
Carruades de Lafite 2004 - 1755GBP/cs
Carruades de Lafite 2005 - 1485GBP/cs
Carruades de Lafite 2006 - 1350GBP/cs
Carruades de Lafite 2007 - 990GBP/cs

Carruades de Lafite 2008 - 1035GBP/cs

Should you wish to sell, please don't hesitate to contact our broking team on 020 7484 6408 or contact jacqueline.barfoot@justerinis.com

Bordeaux 2009: Further reports from the frontline

A couple of further reports that we received on Friday last week from two of Bordeaux's up-and-coming younger generation of winemakers. Published verbatim.

"The growing season was exactly what every winemaker would like to have every vintage, sunny, hot (but not too hot and dry ( with just a bit of rain at the beginning of August).

We started to pick our young merlots (situated on the foot of the slope) on Tuesday; we have just received our first analysis from the lab that shows very high degrees (between 14 and 15°) which is similar to 2005. The color index is also high, but what is interesting is that the level of acidity is also very good (not too low). These conditions show that this vintage looks really great.

We will finish picking the merlot (situated at the foot of the slope) tomorrow then we will start the merlot on the slope (limestone and clay) next week. The weather forecast is good until next Wednesday at least.

The quality of the grapes is very sound. The first juices taste very good (very fruity and intense), the color will come very quickly. The extraction will be sweet but long (time in tanks will be longer than usual).

We don’t expect to pick our cabernet franc and sauvignon before the 5th of October." Jean-Antoine Nony, Chateau Grande Mayne, St Emilion.


And from Jean-Jacques Bonnie at Malartic-Lagraviere in Pessac-Leognan:
"To start with, we had a rainy winter which enabled the water reserve to fill at the perfect moment for it. Then the spring was nice and dry when it was needed, to start the vegetative cycle of the plant in good conditions and more importantly to be fine when flowering. This made this flowering quick and therefore homogeneous. This homogeneity then lasted until now, the harvest period. The summer has been dry and the sun shining with no temperature excess and the cool nights that are good for balance. We had 40 mm of rain between the 16th and the 20th of September; just what the plant needed to keep accumulating aromas and tannins and taking them to ripeness. Since the 20th the weather has been sunny and will stay that way until at least 1st of October (as far as the weather forecast goes!).

For the whites, the aromas are very dense and pure and the acidities are present enough for the balance of the wines. For the reds, the grapes we taste are showing an amazing potential with a lot of taste. The little water we had for the plant to keep working and the very nice weather since then and for the next few days give us a very wide smile on our faces!! The wines will show density, ripeness and silky tannins: very pure and dense fruit with a brilliant balance.!