Now with all the fuss of an ultra-slow “campaign” the 2010 Bordeaux Primeurs prices are finally all out and as everyone expected, they’e shockingly high and for most of the Châteaux’ they even top the already über-expensive 2009 vintage.
And of course, how else could it be, 2010 is announced as another so called vintage of the century, and will be cited in the same breath as 2000, 2005 and 2009. Now it is clear that after having blustered about the prices, every true wine lover is at least tempted to participate in such a perfect vintage he reads so many fabulous things about.
But unless you’re a millionaire you’ll try to plot the perfect plan for maximizing your investment (meaning in terms of pleasure for your palate). And the adage that naturally comes to one’s mind is ” in great vintages, buy the lesser Chateaux’ “.
And in order to shed some light on this strategy, I took a look at the current state of 3 smaller-priced estates’ 2005 vintage ( “…of the century”). In fact, as within the current 2010 campaign, there were also in 2005 many Châteaux selling their wines at a great discount compared to the big names and I bought a few of these hoping to get some of the 2005 bling for little bucks. Now, 6 years later, I am curious on how this strategy worked out and what I actually got for my bucks. The outcome might give an indication of what to expect from equally offered bargains of 2010 and who knows, maybe some more interesting conclusions can be made? Read the rest of this entry »
