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En Primeuror wine utures has its logic, aterall we are dealing with the most collectable

wine in the world, the consumer pays upront,supposedly at a discount to the projectedmarket price, taking title o an uninished

wine that they will receive in two or threeyears time, the Bordelaise chteau proprietorsachieve a contingent source o inance in anindustry that is inordinately capital intensive.

his is acilitated through a long-established network o Bordeaux negociants,although there have been an increasing numbero wine investment orientated companiesappearing in recent times, such as the BordeauxIndex, www.bordeauxindex.com, oering

comprehensive wine investment services. Tereare also a growing number o chteaus thathandle a proportion oen primeurdirect with

wine merchants around the world, cuttingout the middleman, so to speak. However, themainstream relies on the established networks

with the chteaus maintaining a convenientarms-length relationship with the consumingpublic, the negociantsinvariably shouldering theburden o dicult vintages.

On the ace o it, this would appear to

WINE

Cht

be a relatively straightorward and equitableprocess or all concerned. However, like anytype o nancial investment, there are alwayscomplexities and variables and buying wineutures there is always the risk o your winebeing valued at less than what you paid whenphysically reaching the market.

Te orces o demand and supply are o

course instrumental, the circumstances andeconomies in dierent countries, currencyexchange variables, vintage sentiment andglobal demand; all o which prooundly aectthe rationale o whether to buy En Primeuror actually wait until the wine is released oravailable on the secondary market.

From an Asia perspective, purchasingen primer is relatively new territory withan inlated and unrealistic expectation oemerging markets such as mainland Chinaand India. he reality is that beyond theirst growths, super-seconds and right-banksuperstars, there is little tangible interest in thelower ranks rom an investment point o view

with supply ar outweighing demand.here will, no doubt, be a plethora

o sel-serving mitigating prose and hypedup demand blazon over the world-wide-

web by merchants on the 2007 vintage,notwithstanding a good deal o expert analysisand proessional wine idiom, however,remember they have a vested interest.

And what does the preeminent RobertParker think o red Bordeaux 2007? hisquote rom Philippe Casteja, head o theCounsel o Grand Cru Class o the Mdocis an apt summation. Mr Parker's analysis

was not as black as some suggested, goingon to say, Parker is right: 2007 is a year or

really like the 2001. It is drinking beautiullynow with many restaurants appreciating it,however we have no wine to supply them. We

will hold back our 2007 or this purpose.Incidentally, Chteau La Lagune was

amongst my most preerred 2007 wines withits seductive perume, saturated red berry ruit,gorgeous plush and creamy texture, perectlyripe and integrated tannins and excellent cuto acidity. Tis is clear evidence that the 1855

In general, I am inclinedagainst purchasing 2007 En Psuggest the secondary market

option, with the caveat one npatient, ignoring the hype romand resisting temptation to purchaater release (2010). One also nor the currently over-heated markrom the inlated prices o 2005assuming this happens? One alactor the potential o 2008, with already high or Asian markauspicious, lucky eight year, regavintage outcome.

Te 2007 growing season, is without question,a vintage o two halves

proessionals, not gamblers. It is wine to bedrunk, not a collector's item". Clearly thissummation points towards the potential

or savvy consumers and the pleasure thatcareully chosen 2007s will give in the short tomid-term.

One o the most interest ing andarsighted comments on the 2007 vintageI encountered on my April visit came romCaroline Frey, oenologist at Chteau LaLagune. Frey declared We will not be oeringtheir 2007 wine en primeur, refecting on pastexperience she expanded, We made a mistakeselling our 2001 en primeurat low prices. I

Bordeaux 2007

En PrimeurRed Bordeaux en primeur 2007, an

underappreciated, early drinking,

mid-term cellaring vintage for

devotees, not investors

Classiication has its laws with La Laguneindisputably outperorming its third growthstatus. And or those who worship Parkerpoints, you might want to take onboard hispreliminary scores or La Lagune 2007 (90-92) which are lineball with Chteau Laite,Latour and Petrus, and higher than a stringo other top-echelon chteau, yet you can beassured there will little correlation in scores orunderperormance to price.

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Personally, I remain sceptical on the wisdom o purchasing en primeurat all,preerring to rely on the secondary market andolder vintages or personal consumption.

As to the 2007 growing season, it is without question, a vintage o two halves.Cool and damp conditions persistedthroughout most o the growing season, Maythrough to August, and increasingly wet in

July with very cool evenings and signiicantrain in late August. his brought with itmany diculties in the vineyard, initially slowand uneven lowering ollowed by mildewproblems and inordinate labour-intensive

work in the vineyard, in particular early leathinning was imperative to avoid herbaceous,or green, characters. Such demandingviticulture will be beyond many with only the

exceptionally dedicated, well-run chteau withthe nancial resources meeting the challenges.Compounding the patchy fowering, the

lack o warmth, sunshine and continuous wetconditions resulted in drawn-out and unevenripening, urther hindered by a deluge o rainon the 20th and 29th o August, promotingunwanted oliage growth and swelling thegrapes. By this stage, the early ripeningregions and varieties needed to be harvested,resulting in dilute Merlot-based wines andphysiologically unripe Cabernet-based wines.In this regard, there will be many pedestrianCru Classes wines and an ocean o ordinarygeneric wines, that are largely the product ocontract grown ruit or properties that simplydo not command the prices relevant to theresources needed.

From the 30th August onwards, it is a

completely dierent story with two months oremarkably dry and sunny weather tantamountto an Indian summer and ideal or later-ripening varieties, Cabernet Sauvignon,Cabernet Franc and in particular, Petit Verdot,rewarding those who are advocates o theresurgence in this variety. he chteaux that

went the extra yards in the vineyard wererewarded with a textbook steady and prolongedripening period, acilitating maturation in ahealthy environment and the all-important

Many chteaux tried too hard to make a wineout o character with the vintage

Text:CurtisMarsh

water stress, older vines, and those who paidattention in the vineyards throughout thedicult summer. I would not be as harsh tosay this is an o-vintage as there will be there

will be many wines that deserve better thanthe overly-critical appraisals o the wine press.

Saint-Julien is clearly the commune othe vintage as ar as I am concerned, ratiyingthis is the sweet spot o the Medoc anddemonstrative o how a collective o superiorlyrun properties are making consistently good

wine, regardless o vintage. here was aconsistent feshy suppleness in the wines andlittle evidence o under-ripeness. Leoville-Barton was outstanding, contrary to manyother critiques, with a seductive perume,gorgeously silky, creamy palate and absolutelyloaded with deep and rich blueberry-blackberry ruit with irm, yet integratedtannins. Langoa-Barton was impressive, as

was Lagrange and Saint-Pierre. A level belowthis but still good eorts were albot, Leoville-

Margaux tasting, although

colleagues tell me i you had to mo the commune tastings, this wasA most annoying aspect o

Emilion and Pomerol line-conducted blind, was the indmixing up o the two communediicult to get a ix on regionaIt was however, clearly evident tthe producers tried too hard to

wines with over extraction andnew oak. Tat said another o m

wines o the vintage was Figeac,me over with its alluring bouqured berry ruits and damp clay,silky elegance, purity and authoutclassed Cheval Blanc in my although this too was very imuch denser and brooding an

will be a serious contender or

the vintage. Also rom Saint-Emparticularly impressed with C with its intensity and tanginand going against the tide, beidominant wine.

Good eorts were madeMacquin, La our Figeac, and Anpretty seductive, albeit a bit coaky, Canon-la-Gaeliere was vein, but they will appeal to thothe more lashy style. Pomerol wdisappointing with a port-like sweruit and fabbiness to the point osimply lacking reshness and cut.

In summary, Bordeaux is alives o the reputation o greand prices it accordingly. Uninvestors and most consume

weather riends, with little loya

are uncharitable, i not mercit comes to not-so-good vintapreoccupation on price and retu

As ar as potential or ageibe air to predict that the bettebe medium-term cellaring proshould develop in the mould o clBordeaux characters. 2007 withose vintages that requires copiand revisiting o the wines but wisavvy and devoted claret drinker.

2 The 2007 Chateau La

Lagune indisputably

outperformed its 3rd

growth status

3 The entrance to Chateau

La Lagune

development and balance between ruit favour,acidity, tannin and dry extract. However, theseideal conditions do not negate the diicultiespost August 30th and there is neither truedepth nor concentration in ruit, yet thereis a juicy purity and suaveness in CabernetSauvignon, an attractive cedar and autumnalorest loor perume and a plush leshiness inCabernet Franc, and a marked vibrancy andchewy tannins in Petit Verdot.

With the caveat that my views pertainonly to the chteau participating in the Uniondes Grand Cru Classe des Bordeaux tastings,so by no means comprehensive, and with theemphasis that all wines were tasted blind, with

the exception o Chteau Cheval Blanc, I amgoing against the status quo and declaringthis a let-bank vintage, a Cabernets vintage.One must scrutinise and thoroughly researcheach individual wine, paying particular regardto the cpage, the grape variety percentages.here will be notable right-bank wines; logic

would say those that have higher percentageso Cabernet Franc and Cabernet Sauvignon.It is however essential that consumers view en

primeur tastings in the context that these are

cask samples only; that is unnished wines thatare merely an indication o what they mightbe. Analysing the notes o the established wine

writers and authorities on Bordeaux, thereis already evidence o many wines showingcompletely dissimilar attributes on dierentoccasions and thus scoring is arcical.

As a general observation, I saw clear signso overuse o winery technology, particularlyin many Pomerol and St Emilion wines,

where the dry extract level was incongruouswith coarseness and the tannins powdery andraw with an imbalance o obtrusive new oak.I would suggest many chteaux adopted aormulaic regime to cater to the expectations

o a certain consumer demographic and palateproile, making bigger wines chasing bothhigher scores and investment lustre. Basically,they tried too hard to make a wine out ocharacter with the vintage.

hose that have not orced the 2007wines are by ar more enjoyable and credibleor what they are; elegant, and pushily textured

with an attractive succulence yet crunchinesso ruit and harmonious sot tannins. Te bestresults will come rom properties with more

Poyerre, Beychevelle, Branaire-Ducru andGruaud-Larose.

he Pauil lac l ine-up seemed lessimpressive than Saint-Julien, although there

was a consistent crunchy purity to the ruit.However, the wines seemed more edgy andrm, or not as charming and perhaps needingmore time, in line with the communes orm.Pontet Canet seemed to shine in the line-up,although looking a little new world lashy.Good eorts were rom dArmailhac, Clerc-

Milon, Batailly and Croizet Bages. With only our wines in the Saint-Estephe line-up, it is baseless to surmiseregionally, however Phelan Segur was mostimpressive and Cos Labory not ar behind,both showing dense colour and considerablepower and concentration o ruit. Indeed CosLabory was a real bruiser, more importantlythese two wines displayed authenticity o theSaint-Estephe terroir.

Unortunately I could not make the