Good afternoon good people. I hope you are enjoying this sunny weekend. As you know, this is that time of the year when everyone is talking about Bordeaux; how great it is, how wonderful the wines are, how, even if you need a second mortgage just to buy a case, it is definitely worth it and so on. Woops, sorry……. Actually, this year, no one is talking about Bordeaux and well, there isn’t really much to talk about. 2013 was as close to a disaster as a vintage could be for a vine grower. There are in principle 5 different …

To see my full report, click HERE. I have divided the wines in to 3 groups: 1. GREAT VALUE EVERYDAY DRINKING WINES – these are “little” wines selected purely for the value they represent – essentially, less than £ 20 per bottle when shipped inc duty and vat. LALANDE BORIE, St Julien; ZR16+; DECANTER – 16.75; –  £145.00 – THE BEST VALUE OF THE VINTAGE This is second wine of Ducru Beaucaillou. The same care and attention goes into this as in Ducru, only the fruit comes from younger vineyards. Great effort; the wine is on Cru Classe level, very refined and elegant with …

It is the end of April and the Bordeaux En Primeur circus is back in town.  Following a disastrous 2013 vintage (both in quality and pricing), the 2014 was going to be a “make or break” vintage for the future of Bordeaux En Primeur. And, it did not start well. I will not bore you with the gory climatic details. But, it was cold and rainy for the most of the year, especially in July and August when vines need the sun in order to produce the goodies. By the end of August it looked as if it was going to …

I am sure that most of you have already received numerous reports on the 2012 Bordeaux vintage. In principle, there are lot of good wines there but you have to pick extremely selectively. Overall, the Merlot (the right bank) did much better than the Cabernet on the left bank and so most of the fine wines from the 2012 vintage are Merlot based. As a result, only a very few of the best managed estates have produced classic wines. Nevertheless there are several left bank wines that you could consider. I found myself disagreeing with Parker in most reviews, but there we are. …

Here are our recommendations for the wines that are worth buying this year. The dominance of Merlot on the right bank means that the best of the bargains are to be found here. To see our Report on the 2012 Vintage SAINTAYME, St Emilion, ZR – 15.  £100.00 per case This is a great little wine made by Denis Durantou of Eglise Clinet fame and great value. Soft, summer red berries dominate throughout with well balanced oak in the background. It will drink every well when shipped for some 6-8 y. Highly recommended. MONTLANDRIE, Cotes de Castillon, ZR 16-;  RP 87-88   £145.00 …

Good day to you good people. I hope you all enjoyed the sunny bank holiday weekend – and that it won’t be the last of the sunshine we’ll see this year! I am sure that most of you have already received numerous reports on the 2012 Bordeaux vintage, so I will try and be as brief as possible.  To start with, I will paraphrase the big man himself, Mr Robert Parker, in his initial assessment of the vintage: “… there are lot of good wines there, but you have to pick extremely selectively …“. The emphasis is on “extremely selectively”!!! Why is this? Well, it …