- Location
- London, UK
... and we are off! First offer i've had: Senejac at £143ib / 12. Hard to see the value EP when the last 5 vintages can be had for about £120ib.
Bordeaux 2022 EP
- Thread starter Dom Shepherd
- Start date
- Location
- Aldeburgh
I’m in Scott’s today, that’ll make every EP offer look cheap!
- Location
- UK
For the benefit of a jaded naysayer whose view of the spectacle is almost entirely blocked by a large pillar of indifference, please could you define 'well priced' from the following options?
1) One might still envisage opening a bottle at lunch (and not just birthdays or Christmas) without consulting Liv-ex and seeking written approval from the bank manager
2) Hot on the heels of Jeff Leve's orgiastic encomium, it's reported that a second tranche of fifteen cases was immediately snapped up by a consortium of Asian dentists
3) They may have been 20% more expensive than the 2018s but that was still 30% less than the 2020s
4) None of the above
- Location
- London and Boston
Clos de Sarpe, St. Emilion out at 15% alcohol - 94-95 points from JS and 93-95 from WK, so first growth quality then...
- Location
- London
I am sure it is cool and refreshing with great balance and superb acidity.
- Location
- UK
- Location
- London
There's always (5) - 2019 is the only recent vintage (probably since 2008, and that was a bit of a risky one given the timing cf financial crisis - so let's say since 2005) where it was fairly apparent at the time that some (though only some) wines were well enough priced to make a decent return - things like Lynch, Montrose, Cheval, Figeac, Margaux, VCC, Carmes, all easily available at TWS at the time and all 20-40% up since (despite recent dips).
This will (rightly) not convince those buying to drink, who are still much better off with back vintages, but there's always been a heavy element of speculation in EP...
This will (rightly) not convince those buying to drink, who are still much better off with back vintages, but there's always been a heavy element of speculation in EP...
- Location
- Chiang Mai
I managed to pick up some '19's recently that faired well in the Southwold tastings for around - or surely not much more - than EP prices.
One of my models for buying EP was that if I passed I never seemed to go back/have funds to purchase. I might follow the above model from now on even if a few boats have sailed by the time I dip in.
Fieuzal highly rated and at 13.2% too - the '82 was a surprising cracker in a mixed auction box back in the day. I was piqued by Montrose until I saw the 14.5% and with a lot of recent good crit Capbern was a runner until I noted the 15%. No thanks.
I'm very much in the keep it under 13.5% category but just read last week that Cheval '47 was 14.5% and I doubt I would turn my nose up!
One of my models for buying EP was that if I passed I never seemed to go back/have funds to purchase. I might follow the above model from now on even if a few boats have sailed by the time I dip in.
Fieuzal highly rated and at 13.2% too - the '82 was a surprising cracker in a mixed auction box back in the day. I was piqued by Montrose until I saw the 14.5% and with a lot of recent good crit Capbern was a runner until I noted the 15%. No thanks.
I'm very much in the keep it under 13.5% category but just read last week that Cheval '47 was 14.5% and I doubt I would turn my nose up!
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- Location
- U.K.
Guess it is quite hard to know where to turn when modern Northern Rhones are commonly 14.5%+. I suppose having the "tsunami" of well bought aged wines comes in handy.
- Location
- Berkshire
Similar philosophy here — I can remember thinking the 05s pricy on release, so bought the 96s instead, readily available at the time and cheaper than the 05s. In the last couple of years I’ve dipped in to the shallow end of the 16 and 19 pool for much the same reason.
- Location
- Chiang Mai
I think that's the way ahead going forward - another advantage is that the second round of reviews is the actual finished bottled wine one is likely to get.
- Location
- London and Boston
Very true. But it's still a sip and spit approach that generates the points even from the finished wine, and I remain concerned about how really drinkable the 14.5+% wines will be. As we've already found with Châteauneuf-du-Pape and the N. Rhône more of everything leads to an uncomfortable destination.
- Location
- Chiang Mai
Yes I'm very mindful of that too. Richard.
I'm not sure whether to be pleased or dismayed that there is currently such a spread of alcohol levels in one region. If the lower group can achieve it why can't all.
- Location
- London
Alcohol has increased considerably in the Barossa over the years. Most of the winemakers when questioned replied when the fruit is ripe we pick!
- Location
- London and Boston
Indeed. Some properties are still pushing for maximum ripeness, vide this summary of Larrivet Haut Brion from the BBR website; "Château Larrivet Haut-Brion is located a mere 15km south-east of Bordeaux and has been consistently impressive since its excellent 1996. General manager, Philippe Gervoson, has enlisted the help of the legendary oenologist Michel Rolland who has implemented radical changes such as hand-picking the grapes as late as possible to ensure maximum ripeness.", which I came across when very, very slightly tempted by the recent EP offer having enjoyed LHB of old. The 2000 is 12.5% and the 2022 14.0%. I guess the other thing is that as long as you get the standard 93-97 points even if the wine is more highly alcoholic why should you change?
- Location
- UK
Yesterday I received an email from a reliable merchant sharing their almost sexual enthusiasm for this 'truly unique vintage', which begs the question of how many recent vintages may not have been unique and WHY WEREN'T WE TOLD?
So now that 'vintage of the century' is a debased currency, while 'vintage of the millennium' remains under copyright until James Suckling reveals his new 1000-point scoring system, does this mean that 'truly unique' is the new 100+?
So now that 'vintage of the century' is a debased currency, while 'vintage of the millennium' remains under copyright until James Suckling reveals his new 1000-point scoring system, does this mean that 'truly unique' is the new 100+?
- Location
- Belfast, Northern Ireland
Hamelin knows better than you! He knows when to see through the white noise and when you're putting the vintage of the century into hs bowl
- Location
- London
As I keep pointing out to anyone who can be bothered to listen - there are no degrees of uniqueness.
- Location
- Winchester, UK
Funny you should mention that. I've just removed a "most unique" from the article I'm in the process of copy editing.
- Location
- UK
Just the one?
- Location
- Kent
Cheval Blanc £2,880/6 -- oh well my idea of buying some EP to mark my first 'campaign' on the ground in Bordeaux might be dead before it even got off the ground!
- Location
- Aldeburgh
Comtesse Lalande is going to be interesting too, but mainly for the Reserve for me.
- Location
- Chiang Mai
Quite an interesting article on WS for anyone interested about whether there was some acid additions to wines this year. Well worth a quick read.
Fieuzal came out at both 169/6 and 269/6 (J&B) yesterday in my emails. Tempted but not enough I think, will wait for in bottle confirmation they made a good 'un (although as one of J&B's few 123 year old customers I might get an OAP discount
)
Cantemerle just too high despite the 'relative value'. At around 100/6 I might have played my 'halves' card.
Anyone else waiting on a release hoping it will be a buy?
Fieuzal came out at both 169/6 and 269/6 (J&B) yesterday in my emails. Tempted but not enough I think, will wait for in bottle confirmation they made a good 'un (although as one of J&B's few 123 year old customers I might get an OAP discount
)Cantemerle just too high despite the 'relative value'. At around 100/6 I might have played my 'halves' card.
Anyone else waiting on a release hoping it will be a buy?