Bordeaux 2022 EP

Paul Vandenberghe · Jun 21, 2023

Ditto - here - I bought up to 2009 and then balked at the prices, re -entered a few years ago in smaller scale but this year I am not seeing anything compelling in this campaign that I cant buy once the wine has been in bottle for a couple of years and there is a clearer picture as to how it might develop.

Christopher Topham-Smith · Jun 21, 2023

What, no feeding frenzy for ~~Tertre Daugay~~ Quintus? A puny 15.5% ABV declared (unworthy of mention for most critics) and now up to 42ha in production – the property swelled 50% by ingesting Grand Pontet in 2021. But only £96 per bottle in bond, so just over twice the current price of the 2019...

Christopher Topham-Smith · Jun 21, 2023

Although merchants presumably pay to quote professional tasting notes in their EP offers, the 2022 campaign again seems to demonstrate the importance of cherrypicking supportive verbiage.

I devoured two email offers for Quintus this morning, including variably gushing reviews from critics that I won't identify.

The first shared four tasting notes, scoring 96-97, 95-97, 94-96 and 94

The second shared just two, both 92-94

Some might claim that the two HIGHEST scores originate from writers of the trans-Atlantic 'cut and paste' school, who haven't actually awarded any property above cru bourgeois level anything less than 95 points since the 2017 vintage. However my own loyalty would historically endorse the critics responsible for the three LOWEST scores and would, by logical extension, suggest that I favour the second of the merchants involved if I had the slightest inclination to purchase what is being hailed for the ninth consecutive year as 'one of the best wines produced at this estate'.

On the other hand, the second merchant is charging a scandalous £1 premium on a six bottle case – anticipating the rapid exhaustion of their tiny allocation, they've obviously decided to ramp up margins...

Ben Coffman · Jun 21, 2023

Is there a conspiracy or omerta between the major critics ? Their reviews mention the day of the week the picking started, the Chateau's sorting table has new legs and that the intern doing their first harvest is the grand nephew of a proprietor that can't be mentioned [wink] so there is a bit of trickle down. But they rarely mention the really critical bit: the alcohol levels. Genuinely, I am bemused.

Richard Zambuni · Jun 21, 2023

Ben Coffman said:
Is there a conspiracy or omerta between the major critics ? Their reviews mention the day of the week the picking started, the Chateau's sorting table has new legs and that the intern doing their first harvest is the grand nephew of a proprietor that can't be mentioned [wink] so there is a bit of trickle down. But they rarely mention the really critical bit: the alcohol levels. Genuinely, I am bemused.

They need to be asked back Ben. Of course it is omerta.

Christopher Topham-Smith · Jun 21, 2023

Ben Coffman said:
Is there a conspiracy or omerta between the major critics ? Their reviews mention the day of the week the picking started, the Chateau's sorting table has new legs and that the intern doing their first harvest is the grand nephew of a proprietor that can't be mentioned [wink] so there is a bit of trickle down. But they rarely mention the really critical bit: the alcohol levels. Genuinely, I am bemused.

You need to read more deeply, Ben? The precise hour and ambient temperature far outweigh the actual day of picking, the new sorting table legs are robotic and guided by ytterbium lasers, said intern has already done stints with the cousins in Bolgheri and Mendoza, the glossy new label celebrates the 95th anniversary of the coronation of Albania's King Zog I (who was once flown quite close to the property).

Alcohol levels are relative at the best of times and might best be discussed in the final Bacchanalian stages of tonight's dinner (eight courses and vintages back to 1463) – ask again and next year you'll be tasting in the car park...

Tom Mann · Jun 21, 2023

Ben Coffman said:
Is there a conspiracy or omerta between the major critics ? Their reviews mention the day of the week the picking started, the Chateau's sorting table has new legs and that the intern doing their first harvest is the grand nephew of a proprietor that can't be mentioned [wink] so there is a bit of trickle down. But they rarely mention the really critical bit: the alcohol levels. Genuinely, I am bemused.

I can't speak for others but I've tried to put ABVs on all my offers and it's on each product page for Bdx 22 (and shortly for all wines once I gather the energy to do so). The technical info you get from each property on release usually has the alcohol level on as well. To their credit, both Jane Anson & Lisa Perrotti-Brown (Wine Independent) have alcohol levels for each wine they review.

Christopher Topham-Smith · Jun 21, 2023

Talking of which, King Zog (1895-1961) may well be my new hero:

Zog hoarded gold coins and precious stones, which were used to back Albania's first paper currency; his household expenses hovered near 2% of the national budget. He was mostly ignored by other European monarchs.

Normal life in Tirana was usually very boring for the absence of night clubs and theatres, so the king spent his free time playing poker. Zog was also a champion of perfumed cigarettes, of which he smoked about one hundred and fifty per day.

The first of Zog's mistakes was to break an engagement with the daughter of Shefqet Bey Verlaci soon after his coronation. According to prevailing customs, Verlaci had the right to kill Zog as a result. The king made more than a few enemies and frequently surrounded himself with a personal guard, avoiding public appearances.

In 1931 Zog survived an assassination attempt (just one of an estimated fifty-five in his lifetime) in Vienna, while leaving a performance of Pagliacci. It was also largely feared that he might be poisoned, so his mother assigned herself the watch of the Royal Kitchen.

In exile Zog wanted all 115 of his courtiers brought to America, yet the US immigration authorities would only allow twenty to accompany him. Zog's response was attempted bribery of the Senate, yet this failed.

Zog chose France for his final exile, where he lived in a villa that was nearly abandoned and his wife was forced to do the housework.

King Zog would have just FILLED his boots with 2022 en primeur...

Ben Coffman · Jun 21, 2023

Tom Mann said:
I can't speak for others but I've tried to put ABVs on all my offers and it's on each product page for Bdx 22 (and shortly for all wines once I gather the energy to do so). The technical info you get from each property on release usually has the alcohol level on as well. To their credit, both Jane Anson & Lisa Perrotti-Brown (Wine Independent) have alcohol levels for each wine they review.

Thanks Tom. I had certainly noticed and appreciated you were rare in this transparency.

Ben Coffman · Jun 21, 2023

Richard Zambuni said:
They need to be asked back Ben. Of course it is omerta.

Which begs the question I should also have asked: why this omertà?

Nick Amis · Jun 21, 2023

Because (e.g.) I might have bought Troplong 2022 if I hadn't known it is 14.9%

Justin Willott · Jun 21, 2023

Some alcohol and Ph levels for reference.

	PH	Alc %
Right bank
Pavie Macquin	3.4	14.7
Larcis Ducasse	3.5	14.6
Cruzelles		14.6
Laroque	3.55	14.55
Guillot Clauzel		14.5
Clos Fourtet	3.53	14.5
Clinet	3.75	14.5
Beau-Séjour Bécot	3.55	14.5
Trottevieille	3.7	14.5
Clos St Martin		14.5
Berliquet	3.55	14.5
Croix de Labrie	3.44	14.5
Nenin	3.69	14.3
Porte Chic	3.5	14

Left bank
Rauzan Segla	3.7	14.5
Lafon Rochet	3.77	14.5
Tronquoy	3.8	14.5
Brane Cantenac	3.61	14.3
Branaire Ducru	3.65	14.3
GPL	3.57	14.2
Batailley	3.7	14.2
Phélan-Ségur	3.8	14.2
Leoville Barton	3.76	14.1
Larrivet HB	3.71	14
St Pierre		13.9
HBLiberal	3.54	13.9
Cantenac Brown	3.64	13.8
Gloria		13.8
Gruaud	3.8	13.6
Giscours	3.75	13.6
Domaine de Chevalier	3.6	13.5
Lagrange	3.63	13.5
Meyney	3.75	13.5
Durfort Vivens	3.75	13.5
Cantemerle	3.6	13.5
De Fieuzal		13.2

Colin Bradley · Jun 21, 2023

Wow. I’m too old to be buying EP bordeaux but if I were in the market I’d ignore anything above Gruaud Larose in that table. There are some wines with great reviews at 13.6% and below.

Christopher Topham-Smith · Jun 21, 2023

Justin Willott said:
Some alcohol and Ph levels for reference.

PH
Alc %
Right bank

Pavie Macquin
3.4
14.7
Larcis Ducasse
3.5
14.6
Cruzelles
14.6
Laroque
3.55
14.55
Guillot Clauzel
14.5
Clos Fourtet
3.53
14.5
Clinet
3.75
14.5
Beau-Séjour Bécot
3.55
14.5
Trottevieille
3.7
14.5
Clos St Martin
14.5
Berliquet
3.55
14.5
Croix de Labrie
3.44
14.5
Nenin
3.69
14.3
Porte Chic
3.5
14

Left bank

Rauzan Segla
3.7
14.5
Lafon Rochet
3.77
14.5
Tronquoy
3.8
14.5
Brane Cantenac
3.61
14.3
Branaire Ducru
3.65
14.3
GPL
3.57
14.2
Batailley
3.7
14.2
Phélan-Ségur
3.8
14.2
Leoville Barton
3.76
14.1
Larrivet HB
3.71
14
St Pierre
13.9
HBLiberal
3.54
13.9
Cantenac Brown
3.64
13.8
Gloria
13.8
Gruaud
3.8
13.6
Giscours
3.75
13.6
Domaine de Chevalier
3.6
13.5
Lagrange
3.63
13.5
Meyney
3.75
13.5
Durfort Vivens
3.75
13.5
Cantemerle
3.6
13.5
De Fieuzal
13.2

So are these precise alcohol levels of the samples supplied (which might or might not be representative of the final blend, possibly influenced by the predilections of the critic/audience for whom they might or might not have been concocted), predicted alcohol levels of the final wine as bottled a year or two hence, or arbitrary figures that hover nervously halfway between a boozy HMRC reality and what the eventual customer was rather hoping to hear?

As someone no longer involved in buying or selling Bordeaux en primeur, casual observers and Alex Rychlewski might raise an eyebrow at my resolute cynicism. But it strikes me that investing (and, let's not beat around the bush, purchasing en primeur IS an investment) in wine before bottling is like commissioning work from a famous artist. You may know and love every piece of work that artist has ever made, they may have shown you the canvas and the paints and the model and a hundred preliminary sketches, they and a hundred dealers may have promised you everything you want to hear – but you won't know if you actually like the commissioned piece (or even what it actually looks like) until it's firmly nailed up over your mantlepiece. And guess what – if the completed work doesn't measure up to their claims or your expectations, the hardworking maestro and Arts Council England (or anywhere else) aren't remotely interested...

Similarly imagine Sotheby's or Christie's holding a blind auction of unfinished paintings, with no representation of lots offered other than adulatory puff from Sister Wendy, Philomena Cunk and (obligingly enough) the artists on show – paddles and telephone bidding at the ready, everyone...

When buying en primeur represented a probable saving (but also a possible risk) against vintages already in circulation, it made sense. Nowadays it just strikes me as a golden opportunity to pay way over the odds in the unlikely hope of beating even longer odds – and, as we all know, nine times out of ten it's the bookie who leaves the races with full pockets...

Simon Grant · Jun 21, 2023

Christopher Topham-Smith said:
What, no feeding frenzy for ~~Tertre Daugay~~ Quintus? A puny 15.5% ABV declared (unworthy of mention for most critics) and now up to 42ha in production – the property swelled 50% by ingesting Grand Pontet in 2021. But only £96 per bottle in bond, so just over twice the current price of the 2019...

View attachment 32037

I used to enjoy Grand Pontet - can remember picking up the 98 from E.Leclerc by the full wooden case for what must have been almost a tenner a bottle. Sorry it’s been subsumed by the monstrosity you describe.

Conor Twomey · Jun 21, 2023

Colin Bradley said:
Wow. I’m too old to be buying EP bordeaux but if I were in the market I’d ignore anything above Gruaud Larose in that table. There are some wines with great reviews at 13.6% and below.

Wait til you see Calon Segur … 15%abv

Justin Willott · Jun 21, 2023

My list excludes the extremes!!!

Gareth Germain · Jun 21, 2023

Justin Willott said:
My list excludes the extremes!!!

Ack. Where can we find those?

Jonathan Mitchell · Jun 21, 2023

A new thing for me this year. I received an email from N&P offering to buy Bordeaux 2022, from about a dozen Chateau, from me if I had bought any.

Christopher Topham-Smith · Jun 21, 2023

Jonathan Mitchell said:
A new thing for me this year. I received an email from N&P offering to buy Bordeaux 2022, from about a dozen Chateau, from me if I had bought any.

Now that's an even more Daedalian level of complexity... Perhaps the châteaux are buying them back from N&P and the négociants, in the hope of further restricting supply and pushing up fictional demand for all the cases they've sold but not sold/not sold but sold?

Christopher Topham-Smith · Jun 21, 2023

Eureka!!

In this brief, flickering era of cryptocurrency and NFTs, the châteaux may have unravelled a lucrative paradox of quantum superposition – rather than the emperor's new clothes that are regularly mentioned in this context, Bordeaux en primeur should perhaps be considered as an updated version of Schrödinger's cat.

A person buys what they believe to be a case of wine, but nobody knows if the wine is good or bad; in fact nobody knows if there's actually any wine in the case at all, because nobody can afford to open it. Riskily assuming that I correctly understand the original Copenhagen interpretation, Schrödinger's reformulation argues that at any one time the case therefore simultaneously contains good wine, bad wine and no wine at all...

Justin Willott · Jun 22, 2023

Gareth Germain said:
Ack. Where can we find those?

I noted these down from various critics’ notes but I think Jeff Leve’s site contains alc levels for most of the 22s.

NEAL MARTIN · Jun 22, 2023

Just for the record, I state analytic alcohol levels in my primeur TNs. There’s no point just copying those stated on tech sheets as they just state what will be printed on the label by rote. Also, according to winemakers, alcohol levels tend to lower slightly during élevage, not that makes a huge difference if you’re clocking 15.5%!

Jonathan Mitchell · Jun 22, 2023

Christopher Topham-Smith said:
Eureka!!

In this brief, flickering era of cryptocurrency and NFTs, the châteaux may have unravelled a lucrative paradox of quantum superposition – rather than the emperor's new clothes that are regularly mentioned in this context, Bordeaux en primeur should perhaps be considered as an updated version of Schrödinger's cat.

A person buys what they believe to be a case of wine, but nobody knows if the wine is good or bad; in fact nobody knows if there's actually any wine in the case at all, because nobody can afford to open it. Riskily assuming that I correctly understand the original Copenhagen interpretation, Schrödinger's reformulation argues that at any one time the case therefore simultaneously contains good wine, bad wine and no wine at all...

Or as Simon Loftus said in his book Anatomy of the Wine Trade "These sardines are not for eating"

Stephen Williams · Jun 22, 2023

Jonathan Mitchell said:
Or as Simon Loftus said in his book Anatomy of the Wine Trade "These sardines are not for eating"

A great book !