I’m just reading through as well, excellent as ever Rod.
(Bit worried that I’ll need a decade for the Lafon-Rochet, I’m not as young as I was. 
)
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Langoa Barton 2006
A bottle shared at a wine bar with a friend last week.
Decanted and poured immediately, it was quite closed as you’d expect. Nice garnet colour, no real bricking at the rim. It opened pretty quickly, firm nose, liquorice and wood tannins with nice cassis. Palate was controlled, good acidity, firm oak tannins framing mid-weight cassis, some cherry, vanilla, spice, and a nice cassis perfume stays. It’s drinking really nicely, the tannins are obvious but not dominating, it’ll have another few years at this level before the fruit is drowned out. I want to call it well balanced, but the tannins are a bit too obvious for that, but definitely a lovely wine.
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Urbina Rioja Gran Reserva Especial 2004
Following the Langoa, my memory of this isn’t as fresh (probably because we’d had a St Emilion with lunch before we went to the bar (I didn’t take a snap of the bottle and can’t remember the vineyard, so no note on that)).
Definite brick colour, Rioja nose, oaky tannin, tobacco and dark fruit, blackberry or cherry. Palate has powerful tobacco and stony tannin, restrained dark fruits (black cherry maybe) and some lovely aromatic spices. It’s a quite restrained but very enjoyable wine, I’ve spotted a few merchants have it around £30 and might pick up a few.
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A very generous gift Ian and clearly much appreciated. It’s so gratifying when a plan comes together.
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Good to see you back on form and enjoying some great bottles.
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Yes, he has a very educated palate - (as do some others on this thread) and I knew it would be appreciated .
I live deep in the Berkshire I have very little opportunity to share a really fine wine with someone who appreciates it , so thought the time had come to let it go .
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Nice, very nice.
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Thanks a lot.
Rod, just read your article on the Tim Atkin site. One question, do you think the price reductions this year ( 
) reflect the variable quality of the vintage or a return to reality reflecting softer Asia (ie. China) demand due to their local economic reality and the post Covid lull (personally, I engaged in a lot of wine retail therapy during COVID and need to consume what I purchased both off of broking lists and en-primeur (especially for the 2019’s which had both quality and good pricing)). I’m staying on the sidelines this year and will save some powder for a future stellar years or some good buys on the broking lists (which has definitely been available as people clear their bin-ends and inventory). Appreciate your thoughts.
Thanks for the question.
It’s both reasons, but (far) more of the second.
The futures system of selling was born of a two-fold motive.
-
Other than in some parts of St Emilion, you cannot really dig in Bordeaux, the water table and soil composition are (or were) against you.
No cellars meant no temperature-controlled storage, and a premium on any storage at all. -
As recently as the 1950s (and in many cases until the 1970s) the producers were, by and large, broke. Which is why so much fell into, and remains in, corporate ownership (not, or less, the case in Burgundy, Champagne, or any of Europe’s other classic regions really). There was a financial necessity to turn last year’s wine into cash in order to pay for the oak and bottling for its, and the year before’s, production.
Both these factors are now redundant. You can air condition warehouses and waterproof holes in the ground. And they are all wealthy (although only really at the top end).
For the system to work, it relied on people being able to buy in advance for a lower price than the wine would be available for subsequently.
Not really to make money per se, but to be rewarded for their risk-taking, patience, and fidelity.
But, of course, something that goes up in value, whatever the motives, will attract investors. Whatever their motives.
With the arrival of Robert Parker, the development of new and better vineyard and winemaking techniques, the wines started to get both better and far more consistent. Less risk.
Understandably, the producers got fed up with middlemen making far more money subsequently for trading the wine, than they had by making it.
So they started to put the prices up. And they only ever rarely reduced them.
The last time anyone got seriously rich on trading Bordeaux was with the 2009 vintage. 10 was too expensive, 11-14 weren’t all that good. But all the prices did was rise, maybe by little, or stay the same, but usually more.
And here we are. There are some really excellent 23s, and for me I think it is, on balance, a better vintage than 22 - in many of which I think you can taste the heat.
But who’s going to take a punt on a wine from an unknown (and definitely not universally good) vintage when the market, brokers, and négoçiants are awash with unsold wine from the previous four years (and more)?
For although Bordeaux can (often legitimately) claim that its finest wines are better value than those of Burgundy, this really isn’t the point. Something is ‘worth’ what someone else will pay for it, and only that.
Bordeaux is huge. Burgundy is tiny.
The 2023s needed to be priced at around, or less, than the available 2019s in the market (known great vintage, four years more approachable, less storage/borrowing costs).
That’s why they’ve dropped the prices. They had to. It is not in the interest of the châteaux for one of the big négoçiants to go to the wall (a very real possibility, although will more likely become, or at least be seen as, further consolidation). The châteaux selling it to someone who then doesn’t, will go wrong eventually. Apart from anything else there is significant ‘incestuous’ shareholding.
I genuinely don’t think these decreases are a reflection of the quality of the wine, merely a correction of the market. And buying them still constitutes a risk, because the market price for 19, 16 and older, may also decrease. Probably will if China continues its slide.
Beware those who have reduced this year by only (or not as much) as they increased last year. The headline can look good, but the numbers may still not stack up.
The future value of 23 will be impacted by how good 24 (and 25) are. And if you have that kind of crystal ball, you can probably make lots more cash elsewhere!
And then buy what you want!
Santé
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Thank you Rod. I learned alot from your response. Appreciate you taking the time to answer my question and share some history and great insights. Santé!
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This photograph depicts not one, but seven 50 year old White Ports.
350 years of history!
All exceptional in some way, but with some true stellar wines within.
I was judging at the Decanter World Wine Awards in London. Four days of Chair for Provence (a whole lotta rosé), and one bonus day of Port and Madeira. Mmmmm.
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Significant birthday tomorrow so have been very liberal with the wine this weekend. Found a bottle of the Kits Coty 2018 Chardonnay from Chapel Down in the cellar so had it with a seafood paella this evening - superb
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Wot? 40 again? 
If only!
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I recognise that location - City of London (Moorgate/Guildhall area) - used to work around the corner 20 years ago (now much improved with the '60s grot replaced). Excellent review and great to see you back on form.
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I wouldn’t want to be 40 again. I‘m a sexagenarian now and it has a lot going for it (excuse the pun).
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My bottle still in cellar - how was it? Oh and many congratulations on your significant number.
