They say that it’s better than expected. How’s that for a surprise. They say that the 2008 vintage in Bordeaux isn’t half bad and that the wines may not be up to 2005 standards but that they’re better than 2007 and in some instances better than 2004 and 2006, both average to good but not startlingly good vintages like 2005. And they say that those of us who don’t go to Bordeaux have no right to pronounce on the vintage if we haven’t tasted it. Yes, we’re all Mary Whitehouses who have to sample the goods, no matter how shop-soiled, just so that we can say that we’ve satisfied ourselves that we were right after all.

pissing in the wind? courtsey Jolanta Tile Inc.

Hang on guys, this isn’t about the quality of the vintage or being right, it’s about en primeur and the validity of recommending buying en primeur anything less than a top château in a good to great vintage when the prices are right. In other words, when the wines are so good that you know you’re going to want them in your cellar in 10 years time and when the prices are so affordable that you know you won’t be able to afford them in 10 years time. And do those conditions apply? Of course they don’t, and anyone who tells you that as a Bordeaux fan you really must buy now is talking from some place where the sun doesn’t shine.

The en primeur circus is becoming increasingly discredited as vintages that cost an awful lot en primeur are showing up on the shelves of supermarkets, especially the French supermarkets, at prices that are lower than or similar to those you would have paid if you’d bought en primeur, i.e. paid your money up front for wines that were only going to be bottled and delivered two years down the track. As Justin Gibbs, director of Liv-Ex Fine Wine Exchange, has said: ‘2007 is already in London trading 30% below opening primeurs prices’. 2007 was way overpriced for the mediocre quality of the vintage and, not for the first time, Bordeaux is reaping the whirlwind.

Besides, let’s not forget that Bordeaux en primeur was developed at a time when Bordeaux was the only game in town. Today, Burgundy’s doing a good job of selling its younger wines, as is the Rhône (and the 2007 Rhônes are an infinitely better bet for the future than 2008 Bordeaux), not to mention all those other countries, Italy, Spain, Australia and California, whose wines most of us would like to see more of in the cellar.

En primeur tasting at Cheval Blanc

We don’t of course know how the prices for the 2008 Bordeaux vintage are going to pan out, but since Cos’d’Estournel has announced that its price won’t be far off its absurdly expensive 2007, what confidence do we have that most of Bordeaux will not be following suit, albeit no doubt making some sort of concession to the likes of Farr Vintners and Berry Bros, who threatened to pull out of going to Bordeaux if the prices didn’t come back down to 2004 rates? Pissing in the wind?

History tells us that the bordelais don’t readily kowtow to idle threats (and they are idle because prices don’t come out until well after the tastings) and if Farr and Berry Bros. et al are really serious about getting the bordelais to see sense, the least they should do is get négociants, château owners and brokers to sit round a table and negotiate. They might need Barack Obama, but if he’s not free, maybe Al Gore will step up to the plate.

Wine of the Week

2006 Neudorf Moutere Pinot Noir, Nelson. There aren’t many winemakers of whom you can say that they never make a bad wine, but Judy and Tim Finn are in this small elite group. Their pinot noir from Nelson’s Moutere(pronounced mootery) Hills is a delicious example of the red Burgundy variety, aromatically spicy and full of the raspberry and cherry fruitiness of true pinot noir with a juicy savoury acidity instead of the excessive oak and alcohol that can so easily mar this delicate grape variety. Total yum. Around £28.70, Fortnum & Mason, The Wine Society, WoodWinters, Bridge of Allen (01786 834894), Richards Walford.