En Primeur 2007

The en primeur 2007 is nearly at an end. Pretty much all thats left to declare their prices is Petrus, and they usually wait until about the middle of July. We have bought quite a bit this year, about £15k altogether including two cases of Mouton for £5200. Weve mostly gone for the good stuff, Palmer, Ducru-Beaucaillou, Pichon-Lalande Comtesse, Rauzan Segla, La Fleur Petrus, La Grave a Pomerol and Cos d'Estournel. The 2007's arent going to be a keeping vintage by all accounts, at least according to the reporting from the mass of tasters, buyers and journalists who were part of the en primeur tastings earlier in the year. But perhaps thats a good thing. Certainly in most cases the prices were down on last year, still expensive, but as far as fine is concerned it seems to be a sellers market just now. Were just starting to see the 2005's arrive just now, Ive already had the Mouton, Lascombes and Pichon delivered, Im sure there will be more to come over the next few months.

To Buy or not to Buy? En Primeur 2006

Silly season is due to start any day now. The bullshit is already starting to pile up, and we face a challenging decision ahead of us. Should we "invest" any money in 2006 bordeaux or give it a bodyswerve. My gut instinct is to give it a miss this year. The skinny Im getting from a few folks on the inside is that the 2006's arent worth the money they are anticipated to be offered for. Many merchants went wild on the 2005's and some are still sitting on stock of them to shift. Parker has just given 2005 another big thumbs up, and a slightly more reserved praise for a select few estates in 2006.

Our dilemma lies in the fact that if we skip purchasing this year, we damage our potential to purchase next year - particularly with Domaine de la Romanee Conti. Its made slightly worse by the opinions that generally Pomerol is the region to watch this campaign. That inevitably means Petrus and its stable mates - La Fleur Petrus, Hospitalet de Gazin, Hosanna, La Grave a Pomerol all the glory wines of J.P.Moueix. Still I think we need to rethink our purchasing plan and so my instinct to skip it still holds strong. But until we see the prices, we cant say for sure what way we will go.