Bordeaux 2014 Primeurs: Dreams & Reality
So, even though my enthusiasm for buying en primeur is severely blunted, simply because I don’t enjoy finding something I bought in 2015 to be on sale at a 15% discount in 2017 (of course, this could all change if the prices are right), I should actually get around to looking at my favourite wines of the vintage. After all, that’s why I flew out to Bordeaux to taste them.
The top-performing appellations of the vintage are, for the red wines at least (an essential caveat I think), St Estèphe and Pauillac. I think St Estèphe has done best of all; this is where, overall, quality has seen the biggest lift, and it is where some of the most convincing wines, especially Château Montrose and Château Cos d’Estournel are to be found. Lower down the cru classé league table, these châteaux all acted up, behaving as if they were of a much grander ranking. Even poor old Château Cos Labory has made something half decent this year, surely this must mean something? And of course we also have here a good number of interesting cru bourgeois châteaux, a source of potential values. I think there is a lot here to be excited about. There won’t be any significant price cuts though, especially not at the top end, but that doesn’t mean they won’t have come down to a level more attainable in a couple of years.
Please log in to continue reading: