Waiting for Carmes/Calon/Chevalier Blanc
Carmes was out this morning, Ā£474/6 (same as last year). Second tranche out at Ā£550/6. Feels like a good buy to me. Managed 21 bottles so far.
Henry- HB is damn good juice. Steal for ~$100. ~$50/bottle for a case of 375s, yes please and thank you.
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thankss for the info Ryaan. Had some at a BBR tasting many years ago (IIRC 2015?) but never since. Havae built up aa edcent stash of 19/20/21 now though!
I was a little tempted with Trotanoy (free of tied wines) but only a little.
I wonāt take anything this year.
Hard to ādiscountā wines where your production is down 70%ā¦
Iām really not understanding all the pricing chatter.
I said this a few pages ago, and will say it again. These wines are only going to climb in price, and you are going to have a very, very hard time finding them because of the tiny quantities coming in to the US.
Donāt know if youāre talking about PLL specifically or the vintage in general (or both). The region as a whole produced less wine in 2017 than 2021, and you would have to handpick wines that have gone up in price since then. Maybe PLL will be the exception that proves the rule in 2021 (I think Carmes HB as Hamza referenced may be another), but I think the āpricing chatterā is a fairly obvious reflection of supply and demand. Low supply is not so relevant if demand is even lower.
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If you think 2021 is a vintage you want to own because it suits your style, you want alternate formats or you are trying to maintain a vertical, and you live in the US, then the time to buy is before the current availability disappears and I say this primarily because of exchange rates. The dollar has been on a tear against the Euro and GBP. Unless the dollar continues to gain strength, this vintage will never be cheaper. Not only is supply down, but I believe the Chateaux have done pretty well over the prior 3 vintages so I donāt see them cutting price of future tranches to raise cash. I believe they would rather sit on the unsold stock and sell it as Ex-Chateaux in the future.
I just bit on DDC Blanc in 375ml. That signals the end of EP for me. I only bought halves this year.
So my fomo is starting to grow. Has anyone put together the 21 offerings with the lowest production in comparison to the historical average/mean? I look at one of ny favs in pomerol and they look down 50% (20hl/ha). I like the wine and that means buy a couple bottles just to check it out. Iād like to see what are the most under produced wines of this vintage in a table
My potentially incorrect understanding of this is a bit different though - we have chateau who mandate volumes and prices to the negociants who then allocate it to retailers. If the retailers canāt sell the wine as far as I know thereās no route for return to the negociants (at least without burning bridges). Of course a chateau can absolutely hold stock back but from what gets released if that doesnāt sell the retailers can price as they want when it lands physically. Indeed Iāve seen (albeit minor) discounts this en primeur on wines like Ausone and Rauzan Segla.
I agree with almost all your points, except the statement āthis vintage will never be cheaperā. If they sit on shelves (and they will because scores are ālowā relative to ā18-20) they will get discounted. Maybe not all, but many good ones will. Iām pretty happy having picked up 2017 GPL, DDC, Carmes HB and a few others at 20-30% off EP price when retailers were clearing out to make room for the 18s on shelves.
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Free article from jancis:
Not the level of detail youāre looking for, but beggars & choosers, etc
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That comment goes along with the comment in the previous sentence where I said ābefore the current availability disappearsā or said another way this will be the cheapest tranche available in the US. Once the current stock sells through, the next tranche will be more expensive. Some retailers like MacArthurs provide quantity available so you can keep track of the availability and wait until quantities get low to pull the trigger. If they have not sold through their 92 bottles of Chateaux Margaux by 2025, then you might see discounting.
Btw, I have not bought any '21ās yet.
Also Calon-Segur was just released at 492/6 GBP.
I was referring to Pichon Lalande specifically. And IIRC, Carmes was down about 50% too.
The demand being low is what I canāt figure out. This is the vintage that people have been begging for since the dawn or the Parker-ization of Bordeaux! I feel like people have labeled this a ābad vintageā or a āso-so vintageā, neither of which is true. Itās a vintage with itās moments, and the moments are really unique and share no equal.
Whether just or not I canāt comment as I havenāt tasted the wine, but I think people are conscious of the frost for example, which hit 13 and 17 very hard as well. Theyāre also conscious of this not bring as good as the last 3 vintages (at least by critical report).
The scores are coming consistently a couple points lower compared to previous years as well, so when a 98 point 2020 is available at the same price of 96 point 2021, why would you ever buy the 21?
As stated itās not like Iāve tasted any of the wines, but for me the only reasons to really buy EP are either the likely unavailability of the wine in the future, building a vertical, or the wine being mispriced compared to similar vintages. 21 fulfills none of those criteria for me
I did get to go and taste (over 400 wines) of 2021, and almost 200 of the 2020s (samples sent to US) and can tell you that comparing a 98 point 2020 to a 96 point 2021 would be like comparing a modern Napa Cabernet to an 1980s Bordeaux. They are 2 completely different wines.
Thatās the completely lost message here. I think critics went light with the scores to start because there was simply no reason to plant a flag and declare this anything but a vintage that will require being selective yet still has plenty of thrilling wines.
The unlikely availability of these wines in the US market is going to be high. Many retailers have backed off from the vintage completely, and allocations were still small. Buying later is going to come at higher prices. Canāt speak to the UK.
Unfortunately thatās the over Parkerisation of the industry, right. Amazing nuances are simplified down to a simple number.
I donāt know what TW is playing atā¦ Carmes priced at $149? K&L, WinEx, WineHouse etc all priced at $109ā¦ very confusing.
I seem to remember a report of Glumineau at Pichon Lalande saying that 2021 was the worst vintage since 2013.
As for low demand, well, put it down to pricing and scores.
Most people (a large majority) look at scores and base their buying on their score/price ratio, and see they can buy higher scoring vintages and wines for less. Those sophisticated enough to understand it might be an interesting as an old fashioned vintage, are also sophisticated to know it is way overpriced. And I suspect many of them went heavy into 2019. The 2021s should be 30% lower to be interesting, as a future.
As for very little coming to the US, I am not sure who will actually buy it. If it is going into a fire sale at the Foire, Americans will also compete, and eventually enough will come to the States.
The Bordeaux estates have actually achieved their goals. They have sold every wine released, and set the levels at a high point to be able to price 2022 and 2023 based on a higher 2021 release. If some held back tranches, to release at lower prices, the only figure that anybody will notice are these 2021 opening prices.
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