Yeah. Landed aristocracy isn’t exactly the most fashionable branding in the current year, especially among the young folks, so I don’t see Bordeaux becoming the hot thing again for a long time. People who drink wine and not fashion should of course take the opportunity to acquire top Bordeaux for less money than Arnoux Bourgogne.
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I don’t think it’s a new thing or just the last couple of years where Burgundy has been considered the region that made the world’s finest wines. Decades ago, when I first got into wine, Burgundy was often (correctly then) criticized for inconsistency in quality, but at the same time there was a sense that when Burgundy was “on” there were no other wines in the world that were as good. This isn’t a fad, it’s pretty long standing.
I buy a fair number of older wine books and I just pulled a random one off the shelf (Alec Waugh’s 1959 book “In Praise of Wine”). The Bordeaux chapter is titled “The Wines of Bordeaux”. The Burgundy chapter is titled “The King of Wines”. This is 65 years ago. Burgundy isn’t relinquishing the crown any time soon I don’t think.
Pricing madness is just what happens when you get a globalized market with massive recent increases in money supply interacting with the pre-existing insider status hierarchy.
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Oh believe me, I am constantly reminded that I am working being one of the last of the Mohicans!!
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[quote=“Keith_Levenberg, post:81, topic:297910, full:true”]People who drink wine and not fashion should of course take the opportunity to acquire top Bordeaux for less money than Arnoux Bourgogne.
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Or they could buy great Musigny for a lot less than Le Pin. Fashion is very much in the eye of the beholder.
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You had me all the way up to the castigation of modern art!
So having taken down the Alec Waugh book I of course had to read it. He points out that the idea of Burgundy being a higher end luxury than Bordeaux has been around for a while –
"In Tom Jones a gambler’s extravagance is instanced by the fact that “though he had contented himself with simple claret before, nothing but the most precious Burgundy now served his purpose” "
“Tom Jones” was published in 1749!
Waugh goes on that in the 18th century part of Burgundy’s cost might have been due to transportation expense (not being on a seaport), but notes – “It was always expensive and it still is, even though transportation has ceased to be a problem; there is an immense demand for it but the supply is inadequate…”
Interestingly, he believes that the Burgundies he is familiar with (1920s through the 50s) are not as long aging as Bordeaux. In general he does not believe red Burgundies from this era will last thirty years. He ascribes part of this to extraction practices by the winemakers.
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PS. What a fantastic thread this has become. I never cease to be amazed at the discourse on this website.
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I very much agree. Speculation («speculation») rules. People, buying for themselves or for future sales, think simplistically.
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The real answer is that all it would take is one movie.
Jack : If they want to drink Burgundy, we’re drinking Burgundy.
Miles Raymond : No, if anyone orders Burgundy, I’m leaving. I am NOT drinking any fucking Burgundy!
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Keith -
I am both a country lawyer and a cyclist. Bananas and duct tape are critical staples of life for us. This is profound art.
I can explain the meaning to you one day after another Bern’s night. Over some 19th Century Madeira.
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I’ll postulate two factors: the decline and disappearance of Robert Parker. And Burgundy was what the cool kids were drinking.
Once Parker left the scene, after having driven the yearly Bordeaux mania, it settled back to a less hype driven market.
At the same time, Burgundy was getting more widespread attention. Lots of reasons for that, among them more terroir driven discussion, more variety, smaller producers that are (or were) more approachable; wines that, while they benefit from age, could be drunk relatively young in comparison to most Bordeaux, etc.
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I’ve seen Parker leaving as a reason but it doesn’t seem to line up with what happened.
Parker retired in 2015 and Bdx was already on the decline. You don’t see anything happen to pricing around that time that would suggest his retirement had impact
I agree the “cool kids” were drinking Burg - but why? Again, there have been thoughts offered.
Is that a chart of some kind of overall Bordeaux index, or the en primeur market? Vintage effects are strong in Bordeaux, of course.
One could argue that Parker taking the Squires board behind a pay wall (when was that, 2010?) led to a big drop in his influence. Either way, I think his influence had waned considerably well before his official retirement, so I’m not sure that the absence of a noticeable drop after 2015 is meaningful.
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Rudy and his buddies might have been a factor. They were very loud and proud about being able to buy and drink anything and everything, but loudest about DRC.
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Agree with you on Rudy. Timing lines up well for the first burst. The 2015/2016 burst has a different story
The stuff from the Waugh book I posted above suggest that the “cool kids” have favored Burgundy for literally centuries. It’s nothing new for the very best Burgundy to be viewed as the apex of the wine world. This is not some recent trendy thing of the last few years
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I obviously don’t know so it’s a good question, re: the decline of Parker’s influence and the attribution to the Bdx malaise. I think it’s more like Parker unlocked Bdx and the market digested his view (and palate) through the 90s, and by the time you got to 2005-2010 the marginal value of Parker was low. Those who saw it in real-time likely have a useful perspective.
I don’t think most people consider terroir when drinking or purchasing. It’s a fabulous intellectual concept. But I doubt it’s relevant to the majority of consumers. I think most wine lovers love the taste, texture and experience of the wine in the glass.
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I agree with this.
But, you know what has been a recent trendy thing of the last few years?
Answer: Instagram, and other social media outlets.
Without social media (and the visual look-at-me! materialism that seems to come with it), I highly doubt the ongoing Burgundy situation would be what it is. Same could be said about Champagne.
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