Considering Bordeaux 2013s? Better to seek 2008s in bottle (for the most part)
April 18, 2014
By Panos Kakaviatos
Greetings wine lovers. You may have noticed that I am posting less on Connections to Wine. I plan to launch a new website, Wine-Chronicles.com, in the near future.
Meantime, I have posted reflections on barrel samples from the 2013 en primeur tastings and you can find these notes and thoughts on the three links below, as published in the UK wine industry publication Harpers Wine & Spirit:
Choose Whites over Reds: http://www.harpers.co.uk/opinion/bordeaux-2013-choose-whites-over-reds/356331.article
The Left Bank: http://www.harpers.co.uk/opinion/bordeaux-2013-the-left-bank/356334.article
The Right Bank: http://www.harpers.co.uk/opinion/bordeaux-2013-the-right-bank/356376.article
In the meantime, as prices are being released, my advice to readers would be to cautiously purchase first growths, as they may be interesting for your investment. The quality is there, too, but – caution – I see too many writers/tasters posting scores from the mid to upper 90s. Sheesh, 2013 includes some surprisingly good reds, but none are really great. No matter what spin you hear, about the difficulty of the vintage and massively reduced yields, of only getting the best possible grapes. Folks, almost everything went wrong for the reds in 2013. No amount of concentration machines, sorting machines or chaptilisation will compensate for that.
In a recent article from the French language Terre de Vins magazine, the editors note that some chateaux are pricing their en primeur at slightly lower prices than they did in 2012. 2012 is arguably a better vintage – and certainly a better vintage for Pomerol. In fact, 2012 is a very good vintage for Pomerol. 2013 is not a very good vintage for ANY red appellation in Bordeaux. You may find more consistency in some regions, but none of the wines stand out as particularly great.
With that in mind, why the heck should end consumers tie money down for 2 to 3 years when you can get a vintage that is arguably better – in some cases much better – than 2013 and in bottle today?
Yes, I am writing about the 2008 vintage.
What I have done is taken some of the wines listed in the Terre de Vins article and compared the prices to today’s 2008 prices, taxes included. For that is what matters to you, the consumer.
There are some wines in 2013 whose prices are quite interesting, and that would include the first growths that have thus far been released. A few others include wines like Chateau Canon in Saint Emilion and Du Tertre in Margaux and Lynch Bages in Pauillac, but for the most part… forget about it.
I have highlighted in red those 2013 release prices that are not bad. But overall, it is clear to me that you are more intellegent in buying 2008 in bottle than holding on to futures whose prices will not budge by the time you can get them off the shelves.
Most of the 2013s will be about the same price on the shelves when they are released in bottle. Certainly the massive foires au vins in France will be selling them in droves for about the price you would pay now. So why bother?
On the other hand, I would seek out any special bottle sizes for the whites, both sweet and dry. As I have written before, in Harpers, 2013 is a very good vintage for both dry whites and Sauternes/Barsac.
Comparing release prices of Bordeaux in 2013 and tax-included prices of 2008 (in red, possible buys)
Château Beychevelle – Saint-Julien 2013 : 44 € HT (2012 : 48 € HT) price 2008 now with tax = €50
Château Chasse-Spleen – Moulis 2013 : 19,10 € HT (2012 : 21 € HT) price 2008 now with tax = €22
Château Poujeaux – Moulis 2013 : 18,20 € HT (2012 : 19 € HT) price 2008 now with tax = €20
Château Giscours – Margaux 2013 : 28,10 € HT (2012 : 31,50 € HT) price 2008 now with tax = €35
Château Pontet-Canet – Pauillac 2013 : 67,40 € HT (2012 : 71 € HT) price 2008 now with tax = €72
Château Gloria – Saint-Julien 2013 : 21,45 € HT (2012 : 24 € HT) price 2008 now with tax = €25
Château Labégorce – Margaux 2013 : 15,50 € HT (2012 : 16,50 € HT) price 2008 now with tax = €23
Château Batailley – Pauillac 2013 : 29 € HT (2012 : nc) price 2008 now with tax = €34
Château Pichon-Longueville Baron – Pauillac 2013 : 60 € HT (2012 : nc) price 2008 now with tax = €70
Château Lynch-Bages – Pauillac 2013 : 57,50 € HT (2012 : 71 €) price 2008 now with tax = €90
Château Cos d’Estournel – Saint-Estèphe 2013 : 90 € HT (2012 : 98 € HT) price 2008 now with tax = €95
Château Petit Village – Pomerol 2013 : 41 € HT (2012 : 44 € HT) price 2008 now with tax = €40
Château Rauzan-Ségla – Margaux 2013 : 38 € HT (2012 : 44 € HT) price 2008 now with tax = €50
Château Prieuré-Lichine – Margaux 2013 : 24 € HT (2012 : 28 € HT) price 2008 now with tax = €35
Château du Tertre – Margaux 2013 : 20,95 € HT (2012 : 22,50 € HT) price 2008 now with tax = €28
Château Siran – Margaux 2013 : 15,80 € HT (2012 : 15,90 € HT) price 2008 now with tax = €24
Château Lagrange – Saint-Julien 2013 : 26 € HT (2012 : 27,50 HT) price 2008 now with tax = €36
Château Lafite-Rothschild – Pauillac 2013 : 330 € HT (2012 : 395 € HT) price 2008 now with tax = €575
Carruades de Lafite – Pauillac 2013 : 99 € HT (2012 : 109 € HT) price 2008 now with tax = €150
Château Mouton-Rothschild – Pauillac 2013 : 250 € HT (2012 : 299 € HT) price 2008 now with tax = €340
Château Duhart-Milon – Pauillac 2013 : 54 € HT (2012 : 61 € HT) price 2008 now with tax = €58
Château d’Armailhac – Pauillac 2013 : 26,80 € HT (2012 : 30,50 € HT) price 2008 now with tax = €41
Château Haut-Bages Libéral – Pauillac 2013 : 22,30 € HT (2012 : 24 € HT) price 2008 now with tax = €30
Château Clerc-Milon – Pauillac 2013 : 35,30 € (2012 : 37 € HT) price 2008 now with tax = €42
Château Montrose – Saint-Estèphe 2013 : 64 € HT (2012 : 66 € HT) price 2008 now with tax = €73
Château Calon-Ségur – Saint-Estèphe 2013 : 42 € HT (2012 : 45,50 € HT) price 2008 now with tax = €50
Château Ormes de Pez – Saint-Estèphe 2013 : 17,90 € HT (2012 : 20 € HT) price 2008 now with tax = €21
Château La Tour Carnet – Haut-Médoc 2013 : 20,15 € HT (2012 : 21 € HT) price 2008 now with tax = €26
Château L’Evangile – Pomerol 2013 : 115 € HT (2012 : 121 € HT) price 2008 now with tax = €120
Château du Domaine de l’Eglise – Pomerol 2013 : 27 € HT (2012 : 29 € HT) price 2008 now with tax = €35
Château Gazin – Pomerol 2013 : 42 € HT (2012 : 48 € HT) price 2008 now with tax = €55
Château Angélus – Saint-Emilion 2013 : 189 € HT (2012 : 210 € HT) price 2008 now with tax = €190
Château Canon – Saint-Emilion 2013 : 38 € HT (2012 : 43,50 € HT) price 2008 now with tax = €55
Château Trottevieille – Saint-Emilion 2013 : 52 € HT (2012 : 54 € HT) price 2008 now with tax = €50
Château Haut-Bailly – Pessac-Léognan 2013 : 46 € HT (2012 : 50 € HT) price 2008 now with tax = €65
Château Smith Haut Lafitte (rouge) – Pessac-Léognan 2013 : 44 € HT (2012 : 47,50 € HT) price 2008 now with tax = €40
Château Smith Haut Lafitte (blanc) – Pessac-Léognan 2013 : 63 € HT (2012 : nc) price 2008 now with tax = €70
