In which Bordeaux goes back home

[AlexR]

http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/ar ... N3CxC3gkPw

to be shipped to Asia?

Best regards,
Alex R.

[Houndsong]

Gee, sounds a lot like the US housing market. But now I see why Bordeaux prices are seemingly so sticky. Glad I'm not a buyer.

[JimHow]

"That will be a disaster," Touton said. "The 2007 is basically unsellable."

You reap what you sow....

[AlexR]

Couple of things here.

I think the fact that the Bordeaux is being repatriated is less a reflection on Bordeaux than it is on the US economy, especially as compared to other countries.
And, of course, part of the reason the wine is coming back to Bordeaux is because the owners of prestigious châteaux do not want the image of their wine to be harmed. Selling at knock-down prices can do that, and cheapen the "brand".

Also, the fact that 2007s will probably be dumped is a worldwide phenomenon. One can criticize the Bordelais, but then they had no idea what the following years would be like, nor that there would be a major financial crisis (in the West).
The wines sold well enough on a futures basis. The ones who are going pay the piper are not the châteaux. It is the distributors and importers who - only in retrospect, mind you - overpaid the wines. But, even there, they more or less had to buy the wine to keep their place on the list to purchase (reputedly) good vintages at a later date. That's how the system works. And it has proved to be an efficient albeit occasionally frustrating one...

The next test for the system is the 2009 vintage. Some have predicted that the Bordelais will fall flat on their face if they price the wine highly. I am of the opposite opinion. I go on the assumption that if a vintage is perceived to be great, there will be a ready and willing market to buy it. Never mind that we've already had a couple of vintages of the century in the past decade!
One must be careful not to overestimate the Asian market, but neither should one underestimate it. I was in Cognac on an interpreting assignment for Hennessy on Monday. Their export man told me that China overtook the US for sales of Cognac last year, and that LVMH have not suffered from the crisis because they are doing so well in Asia...

All the best,
Alex

[JCNorthway]

Interesting comments and perspective, Alex. I do think that here in the U.S., we sometimes overestimate our importance and impact on a global basis. I suspect that comes from our history when that was essentially the reality. But that reality has changed in the last decades. We do not occupy the same place we once held in the world - economically, politically, or in the buying of Bordeaux wines. I am intrigued by the changing landscape of winebuying as it basically follows right down the same path that we see for economic development in different countries. When you stop and think about it, that's common sense, not rocket science. But sometimes I think we tend to overlook it.

Jon

[JimHow]

I don't drink wine anymore but even if I did I would not buy 2007 Bordeaux.

[DavidG]

I don't drink wine anymore...

[dstgolf]

Alex,

Cognac is a very different kettle of fish than Bordeaux wines for the Chinese. For years they have had a palate for fine cognac. Many Chinese restaurants will allow clients to store their high end bottles on site to be brought out ceremoniously for an after dinner drink. My year in Windsor Ontario was most notable with a large locked cabinet adjacent the bar with personalized labelled bottles of Louis XIII row on row at the top Chinese restaurant. It was an occasion after dinner to pull out the bottle and serve your friends. I'm not sure the Chinese have the same experience at this time with the first growths. Lafite with Coke isn't my idea of an oenophile even though the Hong Kong young elite are notable for having this classic in downtown exclusive clubs. Mind you it doesn't take a very high percentage of a billion + people to tap out the Bordeaux market. The threat is there but I think it is hopeful on the Bordelais that this market is achieved. Russia is also on the radar starting to unfold. They are into Champagne in a big way right now.

What's this wine fast Jim!!! Do you want to shock us with a "six pack" in Chicago and I don't mean the drinkable kind!!

Danny

[JimHow]

I don't know what to say, Danny, since I've stopped drinking wine a couple months ago I've lost almost 20 pounds and I've been going through a major creative spurt, I've written or re- written about a hundred pages on the novel I started five years ago, not to mention our song writing / recording, I'm a dynamo again, maybe it is just happening coincidently during my wine fast....

[JCNorthway]

Jim,

How do you maintain your wardrobe when you drop 20 pounds? That must translate to a couple of waist sizes!

But it must feel great to have that level of energy to pour into your interests.

Jon

[JimHow]

Believe me, Jon, it is an issue. My weight has gone up and down by twenty pounds a number of times over the years since law school. Not real healthy. The challenge is to keep it off.

[rjsussex]

Can anyone benevolently dictate over a wine-board while no longer drinking wine?

[jal]

Has your diet changed at all or is it just the no-wine that has caused the weight change?

[JimHow]

Yes my diet and exercise regimen has changed dramatically. I have cut way back on calories, have been eating a lot of salads, running three miles a day 4-5 days a week. I know we have discussed this issue before. My own uneducated opinion is that it is a totality of things-- diet, exercise, moderation including cutting back on alcohol.

[rjsussex]

To answer my own question, if I gave up wine I'd be so irritable that I couldn't be benevolent about anything so here's to the teetotal BD

R

[JimHow]

Ha I think there's a lot of cause and effect. I feel I have more energy when I'm cutting back on alcohol, which causes me to exercise more, which causes me to eat better, which causes me to be more clear headed, which causes me to be more creative and productive, etc., etc.

Other than a little wine on Christmas Eve and a glass of champagne with my father on New Year's Eve, I haven't consumed alcohol in over two months. I'll have a glass of champagne at the Met Opera with Jill and Jacques in mid-March and I'll take a break from my fast for Chicago '10, but other than that those are my only alcohol consumption plans on the horizon.

[JonB]

Interesting article Alex. I don't understand it --- sure wine is a global market --- but if they were so concerned about image and price-protection, why don't they buy back the '06s and '07s that are or will be heavily discounted probably world wide?

Wow Jim, that's great. Running that much should keep you in great shape.