More 2017 Commentary

[AKR]

LISA PERROTTI-BROWN

27th Apr 2018 | The Wine Advocate | 236 (Apr ‘18)

Tasting Synopsis

Deconstructing the 2017 Bordeaux vintage was a bit like putting a puzzle together of as many pieces as there are vineyards, wineries and winemakers in Bordeaux. It was clear from the get-go with my tastings that anyone who was looking to use growing season assumptions and vineyard track records as the basis for their conclusions was about to fall squarely on their you-know-what. As with any vintage, critics must begin by judging what is in the glass, first and foremost, and then look to the growing season, vineyard and winemaking to explain the how and the why.

In most vintages, there are one or two key weather occurrences or trends to help provide a basis for assumptions about the quality of the vintage. This year, there were several major weather occurrences with varying dramatic impacts on the vines and berry development across the sprawling region: a very warm spring and precocious vines, April frosts, periods of drought and harvest rains. And then there were the vines’ responses to these conditions, not to mention the human decisions that were made as well as today’s viticulture and winemaking to take into account. After all this, what we are left with are many divergent 2017 vintage paths, leading to a wide range of styles and quality levels that somewhat defy summarizations such as this one.

To cut to the chase, many winemakers have been suggesting the quality of 2017 is a tick or two lower than 2015 or 2016, nearly universally claiming that “2017 is no 2015 or 2016.” I heard this again and again—a mantra that seemed to spread like a virus across Bordeaux. No, it is not 2015 or 2016. Stylistically, 2017 is a far cry from either of its two former vintages. The one thing that is not up for dispute: 2017 is not a universally great vintage across Bordeaux, nor is it as consistently great as 2015 or 2016. However, there are singularities and sometimes pockets of extraordinary wines that certainly should not be dismissed or missed by wine lovers. And there are a few estates that produced wines equal to or better than their 2015s, with particular reference to vineyards in Saint-Estephe and Pauillac.

Bordeaux 2017 in a Nutshell

2017 was a divergent vintage that splintered into a number of viticultural and winemaking paths, primarily as a consequence of the devastating April frosts, resulting in very different styles and varying quality levels across the region.

The most obvious divergence occurred after the frost, splitting those producers that were completely or largely unaffected from those that lost a significant portion of their vineyards.
The next divergence is among those with significant frost damage. There were those who chose to cut their losses and work only with the unaffected vines, often creating atypical styles since only part of the vineyard was used, versus those who chose to isolate the affected vines and ripen the second-generation fruit, some going on to create double-personality “Gemini wines” from blends of first-generation and second-generation fruit. (For more information on this, see the dedicated Gemini Wines article on Wine Journal.)
Opportunities for greatness are well-spread throughout Bordeaux in 2017, and there was no single commune or grape variety that excelled, although the best wines tend to come from the superlative vineyards that were relatively untouched by the frosts, including those close to the estuary in Saint-Estèphe, Pauillac, Saint-Julien and Margaux on the Left Bank and the Right Bank vineyards on the plateaus in Pomerol and Saint-Émilion.
In the end, 2017 is not nearly as consistently great as 2015 or 2016, but this vintage did produce some extraordinary wines.
Stylistically, 2017 is a far cry from either 2015 or 2016, both of these being significantly warmer, sunnier vintages. In fact, 2017 is completely different from any recent vintage, and this is not a bad thing.
The best 2017 reds are approachable when young yet are also built to age. This “good young/can hold” signature is something that Bordeaux hasn’t really ever been able to nail quite like this. Previous earlier-drinking vintages with cellaring potential relied on rich, concentrated, hedonistic fruit to carry it off, à la 2009. But, 2017 is all about finesse, perfume and aromatic intensity as opposed to weighty richness.
2017’s “good young/can hold” style is mainly due to the quality of tannins: super ripe, finely grained and soft-textured in the very best wines. We also have some very clever winemaking to thank for this. With the benefit of hindsight, perhaps, the best winemakers were ultra cautious about not over-extracting.
What’s more, there is also a moderate to high quantity of tannins in the best wines, with IPT levels ranging from around 60 to 80, in many cases at a similar level to 2015 counterparts.
The most successful 2017 reds tend to have moderate acidity, although the acids can appear fresher because the wines aren’t as rich and powerful as 2015 or 2016. They are mainly elegant, medium-bodied styles with moderate alcohol (generally 13-14%) and have intensely perfumed, multi-layered aromatic profiles.
Dry white Bordeaux wines generally need a huge shout-out this year – wow! These are bright, refreshing, elegant and intense, with far more consistency of quality than any other Bordeaux style in 2017.
A separate report on the 2017 wines from Sauternes reveals a very good if smaller vintage for Bordeaux’s sweet whites.
Now for the bad news: Unlike in 2015, in 2017 there is not a lot of value to be had at the lower price points. These vineyards were generally hit hardest by the frosts and tended to have less resources at their disposal.
The least successful 2017 wines can be downright astringent, bitter and hard on the finish - lean, green and mean – sometimes as a consequence of attempts at using under-ripe second-generation fruit. Alternatively, and occasionally additionally, a number of wines were impacted by dilution as a result of the mid-September rains. This dilution can be experienced as anything from a slight dip in the mid-palate to, in extreme cases, downright hollow wines with abrupt finishes.

The How & The Why: 2017’s Growing Season

2017 was a vintage with more growing season turns, stops and starts than the route from Pauillac to Pomerol. The first major fork in the path begins with an incredibly warm, dry spring and a very precocious start to the vintage. When I was in Bordeaux at the end of March 2017 to taste the 2016s, full leaves and some shoots had already emerged (see the photo taken at Chateau d’Yquem on March 31, 2017).

Then April lived up to its reputation among T.S. Eliot fans for being the cruelest month. On the evenings of April 27-29, Bordeaux was laid bare to the most devastating frosts to hit the region since 1991. By all accounts, Saint-Émilion and Pomerol looked like a scene from Apocalypse Now: thousands of fires burning from smudge pots/candles in the vineyards, emitting choking smoke that covered the vast swathes of vines at dawn, when the helicopters were summoned, hovering low and loud under the black smoke, as anxious vignerons waited for the aftermath to unfold. In the end, an estimated 60% to 70% of all vineyards across Bordeaux were affected by the frosts in some way.

The impact of the frosts was both immediate and, in some cases, more insidious, manifesting itself even in ways that were not so obvious as the dramatic burning of nascent shoots and leaves in the days that followed the frost. Let’s just say that the surviving shoots in badly frosted areas and second-generation crops can be both a blessing and a curse. The final harvest figures brought the extent of the devastation into focus: overall yields down by around 40% on 2016 (which was, admittedly, a bumper crop) and down by 33% on the ten-year average, with the biggest losses on the Right Bank (Saint-Émilion, Pomerol, Fronsac and the satellites), Entre-Deux-Mers, Barsac and Graves/Pessac-Léognan, plus Margaux also took quite a hit, depending on elevation of site and proximity to the Gironde estuary. “Of 800 hectares in Pomerol, only 200 were not affected by frosts,” Alexandre Thienpont of Vieux Château Certan commented, alluding to those vineyards situated on the plateau that were relatively untouched. Saint-Émilion was a similar story, although because it is a significantly larger commune, the scale of loss at the lower altitudes below the plateau was even greater. Meanwhile, parts of the northern Médoc—including the communes of Saint-Estèphe, Pauillac and Saint-Julien—got off relatively lightly during the frosts, especially those vineyards hugging the Gironde estuary.

The greatest and most obvious vintage divergence occurred after the frost, splitting those who were completely or largely unaffected from those who lost a significant portion of their vineyards. It is worth pointing out at this juncture that while the frosts were most certainly one of the major weather occurrences to impact the styles and quality levels of the 2017 vintage, not everyone was affected, and many of the top Châteaux went on to make wine as if nothing had ever happened on those fateful April nights. But a lot of those who were affected found it very difficult to totally abandon vineyards that were only partially affected. And, in some cases, it was difficult to ascertain which vines were damaged. Some vines looked just fine after the frost, but it was later discovered they simply were not ripening fruit at the same pace as unaffected vines. For further details about how frost-affected vines were managed for inclusion in production, readers can refer to my article posted on Wine Journal: Bordeaux 2017’s Gemini Wines.

May and June were unusually hot and dry. Vines that escaped the frost managed, for the most part, a smooth, even flowering and fruit set. Meanwhile, the second-generation shoots on the frost-affected vines that were still viable were lagging some three weeks behind the unaffected vines and, therefore, experiencing a totally different growing season. Regardless, both sets of vines were pretty parched and starting to struggle from hydric stress by the end of June, so no one complained when it came bucketing down over most of Bordeaux during the last five days of June, depositing around 100 millimeters (nearly four inches) of rain.

What happened in July and August depends on who you talk to. Well, not really, but there seems to be little consensus among winemakers throughout the communes as to whether it was warm or cool. The truth is, it was both. July was certainly dry and had some pretty hot days, but otherwise, it was temperate. Veraison started for the non-frosted vines around the third and fourth weeks of July. August continued to experience warm and cool swings. The cooler days certainly slowed down the otherwise rapid ripening some and kept the phenolics (tannins and color compounds) and flavors developing at a steady pace without too much sugar accumulation. Light showers fell toward the end of August, but nothing alarming. This is when the dry white grapes began to come in from the vines that had not been frosted, and by then, growers of this style were already aware that they were onto something pretty special.

So, let’s talk about the September rains, which mainly affected the red varieties. Yes, rains came in mid-September, before the bulk of the Cabernet was in and a good portion of the Merlot. But to truly understand why some vineyards were less impacted by dilution and others significantly so—which is what my tastings were telling me—it is important to consider how much rain fell and over what period, when it fell in terms of both berry development and stage of harvest and, critically, the soil type and topography upon which it fell. Bear in mind, this was a very precocious year for those vineyards unaffected by the frosts, thanks to that incredibly warm spring and early budbreak. Rather remarkably, some of the Merlots were already being harvested in early September, just as the rains started. An exemplary case of this is Château Lafleur, who had their very impressive Merlot component in prior to the bulk of the rains. But this was the exception rather than the rule.

According to the weather station in Mérignac (Bordeaux airport), 72.1 millimeters/2.84 inches of rain fell in September, although by all accounts, the communes received a bit more than this. Between September 8-17, before the red grape harvest really got off the ground, 54.2 millimeters/2.13 inches of rain fell, which is when the risks of dilution and rot became real. To put this into perspective, in 2015 around 90 millimeters /3.54 inches of rain fell over the period of September 12-14 on the Northern Médoc and Saint-Estèphe. Therefore, in 2017, the amount of rain that fell at harvest was not a staggering amount compared to, say, what the Northern Médoc received in 2015, particularly when you consider that in 2017 it fell over a ten-day period. And this appears to be why terroir made all the difference in 2017—the well-drained gravel soils, especially those on slopes/hills, received far less impact from this stretched-out period of rain. The success of these free-draining soil types was particularly clear when considering the caliber of wines coming out of some of the vineyards hugging the estuary in Saint-Estèphe and Pauillac. The timing of the harvest also played a huge role in 2017. It seems to have really paid off for those no-guts-no-glory winemakers who braved it out for a further 10-20 or more days after the rains. “With this vintage, you really had to play with the rain,” commented Francois Mitjavile of Le Tertre Roteboeuf, who harvested around three weeks after the rains. Others who played the waiting game successfully included Lafleur, who harvested their remaining parcels on September 28 and 29 to achieve the quality of Cabernet Franc component that they managed in 2017, as well as Château Pavie, who began harvesting on September 25 and ended October 3.

The other very critical factor that is important for readers to understand: for most well-situated vines that had escaped the frosts, the Cabernets and Merlots were phenolically ripe (i.e., the tannins were ready) by the time the mid-September rains arrived. Thus, the impact of varying levels of dilution mainly affected relative concentration. This dilution is a very real factor affecting the quality of many of the 2017s. The dilution can be experienced as anything from a slight dip in the mid-palate to, in the worst cases, downright hollow wines with abrupt finishes. Finally, there is a small percentage of wines that demonstrate no perceptible dilution at all. That is to say, these wines have mid-palate intensities that fit snuggly within their tannin and acid frames and reveal well-sustained flavor profiles that go on to give good long finishes.

The How & The Why: Winemaking in 2017

“Precision” was the buzzword among winemakers in 2017, which is something of a catch-all term for applying greater focus to the separate operations and components of viticulture and winemaking. Most notably, in recent years many quality-focused producers in Bordeaux have been working toward isolating a larger number of smaller parcels within the vineyards—those sections that demonstrate distinctive characters—and vinifying them separately, creating more and more blending components with which to work. This offers the ability to more accurately accentuate the positives and eliminate the negatives, ultimately creating more complex and better-balanced wines with greater consistency.

“We’ve been working towards more precision, in the vineyards and with the blending," Château Montrose’s communications manager Hélène Brochet commented. "It was a shorter maceration this year with softer extraction. This vintage we were able to put what we wanted in the wines, using 82 different blending components. Now we have smaller vats and more of them to be able to separate and create more blending material for a more complex wine."

For those affected by the frosts, the 2017 divergent vintage had created at once less and more possible blending options this year. Less, because most vineyards lost at least some parcels/vines to the frosts. And more, because anyone who chose to try to ripen the second-generation fruit would need to harvest and vinify this separately.

Another change to the winemaking with significant results in recent years is the sorting of berries. An increasing number of producers are turning their backs on optical sorting tables, which sort based on “sight” and, therefore, take out some healthy berries that don’t measure up in terms of size uniformity, creating somewhat more homogenous flavor profiles, arguably with less complexity. Some winemakers such as Hélène Garcin at Château Clos L’Eglise and Barde-Haut are returning to hand sorting for this reason, while others such as Château Cheval Blanc and Clos de Sarpe have embraced the Tribaie sorting table, which sorts grapes by sugar density rather than size.

But the winemaking decision of major importance in 2017 was what many of the most successful producers this year termed as an emphasis on gentle “maceration” as opposed to full-on “extraction,” in reference to the vatting time on skins. What’s the difference? Pauline Vauthier at Château Ausone summed it up beautifully: “The techniques of winemaking are changing now. I think now we are lighter with extraction. Now it is more like maceration...like a tea bag.”

“The quality of the tannins young is the key point to preserve the aging,” Olivier Berrouet from Pétrus mentioned, stating that he did a longer maceration in 2017 but used very gentle extraction—mostly only skin contact with just one minute of pump overs each day. “If you cover all the complexity or style, your wine becomes common and you lose the typicity,” he added.

Château Léoville las Cases’s General Director, Pierre Graffeuille, pointed out, “We are not looking to extract a lot during the winemaking; rather, we prefer to play with the press wines after. We have many lots of press wines, enabling us to add back the perfect level of complexity and density.”

Eric Kohler at Château Lafite-Rothschild echoed his point, “This year, what was important was maceration, and the effect was spectacular in the mouth and the analysis. We were able to use 16% of the press wine this year, which is a high percentage! When you have Cabernet Sauvignon of this level, you don’t want to use anything else—it can look like the Merlot is already blended in. For us, it was even better than 2015.”

“The viticulture as well as winemaking have dramatically changed the styles of wine a vintage like 2017 can produce,” Frederic Engerer of Château Latour commented, adding a reference to the vintage’s phenomenal ability to produce wines that are, “approachable now and have the ability to age.”

Quality: What’s Hot & What’s Not?

2017 is not a universally great nor consistently great vintage. Quality levels run the whole gamut here—from the very pinnacles of greatness down to the depths of mediocrity and way worse.

Here is a vintage where pockets of extraordinary wines possessing great depth and super ripe, super fine-grained tannins can be found, achieving ripeness in some cases at around 13% alcohol. This is a quality and style of Bordeaux that we have not seen in many, many years and, without getting into a long-winded discussion about the possible impact of climate change on wine styles, is something of a miracle in our modern times.

I’d like to elaborate further on the tannins of the best wines, because tannins are such an important signature to this vintage and, of course, a necessary component not just to create textural interest on the palate but also for red wine aging. This was, in fact, an incredibly easy vintage to taste from barrel, mainly because the tannins were so beautifully soft. Being downright “sweet,” as Robert Parker likes to call this caliber of texture, I fear many tasters may actually have missed how high the IPT levels (a measure of the quantity of tannins in wines) were. A couple of days into my tastings, I started asking winemakers about the IPTs of the very best wines I tasted and specifically how these compared to their 2015s and 2016s. While in most cases the IPTs were lower than the 2016s, the best wines possessed IPTs that were on a par with or even higher than the 2015s. For example, at Mouton-Rothschild the IPT of the grand vin in 2017 was 65, whereas in 2015 it was 66. In some cases, the 2017 IPT was higher than in 2015, as was the case with Château Lafite and Cos d’Estournel. And in at least one notable case, it was the same as 2016: Château Margaux.

The styles of the very best red wines can be summarized thus:
The reds are approachable when young yet built to age
Quality of tannins: Super ripe, finely grained and soft-textured
Quantity of tannins: A moderate to high IPT level (i.e., 60-80)
Moderate acidity on par with other recent vintages, although the acids can appear fresher because the wines aren’t as rich
Medium-bodied
Moderate alcohol (generally 13% to 14%)
Intensely perfumed, multi-layered aromatic profiles as opposed to rich, concentrated, monolithic flavors

Turning attention to Bordeaux’s dry white wine production in 2017, in a word: wow! This interjection does, sadly, come with a caveat: a lot of the dry white vineyards were badly hit by the frosts, so yields for the whites are down overall by about 10% more than the reds across Bordeaux. The impact of the frosts on the potential quality of the dry whites was far less than the reds, and it shows in the wines. The best whites are bright, refreshing, elegant and intense, with far more consistency of quality than any other Bordeaux style in 2017.

Now for the bad news. Unlike 2015, in 2017 there is not a lot of value to be had at the lower price points. When you consider where the frosts did the most damage, it kind of goes without saying that 2017 is not going to be a year for stocking up on house wines. To be blunt, from what I have tasted at the lower end of the market, things are pretty dire. There are lot of lean, green, hollow and mean wines out there, particularly from inland areas of the Médoc, Haut-Médoc, Listrac and Moulis; and on the Right Bank, Canon-Fronsac, Lalande de Pomerol and the Saint-Émilion satellites can be a bit of a minefield. Generally speaking, 2017 is not like 2015, where you can take a chance on a seemingly well-priced unknown label in a restaurant or wine shop. Readers should note that I did not publish notes for many lower-end wines that did not show well during my tastings, since they are not generally the types that most buyers would be interested in purchasing en primeur/as futures, and these will later be reviewed as bottled wines.

My Tastings
I arrived in Bordeaux for the first set of visits on March 12th and stayed for twelve days. At that time, I proportioned my visits pretty evenly across Sauternes, Pessac-Léognan, Saint-Émilion/Pomerol and the Médoc, to get a solid overview. For all but one of the properties I have visited, I was the first journalist to taste the 2017s. My presence here so early had absolutely nothing to do with being “first” to rush my scores out. It had to do with taking time. Mid-March was the calm before the storm. Winemakers and growers had more time to reflect on the vintage and candidly discuss with me the unique characters I discovered from place to place. The properties that I chose to visit in March tended to be those that make their final blends early—in January or February—and the blends had already been in barrel a few weeks.

I returned to Bordeaux on April 2nd for another twelve days of visits and tastings. This was to ensure that the wines I had tasted in March were tasted at least one more time and to conduct tastings at properties that made their blends later. Most of my visits to the top Châteaux were by appointment, but I also conducted a number of unannounced visits. Nearly every wine in my report has been tasted two to four times over the course of four and a half weeks.

A Final Word on the 2017 Ratings
I’d like to finish by reiterating what I said in my 2015 Bordeaux report published in February this year: I firmly believe that greatness exists across a broad range of valid styles...as does mediocrity and all-out failure.

Greatness is not linked to any particular wine style. When I assign ratings to wine, I consider a wide range of factors: fruit ripeness (especially tannin and flavor ripeness), mid-palate intensity, balance, complexity (on the nose, palate and finish) and the nature and persistence of the finish. Another key factor—one that is particularly important when considering Bordeaux wines—is the wine’s ability to age and develop in bottle over time. So, this does not mean that the most concentrated, powerful, high-octane wine gets the highest score. Or vice versa.

The greatest 2017 wines are generally medium-bodied, elegant, and perfumed with beautifully ripe tannins and fully expressed aroma/flavor compounds. They possess the structure and intensity of fruit to evolve incredibly and be very long-lived. I’m explaining all this because I was taken aback during my tastings to hear many winemakers talking down their own extraordinary efforts because the wines weren’t more concentrated, weightier and powerful like the wines produced in some of the more consistently great—and also hotter and drier—vintages of recent years. True, some vintages want to give concentrated fruit and richness, and when everything else comes together with these attributes, an extraordinary wine can result. But this is not the only expression of greatness. And this is not the expression of greatness in 2017.

[Comte Flaneur]

Interesting read thanks...seems like the vintage represents another step away from Parker with less emphasis on extraction and homogeneity of the grapes.

[Nicklasss]

Thanks Arv.

I passed on 2013 and 2014 futures, guess it could be the same for 2017? Seems like a very local vintage, with some blessed areas, while the rest seems harder.

Nic

[AKR]

I don't think futures make any sense in any modern vintages.

At some point critics are going to realize they are wasting time on these April rites.

Seriously, what is the point in spending any time at places like Latour?

They don't even sell their wine until it is mature!

My subscription to WA runs out in a few days.

They have jumped the shark.

Kind of a bummer since Luis and Joe are doing some good work.

[AlohaArtakaHoundsong]

I'm so glad I don't have to read this. Skimming it was painful enough.

[Comte Flaneur]

Here is Neal Martin’s - pretty mixed - take. It is all on the Vinous website.

http://vinous.com/articles/the-f-word-b ... 7-may-2018

If you don’t have time to read it all, his key points:

1) The 2017 Bordeaux vintage is a good to very good vintage, but it is not close to 2015 or 2016 in all but a handful of cases. Some proprietors talked of a “2014-plus” which is pretty fair. To quote Christian Seely: “I think it is closer to 2014 than 2015 and 2016, but 2014 was the product of a cool summer and fantastic end of season, whereas this [2017] had a cool summer with a difficult end of season.” That is the reality.

2) Frost damage affected quality only at lower levels of the hierarchy: inland vineyards on the Left Bank, on the plain in Saint-Émilion and lower reaches of Pomerol, especially in satellite appellations where second generation fruit was used.

3) It is not a Left or Right Bank vintage. Quality can be found on both banks although as I compiled and edited my notes, I confess a lot of affection for the Right Bank thanks to performances in Saint-Émilion.

4) On the Left Bank, the northern Médoc, Saint-Estèphe and Pauillac, appears to have done better than those more southerly, Saint-Julien and Margaux.

5) On the Right Bank, the limestone plateau and the côtes did particularly well, a combination of terroir and avoidance of frost damage setting them apart.

6) Sauternes shows good potential even if not within the top tier of quality compared to the best vintages over the last 15 years.

7) Stylistically? The bouquet is often perfumed, a facet of winemaking that has vastly improved in recent years thanks to fine-tuning techniques in the winery. The wines frequently have a floral element, violets but quite often, more iris-like scents. The 2017s boast plenty of freshness with crisp acidity, noticeable but not strong or grippy tannins, more black fruit compared to recent vintages. They are not dense or weighty wines and are often linear in style. Finishes are moderate in length, often with an estuarine/brine-like aftertaste. Thanks to tannin management they ought to be very approachable, though most have the structure to suggest medium-term ageing potential, peaking from 10 to 20 years. Only the very top wines will deserve seriously long-term ageing and, in any case, you may well have the 2015 and 2016s for that. But their freshness ought to see them repay bottle maturation. One or two sages opined they resemble the 1988 albeit with much finer tannins and purity, again a view with good foundations.

8) In banal terms, I like this vintage. I am not saying it is the best, but they were mostly a pleasure to taste and fascinating to learn about.

[RPCV]

Thanks all. I am going to stay with 2014. I like the freshness with medium plus ripeness and the fact that you can enjoy these wines in the near, medium and long term. Besides, I am getting too old for this sh*t. Of course, I will buy some 2015's...maybe '16's and...oh well, I guess I'll buy some '17's as well. LOL.

[DavidG]

Thanks for posting LPB's and Neal Martin's vintage notes. Cool growing season, lighter wines, crisp and fresh wines with less density and aging potential. Are alcohol levels trending lower as well? Another group of 2007-like "luncheon clarets?"

I enjoy these early guesses at where the wines will end up even though I’m no longer buying young Bordeaux. Seems like I’ve been saying that and failing to maintain my resolve for about 5 years now. But 12s, 14s, 15s and 16s were just so hard to resist. I don’t feel any angst about sitting on the sidelines for 17s. We’ll see if that lasts once I start seeing you guys tout the top performers after the wines are bottled.

[Antoine]

Ian, You wrote
Seely said "2014 was the product of a cool summer and fantastic end of season, whereas this [2017] had a cool summer with a difficult end of season.” That is the reality

So this tell me 2014 rather than 2017 is a no brainer: cheaper and better plus already 3 years down the line. If you add 2014 may be more consistent... unless one knows about a very special wine made in 2017 and decently priced...then easy pass

Or do I miss something?

[JimHow]

I have not tasted a 2014 I did not like.

[Comte Flaneur]

Ian, You wrote
Seely said "2014 was the product of a cool summer and fantastic end of season, whereas this [2017] had a cool summer with a difficult end of season.” That is the reality

So this tell me 2014 rather than 2017 is a no brainer: cheaper and better plus already 3 years down the line. If you add 2014 may be more consistent... unless one knows about a very special wine made in 2017 and decently priced...then easy pass

Or do I miss something?

I think you make a very good point Antoine: 2014 is probably the appropriate price benchmark. Though the euro was a lot weaker against both the dollar and the pound when those wines first went on sale in 2015.

[JimS]

Bumping this thread up a bit after quite a few releases have hit....

Outside of unique formats, I see zero reason to participate thus far in this year's campaign and am surprised at how aggressively priced a lot of these releases have been (even factoring in some USD weakness). Granted, there are still tons left to release, but backfilling seems like a no-brainer vs futures.

It almost makes me wonder, however, if that's exactly what the Bordelais are trying to achieve - playing the long game and nudging the consumer to buy up existing stock. Even after some price appreciation in the 2014 vintage, it still seems like smoking value. I'll likely be sitting this year out....

[JimHow]

Yeah I couldn't help but notice the less than spectacular pricing for the 2017s.
As I will be 60 this year I'm planning for 2016 to be my last vintage of any significant quantity.

[stefan]

Interesting, perhaps, but for me it does not matter. By the time the 2017s are ready to drink I'll be seated at the bar in That Great Tasting Room in The Sky, where first growths by the glass are free.

[Racer Chris]

Yeah I couldn't help but notice the less than spectacular pricing for the 2017s.
As I will be 60 this year I'm planning for 2016 to be my last vintage of any significant quantity.

So is $105 a good price for 2017 Lynch Bages? I just received the Total Wine En Primeur offer #5 in my in box.

[JimS]

Yeah I couldn't help but notice the less than spectacular pricing for the 2017s.
As I will be 60 this year I'm planning for 2016 to be my last vintage of any significant quantity.

So is $105 a good price for 2017 Lynch Bages? I just received the Total Wine En Primeur offer #5 in my in box.

Just my $0.02 but it seems like of all releases thus far in the 2017 EP campaign, Lynch Bages priced theirs most sensibly. I haven't tasted it, but 2017 pricing for them looks reasonable versus where you can buy other recent vintages...although I definitely wouldn't call it a bargain.

[Racer Chris]

Just my $0.02 but it seems like of all releases thus far in the 2017 EP campaign, Lynch Bages priced theirs most sensibly. I haven't tasted it, but 2017 pricing for them looks reasonable versus where you can buy other recent vintages...although I definitely wouldn't call it a bargain.

If it was a legitimate 95+ point wine I would call it a great deal, but nothing in that price range is a bargain.

[Racer Chris]

Total Wine Futures release #8 came yesterday:

The 2017 Bordeaux vintage is one that, without a doubt, will embrace a winemaker's artistic expression. With a multitude of challenges disparately affecting the different communes, each chateau crafted a different strategy than their counterparts. This means that the 2017 vintage will be more unique in style and truly express the characteristics of localized terroir. Perhaps no other commune expresses the aromatic, youthful vibrancy of the vintage more than Margaux; and our offer today contains a treasure trove of high quality estates such as D'Issan, Giscours, and Brane-Cantenac.

Last year's wine of the vintage, Chateau Canon, also has arrived with another strong showing (94-96, Wine Advocate) and coupled with reduced pricing. With a history of being one of the longest-lived wines in Saint-Emilion, and with limited production, don't miss out on this Right Bank heavyweight.

Despite initial worries about the vintage, many chateaux have received rave reviews and fantastic scores from critics all around. The biggest obstacle this year will be quantity. With frost affecting many vineyards that are lower in elevation, some chateaux experienced drastic losses in yields.

WINE SIZE PRICE DEPOSIT
2017 Calon-Segur 750ml $84.97 $42.49
Saint-Estephe 1.5L $172.97 $86.49
95-97 WE · 94-95 JS 3L $379.97 $189.99

2017 Canon 750ml $94.97 $47.49
Saint-Emilion 1.5L $192.97 $96.49
94-96 WA · 93-96 WS



2017 Gruaud Larose 750ml $74.97 $37.49
Saint-Julien 1.5L $152.97 $76.49
92-94 WE · 91-94 WS 3L $339.97 $169.99


2017 Rauzan-Segla 750ml $74.97 $37.49
Margaux 1.5L $152.97 $76.49
94-96 WA · 94-96 WE 3L $339.97 $169.99

2017 Brane-Cantenac 750ml $69.97 $34.99
Margaux 1.5L $142.97 $71.49
94-96 WE · 92-93 JS



2017 Grand-Puy-Lacoste 750ml $74.97 $37.49
Pauillac 1.5L $152.97 $76.49
91-94 WS · 92-93 JS 3L $339.97 $169.99

2017 Giscours 750ml $59.97 $29.99
Margaux 1.5L $122.97 $61.49
94-96 WE · 92-93 JS 3L $279.97 $139.99

2017 D'Issan 750ml $59.97 $29.99
Margaux 1.5L $122.97 $61.49
93-94 JS · 90-92 WA




2017 La Dominique 750ml $59.97 $29.99
Saint-Emilion 1.5L $122.97 $61.49
92-94 WE · 92-93 JS

2017 La Clarte de Haut-Brion Blanc 750ml $84.97 $42.49
Pessac-Leognan
93-94 JS · 90-92 WA

2017 Reserve de la Comtesse de Lalande 750ml $42.97 $21.49
Pauillac 1.5L $88.97 $44.49
92-93 JS · 90-92 VM