bordeaux

Ch�teau Latour, Yours for $200 Million

Filed under: Wine

Fabled Bordeaux brand Château Latour, widely regarded as one of the finest wines from the Medoc region, is being offered for sale by top-drawer investment bank Lazard Freres, the London Times reports. French business tycoon and president of the luxury-goods group PPR, François Pinault, is seeking $200 million - $280 million for it, the paper reports.

Pinault, whose holdings include Christie's (also rumored to be for sale), Gucci and Puma, piad about $150 million for Latour in 1993. Bernard Magrez, owner of the rival Pape Clément winery, is said to be a strong contender, perhaps with backing from his and friend fellow wine aficionado Gérard Depardieu.

The Château Latour estate consists of 190 acres of Bordeaux vineyards, but only grapes from the 115 acres that surround the actual chateau at the heart of the estate are used to make the Grand Vin de Château Latour (right). A case of the 1961 vintage fetched an impressive $170,000 at auction by Christie's in Hong Kong last month.

Gallery: ChÃ¢teau Latour

Tags: Bordeaux, Chateau Latour, ChateauLatour, Christies, France, Francois Pinault, FrancoisPinault, Gerard Depardieu, GerardDepardieu, Gucci, Medoc, PPR

French Newspapers Damn 2008 Bordeaux With Faint Praise

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Wine

It's not looking good for the 2008 Bordeaux. Decanter reports that France's two main newspapers, Le Monde and Le Figaro have panned the 2008 vintage. They say that the recent poor weather has affected the harvest. Le Figaro said that the 2008 wine 'promised neither quality nor quantity' while Le Monde said that readers 'should not expect answers [from winemakers] when all the conditions that go in to making a great vintage do not come together.' The harvest has been very difficult all over the region running weeks behind schedule due to increased rain. The news comes at a time when conflicting Bordeaux stories are in the media. On the one hand, the 2005 Bordeaux is said to be phenomenal, but things after that aren't so rosy. Vintners are threatening to boycott producers over the cost of the 2006 vintage and the emperor of wine, Robert Parker had limited kind words for the 2007 vintage.

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Tags: bordeaux, france, vintage, wine

2005 Bordeaux Keeps Looking Better

by Tracy Chait (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Wine

Poor growing seasons over the past three years, combined with what so many oenophiles claimed was an exceptional year for wine, the 2005 Bordeaux look better and better.

And according to Financial Times wine expert Jancis Robinson, the 2005s are good at both ends of the price spectrum. Robinson calls these wines "by far the greatest bordeaux vintage I have been lucky enough to taste." At a recent London tasting, the favorite first growth was the Chateau Margeaux. Chateau Haut-Brion and Latour followed closely behind.

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Tags: 2005 bordeaux, 2005Bordeaux, bordeaux, chateau margaux, ChateauMargaux, latour, wine

The French Protest Proposed Stricter Wine Rules

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Wine

Big changes seems to be afoot for the wine industry in France. A suggested amendment to the public health bill 'article 24' would outlaw all 'free alcoholic drinks with the intention of promotion.' This would put an end to free wine tastings in France, the famous en primeur barrel tastings in Bordeaux and the internationally-attended Vinexpo wine exhibition and all other activities involving wine tasting would have to be paid for by the tasters. Article 24, if approved, could be set in place by January 2009. There is also currently a ban on wine advertising on the internet in France and proposed tax increases on wine (wine ads are banned on television and print ads cannot show people drinking wine, beer or liquor).

As you might imagine, the wine industry is up in arms over this. Demonstrators recently took to the streets of the wine producing areas such as Bordeaux, Sancerre, and Cognac in protest. The largest demonstration took place in Bordeaux where the signs listing the names of the wine growing appellations were covered with the word "censure."

Anti-alcoholism groups and the French Health Ministry are concerned about the rise of binge drinking among French teenagers and the government has proposed raising the legal age for buying alcohol to 18 from 16. It may seem startling to some in the U.S. but in Europe, children often learn about wine at the family dinner table. The wine industry though feels that wine is not the problem and that curtailing the industry strikes at the very core of French tradition and industry. It bears noting that France's President Nicolas Sarkozy is a known teetotaler.

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Tags: bordeaux, europe, france, wine

Rare Tasting of "The Vintage of the Century" In New York City

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Dining, Wine, Events

If you have $4.000 to spend on a wine tasting, this might be the one. On September 25, the Ninth Annual benefit "Once-in-a-Lifetime Blockbuster Wine Tasting Dinner" will take place in New York City. It will showcase the 1990 Bordeaux, a year important for its hot, dry weather followed by some thunderstorms and scattered showers in September and October. The stressed grapes which stopped ripening and then quickly started again once the rains came, were a healthy bumper crop that ended up producing one of the best vintages in recent history.

The dinner will include a horizontal tasting of The Vintage of the Century: 1990 Bordeaux with a dozen different wines rated 96 or higher by Robert Parker including five that have been rated a perfect 100. This is a chance to enjoy the type of wines that make even the most experienced tasters go a little week in the knees. Each flight of these offerings from one of the most extraordinary vintages of the 20th century is paired with a matching gourmet dish.

All wines will be donated and the dinner is limited to just 40 participants who will gather in a private townhouse in Greenwich Village. The meal will be prepared by a renowned New York chef, and the wine will be served by members of the Windows on the World sommelier staff. The $4,000 fee will be donated to a "highly respected" 501(c)3 organization and is therefore tax deductible. Participation is by invitation only. More details can be found here.

[Thanks, David]

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Tags: bordeaux, new york, wine, wine tasting

Christie's Plans Auction Of 2000 Bordeaux

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Wine, Auctions

The turning of the millennium was a great year for wine and Christie's hopes to cash in on the taste for Bordeaux when a major collection of 2000 Bordeaux is auctioned at Christie's London on September 15 and 18. Decanter reports that more than 3000 cases from some 70 chateaux will be auctioned up for auction. The wine belongs to a European collector and has been kept in bond since it was shipped from the chateaux. The range estimates for the auction as a whole are from £1.27 million to £1.6 million with high prices expected for the cases of Lafite, Latour, Mouton and Haut-Brion.

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Tags: bordeaux, christies, france, red wine, wine

Checkmate Limited-Production Bordeaux Blend Released

by Tracy Chait (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Wine

Summers Winery has announced it will release a limited-production Bordeaux-style blend this November, aptly named Checkmate (a portion of the winery's grapes are grown in Knight's Valley, and this blend is bound to be a "grandmaster" of wine). Just 75 cases were produced of this blend of Cab Sauv, Merlot, Cab Franc and Petit Verdot, all grown in northern Napa. This particular wine has been in the wings for quite some time. All grapes were harvested and sorted by hand in 2005, and a mere three barrels from the 600 produced will wear the Checkmate label.

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Tags: bordeaux, checkmate, limited production, LimitedProduction, napa, summers winery, SummersWinery

Christie's Wine Dept. Returns to Asia with Latour Sale

by Jared Paul Stern (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Wine, Auctions

In November, London-based auction house Christie's will hold their first wine auction in Asia since 2001, featuring a landmark collection of 140 years worth of Latour sourced directly from the Château cellars.

The first Château-sourced collection of the fabled Bordeaux ever to be sold in Asia will go on the block Nov. 29 in Hong Kong; the 150 Latour lots, including magnums and large format bottles from a wide range of vintages dating from 1865 - 2005, are expected to fetch over $1.5 million total.

One of the top prizes is a 1900 magnum estimated at $18,000 - $24,000. Christie's already has a strong showing in Hong Kong with art and antique auctions bringing in over $300 million in Spring 2008, the highest total ever achieved for an Asian season.

Gallery: ChÃ¢teau Latour

Tags: Asia, Auction house, AuctionHouse, Bordeaux, Chateau Latour, ChateauLatour, Christies, Hong Kong, HongKong

Robert Parker's $2,000 Wine Tasting

by Tracy Chait (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Wine

Oenophiles mark your calendars for October 23: wine mystic Robert Parker will host an exclusive tasting featuring

Bordeaux wines from 2005, what Parker says is "the greatest vintage produced during my thirty year career." For $2,000 per person ($1,000 of which is a charitable donation toward Culinary Institute scholarships), tasters will sample 18 wines, including all five of the Premiers Grand Crus from the Left Bank, which are currently priced at $75,000 a case.

Check out Robert Parker's website to learn more about the wines he favors and to search over 100,000 tasting notes from Parker's extensive database.

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Tags: bordeaux, bordeaux wine, BordeauxWine, culinary institute, CulinaryInstitute, robert parker, RobertParker, tasting, wine, wine tasting, WineTasting

French Chateau Picks Up Famed Napa Winery

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Wine

Last month I mentioned that Chateau Montelena, one of Napa Valley's best-known wineries, might be for sale. Now the San Francisco Chronicle reveals the new owner. Michel Reybier, owner of Bordeaux chateau Cos d'Estournel, will soon own the Calistoga property pending approval from the federal government. There has been no definitive word on a price but rumor has it that the figure is in the $100 to $110 million range. The potential deal comes at a time when attention is being focused toward the winery anyway because of the release of the movie "Bottle Shock," which centers on the events surrounding the moment when the 1973 Montelena Chardonnay outscored top white Burgundies in the 1976 Judgment of Paris tasting.

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Tags: bordeaux, chateau montelena, france, napa valley, NapaValley

Robert Parker Pans 2007 Bordeaux Vintage

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Wine

Bordeaux chateaux are starting to release their prices for the 2007 vintage but there is already bad news. The emperor of wine, famed wine critic Robert Parker has slammed the latest vintage handing out low scores and branding the vintage as overpriced. Wine buyers often look to Parker's scores to see if they should buy wine futures which are sold two years before a vintage's release. In his vintage review titled "2007 Bordeaux: Who Will Buy Them and at What Price?" he has basically told buyers not to bother unless prices are lowered dramatically.

The news is devastating for some Bordeaux producers for whom Parker's scores may mean less sales. Certainly his advice carries considerable weight and may influence wine dealers not to purchase simply because they are afraid they won't be able to sell to wine collectors in the long run. Should any one man have this much power?

Parker gave only three of his coveted 100 point scores this year and all three were for whites, Chateau Pape Clement white and Haut-Brion, were both marked 96-100, and Chateau Climens, a sweet white tasted by Parker's British sidekick Neal Martin, got 98-100. Even Bordeaux's top five, first growth wines didn't even hit 95 with Chateau Margaux earning a 92-94, Chateau Haut-Brion a 91-94, and Mouton-Rothschild a 90-94. Chateau Lafite and Chateau Latour both got a 90-93.

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Tags: bordeaux, robert parker, RobertParker, vintage, wine

BKWine: Fall Tours

by Laura Malesich (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Luxury Travel & Hotels, Wine

Wine, travel and gastronomy are a scrumptious combination. Brought together in great packages, BKWine Tours provided by Britt Karlsson and her husband Per have three new wine tours to launch their autumn program for 2008. One trip per month between September and November, the destinations are Bordeaux, the Douro Valley in Portugal, and Champagne and each trip takes place over a long weekend. Learn about wines, enjoy fantastic travel and gastronomic jubilation this fall...what could be more fun!

Gallery: BKWine Tours

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Tags: BK Wine, BK-Wine-Tours, BKWine, Bordeaux, Britt-Karlsson, Champagne, Douro-Valley, Portugal

Continue reading “BKWine: Fall Tours”

Using RFID To Track and Monitor Wine

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Gadgets, Wine

While the most famous examples of wine fraud involve older bottles, counterfeits of current vintages are also a problem. A new company called eProvenance has used RFID tags to create what they call an "intelligent bottle." The eProvenance system uses a semi-active RFID tag inside the case to monitor temperatures and shipping information, a passive RFID tag on the base of the bottle for tracking and inventory management, and a tamper-proof bottle neck seal that has a covert code applied at the base of the capsule to authenticate the wine inside the bottle and thwart counterfeiters. Eric Vogt, the founder of the company is currently working on programs with nine Bordeaux Châteaux. During the past six months, over 1200 "Intelligent Cases," equipped with temperature-tracking RFID tags from eProvenance, have been sent out from Bordeaux to a variety of locations in the USA, UK, and Japan in order to benchmark the current temperature conditions in the fine wine distribution channel.

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Tags: bordeaux, rfid, wine, wine fraud, WineFraud

Bernard Magrez Sells in France, Buys in Chile

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Wine

It could be argued that watching the moves of wine tycoon Bernard Magrez is a good way to chart what is happening in the world of wine on a global level. Decanter reports that the French winemaker has bought 200 hectares in Chile and sold three Bordeaux AOC estates. The move is part of Magrez's strategy to concentrate on high-end wines. Magrez intends to produce between 100,000 and 150,000 bottles per year from his new estate in the Colchagua Valley, located around an hour south of the capital Santiago. There are no vineyards on the estate yet but vines planted will include Cabernet Sauvignon, Syrah and Carmenere. The wine from the estate will be called Hacienda de la Serenidad, the name of an existing estate in the area owned by Magrez.

A couple of years ago the words high-end wine and Chile might have sounded laughable but as a recent article by Laura Daniel proves, the pricier end of the Chilean wine market is booming. Big bold Chileans reds are commanding attention and winning rave reviews.

In France, Magrez is selling off a trio of AOC Bordeaux estates. It's not that he's given up on France (of his 32 estates, 18 are in Bordeaux and six are in Languedoc Roussillon) but the move does bring increased credibility to the already booming area of South American wine. It seems to be part of a global shift where China and Russia are picking up older estates in Bordeaux while French winemakers are bringing their expertise to areas with less vineyards (and lower land prices).

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Tags: bernard magrez, BernardMagrez, bordeaux, chile, expire-images:2009-3-13, frane, wine

Bordeaux Prices So High It's Immoral?

by Rigel Celeste (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Wine

There's been a controversy brewing over the prices of Bordeaux, and it doesn't appear to be settling down anytime soon. Recently in an article in a French magazine the former head of Richemont, Alain-Dominique Perrin, said that prices as high as €500 a bottle ($725) are "immoral."

The argument stems from estimates that production only costs about €12 per bottle (which would make €500 a markup of about 80 times) and that price tags should come down to about €100/$145 to be reasonable. The other sides says that costs aren't that low in many cases, and that most importantly they aren't able to give details and "don't want to get in an argument" over pricing.

Wow, what do you think?

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Tags: Bordeaux, immoral, spirits, wine

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