Bordeaux 2014 Vintage

Primeurs 2015: Snap-shot of a Vintage 2014

Timed usually ath the end of March and beginning of April the Primeur Week in Bordeaux is always an exciting moment as it allows a first view on the latest vintage. The huge number of wines available for tasting is impressing and one week seems almost to short. Therefore the Union de Grand Crus offers a well organised blind tasting for the press on every morning during the week. On the precendt weekend the Grand Cercle des vins de Bordeaux holds blind tastings of over 200 samples. These impressions are complemented by tastings at various Châteaux and tastings organized by the Bordeaux trade. Therefore some oft he wines can be tasted twice or even more often during this week to doublecheck on quality and style.

An interesting fact is the weather situation. Meterologic low pressure means that wines may close down, meanwhile meterologic high pressure presents the wines in a more open and flavourful style. This year the wheather was quite bad during the first days of the tasting week but ameliorated a lot in the second half of the week. This had an influence on the tasting notes in general which has to be considered. Another effect has been the late harvest in 2014, which shortened the time period between harvest and Primeur tastings for up to a month. A month less time for maturation has effects on the tasting results which is another aspect to consider, always keeping in mind that each tasting result remains a snap-shot and is not an absolute and final judgement.

2014 had an early start with budbreak around 10 days ahead of the 10 years average. End of May flowering started on the early terroirs in heterogeneous conditions, whereas the later varieties such as Cabernet-Sauvignon and Franc as well as later terroirs took advantage of a warm and sunny period beginning of June. July and August where quite cool and humid and in the second half of August the vintners prepared themselves for a vintage even worse than 2013 but at the end of August everything changed. A spledid indian summer througout September and October saved the quality. Harvest started for the white grapes started three days later than in 2012 but two weeks later than 2011. For the red grapes the harvest startet with Merlot at the end of September and ended with the Cabernets in the second half of October. The cool climate during summer provides a higher acidity, the indian summer is responsible for the right ripening.

The dry white wines are on a very good quality level showing crisp acidity and ripe flavours. The noble sweet white wines also take advantage of the higher acidity balancing the opulent sweetness. Therefore this vintage seems more on the elegant side. The presentation of red wines depends very much on the grape varietes and terroirs. Overall the red wines are on a higher quality level than the three previous vintages. Saint-Emilion is excellent on the plateau calcaire and shows in general very good wines.

 In Pomerol the centre of the plateau was in advantage over the surrounding areas. Fronsac was a very positive surprise for 2014. In the Médoc the southern part proved to be more heterogenous than the northern part, where especially Saint-Estèphe was homogenous and excellent. South of Bordeaux Pessac-Léognan presented a very homogenous picture of a very good quality level with outstanding wines from Haut Brion and La Mission Haut Brion.

One last observation: This vintage digests oak in a great way. The oak is even not obvious in wines with a 100% new oak barrels for maturation. Now there are roughtly twelve month to follow for the maturation of the 2014s untill the bottling in 2016. A lot can happen in this period. Let us see how the wines will present themselves after bottling, it will be a very interesting tasting again. 2014 is not a great vintage like 2005, 2009 or 2010 but it will be able to secure a position as one of the very good vintages of Bordeaux.

TOP 100  BORDEAUX 2014  VINTAGE

(You can read the tasting notes and full reviews by using the search engine on the left upper corner. Just write the name of the wine you are looking for) 

BORDEAUX 2014 DECLARED ‘MIRACLE’ VINTAGE 

2014 Bordeaux is a “great”, “miracle” vintage that is close in style and quality to the exceptional 2010s, according to Nicolas Glumineau, general manager for Roederer’s Bordeaux estates.

Nicolas Glumineau of Roederer (Photo: db)

Glumineau, whose responsibilities stretch from Pauillac second growth Château Pichon Longueville Comtesse de Lalande to St Estèphe cru bourgeois estates Château de Pez and Château Haut Beauséjour, told db that he considered last year’s harvest “a great vintage”.

Continuing, he said that it was “a kind of miracle vintage”, due to the unusually fine weather from late August until mid-November, which followed a wet and cool June, July and early August.

The unbroken dry and sunny conditions in the latter half of the year allowed Glumineau to oversee the longest harvest on record for Château Pichon Longueville Comtesse de Lalande, which lasted five weeks.

As a result, he said that 2014 was a particularly good year for Cabernet Sauvignon.

“Merlot needs a good summer, but Cabernet needs a very long Indian summer – the grape is a marathon runner – and my feeling is that this is a Cabernet year,” he said.

Continuing, he said that 2014 was between 2001 and 2010 in style, adding, “but it is very close to 2010, 2014 has a very obvious tannic structure and a long ageing potential; it is balanced, with density and richness,” he said.

Noting that alcohols are 13.2% for the Pauillac estate’s first and second wine, he further described the wines as “charming, fruity and creamy”, and “the kind of wine I’d love to make every year”.

Clarifying his comparison with 2010, Glumineau said that the 2010 vintage was “outstanding”, and said that 2014 “was not at the same level, but we have something great.”

In terms of pricing the 2014 vintage release, Glumineau told db that he would be waiting to see how the market reacts to prices from neighbouring cru classé estates before deciding the level for Pichon Longueville Comtesse de Lalande.

“I will take time to analyse the markets at the start of this year’s en primeur campaign… we need to take the time not to price too early,” he said, adding that the second growth property was not holding unsold stock.

“We have no more 2012 or 2013 available,” he said, adding, “So I am sure we have made the effort to price the wines well with those last two years” – which were both released at €48 a bottle to the négociants.

Nevertheless, he said that Bordeaux would need to “listen to the markets and react pragmatically”.

Indeed, he said, “I think the en primeur system is a fantastic way to create a good relationship between the wineries, the merchants and the final customers, so we shouldn’t break the toy.”

by Patrick Schmitt

Bordeaux Preview: Will the 2014 Vintage Be Worth Betting On?

No one is calling 2014 a great, must-have "vintage of the century" as 2010, 2009, and 2005 were branded

byElin McCoy

Several thousand people from around the world are in Bordeaux this week for the annual spring rite of en primeur, roaming from the Medoc to Graves, from Pomerol to Saint-Emilion to get a first taste of the 2014 vintage. 

The wines are still aging quietly in barrels as merchants assess which ones to offer their clients as futures, and journalists furiously scribble their tasting notes.

Overall quality looks to be pretty good. The vintage story is a familiar one: a cool, damp summer with the grapes finally ripened by the “miracle” of September sun.

No one is calling 2014 a great, must-have "vintage of the century," as they labeled 2010, 2009, and 2005. 

Several thousand people from around the world are in Bordeaux this week for the annual spring rite of en primeur.

Source: UGCB via Bloomberg

A Buying Slump

So the big question hovering, like a dark cloud above this week’s en primeur circus, is whether prices for the 2014s will be low enough to get buyers excited about plunking down cash for wines that won’t be bottled for two years.  No one will know for about a month. 

The way-too-expensive wines from lackluster 2011, 2012, and 2013 have languished, unsold. Even wines from the great 2009 and 2010 vintages, like first growth Chateau Lafite-Rothschild, have dropped 30 percent to 45 percent from their futures prices. 

Will chateau owners blow it once again?

The big question hovering like a dark cloud above this week’s en primeur circus is whether prices for the 2014s will be low enough to get buyers excited.

Two months ago, a dozen U.K. merchants, including Bordeaux Index and Berry Bros & Rudd, signed an open letter to chateau owners and negociants, urging a return to the same reasonable pricing as the fine 2008 vintage. 

Good luck on that one.

Thomas Duroux, chief executive officer of Chateau Palmer, pooh-poohed the idea, reminding me that the economic situation today is quite different from the financial meltdown in which the 2008 futures were offered.

As Alexander van Beek, general manager of Chateau Giscours and Chateau du Tertre explained over dinner in New York a couple of weeks ago, “2014 isn’t homogeneous, so you can’t generalize about price. People with more long term vision should be rewarded.” 

In Bordeaux-speak, that means my neighbors should reduce prices, not me. 

The Parker Effect

The euro is at its lowest point in more than 10 years, which could offer added incentive for U.S. wine lovers to buy futures—but only if the cost is low enough to start. 

In the U.S., Clyde Beffa, owner of the Bay Area’s K & L Wine Merchants, a big seller of Bordeaux futures, said there’s little interest among his customers for the 2014s. Chris Adams, CEO of New York’s Sherry-Lehmann, e-mailed: “There is some buzz for the quality, but pricing needs to be like 2008. It’s that simple.” 

This year, a complicating factor is that wine guru Robert Parker announced last month that he will no longer judge Bordeaux wines en primeur and is handing over responsibility to Neal Martin, a reviewer at his newsletter.

Gary Boom of U.K.-based Bordeaux Index is persuaded that Parker's withdrawal will lead to lower prices.

Shaun Bishop, CEO of online merchant JJ Buckley, also cautions that “without the most important voice to drive the wholesale chain and consumers to take the risk and provide the capital, the impact of Parker’s absence may be significant.” 

In previous years, chateaux have mostly waited for Parker’s ratings before releasing their futures prices. A 95-point to 100-point score meant they could charge accordingly, which is what happened with the very expensive 2009s.  

What to Do

My advice? while you’re waiting to decide whether to take a plunge on the 2014s, right now is the time to splash out for wines from a great, investment-grade vintage that’s almost ready to drink: 2005. 

Unlike the 2014 growing season, 2005 was perfection. When I tasted barrel samples years ago, I thought they were the best young wines I’d ever put in my mouth. 

From recent tastings, I’m certain that  2005 is, so far, the best vintage of the 21st century. The wines are elegant, succulent, and concentrated. Even the less-expensive ones are excellent.

Merchants are now restocking, and some wines cost less than they did five years ago. A warning, though: Prices are just beginning to go up. 

They’ll climb even higher within the next few months, when Parker reassesses them in his promised 10-year retrospective. He has already said that he probably underrated them.

Markus Del Monego was born in Basle in Switzerland in 1966 and grew up in South Baden in Germany. After the Abitur*, he started hotelier training in the Dorint Spa Hotel in Bad Brückenau. He then undertook a stage as sommelier in the Vier Jahreszeiten Hotel in Hamburg. Further positions followed, including the Park Hotel in Bremen and the Savoy Hotel in London.

In 1998 in Vienna Del Monego became the first German World Sommelier Champion. In 2003 in London he passed the Master of Wine exams, considered to be the most exacting wine exams in the world. Markus Del Monego was therefore the first person in the history of these titles to succeed in being able to hold both of them. A few months later in Japan he became Master of Sake – Kiki Sakeshi, in 2008 Officially authorised expert in "the evaluation of wine" - Essen Chamber of Industry and Commerce, Mülheim an der Ruhr, Oberhausen by Essen, 2014 Sake Samurai' - „Japan Sake Brewers Association Junior Council“, 2015 Ambassador of Barolo wines - Ambasciatore dell’Academia del Barolo, 2016 Ambassador of Champagne - Ambassadeur de l’Ordre des Côteaux de Champagne en Allemagne.

As a wine professional Del Monego has long been more than “just” a sommelier, he is also an expert in all things sensory. Today he is owner and managing director of the consulting company tasteTainment GmbH based in Essen. tasteTainment GmbH advises merchants, wine producers and also private individuals around the world on all matters to do with “wine and enjoyment”.

Markus Del Monego has very successfully turned his hobby into his profession.