With the ‘beyond Bordeaux’ September campaign now well underway, db’s Bordeaux correspondent Colin Hay looks at the latest releases, finding that while it is an unquestionably glittering display, all that glitters does not necessarily turn to gold. The ‘hors Bordeaux’ September campaign has seen a flurry of activity, with amongst others, Domaine de la Chapelle, Almaviva, Opus One, Clos Apalta, Caro, Quintessa, Seña, Chateau de Beaucastel, Masseto and Inglenook already released. This week has already seen further releases from Bibi Graetz and Vérité with plenty more to come from the likes of Morlet, Paul Hobbs, Catena Zapata and Telmo Rodriguez to name but a few. It is an unquestionably glittering display, but all that glitters does not necessarily turn to gold. So what are the early signals from the campaign? Over the last couple of weeks I have spoken to a number of the producers themselves, as well as to the leading courtiers and négociants specialising in the hors Bordeaux market and also to a number of UK and French-based buyers in the on-trade at professional tastings in both London and Paris. To make things a little easier, I’m going to treat all of these conversations as ‘off the record’. There is no questioning the difficulty of the market conditions. And no-one that I spoke to is in any doubt that this will have a significant bearing on the success – and, just as importantly, the perceived success – of the campaign. We are simply not in conditions conducive to
This Article was originally published on The Drink Business - Wine
