Chateau Latour Exits ‘En Primeur’ System: Good News for Wine Buyers

The Telegraph has reported that Chateau Latour has announced its exit from the ‘en primeur’ system, a move that is sure to take the gamble and uncertainty out of expensive wine purchasing. The concept of the en primeur system consists of Chateaux in France who determine a value and sell their wine before it has been bottled. This process relies on the expectation of the yet unproven wine quality, as judged by wine buyers and experts. According the Chateau Latour, the goal is to end speculators from profiting from the sales of wine that is not yet ready to drink. A Chateau Latour source states “Our team will taste the wine often and decide when it is ready. That’s the goal. We wanted to kill the speculation side of the market.”

However, with the news from Chateau Latour that their current vintage is the last that will be bought en primeurs, mixed reactions and emotions have filled the air. Experts suggest that this exit from the decades-old en primeur system should benefit wine collectors, as the element of uncertainty will vanish with already-bottled wine. Buying decisions must be made based on a quality and taste that has not fully developed, and is entirely unready to be dranken. That being said, it’s no surprise that wine drinkers and collectors are pleased with Chateau Latour’s recent news. Many traders, however, are reacting negatively to the new announcement, given that they profit as being the middlemen in Bordeaux, taking a cut of the profit when they sell their wine. Eliminating the negociant system poses a major problem for those in the wine trade business.

Read more on Chateau Latour’s decision to pull out of the en primeur system here.

Are Apps the Future of Wine Tourism?

When thinking about your next wine vacation, or designing your own private wine tour, do you first turn to your smart phone to use an app to help you out? While this may not be all to common just yet, apps may be the future of the wine tourism industry.

Hunter Valley Wine Country Tourism has created the Hunter Valley iPhone and iPad apps that offer current information on wineries, hotels, where to eat, and other places of interest throughout Hunter Valley. In addition, they have launched a brand new development that allows for users to decide which ‘wine personality’ they are, to help them design and create their very own personalized Hunter tour. Personalities include the educated palate, the food fanatic (who is a lover of both food and wine), the city slicker (the discerning traveler who loves indulgence) and the trusty friend (who is a no-fuss, relaxed tourist). According to executive manager Dean Gorddard, the app allows users to share their results and findings on social media channels, and “is intended to give users a feel for what the region has to offer and the opportunity to search for information that will enhance their experience of the Hunter Valley. It brings the whole region to life,”.

But Hunter Valley Wine Country Tourism isn’t the first to create such an app. They are innovative in their design and concept, however other wineries have already jumped on the trend of getting technical with their clients.

Wine tour apps for regions in California such as the Santa Barbara Wine Tour App (by de Vin Apps), and the Napa Valley and Sonoma County Wine Tour Apps (by Amicis Winery) allow for tourists to explore the Californian wine country at the ease of their mobile phone. Complete with maps, photos, videos, and local places of interest, these apps are pioneers in what could be the future of wine tourism. California is not alone, many other apps like these exist with many more on the rise, all built to help visitors on their exploration and discovery of particular wineries and vineyards.

Wine tour related apps bring the accessibility to the public’s fingertips, allowing for users to feel more connected, tended to, and informed when it comes to planning their next wine vacation. These apps are cool, fresh, and fun techniques that have the potential to draw in new clients and travelers for wineries and wine tour operators around the world. While they are convenient and creative, it must be questioned whether they are compromising the traditional experience and personality of a wine tour. Don’t get  us wrong, apps such as the Hunter Valley app is a fresh concept that could change the ways we go about deciding our wine vacations, but are these app trends going down a path replacing real wine makers, property owners, and guides with videos and photos on your smart phone?

A Wine Glass Guide for Beginners

Ever wonder why there are so many different shapes for each type of wine? It can be confusing, we know. Plus, if you’re going to embark on a vacation with Decanter Tours, we’d like to give you an easy, simple guide to explain the necessity for all the different sizes and shapes of various wine glasses.

Simply enough, each glass takes the essence of that particular grape and forces it to the part of the tongue adapted to enhance that grape’s particular taste. The shape of the glass can have an effect on the chemicals that are in the wine that affects its taste. Because the shape of the glass controls the amount of wine surface area exposed to the air, the size of the bowl then determines how much or little liquid can be swirled, also affecting the exposure.  The shape and thickness of the rim sends the wine to certain parts of the tongue with different taste sensitivities.  Lastly, the diameter of the opening concentrates or expands the rising aroma or bouquet. Try it sometime if you’re in doubt. Have a “glass tasting” party on us at Decanter Tours! Read more on a glass guide here.

Sleep in a Treehouse at Chateau Franc Mayne

Château Franc Mayne in St. Emilion has maintained their eco-friendly mantra with their newly revealed treehouse that sits amongst the Cedars that so beautifully surround this classified growth, owned by Griet Laviale.

We recently visited this new addition to the beautiful hotel’s property. Greeted warmly as ever by the fabulous staff of the Château, their new treehouse development is afantastic, unique way to unwind after a day of wine tasting. Amidst the vineyards and Cedars, cuddle up in your own private tree house suite and enjoy that bottle of wine you bought from one of your winery visits earlier in the day.

Book now with Decanter Tours and get a free bottle of champagne upon your arrival! 

Parker’s word on Bordeaux vintages

The Bordeaux futures campaign is just coming to a close and the merchants, critics and assorted buyers are returning to their homes.

Recently Live EX interviewed Robert Parker.  Now although not everybody is a fan, he does know Bordeaux very well and his comments on particular recent vintages made me think of some of my clients.  Very often my clients turn their noses up at  certain vintages because they read somewhere after the Futures campaign that it was not a Great vintage.  One thing to remember is that wine is a living thing and constantly evolving.  I had this dilemma recently with a Master Sommelier telling me she didnt want to taste the 2001s on her Bordeaux wine tour, because they weren’t as good as the 2000s.

According to Mr Parker   The 2001s are “underrated…   It’s a vintage that is just drinking beautifully” he even goes so far as to say that he would advise his clients to buy them were he a consultant.  He goes on to say “The 2001s, though, are very close in quality to the 2000s, particularly on the Graves and the Right Bank. And the wines have evolved at a much faster pace – they are very fragrant, very perfumed. They are not blockbusters but they are rich. They are also very reasonably priced and somewhat forgotten.”

So when faced with different vintages I say try them all!  Like us humans, wines have good and bad days, they open up then close down again, they are pert then soft… need I say more?

With the 2011s just now being put to the test, the general consensus is that when the wines are good, they are very good. But price will be a determining factor for this vintage.

More comments from RP.

Is there one vintage you feel that you, or others, underrated? If you were buying a back vintage, where should collectors put their money? Where is the value?

I think there is tremendous sentiment about 2005, which many writers rated slightly better than I did. I was originally worried about the tannin levels in 2005, but the wines are so concentrated I think they will be just fine – they just need a lot of time.

But there are two vintages I would pick:

Firstly, 2003. It was a bizarre year; there were a lot of failures in Pomerol, St Emilion and the Graves, but when you get into the Medoc you really run into a lot of profound wines, particularly further north in Pauillac, St Estephe and St Julien. I bought a lot of Montrose; I bought Cos; I bought the Leovilles, the Pichons, Latour and Lafite. These are great wines, despite the question marks over the vintage. If you had late-ripening Cabernet Sauvignon and moisture-retentive clay soils you could survive the extreme heat of July and August and benefit from the late August rains. If you look at the dates of the harvest for Latour and Lafite, it was pretty much a normal harvest. The statement that the wines are all overblown does not apply at all to the top wines of the vintage. You do have to be very careful though; the percentage of world-class red wines made in France in 2003 was very small. If you don’t have the right information, you can get burnt badly.

If you could pick one producer that has impressed you in recent years, who would it be?

 There are so many. I think, as an appellation, what has happened in Margaux has been remarkable. Palmer and Chateau Margaux have always made great wines, but producers such as d’Issan, Brane Cantenac, Giscours and du Tertre have all improved so dramatically.  When I started it was always one of the most disappointing of the appellations in Bordeaux, but now it’s one of the most exciting. Perhaps Brane Cantenac or Malescot St Exupery would jump out at me as just doing the most fantastic work.

But if I could only pick one wine, then what Alfred Tesseron has done at Pontet Canet really stands out. He took a fabulous terroir, right on the plateau next to Mouton, and has just done everything possible to make First Growth quality wine, which he has been doing. He’s also done a number of contrarian things, like moving to organic and then biodynamic farming, which was unheard of in Bordeaux.

He’s got a lot of company, though. The visionary Bernard Magret’s wines have jumped in quality significantly. Pape Clement in the mid-70s was undrinkable and now it is one of the great estates.

Which of the Firsts do you think is doing the best job?

I have a weakness for Latour and Lafite. Latour always has an ethereal complexity and Lafite always has this power and majesty, but they are all on top of their game now. It seems to me that Mouton traditionally trailed them but is now right up there. Margaux is great, more floral and elegant. And then you go south to Haut Brion – one of the most singular wines in Bordeaux. Jean-Philippe Delmas is just doing a fabulous job and he had some big boots to fill [his father’s Jean Delmas]. Whoever did the 1855 classification knew a lot more than they are given credit for.

For the full interview on Liv-ex click here

Bordeaux Burgundy duo wine tour

photo Alain Doire

The Ultimate France Wine Tour

Take advantage of the new Eastern Airways air link between Bordeaux and Burgundy and discover two of the world’s most illustrious wine regions. Compare and contrast the finesse of Paulliac and Pomerol wines with the complexity of Romanée Contée and Aloxe-Corton. In this two régions tour you will uncover the secrets of the wines of each area. Luxurious first class accommodation, professional, courteous chauffeurs, knowledgeable guides, everything you need for this ultimate French wine tour.

photo Alain Doire

Your home in Burgundy will be the centrally located Le Cep hotel in the center of Beaune. Don’t miss diner at Loiseau des Vignes with the opportunity to taste wines by the glass thanks to  their eneumatic machine.You will visit several small growers in different areas and have the opportunity to learn why the wines are so astoundingly different.

You will have the opportunity to have lunch at a local growers with a special tasting menu. The sommelier will personally explain the wines and the notion of climats.

Return to Bordeaux to compare the wines of  Margaux, Pauillac, Pomerol, Saint Emilion and even contrast with the Sauternes region and Chateau Yquem.  A visit of at least two days of the more “Bordeaux” style chateaus is a minimum. You will be in awe of the underground cellars of Saint Emilion!

If you are looking for a well rounded French wine tour this spring or summer this is your best choice.

Give us your dates and we organize the rest for you.  We do not offer group tours and specialize in private made to measure tours just how you want them.

CLICK HERE for more information and quotes.