Bordeaux comes from USA back home

http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/ar ... N3CxC3gkPw

... and then on to Asia?

Best regards,
Alex R.

[David M. Bueker]

Now if only the 2007s would hit shelves at truly attractive prices...

David,

I think the 2007s will be dumped.

It doesn't make me happy to say that, and those who bought them on a futures basis will have suffered.

However, that is the name of the game: you can never be sure of anything with en primeur purchasing.

The wine trade will take a hit, but then they will keep their place in line to buy into the good vintages and recoup their losses.

In theory, anyway .

All the best,
Alex

Does this apply only to Bdx, or will Diageo C & E quit with all their French wines. This is a shame. They were always a reliable label. Wines that come to mind are Larose Trintaudon, Gruaud Larose, and from Vouvray, Chateau Montfort, and quite often this was my assurance to purchase, knowing that these guys only dealt in the better wines. I hope they are only leaving Bdx and not all of France. But this is a sign of more declining wine prices. A buying opportunity, but at the same time a "storm cloud" on the horizon at the source of the wines that we love. Be careful what you wish for! We need our wine farmers to be able to make a decent living. Lets hope that this is the last of the big guys bailing out. I've heard that it's happening in Australia "big-time", and that is some what understandable, but in France it is chilling.

[David M. Bueker]

I think they just gave up on Bordeaux. Of course smaller changes will go unnoticed in the press, so there's little way to be sure short of getting a copy of their "book."

I have no doubt the 2007s will be dumped. There were few sold as futures that went down the pipeline to consumers, and the trade bought although they knew the prices were too high to protect allocations. That allocation may help, if they can now find ways of creatively selling 2009 on the back of the 2007 vintage. Otherwise, '07 will gum up the market for years to come.

A couple of years ago, I came to Bordeaux wondering how long the negotiant system could survive. That was before the financial crisis hit, when even then,it was obvious that 2007 was a problem. Nevertheless I left Bordeaux realizing that the negoce system was working, although I thought many players would leave the market, but then, there would always be replacements. It is an incredibly efficient way to distribute wine. There will be plenty of short term disruption, but the fundamentals remain strong. So, expect bargains, and packages with stronger vintages, but 2007 will not fundamentally change the market any more than another other problem year, 1997.

David,

I think the 2007s will be dumped.

It doesn't make me happy to say that, and those who bought them on a futures basis will have suffered.

However, that is the name of the game: you can never be sure of anything with en primeur purchasing.

The wine trade will take a hit, but then they will keep their place in line to buy into the good vintages and recoup their losses.

In theory, anyway .

All the best,
Alex