It's all relative, isn't it?
On the horizon, like an enormous dark cloud, a potential Sunni-Shiite war across the Muslim Middle East gathers form. The coming conflict will be like the religious wars in Europe in the 17th century, only more terrible. Which makes it all the more difficult to talk about wine, but life must go on; regardless of whatever lunacy the theocrats are planning.
All the internecine slaughter of the past month (was it 3,000 or 6,000 Iraqis?) distracted one from events such as the en primeur sales campaign in Bordeaux, where demand for the exceptional 2005 vintage sent prices to the stratosphere. And beyond. Just after seeing that Lay & Wheeler, the British wine merchants, are offering 2005 Château Climens, Cru Classé Barsac at £684. That's a bottle! Not a case! And with 12 bottles in a case, you can do the math. But hurry. This offer won't last forever. It closes when? "Monday 11th September 2006," say Lay & Wheeler.
Another British merchant, Berry Bros & Rudd, says we can expect to pay £4,000 this year for a case of Château Latour and Château Lafite-Rotschild. That's about double the record. And, despite the terrible state of the world, the brothers Berry and Mr/Mrs/Ms Rudd have already received orders for 6,500 cases of Latour. But because these are hard times, there won't be enough to go around, so the firm will be able to supply only 500 cases. Hurry!
Can we detect a hint, a smidgen of greed in all this? Most certainly says Mitch Frank at the Wine Spectator in an article titled "Sales of 2005 Bordeaux Are Sluggish". The crazy prices and the weak dollar are not good news for American drinkers, writes Frank, but by the time you've worked your way to the end of his piece ($ required), you'll find this telling bit: "The Bordelais don't seem to be sweating, however. While the weak dollar has automatically raised U.S. prices for the 2005 futures by 50 percent, the wines are reportedly selling well in Asia, Switzerland and the United Kingdom. So with a vintage like 2005 and increasing interest worldwide, château owners were able to raise their prices even if it hurt American sales." Proving once again that it's all relative.
