Despite the recession, the doubting Thomases and the not-so-great-2008 vintage, the UGCB claims a drop in registration of only 3%. According to the Press Communiqué, Sylvie Cazes, President of the Union announced last Friday, the deadline date, that 4,405 wine professionals had registered for the week of “en primeur” barrel tastings of the 2008 vintage that began on Monday, the 30th of March. This figure is 3% less than last year’s record number of 4,542 registrations.
“We are planning on welcoming about 5,000 professionals from over 36 countries in Bordeaux next week,” explains jean-Marc Guiraud, Director of the Union des Grands Crus de Bordeaux. He expects a slight decrease (about 8%) in the overall number of foreign visitors, but an increase in the number of English and Japanese visitors.
Professionals will be able to taste on the 31st of March, 1st of April and 2nd of April in seven chateaux, where representatives of the various estates will pour samples of the 2008 vintage. At the same time about hundred journalists, critics, and wine writers will take part in a separate programme of tastings.
Ch. Smith Haut Lafitte (Graves and Pessac-Leognan), Ch. Figeac (Saint-Emilion Grand Cru), Ch. La Conseillante (Pomerol), Ch. Chasse-Spleen (Medoc, Haut-Medoc, Moulis, and Listrac), Ch. Marquis de Terme (Margaux), Ch. Branaire-Ducru (Saint-Julien, Saint-Estephe, and Pauillac), and Ch. Dauzac (Sauternes and Barsac) are the seven chateaux hosting the events.
Well aware of the important role the Grands Crus play in Bordeaux’s image and reputation, an increasing number of tastings and special events are being organized by other Bordeaux institutions as well throughout this week.
There had been a lot of debate this year on whether the tastings should be postponed, or the price announcements for the 2008 vintage should be announced later in the year. Jean-Guillaume Prats, the managing director of Bordeaux Second Growth Chateau Cos d'Estournel in St. Estephe, who had visited India last year, had suggested radical changes in the annual En Primeur system, recommending that the prices should be declared by the Chateaux only in September. He had said that the current economic climate was 'too bad' for people to be interested in buying the wines.
However, the UGCB stuck to its guns, citing tradition as the main reason to continue with the tasting. The idea of presenting the new vintage to the press and trade professionals goes back to the creation of the Union des Grands Crus de Bordeaux in 1973. The Tastings took an international dimension in 1996. Since then, this one week of barrel tastings around early April, just before the commencement of Vinitaly has become an important date in the diary of journalists many of whom including delWine have decided to stay away this year- from an otherwise extremely interesting and well-planned event.
If there has been only slightly less interest shown in this year’s event as announced by the UGCB, the prices for the 2008 vintage are certainly expected to be lower than 2007. It would be interesting to see if the producers get rid of bigger lots at lower prices or keep the prices higher and sell much lower than they normally would as the first tranche. |