Bordeaux 2009 Vintage Hits Record Prices Thanks To Chinese Demand:
Prices for Bordeaux 2009 vintage wine are set to top those from the last classic year of 2005 thanks to demand from wealthy Chinese buyers and speculators, experts have said.
Prices straight from the producer for wine that has not yet been bottled have already reached 1,000 euros ($1,300) per bottle for exceptionally fine wines, according to the Bordeaux Wine and Spirit Brokers Association.
Francois Leveque from the association said the explosion in prices was due to speculators and Chinese buyers.
The 2005 vintage broke records, but that of 2009 is already coming in at 20-30 per cent more expensive, and sometimes more.
Georges Haushalter, from the Bordeaux Wine Merchants Association, said: “The supply of the best Grands Crus is limited, but demand is greater because of both the exceptional vintage and also the arrival of the Chinese onto the market.”
Buyers from China are particularly interested in the most well-known estates from Medoc, Saint-Emilion, Sauternes and Pessac-Leognan and do not want to miss out on an historic vintage, he said.
While export volumes fell 14 per cent last year, sales to the Chinese market almost doubled.
Wine merchants, especially those in Britain, see the Chinese market as a key target for the 2009 vintage.
Buyers can expect to pay more than 1,000 euros for a bottle of Chateau Ausone (Saint-Emilion) en primeur – pre-release – meaning it will not be delivered unil the end of 2011.
Bottles of Yquem (Sauternes) are trading at 800 euros, while those from the Latour estates of Mouton-Rothschild are reaching prices of between 700 and 800 euros.
Jean-Philippe Delmas, from the Haut-Brion estate in Pessac-Leognan, said other buyers would enter the market soon.
“China is adding to pressure on the market, but in 10 years’ time, we’ll be talking about South America,” he said.
The Amazing Le Train Bleu, Paris:
Situated at the heart of the Gare de Lyon, upstairs, facing the rails, the Train Bleu considers itself an essential stop for foreigners and travellers, as well as a benchmark restaurant for Parisians.
Built by the Paris-Lyon-Mediterranean Company (PLM) for the Universal Exhibition in 1900, the Train Bleu was originally called the Buffet de la Gare de Lyon (the Lyon Station Buffet).
From its very first day it has been frequented by an abundant and prestigious clientele, amongst whom were Coco Chanel, Brigitte Bardot, Jean Cocteau or again Salvador Dali and Jean Gabin, and it continues to boast indisputable success, as witnessed by the some 500 diners served daily.
On the menu: traditional French cuisine and a selection renewed twice per year, including such essentials as tartare, prepared at the tableside, foie gras, salmon, snails, rum babas and various vacherins.
World’s Ten Most Expensive Bottles Of Wine
