Bordeaux 2005

[Bill Poster]

How to go about bulk buying? As I am in uk , is it possible to buy direct?

The wine i am thinking of investing in is Chateau Magdalaine 2005; what say you?

[dinwiddie]

I think that while 2005 is an excellent vintage for Bordeaux, the real strength in 2005 is Margaux. If you can afford it I'd go for Château Malescot-St.-Exupéry, Château Rauzan-Ségla, Château Dauzac, Château Giscours, Château Lascombes.

If you are into the Merlot based wines from St.-Emilion then Chateau Magdalaine is an excellent choice. Other St.-Emilion's I'd suggest looking at are Château Angélus, Château de Valandraud, and especially Château La Mondotte.

[DTBarton]

As far as bulk buying goes, I'd try to find a wine dealer that can sell you 2005 futures.

Don't know if UK is the same as US timing wise, but we haven't seen any 2005s yet, even as futures purchases. Where I buy, they're still offering 2003 futures for delivery this year and I would expect to see the 2004 offers any time with delivery next year. The wine is usually delivered about 3 years after the vintage (i.e. the 03 futures will be delivered during 06) after spending some time at the winery in casks before being bottled.

[Daniel Rogov]

Considering how high even first tranche futures prices are coming in, the joke making the round in Europe today is that best buys from the 2005 Bordeaux vintage will be wines from the 2000 vintage.

[Bill Poster]

Thanks for the feedback; Berry Bros have a Chateau margaux 2005 at 174 sterling a case. I am a complete novice; does this seem a good pricepoint?

[Daniel Rogov]

Thanks for the feedback; Berry Bros have a Chateau margaux 2005 at 174 sterling a case. I am a complete novice; does this seem a good pricepoint?

←

Bill, Hi....

Either you are joking or you mis-read something. They may have a wine from some obscure Margaux producer or another at that price but if Chateau Margaux 2005 is reallly going to sell for 14.5 Euros a bottle you can assume with great confidence that the Messiah will be arriving tomorrow at about noon, California will fall into the Pacific Ocean at 3 p.m. and that a purple cow will jump over the moon this evening at 7 p.m. Greenwich Mean Time.

When prices are finally announced you can anticipate that the futures for Chateau Margaux will be in a range of about 2,000- 2500 Euros a case. And at that price, even the Messiah will be hard pressed to buy them....

[Simon_S]

Thanks for the feedback; Berry Bros have a Chateau margaux 2005 at 174 sterling a case. I am a complete novice; does this seem a good pricepoint?

←

As has been pointed out, this is...ahem...unlikely. Could it be that £174 is the "per bottle" price when you buy a case? I've seen cases priced that way in the past.

Si

[Bill Poster]

My (embarrassing) mistake; I really am a complete novice on wine, so go easy on me. After talking with Berry bros the general feeling is that the price per case will most likely be 3000 sterling upwards..

Anyway, these are my choices

Ch Belair

Ch Valandraud

Lafleur Petrus (if i can find any at good price v.popular)

Magdelaine

Premium

La Mondotte

Bellevue Mondotte(rare and top marks)

White

Doisy Vedrines

Edited April 19, 2006 by Bill Poster (log)

[dinwiddie]

Actually, I only buy Bordeaux to cellar and drink. If you are looking at it as an investment (a very risky thing to do) then the best returns are on the first growths.

[Rebel Rose]

These are vine times for fine Bordeaux

Here's a well written article on affordable (drink or cellar) Bordeaux generally available in the US. The tasting notes are on recent vintages, not 2005. I don't know about availability in the UK, Bill, but if these wines can be found from distributors in the midwest, they should be available in your area as well . . .

My advice is to jump on the 2001, 2002, 2003 and 2004 wines, which you can enjoy without stealing from your children's college fund. Unless, of course, you are buying the top wines of the vintage. You don't have to pay exorbitant prices for great Bordeaux. You can find excellent Bordeaux in the $10-$40 range, and these are of far better quality than you often can find from $60 California cabernet sauvignon and Merlot. If you are really thorough in your search for great Bordeaux, you can even find some $60 bottles selling for less than $40 on the Internet.

[maher]

if you are looking to invest, i agree that you should be looking primarily to the first growths. i would also look to a reputable merchant who can get you an allocation on the 2005 futures. there is so much interest in the 2005 vintage that wholesalers are having trouble getting an allocation from the chateaux, this is addition to the fact that the vintage was quite a small one. i also dont know how good an investment in the 05s will do since the pricing coming out of the chateaux is stratospheric.

if you still decide to go ahead, the best thing to do is contact any of the larger wine merchants. Berry Bros, Armit, Lay Wheeler, Farr can all help you buy the futures, and they can store the wine for you when it is actually released from the chateau in a few years in a bonded warehouse. this will in turn give you more flexibility at sale time down the line.