What's the deal on the 2007 Bordeaux? Or, perhaps I should ask, will there be a deal at all?

Posted 02/26/2008 at 08:33 AM by Ben

If Bordeaux has any sense at all, it should offer this ho-hum vintage at bargain prices. But I'm not counting on it. Bordeaux has a way of shooting itself in the foot when it comes to pricing such vintages. It overpriced the less than stellar 1997, 2002 vintages, and the wines sold poorly. It could easily do the same thing with 2007.

The quality of the 2007 vintage is mediocre at best. Although some are describing it as a "miracle vintage," 2007 is a miracle of survival rather than triumph. By late August, the vintage looked like a total washout, plagued by too much rain, not enough sun, and unripe, not terribly healthy grapes. The vintage was "saved" by unusually warm, dry and sunny weather in September. It now appears that the 2007s will be pleasant wines meant to be enjoyed young. Unlike the profoundly great 2005 vintage, however, they won't be anything special. The quality will also be below 2006, which is considered a very good, but not great vintage.

Although high-priced, the 2005s have sold particularly well in America, which has always been an "only the best" market. However, the 2006s have been less well received, even though the wines were priced about 40% below the 2005s.

The weak reception of the 2006 vintage should have sent a signal flare to Bordeaux, that the American wine market can only absorb so much high-priced Bordeaux. In addition, the sinking dollar has made Bordeaux, along with all imported wines, relatively more expensive.

So far, the chatter in Bordeaux has been more about the "surprisingly high quality" of the 2007s than about the need to lower prices. I'm hoping that all this prerelease chatter is nothing more than putting on a brave front. When the time comes to sell the wines, the sensible thing for Bordeaux to do will be to offer a big discount to 2005 and 2006. I believe that if the 2007 vintage is offered at an attractive price, it will find lots of eager buyers here, particularly among folks were priced out of 2005 and 2006. But if Bordeaux is expecting a warm reception for the 2007 vintage at high prices, it will be in for an unpleasant surprise.

By the end of March, we'll know whether the "Let's Make a Deal" message has gotten through. That's when the leading Bordeaux Château will announce their opening prices for the 2007 vintage.

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