Fine wine news

When the 2011 en primeur season launches, the world of wine could be looking at a "solid run of good vintages", Jancis Robinson has suggested.

Writing on her blog about the past 12 months of fine wine, the critic said that the 2011 vintage is "generally intriguing" as it settles down in cellars after fermentation.

However, one big change this year is likely to be pricing, she noted, stating that the Bordeaux chateaux will not be able to post "sky-high" pricing for the third consecutive vintage. Speculation now continues over how much chateaux will have to drop the price of their 2011 wines in order to encourage buying.

Ms Robinson even suggested that if wine writers boycott primeur tasting, the vintage might be assessed at a more mature stage and priced appropriately.

Commenting on last year's wine market, the writer noted the number of Chinese buyers investing in Bordeaux chateaux. And while they are making the "classic mistake" of purchasing a chateau based on the beauty of the building rather than the value of the vineyards, this might not be the case as they plan to market wines to the Chinese.

"With the right packaging, designed expressly for Chinese consumers, and their own efficient distribution chains within China, a modest Medoc such as Chateau Laulan Ducos stands a chance of becoming a hugely successful name in China," she remarked.

Indeed, as wine investors are looking to add more value wines to their portfolio, such brands could become more popular.

Other trends seen in the past year, Ms Robinson observed, was the move to recyclable cardboard for despatching bottles and small environmentally-friendly tubes for wine samples. 

A focus on natural wine has also been a new fad, although the writer viewed the wines themselves as varying from "urgent, compelling nectars to flat, cidery advertisements for the virtues of sulphur as a wine disinfectant".

Posted by Paula Henderson