Ditton Wine Traders’ fine wine blog

Fresh from the press on the first day of the En Primeur week.

I have tasted some myself. It's only Monday but fair to say 2009 so far is living up to the hype. Thanks to Twitter, I also have a lot of feedback from other tasters, and they are pretty much all very positive indeed. Also, don't forget Sauternes, which might be on par or even surpass 2001!. I have seen one note of caution from Decanter. On the whole though, superlatives galore.

But, and it's a big but: although 2009 apparently produced 15% more wine than 2008, expected first tranche allocations will be only 1/3rd of 2008, or so I have been told by one of my better Negociant suppliers. There will be bigger 2nd and 3rd tranches, but at (much) higher prices. This is going to be key. There's demand, very much so – although the pain barrier is not as high as some might think. There's very limited availability at release so anybody who get's their hands on First Growths at first tranche will likely be doing spectacularly well. If you haven't bought in previous vintages, I'd suggest not to hold your breath or be ready to pay 2nd/3rd tranche prices. We are doing everything we can to secure an allocation but so far, it's impossible to say how big it will be.

Finally, prepare for a long campaign. My prediction: earliest start beginning of May and First Growths to release mid June. Possibly even July. Bummer, I know and let's make sure the trade puts on as much pressure as possible to keep it a reasonable campaign... In terms of pricing, availability and lenghth.

To be continued...