Lafite, Carruades and Duhart-Milon sampled in March 2010

So the Bordeaux 2009 en primeur season finally ends in July with the release of the now fabled Chateau Lafite-Rothschild. Second tranche price – a shade under £14,000 [$21,000]. So the Bordeaux market is now in truly uncharted financial waters – this is surely a record price en primeur save of course for Petrus and Le Pin, though price comparisons are unfair as these are produced in such comparatively small volumes.

Well, we are waiting with baited breath for the releases of the first growths in 2009. I’ve read that London’s Farr Vintners report that Chateau Lafite-Rothschild is already ‘pre-trading’ at £10,000 [$15000] a case. Blimey. I guess when you’ve got a worldwide army of wine investors chasing your wine that’s what happens. If Lafite is releasing anything near these prices you can bet Chateau Margaux and Chateau Latour will be up there too.

The vineyard at Chateau Beau-Séjour-Bécot

For me St Emilion was the trickiest commune to judge in 2009. The year had some problems. Hail the size of golf balls did much damage to the vineyards in May [damage was also reported in the Médoc at the time] and a few days of rain in mid September may have cause problems for some vintners who harvested shortly afterwards. My tasting was limited to those wines on show at the Union des Grands Crus tasting at Chateau Beau-Séjour Bécot. So clearly there are a few caveats to the St Emilion review here.

2009 is a beautiful vintage here in Pomerol. Lovely wines full of attractive fruit with concentration and intensity. Extraction very much in check compared with St Emilion. Seductive and packed with fruit, these are wines that should be approachable early and some are already showing well. The following were tasted at Chateau Gazin as part of the Union des Grands Crus de Bordeaux tastings.