Well, well, well, what a real beauty Chateau St Pierre 2009 has turned out to be.  I must confess that when I’d first tasted it, admittedly on a rather wet and windy Tuesday morning in late March earlier this year on the opening day of the ’09 primeurs tastings, it wasn’t the most expressive of the wines shown from St Julien. Mind you, given how spectacular this appellation has been in 2009, rising above the likes of Chateau Léoville Barton and Chateau Léoville Poyferré would have been tricky. I had the opportunity of tasting St Pierre ‘09 again this month, now two thirds of the way through its elevage and the wine is simply fantastic. So if you bought this wine en primeur then well done. I wish I had!

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.