Monday 16th June - We had what can only be described as wine ‘enlightenment’ this week - truly one of the greatest evenings of my twenty years in the wine trade.

I used the excuse of having the always insightful and enigmatic Jean-Guillaume Prats, Managing Director of Château Cos d’Estournel dropping by, to raid the family reserves (Simon Berry fully aware!) and have a blind tasting with a few wine-loving clients.

We kicked off with some barrel samples of the 2007 Ch. Cos d’Estournel. More soft, rich, seductive and down right sexy than it was in April, this is going to be an anomaly, an early drinking Cos that will give great pleasure over the next 10/15 yrs.

To wash down its ripe, fine tannins we then indulged in a glass of my favourite NV champagne at the moment, Gosset Grand Reserve and to accompany the amuse bouche and starter, we had a stunning 2002 Meursault Goutte D’or from Dominique Lafon. Absolutely brilliant, it was concentrated and yielding with lovely precise minerality and great length. On any other night it would have won the Oscar…hands down. Not tonight.

Berrys’ Fine Wine Commercial Manager Mark Ross and I excused ourselves from the table to organise the evening’s centre pieces. A brace of both the 1870 and 1945 Ch. Cos d’Estournel. These bottles had not moved from the BBR family vault since their arrival some 130 and 50 years ago. After three days standing, the levels on the 1870’s were mid shoulder and the 1945’s top shoulder as would be expected of wines this old. I was more excited than nervous as we cracked the seals open and the corks came out like I’d imagine opening a tomb, with a discernable sigh as the wine inhaled! We carefully decanted them, nosed and took a tiny hesitant sip. Were they alive? Corked? Maderised? Revolting?

Blimey! Not just hanging in there, but bursting to get out with a vibrancy that was totally unbelievable. Astonished we contemplated telling our guests they were corked and quaffing the lot ourselves but the joy of the moment made us want to share the experience which is probably the best thing about great wine. You want to share it.

We whizzed the 1870 around the table of 10, nervous that the huge gulp of air it had taken might prove too much. I didn’t need to worry. Then for that sublime smug moment. “Ok then…what year are we looking at?” A question I’m asked only too often. All our guests that night were more than experienced in vinous matters… a firm and confident “70!” was called…Good Lord! But before I could accuse my guest of blatant cheating and sneaking a peek he quantified his guess “No, it’s younger than that…and a great wine…1982!!”

Phew! Good job I hadn’t waded in with usual Staples decorum. A few other guesses of 82…1982! One 1989. Hang on, a 1959 from my right hand. All eyes to our guest of honour, Jean-Guillaume Prats. “No, it’s much older, 1928 or 29?” The time taken mulling things over had allowed the wine to evolve beautifully. The colour would have made me think 1960 or 1970, the nose, though a tad sepulchre at first was sweet and seductive. On the palate it was sweeter still, had beautiful balance and sublime intensity.

If I had a drum kit, and the ability to play them, a drum roll was in order. As I announced it there was a stunned silence for about 10 seconds (from a group not known for such things!) then an outpouring of amazement. Brilliant. The second bottle was just a fraction behind in quality and within an hour of being in the glass the old statement had expired…but what an hour!

The 1945 Ch. Cos d’Estournel was stunning too. Sadly they were on to me and guesses of 1947/49 came in very swiftly so I had to fess up. I think because it followed such an astonishing experience, the simply sublime 1945 was not given the reverence it deserved. Still stunned we moved on to one of my all time (obtainable!) faves, Ch. Cos d’Estournel 1985. Such primary fruit in comparison to its predecessors was a shock.

A brilliant bottle of 2001 Ch. de Fargues (a poor man’s 2001 Ch. d’Yquem) washed down a small pud and we then headed home with huge smiles on every face. I had emails of thanks from all attendees just reiterating what an astonishing wine moment it was. Some said they got home and just sat reflecting over such a glorious event.

When I got home I checked my stock of 2005 Ch. Cos d’Estournel to check my future drinking…I MIGHT see the full potential of the bottles, I just hope my great, great, great grandchildren enjoy the Magnums and Double Mags!

I love my job!

It had to be a let down to have to chat about 2007 Bordeaux with dull old Staples at BBR HQ over a glass of fizzy water, rather than quaffing 1961 Ch. Margaux at Windsor Castle with the Queen and The Sarkosy’s, but I thoroughly enjoyed it!

Jancis was looking extremely glam and I think was almost disappointed when I explained that we were doing an audio podcask this time around.

I hope the bottle of 1952 Musigny (BBR bottled) we shared with Simon Berry after our exhausting locking of antlers, made up for it though!

If you’d like to hear our chit-chat about the wines and pricing, the podcask is now available on our Bordeaux 2007 Podcask Page.

It’s going to be a tricky one to be honest. If Oliver (our Fine Wine Purchasing Manager) and I hadn’t just tried a handful of 2007s in February (watch out for a spellbinding 2007 Ch. Giscours this year…as long as the price is correct it’s a cellar must-have) I would be packing my well used tasting book and gnarled biro without a great deal of enthusiasm, as on paper, the vintage looked to be a bit of a damp squib.

Bordeaux had as dreadful a Summer as we did, with very little warmth and particularly little sunshine, but a vintage saving blast of Indian Summer has been credited in turning this bad boy round and if the wines we tried earlier in the year are anything to go by, we are genuinely excited about flying down for the week and quaffing some soft and attractive wines.

Sadly not every year can be 2005, but I have a feeling that the châteaux who took pains (and costs) in the vineyards with their rigorous selection of ripe grapes, will be offering a more generous wine than the majority of 2006s.

If the châteaux take pity on us and acknowledge a Euro that is 15% stronger than our poor old pound then we have a campaign…but that’s a rant for another day.

Follow our exploits next week with notes, pictures and podcasks on bbr.com, and if you have any specific questions do let me know…Viva 2007 En Primeur!! 

Oliver East (Bordeaux Buyer),Alun Griffiths MW (Wine Director) and I have just spent a fascinating week in the vineyards of Bordeaux. We were there mainly to re-taste the 2006s and the now bottled 2005s. The former have added a little weight now and are definitely softer than when we tasted them in April; with a few magnificent new finds for us, namely: Pavie Maquin and Larcis Ducasse, two glorious St Emilions made by Nicolas Theinpont. The latter, further highlighting how totally extraordinary 2005 is as a vintage - it really is perfect. The majority of the wines we re-tasted were rich, generous, complex, pure, beautiful, precise, exciting, sexy and totally rewarding.

I believe the 2005 vintage really will up there with 1982, 1961 and 1945 as one of the greatest ever. The other reason for our visit was to observe the harvest of the much talked about 2007. With real problems early on in the year of rot, and then as poor an August as we had here in the UK (I had the fire on twice!), the Bordelais were facing a dreadful outcome. Then, fortunately, the fabled “Indian Summer” kicked in with three glorious weeks of sunshine. Was it enough to save 2007?

Of course it is far to early to call, but the growers who have harvested the faster maturing Merlot (the majority of Pomerol, St Emilion and a good proportion of Pessac) seemed more than happy, several were very excited. Was this simply relief or genuine excellent quality? I’m seriously looking forward to finding out. The looks of the face of our friends in the Medoc, with its much slower ripening Cabernet Sauvignon, did not look quite so cheerful, sadly. They now have to sit, wait and hope that the next two weeks will bring warmth and sunshine. Fingers crossed for them all.

With world demand for this region (particularly the top 50 chateaux) growing every month I can’t see 2007 being a bargain vintage whatever the outcome. I really hope I’m wrong. For the future, my greatest concern for the new Bordeaux pricing structure is for those chateaux that are priced between the ever improving superstars of the region, who are currently selling for between £180 to £500 and are offering sublime and affordable wines, and the aspirational First Growths.

The wines in this “doldrum” area, with their very odd see-saw pricing structure, are our slowest selling by far,with a very few notable exceptions (i.e Leoville-Las Cases and occasionally Palmer and Angelus) and therefore I presume consumers struggle with bottles of wine on the table for more than £50 a bottle (inc taxes) unless its a £300 bottle of First Growth. This, of course, leads on to the 1855 classification table as many of these wines are “Super Second” Growths. I used to know all the classifications but now I hardly ever think “Is this Chateaux a 3rd or 4th Growth ” only how good is it for the price.

I wonder if anyone still considers at what rank their preferred chateaux are before they buy.