2009年份波尔多期酒消极因素-Bordeaux Prices to Drop Big in U.S.

前面刚说完2009年份波尔多期酒的可能疯狂, 不过<商业周刊>(BusinessWeek)这则前几周的消息也许对波尔多贪婪的庄主们来说是个要考虑的消极因素因素. 希望能对他们定价有影响!

作为在美最大的波尔多顶级酒进口商,帝亚吉奥Diageo美国分支Chateau & Estate Wines将要退出美国的波尔多酒市场,为此抛售巨量波尔多列级酒, 带动整个美国市场的波尔多列级酒价格急挫,一些品种甚至下跌达到50%.  阴霾笼罩整个美国市场以及影响到法国波尔多. 葡萄酒爱好者将会受益.

不过最后的那句:”Several chateaux told me they expect the Chinese will buy big during the futures campaign this year.”(一些酒庄告诉我,他们认为今年中国人将会在这场期酒活动中大量采购),无语中…….

http://www.businessweek.com/lifestyle/content/mar2010/bw20100316_823658.htm

Bordeaux Prices to Drop Big in U.S.
波尔多价格在美国暴挫.

As importing giant Diageo pulls out of the U.S. Bordeaux market, wine lovers will benefit as prices are expected to fall dramatically

Review by Elin McCoy
(Bloomberg) — “What’s terrifying,” said John Kolasa, managing director of Bordeaux chateau Rauzan-Segla, “is what will happen to Bordeaux wines in America now that Diageo has bowed out.”
I was sipping his silky, charming 2007, one of the best wines from this lackluster vintage poured at the annual Union des Grands Crus tasting in New York, which never includes the first growths.
So far 2010 is awash in discounted Bordeaux and the mostly middle-rung ’07s promise more. That’s because the biggest U.S. importer of Bordeaux wines, Diageo Chateau & Estate Wines, a unit of British drinks giant Diageo Plc, announced last year that it was getting out of the Bordeaux business in the U.S.—and then started selling off its vast inventory in October.
Clyde Beffa Jr., owner of Bay Area K & L Wines and one of several retailers offered stock, said Chateau & Estate’s list included approximately $125 million of top Bordeaux. Diageo Director of Communications Maire Griffin declined to provide numbers.
For the past four decades, Chateau & Estate dominated the U.S. Bordeaux business, purchasing thousands of cases of the region’s top names as futures every year. Its large inventory of past vintages made it a one-stop shop for retailers and restaurateurs looking for Bordeaux. Diageo will continue to sell Bordeaux outside the U.S. through its London-based unit Justerini & Brooks.
“This is the end of a very nice story for Bordeaux,” Emmanuel Cruse, whose family owns Chateau d’Issan, said in a phone interview. “The national system is dead.”
Buyers’ Bonanza
For wine lovers, it’s good news.
“Bordeaux will get cheaper,” said negociant Ivanhoe Johnston, with whom I chatted over a spit bucket at the tasting.
Last fall Chateau & Estate and its distributors sent spreadsheets listing recent and older Bordeaux vintages to key U.S. players, such as Beffa and Chris Adams, president of New York’s Sherry-Lehmann. Beffa said he scooped up wines at 40 percent to 60 percent off wholesale. He’s already out of 2006 Chateau Trotanoy, which he sold at half off.
Sherry-Lehmann is selling bottles of some 2006s for 10 percent to 15 percent less than they cost as futures 2 1/2 years ago, Adams said. The 2005 Chateau Greysac, which was an exclusive with Chateau & Estate, can now be had in some shops for as little as $12.
‘Sliced and Diced’
“No one had the means to take on all the inventory,” Robert Wilmers, owner of Chateau Haut-Bailly and chief executive officer of M & T Bank Corp., told me at a Wine Media Guild lunch before the tasting. “It was sliced and diced.”
In the past few months two Bordeaux negociant firms have stepped in to fill the void, snapping up the best Chateau and Estates stocks at very attractive prices.
“We bought mainly 2005 and older vintages,” said David Milligan, president of Joanne USA, the New York office of the Bordeaux negociant, by phone.
Compagnie Medocaine, a unit of AXA Millesimes, which also owns several top chateaux, has teamed up with New York fine-wine importer Frederick Wildman, and started selling on March 1. Negociant Diva Bordeaux will open a New York office in May, Chief Executive Officer Jean-Pierre Rousseau said in a phone call.
“Nature hates a vacuum,” said Laurent Ehrmann, general manager of negociant Barriere Freres. “It will be filled by different means.”
Unloading 2007s
Which brings me back to the unloved 2007s. According to Diageo’s Griffin, the company begins unloading the rest of their 2007s this month.
That may be tough. Sales of high-end wines in restaurants are flat and everyone agreed the 2007 futures were overpriced for the quality back in spring 2008.
At their best the reds are fruity, early-drinking charmers that have lift and freshness but lack concentration. For under $30, look for firm, rich classics like Cantemerle and Poujeaux. I also liked pricier Beychevelle, Giscours, Haut-Bailly and especially Rauzan-Segla. Dry whites like Domaine de Chevalier and sweet Sauternes, like good value Doisy-Daene, are the stars. Watch for deeper discounts: K & L Bordeaux specialist Ralph Sands predicts “a bloodbath,” with prices up to 50 percent off.
The buyer-friendly market won’t last forever. The consensus among retailers is that bargains will be gone in six to eight months. Of course, if the financial markets crash again, all bets are off.
Chateau owners at the UGC tasting were hyping the reportedly spectacular 2009s (I’ll report on those in detail next month after attending the annual en primeur tastings). In the minds of the Bordelaise, this kind of “vintage of the century” is supposed to translate into very high prices, as it did for the 2005s. But the global financial climate has changed.
Several chateaux told me they expect the Chinese will buy big during the futures campaign this year.
I’ve heard that one before.
(Elin McCoy writes on wine and spirits for Bloomberg News. The opinions expressed are her own.)
To contact the writer of the story: Elin McCoy at elinmccoy@gmail.com.

葡萄酒爱好者的杯具-联合早报

一早看到这则新闻, 没有惊讶,只是有点小叹息,2009年份又喝不起了.
有钱同胞的购买力再次印证,中国人开始流行什么,什么就得涨价的规律. 拉菲基本就是中国买家一手撑着,非但没有金融危机影响,相反日子美得不行.

其它酒庄也随大陆市场的风潮获益,不过拉菲还是被不少酒庄私下羡慕得不行,遇到一些法国名庄的庄主和市场总监,私下聊时他们也对拉菲现象,有点吃不到葡萄说葡萄酸的感慨,也很想了解其中奥秘,不过版本很多,个人觉得已经不是某个始作俑者的创意推动, 其中机遇、时机以及多种市场创意推动综合的结果。复制的可能性很小。或者再次复制的代价过大。

回过来看看2009年份,不象2008年份开始的被低估以及市场的担心(金融危机)以致定价开始比较低,2009年份庄主们估计会乐观定价,舆论氛围(与他们的市场努力分不开)都已营造好,看到亚洲豪客的这些言论。波尔多2009年份对普通葡萄酒爱好者来说是个杯具!

不过<商业周刊>(BusinessWeek)这则消息也许对波尔多贪婪的庄主们来说是个要考虑的消极因素因素. 希望能对他们有影响!
http://www.businessweek.com/lifestyle/content/mar2010/bw20100316_823658.htm

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中国酒商抢购波尔多2009红酒(联合早报)

(2010-04-05)

(香港综合讯)法国波尔多2009年红酒,上周被英法红酒品评专家,评为“波尔多地区历来最好的产品”和“一生中饮过最好的红酒”后,随即掀起中国酒商的抢购潮。

  据英国《卫报》(The Guardian)报道,英国著名红酒品评专家Steven Spurrier将产自法国波尔多2009年的红酒评为“波尔多地区历来最好的产品”,而法国首屈一指的品酒大师Michel Bettane则将之品为“一生中饮过最好的红酒”。

  波尔多2009年红酒之所以赞誉有加,除了人造卫星确定葡萄成熟度等的高科技酿酒技术外,去年该地区阳光充沛,气候温暖也有关系。报道称,来自中国大陆、香港等的红酒卖家,最近涌至法国波尔多的梅多克(Médoc)、圣埃米利永(St-Emilion)等传统上生产的红酒都是欧洲精英最爱的葡萄酒产地,抢先品尝2009年最佳红酒,并计划大举扫货。

  中国主要酒商之一ASC的总裁圣皮埃尔(Don St Pierre)说,中国消费者最感兴趣的是2008年出产的红酒,但相信2009年红酒的品质出众,预料将引起人们更大兴趣。对于中国消费者来说,他们最熟悉的是波尔多红酒了。

  据报道,从法国木桐酒堡(Chateau Mouton Rothschild)到酒庄公会的试酒盛会,都可看到大陆红酒商的踪影,并表示有意大批买入最顶级的“一级”2009年红酒。

  2009年的红酒价格将在未来2个月订定,预料一箱12瓶的一级红酒,最少叫价4000英镑(8400新元)。

  价钱不菲,但在大陆波尔多酒销售商黄女士坦言:“钱不是问题。”她指出,私企增长迅速、楼价急升,人们有大量现金,本周70瓶柏图斯庄园(Petrus)红酒售价便高达21万英镑。她的公司打算买入3000箱红酒,比去年多出三倍。

 不过,报道称,中国人最感兴趣是名牌,而非红酒素质的评级。对中国消费者来说,更重要的是,他们所购买的红酒,主要是用以送礼。

  来自香港的叶姓酒商就说,在中国大陆,Lafite红酒就如LV、Prada 和Gucci名牌包一样的受到人们的爱戴。