Right around this time every year, the Bordeaux futures campaign starts heating up big time, especially if the vintage is a great one. To get in the spirit of the campaign, we always like to take this time to sample some of our favorite producers of back-vintage Bordeaux. And lately, back-vintage Bordeaux has really been pushed to the forefront of the wine market due to the increased demand from Asian consumers and the high release prices of the more recent vintages. If you've been following any of our blogs or subscribe to our email lists, then these words probably sound familiar. With the 2010 vintage in particular, we expect the prices to be high and with the weak dollar, it will be even worse for US customers.
Taking all of these factors into consideration, back-vintage Bordeaux, for the most part, is a smart wine buy for both the wine drinker and collector. For the drinker, the beauty is that the wine has already spent considerable time aging and doesn't require the patience one needs for most of the newer vintages. However, the days of picking up back-vintage Bordeaux at low prices are closing in on us quickly, so now is a great time to score some familiar names before the prices continue to escalate.
Over the weekend, we invited some family and friends over and took the opportunity to pop a bottle from one of the best vintages in Bordeaux - the 2000 vintage. The bottle we chose was 2000 Cos d'Estournel, which is produced in the St. Estephe region. And since nature has finally given us some warm, sunny weather, we decided to grill outside and soak up the gorgeous weather with this amazing bottle of wine. In addition to the sirloin steaks, we served up roasted fingerling potatoes tossed with rosemary and sautéed green beans. In a nutshell, Bordeaux and grilled rare steaks = fantastic!
Upon first sniff of this wine, one can immediately detect that it is from the Bordeaux region. It has the classic Bordeaux characteristics - smoke, saddle leather, graphite and dark, juicy fruit - all bound together with the right amount of acidity, tannin and alcohol. At 11 years old, this wine has developed well and is not as tight as some might expect. We were pleasantly surprised at the level of balance the wine showed between the power of the fruit and the elegance of classic Bordeaux. The finish was fantastic lasting at least 45 seconds.
Our Recommendation: We just got our hands on a Bordeaux cellar that is packed full of treasures from the 1990s and 2000s vintages, including some familiar and favorite top quality names like Lynch Bages, Montrose and Pichon Baron. Now is the time to replenish your cellar with some back-vintage Bordeaux from these two decades, which are drinking incredibly now. As quantities diminish, prices will only spike.
Our Score - 93+ points