Robert Parker's highly anticipated reviews of 2010 Bordeaux arrived last night and it's good news all over again. Parker went into such detail about the wines, the comparisons, and the wine and global markets that I'm going to condense his quotes a lot here in order to cut to the chase.

THE WINES
In the article he made reference to his amazement about back-to-back great vintages of 2009 & 2010 and spent time comparing and contrasting them.

"2009 will always be the more "fun" vintage because of its more sumptuous, fruit-forward, lower acid wines with soaring aromatics as well as fleshy, exuberant flavors and plush, succulent personalities. Their style vaguely recalls ripe, precocious vintages such as 1982 and 1990. 2010 exceeds 2009 in record setting alcohols, but, paradoxically, it is the fresh acids, lower pHs and massive tannins that have dictated more precision in the mouth despite the record alcohol levels these wines attained. While massive and highly extracted, the 2010s are also fresh and incredibly pure..." RP

In 2010, the usual suspects (first growths and big names like Ausone) were awarded very big scores, and there were 10 wines with 100 point scores in their range as opposed to 23 in the 2009 vintage.  Perennial favorites like Pichon Baron achieved up to 99 points, which will be a fun one considering the mid-level price point.

"I do not think it would be fair or prudent to say that 2010 exceeds in overall quality what was produced in 2009, 2005 or perhaps even 2000. However, it is unquestionably another great vintage"

Hard to believe the above statement in light of the amount of praise and high scores that he dolled out.

THE MARKET
Parker went on to discuss the global wine market and Asia's influence over steadily rising prices.

"...the roaring Chinese economy where more millionaires are being created each day than in a month in the United States, and their propensity to love Bordeaux, and to want to buy the world's finest wines, and readers can see there is too much upward pressure for the top 40 or so Bordeaux châteaux...Normally this would look like a bubble ready to burst. However, that does not look to be the case. The fact is, the demand continues to increase and the quantity of these wines remains the same as it has for decades. In fact, for many of these estates the selection process has become so draconian that there is actually less wine being produced than in the past..."

That being said he did caution that any market that is this heated up has its risks, but his tone seemed bullish as he went on to discuss prices for the 2010's.

PRICES and WHAT TO DO
Parker went on to discuss prices of 2010 and some options.

"Everywhere I went in Bordeaux the news seemed rather pessimistic that prices would remain stable or go up. In fact, most négociants and proprietors were talking about 15-20% increases as they watched their 2009s soar in value in secondary marketplaces.

What this all actually means is that readers need to forget about the first-growths, super-seconds and a handful of other limited production glamour wines as they will be beyond the reach of all but the wealthiest millionaires and billionaires. However, these represent only a tiny fraction of the entire Bordeaux production. There are many, many good values and great wines to be found at far lower prices. It makes sense to buy those wines as futures if you are dealing with a reputable merchant with a history of buying and delivering Bordeaux futures." RP

MY GAMEPLAN
So with 2010 prices rising 15-20% over the 2009's, along with Euro currency rates 20% stronger this year, some of the top wines in Bordeaux could be priced pretty steep to the tune of 40% more! Firstly, I would suggest purchasing any 2009's that you've been thinking about today. This 2010 recap is EXTREMELY bullish on 2009, even more so than 2010 from both a qualitative and price perspective. I'm sure our stocks will disappear sooner than later.

Take a look at what the 2010 release prices are this late spring/early summer and see what compels you. I find that 1st growth buyers have migrated to the best second, etc. growths like Pichon, Lynch, all the Leovilles, Ducru etc. I still think that these wines represent a fair value when compared to almost any other winemaking region and tend to open in the $100-$200 price range. These wines are terrific and have huge scores with moderate prices. Lastly, there are going to be some "off the radar" wines that are very inexpensive and with big scores. They are always fun.

So that's all HE wrote. More to come soon.