I arrived in Bordeaux and I asked for a room upgrade. The lady at the front desk looked at me like I was crazy. She told me it is busier than last year!
After a quick shower, a few friends and I ate with a terrific negociant and friend of mine. He discussed the current situation about Bordeaux. He said there's not enough wine to satisfy the global demand that he sees. His office in Asia picks up 10-15 new big clients (distributor size) a month. He says that when you add 150 new institutional customers a year, it's hard to satisfy the demand.
He also mentioned that prices will be around 10% higher this year over the already expensive 2009 vintage. Add in the Euro's approximate 20 cent gain on the dollar compared to last year and we're talking about prices that could be 20%-30% higher than 2009. Whoa. Better buy your 2009's today. We never thought about them as a good currency trade, but they are. You're buying with last year's Euro. I think they will disappear quickly. Better vintage at 30% less? Sounds good.
While I agree with my negociant friend about demand, we're really talking about the 30 best/biggest Bordeaux with Asian demand. I think that there will be some great values that don't raise their prices.
But really, before I can even process this info, I've got to taste the wines. Stay tuned for my first tasting at Haut Brion!