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French Wine Explorers Wine e-Newsletter
www.wine-tours-france.com - March 2005

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This month's wine explorations:

Buying Bordeaux Futures

Late March/early April is a busy time in the Bordeaux wine region.  This period each year marks the beginning of the "En Primeur" tastings, when hordes of wine journalists, importers and wine merchants from all over the world descend on the Bordeaux vineyards to get their first taste of the most recent vintage.  What happens in these few weeks is of prime importance to the entire region, as it will determine the prices for the wines of the best chateaux, setting the tone for the wine commerce of the region for the vintage and setting the stage for wine speculation for many years to come.

In English, we refer to buying "en primeur" as buying "futures".  Buying Bordeaux futures is very much like buying futures for any other commodity, like grain or pork bellies.  The idea is that you buy wine from the current vintage just a few months after it has been made, gambling that it will increase in value later on.  After the futures tastings, when the most prominent wine journalists publish their opinions of the wines tasted, the top tier chateaux (the First Growths, Petrus, etc.) set their prices, based on their opinion of the vintage and how much they think the wine will be worth on the market.  They lead the charge, and the other chateaux follow suit afterward. Certain of the journalists (particularly Robert Parker) can make or break a vintage with their comments,and have an enormous (some would say inordinate) effect on pricing.  Wine brokers and wine merchants purchase directly from the chateau at the prices the chateaux set, and then in turn mark up the price and sell to importers and retailers, who then sell to interested individuals.

After the tastings in March, the futures are offered to the public in June or July.  So in June/July 2005, wine lovers can purchase futures for the 2004 vintage. But the 2004 vintage will spend at least 18 months aging in oak before it's ready to be bottled.  For the greatest chateaux, the 2004 vintage will be bottled in June 2006, and then delivered that autumn.  So there is a two year gap between the harvest and the delivery of the vintage when buying futures.

Futures have been a mainstay of the Bordeaux wine market for some time.  The activity mostly concerned the chateaux and the wine merchants who sold their wines until the famous 1982 vintage brought futures buying to the attention of the general public.  That vintage was so highly touted that individual collectors sought a way to reserve a stock of the vintage in advance, knowing full well that those bottles would disappear once they were placed on the market for the general public.  Therein lies the major attraction of buying futures: being able to reserve bottles of a great vintage in advance, and at a substantially lower price than the bottles will fetch once on the market.  The savings helps make up for the time buyers have to wait to receive their bottles.  The attraction for the chateaux is cash flow.  During the time between the harvest and the time the wines are offered for sale, all the investment in that vintage is literally sleeping in their cellars and not making money for the chateau.  The advance sale of the vintage provides a treasury for the chateau, giving them vital cash flow to continue their operations.  It's a win-win situation for everyone, including the wine merchants, distributors and wholesalers, who get to mark up the prices at every step of the transaction. 

There is a good deal of controversy over the futures system at this time.  The tastings used to take place a few months later, and many critics argue that the wines are way too young and undeveloped in March to be able to make an accurate prediction about their outcome.  I personally can attest to the fact that the wines can change considerably within just a few months time; in 2003, I tasted the 2001's in April and then again in September, and the wines had considerably matured. The samples for the tastings are drawn by the cellarmaster from various barrels, to simulate what a final blend might be like. It is widely recognized that the chateaux use only their best wines for these samples, in a blend that may not resemble in any way the final blend.  Some chateaux have been accused of creating a special "Parker sample" to please the palate of the king of wine critics (i.e., particularly full-bodied and oaky) so he'll give them a high rating.  Finally, in some vintages (for example, the excellent 1985 vintage), the futures price ends up being the same as the price offered once the wine has been released publicly.  Things to keep in mind if you decide to venture into the wild world of Bordeaux futures!

Enjoy the privilege of tasting the most recent vintages at the very best chateaux of the Bordeaux region on our Best of Bordeaux tour, Sept. 5-10, 2005, or ask us to create a private, customized wine tour for you in Bordeaux including some of the greatest estates of the region.

Taste at Prestigious Estates of Tuscany

Tuscany is undoubtedly one of the most beautiful wine regions in the world.  It is also home to some of the world's finest wines:  Brunello de Montalcino, Vino Nobile de Montepulciano, and the famous "Super Tuscans" like Sassacaia and Ornellaia hailed by Robert Parker and other critics around the world.  A wine tour in Tuscany can easily be combined with a few days in the lovely and culturally rich cities of Pisa, Siena and perhaps Italy's most beautiful city, Florence, all very near the vineyard areas.

If you'd like to experience Tuscany at its finest, you still have a chance to join us for our 2005 tour of the Great Wines of Tuscany, May 9-14.  This 6 day tour includes some of Tuscany's most prestigious estates, breathtaking scenery, fine authentically Italian country hotels (including one that is also a fine winery) and gourmet dining.  Led by an expert on Italian wines, you'll learn about the fascinating world of Italian wines while enjoying an exceptional week in this very special region.

Don't miss out on this exceptional opportunity!  For more information, see the Great Wines of Tuscany page on our web site, at http://www.wine-tours-france.com/TuscanyWineTour.htm.  You can find the reservation forms on that same page.  Join us for a great time in Tuscany this May!

AOC Focus:  Appellation Côtes du Rhône

Even in France itself, there is a great deal of confusion over the use of the term "Côtes du Rhône" (which means "slopes of the Rhône River").  Aren't the great wines of Hermitage, Côte Rôtie and Chateauneuf-du-Pape all located in the Côtes du Rhône region?

In fact, Côtes du Rhône is a regional Appellation d'Originie Controlée (A.O.C.) in the viticultural region called the Rhône Valley, which runs roughly from Vienne in the North (1 hour south of Lyons) to Avignon in the South.  It is the largest appellation in the Rhône Valley, covering 171 villages, mostly in the southern part of the Rhône Valley (south of Valence).  The appellation produces red, white and rosé wines, but the vast majority of Côtes du Rhône wines are red (87%).

There are 23 grape varieties that are authorized to be used in A.O.C. Côtes du Rhône wines (remember that in the South of France, most of the wines are blends of different grape varieties). The principle grape varieties used these days are Grenache, Syrah, Mourvedre and Cinsault for the reds, Grenache and Cinsault for the rosés, and Grenache Blanc, Clairette, Viognier, Bourboulenc, Marsanne and Rousanne for the whites.  The climate is Mediterranean (very dry and hot during the growing season), with limestone soils that are particularly suited to Grenache, the principle red grape variety of the Southern Rhône.

The best Côtes du Rhône wines offer terrific value at reasonable prices. Domaine Brusset makes a very nice one, as does Maison Chapoutier (in both red and white).  Some of the most illustrious producers of Chateauneuf-du-Pape wines also produce Côtes du Rhône or Côtes du Rhône Villages wines (the next step up in the A.O.C. hierarchy), offering the same fine winemaking know-how at an affordable price.  Try, for example, the Côtes du Rhône from Chateau Rayas or Chateau Font de Michelle.

Come taste the best the Rhône Valley has to offer on our Rhône tour, June 6-12, 2005.  This tour includes beautiful luxury hotels, great sightseeing in and around Avignon (the Pont du Gard is breathtaking!), sumptuous dining and, to cap it all off, the winemaker's dinner dance in the 14th century cellars of the Popes' summer palace in Chateauneuf-du-Pape: all in all, a totally unforgettable trip!  Space is dwindling quickly, so contact us today for more information, or see the Rhône Tour web page.

Wine Tasting:  What is a "Closed" Wine?

"Closed" is a term that is often used by professionals in talking or writing about wine, particularly young wines.  Unlike many wine tasting terms that sound impressive but really don't mean much, the term "closed" is actually quite descriptive and useful to understand.

A wine is "closed" if it has a bouquet or "nose" that is very faint or non-existant.  In other words, if it is not aromatic, or has very little smell or aromas.  Even if you swirl the wine incessantly in your glass, it will be hard to coax more than a very light waft of aromas from a wine that is truly closed.  It's almost like knocking on the door of a store that is closed - you can knock all you want, but no one is home.

A "closed" wine is not the same as a wine that just has no aromas.  A wine that is really not at all aromatic is quite unusual, but if you do come across one, you can be certain that it's a poor quality wine.  Aromatic intensity is a sign of quality in a wine, and lack thereof is a sign of poor quality.  Most likely, what you have before you is a wine that is "closed".  A "closed wine" will "open" in the future and become more expressive with time and aeration (oxygen stimulates the creation of esters and other aromatic compounds in wine, volatizing them and forcing them into the air so you can smell them better).  Pouring the wine into a carafe may help bring out the aromas.

Wines often go through a period of time during which the aromas shut down. Very fine wines are often fruity and expressive ("open") at first and then close down for a number of years, only to open later on to express more complex aromas, particularly after five to eight years in the bottle.  These wines are vinified to be vins de garde, that is, wines meant to be aged to bring out their full potential.  During the vinification process, the winemaker will favorise the development of tertiary aromas (those that come with aging), rather than accentuating the fruitiness of youth.  Such wines can also be closed for a period of time during the aging process in oak at the very beginning of their lives.  This is one of the reasons that more and more people are questioning the wisdom of futures tastings, like those done in Bordeaux (see article above), since the wines tasted just a few months after vinification can be closed and not accurately show what they're capable of expressing later on. 

Why do wines become closed?  We don't really know for sure.  There are many chemical processes that go on during barrel aging and bottle aging, and enologists do not yet fully understand all of them.  Apparently, some of these chemical changes cause the aromatic compounds in the wine to be masked for a time, only to reappear later on.  This unpredictable quality is one of the fascinating things about wine, although it can be quite frustrating for the wine lover.  Just keep in mind, as you're tasting very fine wines in their first five years of life particularly, that a "closed" nose is fairly normal, and if all the other flavor components are of good quality, there's a good chance the wine will open up later on.

For more information on wine tasting, see these articles on our web site at:
http://www.wine-tours-france.com/introwinetasting.htm and
http://www.wine-tours-france.com/advancedwinetasting.htm 

Upcoming Wine & Food Events in France: Paris Wine & Food Fairs

  • April 1-3, 2005:  Bacchus, Wine & Gastronomy Festival, Place d'Armes, Toulon (Provence): wine tastings and terroir food products of all French wine regions.  For more info: +33 (0)4 94 36 89 24.
  • April 8-11, 2005: Independent Producers Fair, Espace Champerret (Paris 17th arrondisement): major bi-annual wine fair, featuring the best independent wine producers from all the French wine regions.  For more info (French only):                                                                                       http://www.vigneron-independant.com/manifestations/desc_salon.php?numsalon=83
  • April 15-17, 2005: Macon Wine Fair, Macon (Burgundy): features tasting by hudreds of producers for all over France. For more info: Tel: + 33 (0)3 85 21 07 07, http://www.macon-tourism.com.

We're always happy to design a customized, private tour for you in the region of your choice!

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Contact Us!

I'm always available to answer your questions about our wine programs, our company, and wine in France in general. Please feel free to contact me at lgreene@wine-tours-france.com, or toll free at  1-877-261-1500.

Best regards,

Lauriann Greene-Sollin, Sommelier-Conseil
President/Founder

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© 2005 French Wine Explorers. Articles © 2005 Lauriann Greene.  All rights reserved.  WST #601 903 728.