James' Article: First Thoughts On #enprimeur

Tweets about #enprimeur from:jamessuckling
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Click here to enlarge our live coverage of 2014 Bordeaux #enprimeur

I just landed in Paris from Hong Kong and I arrive in Bordeaux tomorrow. My barrel tastings begin Thursday in the Médoc. You can expect real-time coverage on social media as well as regular tasting reports, tasting note posts and videos for the next two weeks on what could be Bordeaux’s most exciting vintage since 2010.

Of course, it’s not going match the quality of the fabulous 2010 – or 2009 for that matter – but there will be some fabulous wines. I understand it is a cabernet sauvignon year; apparently the 2014 vintage favors the Left Bank. But you never know until you taste the wines. I have been tasting barrel samples for 32 vintages up to 2014 and I am excited to evaluate the young, raw 2014s and compare then to past vintages.

Please take a look at our live page covering 2014 Bordeaux #enprimeur to discover all the relevant content on the site. I will also post some notes immediately after tastings, ensuring that the information will be in real time. Otherwise, my team in Asia, Europe and the United States will be putting all the information together and posting it on JamesSuckling.com and other media available.

Although I have only tasted a few wines so far, the 2014 vintage in Bordeaux has a lot going for it. One is that the quality should be better than the last three vintages overall. This is saying something since, as you know, I really enjoyed many of the top wines in 2012, which I like to describe as a sleeper vintage for delicious and balanced Bordeaux. Check the story out here.

The other main reason why 2014 could be interesting is that the Euro has dropped in value to a 12-year low and could fall below parity. It’s almost hard to believe. But this means 2014 en primeur could represent extraordinary value, particularly for Americans and Hong Kongers. Of course, I am not holding my breath for the top châteaux owners to be reasonable with their prices, but there are so many excellent value wines from the region not to overlook.

Hope you enjoy the reporting and reviews!

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