VINTAGES - 2008 Bordeaux Futures

A message from VINTAGES’ Bordeaux buyers:

Welcome to our 2008 VINTAGES Bordeaux Futures campaign.

This has been the most unusual campaign ever! The quality of this vintage appears to have been misunderstood by several members of the press. From the beginning, our contacts—especially from the right bank—indicated that this vintage was very, very good and in some cases exceptional. When Greg arrived in Bordeaux in April and started tasting, he found this to be absolutely true. What made a difference was the hang time for grapes—the longest ever, at 150-160 days for most of the top châteaux. This led to flavour intensities, nuances and complexities beyond expectations.

Prices of the 2008 First Growths were dramatically reduced—many are 40% less than the previous vintage—which is great news for buyers. We bought more of these top wines as a result. While First Growths are normally the last to hit the market, this year Latour was among the first released, followed in quick succession by the remaining first growths. Other wines followed, many with fairly dramatic price reductions. The right bank has scored big this vintage, with the epicenter being Pomerol followed by Saint-Émilion. Robert Parker Jr., among the last to evaluate the 2008s, had exceptionally high praise for the vintage overall. Lafite was his favourite First Growth, with Pétrus and Ausone also getting close to perfect marks.

We hope you are as pleased as we are with the selection and prices in VINTAGES’ 2008 Bordeaux Futures campaign.

Sincerely,