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November 2003 Newsletter: The excitement begins..... Christmas
Wines Please
register for the 2003 Bordeaux vintage
Please click onto the 2003 Bordeaux page and register. There is no commitment, and at least you then will be set for the best wines at terrific prices. Also, please note the new restrictions for the import of wine into the United States. We are now offering a service where you can purchase wine and cellar it in the UK free of all taxes. We will the then arrange shipping when the situation allows us to, as it invariably will. This week I was contacted by an Irish solicitor who told me that a client had purchased: Chateau Pitray -Côtes de Castillon, 1982 for 6750 Euro's per case Chateau Nenin - Pomerol, 1980 for 9750 Euro's per case Both of these wines are almost WORTHLESS, please check with someone reputable before you make a purchase. Tips 1. If the contact is unsolicited, be very cautious. 2. If they sell by high pressure on the telephone, be aware. 3. If they throw in 5 years free cellarage and insurance, you get nothing for free! 4. If they make claims of guaranteed returns, that is NOT REALISTIC! If most or all of the above apply, you are almost certainly about to be parted from your money and RIPPED OFF! Thanks to everybody for their kind words following my latest appearance on the Richard and Judy Show on Channel4 TV. It will be interesting to see how my selections do over the next six months and the denouement on the next show scheduled in April/May. The FT100 is currently at 4338 and the Dow Jones is at 9678 having not moved substantially over the last few months. It is interesting to read that 20% of UK homeowners re-mortgage their home every six months to fund personal debt, such as credit cards, holidays and new cars. With interest rates now on the way up, the house price boom will probably slow down appreciably and it is only a matter of time that those families' incomes come under serious pressure. There are predictions of tough times ahead for those who have large amounts of debt, with no realistic method of funding it from income. I paid a visit to Bordeaux 2 weeks ago to get some local impressions of the 2003 vintage. There were some very happy Château owners out there, some with incredibly broad grins. There were so many problems encountered with this vintage from a vineyard full of burst grapes, premature removal of the leaf canopy at the top of the vine that caused grapes at the top of the vine to turn to raisins and the decision as when to pick, the grapes looked ripe but were they really ripe inside. Then the fermentation, very high levels of sugar made it for some like an Australian vintage, but the Bordelais do not have too much experience of those conditions. In 1947 a similar vintage occurred and because in those days the wine makers did not have temperature-controlled vats, some resorted to throwing blocks of ice into the fermentation vessels in order to reduce the temperature. That and the fact that the grapes were smaller than normal and had thick skins, meant that they had to be careful not to over extract, otherwise you got alcoholic soup. Other than that, it was easy!! It is still very early to make judgements, especially without having tasted the wines but it would appear that Pomerol and Saint Emilion generally have done very well, with some that have made superstar wines and some that for one reason or another that very definitely did not. The word is that the Medoc and Graves also did very well especially where the soils that had the ability to retain water. The UK wine market has been busy with Bordeaux 2000 2001 and 2002, the latter doing very well for a while after Robert Parker came out with his scores for that vintage. Pauilliac did very well with Lafite and Mouton getting good scores but Latour was the star. Only relatively small quantities of this wine have been released and the current price hovers around 1250 GBP if you can find it. Leoville Las Cases have not released any wine yet despite a very good score of 94-97! We have found some good prices for well-rated 2000's at the lower level and where value was to be found have recommended them to clients. Sociando Mallet was one example where at 240 GBP was quite excellent value. Hosanna prices continue to firm or move forward with the 2000 at 940GBP and occasionally well over 1000GBP, and the 2001 at 795GBP. I tasted the initial vintage from Hosanna again, the 1999 and it was gorgeous. At only 4 years old it was drinking quite magnificently and a joy to behold. There is a tiny property called Le Dôme in Saint Emilon on which I will be reporting soon, it is very exciting, they make great quality wine and Mr Parker has yet to report on it. Watch this space. Look out for Château Beaucastel 1998, but particularly 2000 and 2001. These wines are of fabulous quality and are destined to move up in price over time. The 2003 Rhones North and South are good successes with the north being quite remarkable. Germany and it's red have had an amazing year, tasting those wines is going to be an experience of a lifetime. As more information becomes available I will let you know. Also note the new restrictions for the import of wine into the United States. We are now offering a service where you can purchase wine and cellar it in the UK free of all taxes. We will the then arrange shipping when the situation allows us to, as it invariably will. If you wish to purchase any wine that you may be interested in, then please complete the form in the Contact section. Please be aware that we can assist in the disposal of unwanted or surplus wine. I said that we obtained in 4200 GBP per case for some 1990 Rayas, well the lowest offer that we obtained was a pathetic 3000 GBP from one very high profile UK merchant who lists the same wine at 100%+ mark up, so that was an attempt at daylight robbery that failed. Note that very often the merchant one purchases the wine from is not always the one that will pay the best price on selling. Some companies offer to broker the wine and list it, but very often the wine can take an inordinate amount of time to finally be sold and not at the price first agreed. Please ask us to quote; we will endeavour to make sure that you are not disappointed. We are also able to help with wine collections that are not case quantities, but bottle collections, you may be surprised at what sort of sums can be realised. STOP PRESS: BRAND NEW SELECTION Click here a selection of fine wines for purchase, some as a case that you can mix yourself from a superb selection and some in case quantities. They are all great quality wines from some of the best and most prestigious merchants in the UK. The wines are made by very well respected and hugely talented producers from around the world and can be delivered to your door in just a few days, sometimes less than 24 hours! Try us, you will not be disappointed. If you wish to discuss the acquisition or disposal of wine, please complete the form in the Contact section. We are available if you wish to call on the phone number listed below. Call in to our website at http://dunbarfinewine.co.uk/investment.html to see for yourself how fine wine has historically been a first-class and consistent investment, when the wine is sourced from reliable suppliers and not some of the cowboys that have given our business problems in the past. December
2001 Newsletter - click here |
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