INTRODUCTION

BORDEAUX 2005

"Bordeaux has produced something very special in 2005." - Robert Parker

For the full list of Bordeaux 2005 wines in stock please click here.

Latest Update:

Robert Parker's latest edition of 'Wine Advocate' profiles the 2004 Bordeaux vintage one year on from his initial review , and contrary to expectations he has not raised the scores of many wines. This has meant that the widely anticipated demand for top 2004s has not materialised resulting in renewed focus on the current releases from the 2005 vintage, which continues to receive plaudits. We continue to receive interest in these from our clients and can offer availability for many of the most sought-after wines.

"With the release of Bordeaux' flagship wines, the 1st growths, we can now see the full picture of this year's en primeur season. There has been great enthusiasm for the wines and it appears that buyers' appetites are far from sated. The earliest releases are proving particularly popular, with plenty of interest in the value wines of Listrac, Moulis, Fronsac & Medoc; there are still many bargains to be snapped up here.

The middle orders are selling out in Bordeaux and as initial allocations sell out, we can anticipate price rises, making now a good time to review. The later released wines have commanded the greatest price rises (over 2004 / 2003) and many buyers have reacted by going back to wines which were released earlier in the campaign and increasing their holdings of these.

By building sales across the board, BWI has secured significant increases in allocations of some of the top wines. We are pleased to be able to offer good availability for Left Bank classics such as Beychevelle, Cos d'Estournel, Ducru Beaucaillou, Gruaud Larose, Lafite Rothschild, Leoville Las Cases, Lynch Bages, Palmer, Pape Clement, Talbot, etc. and on the Right Bank, we have a few remaining cases of one of our best sellers, Clos de Sarpe (at 94-96 points, one of Robert Parker's highest scoring St Emilions).

If you have been waiting for the dust to settle before making your choices, please take a look through our listings of over 200 wines. We look forward to helping you with all your 2005 Bordeaux requirements."

THE BWI TEAM IN BORDEAUX

".it does appear that Bordeaux has pulled off an absolute blinder this year."

The BWI team returned from Bordeaux having tasted more than 300 wines from the 2005 vintage. 2005 has already received much critical acclaim, but as always, we prefer to make our own assessment.

Comparisons with other vintages are often misguided, if not downright misleading so we treated comments of another 'vintage of the century' with a certain amount of scepticism. That said, it does appear that Bordeaux has pulled off an absolute blinder this year. For the first time since 2000, it is fair to say that there are plenty of very good wines to choose from on both Left and Right Banks. At the upper end of the scale we may well be witnessing history in the making, however, we were also delighted to find that quality is not confined to the top twenty or thirty chateaux; across the spectrum there are going to be wonderful offerings.

Although pricing will certainly be a major issue, this year more than ever, the overriding factor governing many peoples choice of wines may well be availability. Most chateaux are talking about significant reductions in production and with worldwide demand for the wines already approaching fever pitch, we can expect the most highly rated wines to be in short supply. We would, therefore, urge you to register your interest at the earliest opportunity, in order to receive our offers as the wines are released.