We Fly You to France for an Advance Sip of the Heralded 2005 Bordeaux
Richard Genova, senior VP of sales at Pasternak Wine Imports, two-thirds owned by Château Lafite, says demand for 2005 Bordeaux was so intense that it sold out in three days. “It’s a commodity. We want to sell it when it’s hot on first release, book the margin and move on to other things.”
by Anthony Giglio
Every single one of these magical wines left us stammering for words to describe them accurately. Powerful. Heady. Luscious. Those kinds of words.
You need not be an ascot-wearing oenophile to have heard the hype regarding the 2005 Bordeaux. So allow us to lend our voices to the cacophony with the following advice: Buy 2005 Bordeaux — and buy lots of it. Should you glean just one useful business tip from us, let it be this: You simply can’t purchase a bad bottle of Bordeaux from this magical vintage, especially the exalted First Growths seen here. Thanks to the perfect storm (or, more accurately, perfect calm) of growing conditions that graced the region two years ago, these wines now have critics stammering to describe their unprecedented deliciousness and power — and should continue to do so for a good half-century or so.
Sound too good to be true?
We had our doubts, too, especially when we learned that futures prices for the top-tier First Growths were pegged at between $600 and $800 per bottle — which, by historical standards, is off the charts. And really, just how good could these wines actually be, given that they should only make it to shelves later this year? There seemed but one way to find out: jet to France, visit top vintners and ask them for a sip.
Which we did — and we have returned to report that every single one of the wines indeed left us, uh, stammering for words to describe them. Powerful. Heady. Luscious. Those kinds of words. Point being, if you can afford one of these First Growth wines, will them to your offspring and wall them up in your cellar (the bottles, not the offspring). As long as they’re well cared for in a temperature-controlled environment, they should only increase in value exponentially (again, we’re talking about the bottles). Or, alternately, forsake your future generations and guzzle them down. We’d understand.