En primeur countdown

With the start-date for en primeur rapidly approaching, the trade is limbering up for another round of gum-blackening tasting sessions and point-scoring.

The early views emanating from Bordeaux point to another good year. There were fears about over-ripeness and water stress, something the drinks business has already examined.

However, although these fears were usually dismissed as unfounded the view does tend to persist that the Left Bank’s crop will be superior to that of the Right, as it was in 2009.

The approach of en primeurs has also set off the debate surrounding points and their relation to pricing. Jancis Robinson MW has already described herself as feeling like a “pawn” in the wider game the châteaux play in this regard.

Similarly, apparently in response to the incredibly early scores released by James Suckling and his replacement at the Wine Spectator, James Molesworth, French critic Michel Bettane wrote an angry letter to the Union des Grands Crus de Bordeaux insinuating that he would not be participating this year if more was not done to stop critics breaking embargoes.

Tasting of the en primeurs begins on 2 April and all subsequent news, opinion, scores and pricing of 2010 will be followed by db throughout the spring and summer.

Rupert Millar, 31.03.2011