Bordeaux 2012 vintage - Restaurant wine

Photo from Consulate General of France

March saw the annual Union des Grands Crus de Bordeaux tasting again, this year covering the 2012 vintage. I remember this event from past years as always being crowded, with some visitors pushing and shoving so they could shuffle their glasses to the pourers, and no time for proper conversation with winery representatives unless you were a friend or gave the impression of being a big buyer. So this year I was pleasantly surprised by the comparative calm. Although I didn’t taste every single wine, I did have the chance to chat with nearly all the wineries and got in plenty of tasting to get an insight into what the 2012 vintage was like.

Most producers see 2012 Bordeaux as a restaurant wine: approachable, drinking well when still young and not expensive. Perhaps this is an indirect way of saying it was not a great year and that the wine probably won't age well. Yet I wouldn’t say it was a bad vintage not worth talking about. Yes, it doesn't warrant the sky-high prices of 2009 and 2010, and the wines certainly won't age as long, but, as I see it, 2012 simply represents a different, nearly opposite, style. Wineries with the resources to manage their vineyards really well and the financial capacity to make do with a smaller crop succeeded in making pleasant wines that are for drinkers rather than investors. I don't see that as a bad thing. That is the fascination of Bordeaux: vintage variation makes the wine more interesting and rewards the truly dedicated producer. The collapse of the en primeur prices and the relatively unsuccessful 2011 vintage (although I personally prefer 2011 over 2010 because, to me, it was more classical) had the silver lining benefit of bringing many Bordelaise back to the ground and back in touch with wine lovers and consumers, instead of focusing all their attention on the big spenders.

Unlike riper vintages, where wines from across different appellations tend to show many similarities, 2012 was a vintage that really highlighted the differences. The soft structure of the St Juliens contrasted markedly with the angular structure of the Pauillacs. The floral bouquet that is characteristic of Margaux was accentuated, while the Cabernet Sauvignon from St Estèphe was particularly expressive.

Photo from Bordeaux Confidential

This tasting was followed by an event called ‘Bordeaux Confidential’, where James Suckling hand-picked 19 wineries, each presenting three vintages of their choice that James had rated 90 points or above. This was another educational tasting that highlighted how wine evolves over time as much as illustrating the different terroirs of Bordeaux. It was dominated by big name chateaux—Mouton Rothschild, Brane-Cantenac and Chateau Giscours, to name a few—but I was delighted to discover some smaller wineries like Chateau de Lamarque. These are wines that are approachable yet also have the framework to allow for decent ageing.

I really enjoyed this year’s Bordeaux tasting because I could see more passion in the producers. Yes, there are great vintages but I don’t believe there are really bad vintages. It all depends on picking the producers who take extra care and on choosing the right time to drink the wine. 2012 may not last for 20 years but it is certainly enjoyable in the next three to five years.

Big shot tastings in Hong Kong: what’s the impact?

March is set to be a busy month on the Hong Kong wine scene, with wine lovers torn between two equally famous yet very different wine gurus: Jancis Robinson and Robert Parker. Each of them, coincidentally, has two evenings of dinners in Hong Kong—on the same dates. When Robinson is answering questions from WSET diploma students and graduates on the 5th, Parker will be showcasing iconic French wines and their New Word counterparts to 300 guests. The next evening, Robinson will be lending her support to the charity ‘Room to Read’, with wines sponsored by Watson’s, while Parker will be sharing his ‘legend’ wines with some 200 guests, each paying US$1,000+ for the privilege. Hong Kong is just one of the stops on their Asian tours and luckily it seems their schedules only clash in Hong Kong.  

In the last few years there has been no shortage of wine ‘big shots’ staging high profile events in Greater China. Michel Bettane and Thierry Desseauve, two respected French critics, have held tastings under the banners ‘Le Grand Day of Indulgence’ and ‘Wine Experience’ in Hong Kong and Shanghai, and I believe the ticket price of HK$18,000/person in Hong Kong for an intimate whole-day gathering of 50 guests is still the record price. James Suckling, an American wine critic who now spends half his time in Hong Kong, has his ‘Great Wine Tasting of Bordeaux’ and ‘Great Wine Tasting of Italy’ events priced at around HK$2,000/person for VIP tickets.

All these glamour events no doubt create excitement and buzz among Hong Kong’s wine connoisseurs and paint a rosy impression for producers, yet somehow I wonder if they really help expand the Hong Kong wine market. Let’s look at things from the consumer point of view:

Those who sign up for or aware of these events will almost all be wine collectors or serious wine lovers who appreciate and drink wine nearly every day. They won’t drink more because of these VIP events as their livers are pretty much working at capacity already.

For those who hardly drink or are not interested in wine, they won’t know how influential these big shots are and won’t drink more because of them. So these events have little or no impact on them.

That leaves the last group, which is actually the majority of wine consumers in Hong Kong—occasional drinkers who have some interest in wine but don’t know much about it. What is the impact of these events on them (bearing in mind that they won’t attend the events but may hear about them)? Will our VIP presenters inspire them to drink and enjoy more wine, or will they be led down the path of believing that only expensive wines are worth drinking? Sadly, I fear it will be the latter because of the herd mentality. And that is a pity because it means the middle market, which ought to be the core of any mature wine market, is left hollow and undeveloped.

I’m not saying high profile tasting events are bad (we all enjoy them, don’t we?). But I do think that for a still developing market like Hong Kong, perhaps it would be more beneficial—more help in building a solid, sustainable market—if the big shots could, in addition to the lavish tastings, host some simpler, more affordable tastings for new and curious wine consumers, aimed at providing that spark that inspires them to love wine for what it is rather than chasing labels. We can then, over time, nurture them into core wine consumers as opposed to occasional drinkers. In turn, they will inspire other average consumers to give wine a try. And of course some of them will one day grow to become the enthusiasts who sign up as guests of these high-profile exclusive events!