A deluge of cheap wine from my usual Swiss source – at least cheap compared to last week’s Perrot-Minot!

La Forge de Tart 1er Cru 2007 75cl 148.00* (Swiss Francs)
La Forge de Tart 1er Cru 2008 75cl 119.00
La Forge de Tart 1er Cru 2011 75cl 135.00
La Forge de Tart 1er Cru 2014 75cl 169.00
La Forge de Tart 1er Cru 2016 75cl 188.00

Clos de Tart Grand Cru (Library Release) 1996 75cl 498.00
Clos de Tart Grand Cru (Library Release) 2001 75cl 498.00
Clos de Tart Grand Cru (Library Release) 2007 150cl 699.00

*Prices are ‘delivered’ but subject to 8% Swiss purchase tax.

This afternoon, as I was leaving Beaune, I saw Blair Pethel – pictured doing what he loved – and he looked in good spirits. I stopped my car and we started to chat but then (of-course!) with no room to pass, other cars started to form a queue behind me – I quickly had to say ‘Ciao!’ – before we got into any nitty-gritty.

By the time I got home to Bern, Blair had sent me the following, which he, kindly, said that I could reproduce here. It’s a big surprise. I’ve visited Blair every year since his 2007 vintage – he’s always made great reds, typically in a, driving and intense, fresh style, but there were many vintages that I thought his whites extra special – a top 10 white wine domaine, hence, I included him in my book.

So extra luck to Fabrice and Sophie for what they will ‘inherit,’ and my thanks to Blair for the memories – I wonder (out loud) what he’s going to get up to now – he’s not one for sitting back.

I’d heard a few weeks back that ‘Domaine X‘ was for sale – but Blair’s is actually ‘Domaine Y,’ hence, a big surprise – so, it seems that such news will continue in 2019…

“To the clients and friends of Domaine Dublère,

It is with mixed emotions that I write to inform you of the sale of Domaine Dublère to Domaine Terres de Velle in Auxey-Duresses, effective May 10. I will be retiring from winegrowing on that date, and with the exception of a short period helping with the transition, will move on to new projects.

It’s hard to believe it’s been almost 16 years since my first vintage, and the time has certainly flown past. I appreciate beyond measure your support over the years, and your willingness to put your faith in an American winemaker in Burgundy, not the most commonplace of beasts. I have greatly enjoyed getting to know you all over the years, and have always enjoyed your visits and our conversations.

What this sale means is that there will be no 2017 Domaine Dublere wines offered. The managers of Domaine Terres de Velle, Fabrice and Sophie Laronze, are in the process of deciding which of my wines will be offered under their label. The same goes for the 2018s.

Fabrice and Sophie, aside from being my next-door neighbors, are also friends, and very talented and dedicated winegrowers who have an identical philosophy to me when it comes to work in the vines and the winery. I trust you will contact them not only to purchase my remaining wines, but to discover their range, which I am sure you will find remarkable. You can read more about them on their web site: https://www.terresdevelle.fr/en/, and you can contact them at info@terresdevelle.fr.

If you would like to order any of the remaining stocks of bottled Domaine Dublère wines, please let me know and I will send you availabilities – but we’ll have to hurry. Otherwise, I will just say again how grateful I am and always have been for your faithfulness and support over the past 16 years.

And now: Onwards and upwards!

Best regards,

Blair Pethel
www.domaine-dublere.com”

No lagging in the price department – I wonder (out loud!) who are the clientelle here. Of-course if Bernstein and Le Moine can reach these sort of levels, why not the person who owns the land and the vines and works those vines?

As usual, the prices are delivered in Switzerland – but here, include purchase tax. Note that these were special introductory prices – the price goes up at the end of the offer 🙂
In the brackets – 2016 prices:

VINS ROUGES
Morey Saint-Denis La Rue de Vergy 2017 75cl 120.60 (94.50) (*Swiss Francs)
Gevrey-Chambertin Justice des Seuvrées 2017 75cl 120.60 (94.50)
Nuits St-Georges 1er ‘Les Murgers des Cras’ 2017 75cl 120.60 (100.80)
Chambolle-Musigny Orveaux des Bussières 2017 75cl 138.60
Vosne-Romanée Ormes des Chalendins 2017 75cl 138.60
Vosne-Romanée Les Champs Perdrix Vieilles Vignes 2017 75cl 156.60 (128.70)
Morey Saint-Denis 1er Cru La Riotte Vieilles Vignes 2017 75 cl 174.60 (163.80)
Vosne-Romanée 1er Cru Les Beaux Monts Vieilles Vignes 2017 75cl 249.00 (193.50)
Nuits Saint-Georges 1er Cru La Richemone “Ultra” Vieilles Vignes 2017 75cl 389.00 (385.00)
Chambolle-Musigny Combe d’Orveau 1er Cru “Ultra” Vieilles-Vignes 2017 75cl 389.00
Chapelle-Chambertin Grand Cru Vieilles Vignes 2017 75cl 444.00 (420.00)
Charmes-Chambertin Grand Cru Vieilles Vignes 2017 75cl 444.00 (420.00)
Mazoyères-Chambertin Grand Cru Vieilles Vignes 2017 75cl 444.00 (420.00)
Chambertin Clos-de-Bèze Grand Cru Vieilles Vignes 2017 75cl 1,059.00 (840.00)
Chambertin Grand Cru Vieilles Vignes 2017 75cl 1,059.00 (840.00)

!!!

*As noted, these are delivered prices, but this email offer is discounted – whatever is sold from their normal catalogue is at a higher price!

The bipolar organisation that is Baghera seem to have another big hit on their hands!

Bipolar? – Well they keep having sales with bottles that stretch not just credulity, but also their narrative behind the ownership of the bottles in the last sale was completely inconsistent too. Then we have a sale that follows seems to be from a dream, offering perfect provenance – like the Jayer sale did – but now with the aid of the Engel family, we will seemingly have the same with bottles from the old Domaine René Engel.

I have a few of those myself – almost all of mine are Grands-Echézeaux – I may not have the wines of the 1920s which will be in the sale, but I’ve got something that they don’t have – the 2005 Grands-Echézeaux. It was Albéric Bichot who bought the Domaine Engel crop on the vines just before the harvest (Philippe died on his summer holiday) and whilst they sold-on the Brûlées, they bottled the Grands-Echézeaux with their négoce label. I bought 9 and still have (perhaps) 6, plus their Clos Frantin wine to compare it with one day…

Anyway, this sale will doubtless be a big hit – and perhaps, hopefully, be bought by a wider selection of buyers than the unobtainium that was the Jayer sale. Linked here.

I’m happy that they posted this video only about 12-13 hours ago – if it had been 24 hours ago – April 1st – I probably wouldn’t have believed it!
 

‘The sale was led by Romanée Conti 1990 Domaine de la Romanée-Conti, with three 12-bottle lots selling for HK$2,728,000 / US$347,520 each’

I first mentioned this three-day sale at the end of January – it completed over the weekend, and, as expected, lots of dollars were spent.

Coche-Dury was the largest domaine represented with over 600 individual lots, and whilst they hardly feature in the headlines of the sale, the prices for their wines also far exceeded the pre-sale estimates. To quote Sotheby’s:

“…three-day sale of Tran-scend-ent Wines concluded with a grand total of HK$233,582,518 / US$29,756,077, far surpassing its pre-sale low estimate of HK$147 million / US$19 million, and with 98% of lots sold.”

Too late! I bet you forgot to put it in your agenda – eh?

This offer came around once again – 6 months later from the same source.

It’s interesting to see how the market, at least for this vintage/producer and in this geographical location, is working:

• All the reds are still available.
• The Bourgogne Blanc and all the Meursaults are still available.
• Half of the Pulignys are gone – there remains just the villages, the Perrières and the Clos de la Mouchère
• Corton-Charlemagne is still available
• All the Hyphen-Montrachets, and the Montrachet, are gone…

Interesting that only the most expensive whites are gone – though maybe this reflects that only a tiny quantity of wines that were available at this level…(?)

Here you go – a long time since I saw a local offer for these – given the pricing, perhaps no surprise! These 2017s offered by my usual Swiss merchant.

DOMAINE COMTE GEORGES DE VOGÜÉ 2017 – En Primeur

2017 Chambolle-Musigny 75cl 149.00 *Swiss francs
2017 Bonnes-Mares 75cl 489.00
2017 Bonnes-Mares 150cl 998.00
2017 Musigny Vieilles Vignes 75cl 699.00
2017 Musigny Vieilles Vignes 150cl 1,418.00

*8% Swiss purchase tax to be added, but these are delivered prices. I remember buying my first bottles here in Switzerland (the Musigny) for 230 chf – but those were the 1998 and 1999s – of which I still have a few bottles. Whilst I won’t be jumping at these, just for comparison the recent (2016) vintage from DRC was sold out with the Corton at 410 chf and the RSV at 1,300 chf (both with a further 20% UK purchase tax to add) – so from this domaine’s perspective, perhaps their wines are too cheap!

In the wake of all the winemaker changes, it’s almost possible to forget that there is also some wine that they wish to sell! So here you go – the 2017 for you from the usual Swiss merchant. Only the grand cru is offered, so no 1er cru and no whites. Like in 2016, almost full yields here in 2017.

In the brackets, you can see the price comparison with the last three vintages, in the format 2017 (2016, 2015, 2014). – – means ‘not offered.’

DOMAINE DES LAMBRAYS 2017 – En Primeur

GRAND CRU
2017 Clos des Lambrays 75cl 238.00 (225.00, 199.00, 159.00) *Swiss francs
2017 Clos des Lambrays 150cl 481.00 (455.00, 403.00, – -)
2017 Clos des Lambrays 300cl 1,012.00 (960.00, 856.00, – -)

*8% Swiss purchase tax to be added, but these are delivered prices. Slowly creeping up, but only slowly…