moral bankrupcy and the wine trade

2.6.2010billn

I note in my ‘holiday reading’ the following: There are sharks that take money for ‘investments’ and there are piranhas that disappear with en-primeur cash/orders. Now there is another kind of unpleasant individual – a sharp-suited barracuda perhaps – that tries even harder to suck the soul from wine:

The ‘short-selling’ of Chateau Lafite 2009 on Liv-ex has outraged some wine merchants, leaving others in the industry shrugging their shoulders.

The latest vintage of Lafite is being offered on the trading platform for £11,750 a case. The actual sale has gone through for £10,000.

The wine has not yet been released by the chateau.
Decanter, 1st June

Whilst these largely remain ‘Bordeaux things’ they cannot but chew at the edges of even the the most idealistic of producer-merchant-enthusiast relationships.

I see a bubble in the making; higher vineyard-land prices sustained only by higher ‘scores’ and ‘inventive’ marketing to ‘new markets’ – until a rainy vintage (or three) when the bills cannot be met – what then? Probably it will then be the critics’ fault for giving only 88pts….

Maybe in later life I will have to become a cheese aficionado to avoid such tripe….

Agree? Disagree? Anything you'd like to add?

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