The 2011 bordeaux primeurs campaign has been not so much a damp squib as a squib so sodden it is completely ineffectual. The quality of the wine is, in general, B+ compared with the A ratings scored by both 2009 and 2010, and the prices so far announced have not been low enough to attract a serious level of buying. Dampeners have included the fact that potential buyers bought 2009s and 2010s so heavily, and at prices so high they have hardly gained in value since. There was also general mismanagement of the campaign. With public holidays and Vinexpo Asia-Pacific in Hong Kong, there were relatively few suitable trading days in the principal primeurs month of May, which one Tuesday saw no fewer than 48 different 2011s released on a single day. Inevitably, some of them slipped through the commercial cracks into complete obscurity.
Even at their dramatically reduced release prices, few of the 2011s you might have heard of are priced at much less than £400 a dozen (and the first growths are more than 10 times this). Then you will have to pay storage, taxes and delivery – for a B+ vintage that will not be ready to drink for many years. To my mind it would be crazy to invest in smart 2011s when there are so many keenly priced 2009s lower down the pecking order that are already delicious but will continue to improve over the next five to 10 years. The great appeal of the super-ripe 2009 vintage is that it is so consistent, and there are great finds even in such unglamorous appellations as Bordeaux, Médoc and Premières Côtes de Bordeaux (an appellation that has recently been renamed Cadillac Côtes de Bordeaux).
Now is the time to pounce on these. In the UK, relatively inexpensive red bordeaux from the 2008, 2009 and 2010 vintages can easily be found, both on supermarket shelves and from many of the more specialist retailers such as those listed right. I strongly suggest that you take advantage of this before they all move on to the leaner 2011s that, lower down the Bordeaux ranks, are not nearly as toothsome.