Blackcurrant, raspberry, powerful bouquet, vigorous palate, nicely balanced, good length, raspy on the finish. 14.5 (J.Dupont).

Vinexpo Hong-Kong

We are attending Vinexpo Asia-Pacific in Hong Kong from 27 to 29 May at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre on stand EF 44 10.

You will be able to taste Laroze and Lafleur Laroze vines in the 2003, 2005 and 2006 vintages.
Only our partner merchants, who are attending the exhibition will negotiate prices on these wines.
They will offer Laroze 2005 for tasting (Veyret Latour will have 2006).

These are:
- Ballande et Meneret and Sovex-Woltner: stand DE 47
- CVBG: stand D 58
- Grands Vins de Gironde: stand E 42
- Veyret Latour: stand BC 38

On Tuesday 27 May in the afternoon the Saint-Emilion Grands Crus Classés tasting will take place at Vinexpo Asia-Pacific with the 2004 and 2005 vintages, followed by the “Grands Crus Classés Challenge” which will highlight the outsiders in the 2003, 2004 and 2005 vintages.
This should be great fun!
I will not be on my stand on Thursday afternoon (29th), since I will be travelling to Tokyo where, with members of the Saint-Emilion Grands Crus Classés Association, we will be presenting wines on Friday (30th) at the Joël Robuchon Château Restaurant from midday to 9.0 p.m. to professionals and VIPs.
Back to Bordeaux on Saturday…

The investments in communication

€20,000 of promotional spending in publications is a big sum for us and the 2008 budget is the same as in 2007. It has been two years now that we have invested in support for the new Laroze and Lafleur Laroze labels to help our merchants garner recognition for them in their sales networks.
The magazines we have decided to advertise in are:

- Revue des Vins de France
- Decanter
- Revue du Sommelier International
- In Vino Veritas
- Tasted

Robert Parker 2007 and 2005

Laroze 2007: not scored. I don’t know why, but perhaps he was put off by the 20% of Cabernet Franc in our sample, which will nevertheless contribute aromatic freshness and a feeling of youth during ageing.We shall see the score he will give when he tastes it again in a year’s time. Shame, a good score would have given us the boost we need. Having said that, we have never built nor benefited from our reputation due to Mr Parker’s score. Today, Laroze is a wine that sells well and is enjoyed and excels because of its remarkable value for money.

Laroze 2005: 89 Disappointing for this wine that other journalists have liked a lot. The 60% of new wood is not very salient because of the very light barrel toast, the aim being to highlight the wine: was this found to be a negative point compared to the ideal American profile?

The merchants recover their true role

The good thing about this 2007 vintage is that it enables the merchants to recover genuine credibility by playing their role as advisors for their customers. Especially in view of the wide differences and sometimes even contradictions between two journalists’ comments on the same wine, buyers are confused and turn to the merchants, who supply them to obtain real advice. Should they buy this or that chateau wine that has just been offered “en primeur”? There are probably no miraculous scores or at least precious few (Mr Parker has not given his final word as I write) to sell a vintage, whose quality alone is not enough to attract buyers. So we return to the fundamentals (quality, price, reputation, brand history, the work invested by the estate, etc.) and in this field, who better than your merchant supplier to give you the real guidance you need?