Growers and buyers alike agree that the 2005 Burgundy vintage is as good as its Bordeaux counterpart - making allocation problems and price rises all too likely.
I don't want to be accused of over-hyping the wines,' said Charles Taylor MW, of Charles Taylor Wines, but the consistency from north to south, basic to grand cru and across reds and whites has been equally good. The wines display a dense and close-knit texture that's not often found in Burgundy. They are rich and ripe yet fresh.'
While Burgundy is generally less affected by the hype and high price fluctuations that are seen in Bordeaux, the fine quality of the vintage has inevitably led to rises. Louisa de Faye Perkins, co-founder of Charles Taylor, added: There is a slight increase in prices from the domaines, but we don't raise our prices significantly; we just sell out. However, there is a secondary market, and I expect prices will be high there.' de Faye Perkins added that the huge popularity of the vintage has led to allocation problems, and some finer wines had already sold out.
Our problem is the limited production,' agreed Steve Moody, sales director at John E Fells & Sons, and although we try to be competitive, some of our competitors have raised prices by as much as 30%.'
Despite allocation problems, the UK remained the biggest export market for Burgundy in the year to July 2006, with 24% by volume (BIVB). Total Burgundy exports increased by 14% during the same year, with sales said to be as bountiful as in the late 1990s.