From Marcel Merz, at 25. April 2012 06:35
by Adam Lechmere, and David Furer – Wine critic James Suckling has confirmed that any 
monies he received from the Quebec alcohol board were for videos not for tasting.
It was suggested last week by bloggers and on social media that the former Wine Spectator staffer had been paid around CAN$24,000 for tasting sessions at Société des alcools du Québec (SAQ) – after both he and SAQ had explicitly denied he had any financial relationship with the state-controlled alcohol distributor.
Suckling now says he was indeed paid CAN$18,000 and his business received a further CAN$5,950 in subscriptions to his website – but this was payment for videos which he made for the SAQ.
On his blog Suckling had written ‘there is no financial relationship’, but he says that was an entry from February 2011, before he had any agreement to supply videos to SAQ. The videos were shot in December 2011, under a different deal, he says. His contract with the SAQ will end in November 2013.
‘I was not paid for any tastings or promotions,’ he told Decanter.com.
From Peter Niederhauser, at 25. April 2012 06:30
by Decanter.com staff – Decanter.com has embarked on its biggest-ever survey of en primeur buying habits – with the chance to win a magnum of Louis Roederer Brut Premier Champagne. Decanter.com’s regular users are being asked to answer a series of questions about en primeur: what you buy and when, how long you’ve been doing it and how much you spend.
We want to know if you just buy Bordeaux en primeur, or other regions such as Burgundy, Tuscany and Rhône. Do you follow the critics’ ratings, and if so, who is your favourite? Do you buy from one particular wine merchant to whom you stay loyal, or do you pick and choose between several different merchants? Do you track fine wine market prices, and if so, how?
Answer these and other questions and you could win a magnum of Louis Roederer Brut Premier Champagne. Key findings will be announced at a Decanter seminar at Vinexpo Hong Kong in May. Take the survey
From Nadia Schmidli, at 25. April 2012 06:27
by Adam Lechmere, and Jane Anson in Bordeaux – Cos d’Estournel has released its 2011 today at €108 per bottle ex-negociant, 45% less than last year but still 40% more than other vintages.
UK merchants are selling the wine at £1200 a case. The second wine, Pagodes de Cos, comes out at €30, down 25% on last year.
A third release comes from Pomerol’s Chateau Gazin, at €42, down 12.5% on last year.
Cos d’Estournel has for several years been one of the most renowned – or notorious – wines of the Medoc. Managing director Jean-Guillaume Prats tripled the price in 2009: the 2008 and 2007 vintages were released at €65 a bottle, while 2009 was released at €210. The 2010 was released at €198.
The general feeling in Bordeaux, one observer said, is that ‘Cos still hasn’t done enough after tripling the price in 2009, and there are lots of cheaper vintages out there.’
From Sigi Hiss, at 25. April 2012 06:23
by Adam Lechmere – Chateau Lafite Rothschild has released its 2011 at €420 per bottle to the wine trade, a reduction of 30% on last year’s price of €600.
An email from Farr Vintners read, ‘Welcome news on the pricing and let’s hope that other chateaux follow this lead and allow us to sell at a lower price than we sell physical vintages.’
From Peter Niederhauser, at 25. April 2012 06:01
by Adam Lechmere – Fine wine investors have lost £100m over four years by entrusting their savings to failed wine companies, a senior accountant has estimated. Nedim Ailyan, a director at insolvency firm Abbott Fielding, which is handling two high-profile wine investment company bankruptcies, told the BBC that some 50 such companies have failed in the last four years, costing investors up to £100m.
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