BORDEAUX, France (AFP) — After months of gloom -- and few sales -- the sun shines briefly on Bordeaux's vintners.
This week, 4,500 clients from around the world descend upon the wine estates for the unveiling of the 2008 vintage.
The intense week of tastings officially launches the futures or en primeurs campaign, when the top wines go on sale 12 months prior to bottling. Three topics dominate the week: quality, price and timing.
The turnout was better than expected, including big buyers from even the most troubled economies including Britain, Russia and the United States.
They expressed surprise at the quality of the vintage, which, while not an across-the-board success, shows the freshness and fruit, fattiness and structure that has made Bordeaux so popular.
"The 2008 is a good vintage," said Michel Rolland, the world's most famous winemaker and consultant to over 500 wines. "Since 2004, there is the 2005 vintage, which remains the top, but the number two is the 2008."
But is that enough to spark interest once the red carpets are rolled up and the buyers go home?
According to Justin Gibbs, director of Liv-Ex Fine Wine Exchange, the market for fine wines dropped 20 percent between last July and December and has flat-lined ever since.
"This wine is pretty good -- but without being too brash, that's irrelevant. The market is not in the mood and the market still has a lot of 2007 on its books, and 2006s. If they price it, they can sell it, because the quality is there, but they have to price it aggressively."
Liv-Ex's read of the market confirmed reports from abroad.
"If they are still buying, buyers and consumers will come back to Bordeaux if the price is right," said Arnoldo Palacios, the American Sales Manager for Ginestet, one of Bordeaux's largest exporters.
John Avery, Director of Averys of Bristol and a 40-year-veteran of the vagaries of the Bordeaux wine trade, expected a tougher sell in Britain.
"The wines taste fine, but it depends what they charge for them. Even if they do bring the prices down by a great deal, which hopefully they will, the market is very flat at the moment and I can't see many people buying the 2008 en primeurs. We're not expecting to sell much."
In addition to the heavy weight of the financial crisis, the 2008 vintage must pay for the mistakes made in pricing the 2006 and 2007 too high. Gibbs reported that the "2007 is already in London trading 30 percent below opening primeurs prices. So 2007 is a major problem."
For months, brokers and wine merchants have struggled to solve mounting problems. In recent weeks, they spent a great deal of time persuading winegrowers that the only way out of this mess was a drop in prices and to keep the selling period short and brisk.
Until this week, the First Growths -- the most prized wine estates -- have remained mum on their intentions. At last, the silence is broken.
"I think it's very important for the first growths to start very early and very quickly and to show the example, and with a good price," said Pierre Lurton, managing director of two legendary First Growths, Chateaux Cheval Blanc and Yquem.
"What is a good price? I don't know for the moment. But in general, you first look at the quality, and then you must find the good balance between the quality and the price."
The word from the Medoc confirmed that the First Growths have fallen in line.
While Herve Berland, managing director of Chateau Mouton Rothschild wouldn't discuss prices prior to the close of the tastings, he made it clear the futures campaign would start quickly.
"The years in which we release the price late are always the years when the market is very positive. If the market is more stable, you have to fix your price early, and basically you know after this week and a couple of weeks later, what you should be doing. When you wait, it's because you wait for good news. With the economy we are facing today, waiting for what?"
Given the silence on the Bordeaux market place over the last six months, even a short burst of selling would provide a welcome change.
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