The morning’s big news is the release of 2010 Château Gruaud Larose at £530 per case in bond. This is up on 2009 (which looked a bargain at the end of the campaign by comparison to wines like Lynch and Pontet Canet), but it is also ‘the best Gruaud I have tasted en primeur’ (my note), and ‘the finest Gruaud Larose since the 2000 and the 1990′ according to Robert Parker.
Claire Villars’ Château Haut Bages Liberal is also out this morning. This is up around 12% on 2009, but as a top-performing ‘secondary’ Pauillac, it offers good value relative to its neighbours. “The finest Haut-Bages-Liberal I have tasted in many years” acording to Robert Parker. De Fieuzal red and white are also out. De Fieuzal Blanc is up around 18% on the 2009 release price. It has some cracking notes including an 18 from Jancis and the remark that it is ‘one of the great dry whites of the vintage’ from Robert Parker. Offered in six-bottle cases. De Fieuzal red is up around 10.5%. This makes it into Robert Parker’s list of the ‘Top Performers of the Vintage’, but he rather ruins the effect by saying the 2008 may be better.