Chateau Tour de Perrigal
Bordeaux Superieur 2014
By Fergal Gleeson

Predicting the future is no easy thing. Pull up a chair. Grab a cup
of tea let me tell you a story….

In ancient times there was a King of Athens. The local Oracle/Fortune Teller told him that he would defeat a great empire in battle.

Emboldened the King invaded Syracuse, one of the Greek’s rivals and in doing so lost his army, his naval fleet and Athens was never a military power again. The king was a tad upset and sought out the Oracle.

“But you said I’d defeat a great empire?”

“Yes but I never said which one!”

We still have Oracles we just give them different Job Titles now- Equity Analyst or Economist. Do they do any better? Why can’t Economists predict recessions or Equity Analysts call when the stock market is overvalued?

Wine investing is particularly hazardous these days. For the foolhardy Bordeaux has always had the en primeur system which allows people to buy wine when it’s in the barrel on the assumption that the wine will rise in price when it’s released 2-3 years later in bottles. Once bottled, premium wines are also traded.

75% of investment grade wine is from Bordeaux but the largest individual sale was for the sale of 100 or so bottles of Burgundy, for $2m in Hong Kong in 2014. At the time China’s economic boom and taste for premium French wines made wine look like a very smart investment. The Auction Houses claimed that wine was the best performing asset class of the last 20 years.

As China has turned sour fine wine prices have plummeted there so the modelling no longer looks so rosy. Unlike a dud mining share you can drown your sorrows by uncorking your failed investment.

Fascinating as $20,000 bottles of wine are to wine buffs $20 bottles of wine are more relevant. I tasted a Bordeaux Chateau Tour De Perrigal on Saturday night. This is proper Bordeaux at a keen price. The grapes are not disclosed on the label which is not unusual for French wine as Tom Jones would say.

It tastes merlot dominant with the support from cabernet. New world merlot typically tastes plummy and obvious but the French know how to get the best from it. It’s medium bodied with an infusion of old wood and fine tannin running through it. It confirms that though the French rugby team is a bit of a shambles, French wine making is still in good hands.

I wouldn’t send an army to war for this one but my crystal ball tells me that you will enjoy this.

Rating: 3.5/5. Price: c$18. For more Wine Reviews read and follow www.greatwineblog.wordpress.com  Drink and be merry!