Château de l'Argent

Young people who are into wine are awesome (obviously).

“I can see a billionaire CEO buying the Penfolds ampoule,” says Lane. “Larry Ellison might want to drink it in celebration of buying 98 percent of Hawaii’s pineapple island, Lanai.”

Just depressing. And yes, I'm branching into whisky as well. 

Talk of wine in China has moved on from the country's top earners having seemingly endless demand for Chateau Lafite Rothschild to the tastes of the country's middle class. China has replaced the UK as the world's fifth-largest wine consumer, and the average price per bottle is just $31 — that's a far cry from the price of a first-growth Bordeaux.

The high-end of the market has definitely taken a hit, both in China and in the rest of the world. The Wall Street Journal's Jason Chow reports:

Even the best en primeur wines can't escape the slackening demand. A case of en primeur 2009 Château Lafite-Rothschild—a favorite of Chinese collectors—was priced at £12,500 two years ago. Today, Farr Vintners is selling the same case for 20% less. After such discounts, some collectors may feel like the high prices they paid for 2009 wines was money down the drain.

But middle class consumption is growing in China, where drinkers can buy their vino almost anywhere, from vending machines to gas stations to grocery stores, according to Wine Spectator (as a New Yorker, all I can say is... I wish). From Hong Kong's Vinexpo, WS's Matthew Stevenson reports:

Several exporters and négociants told Wine Spectator that they are targeting China’s growing middle classes, hoping to pull consumption to the next level. In the past, they have not been drinking wine, because they could not afford it.

With 2011 Bordeaux turned out to be only mediocre this year, but vinters have only dropped their prices for the "en primeur" futures sales about 10-15 percent. As a result, buyers are walking away, preferring to pay just a little more for great wines already bottled and ready to drink.

Still, 2009 and 2010 were both truly exceptional years, so maybe this is just a necessary market correction? It's certainly bringing great French wines back down below the stratosphere for those of us who aren't multi-millionaires.

According to Bloomberg's Elin McCoy:

“Customers are walking away in complete apathy,” says Gary Boom, head of London merchant Bordeaux Index, who expects to move only 10 to 15 percent of the wine he sold last year.

So... all of those people who speculated on Lafite and other first-growth Bordeaux in the past three years are really not going to be happy about this. But, um, that's why speculating is gambling, not investing. I think we can pretty much conclude that the bubble has completely burst:

First-growth Lafite is being quoted at $8,410 a case on London-based wine exchange Liv-ex, 41 percent below 2010 and 45 percent down from the 2009s. Second-growthCos d’Estournel, its close neighbor, is at $1,680 a case for the latest vintage, 45 percent down from the 2010s and 62 percent below 2009.

Meanwhile, I'm going to continue drinking my $10 rosé and go about my business.

M. Chapoutier Belleruche Rosé 2011, $9.99 at Whole Foods Wine Store

I used to think of rosé as "blush," which I picked up from my grandmother. Even she, a connoisseur of fine Two Buck Chuck, turned down her nose at blush. But then I stopped being such an ignoramus and realized that I really like a lot of rosés. I love grenache, a red grape used in most Côtes-du-Rhônes, but in the warmer months I tend to like a chilled glass.

Voilà, here comes this great, young, cheap grenache blend that goes with my chicken but also sort of cuts through my spicy, tomatoey pasta dish. It's dry and fresh, but still fruity — the perfect summer wine.

Flasq Cuvee Blanc, $5.99.

A little sweet for my taste, but fresh, fruity, peachy (and eco-friendly!). Note that while $5.99 seems like a steal, the cans are only 375mL, so it's really a $12 wine. It's sourced from Alexander Valley, California and is 80 percent Sauvignon Blanc, 19 percent Viognier, and one percent Muscat. 13.5 percent alcohol.

Despite being too sweet for me, I think it's a decent wine. A bit of a funky finish, but the lining inside the can helps to avoid a FourLoko-style metallic taste. It's fruity, and something that I would consider drinking with something light like a salad or a fruity, summer dessert like pie or cobbler. The can is also recyclable, lighter than glass, and chills (a lot) faster than the average bottle, all things that the average urban liberal (pointing at myself) might consider advantageous.

However, the design/marketing is... trying too hard. It looks more like an energy drink than a wine and basically shouts "I just want Millennials to like me!" which is a position backed up by the company in the cuvee blanc debut press release. It's also probably why the wine is twice as sweet as it needs to be. But then again, I don't have the average American taste buds. I'm fucking pretentious as hell.

I guess, all the cool kids are drinking sweet wine from a can these days, and for less than the price of most beers in Brooklyn bars, it's not a bad bandwagon to jump on. Don't be surprised if you see me sipping it during summer movie nights in McCarren Park come June...

"Chateau Latour warned traders it is to move out of the 'en primeur' or futures market, a key part of the region's commercial strategy, and many fear the label will try to sell directly to customers rather than through 'negociants' or traders."

Buying domestic doesn't always mean getting the better price... which is cool with me because I'm currently obsessed with Mulderbosch 2011 Cabernet Sauvignon rosé from South Africa ($12). It's refreshing, dry, slightly watermelon-y, and great with chicken, fish, eggs, and veggies, which is pretty much everything in my fridge at the moment.

Yeah, neither do I. Or at least I wish I didn't. But for nostalgia's sake, let's recap, shall we? 

In college I found out that...

The best way to navigate France is by buying wine, obviously.

I taught Columbia how to taste wine, even though I hate Beaujolais.

However, I didn't write about that part because it was before I became a critic.

I also found out I hate tempranillo — or at least the $7 kind at International Wines & Spirits on Broadway.

Then I got a little too preachy about pinot noir (though I swear this was before I saw Sideways, and I also like merlot).

More recently... the market became my focus.

I let people know what they should know about les vins français (see above, I love French wine).

I wrote about wine sales by way of the scotch market.

Then there's all that shit I wrote about the wine market in general, which I continue to produce over at ARTINFO.