'My tastings clearly revealed the overall success of the Merlot crop, with the most successful appellation being Pomerol, followed closely by Pessac-Léognan... Because of its vast size, St.-Emilion offers virtually everything from top-flight wines that are not far off the mark of 2010 and 2009, to wines that are hollow, overly extracted, rustic and astringent.

I think it's what makes our customers come back to us time and again.

But it is worth pointing out the recent dominance our Barolo list has in the top 30 scoring wines in 2007, as scored by Antonio Galloni on Robert Parkers website. And, with the exception of his ratings of Marengo's stunning 07's, Galloni is a critic who's praise we do generally agree with. He is a man who know's Piedmont in great detail.

There are plenty of potential hundred pointers to get consumers very excited, but as virtually no wines have been released we will focus on the reassessment of the 2008s.

Parker’s initial appraisal breathed life into a subdued market, battered by financial uncertainty and seemingly disinterested with Bordeaux 2008. The campaign was going nowhere until issue 182 of the Wine Advocate started landing on peoples’ doorsteps. High scores and high praise for the wines turned the campaign around and many customers bagged themselves a bargain. Unfortunately, Mr P wasn’t aware of what was to come (in 2009 and 2010).

We have been waiting with bated breath for Big Bob’s reaction to this already massively hyped vintage. And he hasn’t disappointed, `for some Médocs and Graves, 2009 may turn out to be the finest vintage I have tasted in 32 years of covering Bordeaux. From top to bottom, 2009 is not as consistent as 2005, but the peaks of quality in 2009 may turn out to be historic`.