Stephen Brook > Quotes

“Anthony Barton told me in 2004: The pricing of the top growths has got completely out of hand. I asked one of my neighbours, who is fairly open about these things, what he planned to do in a recent vintage. “Oh,” he said, “I’ll probably increase my prices by 10 or 15 per cent.” Needless to say, he came out about 40 per cent higher. When I taunted him gently about this a few weeks later, he shrugged his shoulders and murmured: “Quand le train passe, je monte dessus.” (“When the train passes by, I climb aboard.”) I’m known for keeping my prices fairly stable, and let me tell you, I’m still making good money. The problem with ridiculous price increases is that it turns Bordeaux into a speculative market. Of course it has always been that way, but it’s becoming more exaggerated. And that makes it impossible for smaller properties to get by. They can’t possibly match the prices of the top growths, so there is a vast pool of well-made wine, especially from crus bourgeois, for which there is little market. And while the top properties keep ratcheting up their prices, they ignore the fact that there is a good deal of unsold stock in Bordeaux.”
― Stephen Brook, Complete Bordeaux: 4th edition: The Wines, The Chateaux, The People

“there is no such thing as a great vintage, only great bottles.”
― Stephen Brook, Complete Bordeaux: 4th edition: The Wines, The Chateaux, The People

“We are right to grumble that many Bordeaux wines are grossly overpriced, but we are under no obligation to buy them, and if we are fortunate enough to be able to afford them, then it is unlikely we will be disappointed by their quality. A great Médoc from 1990, a great Pomerol from 1998, a great Sauternes from 2011, a great white Pessac-Léognan from 2017 – these are wines that satisfy the senses and stimulate the intellect. What more can we ask of a fine wine?”
― Stephen Brook, Complete Bordeaux: 4th edition: The Wines, The Chateaux, The People