Good economic news for wine snobs

French wine producers, feeling the pinch of recession, are axing the prices on their 2008 vintage, reports the Times of London. The leading Saint-Émilion producer, Angélus, was first out of the gate with a 40 per cent decline in price over last year’s vintage. Majestic first-growth Latour came out next at a whopping 45 per cent decline from 2007. So far most Bordeaux châteaux have followed suit, with reductions usually somewhere between 30 and 40 per cent. Furthering the happy news for oenophiles is the fact the 2008 vintage is superior to last year’s, the paper reports: “What on earth is the point of buying the inferior ’07 vintage of Latour for £2,450 a case when you can buy the much finer ’08 Latour for £1,600?”

The Times