Counterfeit Wines - Questions Answered for a Thesis
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| Thesis Bordeaux Grands Crus Illustration by ©LeDomduVin 2018 |
Recently, I was contacted via email by a student in the Master of Science in Wine Management at the Wine and Spirits Business School of Dijon. Her name is Manon Lledo, and in order to help her in her research work for her thesis, she asked for my help and knowledge to answer a few questions regarding the subject of her thesis, "e-commerce and counterfeiting risk(s) in China for Bordeaux Grands Crus".
I obliged this young lady by answering her questions to the best of my knowledge and experience, without getting into too many details or deviating from the subject (as I usually do), based on my last seven years of experience working in Hong Kong and traveling to China monthly. Years that I also spent scrutinizing the market with numerous monthly market analyses, as well as inspecting and authenticating all the bottles that the company I work for purchases.
A few days after, I asked her if I could use this "interview" as a post on my blog, as, after all, I'm well involved in the subject of fake and counterfeit wines in my daily routine at work. I wanted to share that knowledge and my answers with you all (as I did previously in my previous posts about fake and counterfeit wines, read them here, here and/or here).
A few days after, I asked her if I could use this "interview" as a post on my blog, as, after all, I'm well involved in the subject of fake and counterfeit wines in my daily routine at work. I wanted to share that knowledge and my answers with you all (as I did previously in my previous posts about fake and counterfeit wines, read them here, here and/or here).
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| Quai des Chartons (Painting at Millesima in Bordeaux City) - Photo courtesy of Schiller-Wine Blog |
I have been in the wine business for the past 27 years, purchasing wines from all over the world, with a particular focus on Bordeaux and Burgundy, directly from the Châteaux and domaines, as well as from négociants and other sources. Although I have not held a "Wine Buyer" position since 2012, I have worked as a Sommelier and wine buyer for restaurants, as well as wine and spirits boutique retail stores, for 21 years, before taking on my current position as Wine Quality Control Director and Market Analyst six years ago. Therefore, although I may not have all the answers, I certainly have an educated opinion to offer in response to these questions.
Moreover, the company I work for mostly buys the top 250 wines in the world (70% Bordeaux, 20-25% Burgundy, and 5-10% of the rest of the world), with an increasing collection of more than 700,000 bottles with vintages going as far back as 1825. So there again, I may not have all the answers, but for the last 6 years, all cases and bottles we bought were inspected and/or authenticated by our Head of Purchasing and me. Hence, I can say with confidence that I have a certain experience and that I'm very acquainted with how to fish out fake and counterfeit bottles.
So here they are, her questions, my answers...
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| Wine Buying Process with Pre- and Post-Purchase Inspections by ©LeDomduVin 2018 |
Where do you buy Bordeaux Grands Crus from?
1. For the younger vintages (and some old when available):
We buy directly from the Chateaux (when possible) and/or from the Négociants to ensure
- Quality (wine directly from the source and never previously moved from the Chateaux or the Négociants' warehouses)
- Conditions (genuine unopened OWC if possible, and if opened, we make sure the capsule, label, level, color, sediment,s and overall bottle conditions are pristine)
- Provenance (traceability, direct from the source, bottling certificate, and other certificates when/if available)
- Storage conditions (Chateaux or Negociants warehouses only)
- as well as to secure allocations and consolidate our relationship with the Chateaux and Négociants
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| Wine Buying Process Visual with Pre- and Post- Purchase Inspections by ©LeDomduVin 2018 (extract 1) |
2. For older vintages:
Despite occasionally buying older vintages from "La Place de Bordeaux", we more often source our wines from various sources, including auction houses, private collectors, brokers, and occasionally retail. However, Quality Control inspections are conducted both pre-purchase and post-purchase to ensure the quantity, quality, and condition of the cases and bottles.
Pre-purchase investigation and inspection occur before buying or receiving goods (when allowed and/or possible), either physically when possible or via pictures (if the wines have been purchased in another country), and consist of checking and verifying.
- Integrity and genuineness of the seller/distributor/retail/auction house/private collector
- Provenance (traceability, info on previous owners, certificate if available, history of the bottle(s))
- Authentication of the bottles by close and detailed inspection of the capsule, cork, level, label(s), bottle, color, sediments, and overall conditions based on the vintage and facts/knowledge about the wine
- Rejection (if any) based on the results of the inspection/authentication of the cases/bottles
- Final negotiation and buying selection based on the results of the inspection
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| Wine Buying Process Visual with Pre- and Post-Purchase Inspections by ©LeDomduVin 2018 (extract 2) |
Post-purchase inspection occurs before or at goods reception (especially if Pre-Purchase Inspection has not been done before buying or receiving goods) to verify the goods.
- Cases and/or bottles quantity, quality, and overall conditions
- Detailed inspection of the capsule, cork, level, label(s), bottle, color, and sediments, based on the vintage and facts/knowledge about the wine
- Authentication is needed when in doubt
- Incident report if seepage, leakage, and/or if the bottle and label conditions do not correspond to the descriptions stated in the catalog or via email, and/or the pictures seen before receiving and physically inspecting the goods
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| LeDomduVin a.k.a. Dominique Noel doing a casual inspection of a bottle of Petrus 1969 - ©LeDomduVin 2018 |
Have you ever been the victim of counterfeiting regarding Grands Crus?
As we carefully verify the integrity and genuineness of all our suppliers and other sources, and as we conduct detailed inspections and authentications of all the bottles we purchase (both pre- and post-purchase), I don’t think so, but it's possible that it might have happened; you never know.
Despite my knowledge, experience, and ongoing learning in that field, it is sometimes challenging to distinguish between genuine and counterfeit products, as counterfeits are becoming increasingly difficult to spot. I take numerous notes and pictures during the various inspections and authentications of the bottles we purchase, which I keep as records. When in doubt, I systematically review these records to compare, verify, and confirm whether it is a genuine bottle or a counterfeit.
However, it has happened that, sometimes, I gave some bottles the benefit of the doubt as I couldn’t find any materials or enough details within my own records from the previous inspection(s) of the exact wine in the same vintage. In this specific case, I usually check the internet and do some research. It has happened that I have even emailed the winery with questions regarding details on labels, capsules, or the bottle, but I rarely received any answers.
I'm sure that, within our stocks, and more especially amongst the bottles bought from auctions and eventually from some private collectors, some might be counterfeits. Despite all the precautions we take and the inspections and authentications we conduct, this is a possibility.
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| LeDomduVin a.k.a. Dominique Noel doing a casual inspection of a bottle of Petrus 1961 - ©LeDomduVin 2018 |
The problem is how to prove it when sometimes you lack details in your own records, lack knowledge on a specific bottle, label, or vintage, cannot find anything on the internet, and even the Chateau is not responding to your emails? How can you do it? Unless you open the bottle and taste the wine, how can you do it? More especially when it's a bottle of Petrus (or DRC Romanée-Conti) at 30,000 HKD (3,350 Euros), how can you do it?
Consequently, I must admit that, unfortunately, for all the reasons cited above and despite all the procedures we have in place to prevent it, yes, we may have been the victim of counterfeiting. Yet, within the market of luxury goods, including the top wines of Bordeaux, counterfeits are nearly unavoidable.
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| The Top 9 most counterfeited Bordeaux Grands Crus Wines by ©LeDomduVin 2018 |
Which are, according to you, the most counterfeited Bordeaux Grands Crus?
The top 25 Bordeaux for sure, but more especially the top 10, and mostly for
- the older vintages (from 1990 vintage and older) (e.g. Petrus 1961, Cheval Blanc 1947),
- the vintages with high scores (95 – 100)
- and/or the most expensive names/vintages
But if we list them according to the counterfeit bottles I saw and/or inspected in my 27-year career, there are not many names or many vintages in fact, and a list of the most counterfeited Bordeaux Grands Crus wines could be reduced to:
- Right bank: Petrus, Cheval Blanc, Lafleur (some also claim Le Pin, but, personally, I've never seen any fake Le Pin)
- Left Bank: Lafite, Mouton, Latour, Haut-Brion (some may say Margaux too, but, here again, personally, I've never seen a fake Margaux either)
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| Petrus 1985 Label's comparison by © LeDomduVin 2018 |
Like all luxury goods, wine counterfeiting has always existed. Yet, over the last 15 to 20 years, it has become a very lucrative and growing business. Although some may be in the business of creating fake cheap wines (as it also a lucrative business), counterfeiters usually prefer to keep big and fast money in mind and have bigger aim than common mass-market wines, so counterfeiting mainly concerned the best Chateaux in their best vintages (in my opinion and from my experience). Those that are the most renowned and the most recognizable globally, and/or correspond to something in specific markets, like “Lafite” in China (where there is probably more wine than the Chateau ever produced...).
Understandably, it is logistically easier, more efficient, and less costly for a counterfeiter to produce just a few bottles of Petrus (or DRC) at 30,000 HKD (3,350 Euros) a bottle, than to produce a larger quantity of cheap wine at 300 HKD (33,5 Euros), for example.
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| LeDomduVin a.k.a. Dominique Noel doing a casual inspection of a bottle of Petrus 1969 - ©LeDomduVin 2018 |
Do you buy wines online for your business?
In general, no, but it has happened sometimes when looking for very specific wines in particular vintages, with barely or no availability on the market. In that case, if we buy from the UK or Switzerland, for example, we contact the online retailers directly and ask for high-resolution pictures of the good at different angles as well as some info about provenance, previous ownership, and conditions of storage, etc... before buying (or not) the particular wine.
If the retailer cooperates, we may purchase the wine, depending on the overall condition of the bottle(s) and the information received (of course). Yet, not all online wine retailers are able or willing to cooperate by sending pictures and/or detailed information. In that specific case, we definitely do not buy the wine.
If no: why?
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| Top 6 Wine Websites For Market Prices Search by ©LeDomduVin 2018 |
We do research on Wine-Searcher and other websites (i.e., Liv-Ex, Cellar-Watch, Wine Market Journal, etc) to compare availability and prices, to do market analysis, and make buying decisions on offers and sales, but we rarely buy from online retailers for reasons such as
- some online retailers may have a fake listing, meaning that you can see remaining quantity on Wine-Searcher and on their own website, but when you email them or phone them directly regarding that specific wine, they usually are "coincidentally" out of stock or they never had such items in their stock
- storage conditions are not always known, ideal or adequate for the high-end wines
- online retailers may not be cooperative in providing us with high-resolution pictures and info about the wine prior to buying
So, if not provided, unless the needed info is specifically stated on their website with clear and high definition pictures to check details, it is too difficult to check the provenance and bottle conditions, and therefore, we prefer not to buy.
Some online retailers/businesses may provide traceability proof + high def pictures on demand prior buying for you to check the goods prior making a buying decision, but it usually only happens if you are a good customer with "buying history" with them and if you have a trustable seller/buyer relationship with them; otherwise you are like anybody else, you place your order "blind", without being able to get details you need and may end up disappointed at good receiving.
Moreover, with online retailers, you are never really sure where the bottles are coming from and how and where they were stored previously. So, not only do you have no guarantee of the provenance, but also have no guarantee of the wine conditions. The high-end bottles you just bought may have been around the world 10 times already, and/or may be counterfeit. Who knows?
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| Boutique Wine Store or Online Wine Retailer? by © LeDomduVin 2018 |
Do you buy wines online for your private consumption?
Yes, not frequently, but yes, sometimes...
If no: why?
Not frequently, because unless I already know and like the wine, I prefer going to a store, looking around, reading the labels, and getting inspired in the moment. I worked as a Head Sommelier in restaurants and as a Store Manager/Wine Buyer for “cavistes” and boutique wine retail stores, so I have always been in close contact with the bottles. I like to take my time and be present within the store to look at and touch the bottles, hesitate, think, read another label, hesitate again, and then finally make a decision between two bottles, usually ending up buying both (or more).
I’m kind of old school that way. I appreciate the convenience of buying online, but I prefer to shop around and go with my instincts in the moment, browsing the aisles and examining the bottles. In my opinion, there is something impersonal and sterile about buying online, probably due to the lack of direct contact with the product, as well as the inability to chat with the vendor to ask questions and request more details about the wine (which is just my preference).
It depends, for mass-market wines, but for high-end wines and older vintages, I do think so. More especially in the Asian Markets, where for some reason I have seen over the last 5-6 years the number of top-tier wines in older vintages (the 30s, 40s, 50s, 60s, and even some from the late 1800s) increasing drastically. Are they fake or not? Or is it simply a coincidence? Not sure.... But it is funny to think that back 15-20 years ago, these wines were scarcely found and very rare, nearly unavailable on the market, and nowadays you can pretty much find them anywhere in the major markets (Hong Kong, Singapore, London, New York), and more especially at auctions.
I’m not sure what it means, either people kept these wines for decades and started to resell them recently due to the increased value (x12 for some Lafite over the last 15 years and don't even get me started with DRC...), or there is a very lucrative business for the counterfeiters on the grey and the black markets. One may think that maybe the example of Rudy Kurniawan would have deterred counterfeiters, but it does not seem to be the case.
If we take Lafite 1947 or Lafite 1961, for example, there are respectively 48 and 44 online wine merchants selling them on Wine-Searcher, and it makes me wonder…. Personally, I would not be surprised if half of them or more are actually fake (especially considering the huge price difference for 1961, for example), and/or have been circulated around the world numerous times already via private collectors and auctions, and may no longer be in good condition.
As stated previously above, unless I know well the online retailer and have previously done business with, and I have checked its integrity and background, and received high-resolution pictures and other needed details about the provenance, the previous owner, the conditions of storage, etc... I will seldom buy high-end wines online.
When we buy directly at the source, either at the wineries or from a reputable and reliable Négociants, we ask for bottling certificate to be provided as well as bottle provenance and conditions (via various documents and pictures), more especially if the bottle(s) does not come from directly or previously from the Chateau.
We also conduct post-purchase inspection and authentication (if possible, before or at the time of receipt), to ensure that the bottles we purchased are in good condition and not counterfeit, and that they correspond to the documents and pictures previously received.
As stated above, when we buy from private collectors, auction houses and/or retails, we also do pre- (when possible) and/or post-purchase inspection and authentication (prior or at good receiving), to ensure the bottle we buy (or just bought) are not in bad conditions or fakes. In doubt, we investigate further. And if the doubt persists, we simply reject the bottle(s) and return them to the seller, receiving reimbursement for them.
Doing these pre- and post-purchase inspections are crucial, essential I should say, as they allow us to filter the bad bottles (bad conditions or fakes), as in turn when we resell them, we ought to be a reliable source for our clients and therefore guarantee that all of our bottles are in pristine conditions and definitely not fakes.
That is why we purchase mainly directly from the Châteaux or from the Négociants to obtain unopened, genuine OWC (Original Wooden Cases), usually sealed with the Châteaux or Négociants' Band, which offers a guarantee and security of the genuineness of the wines for our clients.
As the Wine Quality Control for the company I work for, I conduct all inspections and authentications of the bottles myself. This does not mean that I may not miss some fake or counterfeit bottles, but there is only a slight chance of that happening.
Yes, of course, a simple study on Wine-Searcher can easily be done to check prices, availability, reliability, and integrity of the online websites, and expose at the same time the retailers that are more reliable than others.
Meaning that within the list of retailers for a particular wine, you may realize that (usually)
That is why "Wine-Searcher Average Market Prices" should always be taken with caution and not always for granted, especially for high-end wines.
Then, after all, it is a question of experience to differentiate the good from the bad ones, like with any other product. The good ones might be for you some online websites/retailers you may know already by experience, or because they are located nearby, or because they provide good services, or because of the reputation, or whatever else.
Like most people, you first conduct your research, compare options, and then determine the price you want to pay. Next, you place your order online and wait to receive the goods.
Although there are a handful of online websites and retailers that I trust, it's a tricky question to answer, and it would not be fair for me to mention some of these online websites and retailers in this post without mentioning others that I may have missed among the ones we do business with.
All I can say is that it comes down to trust, integrity, reliability, the services provided, and the overall personal experience and relationship with the online merchants.
Simply put, the top 50 best and most expensive wines in the world mostly come from Bordeaux and Burgundy; counterfeiters are into money and the Luxury business, so why look anywhere else?
Big names in fashion, clothes, bags, and other luxury products have been counterfeited for decades as there is a huge market and demand for those, and it is the same for high-end wines (and even mass-market wines to a certain extent).
Look at the price of a 1945 DRC Romanee Conti, which recently fetched US$ 558,000 (roughly 490,445 Euros) at the last Sotheby’s Auction, for example… Well, I'm not saying anything, but I would not be surprised to see a few more bottles of this specific wine reappearing on the market very soon.
A total of 600 bottles were produced, and only 2 were sold during this auction, the rest of the bottles is believed to have either been consumed by now or be part of private collector’s collection, and yet there is already 1 bottle for sale on "Wine-Searcher" at a Belgium wine merchant (here). At the same time, there was none available before the Sotheby’s sale. So, simple coincidence or resurgence?
The Global Market is unfortunately flooded with fake and counterfeit wines, and the recent drastic price increase of the last 4-5 years is not helping. High-end wines began as a commodity and then became accessible only to the wealthy. They evolved into Luxury products and became assets; they have been traded like a currency for the past two decades, and nowadays, the top 25 wine labels in particular vintages have become rare collectors' items and are no longer considered just wines but invaluable pieces of artwork, fetching never-heard-of stratospheric prices.
Consequently, yes, the higher the prices go, the higher the risk of counterfeiting the Bordeaux and Burgundy Grands Crus will be.....
As a visual is worth a thousand words, and after looking at the various pictures above, let's play a little game to test your inspection skills, shall we?... Can you spot all the differences between these two labels of Petrus 1985 in the picture below? Same wine, same vintage, yet so many variations in between the two...... (you can write your results in the comments at the end of this post if you wish)... And do you know why there are so many variations? (If you don't, ask me, and I'll tell you. Or maybe I should use this little exercise as the subject for one of my previous posts.)
Et Voilà,
That's all for today, folks!!! But stay tuned for more posts coming soon... and let's wish Manon Lledo (the student who asked me these questions) good luck with her thesis, hoping that my answers will help her a little...
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| Buying Wine Online: A Risk or Not? by ©LeDomduVin 2018 |
Is there a higher risk of buying wines online?
It depends, for mass-market wines, but for high-end wines and older vintages, I do think so. More especially in the Asian Markets, where for some reason I have seen over the last 5-6 years the number of top-tier wines in older vintages (the 30s, 40s, 50s, 60s, and even some from the late 1800s) increasing drastically. Are they fake or not? Or is it simply a coincidence? Not sure.... But it is funny to think that back 15-20 years ago, these wines were scarcely found and very rare, nearly unavailable on the market, and nowadays you can pretty much find them anywhere in the major markets (Hong Kong, Singapore, London, New York), and more especially at auctions.
I’m not sure what it means, either people kept these wines for decades and started to resell them recently due to the increased value (x12 for some Lafite over the last 15 years and don't even get me started with DRC...), or there is a very lucrative business for the counterfeiters on the grey and the black markets. One may think that maybe the example of Rudy Kurniawan would have deterred counterfeiters, but it does not seem to be the case.
If we take Lafite 1947 or Lafite 1961, for example, there are respectively 48 and 44 online wine merchants selling them on Wine-Searcher, and it makes me wonder…. Personally, I would not be surprised if half of them or more are actually fake (especially considering the huge price difference for 1961, for example), and/or have been circulated around the world numerous times already via private collectors and auctions, and may no longer be in good condition.
As stated previously above, unless I know well the online retailer and have previously done business with, and I have checked its integrity and background, and received high-resolution pictures and other needed details about the provenance, the previous owner, the conditions of storage, etc... I will seldom buy high-end wines online.
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| LeDomduVin a.k.a. Dominique Noel doing a casual inspection of a bottle of Petrus 1969 - ©LeDomduVin 2018 |
How can you guarantee that the Grands Crus you buy are not counterfeit?
When we buy directly at the source, either at the wineries or from a reputable and reliable Négociants, we ask for bottling certificate to be provided as well as bottle provenance and conditions (via various documents and pictures), more especially if the bottle(s) does not come from directly or previously from the Chateau.
We also conduct post-purchase inspection and authentication (if possible, before or at the time of receipt), to ensure that the bottles we purchased are in good condition and not counterfeit, and that they correspond to the documents and pictures previously received.
As stated above, when we buy from private collectors, auction houses and/or retails, we also do pre- (when possible) and/or post-purchase inspection and authentication (prior or at good receiving), to ensure the bottle we buy (or just bought) are not in bad conditions or fakes. In doubt, we investigate further. And if the doubt persists, we simply reject the bottle(s) and return them to the seller, receiving reimbursement for them.
Doing these pre- and post-purchase inspections are crucial, essential I should say, as they allow us to filter the bad bottles (bad conditions or fakes), as in turn when we resell them, we ought to be a reliable source for our clients and therefore guarantee that all of our bottles are in pristine conditions and definitely not fakes.
That is why we purchase mainly directly from the Châteaux or from the Négociants to obtain unopened, genuine OWC (Original Wooden Cases), usually sealed with the Châteaux or Négociants' Band, which offers a guarantee and security of the genuineness of the wines for our clients.
As the Wine Quality Control for the company I work for, I conduct all inspections and authentications of the bottles myself. This does not mean that I may not miss some fake or counterfeit bottles, but there is only a slight chance of that happening.
 |
| Major Difference between Prices on Wine-Searcher may indicate unreliable/dishonest retailers by ©LeDomduVin 2018 |
Are there more reliable online websites than others?
Yes, of course, a simple study on Wine-Searcher can easily be done to check prices, availability, reliability, and integrity of the online websites, and expose at the same time the retailers that are more reliable than others.
Meaning that within the list of retailers for a particular wine, you may realize that (usually)
- The retailers with the cheapest prices might do that to attract customers. Still, they do not have the product, and therefore might be dodgy (unreliable/dishonest), and thus should be avoided. Or they have it, but the bottle is in poor or bad conditions (capsule, label, cork, and/or even the wine inside). The bad thing about this is that it drives the "Wine-Searcher Average Market Price" lower for this particular wine, becoming an unreliable reference.
- The retailers with the highest prices might also do this to attract customers, or simply because they do not want to sell the product, so they put an over-exaggerated price to show that they have the product, but are not necessarily in a rush to sell it. Like for cheap prices, the bad thing about this is that it drives the "Wine-Searcher Average Market Price" higher for this particular wine, also becoming an unreliable reference.
That is why "Wine-Searcher Average Market Prices" should always be taken with caution and not always for granted, especially for high-end wines.
Then, after all, it is a question of experience to differentiate the good from the bad ones, like with any other product. The good ones might be for you some online websites/retailers you may know already by experience, or because they are located nearby, or because they provide good services, or because of the reputation, or whatever else.
Like most people, you first conduct your research, compare options, and then determine the price you want to pay. Next, you place your order online and wait to receive the goods.
- If it's okay at reception, then you might think that this particular online website is reliable and will probably order again.
- If not, then you will try to get reimbursed and go through all the difficulties one may encounter when ordering online.
Which ones do you trust?
Although there are a handful of online websites and retailers that I trust, it's a tricky question to answer, and it would not be fair for me to mention some of these online websites and retailers in this post without mentioning others that I may have missed among the ones we do business with.
All I can say is that it comes down to trust, integrity, reliability, the services provided, and the overall personal experience and relationship with the online merchants.
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| Where do most of the most expensive wines in the world come from? Map by © LeDomduVin 2018 |
Do you think there is a bigger risk of counterfeiting for Bordeaux or Burgundy Grands Crus? And Why?
Simply put, the top 50 best and most expensive wines in the world mostly come from Bordeaux and Burgundy; counterfeiters are into money and the Luxury business, so why look anywhere else?
Big names in fashion, clothes, bags, and other luxury products have been counterfeited for decades as there is a huge market and demand for those, and it is the same for high-end wines (and even mass-market wines to a certain extent).
Look at the price of a 1945 DRC Romanee Conti, which recently fetched US$ 558,000 (roughly 490,445 Euros) at the last Sotheby’s Auction, for example… Well, I'm not saying anything, but I would not be surprised to see a few more bottles of this specific wine reappearing on the market very soon.
A total of 600 bottles were produced, and only 2 were sold during this auction, the rest of the bottles is believed to have either been consumed by now or be part of private collector’s collection, and yet there is already 1 bottle for sale on "Wine-Searcher" at a Belgium wine merchant (here). At the same time, there was none available before the Sotheby’s sale. So, simple coincidence or resurgence?
The Global Market is unfortunately flooded with fake and counterfeit wines, and the recent drastic price increase of the last 4-5 years is not helping. High-end wines began as a commodity and then became accessible only to the wealthy. They evolved into Luxury products and became assets; they have been traded like a currency for the past two decades, and nowadays, the top 25 wine labels in particular vintages have become rare collectors' items and are no longer considered just wines but invaluable pieces of artwork, fetching never-heard-of stratospheric prices.
Consequently, yes, the higher the prices go, the higher the risk of counterfeiting the Bordeaux and Burgundy Grands Crus will be.....
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| Petrus 1985 Label's comparison by © LeDomduVin 2018 |
The labels comparison game
As a visual is worth a thousand words, and after looking at the various pictures above, let's play a little game to test your inspection skills, shall we?... Can you spot all the differences between these two labels of Petrus 1985 in the picture below? Same wine, same vintage, yet so many variations in between the two...... (you can write your results in the comments at the end of this post if you wish)... And do you know why there are so many variations? (If you don't, ask me, and I'll tell you. Or maybe I should use this little exercise as the subject for one of my previous posts.)
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| Petrus 1985 Label's comparison by © LeDomduVin 2018 |
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| Petrus 1985 Label's comparison by © LeDomduVin 2018 |
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| Petrus 1985 Label's comparison by © LeDomduVin 2018 |
Et Voilà,
That's all for today, folks!!! But stay tuned for more posts coming soon... and let's wish Manon Lledo (the student who asked me these questions) good luck with her thesis, hoping that my answers will help her a little...
Santé! Cheers!
LeDomduVin a.k.a Dominique Noel
©LeDomduVin 2018
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