TIC (This is China)

[matt999tye]

I second the sick fucks option haha

[euphonius]

Bump!

I think TIC is the right place for this oddball business story about how Chinese interests are not just buying up famous lots of French bordeaux wines, and driving their prices into quadruple digits in the process, but are starting to hoover up whole chateaux. Maybe that's what pink Lambo girl was doing at Carrefour -- laying in supplies of French wine.

Bloomberg BusinessWeek
EATING AND DRINKING February 8, 2011, 10:00AM EST
China Buys Bordeaux Chateaux, Wine as 2008 Vintage Hits Shelves
With the unreleased 2010 vintage looking to be a blockbuster, 2008 Bordeaux may be last price/quality buy for a while

By Elin McCoy

A blizzard threatened the New York arrival of nearly 100 Bordeaux chateau owners who were eager to show off their 2008 vintage, now bottled and soon to appear on retail shelves.

They, and the wines, made it and tales of hours on airport tarmacs mixed with wine talk as I sipped and spat the 100-plus reds and whites at the annual Union des Grands Crus tasting at New York's Metropolitan Pavilion just over a week ago.

Many owners are already touting the greatness of 2010 and suggest 2008 may be Bordeaux's last price/quality buy.

I've heard that about other vintages, but this time it just might be true — at least until the Chinese start hoovering up these wines. After all, 2008 Chateau Lafite, that country's favorite label, has skyrocketed from $600 to nearly $2,000 a bottle in the past year, riding Chinese demand.

Even in barrel, the 2008s were a surprise, much better than anyone expected.

"It was a cold vintage, and at the end of August we thought it was all over for the reds," said spiffily suited Olivier Bernard of Domaine de Chevalier as he splashed wine in my glass. "Luckily September and October were so nice we could wait for real ripeness before picking. I have never harvested so late."

What's tough for reds can be good for whites, and Domaine de Chevalier's rare white ($95) definitely deserves five stars.

While the reds are inconsistent, the best showed plenty of finesse and fruity charm, though not the concentration and ageability of the great 2005s and tannic 2009s.

Think of the 2008s as classic, medium-weight Bordeaux. (I kept writing the words 'appetizing,' 'balanced,' 'savory' in my notes.)

RIGHT PRICE
The prices are right with many wines, cheaper than any other good vintage on the market. Most of the still-in-barrel 2009s cost a third to half more, don't arrive until 2012, and won't be ready to drink for at least a decade.

The delicious Chateau Cantemerle is $25 while Domaine de Chevalier's very solid red is $50. From Saint-Emilion, I like lush, ripe Figeac ($90), a steal considering its '09 goes for $250. From Saint-Julien my picks are plummy, silky Lagrange ($35) and dark, rich, smooth Leoville Barton ($60). In Margaux, my favorite is fragrant, tender, elegant Rauzan-Segla ($70).

As usual, Pauillac's Chateau Pichon-Longueville Baron ($80) has power and finesse, but the star of the tasting is the ripe, layered Pichon Lalande ($110).

As Gary Boom, managing director of London-based merchant Bordeaux Index puts it, "The '08s are the hottest ticket right now. You can get two cases of 2008 Pichon Lalande for the price of a decent handbag."

STAGGERING 2009S
The first growths, already soaring in price, and a few other top chateaux don't deign to pour in these group tastings.

When 2008 futures went on sale in summer 2009 in the middle of the recession, top names sold because they were very fairly priced, says Chris Adams, president of New York's Sherry- Lehmann.

There was a serious uptick last fall after the staggering 2009 futures prices were released, making the 2008s look positively cheap by comparison.

Now, the costs of 2008s vary widely, as much as $600 and more a case. That's thanks to currency fluctuations and the fact that each time retailers buy more, they pay a higher price. Paul Favale Jr., vice president of negociant and importer Joanne Bordeaux USA, points out that retail prices can be lower than wholesale, depending on when a retailer purchased the wine. Caveat emptor.

Asia largely stayed out of the 2008 futures game, with only a few top labels in demand, said Boom, whose company maintains an office in Hong Kong. Besides the first growths, a handful excite interest.

'DRAGON BOAT'
Chateau Angelus is known as 'kin chung,' the golden bell, after the symbol on the wine's label, an association that boosts its sales, explained co-owner Jean-Bernard Grenie.

Chateau Beychevelle is called 'dragon boat' because its label features a boat with a gryffon. Calon Segur, with a heart on its label, is often given as a token of affection.

Now that 2008 is being released in bottle "and the wine is physical," Boom thinks another 20 to 50 labels will sell in China, pushing prices higher. He reports sales to Asia of second growths like Pichon Baron went up 35 percent over the past year.

Besides embracing the wine, the Chinese are snapping up Bordeaux estates. UK wine magazine Decanter reported last week that Cofco, a Beijing-based grain and food company owned by the government, has just bought Chateau Viaud, a small property in Lalande-de-Pomerol, as part of a bigger business deal.

That's the third Chinese chateau purchase in the past two years, and more are said to be in the works.

After 2008 and 2009, will any buyers invest in the 2010s, supposedly another 'vintage of the century?' I'll report on whether the buzz on quality is justified in April, after the annual en primeur tastings.

"I always prefer to have the problem of how to sell really great wine," said Sherry-Lehmann's Adams.

We'll see.

Elin McCoy writes on wine and spirits for Muse, the arts and leisure section of Bloomberg News. The opinions expressed are her own.

[euphonius]

Speaking of Lamborghinis, am I the only one who missed this little story from Qingdao back in March?



Yes, to voice his anger at the poor service performance of his Lambo Gallardo, this mental midget f*ckwit hired a bunch of 97-pound weaklings to destroy it. Watch the video (if your grandma-buster permits), and you'll see the little Lambo is pretty f*cking tough. I know some guys with grinders who'd have had that car looking like macaroni within minutes...

Oh, and this was done to mark World Consumer Day. Should have been World Bloody F*cking Moron Day.

(Just happened to see this on the topgear page that Jape posted.)

cheers

[MJH]

This person bought the car for status…then destroyed it to again gain status by treating it as disposable. It’s all very decadent and I would say not all people would see that….80% does not see it for what it is 20% does. It’s the 80/20 rule and things go horribly wrong when the 80% get either wealth and or power. The Chinese died to overcome decadence and it has come back around.

The only people that should own a Lamborghini are people that have a passion for them, if they have that then they deal with all the trial and tribulations. I wonder if the car choked on the poor oil and gasoline offered in china? I wonder if it failed do to the unenthusiastic Chinese mechanics or maybe they intentionally screwed with the mans car because he was so childish and demanding?

The only lesson is what for consumer day? How to be an overtly demanding delusional childish consumer? The attempt to make Lamborghini look bad bounced right back into the owners face I would say, he made himself or herself look like total ass hole.

[moilami]

This video was great! Super Mario Bros working on Lamborghini xDDDDD

[chinabiker]

This person bought the car for status…then destroyed it to again gain status by treating it as disposable. It’s all very decadent and I would say not all people would see that….80% does not see it for what it is 20% does. It’s the 80/20 rule and things go horribly wrong when the 80% get either wealth and or power. The Chinese died to overcome decadence and it has come back around.

The only people that should own a Lamborghini are people that have a passion for them, if they have that then they deal with all the trial and tribulations. I wonder if the car choked on the poor oil and gasoline offered in china? I wonder if it failed do to the unenthusiastic Chinese mechanics or maybe they intentionally screwed with the mans car because he was so childish and demanding?

The only lesson is what for consumer day? How to be an overtly demanding delusional childish consumer? The attempt to make Lamborghini look bad bounced right back into the owners face I would say, he made himself or herself look like total ass hole.

MJH, couldn't have been commented any better as you did +1

[Pal]

TIC. Ride safe! Pal

Sperm collecting machine: Chinese innovation at its best.....
I have no doubt that Chinese inventors will soon rule the world. Don't believe me? Some wonderful company in Jiangsu has apparently invented a sperm collecting machine. Great! With this machine, now sperm banks around the world no longer need to get donors to "do it yourself". The machine boasts of a cylinder pump which they say feels like a vajayjay inside. Like it tighter? Looser? Faster? Slower? All of that, and the height of the pump itself is adjustable. There's also a screen that can play you your favourite porn in a wide variety of file formats while the machine pumps the baby batter out of you. This machine is supposedly great for sufferers of premature ejaculation because it helps to desensitise the penis. Any PE patients out there? Get one from their Alibaba store http://www.alibaba.com/product-gs/21...Collector.html for the great price of US$2,800 and tell me if it works!

Video: http://you.video.sina.com.cn/api/sin...+cvwk0Rs/s.swf

[Lao Jia Hou]

OK - that machine is just weird.

Question - how did you find it? Were you searching for something in particular? Heh heh

[felix]

Well done, they've invented the fleshlight only they made it expensive.

[euphonius]

Say, Felix. What's a fleshlight?