Neither Katie nor David had ever been to Ireland, so in the little time they had before boarding an Aer Lingus flight to Dublin, they boned up on the city and got their contact sheets in order. David would see if the sources provided by his Irish cop friends would open any doors, while Katie would call on Church officials and try to locate some of the girls who had emerged from—Katie felt “survived”—the Magdalene Laundries.
         They hoped there would be some time to see the capital city of Ireland, which over the past five years had taken on the moniker of Celtic Tiger with reference to the tremendous economic strides made after decades of poverty and unemployment, with a subsequent rise in tourism. New hotels were being built and old ones refurbished, the parks and museums were being restored and new restaurants were opening all around the city, oddly enough with most serving French menus.
         Their flight from JFK landed at Dublin Airport on a Saturday morning, when Dubliners would be off and the city engorged with American and European tourists. Not a good time to be knocking on police headquarters’ or old-timers’ doors.          Battling jet lag, the two Americans took rooms at the historic Shelbourne Hotel (below) on St. Stephen’s Green. Dating back to 1824, it was always the most posh in town: the Shelbourne had gaslight by 1867, electricity by 1881 and an elevator by 1900.  During the Easter Rebellion of 1916 the building had been commandeered by forty British troops, with sharpshooters arrayed on the fourth floor to fire on the Citizen Army, whose members in turn left bullet holes in the building’s façade. Six years later the hotel was where Michael Collins signed the new Constitution, in Room 112.
         All of this was of great interest to Katie, who’d gotten a good dose of Anglo-Irish history at Fordham, so she hoped she’d have time to visit some of the other seminal locations in the city where the Rebellion took place. David was more interested in walking around the city to familiarize himself with its lay-out and neighborhoods. If he was looking for a killer, he needed to know the geography.  He also wanted to compare the pubs in Dublin with those he knew back in New York.
         After breakfast in the hotel’s lounge, Katie and David went to their respective rooms for an hours’ nap to shake off the jet lag.  When David arrived back downstairs in the lobby, he remarked that Katie looked as fresh as a daisy and that he felt like crap.
         “A good stretch o’ the legs in the Oy-rish air will do ya good, Davy,” she said in a bad brogue, taking him by the arm and heading out under a gray autumn sky with more than a hint of rain in it. They walked through the park, where a statue of a bemused native son, Oscar Wilde, reclined, then around the streets that led to the Ha’Penny Bridge over the Liffey River.  Along the way they walked through Temple Bar, which was quickly catching on as a center for galleries, boutiques and cafés, stopped for coffee and kept walking through lunchtime, crossing the river and finding a wistful statue of James Joyce leaning on his cane on the other side.
         With not enough time to visit any of the city’s museums, they headed down Grafton Street to Trinity College, where they were able to see displayed the ancient Book of Kells. Then it was along Nassau Street, where Katie noted a unique Donegal tweeds shop named Kevin Howlin that she made a mental note to visit if they had the time.
         That night the couple dined at a traditional Irish restaurant named Roly’s Bistro out by the rugby stadium, enjoying a platter of Dublin Bay prawns, a loin of a venison with Colcannon potatoes and a bottle of wine, then winding down the evening at a pub for the requisite pint of Guinness and Irish folk music.
         David remarked that the Guinness tasted much richer than in the States, though he felt as at home as an Italian-American ex-cop could in a pub crowded with locals and tourists listening to old Irish rebel ballads like “The Rising of the Moon,” which he’d heard a thousand times back in New York.
         The next day was Sunday, and, as usual, David was happy to join Katie at Mass, this time at the grand Saint Patrick’s Cathedral, whose dean was once Jonathan Swift. 
         “Doesn’t look much like Saint Patrick’s in New York,” said David.
         “Well, it’s more or less Gothic architecture, like New York’s,” said Katie, “but it says here it goes back to the twelfth century and has seen a lot of decay and changes. Very beautiful though, isn’t it?”
         David nodded, content to be sitting in the old pews with Katie, her head covered with a blue beret, the smell of incense billowing into the nave.
         After lunch, they returned to their hotel to plan their investigations. David said he’d put in calls to the contacts he’d been given, including Max Finger, and arrange to meet them as soon as possible.  Katie had an address on Seán MacDermott Street—named after Seán Mac Diarmada, a hero of the 1916 Rising—where the Magdalene Laundries building still stood, as well as the name of the graveyard where the bodies of women and children had allegedly been buried. 
         When Katie and David got to the street north of the Liffey where the Laundries was located, they found little but new public housing and private developments, all of them wholly without character. But there was still one old building among the rest, one large enough to extend a block over to Montgomery Street. The building was built of gray-brown brick, now grimy with soot, with windows edged in red and a rusted black railing gate topped with crosses, some snapped off; above the peeling wooden entrance door was a sooty carving of the Madonna and Child.  A “For Sale” sign hung on a pole on the sidewalk. It was as grim a place as Katie could imagine for young girls and women trapped inside and barely able to look out onto the lives passing by on the streets of Dublin. Beside the building was another, smaller one, which Katie took to be the convent where the Sisters of Charity lived and prayed.
         “It looks like a prison,” said Katie.
         “More like a madhouse,” said David, who knew the differences well.  “No bars on the windows.”
         Katie hailed a taxi and asked the cabbie to take them to the Drumcundra cemetery. “Catholic or Jewish?” he answered. “They’re two of them over there, Miss.” 
         “Catholic, please.”
         “That would be St. John the Baptist,” he said, “Fifteen minutes drive. Okay?”
         “Drive on,” said Katie.
         The ride took them out of the center of Dublin, farther north through streets still impoverished, lined with shabby row houses, some looking similar to the Magdalene Laundries building, sadder still under the gray Irish cloud cover.           “You’re Yanks?” asked the driver.
         “Yeah, from New York,” replied David.
         “My daughter lives in New York. Astoria, Queens. I visit her every year. And why, may I ask, would you be wantin’ to visit the Drumcundra cemetery?  It’s not on the usual tourist routes.”
         Before Katie could answer, the cabbie said, “Must be to see the graves of those poor girls from the Laundries.”
         Katie was taken aback by the suggestion and said, “As a matter of fact, I am. I’m a journalist and I’m looking into what happened to those women and how they were brought out here to be buried.”
         “You won’t find anythin’, if you don’t mind my sayin’ so. Most Irish just want to forget it all happened a long time ago. Past history. Let it go.”
         “But what about the parents and friends of all those women?”
         “I’m sorry to say this, Miss, but the Irish have a long memory and  they keep it to themselves. What’s done is done. No use stirrin’ up graves over it.”
         Katie took the man’s assertion seriously. The very fact that there had been so little reported about the Laundries and the scandal of the Drumcundra graves in the Irish press led her to believe that she would have a difficult time finding people to talk about all of it. She was wholly determined to find out what she could about the gravesite, but she fully realized that Alan Dobell wanted a murder mystery story, and he trusted Katie and David to deliver it.
         At first sight, Katie and David found Drumcondra as postcard pretty as they could imagine a country churchyard could be. Silent, with a small stone cottage-like church whose sides were covered with ivy, with a plaque noting that Drumcondra dated back to 1743.  There was a list of local names of prominent men, none of them familiar to Katie and David. The old graveyard headstones, many leaning in the sod, came up almost to the church walls. Tall ancient elm, yew and pine trees surrounded the graveyard, and the lawns were the only things that looked attended to.
         Katie and David heard a voice call to them from behind.
         “I trust you’re here to see the Magdalene children’s graves.”

        BORDEAUX’S VINTNERS WORRY ABOUT DECREASE
                IN PRICE PERFORMANCE FOR 2023 VINTAGE

                                                                    By John Mariani

    Global turmoil in the world’s wine industry hasn’t caused major wine regions to curtail production—at least not yet. But in Bordeaux there are fears of a cut-back in consumption at a time when there is a global glut of wine. I spoke with Tara Albini (below), head of clients and marketing for Wine Lister, consults who offer strategic recommendations for producers, regional associations and merchants, as to why there is now high anxiety in the industry about en primeur sales, which are first prices set for the new vintage in the trade before release to the public.

Bordeaux, like Burgundy and most wine regions, has shown a decrease in price performance: 8% in 2023. What are the principal reasons for this slow-down? 

Over the past four years, socio-economic instability has cut the spending power of many of the buyers that once drove demand for the world’s premium fine wines, with the market taking a notable hit in 2023. With global economic turmoil incited by two major wars, ever-rising inflation, and ongoing recuperation from the pandemic, consumers around the world have been forced to tighten their purse strings. 
    Coinciding with this phenomenon, release prices of Bordeaux’s top wines have increased to unprecedented heights, with the 2022 en primeur campaign seeing an average increase of 20%. As a result, the latest vintage entered the market at a similar, if not higher, price than back vintages that are currently in their drinking window, hindering immediate demand for, and interest in, Bordeaux’s historical en primeur system. With excess stock on the market, and a growing belief that a wine will be available to purchase in bottle at the same or a lower price further down the line, en primeur investments, and consequential price appreciation, has slowed down.

Why does Bordeaux suffer from “market fragility?”
 

Bordeaux’s production volumes are higher than in Burgundy or California, and there is a reported surplus of its wine available on the market due to demand slowing down. This means that consumers will be less sympathetic to major price increases and feel less urgency to acquire its wine during periods of economic instability. One specialist U.S. merchant tells us, “Many of my buyers, who are collectors in other regions, don't collect young Bordeaux because they know they can get wines entering or firmly in their drinking plateau from standard distribution.” 
    In addition to this, the low trade margins made by merchants similarly disincentivize them to focus on Bordeaux en primeur, particularly when there is an imbalance between pricing and demand. One U.K. merchant notes, “The fact most U.K. merchants can only make 10% margin, what is the point of investing in a campaign with such low margins, when all other merchants also sell the same wine to the same customers?” 

You report there is “anxiety” over the higher production in the 2023 harvest. What impact will that have on prices?

Higher production volumes as an isolated phenomenon would not cause anxieties, yet, in the context of the current Bordeaux market, it has added to existing worries surrounding the surplus of stock on the market. Several trade members cited the lower quantities of recent vintages, such as the 2022, as a factor for inciting demand in the future, despite their augmented prices. With volumes back to normal, or in some cases above average, scarcity cannot be used as a selling point for the 2023, meaning that prices will need to be more attractive in order to encourage demand. 

Yet your report says that Bordeaux’s “popularity” is up 8%. How does that coincide with the decrease in prices?

Wine Lister’s regional popularity ranking is a relative measure based on Wine-Searcher search data on the top 20 wines by Wine Lister pro score in each region (Bordeaux, Burgundy, California, Champagne, Piedmont, Spain, and Tuscany). Each region has seen average searches decrease for the top 20 fine wines examined over the past two years, but Bordeaux's popularity has fared better than Burgundy, California, Champagne, Spain, and Tuscany, hence its relative position being up 8%. This is likely a result of Bordeaux’s strongest fine wine brands being so established over centuries, and being less subject to passing trends.

What are the top five “pro score improvers” in quality?

Wine Lister’s Quality score comprises an aggregation of our partner critics’ tasting scores (Jancis Robinson; Vinous (Antonio Galloni and Neal Martin); Jeannie Cho Lee; Bettane+Desseauve; Jasper Morris; and Le Figaro Vin) and a modest weighting for aging potential (the average length of our partner critics' suggested drinking windows). Berliquet sees the greatest increase in Quality score over the past year (16%), followed closely by d'Angludet, which misses the top spot by decimals. Durfort-Vivens and Dassault appear in third and fourth place with 15% and 14%, respectively, while Fonroque takes the fifth spot with a 12% increase. 

What programs or efforts are being made to improve demand for the 2023 en primeur campaign?

Bordeaux châteaux are putting more effort than ever in marketing their wines and communicating with trade members and consumers. Having worked with over 100 of the world’s leading fine wine producers on various strategic consulting and marketing activities, Wine Lister’s communication division has seen increased interest from the region’s top producers over the last two years. We have worked with 18 Bordeaux estates on various types of PR collaborations, event organization, and marketing strategy advice. These estates recognize that, in an increasingly competitive fine wine market, it is not the time to rest on your laurels, and are instead making significant effort to connect with those that drive demand. 
    Meanwhile, many of the region’s top châteaux have made significant investments in their oeno-tourism facilities (for example, Pauillac’s Grand-Puy Ducasse will be opening its doors to visitors for the first time in 2024, thanks to the launch of its new tourist trail), to encourage visits from trade, press, and consumers. 

You surveyed 57 people in the global wine trade as to whether a decrease in average market price vs compromised sales of existing stocks of recent back vintages would help sales, and the great majority (91% ) of the Americans polled said there would be no impact. Why would lower prices not affect the market?

There is consensus that demand for recent back vintages is compromised as a result of ever-increasing prices, with a feeling of disillusionment towards the en primeur system taking its toll on the region’s wines as a whole. Ten of the leading trade members surveyed explain that a pricing reset is needed to reinvigorate interest in both the en primeur system and existing stock of recent releases. One major Bordeaux négociant explains that “if the deal is good, and the trade can make a profit, demand will arise [and would] create goodwill. […] Prices will naturally rise again, making the old vintages attractive once more.” Additionally, nine respondents cite the quality and limited volumes of recent vintages as factors that would spur demand despite their pricing being relatively higher. Seven trade members explain that en primeur pricing strategies do not affect in-bottle sales, due to a separation in the consumer groups for these two streams, and general expectations for higher in-bottle prices, with one top tier U.K. merchant noting, “You expect to pay a premium for wine in bottle.”   
    Several U.S. respondents mention that demand among their consumers is influenced by the perception of the vintage (with recent vintages being widely praised for their quality), while others reiterate a separation between the en primeur and in-bottle buying streams. One specialist U.S. merchant tells us, “Each vintage and price will be judged on its merits—people need wine in bottle,” while a top-tier U.S. merchant tells us that it “Depends on vintage perception of prior stock.”

Are the prices of the First and Second Growths going higher? Has demand slipped with those rated as crus?

There is no obvious trend among First and Second Growths when it comes to post-en primeur release price appreciation. When looking at the relative percentage change between release prices and current market prices by wine (vintages 2018-2022), Lafleur sees the greatest appreciation (103%), followed by Les Carmes Haut-Brion (42%).    (Petrus and Le Pin were not included in this analysis as they don’t release via the Place de Bordeaux system). Carruades de Lafite comes in third place (37%), with its demand no doubt catalyzed by its association with its Premier Cru sibling; Lafite Rothschild, which conversely appears in 22nd place on the list. Similarly, Margaux’s Pavillon Blanc appears in fifth place (29%), while the First Growth Château Margaux appears in 21st place. 
    While the wider subset of Bordeaux wines that will see post-release price appreciation will no doubt be predominated by Grand Cru Classé wines, there is no evidence to suggest that classification drives the highest demand. It is instead a reputation for quality and trade favorability that will increase interest in a wine—whether it is classified or not. 

Do you expect heavy discounting this year on Bordeaux?

This is something that has been unanimously called for by leading trade members in all corners of the international fine wine sphere, as revealed in our recent survey of 57 merchants, négociants, auction houses, and retailers from around the world (featured in Part I of Wine Lister’s 2024 Bordeaux Study). They believe that only a significant pricing reset can renew consumer confidence in buying en primeur and invigorate interest in Bordeaux as a whole. When asked the question of what they believe to be the maximum viable release price for the 2023 vintage versus 2022, our respondents suggest an average discount of 30% (with some suggesting as much as 50% discount would be appropriate), though the response from the Americas was less extreme, with a 20% discount called for on average.  We have just returned from 10 days tasting in Bordeaux, and nearly every château we spoke to confirmed they would reduce their price vs 2022. The news on the grapevine is that these decreases will be significant for certain top estates, who are also planning to release very early on, beginning on 29 April. Only time will tell whether these discounts will be substantial enough to answer the prayers of the international fine wine trade.  

What was the 2023 vintage like?

The 2023 vintage required a watchful eye and sharp reactivity from winemakers across both banks of the Gironde. The growing season was marred by climatic challenges: with a wet and warm spring, mildew put many vineyards at risk, relying on the expertise and rigor of vineyard teams to ensure healthy vines. Fortunately, two heatwaves in the second half of August and early September encouraged excellent ripening and yielded high-quality harvests across the region. Once again, careful and patient planning was imperative to picking grapes at their optimal ripeness. The resulting wines show great freshness, depth and complexity—a profile that several of Wine Lister’s producer partners have described as “classically Bordeaux.”