Dear visitor,

I have just returned from Bordeaux where we have been busy introducing our 2003 vintage to the wine professionals of the world.

It was a surprise for me to re-visit the wines themselves and see how fast they have evolved in barrel, how soft the tannins seem today compared to only a few months ago. As far as the red wines are concerned, we have produced a vintage that will outlive all of us, and yet is remarkably approachable even today. As for the whites, we could not be happier.

It was a little heart-breaking to see the equivalent of 120 bottles of each wine disappearing in the tastings in which approximately 1000 people participated at our properties over the last two weeks.

I have only been present for the primeurs tastings since 1997 and I have never seen wines like these before. It was comforting to know that many of the people who have had very long and eminent careers in the wine trade also echoed this sentiment. Our 2000s had the same concentration and length but the 2003s have an added armature of tannins that though very present were soft and a perfect foundation to carry this concentrated and perfectly ripe fruit on the palate for what seemed like an age. But then again, time flies when you are having fun.

I often was unable to understand the languages of those that came to see us during our "United Nations of Wine" but the hand gesture that signifies length on the palate (the hand reaching outwards in a sweeping gesture from the mouth) is universal and even I could share in this reaction and easily interpret the smile that invariably accompanied the finish.

By the time that most of you will discover the wines I hope that you will have had the chance to discover the different reactions of some of those who came to see us. After our hottest summer in Bordeaux for over a century, I believe that the most common reaction from our visitors was not only surprise… but a very pleasant surprise!

I hope that you will enjoy sharing our first impressions of the 2003 vintage.

Robert de Luxembourg