Anthony Rose: 'It's a shame that Bordeaux en primeur has become a non-event'

Today, Bordeaux is a long way from the only game in town

I'm not convinced that there's anything to be gained by splashing the cash on the Bordeaux 2014 vintage, currently on offer. Buying two years before the wine is bottled doesn't just tie up cash but it's a gamble and worth it only in a great vintage, fairly priced. Judging by the critical reaction, 2014 is unanimously thought to be good, but not great.

Farr Vintners, one of the UK's biggest Bordeaux players, proclaims: "Prices need to be cheaper than those of physically available vintages of a similar quality." Even if you bought 2009 and 2010, the last two genuinely great vintages, prices were exorbitant and are often lower today than on release. It's a shame that Bordeaux en primeur has become a non-event, and rumours of its imminent demise are not exaggerated. No reason not to wait till the wine's in bottle.

In the heyday of Bordeaux en primeur, the alternative options were few and far between, so it became habit-forming to need Bordeaux in your cellar every year. But today, Bordeaux is a long way from the only game in town. Why not Burgundy, Rhône, Tuscany, Piedmont and Spain in your cellar? And the New World now has a proven track record of Bordeaux styles that will improve in the bottle if stored in good condition.

Last month, in a blind tasting of New World alternatives to Bordeaux, I compared the 2011 Alter Ego of Château Palmer, £37.50, Berry Bros, to the 2011 Cullen Diana Madeline Cabernet Merlot, around £52.55-£55.19, Eclectic, Brook & Vine, Exel. Both still had a good 10 years in them but the Cullen cabernet, with its rich blackcurrant core underpinned by subtle vanilla oak and mulberryish acidity, was already more approachable, and largely preferred.

With wines such as the cedar-scented, herb-infused, cherryish 2009 Voyager Estate Cabernet Merlot, £24.17, Justerini & Brooks, with its silky texture, Western Australia has become a stronghold of elegant Bordeaux styles. The superb Moss Wood Cabernet Sauvignon is not cheap at £59.75, but its 2013 Amy's Blend, £14.95, Jeroboams, a stylish blend of cabernet sauvignon, merlot and malbec, is a more affordable chip off the Moss Wood block.

California too, as noted recently, is coming up with more approachable cabernets than the monsters of yesteryear and the 2011 Slingshot Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon, £19.95-£21.55, Roberson, Prohibition Wines, is a good example – great label, liquorice spice aromas and opulent cassis tinged with a fresh cabernet leafiness shaped by subtle oak. Let's not forget Washington State, either, whose 2012 CMS Columbia Valley from Hedges, £14.95, Roberson, Old Bridge Wine, displays a classic leafy fresh blackcurrant fragrance supported by subtle oak and juicily textured fresh fruit.