A month in wine
This year’s Bordeaux en primeur campaign launched into an uncertain market with a wave of discounts for what was ‘unhesistatingly a successful vintage’, according to Jane Anson.
Pauillac fifth growth Château Pontet-Canet fired the starting gun on 28 May with its release at £61 a bottle, a 31% drop versus the previous year. Liv-ex reported it to be one of the lowest priced vintages of Pontet-Canet on the market and the lowest ex-Bordeaux release price since 2008.
Rather than a statement on vintage quality, en primeur discounts appeared to be recognition of the uncertain economic climate, coloured by 25% US tariffs and the widespread impact of the Covid-19 crisis.
‘Our 2019 is definitely one of our best vintages,’ Pontet- Canet co-owner Justine Tesseron told Decanter, adding that they released at ‘a very good price to make people happy in this crazy world’.
The first growths followed suit, with Mouton Rothschild and Haut-Brion making headlines for price cuts of 31% compared to the 2018 vintage. Both released at €282 per bottle ex-Bordeaux despite high ratings of 98 and 97 points respectively from Anson.
However, every estate’s release strategy depends on several factors, including the availability of back-vintages on the market and relative success in a particular year.
Château Lafleur 2019 was released by UK merchants at the equivalent of £5,800 per 12-bottle case, which is equal to the 2018 release price, according to Liv-ex. Anson said it has the potential to get a perfect 100pt score: ‘I don’t give 100 during en primeur, but this is as close as it gets, and reflects just how impressively the Pomerol plateau has performed in 2019.’
Only small quantities of Lafleur are produced from its 4.5ha vineyard, and UK merchant Justerini & Brooks was selling three-bottle cases of the 2019 on a ‘strict allocation-only’ basis.
Other major châteaux, such as Palmer and Cheval Blanc, followed the price drop trend but held back on quantities released. Cheval Blanc announced its lowest price since
2014, according to Fine & Rare, but matched the discount with 30% less released in volume.
Palmer has decided to significantly alter its approach to en primeur. Anson explained that while it is ‘not going the full Latour’, it will hold back 50% of its wine to release in 10 years’ time.
‘It turns out Palmer has been holding back half of its production for the past decade – something that we have suspected to be true for a number of châteaux,’ she said.
Overall, response from the UK market to the releases so far has been mixed. Reports from merchants suggest that buyer demand remains patchy, despite several top names scoring above 95pts for their grand vin.
Farr Vintners buyer Thomas Parker MW said that while Lynch-Bages and Mouton Rothschild sold out due to pre-orders, ‘it has been a mixed campaign which has largely depended on price reductions’.
‘For obvious reasons, those who have made a clear gesture to the market are being rewarded,’ commented Anson. But she added that châteaux were equally keen to ‘make a clear gesture to the Bordeaux wine lovers who are willing to buy the wines despite everything that is going on globally’.
For Jane Anson’s full report on the Bordeaux 2019 wines, visit Decanter. com/Premium. For news on the campaign, including prices as they are released, bookmark Decanter.com.