Bordeaux Primeurs 2014 continue… as long as the prices are reasonable

Among the 2014 Bordeaux wines, those at the correct prices make a lot of noise but the merchants ignore certain renowned wines whose prices are prohibitive for buyers.

On Tuesday, the big names Haut-Brion and Cos d'Estournel, as well as the highly respected Tertre Roteboeuf, released their wines en primeur. The previous week, Angelus, Palmer and Lynch-Bages (among others) had done the same.

In the words of Will Hargrove of Corney & Barrow collected by Wine Searcher, so far this campaign has had “many false starts”, but “it could still become the best since 2010”.

Will Hargrove was encouraged by the releases of three Mitjavile family wines in Saint-Émilion (Tertre Roteboeuf and Roc des Cambes by François Mitjavile, and L'Aurage by his son, Louis). The releases of the previous week, especially Palmer and Angelus, on the other hand, were less enthusiastic.

“Prices for Mitjavile family wines have come down a bit and are doing well, which is great, but [those of] Palmer and Angelus are quite ambitious. »

Angélus was the first of the wines from the right bank to release its 2014 vintage, at a price of €180 a bottle, an increase of 9 TP3T compared to 2013. Palmer, the Third Grand Cru of Margaux, saw a similar increase of 7 % and reaches 160 €. Will Hargrove said they would not offer the latter for sale: "We really like this wine but we don't think we would be doing our customers any favors at such a price." »

Giles Cooper, a London merchant who works for Bordeaux Index, agrees. “Asia is Angelus' main market, and not much is happening there. We sold more Palmers, but not large volumes. »

At another London merchant, Handford Wines, Greg Sherwood said he was very interested in mid-range cru bourgeois and quality second wines.

“Buyers are fed up with overpriced iconic wines. When they consider a £1,500 (€2,070) case of Palmer, they figure they could buy a heck of a lot of Brunello or Rhone Valley wines for the same price. »

The Premier Grand Cru Château Mouton Rothschild came out early and was the one that generated the most enthusiasm. Corney & Barrow's have already sold their entire stock, along with their allocation of Lynch-Bages, a well-respected Fifth Grand Cru from Pauillac.

Haut-Brion (€240 a bottle) and the Saint-Estèphe Cos d'Estournel (€84.50) were received with less enthusiasm.

The trading platform Liv-ex notes that Pessac-Léognan classified Premier Grand Cru “is the second cheapest vintage on the market, even if it is not by much. The 2006 and 2008 vintages have better scores and are available at a price only slightly higher than the release price of the 2014 vintage.”

Liv-ex Managing Director James Miles tweeted sharply: “Older vintages are too good to work. # damage »

Even if the reactions are mixed, the primeurs campaign is not dead. Some wines are very interesting, according to Giles Cooper, and there is real momentum.

“It may sound excruciating, but at best we expect customers to be indifferent,” he told Wine Searcher. “We were concerned that the prices were so high that buyers felt cheated. It didn't happen; consumers aren't angry like they were in previous years, resulting in a more energetic campaign that has momentum. »

He explained that we were still waiting for "significant releases" such as Pichon Lalande, Léoville Las Cases, Grand-Puy-Lacoste and Domaine de Chevalier, and that if the prices were correct, this momentum would still last...

Wednesday, May 6, 2015

Adam Lechmere

Wine Searcher