Barsac Château Doisy-Daëne is one of the first to release its 2001 price – and the merchants are underwhelmed.
Doisy-Daëne, a sweet wine given four stars by Decanter this year, has been offered to merchants at €20 per bottle – around £160 per case.
Mark Thornton, director of wine merchants claret-e.com, told decanter.com, ‘It’s going to be difficult to sell at that price,’ a sentiment echoed by other prominent UK merchants.
Dylan Parris of Bordeaux Index said he would put only a 10% markup on the wine, but added he felt ‘apathetic’ about the prospects of selling it. He had just had an offer of 200 cases from a negociant, indicating there would be no shortage of the wine.
Except for the top châteaux, Sauternes and Barsac can be difficult to sell, and merchants – who usually have many cases of vintages like the very good 97 still unsold – would like to see some bargain prices being offered.
Claire MacKenzie of Justerini and Brooks said, ‘Considering you can get some of the older vintages for not much more than £200, it’s not looking like much of a bargain.’
Merchants are also keen to stress that Doisy-Daëne’s price cannot be taken as any sort of indication of how other châteaux will set their prices.
Written by Adam Lechmere12 April 2002
