Bordeaux 2023 en primeur releases so far this week have followed on from the year-on-year price cuts seen in week one.
Following on from Lafite Rothschild and Léoville Las Cases last week, prices for Mouton Rothschild 2023 and Angélus 2023 dropped by more than 30% and 25% respectively versus the estates’ 2022-vintage releases a year ago, as reported in the latest Decanter Premium article on the campaign.
Other releases on Tuesday (7 May) have included:
- Château Haut-Batailley 2023 | €36 per bottle ex-négociant, down 16.7% versus 2022 vintage | offer at £432 per 12-bottle case in bond (IB)
- Château Cantemerle 2023 | €16.8 per bottle, down 19% | offered at £198 (12x75cl IB)
- Château Lafon-Rochet 2023 | €27.50 per bottle, down 19.1% | offered at £330 (12x75cl IB)
Price data source: Liv-ex.
Read Decanter’s full Bordeaux 2023 verdict and see the ratings and tasting notes for the top-scoring wines
Price cuts were largely anticipated for Bordeaux 2023 releases.
In a survey of merchants by Liv-ex, respondents said they expected ex-négociant release prices for a representative basket of Bordeaux 2023 wines to fall by 22.2% on average, versus last year’s campaign.
Some Bordeaux 2022 wines debuted en primeur at relatively high prices, and the fine wine market has been challenging in the intervening 12 months.
On top of this, Decanter’s Georgie Hindle said in her Bordeaux 2023 verdict report that, while quality can be found at every price-point and there are some clear success stories, it is a rather heterogeneous vintage.
As ever, the availability of back-vintages may be a consideration for prospective buyers.
Mouton Rothschild 2023 is a potential 100-point wine, according to Decanter’s Hindle, and was also released this week as one of the cheapest available vintages of the first growth available on the market – at £4,068 (12x75cl IB).
Liv-ex analysis found that the 2019 vintage of Cantemerle ‘may offer a compelling option to buyers’, should they be interested in alternatives to this week’s release.
Haut-Batailley focus
An estate’s trajectory can also be an important consideration.
UK merchant Berry Bros & Rudd described Haut-Batailley as a rising star in a note to customers about the 2023-vintage release – noting improvements made since the Cazes family, of Lynch-Bages fame, acquired the property in 2017.
Consultancy and analyst group Wine Lister said of Haut-Batailley, ‘The 2023 enters the market below those recent back-vintages that have fully benefited from the Château’s repositioning under Cazes ownership (apart from the record-high scoring 2019), and sits above [the price of] vintages 2017, 2016, 2015, and 2014.’
Decanter’s Hindle rated Haut-Batailley 2023 at 94 points, describing it as nicely structured, and ‘finessed but with power and depth’.
That is one point higher than Decanter’s en primeur score for the 2022 vintage, although below a 96-point rating for Haut-Batailley 2020 in-bottle.
At the end of last week, Château Talbot 2023 was released at around £462 per 12-bottle case in bond (IB). ‘The price here is down 25% on last year,’ said UK-based merchant Farr Vintners.
Château La Lagune 2023 was also released with a 25% discount on the opening price of its 2022-vintage en primeur wine. It was launched at €25.50 ex-négociant, and offered by UK merchants at around £330 (12x75cl IB), said Liv-ex.
It’s still early days, and it remains to be seen how much wine will be sold throughout the campaign.
Alex Turnbull, head of private and online sales at Jeroboams, told Decanter Premium on 2 May, ‘We like the pricing we’ve seen so far and our customers do, too. The numbers are strong for week one.’
Matthew O’Connell, CEO of the LiveTrade online trading platform at merchant Bordeaux Index, said today (7 May) that there was collector interest in Mouton 2023, as there was in Lafite last week, but also added, ‘We would describe the demand as good but not outsized.’
A key talking point in recent years has also been the proportion of a vintage being released en primeur by different châteaux, although every estate has its own strategy in this regard.
