Château Latour 2009 has been acclaimed as one of the best wines in a top Bordeaux vintage, and the first growth estate released fresh stocks from its cellars on Tuesday (17 September).
Around 12,000 bottles of Latour 2009 were part of the latest release and were priced at €910 per bottle ex-(Bordeaux) négociant, said Liv-ex, a global marketplace for the trade.
It said this was nearly 6% higher than the parcel of Latour 2009 released in 2020, and around 18% above the wine’s original en primeur release price of €770 per bottle ex-négociant in 2010.
New ‘ex-château’ cases are sometimes released at a higher price to current stocks on the market, to reflect a premium for pristine provenance.
Matthew O’Connell, CEO of the LiveTrade online trading platform at international merchant Bordeaux Index, said of the latest Latour 2009 release: ‘The headline price is £5,400 per six-bottle case [in bond], versus [a market price of] £4,750 per six.’ This indicates a premium of nearly 15% for the new, ex-château release, he said.
Offer prices varied slightly by merchant. Farr Vintners offered the new ex-château Latour 2009 at three-bottle cases at £2,625 in bond (IB), while Lay & Wheeler was offering single bottles at £925 IB, or £5,550 per six-bottle case IB.
Liv-ex quoted a market price of £9,480 per 12-bottle case (IB) on pre-existing Latour 2009 stocks. It questioned whether the new release price could offer value to consumers, and highlighted that another top-scoring Latour vintage – 2005 – ‘is currently offered at £7,150 (12x75cl IB)’.
Consultancy group Wine Lister said it expected the new Latour 2009 stock to sell, powered by high ratings, limited release volumes and pristine storage.
It is still early days for the wine, rated 99 points by Decanter and expected live on for several more decades.
Fresh Latour 2009 stocks were launched during Bordeaux négociants’ September 2024 releases campaign, which features fine wines from across the globe.
This year’s releases come amid ongoing reports of subdued trading activity on the fine wine market in general.
The Liv-ex 100 index, which tracks prices of some of the world’s most collectible wines, fell 9.5% in 12 months to 31 August, although some older vintages have shown signs of price stability recently – as reported in Decanter magazine’s Market Watch.