With en primeur trading now in full swing, we’re able to glean a fuller picture of the somewhat extreme price differences between the 2009s and their 2008 equivalents. According to our study of 85 top Bordeaux chateaux, the 2009s are currently trading at an average of £1,640 - 93% higher than the 2008s (at £851). And though some of the 2008s lack the profundity of the much-hyped 2009s, the vintage scores an average of 92.5 points from Parker, just 1.6 points short of the overall score for 2009 (94.1).
So which wines offer the best value?
Ausone 2008 (RP 96-100) is listed amongst Parker’s potential 100 pointers and is currently trading at £8,000 per case. The wine looks particularly appealing in comparison with 2009, which scored 95-97+ points from Parker and is priced at £12,300 – 54% more expensive than its potentially perfect counterpart.
Palmer 2008 is another wine to watch. Despite a strong Parker score (RP 95-97), it last traded at £1,100 – less than half of the price of the 2009 (RP 94-96; £2,400). Troplong Mondot 2008 (RP 95-97) also boasts a better rating than its respective 2009 (RP 94-97; £985) and is trading at just £494 per case. Other 2008 value picks include Mission Haut Brion (RP 94-96+; £1,418), Montrose (RP 95-97; £550) and Pontet Canet (RP 96-98+; £690).
The table below shows a selection of 2008s that may be worth a look.
All prices are in GBP and are for 12x75cl cases stored in bond.All scores from erobertparker.com.
