In May last year Chateau Angelus announced that to celebrate its September 2012 promotion to St Emilion Premier Grand Cru Classe A, its 2012 vintage would be released in commemorative bottles: a black bottle embossed with gold. Initially this had little effect on price. In early June the wine traded for £1,650 per 12×75, just 5% higher than it had traded throughout the previous year.
In recent months, however, the price for Angelus 2012 has surged. Having traded for £2,202 in October 2014, the wine then traded for £2,500 in early January, and yesterday for £2,620. The rise of Angelus 2012 would seem to be connected to Chinese New Year on February 19th: its striking black and gold bottle holds appeal for an Asian market. This is not the first time that this has happened. We have previously looked at how Mouton Rothschild 2000 defied market conditions by continuing to rise throughout the last few years due to its black and gold ram label. And as the Year of the Sheep draws ever closer, the wine has reached a record high: it traded last week for £11,200 per 12×75, up 7.7% from the peak of the market.
