We recently asked whether the market has changed direction for Bordeaux, observing that 60% of the wines represented in the Bordeaux 500 index have been in positive territory since July 2014 when the market began to show positive signs after 17 months of decline. A further look at the relative performance of the ten most recent physical vintages revealed that the 2005s have been leading the charge ahead of other years. But how does this look when performance is broken down by brand?
Of the 50 brands represented in the Bordeaux 500, 37 have risen since July, with 13 gaining at least 4% over this period. The top ten performers are shown in the chart below. Four out of the top five of these are those that have seen upgrades for one or more of their vintages in recent months. Haut Bailly, which has seen an average increase of 15% since the summer, saw its 2009 vintage awarded 100 points from Robert Parker following a visit to the Chateau in November.
Since July 2014, 13 brands have declined. Of these, six are from the Right Bank, the region that had previously seen the strongest performance. As the chart below shows, wines from the Left Bank – which struggled the most during the decline of the market – are now making headway.
