Anticipation of Robert Parker’s ten-year retrospective of Bordeaux 2005 – due within the next week – has boosted both the vintage’s trade share and individual wine prices over the past eight months. In the final days before the report is released, Liv-ex will analyse recent activity for the vintage.
One wine that has attracted attention is Palmer 2005. It first saw climbing prices in April 2008 after Parker upgraded it from a barrel score of 94-96 to a bottle score of 97. At its peak, it traded at £2,700 per 12×75 – but then it drifted.
However, since the beginning December 2014 – just as the upgrade of some Bordeaux 2005s began to have a ‘ripple effect’ on the price of others – prices have begun to move up. In December, it traded at £1,685 per 12×75. Last week, it traded at £2,150: nearly a 30% increase. Are buyers betting on a Parker upgrade for this wine?
Parker’s notes may offer some hints on whether their hopes will become reality. In 2008, he commented: “This spectacular offering should continue to improve, and may merit an even higher score after additional aging”. Back in 2006 he described it as “a classic vin de garde as well as a Palmer for the ages”.
Even more telling are his notes on Palmer 2009 (97 points), where he lists the 2005 amongst the “all-time great Palmers”: 1961, 1966, 1970, 1989, 2000, 2005 and 2009.
Where next for Palmer 2005?
