En Primeur got off to a smart pace this week with about 40 wines being released at up to a 33% discount on their 2018 opening prices.
First up, on Monday was Palmer, which released at £1998 per 12×75, a 31% discount on 2018 (£2,892) and like Pontet Canet before it, grabbed the market’s attention and has sold well.
Then through the middle of the week we saw the releases of Cos d’Estournel, Malescot St. Exupery and Domaine Chevalier, all of which were offered to the market at discounts between 22% and 24% against 2018
And today we had Lafite 2019. The wine was released at €396 per bottle ex-negociant, down 15.7% on the 2018 release (€470). It is being offered by the trade at £5,112 per 12×75, a decrease of 14.8% in sterling terms on the 2018 release of £6,000 per case. With it were three more releases from the Domaines Barons de Rothschild – Carruades, Duhart Milon, L’Evangile.
The single anomaly was Lafleur, releasing at £5,800 per 12×75, the same as last year’s opening. However, the 2018 has risen 135.6% in value. Lafleur ranked among Jean-Marc Quarin’s top scoring wines so far at 98 points, pointing towards the 2019 being very good value, should you be fortunate enough to receive an allocation.
Liv-ex’s insight extends past the analysis of releases. Recently, we spoke with Ronan Laborde, the President of the Union des Grand Crus de Bordeaux (UGCB), about his view of this year’s campaign and the future of Bordeaux En Primeur.
With the trade’s focus on Bordeaux releases this week the region lost share in the physical market, down to 41.3%. Burgundy (15.4%) and Champagne (15.4%) were happy to pick up the slack, while Italy (12.0%) remained relatively flat.
Harlan Estate 2016 led trade by value this past week and was joined by another Napa cult favourite, Screaming Eagle Cabernet Sauvignon, 2016. The 2016 vintage made up a predominant amount of trade for the United States this past week and leads for the year.
Two Champagnes also made the Top 5, Moet & Chandon Dom Perignon Luminous 2008 and Krug Grand Cuvee Edition 166. Champagne has been in the spotlight this past year and has seen its share of trade grow both because of interest and price. The Champagne 50 is one of only two indices positive for year, trailing only to the Italy 100.
Liv-ex Indices in May
The Liv-ex 100 declined 0.76% in May and the Liv-ex 1000 turned around its performance of late, increasing 1.38%. The Fine Wine 50 also had its best month in over two and half years, increasing by 1.76%.
Looking for more?
Our Bordeaux 2019 pages contain everything you need to know about this year’s En Primeur campaign; analysis tools, critics scores, reports and more.
