On Thursday, Vinous published Neal Martin’s in bottle report for Bordeaux’s 2020 vintage: ‘Thrice Is Nice: Bordeaux 2020 in Bottle’.
In the report, Martin says that ‘at the top of the pyramid, everything is rosy after three lauded vintages on the trot, though I have reservations about the 2018s that generally do not possess the freshness of 2019 or 2020’.
He adds ‘whether you are seeking a decent bottle of claret to quaff after a hard day at work or a First Growth to lay down for your kids, the 2020 vintage has something to offer.’
The table above shows Neal Martin’s top-scoring wines from the report compared to their in-barrel scores from May 2021 (with the exception on Montrose which was scored in February 2022).
While there were no surprises among the top 10, several of the wines achieved the top-end of their barrel rating: Château L’Église-Clinet, Pétrus, Château Pichon-Longueville Comtesse de Lalande, Château Lafite Rothschild and Château Lafleur.
As highlighted in yesterday’s market update, the 2020 vintage offers some relative value. With a Benchmark Critic score of 94.3-points, it is the second-highest scoring vintage after 2019 (94.9). More on this to come.
The 2020 is also positioned in line with the 2016, which has the same average price per case (£2,295) but a fractionally lower score of 94.2 points.
Some of the best value Bordeaux 2020s include Château Ausone, Château Cheval Blanc, Château Figeac, Château Langoa Barton and Château Rauzan Segla. Liv-ex members can explore more on the Fair Value tool.
Earlier this year, we also looked at Bordeaux’s 2020 best price performers, which included Carruades de Lafite and Château Canon.
Liv-ex analysis is drawn from the world’s most comprehensive database of fine wine prices. The data reflects the real time activity of Liv-ex’s 600 merchant members from across the globe. Together they represent the largest pool of liquidity in the world – currently £80m of bids and offers across 16,000 wines.
