Earlier this month, Château Climens 2022 was released at €106.25 per bottle ex-négociant and a recommended retail price of £1,304.40 per 12×75.
The past few years have been tumultuous for Château Climens. The estate did not produce any wine in 2017 nor 2021 due to frosts and challenging weather conditions. In 2018, the harvest was severely affected by mildew. Nonetheless, that year, Château Climens launched a new dry white, Asphodèle. Last year, as reported by Decanter, the estate also announced a new majority owner.
As such, there is little to no secondary market activity for the past five vintages, which is why the chart above has a gap between the 2016 and the 2022 vintages. This absence of releases may also go some way in explaining the high release price of the 2022 vintage.
You can read our analysis of the release here.
Château Climens trading opportunities
Due to this high release price, buyers looking for trading opportunities among Château Climens back-vintages have plenty of options.
The chart below shows Climens Market Prices compared to Wine Advocate scores for the 2000-2016 vintages. The 2022 vintage is yet to be scored by the Wine Advocate. Only a score of 100 points would see it fall below the ‘Fair Value’ line.
NB: The 2022 vintage has not yet been scored by the Wine Advocate – the 100-point score on the chart is purely hypothetical and is the only rating which would put the vintage below the fair value line.
Buyers looking for other options may want to consider the 2009 and 2007 vintages, which are available at discounts of 46.0% and 35.6% to this year’s release respectively.
When tasting for the Wine Advocate, Neal Martin described the 2007 as ‘a slice of heaven in a glass’ and awarded it 98 points.
Lisa Perrotti-Brown MW scored the 2009 97+ points and said it was ‘incredibly youthful’. Neal Martin also scored the wine 97 points during his time at the Wine Advocate.
The 2010, 2013, 2015 and 2016 vintages also look attractive and all fall below the fair value line.
Interestingly, for a 15.0% premium on the 2022 release, buyers can take home a case of the 100-point 2001 (£1,500 per 12×75). The wine was scored 99 points by Neal Martin back in 2014, but Robert Parker awarded it a perfect score of 100 points in 2004.
In Parker’s tasting note, he said ‘wine of monumental richness, extraordinary precision/delineation, great purity, and moderate sweetness. The finish seemingly lasts forever. This monumental effort is the stuff of legends’.
The 2001 is currently offered LIVE at £750 per 12×37.5.
There are currently 206 LIVE Climens opportunities on Liv-ex.
In case you missed it:
Here’s what we’ve been reading:
- Liv-ex – Château Climens 2022 released en Primeur
- The Drinks Business – Bordeaux profile: Château Climens
- Decanter – Château Climens gets new majority owner after stake sale
Our Bordeaux En Primeur 2022 page contains everything you need to know about this year’s campaign. You can also sign up for our daily En Primeur email alerts using the form below.
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 620+ merchant members from across the globe. Together they represent the largest pool of liquidity in the world – currently £100m of bids and offers across 16,000 wines.
