Carruades Lafite 2017 has been released. Due to Vinexpo some negociants are waiting to decide on their opening price, but others are offering at €135 per bottle ex-negociant, the same as the 2016 release price. It is expected to be offered by UK merchants for around £1,650 per 12×75, the same price in sterling terms as the 2016 release.
There have been some suggestions that the release of Carruades will be further delayed in order to ‘tie’ the offer to other wines from the Lafite stable such as Rieussec and Evangile. Reports from Bordeaux also suggest that volumes available to negociants are down 10% on last year.
Neal Martin, who awarded a score of 89-91 points, noted that “there is not an enormous depth to this wine” but praised the “brightness towards the finish.” Lisa-Perotti Brown MW, who scored the wine 90-92 points also commended “the great poise and a long, savoury finish.”
Given the track record of Carruades as a sound En Primeur investment, today’s opening price looks attractive for buyers who are able to source stock. There is no correlation between price and score, instead the newest offering tends to normalise with the market prices of vintages trading in the secondary market within months. Already the wine is being bid on Liv-ex at £1,006 per 6×75, a premium of 20% to the expected ex-London open.
Further encouragement can found from the fact the Carruades Lafite index is one of the best performing chateaux indices in the last twelve months, posting a gain of 22%. Over the same time period the market (Bordeaux 500) is up 6%.
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