Recent trading activity
Trade this weekend was led by Bordeaux (39.1%), Burgundy (23.1%) and the USA (10.9%). Burgundy’s Domaine des Lambrays Clos des Lambrays Grand Cru 2018 set a new trading high at £3,444 per 12×75, up 34.5% on its release price.
The most active Bordeaux vintages by value were the 2018 and 2019. Some of the wines that changed hands this weekend included Château Mouton Rothschild 2017, Château Palmer 2018 and Château Lafon Rochet 2016, which also traded at a record high of £380 per case.
Meanwhile, Screaming Eagle’s 2008 and the 100-point (AG) 2019 vintages led US trade by value.
Jancis Robinson suggests Bordeaux 2019 might be the ‘best ever’
Bordeaux 2019 is back in the spotlight following the annual Southwold tasting, and early reports affirm that the vintage is one of the greatest ever. When different critics’ scores from the tasting were aggregated, the 2019 was the top scoring vintage. It was followed by the 2016, 2010 and 2009.
Jancis Robinson MW, who was the first critic to release her report, revealed that ‘the vintage is looking very good indeed, perhaps the best I have ever tasted at this stage’.
She said that ‘the great thing about 2019 is its consistency and the fact that it seems to have masses of ripe fruit, but lots of tannin to keep the wines going for many a long year’. The critic added that ‘the 2019s also have quite enough freshness to make them alluring’.
She further noted the mood at the tasting this year: ‘What was remarkable this year was how quiet we all were when tasting – silenced perhaps as the sheer quality and majesty of the vintage revealed itself’.
This is ‘good news for those who took advantage of the relative bargains that were Bordeaux’s 2019s offered en primeur,’ according to the critic.
Indeed, the 2019 campaign was a surprising success. It was released when most of Europe was in lockdown. During a time of great uncertainty and considerable financial stress, the vintage offered high quality wines at attractive prices.
On average, the 2019s were released at a 21% discount to the 2018s, with some châteaux offering price cuts of up to 31%; discounts ‘virtually unheard of in recent times’, according to Robinson.
Robinson’s top-scoring wines, seen in the table above, have all risen in value since release between 9.4% (Château Pichon Baron) and 193.1% (Château Lafleur).
The 2019 has been the most traded Bordeaux vintage by both value and volume in the last year.
There are currently over 444 LIVE Bordeaux 2019 opportunities on your exchange.
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.
