- Château Beychevelle 2023 has been released at £720 per 12×75.
- William Kelley (The Wine Advocate) awarded the wine a barrel range of 93-94 points.
- Today’s release may offer up reasonable value to buyers
As part of this year’s Bordeaux En Primeur campaign, Château Beychevelle 2023 has been released at €60 per bottle ex-négociant, down 11.1% on the 2022 release (€67.50).
It is being offered by the international trade for £720 per 12×75, a decrease of 14.4% from the 2022’s opening price (£840 per 12×75).
While the new release presents reasonable value to buyers, there are also Fair Value options in back vintages. See more pricing analysis below.
Critical Response
Antonio Galloni (Vinous) called the wine ‘fabulous’, awarding a score of 94-96 points. He adds that ‘the combination of fruit intensity, acid and supporting structure is superb’.
William Kelley (The Wine Advocate), alongside his 93-94 point score, adds that Beychevelle has ‘turned out especially well this year’.
Awarding 94 points, Jane Anson praises the wine for its ‘balance and finesse’.
Neal Martin (Vinous) called the wine ‘excellent’ and ‘a saliva-inducing, lightly spiced with a structured, almost Pauillac-like finish’. He awarded a score of 92-94 points.
Lisa Perrotti-Brown MW (The Wine Independent) gave a barrel score of 90-92 points. She mentions ‘vibrant notes of redcurrant jelly and blackcurrant pastilles giving way to an undercurrent of cranberries, crushed rocks, and wild thyme plus a hint of black olives’.
According to James Lawther MW (Jancis Robinson), the 2023 lacks ‘the depth of a top year but has all the components’.
Pricing analysis
According to the Liv-ex ‘Fair Value’ methodology, Beychevelle’s best correlation is with age rather than score (73.5%). This means that vintages of Beychevelle rise in value with age, making younger vintages a good buying opportunity. As shown in the chart below, today’s release below the Fair Value regression line and may present reasonable value to buyers.
For buyers interested in back vintage opportunities, there are several options, notably the 2021, 2018, 2020 and 2013 vintages, that fall on or below the trend line and represent Fair Value to buyers.
Of these, the 93-point 2018 vintage may be a compelling alternative to buyers. It is available at an 8.5% premium to today’s release and holds 93 points from Neal Martin.
The 2021 vintage also falls below the trend line and may also be of interest to buyers. Though obtaining a lower score from Neal Martin than today’s release, the wine is available at a slight discount to today’s release.
At a Market price of £830, the 94-point 2019 vintage is available at a premium of 15.5% to today’s release. From a proven vintage and benefitting from extra time in in bottle, it may present good value to buyers. Since it’s original release at £658, it has increased in value by 26.1%.
Fans of Neal Martin may also consider the 2022 vintage. While it falls above the Fair Value line, it received a score of 96 points from the critic, his highest of the past decade.
Use our ready-made list to easily spot opportunities in back-vintages of Château Beychevelle and other Left-Bank wines.
Our Bordeaux En Primeur 2023 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 20,000 wines.
