Prices have fallen in a relatively early Bordeaux 2024 en primeur campaign, as anticipated. For some major châteaux, the still-in-barrel 2024 vintage has become the estate’s cheapest available grand vin on the market.
Lafite Rothschild, Angélus and Cheval Blanc all dropped prices in the region of 30% year-on-year, returning to the sort of release pricing not seen for at least a decade.
‘One has to go back 16 years to find a release price lower than this,’ said Farr Vintners following the launch of Lafite Rothschild 2024 at £1,713 per six-bottle case in bond (IB).
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Liv-ex, a global marketplace for the trade, said St-Emilion’s Château Cheval Blanc 2024 was €276 per bottle ex-négociant – lower than any release back to 2008.
Montrose 2024, released this week at £1,014 (12x75cl IB), was hotly tipped by some merchants. ‘Montrose has been on a mega [quality] run in recent years,’ said Miles Davis, market expert at Vinum Fine Wines.
While some consumers are taking advantage of lower prices, initial reports suggested a mixed response to releases so far.
There are winemaking success stories from a tricky Bordeaux 2024 growing season, but the en primeur wines are also entering a particularly subdued market that continues to feel the pinch of macroeconomic headwinds and uncertainty.
Matthew O’Connell, CEO of the LiveTrade online trading platform at Bordeaux Index, said the merchant saw good demand for Lafite 2024, albeit buying wasn’t ‘frenzied.’
Will Hargrove, head of fine wine at Corney & Barrow, said Lafite 2024 sold well. On the Right Bank, he also reported demand for Cheval Blanc, plus Bélair-Monange from the Moueix stable.
He said en primeur pricing has to be judged release by release, but he noted a ‘lack of urgency’ from buyers in general.
With a busy fortnight of releases coming up, it’s possible consumers are waiting until more wines have emerged.
Shaun Bishop, CEO of California-based JJ Buckley in the US said, however: ‘For the first time ever, we are not offering a [Bordeaux] en primeur campaign.
Uncertainty over tariff negotiations between the US and EU is a main factor. ‘We are recommending that our clients wait until tariff negotiations have concluded and the final price is known,’ Bishop said.
‘That said, we are accommodating any client [en primeur 2024] demand, though they have been almost non-existent so far, except for a handful of Lafite Rothschild and Cheval Blanc requests.’
Miles Davis, at Vinum Fine Wines, also commented on a relatively cautious approach from buyers so far, although he said there were opportunities for Bordeaux lovers seeking to stock their cellars.
‘It was always going to be a difficult en primeur campaign, but I think it’s got some nice little highlights to it and points of interest,’ he told Decanter.
