Château Latour 2012 was re-released by Bordeaux négociants last week, but at a higher price to cases already on the market.
New Latour 2012 was priced at €420 per bottle ex-négociant, which is up 20% on the wine’s debut release price in 2020, according to Liv-ex, a global marketplace for the trade.
Several UK-based merchants were offering the new, ex-châteaux Latour 2012 at around £400 per bottle in bond (IB) or £2,400 per six-bottle case – equivalent to £4,800 per 12-bottle case.
Liv-ex data showed pre-existing stocks of Latour 2012 had a market price of around £4,000 per 12-bottle case IB, although prices can vary.
It’s relatively common for new, ex-château stock to carry a premium to cases already on the market, although the level of premiums has been debated within the trade.
There have been reports of relatively muted consumer demand for September releases via La Place de Bordeaux in general, amid tough market conditions, although it remained early days and many wines have received high quality scores.
Château Latour’s post-en primeur era
Latour’s 2012 vintage, rated 97 points on release, marked a change in strategy for the Pauillac-based first growth.
The estate left the Bordeaux en primeur system that year, preferring instead to hold vintages back in its cellars for several years prior to release.
As a result, Latour 2012 became the estate’s youngest grand vin on the market when it debuted in 2020. Further releases have followed, although not always in chronological order.
The 100-point Latour 2016 saw strong demand when it debuted in March this year, according to international merchant Bordeaux Index.
La Place September campaign so far
September is now a key month for the release of international fine wines via La Place de Bordeaux.
However, while many wines are among the best examples from their regions – with high quality scores – there were reports of relatively sedate beginning to the campaign.
Miles Davis, market expert at Vinum Fine Wines, with offices in the UK and Singapore, said the merchant had sold a little bit of new releases from Masseto, Opus One, Penfolds Grange, Latour and Haut-Brion – the latter re-releasing its 2014 grand vin as ‘pretty much the cheapest vintage on the market’.
In general, though, Davis said the September campaign had been muted so far, echoing the Bordeaux en primeur campaign in May and June, in contrast to better trading signals across the Vinum business in late August and early September.
In his latest market report, he said prices for La Place de Bordeaux releases were in many instances not low enough to incentivise buyers in the current market.
Fine wine prices have been falling on the secondary market for the past two-and-a-half years or so.
Robert Mathias MW, senior buyer at Lay & Wheeler, said on 8 September that current economic headwinds continued to impact on demand, although some early releases drew interest.
‘Notable successes’ included Château Tronquoy 2020, Vin de Constance 2022 and Chile’s Seña 2023, he said, while also praising Opus One for releasing its 2022 vintage as one of the cheapest on the market.
