Archive for the
‘En Primeur’

Château Duhart-Milon 2022 was released this morning. It is being offered by the international trade for £756 per 12×75. This is a 12.5% increase on the 2021 vintage – The smallest price hike of the big gun releases so far. Prices for the 2022 vintage across Bordeaux are generally up due to low yields and high quality wines.

Kelley (Wine Advocate) scored the wine 91-93 points, noting that it had a ‘velvety palate’ and concluded ‘with a youthfully firm finish’.

James Suckling gave it a barrel range of 95-96 points, calling it ‘full-bodied yet compacted’, with ‘fine and intense tannins’.

Jean-Marc Quarin also awarded the wine 95 points, praising its ‘very aromatic, fine, fruity, subtle nose’.

If you are interested in discussing your investment wine options – please follow this link and fill in the form

Carruades de Lafite was released this morning. It is being offered by the international trade for £2,256 per 12×75, an 13.9% increase on the 2021’s opening price (£1,980 a case). This looks like great value as it is the cheapest vintage on the market. According to the fine wine trading platform, Liv-Ex, Carruades de Lafite is 94% correlated with age – 2022 En Primeur offering the best value.

Neal Martin (Vinous) is yet to score the wine. Although his Bordeaux report and scores are due later this afternoon.

Antonio Galloni (Vinous) scored it 92-94 and deemed it a ‘real showstopper.’

James Suckling gave it a barrel range of 96-97, describing it as ‘nervy’ with an ‘intense center palate.’

William Kelley (Wine Advocate) awarded it a barrel range of 91-93 points and described it as ‘bright and velvety’.

If you are interested in discussing your investment wine options – please follow this link and fill in the form.

Château Beychevelle 2022 has been released and it is being offered by the international trade for £836 per 12×75, up 18.4% on the 2021’s opening price (£706 per 12×75). This release price is lower than the current market price of all vintages of the last 10 years bar 2021.

Interestingly Beychevelle is correlated more strongly with age than score, making younger vintages and en primeur potentially good buying options.

Neal Martin (Vinous) is yet to score the wine. However, William Kelley (Wine Advocate) awarded the wine a barrel range of 92-94 points. He noted that it was ‘unusually suave and polished tannins in the context of recent vintages at this address’.

James Suckling awarded it a slightly higher score of 94-95 points. He also noted that ‘the tannins are very well-integrated’ and commented on the ‘lovely bright fruit of currants and blackberries’.

Jean-Marc Quarin scored the wine 95 points and said that it had a ‘nice finish giving way to perfume rather than tannin. What charm!’

If you are interested in discussing your investment wine options – please follow this link and fill in the form.

The price for Langoa Barton 2022 was released earlier today. It is being offered by the international trade for £428 per 12×75, a 20.9% increase on the 2021’s opening price (£354 per case). Production at the estate was down 30% compared to the previous year. We consider this to be a fair price, especially when one takes into account that it is still lower than the 2016 release price.

William Kelley (Wine Advocate) has scored the wine a barrel range of 93-95+ points, calling it ‘polished and penetrating’. The critic also predicted it ‘should match or even surpass the 2019 and 2016 vintages’ and says it is ‘one of the most intelligent purchases of the en primeur campaign’.

James Suckling gave it a barrel range of 96-97 points, calling it a ‘big wine’ with ‘depth and structure’.

If you are interested in discussing your investment wine options – please follow this link and fill in the form.

 

The next Bordeaux En Primeur release is Chateau Leoville Barton 2022. It is being offered by the international trade for £780 per 12×75, which is a 16.7% increase on the 2021’s opening price.

Critics have highly praised the vintage’s wine, with James Suckling giving it a barrel range of 95-96 points. He called it ‘very polished and poised’, adding that it was ‘harmonious for the vintage’.

William Kelley (Wine Advocate) scoring it 96-97+ points, calling it “one of the stars of the Médoc and a wine likely to equal or surpass its 2019 and 2016 counterparts.”

Pleasingly, the release price has come out under the 2016 and 2019 vintages. We will be taking our full allocation.

If you are interested in discussing your investment wine options – please follow this link and fill in the form.

Kicking off the big gun releases for the 2022 campaign is Chateau Cheval Blanc. It is being offered by the international trade for £5,760 per 12×75, a 21.5% increase on the 2021 (£4,740). An important point to get excited about for buyers is that it is available at a 15% discount to the acclaimed 2016 vintage in a vintage where yields are down across the region.

It being very early doors, all the scores aren’t in yet (notably Neal Martin) however critics have highly praised this vintage’s wine.

James Suckling giving it a barrel range of 99-100 points and said that the wine ‘soars to new heights with its brightness and weightlessness’ and questioned if it might be the ‘wine of the vintage?’

Jean-Marc Quarin awarding it a perfect 100-points.

William Kelley (Wine Advocate) gave it a slightly lower score of (97-99)+ points but still considered it ‘one of the stars of the vintage.’

If you are interested in discussing your investment wine options – please follow this link and fill in the form.

What is En Primeur Investment?

Bordeaux en primeur is a type of wine investment where buyers purchase wine before it has been bottled and aged. The process begins in late summer/ early autumn, when the grapes are harvested. The grapes are usually fermented in stainless steel or concrete tanks and then aged in oak barrels for a period of 12-24 months.

After the ageing process is complete, the wine is bottled and released for sale as “en primeur”. This means that the wine is being sold before it is actually available to drink. The wine is then shipped to the buyer, typically a couple of years later. This can then be stored under bond, free from VAT and import duty, for many more years in bottle.

What are the advantages?

One of the main advantages of investing in Bordeaux en primeur is the potential for a high return on investment. As the wine ages and improves in quality, it also becomes rarer and its value can increase significantly. Additionally, Bordeaux wines are highly sought after by collectors and wine enthusiasts, which can also drive up the price.

Another advantage of Bordeaux en primeur is that it allows buyers to purchase wine at the release price which is often lower than if they were to buy it on the open market. This can be a great opportunity for wine enthusiasts and collectors to acquire high-quality wines at a more affordable price.

In Summary

Bordeaux en primeur is a type of wine investment where buyers purchase wine before it has been bottled and aged. The process begins with the grape harvest in the Autumn, the grapes are fermented, aged in oak barrels, and then bottled and released for sale as “en primeur” after the aging process is complete. The potential for a high return on investment, the opportunity to purchase wine directly from the winery at a lower price and having perfect provenance are some of the advantages of Bordeaux en primeur investment.

We are in our 9th year of Bordeaux En Primeur Investment, with over 4 million under management. If you are interested in hearing more about the Bordeaux 2022 campaign or you would like to get involved, do get in touch.

 

Edward Stevens
Sales Manager
Waud Investment Wines Limited
edward.stevens@waudwines.com

The iconic investment grade wine from California was released today – it is a blend of Cabernet Sauvignon (84%), Petit Verdot (6%), Merlot (5%), Cabernet Franc (4%), and Malbec (1%), spent 17 months in new French oak. The joint Rothschild/Mondavi project was one of the earliest adopters of La Place, all the way back in 2004.  

Critical Acclaim

This is our 4th Opus One vintage and this super wine has received improved scores on last year.

Antonio Galloni at Vinous rated the 2018 Opus One a score of 95-points. In his tasting note, Galloni observed: “Silky tannins and lifted, perfumed aromatics add to an impression of finesse that distinguishes the 2018 from some of the preceding vintages in a pretty big way”. 

Lisa Perrotti-Brown at the Wine Advocate awarded it 98-points, and said that, “the 2018 Opus One soars out of the glass with bright, bold boysenberries, warm cassis and ripe, juicy black plums notes, plus emerging nuances of lilacs, oolong tea, cinnamon stick, tilled soil and black truffles”. 

James Suckling gave it 99-points, noting that this “lasts for minutes”. “So wonderful to taste now, but better after 2026”, he added. The wine also received 97-points from Jeb Dunnuck 

Performance

Prices for Opus One tend to move with time rather than being influenced by critic scores. As can be seen in the chart below, older vintages command steadily higher prices.

If you are interested in discussing your investment wine options – please follow this link and fill in the form. 

Event: Bordeaux 2020 En Primeur Campaign

Date: Wednesday 21st April 2021

Time: 18.00 – 19.00

In place of our investment evenings this year, we have decided to hold an on-line Investment Webinar via Zoom.  

During the Webinar, you will receive the up to date news on the 2020 vintage, the critics opinions, anticipated release prices and the overall financial prospects for us as investors.

We will also be reviewing the performance of our investments from 2014 onwards as these are now starting to both show well and provide good returns, including for those who have elected to cash in relatively early.

To provide additional clarity from those in the know, we will be joined for the session by one of our key négociants, Max Sichel of the famous Sichel family. Sichel are one of the oldest and most reputable négociants in the world and their business started in 1883 as Négociants, long before the acquisition of one of our favourite Margaux Estates, Chateau Palmer in 1938.

We are keen to address as many of our current and regular investors as possible at the webinar. We are also opening up the session to friends of investors who you think might consider joining one of our syndicates, or indeed forming one of their own.

Everybody who confirms their attendance for the event will be forwarded a bottle of Château Argadens, one of the Bordeaux Château under the ownership of Maison Sichel and a wine we are about to list. We hope this will make the event even more enjoyable for all!

If you would like to attend, please fill the form in below – and we look forward to sending you the wine in advance of the presentation.

Opus One 2017 has been released at £1370 per 6×75, a 6.8% decrease from the 2016 opening price of £1470 per case.

During the 2017 vintage in Napa, wildfires ravaged the Northern California area affecting both the size and taste (smoke taint) of the harvest. Antonio Galloni in his first impressions on the region, stated “readers will have to be very selective”, there are “some examples where smoke taint is impossible to ignore”. However, Lisa Perrotti-Brown informed that “Opus one had picked 91% of their fruit before the fires started in 2017, and only two lots were eliminated from consideration”. Volumes released however are said to be down 27% on the previous year.

Antonio Galloni awarded the wine 95 points, saying it is “one of the most complete wines of the vintage,” and “has a distinctly red-toned fruit profile that distinguishes it from the surrounding vintages”.

Lisa Perrotti-Brown also gave the wine 95 points, the top range of her barrel score (92-95). She observed the wine as “medium bodied, the palate has a lively skip in its step, featuring bags of juicy raspberry and cassis-laced fruits and a refreshing line, supported by ripe, plush tannins, finishing long and graceful”.

Prices for Opus One are not closely correlated to critic scores, instead the vintages have appreciated in price with the passing of time. The chart above shows an 81% correlation between the price of the wine and the bottle age.

We have taken our full allocation here – so if you are interested in joining our Opus One 2017 syndicate – please do get in touch. charles.waud@waudwines.com