Archive for the
‘En Primeur’

Exciting news this morning with the Mouton Rothschild release. This 2019 vintage is released at £299 per bottle, 30% below the 2018 release at £426.

This first growth is very highly rated by the critics –

98-100 points from Lisa Perrotti-Brown
99-100 points from James Suckling
98 points from Jane Anson
97-99 points from Jeff Leve

This wine clearly comes highly recommended – with the significant 30% price drop and 20% down in volume available, this makes it a very exciting investment prospect indeed.

Petit Mouton 2019

This is the second wine at Mouton Rothschild and was also released today and is being offered at £1,764 per 12×75, down 16.9% on the 2018 (£2,124).

Released at this price level, this is the most affordable Petit Mouton; other vintages cost over £2,000 per case. As seen in the chart below, prices for Mouton’s Second Wine rise over time.

If you are interested in finding out more about investment wine – please contact charles@waudinvestmentwines.com

Armailhac 2019 was released this morning at £372 per 12×75, down 11.4% on the 2018 release of £420 per case.

Armailhac is part of the Mouton stable and is a wine that is not overly influenced by critic scores – instead are influenced by age. As you can see from the graph below – many of the older vintages command a price of over £600 per case.

James Suckling scored the 2019 d’Armailhac 92-93 points, and described it as “full-bodied, round and ripe. Crisp and fresh at the end. Juicy and delicious already”.

Jean-Marc Quarin awarded it 93 points, while Jeff Leve (The Wine Cellar Insider) a similar range of 92-94.

This is a wine we like to have in our portfolios – as typically performs well. We have taken our full allocations of this wine.

If you are interested in finding out more about investment wine – please contact charles@waudinvestmentwines.com

Cheval Blanc 2019 has been released at £375 per bottle, down 31.7% on the 2018 at £549 per bottle. The Chateau has also released 30% less onto the market – which makes it an interesting release option.

Cheval Blanc 2019 was among Jean-Marc Quarin’s top three wines, with a score of 98 points. Other critics are expected to release their assessments in the coming days.

Scoring a huge 98pts, Jane Anson from Decanter puts this among the finest vintages of Cheval Blanc.

If you are interested in finding out more about investment wine – please contact charles@waudinvestmentwines.com

Angelus 2019 has been released at £237 per bottle, down 7% on the 2018 release of £255 per bottle.

James Suckling scored the wine 98-99 points. In his tasting note he said it was “an extremely refined and sharpened Angelus” and added that it was “supple and minerally”.

Jean-Marc Quarin also scored the wine favourably, awarding it 97 points.

Today’s release is coming to the market above a number of physical vintages already available – so we are not sure this a great opportunity for investment.

If you are interested in finding out more about investment wine – please contact charles@waudinvestmentwines.com

A busy Primeur week lies ahead as numerous releases are expected.

Releasing nearly 10% down on what was already a generous 2018 release price, Beychevelle is in the class of superb St. Julien wines that offer great value for money.

At this price level, today’s release is the cheapest Beychevelle offered on the market. All other recent vintages are trading above £700. 

Beychevelle 2019 received 95-97 points from Jeff Leve and 94 points from Jane Anson (Decanter). James Suckling scored it 93-94 and described it as a “rich, layered red with lots of ripe fruit and creamy, round tannins”. He added that it is “equal to the 2018 in quality”. 

However, prices for Beychevelle show little correlation to scores. As you can see in the chart below, older vintages tend to command higher prices.  

If you are interested in finding out more about investment wine – please contact charles@waudinvestmentwines.com

This morning was the exciting release of the wines from the Lafite Rothschild stable. It is the first of the First Growths to come out this year. They are however 50% down in volume on last year – so allocations are incredibly tight.

Lafite Rothschild 2019

2019 is released at £426 per bottle, that is 14.8% down in sterling terms on the 2018 wine that was released at £500 per bottle. As we would expect from Lafite, it gets very good scores from the critics. 99-100 points from James Suckling and 97-99 from Lisa Perrotti-Brown.

Lafite is the most traded wine on Liv-ex (other than Mouton in 2003) – so is a wine that we will take our full allocation of. Today’s release looks very good value indeed.

Carruades de Lafite 2019

The second wines of the big names have proven to have been some of the best investments – and Carruades is no different with a cult following and top performer on the secondary market.

Released at £158 per bottle, down 15% from 2018 that opened at £187.

Lisa Perrotti-Brown MW (Wine Advocate) scored the wine a barrel range of 92-94 points. In her tasting note she said that “it comes skipping out of the glass with bright, fresh notions of wild blueberries, ripe plums and redcurrant jelly”. She added: “in a word: Yum!”

James Suckling awarded the wine a slightly higher 95-96 points. He noted that “the purity of fruit is so enticing here with strawberries, flowers, lavender and currants” and added that it is “full-bodied with firm, fine tannins”.

Allocations of this wine are frustratingly limited, but we will take the allocations we can get hold of.

Duhart Milon 2019

Another wine released this morning from Lafite, offered at £52 per bottle, down 4.7% on the 2018 wine @ £54.58. This is probably the smallest percentage drop in price during the 2019 campaign – but still a good wine to have in your portfolio.

For James Suckling (95-96), this is a “very balanced, refined Duhart with ever so fine tannins and currant, tobacco and cedar aromas and flavors”. Jeff Leve (The Wine Cellar Insider) also tasted today’s release and gave it 93-95 points, noting that “the wine straddles between classic and modern Pauillac”.

Lisa Perrotti-Brown MW (Wine Advocate) scored the 2019 Duhart Milon a barrel range of 92-94. She said in her tasting note: “Medium-bodied, the palate is spritely and refreshing, with bags of juicy, mint-laced black fruits and an approachable, plush texture, finishing long and lively”.

If you are interested in finding out more about investment wine – please contact charles@waudinvestmentwines.com

Another fine release first up this morning from Cos D’Estournel in Saint-Estephe. Cos D’Estournel is one of the Bordeaux power houses and rolls out great wines year on year.

2019 is no exception and this year’s blend is 65% Cabernet Sauvignon, 35% Merlot.

Today sees the 2019 vintage released at £684 per six bottles in bond, a 23% reduction in release price against the 2018.

Highly regarded by the critics so far – with James Suckling describing the wine as “a classic… with historical grip and power. Real Bordeaux. Sophisticated and provocative”, awarding it 98-99 points.

Lisa Perrotti-Brown commented – it’s a vinous masterpiece in the making”, awarding it 97-99+ points.

Jean-Marc Quarin – 96 points

If you are interested in finding out more about investment wine – please contact charles@waudinvestmentwines.com

Another big moment in the 2019 campaign this morning as Chateau Palmer 2019 release their wine at £999 (6×75),  31% below their 2018 wine. This is great news for the campaign as they are following suit with Pontet Canet who released at 30% below their 2018 last week.

Volumes released are reportedly small, with allocations based upon last year. Today’s release received 96-98 points from Jean-Marc Quarin, and 98 points from Jane Anson (Decanter). For Anson, Palmer 2019 is ‘up there with the very best vintages of this estate’.

We expect further critic reviews over the next couple of days.

Chateau Palmer, located in the centre of Margaux and next door to Chateau Margaux, converted to biodynamic farming in 2014 with the average vine age now at 40-45 years. The final blend in 2019 is 53% Cabernet Sauvignon, 43% Merlot and 6% Petit Verdot.

We have taken our full allocations from last year – and are also looking at further availability for a cracking investment opportunity.

If you are interested in finding out more about investment wine – please contact charles@waudinvestmentwines.com

This morning marks the first major Bordeaux 2019 release via La Place, and the official launch of the En Primeur campaign.

Pontet Canet has become one of Bordeaux’s star estates in recent years, relentlessly receiving high scores across the board.

Released to the UK market at £366 per case (6) in bond, the 2019 release price is significantly below that of the 2018, and with James Suckling noting that “2019 seems more precise [than 2018]”. 

James Suckling has just now scored the wine at 98-99 points, putting it on par with 2016, making this a really special and interesting release indeed.

2019 as a vintage is already at this early stage receiving good critical attention – and this is encouraging for an interesting campaign for investors.

Jane Anson of Decanter awarded the 2019 vintage a barrel score of 96 points, saying, “This score is two points under the 2016, because it doesn’t have the same concentration of that exceptional vintage, but it’s an excellent Pontet, full of vigour”.

Recent Vintages – Release Prices

You will recall our advice that the Bordeaux 2019 campaign has been shaped by the Covid-19 crisis and the fact that we along with the worlds other wine buyers and experts have been unable to visit Bordeaux and accordingly the normal two weeks of tasting assessment and publicity for the campaign that ordinarily starts in May never happened. Quite suddenly, the growers have decided to start the campaign now with only renowned journalists and a few others having had the opportunity to taste some of the wines posted to them around the world. 

As we enter our 6^th Bordeaux EP Campaign – the 2019 vintage is widely regarded as another very good or exceptional vintage, indeed the prevailing weather conditions were favourable. 2019 marks an extraordinary run of 6 good or very good vintages in a row. During the current global upset – price is going to be the main driver with making this campaign a success or not for all parties.

This morning, as I write this report – Chateau Pontet Canet 2019 has just been released at 30% below the 2018 price – this is unprecedented – and hopefully sets the tone for the campaign ahead. This move is also consistent with the reduced price trends of some of the lesser known and non-investment grade wines which started to break cover yesterday and on Monday.

2014 is our best financially performing campaign, so with the 2019 wines being of a higher quality – this is certainly an exciting move and signals a great opportunity for investors.

Following the 2018 campaign, we will receive the same allocations of the blue-chip wines we received last year – so we will have good stocks of Lafite, Mouton Rothschild, Margaux, Canon, Rauzan Segla, Lynch Bages and more.

This years campaign started very late with a jolt and is likely to finish quickly as well, it will probably be done and dusted within the next 4 to 5 weeks – so we need to act reasonably swiftly.

Early signs are that the wines are exceptional, the vintage superb and release prices from the Chateaux, if they follow the early and quite logical trend setters, will give investors a fantastic opportunity to make strong returns over the usual investment window.

One of the three bottles of the 1869 vintage that sold for a record $HK 1.8 million each at Sotheby’s Oct. 29 auction in Hong Kong of wines sourced directly from Chateau Lafite-Rothschild. Each was expected to fetch between HK$40,000 and HK$60,000. Source: Sotheby’s via BloombergWhat The Critics Are Saying

Traditionally, the world’s most renowned wine experts and critics visit Bordeaux to taste the latest vintages in March, alongside the English Wine Trade. However this year – the critics will be sampling the wines from home. We welcome back Neil Martin to the Primeur tastings – he is the critic we follow most closely. It will be especially interesting this year as the 2019 Bordeaux wines are more ‘classic’ in style – which will suit the palate of Martin.  The scores to date from other critics such as Suckling have been positive – he has just given Pontet Canet 98-99 points, that is in line with his 2016 score.

At this point – it looks a great opportunity for investors

The Bordelais are not renowned for their ability to read the market and set their prices at a realistic level, this has been a concern for the last two years in particular, however the Global Covid-19 crisis appears to have brought them to their senses! – if you are looking for a place to invest, then the 2019 currently looks like a great opportunity for investors at this stage.

If you would like more information on the campaign – please do keep an eye on our website where we will be posting updates and relevant investor information where appropriate.

At last we are underway!!………………….

Charles Waud
Director, Waud Investment Wines