Wrapping up the 2018 Bordeaux En Primeur Campaign

This was one of the most interesting vintages to come out in the past 5 years. Following great investment years in 2014, 2015, 2016 and 2017 – it was going to be extraordinary to have another belter… funnily enough, that is exactly what happened.

2014 – Classic vintage
2015 – Very Good vintage
2016 – Fantastic vintage
2017 – Classic vintage
2018 – Very Good / Fantastic vintage

Much of the commentary before En Primeur tastings in March and April was that 2018 was going to be up there in quality with 2015 – so therefore a Very Good vintage.

However after the critics scores came in, 2018 has suddenly gone up a level – and considered almost in line with some of the best vintages ever made – 2005, 2009, 2010 and 2016. Therefore 2018 is rated as a Very Good / Fantastic vintage.

Our Buying Strategy

Our selection and buying strategy continues to stay the same. We will only buy wines that we believe will offer our investors a return. Therefore, as the wines were considered to be nearly at the quality level of 2016, the release prices needed to reflect that.

Any wines that came out higher than the release prices of 2016, we tended not to purchase.

We have streamlined the wines that we have purchased to just over 30 wines. We have the all of the First Growths – Lafite Rothschild, Mouton Rothschild, Haut Brion and Margaux (Latour does not partake in En Primeur anymore). We then have a selection of the second wines from these chateaux – Carruades, Petit Mouton and Pavillion Rouge. Then other wines that also have a great track record of performing as real show stoppers and have a large demand on the secondary market; Rauzan Segla, Canon, Carmes Haut Brion, Calon Segur, Armailhac, Beychevelle, Leoville Barton, Lynch Bages and more.

Our Allocations

In this 2018 campaign, there has been a real flurry of interest in a relatively select number of wines. With volumes also down across the board, there was only a finite supply of these wines available, that have subsequently pretty much sold out. Therefore our expectation is that this is one of the drivers that will drive prices up accordingly.

It has been quite a tactical game in choosing the right wines for our customers this year. As our annual spend continues to increase year on year, our allocations of the ‘best’ wines continues to increase at the same rate.

In Conclusion

This has been a very good campaign for everyone that has invested with Waud Investment Wines – and we look forward to keeping you informed on how the wines perform over the next 5 years.