So how did it turn out? My article back in April alluded to the demise of Bordeaux in general and the concern ahead of the latest en primeur campaign.

The concern was based on the recent decline in particular for claret and the poor returns on recent en primeur vintages.

Despite considerable reductions on release prices (Chateau Lafite was down 31% on the 2023 price and 52%! On its 2022 price), the campaign largely failed to capture the focussed attention of the final consumer. Basically the reductions weren’t sufficient to stimulate demand, with some reports indicating a 60% decrease in sales among leading wine merchants.

Many buyers are hesitant due to the high release prices of recent vintages, which often exceed the prices of older (ready for drinking) more established wines in the secondary market. Coupled with the fact that the market is experiencing an oversupply of Bordeaux, things are looking pretty bleak, but in time may represent an opportunity for those looking for some value-at last! As an example some of the “super seconds” such as Chateau Leoville Las Cases and Chateau Ducru-Beaucaillou can be purchased for less than half of their 2022 release price-a striking indication either of the exceptional value for money to be found in 2024 or (and in my book more likely) the failure of the market to have accepted their release price repositioning in earlier vintages.

Either way it is clear that we have witnessed a very significant downward recalibration in prices-in fact the lowest since 2014 and in some cases 2013. In fact plotting the average release price for a number of vintages for the classed growths of the Medoc, shows us that the prices for 2024 come out somewhat below those for 2005.