Majestic has this week announced its re-entry on the Bordeaux en primeur scene, starting with 2021-vintage offers on a range of big names, including First Growths Châteaux Lafite Rothschild, Haut-Brion, Mouton and Margaux.

Its list also includes Cos d’Estournel, Palmer, Calon Ségur, Les Carmes Haut-Brion, Cheval Blanc, Angélus, Canon and La Fleur-Pétrus, among others.

Wines were being offered per single bottle or in six-bottle cases, all in bond, showed the retailer’s brochure.

Fine wine market demand has been particularly strong in the past couple of years, and a Majestic spokesperson said customer feedback informed the retailer’s decision to restart Bordeaux en primeur offerings.

Majestic said it would target ‘a new, wine-engaged audience’. It said it hopes to appeal to both new and existing buyers of en primeur, the term for wines sold while still-in-barrel and also known as ‘futures’ in the US.

The retailer said it ceased offers more than a decade ago, after having bought fine wine merchant Lay & Wheeler, which has its own long-standing en primeur operation. Both businesses subsequently combined with Naked Wines, but all parties went their separate ways in 2019.

Majestic’s chief commercial officer, Robert Cooke, said, ‘Our Bordeaux suppliers have been overwhelmingly positive about us re-entering the market and we’re extremely pleased with the allocations we’ve received.’

Bordeaux 2021 was a challenging vintage, although some excellent wines were still produced, as Decanter’s Georgie Hindle wrote after tasting many barrel samples.

Consumer demand for Bordeaux 2021 en primeur releases in late May and June was mixed, according to merchants. Some wines sold well on debut, but Liv-ex, a global marketplace for the trade, has described the overall campaign as ‘one of the least successful of recent times’.

Jake Biggs, Majestic en primeur buyer, said, ‘Following on from the three warm and sunny vintages of 2018–20 in Bordeaux, the 2021 vintage was always going to have some tough acts to follow. However, with its freshness, precision, drinkability and poise, I truly believe it will find its place.’

The retailer plans to launch Bordeaux en primeur offers annually from now on.

‘What we’ve seen at Majestic over the last couple of years is a real desire for customers to get beneath the skin of wine,’ said Cooke.

‘En primeur takes that a step further – and puts customers right in the heart of the winery itself with the opportunity to buy incredible vintages before they’ve even reached the bottle. It turns buying wine into an experience, which is something we really specialise in at Majestic – whether for an individual or as a beautiful gift to lay down for the future.’

Majestic was acquired by Fortress Investment Group in 2019.

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The post Majestic rejoins Bordeaux en primeur with 2021-vintage offers appeared first on Decanter.

Haut-Brion 2021 released en primeur

Château Haut-Brion 2021 was released en primeur at the same price as fellow First Growths Mouton Rothschild and Margaux – €420 per bottle ex-Bordeaux, down 2.8% on last year’s release, according to Liv-ex, a global marketplace for the trade.

With an offer price of £5,100 (12x75cl in bond), data from both Liv-ex and analyst group Wine Lister suggested the new release was broadly in-line or slightly under current market prices for several recent vintages.

Château Haut-Brion 2021 was rated 97 points by Decanter’s Georgie Hindle, again emphasising how barrel samples have indicated that several of top-tier estates made a success out of an altogether tricky Bordeaux vintage.

‘One of the absolute stand out wines in 2021 with an electric appeal almost unrivalled in the vintage,’ Hindle wrote. 

Matthew O’Connell, CEO of LiveTrade at UK-based merchant Bordeaux Index, said there has been demand for Haut-Brion 2021 from collectors this morning (16 June), but the price context of other vintages on the market has perhaps held the wine back from appealing to a wider audience at this stage.

Haut-Brion Blanc 2021 was also released today, and Bordeaux’s dry white wines have received particular praise in this vintage. Liv-ex quoted an ex-Bordeaux release price of €600 per bottle, equal to the 2020-vintage debut, and offer price of £7,320 (12x75cl in bond).

Based on its high ratings, Liv-ex said the wine was among the best value Haut-Brion Blanc vintages on the market. Decanter’s Hindle scored the wine 97 points. 

Les Carmes Haut-Brion 2021: ‘Don’t hesitate’

Getting hold of Les Carmes Haut-Brion isn’t the easiest, and UK merchant Goedhuis & Co was offering the 2021 vintage for £474 (6x75cl in bond) on allocation only.

But, ‘if you can get some, don’t hesitate for a single second’, said analyst group Wine Lister in a note on the Pessac-Léognan estate’s en primeur release.

‘This is the most obvious buy of the campaign,’ it added, highlighting strong quality scores for the 2021 vintage and the estate’s track record of price rises following release.

Les Carmes Haut-Brion actually raised its release price versus last year, up by around 3% to €80.4 per bottle ex-Bordeaux, said Liv-ex.

That translated to an offer price of £948 (12x75cl in bond), but Liv-ex data showed this was significantly cheaper than current prices for 2018, 2019 and 2020 – a trio of good vintages.

‘The new release is one of the best value wines on the market today, though the 2012 and 2017 vintages also offer value,’ Liv-ex said.

Hindle gave Les Carmes Haut-Brion 2021 96 points, ranking it in the upper echelon of red wines in this tricky Bordeaux vintage.

‘A stand-out wine – extremely classy and memorable,’ Hindle wrote. She praised its aromatic complexity, elegance and lift, but also noted, ‘This has a lot of life for the vintage, one of the more full, round wines with chewy, fleshy tannins.’ 

There have been a series of other releases in recent days. Domaine de Chevalier was another big name out this morning alongside the Haut-Brion stable of wines.

Domaine de Chevalier 2021 was rated 94 points by Hindle and was released at €46.8 ex-Bordeaux, unchanged versus 2020, said Liv-ex. The wine was offered at £564 (12x75cl in bond). 

‘Buyers might note remaining availability of the slightly higher-scoring 2020 for the same price,’ Wine Lister said.

On the Right Bank, Château Clinet has been among the releases in the last 48 hours. As a brand ‘on the up’, this was expected to see demand from existing fans of the estate, Lister said.

Clinet 2021 was released at €66 per bottle ex-Bordeaux, level with last year’s release, and it was offered at £792 (12x75cl in bond), said Liv-ex. Its data showed the wine was cheaper than current prices on the 2020 and 2019 vintages.    

Clinett 2021 was rated 95 points by Hindle, who tasted it four times and praised it as ‘round, supple, generous and vibrant on the palate’. 

Snapshot views of the campaign

It’s too early to judge fully, with releases still emerging, but there has been talk of a relatively subdued campaign among a number of merchants in recent weeks.

Some top-tier wines have found buyers, but several releases appeared to have struggled.

This week, Bordeaux Index’s O’Connell also reported buyer interest in First Growths Mouton and Margaux, for example.

Prior to the recent flurry of releases, Georgina Crawley, of UK merchant Goedhuis & Co, told Decanter on Monday (13 June) that it was tough for 2021 following the strong vintages of 2018, 2019 and 2020.

‘We have had a trio of very very strong [vintage] releases and therefore, from a Goedhuis perspective, we’re trying to be incredibly selective this year on the wines we really did think performed, and offer the customer value.’

Thomas Parker MW, buyer at Farr Vintners, reiterated the importance of en primeur wines being cheaper than physically available vintages on the market, particularly if those vintages have higher scores.

‘Most of our customers don’t really see the point in buying the wines en primeur without this incentive,’ he said late last week.

Shaun Bishop, CEO of US merchant JJ Buckley, said on 13 June that en primeur interest had so far been around a third of that seen for the 2019 and 2020 campaigns.

‘Some big brands in the $25-$75 (per bottle) price category are seeing little to no interest at all. However, some individual wines in higher price categories have sold well, like Lafleur, Cheval Blanc, Lafite Rothschild, Lynch-Bages, and Pontet Canet.’

‘It’s not a disaster by any means,’ said Will Hargrove, head of fine wine at Corney & Barrow, when commenting on the campaign. Yet he said collectors considering adding 2021 to their cellars could be weighing up whether it’s better to wait until the wines are in-bottle. ‘I think people are going to like drinking these wines, it’s just a matter of when they buy them.’ 

Bordeaux 2021 en primeur: See our full verdict on the vintage

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Both Mouton and Margaux 2021 were released en primeur at €420 per bottle ex-Bordeaux, down 2.8% on the 2020-vintage debut last year, according to Liv-ex, a global marketplace for the trade.

While the market dynamics vary between these two First Growths, their 2021 grands vins were being sold en primeur as the cheapest of the last four vintages – below current prices on 2018, 2019 and 2020.

Merchants were offering Mouton 2021 and Margaux 2021 at £5,100 (12x75cl in bond).

Initial signs suggested there was buyer interest in both, even if the Bordeaux 2021 en primeur campaign as a whole has been mixed so far.

Decanter’s Georgie Hindle rated Margaux 2021 97 points, putting it among her highest-scoring reds of a tricky vintage. ’Definitely one of the most thrilling and captivating wines of the vintage,’ she wrote.

Analyst group Wine Lister said Château Margaux’s strong appeal and the relative discount versus the previous two vintages might be enough to tempt buyers.

‘Both the 2020 and 2019 vintages have seen their price rise significantly post-release (15% and 57% respectively),’ Lister said.

Its analysis was similar for Mouton 2021, which was released a day earlier on Monday (13 June). It said the price was ‘sensible’, coming in more than 10% below current prices on 2020 and 2019, as well as down on 2018, 2016 and 2015.

Hindle gave Mouton Rothschild 2021 96 points. ‘This has such a sense of quiet confidence – it’s not shouting so much but gently showing off its many layers of fruit, acidity, minerality and freshness,’ she wrote.

Matthew O’Connell, CEO of the LiveTrade platform at UK-based merchant Bordeaux Index, told Decanter that Mouton 2021 was ‘more marginally-priced than Lafite [released last week], for example, but has attracted some demand as being cheaper than recent stronger vintages’.

Farr Vintners was reporting low stocks of Mouton 2021 left on its en primeur offers page.

O’Connell said Margaux 2021 had received ‘some, though not outsized, demand from collectors’, and noted the estate’s ‘particularly strong run quality-wise in recent years, which is helpful’.

Château Cos d’Estournel 2021, meanwhile, ‘was highly priced compared to comparable back vintages and has seen quite a muted response from buyers’, O’Connell said.

Cos d’Estournel was released en primeur at €144 per bottle ex-Bordeaux, down 4% on last year’s opening price, Liv-ex data showed. It was offered at £1,716 (12x75cl in bond).

Wine Lister noted the price for the St-Estèphe estate was slightly below the 2020 vintage but around 8% higher than remaining stocks of the in-bottle 2019. 

Hindle rated Cos d’Estournel 2021 at 95 points, praising its elegance and refinement. ‘Charming and lively, this is sophisticated with a minty, fresh, high-toned fruit profile that is poised and focussed, delivering each element in a straight line right now.’ 

There has been a rush of releases in recent days, as noted in our article last week following the launch of Ausone, Canon and Pichon Comtesse.

Château Haut-Bailly 2021, also rated 95 points by Hindle, was another top name out this morning (14 June). It was released €96 per bottle ex-Bordeaux, level with last year, and offered by merchants at £1,152 (12x75cl in bond).

Liv-ex said volumes released were down 60% versus last year, due to the adverse weather in the 2021 growing season.

Haut-Bailly 2021 is the first vintage from the estate’s new cellars and Decanter’s Hindle praised the wine’s elegance. ‘[It’s] Very much in the style of the vintage with no harshness or overt opulence but instead gives a pure sense of classicism, restraint and refinement,’ she wrote. 

For anyone looking at back-vintages, Liv-ex suggested Haut-Bailly 2019 and 2014 could be worth considering, both cheaper than the 2021, according to its data. 

Bordeaux 2021 en primeur: See our full verdict on the vintage

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Bordeaux 2021 en primeur releases really picked up speed this week, and the launch of Ausone, Pichon Longueville Comtesse de Lalande, Canon, Montrose, Léoville Poyferré, Beychevelle and La Gaffelière in recent days – to name just a few – has given prospective buyers plenty to look at.

Let’s not forget the debut for Lafite Rothschild 2021, too.

Ausone, Canon and Pichon Comtesse 2021

Ausone is St-Emilion wine royalty, of course, and UK merchant Bordeaux Index quoted a release price of £6,000 (12x75cl in bond) this morning.

It will be heavily allocated, wrote Giles Cooper in a blog post for the merchant. ‘Ausone’s release is always small, and has had a notable reduction in yield in 2021.’

Blue-chip names have generally seen good demand on the market recently, too, although there has been a lot of uncertainty about how Bordeaux’s tricky 2021 vintage will be received – particularly following the broadly well-regarded trilogy of 2020, 2019 and 2018.

Decanter’s Georgie Hindle gave Ausone 2021 95 points. ‘Brilliant winemaking for the vintage,’ she wrote.  

Liv-ex, a global marketplace for the trade, quoted an ex-Bordeaux price of €500 per bottle for Ausone 2021, flat versus 2020, and highlighted the relative value offered by Ausone 2019.

Both Chanel-owned Canon and Louis Roederer-owned Pichon Comtesse de Lalande, meanwhile, are among Bordeaux’s historic estates that have a fresh buzz around them on the market in recent years, backed up by critical acclaim following extensive investments in winemaking.

Pichon Comtesse, another estate that saw yields significantly dented by adverse weather, was being offered at £1,608 (12x75cl in bond), according to Liv-ex. A release price of €132 per bottle ex-Bordeaux was unchanged versus 2020.

Separate data from Liv-ex and analyst group Wine Lister showed the 2021 price was significantly under current market price for the top vintages of 2019, 2018 and 2016.

Decanter’s Georgie Hindle rated Pichon Comtesse 2021 at 96 points, level with its 2020 score and two points below 2019 and 2018. 

Hindle said of 2021, ’This is a seriously impressive Comtesse and stands out as one of my favourite wines of the vintage with real promise.’

Given the lower production, ‘anyone looking to add Pichon Comtesse 2021 to their cellar likely needs to buy it now’, said Wine Lister. 

For anyone interested in back-vintages, Liv-ex noted the 2014 vintage looked good value.

Canon had a slightly tougher act to follow after its 2020 vintage was tipped as a potential 100-pointer. Yet the estate also made a success out of the tricky 2021 vintage. ’So elegant and so refined, as well as super stylish,’ wrote Hindle of Canon 2021, giving it 96 points. 

Canon was offered by UK merchants today at £1,080 (12x75cl in bond), said Liv-ex, quoting an ex-Bordeaux price of €90 per bottle, down 6% on last year. That puts the wine significantly below the current price of Canon 2020, 2019, 2016 and 2015, and slightly below 2018, Liv-ex data showed. 

Wine Lister noted Canon’s ‘good will’ among the trade and said it expected the 2021 vintage to sell quickly.

Beychevelle 2021 worth a look

Château Beychevelle 2021, from St-Julien, could draw interest as the cheapest available vintage of the estate, despite increasing its release price slightly versus last year’s campaign.

Hindle gave 94 points to Beychevelle 2021, traditionally a sweet-spot for Decanter and putting it among the success stories in a challenging, heterogenous vintage.

‘Great potential here,’ Hindle wrote, praising the wine’s density, structure and finesse. 

It was released at €58.8 ex-Bordeaux, up 2% on the 2020-vintage opening price, and offered by UK merchants at £706 (12x75cl in bond), according to Liv-ex. 

‘Beychevelle is one of the few châteaux that can justifiably raise its price every year as [the] wine always appreciates post-release, and last year was no exception,’ said Wine Lister. ‘The 2020 has risen by around 15% on the secondary market since release en primeur last year, depending on where you look.’

Selected other en primeur releases

Rauzan-Ségla 2021, Canon’s sister estate in Margaux, also received a 96 points Decanter score. ‘Tasted twice and both times I loved it. Pure and precise with everything you want from a 2021,’ Hindle wrote. 

It was released at €60 per bottle ex-Bordeaux, down 9% on 2020 – one of the biggest year-on-year discounts so far. UK merchants were offering the wine for £720 (12x75cl in bond), below current prices on the prior three vintages, said Liv-ex.

Château Montrose 2021, rated 95 points by Decanter, was another release with an eye-catching discount versus 2020, down more than 10% at €114 per bottle an ex-Bordeaux basis.

At around £1,360 (12x75cl in bond), it sits ‘comfortably below the market prices for 2019 and 2018’, said Bordeaux Index’s Giles Cooper in a note. 

‘It’s good to see a discount of more than 1% on last year’s release price,’ said Wine Lister.

Over on the Right Bank, the merchant also encouraged clients to ‘step on board’ at Le Dôme, released at £1,380 (12x75cl in bond). Le Dôme now has its own winery, designed by Lord Foster’s architecture group, and has been working with highly regarded consultant Thomas Duclos.

Hindle gave Le Dôme 2021 94 points, albeit lower than the prior three vintages. ‘This has depth and persistence, the creamy chalky tannins making their presence known and balancing the rich, concentrated fruits,’ she wrote. 

Also in St-Emilion, La Gaffelière made its en primeur debut – not long after it emerged the well-regarded estate had become the latest to step aside from the upcoming St-Emilion 2022 Classification.

La Gaffelière 2021 was released at €48 per bottle ex-Bordeaux, flat on last year’s release price, said Liv-ex. At £576 (12x75cl in bond), ‘today’s release represents relative value compared to other recent vintages’, it added.

The wine received a Decanter score of 93 points. As with a number of others, this is below the ratings on 2020, 2019 and 2018, but it’s still early days, of course.

Back on the Left Bank, Léoville Poyferré 2021 was also released, having been rated 95 points by Decanter’s Hindle. ‘Beautifully fragranced on the nose – floral-edged ripe bramble fruits,’ she wrote, praising the wine’s ‘well-worked fruit’ and overall poise in the vintage.

Liv-ex quoted a release price of €72 per bottle ex-Bordeaux, equal to the 2020-vintage debut price, and an initial offer by merchants of £860 (12x75cl in bond). It suggested the 2019 vintage looked better value, however.

Bordeaux 2021 en primeur: See our full verdict on the vintage

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Lafite Rothschild 2021 was released at €470 per bottle ex-Bordeaux this morning (7 June) and was being offered en primeur by UK merchants at the equivalent of £5,808 per 12-bottle case in bond, said Liv-ex, a global marketplace for the trade.

Decanter’s Georgie Hindle rated Lafite 2021 at 97 points, a strong performance in one of the more challenging Bordeaux vintages of recent years. ‘Surely a contender for wine of the vintage, certainly on the Left Bank. Vibrant and explosive,’ Hindle wrote.

Last year’s release price earned praise from the trade and early reaction this time suggested the 2021 vintage could also spark interest among prospective en primeur buyers.

‘The new release is the best value [Lafite] on the market today,’ said Liv-ex.

‘Bravo, Lafite,’ said analyst group Wine Lister. ‘This release opens below every single back vintage on the market.’

It said a recommended onward selling price of £484 per bottle (in bond) was around 1% lower than the 2020-vintage opening price, yet Lafite 2021 was coming onto the market around 19% and 27% cheaper than current prices for the 2020 and 2019 vintages respectively.

The First Growth has seen strong momentum on the fine wine market over the past couple of years.

Matthew O’Connell, head of investment at Bordeaux Index and CEO of the merchant’s LiveTrade platform, told Decanter, ‘The Lafite pricing is much more like what we think fits this campaign – constructive versus secondary market prices and offering an appropriately judged incentive to drive demand.’

DBR Lafite-owned L’Evangile in Pomerol was also released today, at €180 per bottle ex-Bordeaux, flat on the 2020-vintage opening price, said Liv-ex. It was being offered by merchants at £2,220 (12x75cl in bond). 

‘Feels nicely complete and one of the larger, more dense wines this vintage,’ wrote Hindle in her tasting note, giving L’Evangile 2021 94 points.

Lafite’s second wine, Carruades de Lafite, has already been released.

Troplong Mondot 2021 released

On the Right Bank, St-Emilion Premier Grand Cru Classé estate Troplong Mondot also released its 2021 vintage en primeur today.

It was being offered at £852 (12x75cl in bond), having been released at €72 per bottle ex-Bordeaux – unchanged on the 2020-vintage opening price, according to Liv-ex.

Decanter’s Hindle gave Troplong Mondot 2021 96 points. She said the wine may not have the weight of more opulent vintages, but it’s extremely refined. ‘So much energy here, the flavours come in waves on the palate, red fruits, cooling blue fruits, exotic spices, flowers and fresh minty, stone notes with a real mineral salinity on the finish.’

Liv-ex highlighted a number of alternative vintages that buyers might wish to consider, including the 2019 wine.

Wine Lister said of Troplong 2021, ‘The wider campaign context might make this a tough sell, however since Lafite may have injected some momentum this morning, it could work on the basis of Troplong’s clear upward quality trajectory.’ 

It’s the first vintage produced in the Château’s new cellars, allowing for greater precision during winemaking.

Bordeaux 2021 en primeur: See our full verdict on the vintage

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Château Lafleur 2021 was released in the Bordeaux en primeur campaign this morning (27 May) at the equivalent of £6,508 (12x75cl in bond), according to Liv-ex.

This sought-after Pomerol label, produced from a vineyard of just 4.5 hectares, is often sold in smaller quantities and sometimes only on allocation.

UK merchant Justerini & Brooks was offering three-bottle cases of Lafleur 2021 for £1,627 in bond at the time of writing.

Decanter’s Georgie Hindle gave Lafleur 2021 97 points, naming it her top Pomerol wine in an uneven Bordeaux vintage.

‘An exceptional success in 2021 and surely one of the best wines of the vintage,’ she said in her Lafleur tasting note, which formed part of her in-depth verdict on Bordeaux 2021 en primeur wines.

Both Liv-ex and analyst group Wine Lister said Lafleur 2021 represents good value for those lucky enough to get hold of an allocation. 

Liv-ex said the UK release price was up by 3% versus the 2020-vintage debut offer, but added Lafleur 2020 has nearly doubled in price since en primeur.

Lafleur has seen strong momentum on the fine wine market in recent years and it has developed a reputation for significant price increases on the secondary market following release.

Wine Lister said, ‘Due to Lafleur’s consistent and impressive price performance post-release, the 2021 comes to market comfortably under what little stock remains of the last six vintages.’

There was no 2020 left on the market and the 2019 vintage has more than doubled in price since release, it added.

More high-profile wines have made their debuts in the Bordeaux 2021 en primeur campaign in the past week, including Châteaux Angélus and Palmer.

Many big names are still to release their wines. Merchants have generally been expecting a smaller campaign, due in part to the trickier nature of the vintage, but several estates have nevertheless found demand.

Château Palmer 2021, another success story with 96 points, was released at £2,844 (12x75cl in bond) in the UK.

Matthew O’Connell, CEO of the LiveTrade platform at Bordeaux Index, told Decanter on Tuesday (24 May), ‘This is a name with good momentum at present (aided by their 2018) and that has seen good buying this morning for the en primeur release.’

Bordeaux 2021 en primeur: See our full verdict on the vintage

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Château Angélus 2021 was released en primeur at €265 per bottle ex-Bordeaux, according to Liv-ex, up by around 2% on the 2020-vintage opening price. Merchants were offering Angélus 2021 for £3,120 (12x75cl in bond).

Decanter’s Georgie Hindle scored Angélus 2021 95 points, praising its ‘exceptional finesse’. She said the wine represents an excellent effort, following a Bordeaux 2021 growing season that presented many weather challenges.

This vintage of Angélus contains a record proportion of Cabernet Franc, making up 60% of the blend.

Bordeaux 2021 en primeur: See our full verdict on the vintage

Analyst group Wine Lister said the release was around 2% below the current price of the 2018 vintage, although prices varied by merchant.

Commenting on the price, Matthew O’Connell, CEO of LiveTrade at Bordeaux Index, said the release was likely to appeal more to keen followers of the Château, rather than drive wider buying at this stage.

Angélus follows top St-Emilion wines Cheval Blanc and Pavie in joining a Bordeaux en primeur campaign that is beginning to gather pace. 

Palmer and Pontet-Canet 2021 released

Château Palmer 2021 debuted on Tuesday (24 May) at €240 per bottle ex-Bordeaux, level with the 2020-vintage opening price but with 30% less volume released this year, according to Liv-ex.

UK merchants were offering the wine for £2,844 (12x75cl in bond), which Liv-ex said was slightly above the price of Palmer 2019 and 2016 but significantly below the 2018 price.  

Decanter’s Georgie Hindle gave Palmer 2021 96 points, putting the biodynamic estate among the top successes of a difficult vintage for Bordeaux in general.

‘It may be less glamorous and overtly plush and seductive than bigger previous vintages but I love the classicism on show – a focus, precision and sophistication,’ Hindle wrote.

Bordeaux Index recently highlighted Château Palmer as one of several Bordeaux ‘super second’ estates that enjoyed strong trading momentum on its LiveTrade platform in 2021. 

Another biodynamic estate, Pauillac-based Château Pontet-Canet, also released its 2021 vintage on Tuesday. Farr Vintners and Bordeaux Index were selling the wine for £890 (12x75cl in bond).

Decanter rated Pontet-Canet 2021 95 points. ‘If you love Pontet, and classic Pauillac claret, this is an impressive reference point,’ Hindle wrote in her in-depth tasting note.

Wine lister quoted a UK release price of around £74.17 per bottle in bond, similar to the 2020-vintage opening price. Pontet-Canet 2019 debuted at £60 per bottle but has risen in price by around 50-60% since release, Lister said.

Léoville Barton and Léoville-Las Cases make debut

Château Léoville Barton 2021, released Monday (23 May), was being offered by Farr Vintners and Bordeaux Index at £669 (12x75cl in bond).

The wine was rated 94 points by Decanter. ‘I like this a lot,’ wrote Decanter’s Georgie Hindle in her tasting note. ‘Smooth and silky tannins give the gentle frame, letting the strawberry, creamy raspberry and red cherry fruit do the talking,’ she wrote. 

It marks the final vintage produced at the estate prior to the passing of the highly respected Anthony Barton. 

O’Connell at Bordeaux Index said the significance of the vintage for the estate, plus a ‘reasonably well-judged price’ on release, ‘has led to good demand’.

Wine Lister said, ‘An opening price of £55.71 [per bottle, in bond] for 2021 comes below market prices of five of the six preceding vintages’. 

Léoville-Las Cases 2021 was released at €169 per bottle ex-Bordeaux, down by nearly 15% on the opening price of the 2020 vintage, according to Liv-ex, a global marketplace for the trade. It said international merchants were offering the wine for £1,950 (12x75cl in bond).

‘A brilliant Las Cases in 2021,’ wrote Hindle in her tasting note for Decanter Premium subscribers. She gave the wine 95 points.

Liv-ex said buyers looking for physical vintages might be interested in the 2014 wine, available at around a 32% discount to the new release.

Langoa Barton 2021, rated 93 points by Decanter, was also released at €29.4 per bottle ex-Bordeaux – level with the 2020 debut price, Lister added. Bordeaux Index offered the wine for £355 (12x75cl in bond).

The wine will eventually be bottled with a special label to mark 200 years of Barton family ownership.

Among other releases, Château La Lagune 2021 made its debut. Hindle described the wine as a ‘stellar effort’ in the vintage. Rating the wine 92 points, she said, ‘It’s certainly on the more delicate side, but this has such vivacious energy and will be lovely to enjoy soon.’

It was being offered at £320 (12x75cl in bond), according to Liv-ex, having been released around 2% up on the opening price for 2020, on an ex-Bordeaux basis (€ per bottle).

Updated on 24 May to include details of Château Palmer’s release. Original article published on 23 May.

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The post Angélus, Palmer, Léoville Barton join 2021 en primeur releases appeared first on Decanter.

Cheval Blanc 2021 was released en primeur this morning (19 May) at €390 per bottle ex-Bordeaux, up by around 3% on the 202o-vintage opening price last year.

Liv-ex said the new release was still cheaper on the market than the well-regarded vintage trio of 2018, 2019 and 2020. UK merchants offered the 2021 wine at £4,740 (12x75cl in bond), it said.

It marks another relatively early release for Cheval Blanc, with this year’s Bordeaux en primeur campaign just getting started.

Cheval Blanc 2021 was rated 96 points by Decanter’s Georgie Hindle, positioning it as one of the success stories from a challenging and heterogeneous Bordeaux 2021 vintage.

‘A fantastic effort from the team and winemaker Pierre-Olivier Clouet,’ Hindle wrote in her in-depth tasting note on Cheval Blanc 2021.

‘An obvious buy’

Analyst group Wine Lister said, ‘Although prices need to be down on 2020 [en primeur releases] as a general rule, Cheval Blanc is one of the few wines that can get away with a small rise thanks to market performance.’

With a recommended onward selling price of £395 per bottle (in bond), ‘the 2021 is an obvious buy’, Wine Lister said.

It said the release price was around 28% lower than current prices for the top vintages of 2019, 2018, 2016 and 2015.

David Roberts MW, buying director at Goedhuis & Co, told Decanter, ‘In terms of quality and style Cheval Blanc is one of the great Right Bank successes of the vintage and the property is a Goedhuis favourite.’

In the context of back-vintage prices – and with 2020 more expensive than on release – he said 2021 represented ‘an extremely attractive offer’.

Cheval Blanc’s second wine, Petit Cheval, was released at €132 per bottle ex-Bordeaux.

Pavie 2021 released

Yesterday also saw the launch of Château Pavie 2021, meaning two of the Premier Grand Cru Classé A estates from St-Emilion’s 2012 Classification have now released their wines.

Château Pavie was released by UK merchants at £2,784 (12x75cl in bond), Liv-ex said. Pavie’s ex-Bordeaux release price was €234 per bottle, down 2.5% on the 2020-vintage release.

Roberts at Goedhuis said, ‘We were hugely impressed by the quality of the 2021 Pavie, arguably our favourite from the Château for a number of years. We have a select but loyal following for Pavie, and this year’s price reduction has been positively received.’

This price dip is in-line with general projections for the Bordeaux 2021 en primeur campaign in a Liv-ex survey published this month.

Join Decanter Premium today to enjoy full access to in-depth tasting notes on the latest releases from the 2021 vintage, coming very soon.

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First impressions of the Bordeaux 2021 vintage

The post Cheval Blanc 2021 released en primeur: ‘an obvious buy’ appeared first on Decanter.

More than 71% of international merchants said they anticipated less demand for Bordeaux 2021 en primeur wines, in volume terms, versus the 2020 vintage released last year, said Liv-ex, a global marketplace for the trade.

Barrel sample tastings at the end of April indicated that several châteaux have still made very good wines in the 2021 vintage and that there is plenty to enjoy if you know where to look, despite myriad weather-related challenges in the growing season.

Yet more than half of Liv-ex survey respondents said they expected to see demand drop by at least 20% in volume during this year’s en primeur campaign, versus last year.

Less wine is likely to be released en primeur this year, Liv-ex added.

Bordeaux’s 2021 harvest was around 20% smaller than the 10-year average, although not all areas were affected equally.

Coming soon on Decanter Premium: Our full Bordeaux 2021 en primeur verdict with tasting notes and scores on top wines

Alongside scores, tasting notes and release volumes, all eyes will be on release prices in the coming days and weeks.

Liv-ex asked its international merchant members to predict pricing ranges on a core basket of wines.

Release prices always vary, but they were expected to drop by around 2.7% on average versus the 2020-vintage en primeur campaign, on an ex-Bordeaux basis (€ per bottle), Liv-ex said.

If the predictions prove correct, prices for 2021 wines would still be significantly above the 2019-vintage campaign in general.

Some top estates cut prices on their 2019 wines, released in the first summer of 2020 after the beginning of the pandemic, although many have risen in price on the market since en primeur.

Each estate sets its own en primeur pricing strategy and contextual factors can also have an impact, such as the availability of back-vintages and a château’s quality trajectory or momentum on the market.

Among early releases, Château Batailley and Lafite Rothschild’s second wine, Carruades de Lafite, were both praised by UK merchants after their 2021 wines emerged as the cheapest available vintage on the market.

Join Decanter Premium today to enjoy full access to in-depth tasting notes on the latest releases from the 2021 vintage, coming very soon.

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The post Bordeaux 2021 en primeur set for lower demand appeared first on Decanter.

The Conseil Interprofessionnel du Vin de Bordeaux (CIVB) revealed that the Bordeaux 2021 vintage was 20% below the region’s 10-year average.

Bud burst came earlier than usual amid very sunny weather in March, and many young buds were then destroyed by severe frosts, which hammered the region in early April.

It means that producers will have just 503 million bottles from the 2021 vintage, which is significantly below average.

The region’s sweet whites, including Sauternes, suffered the sharpest year-on-year declines, with this category down 51%.

Yet climatic conditions were perfect for promoting the growth of Botrytis cinerea, and producers reported high levels of acidity and concentration, so the quality should be high.

The red wine harvest started at the end of September, which was much later than in recent years. Bordeaux was bathed in the sunniest October since 1991, allowing Cabernet Sauvignon and Cabernet Franc to reach full ripeness in ideal conditions.

The harvest was down by just 6% year-on-year in the Médoc, which accounted for 15% of total production, with 565,000hl. However, the situation was bleaker for red wine from the Right Bank, as combined yields for St-Emilion, Pomerol and Fronsac fell by 21% year-on-year.

Further down the Left Bank, producers in Graves reported a 25% decline in production compared to 2020.

Production of Bordeaux and Bordeaux Supérieur dropped 15% to 1.65 million hl, accounting for 55% of production, while Côtes de Bordeaux was down 14% to 480,000hl.

Dry white production declined by 15%, but rosé was down just 3% and Crémant de Bordeaux is up 1% versus 2020.

Prof. Laurence Geny and Prof. Axel Marchal of the oenology research unit at the Institut des Sciences de la Vigne et du Vin de l’Université de Bordeaux, gave a succinct report on the 2021 vintage: ‘Exceptional dry whites, rare but remarkable sweet wines and uniform quality for the reds.’

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