Domaine de Chevalier 2020 red was on sale en primeur this morning (3 June) for around £565 per 12-bottle case in bond, with the white at £797.
Decanter’s Jane Anson gave the Chevalier 2020 red wine 95 points, describing it as ‘easily among the best Pessac’ wines of the vintage.
She also rated the Chevalier 2020 white wine at 95 points. ‘An excellent white with precision, flesh and confidence, sure to age well,’ she wrote.
Liv-ex said the red wine’s release price made it 14% more expensive than the current market price for the Chevalier 2019 vintage, also scoring 95 points en primeur.
The 2020 red is cheaper than the 2018 vintage, scoring 96 with Anson, but Liv-ex said buyers looking for value in back-vintages might wish to consider the highly rated 2016 vintage.
On an ex-Bordeaux basis, the Chevalier red was released at €46.8 per bottle, 18% up on the 2019 release price.
The Chevalier white wine was released at €66 per bottle ex-Bordeaux, up by 14% on the 2019 release price. Liv-ex said the UK merchant price (ex-London) was around 10% higher than the current market price of the lower-scoring 2019 vintage.
There have been signs this week that the Bordeaux 2020 en primeur releases campaign is picking up a bit of pace, after a lull following the initial burst from St-Emilion estates.
Bordeaux 2020 prices vs 2019
It’s very early days in the campaign, although several châteaux have increased prices to varying degrees versus the 2019 vintage releases last year.
Whether or not a wine sells, however, can depend heavily on the scores and market dynamics of the particular estate, including the availability and ratings of other recent vintages – not just 2019.
Many 2019 en primeur releases, delayed due to the Covid-19 pandemic, also saw big discounts versus the 2018 vintage en primeur campaign.
Gazin 2020 released
Over in Pomerol, Gazin was released today at €56 per bottle ex-Bordeaux, up by 11% on the 2019 release price.
‘I love this, extremely classic Gazin, which has depth and pep, and a jaunty feel to the black fruits,’ wrote Anson, who rated Gazin 2020 at 94 points.
Liv-ex said merchants were selling Gazin 2020 for £673 (12x 75cl in bond), around the 7% above the current market price of the 93-point Gazin 2019 and broadly level with the estate’s 94-point 2018 vintage.
Liv-ex noted that the 94-point Gazin 2016 was cheaper than the new en primeur release and could be interesting for buyers seeking wines already in the bottle.
Lafleur in Pomerol and Beychevelle in St-Julien have been among the major releases of this week so far, both highly praised for the quality of their 2020 wines.
Other releases have included Chateau Lascombes 2020, rated 92 points by Anson and being sold for around £600 (12x 75cl in bond), up slightly on the 2019 price.
Ormes de Pez 2020, rated 93 points – equal to 2019 and 2018 – was released at around £225 (12x 75cl in bond), 7% above the current market price of 2019, according to Liv-ex.
