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Some of Bordeaux’s top winemakers have slashed prices for their latest vintage of yet-to-be-bottled wines by more than 30 per cent in a further blow to a centuries-old market as wealthy investors step back from fine wine purchases.
A poor quality harvest last year due to heavy rainfall and cooler temperatures, a large amount of higher quality bottled wine already available on the market and a lack of interest among younger collectors have all made this year’s so-called en primeur campaign a particularly tough one for the French region’s producers.
The system, which dates back to the 18th century and centres on an annual spring festival, offers Bordeaux’s best wines for sale before bottling via local dealers, known as négociants, for delivery a year or more later. Popularised in the late 1970s, it once offered the best way to gain access to wines in high demand before they rose in price.
But less interest in fine wine among the younger generation of wealthy investors and declining alcohol consumption have all hit demand. Consultancy Bain says that 65 per cent of drinkers in the top 10 consumer markets are moderating their alcohol intake.
In April, two of the best-known producers, Lafite Rothschild and Angélus, both released their priciest 2024 red wines at 31 per cent discounts to 2023’s vintage. Lafite’s is priced at €288 per bottle wholesale while Angélus’s is €180. Both are the lowest prices since 2014.
Many in the industry are now questioning the viability of the system in Bordeaux.
“If en primeur offers value then it is a valid sales model,” said Ella Lister at consultants Wine Lister. “But it’s just that [recently] en primeur has not done so.”
Prices have fallen sharply in recent years. An index of the 10 most recent vintages of five top Bordeaux producers compiled by wine exchange Liv-ex has declined almost 27 per cent in sterling terms in the two years to March.
With so much matured wine now available at similar or lower prices, many wealthy collectors have shied away from the 2024 vintage that has been offered en primeur since last month. Last year’s en primeur sales for the better-rated 2023 vintage also struggled.
“The major theme is that most investors [in Bordeaux wine] no longer need to buy and hold [en primeur] for the long term, given the stocks of back vintages available,” said Chloe Ashton, of 1275 Fine Wine in Switzerland, a merchant and adviser to wealthy collectors.
“High-end claret buyers everywhere have drastically reduced their volumes,” she added.
Bordeaux is also facing increased competition from other wine-growing regions. Both Burgundy in France and other countries such as Italy and the US have grabbed market share. In 2014, Bordeaux accounted for well over half of the trade in fine wine, according to Liv-ex. Last year, that proportion had dropped to about a quarter.
Last year’s poor harvest, as the region’s climate changes, did not help.
“It’s a really tough time to sell these wines. This is not an unmissable vintage,” said wine critic Jane Anson.
Merchants hoping for a positive reaction from buyers to the lower prices have so far been disappointed.
“It’s very challenging now, the most I’ve ever known,” said Miles Davis, fine wine consultant at merchant Vinum Fine Wines. “The worst [market] in at least 20 years.”
