En primeur: "encouraging signs" from first chateaux to release prices

By Arabella Mileham

Published: 27 April, 2015

One of Chateau Lafite's subsidiary châteaux became the first to release prices for en primeur 2014 - and the signs are "encouraging", according to fine wine specialists.

One of Château Lafite's subsidiary châteaux became the first to released prices for en primeur 2014 - and the signs are "encouraging", according to fine wine specialists.

Château Duhart-Milon, a fourth growth chateau that is owned by the Lafite Rothschild family and managed by the same team as its better-known sibling, released prices on Friday that were down 12.5% on 2013. The 2014 price of €42 per bottle recorded a 20.8% fall since 2012, Liv-ex noted.

The fine wine market experts said this was an "encouraging sign" as the offer price for 2014 was lower than the current market price of any of the previous ten vintages. It is currently being offered to UK merchants at £400, - down 23.1% on the 2012 London open price of £520 and down 30.4% on the 2013 figures of £575.

"With a higher critic score than the 2011, 2012 and 2013 which are currently available at a similar level, it appears to offer relative value for buyers," Liv-ex said.

Vin-X's senior business manager Richard Boyle noted the Château Duhart-Milon price would have been sanctioned by the "top echelons" at Château Lafite and said this could be a " portent of prices to follow".

"We now await to see if the other top châteaux follow suit in which case we could witness the most exciting campaign since 2010," he said.

Another key releases on Friday was L'Evangile, at €90 ex-negociant. This was down 10% on the 2012 and 2013 release price, which Liv-ex noted was a price to both vintages, but better scored.

Fine wine investments specialists have argued that price is key to this year's en primeur to re-establish trust between wary investors and consumers and the châteaux, negociants and courtiers after high prices last year.

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