Bordeaux En Primeur 2022 ‘a missed opportunity’
The fine wine marketplace Liv-ex described Bordeaux En Primeur 2022 as ‘a missed opportunity’ in its latest report, due, in large part, to exceedingly high critic scores.
As a result of the positive press, price hikes were predicted going into the campaign – Liv-ex members estimated a 7% year-on-year increase, though the reality was much starker, with ex-London prices (the price UK trade sells to private clients) up 20.8% on average from 2021.
According to the Bordeaux En Primeur 2022 Liv-ex report, this scepticism around price is rooted in the 2021 campaign, when wines were largely released at the same price as in the 2020s, despite lower critic scores.
2020 was itself priced 27% higher than 2019, despite lower scores on average, which halted the positive momentum generated from a strong 2019 campaign.
The bullish price hikes for 2022 meant that while some wines were cleverly priced to offer relative value and thus sold well, others simply got it wrong and saw their sales suffer.
Château Angélus, for example, was released at £4,296 per 12x75, up 37.7% year-on-year. The wine has already traded 6.8% below its release price on the secondary market. Château Troplong Mondot was released at £1,224 per 12x75, up 43.7% on the 2021 release price. This wine was last traded at £1,050, 14.2% below its release price on the secondary market.
The quality of the vintage means 2022 can be seen as a missed opportunity, but buyers do not only consider quality, and many have competing demands on their capital, especially with interest rates rising.
What is clear from this campaign is that the volumes sold were sacrificed due to price increases. Collectors were deterred by the costs, knowing that they could acquire comparable vintages with a few years of bottle age for less than the 2022 release. Furthermore, the wide availability of 2018, 2019, and 2020 vintages contributed to this perception. As a result, sales of the 2022 vintage fell short of 2020 in both value and volume.
Justin Gibbs, Liv-ex’s deputy chairman and exchange director said: "The excitement surrounding the 2022 vintage at the UGC tastings was infectious. The quality of the wines, unquestionable. Sadly, the campaign, born out of pricing that made little sense in the context of the broader market, failed to live up to expectations."
Keywords:
Search
56-58 Church Walk, Burgess Hill, West Sussex, RH15 9AN
Registered in England No. 6646125. VAT No. 938 4452 95
