Decanter World Wine Awards
Bordeaux 2010: America baulks at 2010 prices
- Wednesday 15 June 2011
JJ Buckley: some wines not compelling enough
As has been the case with previous vintages, the market for the blue chip wines seems solid, but wines a bit further down the pecking order are struggling.
The first growths and their Right Bank equivalents ‘will sell at any price’, Chris Adams of importer Sherry Lehman in New York said.
But the problem is in the mid range, ‘where wines that used to be $50-$60 a few years ago now come out between $100-120.’ The poor euro-dollar exchange rate compounds this problem, he added.
Too many wines are reaching ‘dangerous’ price levels, Shaun Bishop of JJ Buckley in California said. ‘I think people really do want to buy the wines, but too few wines in this campaign so far offer compelling prices for what the consumer expects to be in the bottle.’
Both Adams and Bishop expressed dismay at the 2010 price of Chateau Smith Haut Lafitte, for example. The respected Pessac Leognan property came out at €77 and is retailing at over €100 a bottle.
Still, potential 100-point Parker wines, such as Chateau Pontet Canet, will sell, regardless of the price increases, Bishop predicted.
‘We sold 30% more of Pontet Canet at a higher price in 2010 in the first two days since its release than we did of the 2009 in the first two days of its release,’ said Bishop.
Long-time Washington DC importer Elliot Staren of Wide World of Wines said that he is buying less this year. ‘We are buying so far, but being much more selective.’
Have your say!
Jeremy Archer
June 23 16:06
I am remarkably surprised to hear that buying from Negociants is so common, amongst the name-dropping of Ascot. Having spoken to quite a few Negociants and trying to secure direct allocations for my Asian clients I find it incredible that there would be offers direct to private clients. I've found dealing with merchants far less stressful than dealing with Negociants!
nickma
June 20 22:56
End users (private customers) able to buy direct from negociants rather than merchants?
News to me. You would at least need to prove that you are VAT registered to do so according to a reputable source, which surely rather undermines the tax free status of the purchase, since it characterises you as a trader.
Why is the US 3 tier distribution a good thing? Should I be more concerned about shippers, distributors and retailers all 'surviving' aka taking a bite for handling wines that are increasingly commoditised, than a competitive price in market context?
Bartholomew Broadbent
June 19 04:21
As I was sitting in the White's tent during Royal Ascot this week, listening to some Englishman talking to my father, Michael Broadbent, about all the offers he is receiving for Bordeaux, I realized part of the problem. He is able to buy direct from the same source, at the same price, that his most likely retailer, Berry Bros, is able to buy from.
The problem is that some of, if not all, of these negociants are sending the same offers to both the trade and the end consumer.
Most States in the US are mandated to use a three tier system: an importer, who sells to a distributor, who sells to a retailer. Each takes a mark up to survive.
Yet, when I see that a person who should be buying from a retailer [three markups later] can buy direct from the original negociant that I, the first step in the three tiers, has to buy from, why on earth would I bother to deal in the Bordeaux category?
The Chateaux are basically retailing their wines. All the more power to them if they can survive. However, I don't see it as viable long term in such a competitive world of wine.
jwide
June 17 19:11
I have to laugh when I hear chateau owners say things like "America is back in the market for Bordeaux", which is a sentiment that I've heard regularly since the futures campaign for the 2009s. A quick look at the futures reports on www.CellarTracker.com (click on the "reports" link at the top of the page), shows that none of the futures campaigns since 2005 has been very successful.