'Correct' Barton release price has merchants worried May 23, 2007
Oliver Styles
Allocations of Chateau Leoville-Barton were released today with its price prompting both fear and understanding among UK wine merchants.
The release price of their 2006 offering – situated midway between that of 2004 and 2005 at just under £400 a case – seemed excessive on paper, said observers, but was justified in the context of previous Barton releases.
Tom Mann at London-based Bordeaux Index said that although on paper the price seemed excessive, owner Anthony Barton 'had been underpricing for years.'
'When you see what the market has done [to the price of Barton wines], you can understand that they yield to commercial pressures, as it were,' he said.
Stephen Browett at Farr Vintners agreed.
'It seems excessive, but when you look at the current price of the '04 the release price is correct,' he said. 'The '04 was reasonably priced on release and is now selling for much more.'
However, merchants are worried that Barton's stance could influence the rest of Bordeaux. Browett said that 'blinkered' negociants and brokers might see Barton as 'setting the standard'.
'The price is right for Leoville-Barton, but not for others,' he added.
Adam Brett-Smith at Corney and Barrow said, 'As long as this is specific to Leoville and Langoa Barton, I think it's fine. We sold out of our allocation in three hours, so he must have got it right. But if the pricing is used by the rest of Bordeaux as a template, that would be unfortunate.'
Further exasperation was aired by the merchants when quizzed about the sluggish nature of the 2006 campaign.
'What's more annoying than anything is the lack of speed,' Mann said. 'It's June and we've only had two releases of note. I think producers are very very worried about where to put their prices and there's the usual nonsense about saving face and not pricing less than your neighbour.'
Brett-Smith said that this was a campaign that would benefit from being 'early and fast' but that producers may well be waiting for Vinexpo in June to benefit from 'better-tasting' wines and a higher Bordeaux profile in the media. His position, however, was clear.
'Interest will not grow by people being kept waiting,' he said. 'They are trying people's patience.'
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A lot of hemming and hawing in that article by merchants. The 2006 Barton is overpriced, especially to Americans, and simply not a good value this year. Unfortunate, as its always on my buy list. Not this year. See you at the "sales" bin in 2010 or so.
A. Skroback, New York City, USA
Typically, and with characteristic aplomb, Anthony Barton has got the timing and level of his 2006 release prices absolutely spot on - prompting the first rush to buy in an otherwise almost entirely stagnant en primeur campaign. That he has released so early in the campaign is also very interesting - and flies in the face of the long-standing tradition that the classed growths release in some kind of self-appointed order of status (and price). Indeed, it surely indicates a certain frustration at the overly protracted nature of the campaign to date - which really needs to be concluded by the start of Vinexpo later this month and which now looks set, as a consequence, to become highly concertinaed towards the end. Yet merchants and brokers are right to be anxious about the broader implications of Barton releasing his wines at around the current market value of the 2004s. For, if Barton releases at this kind of level (half way between the 2004 and 2005 release prices), they will surmise, others are likely to release rather closer to their 2005 levels. It is the potential signal to the rest of the Bordeaux market that Barton is giving, or is likely to be seen to give, that worries merchants. There is, of course, a certain irony about this. For, as they are well aware, it would be churlish indeed of any them to chastice Barton, of all people. for overly-inflated prices. Almost alone amongst major Bordeaux proprietors he has held out for sensible, customer-oriented pricing and has backed that up, year after, by releasing at well below the level of clearly comparable chateaux. As a consequence, his wines have, in recent years, increased very significantly in price on the secondary market (as I show in the next issue of Decanter). And the same will almost certainly happpen again this year - with the effect that, once again, a case of Leoville Barton '06 this time next year will be worth far more than its current release price. Needless to say, none of that increase on the secondary market makes it way back to Chateaux Leoville and Langoa Barton.
Colin Hay, Professor of Political Analysis, University of Birmingham, UK
Bordeaux 2006 - why are we waiting...?
We fully agree with sentiments expressed by Tom Mann of Bordeaux Index. About a month ago my boss, Tuggy Meyer spoke to the head of the U.G.C. about pushing back the dates of the U.G.C. tastings in Bordeaux as it seemed ridiculous that all the merchants and journalists had to traipse out to Bordeaux at the beginning of April, but here we are approaching the end of May and hardly any properties have released their prices! Also, we both noticed that many wines tasted a touch better in London some 3 weeks later.
Tuggy says that if the Bordelais and Châteaux owners themselves are lacking the proverbial balls to release a market price on their wine until they have heard Robert Parker's score in early May, why as early as the 2nd of April do we go to taste out of barrel?
It appears Gruaud-Larose (a very good wine at a more than fair price in 2006) was the only one who had the confidence to reveal their price on the 2nd May and not worry about its neighbours. Some more than 3 weeks later we are still to be advised of the prices of even some little league Cru Bourgeois! This to me is ludicrous, absolutely ridiculous. Haut-Médoc Cru Bourgeois will be a tough sell for 2006, why make it harder? With the shorter margins that an En Primeur campaign provides, this prolonged period does have a somewhat detrimental effect on day to day trade. Some merchants are seriously contemplating “do I actually need this?”
I have since spoken to many people (U.G.C.; Châteaux owners; négoçiants; London merchants; U.K. merchants and private customers even) and everyone to a man has agreed that this campaign is unnecessarily long.
Admittedly, there are certain constraints with the timing of Easter each year but we now know this well in advance so if a given campaign can be shifted one week later one year and three weeks later the next year, if it is to everyone's perceivable advantage, why not do so?
The response from the U.G.C. was somewhat diplomatic and expressing words to the affect “I agree with you but we aren't intending to do anything about it.”
Personally, I think this needs one renowned Château owner in each of the major communes to say that this campaign is run a little too loose knit over too long a period and they should therefore try and garner interest from fellow wine makers and if in agreement endeavour to make the En Primeur campaign neater, more concise and possibly more profitable for the trade. My customers found (and regularly expressed) that the 2005 campaign was extremely tiresome (24th of April through August) and for the 2006, which was really only selectively good, any unnecessary delay now is simply irritating for customer and trade alike.
Edward Stafford-Deitsch & Tuggy Meyer
Perhaps of more interest is the pricing of the Langoa. Nearly all critics and vintners are saying this is one to watch so is there any question as to the price for 2006? May be there is when you consider the 2004 could be bought for £198 on release and the 2006 is £300. So is it really that much better than the 2004 - or have the growers become 'canny' and are trying to reap some of the after market increase for themselves?
Chris Day, Cleveland
Chris Day is right to point to the significance of the Langoa price. However, what is perhaps most interesting about this is that, whilst in 2005 the prices of Langoa and Leoville closed up, in 2006 the price differential between them has returned to its level in 2004. In 2004, Leoville was released in the UK at £238, Langoa at £180. In 2005, Leoville was released at £495 (an increase of 107%) whilst Langoa rose to £411 per case (a rather larger increase of 128%). Clearly the Bartons were seeking to position the two wines more closely in the market. Yet this hasn't really worked, with Leoville '05 attracting rather more attention than its sibling. It has risen signicantly on the secondary market over the last year whilst Langoa has increased far less. The 2006 release prices reflect the failure of this repositioning - with Langoa and Leoville released at 64% more than their 2004 release prices. Their former relative positions, it seems, have now been restored.
Professor Colin Hay
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A lot of hemming and hawing in that article by merchants. The 2006 Barton is overpriced, especially to Americans, and simply not a good value this year. Unfortunate, as its always on my buy list. Not this year. See you at the "sales" bin in 2010 or so.
