Bordeaux 2023 market analysis: ‘Brilliant’ Pichon Comtesse down 35%
Highly-rated wines from Left Bank heavyweights Château Pichon Comtesse and Château Palmer have reignited the second half of this year’s Bordeaux en primeur campaign in what is expected to be a big week of releases.
Château Pichon Longueville Comtesse de Lalande 2023 has released at a discount of more than 30% versus on its 2022-vintage en primeur offering from last year.
Rated highly by Decanter and others, this could be one to watch in what is expected to be a busy few days of releases in the Bordeaux en primeur campaign – following a pause last week due to Vinexpo Asia.
In the nearby Margaux appellation, top-rated Château Palmer 2023 also emerged on Monday afternoon (3 June), although the wine appeared to be more expensive than several back-vintages.
Four new releases on Monday:
- Château Pichon Comtesse 2023: 98pts (Decanter) | €110 per bottle ex-négociant, down 35.3% versus 2022 | UK price £1,320 per 12x75cl in bond (IB)
- Château Palmer 2023: 98pts | €240 per bottle, down 18.6% | UK price £2,880 (12x75cl IB)
- Château Branaire-Ducru 2023: 95pts | €32 per bottle, down 19.2% | UK price £386 (12x75cl IB)
- Château Phélan Ségur 2023: 95pts | €31.2 per bottle, down 16.1% | UK price £370 (12x75cl IB)
Price data source: Liv-ex
Update: More releases emerged on Tuesday morning (4 June), including Pichon Baron and Pavie. See our separate article on the Tuesday releases here.
See Decanter’s full verdict on the Bordeaux 2023 vintage, plus ratings and tasting notes on the top-scoring wines
Pichon Comtesse 2023 released
Decanter’s Bordeaux correspondent, Georgie Hindle, rated Pichon Comtesse 2023 98-points, putting it among the top wines of the vintage and matching the in-barrel score for Pichon Comtesse 2022.
‘One of a number of brilliant Pauillac wines in 2023,’ Hindle wrote. ‘This smells divine; lovely lush blackcurrant and black cherry characters on the nose with pencil led, graphite, liquorice and menthol elements – very Pauillac on the nose.’
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UK merchant Farr Vintners was particularly enthusiastic: ‘If you are thinking of buying only one Left Bank “super second” in 2023 then this is probably the one.’
With a UK price of £1,320 (12x75cl IB), the merchant said the wine is ‘significantly less than other top vintages [from the estate] and well below the prices of rival properties Léoville Las Cases, Cos d’Estournel and Ducru Beaucaillou – despite having higher scores’.
Alex Turnbull, head of private client and online sales at UK merchant Jeroboams, told Decanter: ‘Early signs are that this price reduction is being received very positively by clients. Having had a week of virtually no releases, [Pichon Comtesse] has reignited the en primeur fire.’
Liv-ex reported that Pichon Comtesse 2023 volumes released en primeur were down 20% versus the 2022 vintage.
While it acknowledge the new wine is ‘less expensive than many other vintages currently available,’ it also said that the 2015 and 2019 wines were available at only a slight premium to the new release – describing them as ‘proven vintages’ that have benefited from additional time in the bottle.
Pichon Comtesse in-form
Hindle has previously rated both the 2020 and 2019 vintages at 98-points, and Decanter market analysis last year highlighted Pichon Comtesse as a ’Super Second [growth]’ to watch.
General manager and winemaker Nicolas Glumineau joined the Louis Roederer-owned estate in late 2012. Since then, he has ‘built upon the enviable legacy of [ex-owner] May Eliane de Lencquesaing and taken the property to new levels of quality’, said UK merchant Bordeaux Index, following the 2023-vintage en primeur release.
Château Palmer 2023
Château Palmer is another estate that has been garnering strong quality scores in recent years, and its 2023 vintage was also rated at 98-points by Hindle, up from 97-points for the 2022.
‘What a Palmer in 2023!,’ Hindle wrote. ‘Crazy aromatics, full and bright, packed with intense scents of pink and purple flowers, damson fruit.’
However, despite a drop of almost 20% on the 2022-vintage release, the 2023’s release price of €240 was relatively high suggested Liv-ex.
‘Today’s release price makes the 2023 one of the most expensive vintages [of Palmer] available,’ Liv-ex said in its analysis.
‘Palmer has continued its series of punchy release prices,’ said consultancy and analyst group Wine Lister. Yet, it added, ‘Critic praise and brand clout will likely still encourage interest.’
UK merchant Corney & Barrow said, ‘Palmer has continued in its pattern of stubbornness and is only a purchase for those avid fans of the estate.’
Palmer has previously said that its N-10 late-release strategy means that 50% of each vintage is normally held back at the estate’s cellars, for release at around a decade after harvest.
Château Branaire-Ducru 2023
St-Julien-based fourth growth Château Branaire-Ducru 2023 was also released onto the market today. It occupies a different price tier to the wines above, and the 2023 vintage was offered at £386 (12x75cl IB) in the UK.
Hindle gave Branaire-Ducru 2023 95-points, noting that it is the first vintage produced in the estate’s new gravity-fed winery.
‘I like this a lot, still with freshness and cool undertones,’ she wrote. ‘Hints of cedar and spiced mint on the finish with some graphite and wet stone, too.’
Despite being almost 20% cheaper than the debut price of the 2022 vintage, Liv-ex data showed the 2023 wine was more expensive than several back-vintages.
Wine Lister painted a similar picture, reporting that the new release was offered at a 19% premium to the current price of Branaire-Ducru 2019 – which was most recently rated 96-points by Hindle.
Lister added: ‘This release offers a significant discount on the 2022, as well as the majority of back vintages prior to 2018.’
Phélan Ségur 2023
‘An excellent Phélan,’ wrote Hindle of the latest release from this St-Estèphe estate. She rated the 2023 vintage at 95-points en primeur – level with the 2022-vintage score.
After it was offered for around £370 (12x75cl IB) in the UK, however, Liv-ex said: ‘At this price, today’s release is one of the more expensive vintages currently available on the market.’
Its data suggested the new release was slightly above the current market price for the 2019 vintage. Liv-ex also suggested buyers interested in back-vintages might consider the 2020 vintage.
De Pez 2023
Wine Lister also flagged the release of Roederer-owned Château de Pez 2023 this morning. Farr Vintners listed it at £210 (12x75cl IB), and Hindle gave the wine 94-points.
‘De Pez’s obvious upward quality trajectory should encourage some interest in the latest release,’ said Wine Lister.
Related articles
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- Bordeaux 2023: Our en primeur verdict and top-scoring wines
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Chris Mercer is a Bristol-based freelance editor and journalist who spent nearly four years as digital editor of Decanter.com, having previously been Decanter’s news editor across online and print.
He has written about, and reported on, the wine and food sectors for more than 10 years for both consumer and trade media.
Chris first became interested in the wine world while living in Languedoc-Roussillon after completing a journalism Masters in the UK. These days, his love of wine commonly tests his budgeting skills.
Beyond wine, Chris also has an MSc in food policy and has a particular interest in sustainability issues. He has also been a food judge at the UK’s Great Taste Awards.