Get our daily fine wine reviews, latest wine ratings, news and travel guides delivered straight to your inbox.
You are now subscribed
Your newsletter sign-up was successful
An account already exists for this email address, please log in.
Bordeaux 2023 market analysis: Figeac drops 40% in price
High-scoring Château Figeac has offered one of the biggest year-on-year discounts in this year's Bordeaux en primeur campaign, and is one of a quartet of 98-point wines released in the past 24 hours.
Château Figeac 2023 has been released more than 40% below the debut offer for the 2022 vintage debut last year, making it one of the biggest discounts in a Bordeaux 2023 en primeur campaign that has taken place amid challenging market conditions.
Other highly prized wines released in the past 24 hours include Château Montrose, Château La Conseillante and Château Beauséjour, giving consumers plenty to ponder in the final days of the campaign.
Latest releases at a glance:
Château Figeac 2023 | 98pts (Decanter) | €150 per bottle ex-négociant, down 40.5% versus 2022 | UK price £1,788 per 12x75cl in bond (IB)
Château Montrose 2023 | 98pts | €120 per bottle, down 16.7% | UK price £1,428 (12x75cl IB)
Château Beauséjour 2023 | 98pts | €108 per bottle, down 10% | UK price £1,284 (12x75cl IB) Price data source: Liv-ex.
While Figeac’s discount is sizeable, the 2022 vintage was relatively expensive on release. A potential 100-point wine, it was the first release after Figeac’s promotion to Premier Grand Cru Classé A in the revised St-Émilion Classification.
Although it remains too soon to draw conclusions about sales, some early analysis has suggested a muted overall response to the campaign, despite several success stories among top-rated wines.
Get our daily fine wine reviews, latest wine ratings, news and travel guides delivered straight to your inbox.
‘Cool and classic, but there’s clear ripeness too,’ said Hindle of the 2023 vintage. ‘High acidity, great lift and zing – tannins are present and apparent, gently expanding around the mouth,’ she said.
Given Figeac’s promotion to the top-tier of the St-Émilion Classificastion, and its prowess in the cellar over recent years, the sizeable headline discount versus last year’s en primeur release could be interesting for collectors and buyers in general. However, Figeac 2022 rose by 55% in price ex-négociant versus its 2021 release.
Today’s release, at £1,788 (12x75cl IB), carries a similar price tag to several other highly regarded, recent vintages, according to data from Liv-ex, a global marketplace for the trade.
It said that Figeac 2019 (98pts, Decanter) and top-rated Figeac 2016 were available on the market at only a slight premium to the new release.
UK merchant Farr Vintner said Figeac 2023 was released below its pre-campaign price estimate, and emphasised that the wine was available for more than £1,200 less than the 2022 vintage.
‘With a stunning new winery and one of Bordeaux’s greatest terroirs, Figeac is making some of the greatest wines in its long and illustrious history,’ it added.
Consultancy group Wine Lister highlighted Figeac’s popularity within the trade. A survey of the group’s trade members found Figeac was one of the top five wines that respondents buy for their own cellars.
La Conseillante 2023
La Conseillante is another Right Bank estates has earned strong plaudits from critics in recent years.
Its 2023 vintage was offered at the same price as Figeac, £1,788 (12x75cl IB), and also saw a discount of more than 30% versus the 2022-vintage en primeur campaign.
‘Another stellar wine from La Conseillante,’ wrote Hindle, awarding 98-points and describing it as ‘a vintage to age’. She added, ‘Smooth and sophisticated but still with a hit of acidity on the back palate that lifts and raises the expression the whole way through.’
While the 2023 vintage is cheaper than La Conseillante 2022, rated 98-100pts en primeur by Hindle, Liv-ex data suggested its price was slightly above the 2020 (98pts, Decanter), 2019 (97pts) and 2018 (96pts) vintages on the market.
Montrose 2023
Tasting 2023 en primeur wines at Château Montrose. Photo
(Image credit: Luke Carver)
Hindle gave the new release from this ‘super’ second growth 98-points, describing it as ‘classy and comfortable – multi-faceted while still being so juicy and approachable’, as well as having fine tannins with an ‘excellent weight and balance of acidity’.
UK merchant Corney & Barrow noted high scores for the wine. ‘Given the price is less than 2022, 2020, 2019, 2018 & 2016 [vintages], it is one that we anticipate selling well.’
Farr Vintners said, ‘This is set to be the most demanded wine of the vintage and has more pre-orders than any other wine.’
However, it said around 30% less wine has been released onto the market, versus last year, because the grand vin has only been produced from vineyards on the Château’s historic terrace overlooking the Gironde estuary.
Liv-ex data showed that Montrose 2023 was cheaper than the 2022 vintage (97pts, Decanter), but it also highlighted that Montrose 2020 (98pts, Decanter) and Montrose 2019 (99pts) were available at only a slight premium to the new release.
Château Beauséjour 2023
(Image credit: Luke Carver)
‘A stellar wine from this newly-named Château Beauséjour estate (removing the Héritiers Duffau-Lagarrosse),’ said Decanter’s Hindle, giving the 2023 vintage 98-points at en primeur.
‘Power is there for sure, which some 2023s don’t have, but this is also elegant and so precise,’ she wrote.
Liv-ex said the UK offer price of £1,284 was around 10% below the 2022-vintage release, but also noted that the wine was more expensive than other recent back-vintages.
Wine Lister said new winemaking cellars are set to be fully operational for the 2024 vintage. It added that the new vintage was priced at $144.99 per bottle in the US.
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.
