Bordeaux 2023 market analysis: Lafite Rothschild released
Merchants and analysts have reacted warmly to the release price of Château Lafite Rothschild 2023, which has been tipped by Decanter as a potential 100-point wine, as other Domaines Barons de Rothschild (DBR) wines also make their debuts in this year’s en primeur campaign.
Château Lafite Rothschild 2023 has been released en primeur at €396 per bottle ex-négociant, down 31.7% on the opening price of the first growth’s 2022 vintage last year, according to Liv-ex, a global marketplace for the trade.
UK-based merchants offered the wine at £4,920 per 12-bottle case in bond (IB), as Lafite helped to set a tone for significant price cuts, year-on-year, in week one of the Bordeaux 2023 en primeur campaign.
Decanter’s Georgie Hindle gave Lafite 2023 a score range of 98 to 100 points after tasting a barrel sample of the young wine.
‘A clear contender for wine of the vintage,’ Hindle wrote in her tasting note – part of a full report on the Bordeaux 2023 vintage that is set to be published on Decanter Premium on Friday 3 May.
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This score also puts Lafite 2023 right up there when set against other recent vintages of the wine. Decanter has given scores of 98 points to Lafite Rothschild 2022 and 2019, as well as 97 points to Lafite 2021 and 99 points to Lafite 2020.
While some excellent wines have been produced in the Bordeaux 2023 vintage, the en primeur campaign comes amid ongoing challenging conditions on the fine wine market.
The volume of Lafite 2023 released en primeur wasn’t immediately clear, but several merchants and analysts praised the pricing of the wine.
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Liv-ex said, ‘At this price, the 2023 vintage is one of the best value [Lafite Rothschild wines] on the market.’
Analyst and consultancy group Wine Lister added, ‘The 2023 comes onto the market below all available vintages. Lafite has set the campaign alight with this 31% discount that makes it a hands-down buy and will see the first of the firsts many times oversubscribed.’
‘Reinvigorating the dream of en primeur’
Other châteaux have also offered year-on-year price cuts on their 2023 en primeur releases this week, including Las Cases 2023 emerging at a 40% discount to the debut price of its 2022 vintage.
Alex Turnbull, head of private and online sales at UK-based merchant Jeroboams, said, ‘We like the pricing we’ve seen so far and our customers do, too. The numbers are strong for week one.’
Turnbull added, ‘I have no doubt that the Lafite stable will work today – their pricing works for customers who have long followed the wines, but also for new customers who haven’t bought en primeur before and have been dissuaded from dipping their toe in over the last few vintages.
‘It’s a very welcome move by DBR and sets the pace for the whole campaign, reinvigorating the dream of en primeur.’
Wine Lister said on Thursday (2 May) that, so far, ex-négociant release prices were down by 18% and 7% on average, versus the 2022 and 2021-vintage campaigns respectively.
However, it remains early days, with this year’s en primeur campaign barely a week old.
Other DBR releases today
Carruades de Lafite 2023 was also released this morning, and the wine has a reputation for price rises on the secondary market following its launch.
Liv-ex said Carruades de Lafite 2023 was released at €145 per bottle ex-négociant, down 19.4% on the 2022-vintage release last year, and was offered by UK merchants at £1,860 (12x75cl IB).
‘Today’s release price matches that of [Carruades] 2019, which has since increased in value by 20.3%,’ Liv-ex said.
Decanter’s Hindle gave Carruades de Lafite 2023 94 points, praising the wine’s controlled energy and elegance in the glass.
UK merchant Farr Vintners said, ‘This ticks the box of being at a lower price than that of any physically available vintage in the market today.’
It added, however: ‘Not ticking the box is Duhart-Milon, which is down only 9% on 2022 and priced at a bullish £684 per dozen – above the current market price of the 2020, 2019, 2018 and 2016 vintages.’
With a rating of 95 points, however, Château Duhart-Milon 2023 achieved a higher Decanter score than the 2022 vintage, which was given 94 points en primeur last year.
According to Liv-ex, the fourth growth’s 2023 vintage was released at €55 per bottle ex-négociant, down 8% on the opening price of the 2022 vintage last year.
On the Right Bank, L’Evangile 2023 – also part of the DBR portfolio – was released today at €150 per bottle ex-négociant, down 30.6% on the 2022 vintage release.
UK merchants were offering the Pomerol-based wine at around £1,896, and Decanter’s Hindle scored it 96 points.
Wine Lister said L’Evangile 2023 was still more expensive than the ‘lowest available prices for in-bottle back-vintages 2020 and 2019’, but it also added, ‘The latest release may tempt followers of the welcome stylistic changes that have taken place at the château in recent years.’
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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.