Bordeaux 2024: Léoville Barton kicks-off big week
Château Léoville Barton has released its 2024 vintage en primeur in a big week for the campaign with several other top Left Bank names due to make their debuts – including first growth Mouton Rothschild.
Léoville Barton 2024 was released on Monday (12 May) at €48 per bottle ex-négociant, translating to a price of around £577 per 12-bottle case in bond (IB) in the UK. Some merchants are offering the wine in six-bottle cases.
The new release is 14% down on the debut price of the 2023 vintage, said Liv-ex, a global marketplace for the trade.
Stablemate Langoa Barton 2024 was also released, at €26.4 per bottle ex-négociant and £314 per case (12x75cl IB) in the UK.
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That’s down 10% year-on-year and is also one of the cheapest release prices for this wine in recent memory, said Liv-ex.
Yet, Liv-ex also said there were cheaper options available among recent back-vintages for both Léoville and Langoa Barton.
UK merchant Lay & Wheeler said the wines are perennial favourites among buyers and ‘have always been well-priced’ on release. It also noted relatively good quality scores on the 2024-vintage editions.
They follow releases for Haut-Bailly and Lafleur late last week and come ahead of a big few days for the campaign, with first growth Château Mouton Rothschild due to appear on Tuesday (13 May).
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It remains to be seen whether a new flurry of releases can cut through reports of a relatively lethargic market, however.
Georgie Hindle, Decanter’s Bordeaux correspondent, described 2024 as an uneven vintage with highs and lows.
There are nevertheless several standout wines, produced via inspiring tales of human resilience, said Hindle. She has tasted hundreds of wines for an in-depth Bordeaux 2024 vintage report to be published exclusively for Decanter Premium subscribers this week.
Other releases
Château Malescot St Exupéry 2024 was also released on Monday morning at €29 per bottle ex-négociant, down nearly 13% year-on-year and joining a trend for 2014-vintage-era release pricing.
In the UK, the wine was offered at £341 (12x75cl IB). Liv-ex said, ‘Today’s release comes in as one of the least expensive recent vintages available on the market. Still, the better-rated 2017 is available at a discount to the 2024.’
Back-vintage pricing may vary by market and merchant.
A sedate market?
Early feedback from merchants has suggested a relatively muted market reaction to the Bordeaux 2024 campaign so far, despite release prices on many top names dropping back to levels not seen for 10 years, or more.
Will Hargrove, head of fine wine at Corney & Barrow in the UK, said the merchant has seen good demand for Lafite, as well as for Cheval Blanc and also Bélair-Monange.
However, he said it appeared buyers didn’t feel a sense of urgency to acquire wines, even though the release prices looked attractive.
In the US, California-based merchant JJ Buckley isn’t offering an en primeur campaign this year, for the first time.
‘That said, we are accommodating any client [en primeur 2024] demand,’ said CEO Shaun Bishop. This, though, has been, ‘almost non-existent so far, except for a handful of Lafite Rothschild and Cheval Blanc requests’.
Ongoing uncertainty around tariffs is a key issue, Bishop said.
‘As such, we are recommending that our clients wait until tariff negotiations have concluded and the final price is known.’
Coming soon: Our full report on Bordeaux 2024, to be published exclusively for Decanter Premium subscribers
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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.