Collector’s guide: Right Bank Bordeaux
This in-depth guide covers the dynamics of the Bordeaux fine wine market including the top Right Bank Bordeaux vintages to know and wine estates to have on your radar as well as advice on building a cellar and the key things to consider when buying on release.
There is a real sense of vibrancy around Bordeaux’s Right Bank to excite collectors at all levels, propelled by vineyard investment, a run of good vintages and demand for some top-tier labels on the market.
This report focuses on St-Emilion and Pomerol reds, drawing on previous exclusive reporting for Decanter Premium subscribers to highlight recent developments and offer an introductory guide to the region’s position on the fine wine market.
Market Fundamentals
Pomerol and St-Emilion names to know and watch
Pomerol’s lack of formal classification system and relatively small size hasn’t exactly held it back.
Petrus and Le Pin make world-beating 100% Merlot wines from vineyards of 11.5 hectares (ha) and 2.7ha respectively. It’s no surprise the releases tend to be allocation-only.
Le Pin produces around 300 to 500 cases per year, owner Jacques Thienpont told Decanter. For context, First Growth Lafite Rothschild states annual average production of 16,000 cases.
Lafleur is another vaunted Pomerol name, deftly creating Merlot-Cabernet Franc blends from its 4.58ha vineyard.
According to Wine-Searcher, the 10 most searched-for Pomerol wines in May 2022 were:
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L’Eglise Clinet deserves special mention here, with many critics having lauded the work of the late Denis Durantou, who passed away in 2020. His impressive legacy continues with the next generation via his daughters Noëmie and Constance .
For St-Emilion, which spans an area under vine roughly seven times larger than Pomerol, the Wine-Searcher top 10 looks like this:
This list naturally only scratches the surface. St-Emilion’s 2012 Classification included 64 estates with Grand Cru Classé status and 18 Premiers Grands Crus Classés.
Unlike the largely static 1855 ranking on the Left Bank, St-Emilion’s 1950s-era Classification is renewed every 10 years. Angélus and Pavie were promoted in 2012 to join the traditional elite of Cheval Blanc and Ausone with Premier Grand Cru Classé ‘A’ status.
Things will change for the 2022 ranking, however, after all ‘A’ estates except Pavie removed themselves from the process – citing various issues.
Most merchants think market demand for these prestigious estates won’t be affected, but the moves raised questions about the system.
Château La Gaffelière, a Premier Grand Cru Classé labelled ‘one to watch’ by critic Jane Anson last year following a good run of ratings, has also withdrawn. St-Emilion’s wine council has said it regrets the decisions but is committed to the Classification.
Le Dôme, which last year inaugurated a dedicated winery designed by Lord Foster’s architecture group, is among those hoping to be included this time around. ‘We’re in the process,’ said owner Jonathan Maltus earlier this year.
Maltus, also owner of Château Teyssier and one of the original and acclaimed garagiste producers of the 1990s, hasn’t always been a believer in the Classification but times change. At this point, ‘I would like to solidify what we’ve done and I know the guys in the company want that as well,’ he said.
Recent Decanter ratings for Le Dôme have been strong, with 97 points in 2018 and 96 in 2019 and 2020. Le Dôme 2021 received 94 points en primeur, but was among the success stories of a challenging year for Bordeaux. ‘This has depth and persistence, the creamy chalky tannins making their presence known and balancing the rich, concentrated fruits,’ said Decanter’s Georgie Hindle of the wine.
Among existing Premier Grand Cru Classé names, Figeac is considered one of the strongest contenders for promotion to ‘A’ status.
Figeac completed new cellars last year, and the Manoncourt family together with technical director Frédéric Faye, have got this historic estate back on top of its game. ‘Few estates have given so much thought and attention to details to achieve the most precise viticulture possible,’ wrote Yohan Castaing for Decanter recently. He gave 100 points to Figeac 2018 and 2016.
Château Canon is among the other ‘A’ contenders. Owner Chanel has built new cellars and spent two decades restructuring vineyards to restore the estate’s ‘former glory’.
These are just a few examples of names to watch in a region where new cellars, vineyard investments and ownership changes have injected fresh dynamism.
Will Hargrove, head of fine wine at Corney & Barrow, believes there are plenty of estates on an upward trajectory on the Right Bank.
Among them, Bélair-Monange, under legendary Right Bank specialist JP Moueix, ‘has been massively on the rise, and obviously is right next to Ausone’, he added. This was a top performer in Decanter’s recent in-bottle tastings of Bordeaux 2019 wines, scoring 99 points.
Six more for your radar:
Château Troplong Mondot
This St-Emilion Premier Grand Cru Classé was acquired by insurance group SCOR in 2017 and the estate produced its 2021 vintage in new cellars designed to improve precision in winemaking.
Château Fonroque
A trailblazer for biodynamics, becoming certified in 2008, and recently named a promotion contender for the St-Emilion Classification by Decanter’s Panos Kakaviatos. It’s one of several success stories in the tricky 2021 vintage. ‘A brilliant wine in 2021 with a clean, precise, cool, fresh finish that lifts rather than dips,’ wrote Decanter’s Georgie Hindle, scoring it 92 points.
Roc de Cambes
Under the François Mitjavile umbrella, alongside St-Emilion’s Tertre Rôteboeuf, Roc de Cambes in the Côtes de Bourg was a notable new entrant in the fourth tier of the 2021 Liv-ex Classification, which ranks wines on average price and trading activity.
Château L’Evangile
The Pomerol estate of Domaines Baron de Rothschild (Lafite) and one of several Right Bank properties to officially convert to organic viticulture recently. Its 2019 vintage was rated 98 points in-bottle by Decanter’s Georgie Hindle.
Châteaux Vray Croix de Gay (Pomerol) & Le Prieuré (St-Emilion)
Insurance group Suravenir, owner of Calon-Ségur, bought these estates plus sister property Siaurac from Château Latour owner Artémis in 2020. It’s an exciting time, wrote James Lawther MW for Decanter last year, with Pénélope Godefroy, ex-Artémis, staying on as technical director. Lawther tipped Le Prieuré as having the biggest potential for gains.
Top vintages
Decanter’s five-star vintages on the Right Bank include 2015, 2010, 2009 and 2005. Château Ausone 2005 is a Decanter Wine Legend, joining Petrus 1945, Cheval Blanc 1947, Figeac 1949 and Le Pin 1982.
With 100-point Decanter scores, the 2015 vintages of Lafleur, L’Eglise Clinet and Petrus are among contenders to join this hall of fame in future.
The late, great Steven Spurrier, meanwhile, named Figeac 1970 and Vieux Château Certan 1961 as among his top Bordeaux wines of all time – bottles to look out for on auction lists.
Some vintages favour the Right Bank’s earlier-ripening Merlot, albeit the picture is often more nuanced.
‘Vintages like ’98 [and] 2001 are both fairly well accepted as being probably five-star on the Right Bank and four-star on the Left,’ said Hargrove. Both vintages ‘are lovely and are drinking well now’.
Buying the best wines in standout years can be important from a long-term investment perspective.
But there’s been a run of mostly good vintages since 2014. The class of 2016 is a benchmark year in the Médoc, with some excellent wines on the Right Bank, too. There’s also talk of 2018, 2019 and 2020 as a high-quality trilogy.
Even in more challenging years, improvements in winemaking and vineyard management mean that good wines are still made.
The weather-blighted, current-release 2021 vintage is a case in point. Barrel samples showed ‘the best wines are supremely balanced and pleasurable’, wrote Decanter’s Georgie Hindle in her recent en primeur report for Premium subscribers. ‘They are characterful with crisp red fruits, refreshing acidities and silky, well-integrated tannins as well as expressive of terroir.’
Value options: Building a drinking cellar
Any cellar would ideally have a mix of earlier drinking options and longer-term prospects.
Merlot’s dominance gives Right Bank wines a reputation for being approachable at a younger age than on the Left.
Value is relative, of course. ‘I do think with the likes of Burgundy and Piedmont going up and up in price and being more difficult to get hold of, people are in a very positive sense reassured by buying and drinking Bordeaux,’ said Hargrove. ‘And there’s always a fairly available market of people selling.’
There is a wealth of options for buyers looking for balanced, cellar-worthy wines further down the price ladder on the Right Bank.
‘There’s a lot of good value wines over in St-Emilion,’ said Clyde Beffa Jr, co-owner of K&L Wine Merchants in California. He recently imported more cases of Château Barde-Haut 2001. Mature wines like this, pitched at around $40 to $45-a-bottle, ‘come into the stores and sell out immediately’, he said.
Several owners of top Right Bank estates also have lesser-known properties. ‘The wines, therefore, have a defined quality, but the bonus is they sell at a much more affordable price,’ wrote James Lawther MW in a Decanter article on ‘big name side projects’.
Lesser appellations are worth a look, too. From Fronsac, Castillon and Côtes de Bourg to Lalande-de-Pomerol or Montagne-St-Emilion, ‘people have proven that you can make good wines away from the very chi-chi properties’, said Hargrove.
Several reviewers have commented on a stylistic shift in St-Emilion, in particular, in recent years – predominantly away from riper, oakier styles and in favour of greater elegance and purity of fruit. Things are never quite so simple, and balance in any wine is key, but this is worth considering when researching cellar options.
Below, we’ve highlighted just a few wines averaging under $50-a-bottle ex-tax (£40) and recently rated above 90 points by Decanter experts.
Great value Right Bank: Five in-bottle options for the cellar
Château Les Cruzelles, Lalande-de-Pomerol 2016 (92 points | $30)
From the highly regarded Durantou family, this wine is ‘beautifully pure and refined with a lifted, racy, red-berry nuance’, wrote James Lawther MW in 2021.
Château Bonalgue, Pomerol 2019 (94pts | $40)
A best-value pick at en primeur (Jane Anson). Decanter’s Georgie Hindle wrote of the wine in-bottle: ‘Smooth and satisfying on the palate, this has a lovely bright expression to the summery red berry fruits and a velvety-textured tannic grip.’
Vieux Château Saint André, Montagne-St-Emilion 2016 (91pts | $26)
From the Berrouet family estate founded by winemaker Jean-Claude Berrouet of Petrus and JP Moueix fame. ‘Focused black fruit gives way to well-woven tannins and distinct mid-palate concentration,’ wrote Stacy Slinkard.
Château Tour St Christophe, St-Emilion Grand Cru 2019 (95pts | $29)
‘This gorgeous wine combines the cooler blue fruit appeal of the 2016…with better density,’ wrote Panos Kakaviatos.
Château Grand Village, Bordeaux Supérieur 2018 (91pts | $22)
From the Guinaudeau family (Lafleur), James Lawther MW wrote, ‘The alcohol degree on the label looks frightening and this is indeed a powerful wine, but the tannins are so fine, the texture refined and the wine balanced.’
Price data source: Wine-Searcher’s global average retail price per bottle, ex-tax.
Top Right Bank names on the fine wine market
Price context of top-tier wines
The figures below are provided as a broad indicator and are based on Wine-Searcher’s global average retail price per 75cl bottle across all vintages, ex-tax.
Prices will vary by market and vintage, of course, while production volumes and demand dynamics can also make it harder to compare wines across regions.
Bordeaux is the cornerstone of fine wine market trading activity, although its wines increasingly sit alongside those of Napa, Tuscany, Piedmont, Burgundy and Champagne – to name a few – in collectors’ cellars.
Overall demand for fine wine has been particularly strong in the past couple of years, driving prices to new records.
Prestige cuvée Champagne and blue-chip Burgundy have led the market recently, as suggested by the individual examples above and also by the chart below, sourced from Liv-ex, a global marketplace for the trade.
Liv-ex 1000 index: How the regional sub-indices performed over one year
On this scale, Liv-ex’s Bordeaux 500 index is up by around 11% in a year, which looks quite sluggish compared to other indices. Yet several merchants have reported strong demand for Bordeaux wines, led at the top-end by Left Bank First Growths and prestigious estates in St-Emilion and Pomerol.
The Liv-ex Right Bank 50, tracking 10 vintages up to 2018 inclusive of Ausone, Cheval Blanc, Lafleur, Le Pin and Petrus, has risen by nearly 24% over two years.
Beyond this, Bordeaux Index said in February that ‘savvy speculators’ were buying up Figeac and Canon vintages ahead of a possible St-Emilion Classification upgrade. Prices have risen, but both still trade at a discount to Angélus and Pavie.
Older vintages of Canon demonstrated high appeal on the auction scene last year. Sotheby’s offered wines direct from the estate’s cellars, a gold standard in terms of provenance, and highlights included:
Two three-magnum lots of Canon 1959 in original wooden cases (OWC) fetched £25,000 ($31,000) and £21,250 respectively, versus pre-sale high estimates of £3,200.
Canon 1959 (6x75cl) sold for £25,000 (high estimate: £3,000).
Two six-magnum lots of Canon 1961 fetched £18,750 and £15,000 (high estimate per lot: £6,000)
Canon 1926 (3x75cl) fetched £7,500 (high estimate: £1,400)
Canon 1982 (12x75cl) sold for £5,625 (high estimate: £2,600).
Bordeaux Index also highlighted strong demand in 2021 for ‘prime vintages’ of Angélus, including 2015, 2010 and 2005.
Liv-ex, a global marketplace for the trade, told Decanter that its most traded St-Emilion wines by value in 2021 were Pavie 2017, Figeac 2015, Beauséjour Duffau-Lagarrosse 2016, Angélus 2017 and Cheval Blanc 2018.
Petrus dominated all five spots in the equivalent list for Pomerol. The top traded vintages, in order, were 2016, 2010, 2015, 2009 and 2005.
Market outlook
Not everything has moved significantly and there is obviously no guarantee of future price increases, particularly in such an uncertain macro-economic environment.
Bordeaux wine prices have had periods of decline and stagnation in the past, most notably following a market slide in mid-2011, even if the broad picture has been long-term growth.
Liv-ex said fine wine continued to ‘hold steady’ in the second quarter of 2022, avoiding the turbulence seen in some global equity markets, but price momentum was more subdued. It also noted that ‘sterling weakness against the dollar means fine wine prices are becoming more affordable to American and Asian buyers.’
At Bordeaux Index, Matthew O’Connell, CEO of the group’s LiveTrade platform, recently told Decanter magazine’s Market Watch that there is strong global demand for Bordeaux. Champagne and Burgundy may have dominated price rises, but Petrus 1998 was one of the top performers in the first half of 2022 on LiveTrade, up in price by 28%, based on executed transactions on the trading platform.
O’Connell has frequently cited a longer-term trend driving demand for blue-chip wines globally: more ultra-high-net-worth individuals (UHNWI) seeking top-tier labels for both drinking and investment.
Knight Frank’s Wealth Report categorises UHNW as an individual with net assets of at least $30m, including their primary residence. This group expanded globally by 9% last year, and by 12% in North America, Knight Frank said.
Goedhuis & Co, in its first-quarter 2022 report, also highlighted ‘an influx of new customers wanting to use fine wine, amongst other assets, as a hedge for inflation’.
En primeur: a snapshot view
Bordeaux’s annual en primeur releases campaign – normally running across May and June with a few outliers – is at its best a great opportunity to secure wine direct from the château, in a range of bottle formats.
Some wines will be the cheapest available vintage of a particular estate’s grand vin, but back-vintages with comparable quality scores might also look appealing. Each estate has its own release strategy and context, so it’s worth doing research.
Wines can also be available at similar prices once in-bottle around 18 months later. Liv-ex’s recent en primeur report said the highly regarded 2016 and 2018 vintages have risen by just 7% and 3% respectively on average since release.
Both vintages are still in their infancy, but Liv-ex said, ‘When storage and other logistics costs are factored in, these small returns turn negative.’
There are, nevertheless, wines with a strong reputation for price rises soon after release. Petrus and Lafleur top this list when looking at the previous five vintages (2016 to 2020), followed by Left Bank names Carruades de Lafite, Les Carmes Haut-Brion and Lafite Rothschild, said analyst group Wine Lister in a recent market report.
It’s often said in the trade that a buzz during en primeur can lift wider market momentum for Bordeaux.
Prior to the 2021 en primeur campaign, Bordeaux Index noted rising prices for Cheval Blanc on its LiveTrade platform, particularly since the summer of 2020.
‘Cheval Blanc’s fair pricing at en primeur has led to stronger engagement with collectors and has driven its favourable performance in the market,’ said Matthew O’Connell.
Follow all the latest on the Bordeaux 2021 vintage by visiting decanter.com/en-primeur/bordeaux.
Costs and provenance
It’s a simple point, but if you have an eye on investment returns then a wine’s price needs to appreciate faster than storage costs. There may also be fees associated with selling wines.
Professional storage with temperature and humidity control will increase the odds of the wine being in top condition when you come to uncork it in future, but it’s also especially important if you have one eye on selling for returns.
Jamie Ritchie, worldwide chairman for Sotheby’s Wine, told Decanter in 2021 that full cases – particularly wines in their ‘original wooden case’ (OWC) – tend to find higher prices at auction.
Check up-to-date prices carefully before making decisions. If you’re interested in the investment side, seek professional advice.
When buying older vintages, find out as much as possible about the wine’s provenance and condition.
Ups and Downs
Price changes from May 2017 to April 2022 unless otherwise stated. Percentages based on Wine-Searcher global average retail prices in US$ per 75cl bottle, excluding tax. Prices will vary by market.
Five ups
Figeac 2015
This top vintage from an estate on the move jumped by nearly 78% over five years.
Angélus 2010
It’s not been a straight road for Bordeaux’s vaunted 2010 vintage but this ‘show-stopping’ wine, rated 99 points by Decanter, was up by an average 20%.
Canon 2016
Another St-Emilion property with a real buzz around it, this has risen by 24% since May 2018.
Lafleur 2015
A top name from Pomerol and a highly rated vintage, this was up by around 74%.
Cheval Blanc 1998
A top Right Bank vintage, this wine has risen by around 72% in five years, with a growth spurt in the past 18 months.
Four fallers & non-movers
Ausone 2010
Its superlative quality is not doubted and there is plenty of time to go, yet this top St-Emilion wine has seen its average global price drop 19%, shows Wine-Searcher data.
Pavie 2009
Another excellent St-Emilion wine from an ‘on’ vintage that is worth tracking in years to come, but its price has been sluggish – rising only 4% in five years.
Clos Fourtet 2009
‘A brilliant St-Emilion’ wine, rated 97 points by Decanter in 2020. The price has dipped by 2.5%, however, over five years.
Trotanoy 2012
Offers ‘great pleasure for drinking’ over the next decade (Jane Anson for Decanter, 2020), its global average price has been stable over five years – up by just 4%.
Report by Chris Mercer for Decanter Premium. A freelance journalist and former editor of Decanter.com, Chris has written about the global fine wine market for more than a decade
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Disclaimer
Please note that this report has been published purely for informational purposes and does not constitute financial or investment advice. All price information is subject to change, and the prices and availability of wines cited will vary between countries, currencies and retailers. Decanter and the editorial team behind this report do not accept liability for the ongoing accuracy of its contents. Seek independent and professional advice where necessary and be aware that wine investment is unregulated in several markets. Please be aware that prices can go down as well as up.
A downloadable PDF version of the Right Bank Bordeaux Collector’s Guide is available here
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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.