September releases on the Place de Bordeaux 2022
This month sees a bumper crop of top international wines being released through the Place de Bordeaux marketplace, including debuts for estates from Austria, Hungary and New Zealand. See exclusive tasting notes, scheduled launch dates and analysis on a rising trend.
All eyes are back on Bordeaux this month as the September releases campaign gets underway with more than 110 wines on the launch schedule, up from around 70 last year.
It’s no surprise that the offering has increased, such is the allure of the Place and its distribution network for wineries wanting to enhance their reach. Bordeaux négociants are also looking for new avenues of revenue.
Tasting notes and ratings
See our scores table for September Releases on the Place de Bordeaux 2022
A rising trend
Legacy properties on the Place include Opus One, which joined in 2004, Italy’s SuperTuscan estates Masseto and Solaia (2008 and 2009) and the first non-Bordeaux French wine, Château de Beaucastel’s Hommage à Jacques Perrin, which joined shortly after.
Yet the last decade has introduced South American stars Clos Apalta, Cheval des Andes and Catena Zapata, plus top California names Inglenook, Joseph Phelps, Harlan Estate and Verité. Italian trailblazers Bibi Graetz, Caiarossa and Luce have also arrived on the scene, alongside the first South African wine, Klein Constantia’s flagship sweet wine, Vin de Constance.
More recently, a host of ‘new world’ icon wines were added to the roster, such as Jim Barry’s The Armagh Shiraz, Wynns Coonawarra’s John Riddoch, Cloudburst’s Chardonnay and Cabernet Sauvignon, plus Beaulieu Vineyard’s Georges de Latour – to name a few.
In 2021, Telmo Rodriquez’s first vintage of Yjar put Spain into the mix, while Champagne made its debut with the release of Philipponnat Clos des Goisses 1996 and 2012 vintages.
New wines for the Place de Bordeaux September 2022 campaign
This year’s high-profile newcomers include Craggy Range, one of two debuts from New Zealand along with Destiny Bay from Waiheke Island.
Marqués de Riscal joins with a first-vintage Rioja release, Paul Hobbs’ Argentinian estate Viña Cobos and wines from Favia and Morlet Family Vineyards in Napa Valley are also part of the campaign in 2022.
Barolo and Amarone wines are present for the first time, as is France’s Bandol region.
There are also new sweet wine styles, including an Austrian Trockenbeerenauslese and two from Hungary’s Tokaji; Château Pajzos’s 5 Puttonyos and Eszencia.
More limited-edition Champagnes have been added, as have second and third wines of existing estates, including for the first time Seña’s second wine, Rocas de Seña, and Quintessa’s white wine.
With more wines comes a packed schedule of releases that extends beyond September itself. The actual campaign began this year on 30 August with Clos Apalta 2019, and will run to 11 October for Harlan’s Promontory.
Debuts on the Place in 2022
Argentina
Viña Cobos, Malbec, Uco Valley 2019
La Violeta, Uco Valley 2013
Austria
Kracher, Trockenbeerenauslese Grande Cuvée, Neusiedlersee 2019
Chile
Seña, Rocas de Seña, Aconcagua Valley 2020
France
Thiénot, La Vigne aux Gamins, Champagne 2010
Boizel, Joyau de France, Champagne 2008
Château d’Avize – Leclerc Briant, Blanc de Blancs Champagne 2012
Barons de Rothschild; Rare Collection Blanc de Blancs Champagne 2012 and Rare Collection Rosé Champagne 2012
Château d’Estoublon, Roseblood d’Estoublon, Méditerranée IGP 2021
Domaine de Terrebrune, Rouge, Bandol 2019 and Rosé, Bandol 2021
Hungary
Château Pazjos, Szamorodini Sec, Tokaj 2011, 5 Puttonyos, Tokaj 2017 and Eszencia, Tokaj 2016
Italy
Allegrini, Fieramonte, Amarone della Valpolicella (Classico Riserva) 2015 and La Poja Amarone della Valpolicella 2017
Alberelli di Giodo, Terre Siciliane 2020 and Etna Bianco, Terre Siciliane 2021
Castello di Fonterutoli, Philip, Toscana 2019
Giovanni Rosso, Barolo Cerretta 2018 and Etna Rosso 2019
Family and Friends, Bianco, Terre Siciliane 2020
Luce, Luce Lux Vitis, Toscana 2018
Parusso. Riserva Oro Vigna Munie, Barolo 2013
Tenuta Sant’Antonio, Manfro, Amarone della Valpolicella 2018 and Lilum Est Riserva Amarone della Valpolicella Riserva 2012
Tenuta Sette Ponti, Oreno, Toscana 2020 and Crognolo, Toscana 2020
New Zealand
Craggy Range Aroha, Te Muna Road Pinot Noir, Martinborough 2020 and Le Sol Syrah, Gimblett Gravels 2020
Destiny Bay, Magna Praemia, Waiheke Island 2019
Spain
Marqués de Riscal, Tapias de Marqués de Riscal Rioja 2019
CVNE, Real de Asua Carromaza, Rioja 2019
USA
Favia, Cero Sur, Coombsville, Napa Valley 2019 and Cabernet Sauvignon Coombsville, Napa Valley 2019
Morlet Family Vineyards, Cœur de Vallée, Napa Valley 2019
Quintessa, Illumination Sauvignon Blanc 2021
See our score table for September Releases on the Place de Bordeaux 2022
Top-scoring wines
100 points
- Jim Barry, The Armagh Shiraz, Clare Valley Australia 2018
- Allegrini, Fierimonte, Amarone della Valpolicella (Classico) Italy 2015
- Frescobaldi, Castelgiocondo Ripe al Convento Riserva, Brunello di Montalcino Italy 2016
- Favia, Cero Sur, Napa Valley (Coombsville) USA 2019
98 points
- Errazuriz, Viñedo Chadwick, Alto Maipo Chile 2020
- Château de Beaucastel, Hommage à Jacques Perrin, Châteauneuf-du-Pape France 2020
- Lanson, Le Clos Lanson, Champagne France 2009
- Castello di Fonterutoli, Siepi, Toscana Italy 2020
- Bibi Graetz, Colore, Toscana Italy 2020
- Klein Constantia, Vin de Constance, Constantia South Africa 2019
- Inglenook, Rubicon, Napa Valley (Rutherford) USA 2019
- Promontory, Napa Valley USA 2017
- Opus One, Napa Valley (Oakville) USA 2019
Bordeaux releases in September 2022
In addition to non-Bordeaux wines, this month will also see the release of mature back vintages from Château Latour and Château Palmer (2010 and 2012 respectively), as well as the recently-bottled dry white wine from Château Rieussec, R de Rieussec 2021.
These will be tasted and rated later this month.
A long-term game for non-Bordeaux estates
So-called ‘Beyond Bordeaux’ releases make for a fascinating insight into the current market for fine wine, the position of Bordeaux’s trade and the zeitgeist of world-renowned producers.
Many estates are directly approaching courtiers, the historic middle link between châteaux and négociants in Bordeaux – for a slice of the action.
‘We get requests every single day,’ one courtier revealed, adding that a vigorous vetting process means many more are rejected than accepted, despite an increase in wines represented of around 57% this year.
‘There are lots of factors involved including quality, history, a sense of place and a story,’ the courtier said. ‘But it’s a decision based on the long-term and requires a long term vision, it’s not about quick money.’
It takes several years for estates to plan their debut, working out vintages, allocations and pricing strategies. For instance, it has been a four-year planning journey for Paul Hobbs to bring his Viña Cobos, Malbec to the Place for the first time this year.
To be eligible, a given estate must relinquish their ‘icon wine’ to the Place, cut ties with existing importers for that wine, lose the margin they would have received by selling it directly and then trust marketing and sales efforts to hopefully increase customers, get better visibility, increase demand and attain greater notoriety. ‘Maybe, after five years, they will start to see a return on their investment,’ the courtier said.
It’s worth noting that some producers do maintain separate distribution arrangements for certain markets and countries. Opus One, for example, is distributed separately in the US.
More generally, many Napa Valley estates, in particular, have developed direct networks, such as via cellar door sales and newsletter lists. New estates to the Place this year, Favia and Morlet Family Vineyards for instance, have ardent customer bases in California and regularly sell out of stock.
However, the winemaking philosophy and expertise of Luc Morlet, as well as Favia’s husband and wife duo, viticulturalist Annie Favia and winemaker Andy Erickson (pictured below), is lesser known in fine wine circles across the world.
Why are estates interested?
Every brand has its own strategy, but increases in renown, reputation and visibility are key motivating factors.
A presence on the Place can bring an association with an elite club of brands as a first step, but it also means placement in hard-to-reach countries, Michelin-starred restaurants and access to fine wine lovers beyond local or even domestic markets.
‘It’s not about [the wines] going straight into cellars, however varied,’ one winery said. ‘We want the wines to be seen and drunk.’
A common descriptor for estates wanting to join the Place is its ‘capillarity’ – the essence of micro- and very targeted distribution by experts with an established network of importers and clients.
The unique ability, using the current Bordeaux system, to allocate a certain fine wine to anyone in the world, at any time, anywhere is incredibly useful and appealing.
‘This is the open market. As a négociant you sell your wine and your stock but you also have access to the stock of your competitors on La Place, so each wine gets more visibility,’ said Jeremy Quievre, president of Excellence Vin which, up until last year, was the sole courtier agency brokering Beyond Bordeaux wines.
‘There’s more Napa Valley or Chilean wine by volume compared to most Bordeaux estates but that’s how the big names become so well known,’ he said.
Many of the wines represented are already highly sought after and have no problem with sales. Some will even launch at a reduced price in order to ensure each part of the chain benefits monetarily, with the idea of building up to price increases in the future.
Liv-ex, a global marketplace for the trade, said in its report on the September releases, ‘Producers join to build or strengthen a globally recognised fine wine brand and, by doing so, hope to raise prices. Strategic brand development and gradual price increases over the longer term are key to their success, which becomes evident when the wines enter the secondary market.’
Quievre said, ‘There is all the space in the world to sell wine, Bordeaux or non, but there are only a few labels that can work.’
For Excellence Vin, ‘the key for the system to work is that whoever gets in, is a good candidate for the right reason’, he said.
Excellence Vin began in 2009, and has established its business over the last 13 years launching Masseto, Solaia and Beaucastel to the Place among others.
They have recently been joined by around four other courtiers specialising in Beyond Bordeaux, including Bureau des Grands Vins, directed by Timothée Moreau and which introduced Favia, Morlet, Allegrini, Kracher and Paul Hobbs this year.
Australian First Growths is led by co-directors Tom Portet and Emma Thienpont, and brought Craggy Range and Destiny Bay onboard this year. More négociants are also requesting allocations of the Beyond Bordeaux wines.
Why is Bordeaux interested?
Ten years ago, or even five in some cases, négociants were apprehensive and reticent about the idea of getting involved with Beyond Bordeaux.
A trend for decreasing amounts of Bordeaux grand vin to be released during the region’s annual en primeur campaign has been a major factor, alongside an awareness of Bordeaux’s role as a fine wine trading hub.
‘It’s almost imperative to be involved in the September releases now,’ said one négociant. ‘Every year we get less and less allocation of top Bordeaux (Mother Nature, organic farming practices and stricter selections limiting yields, and withholding more stock for back-vintage releases), so we need to capitalise on the time when the world’s attention is so focused on Bordeaux.’
The September campaign is also seen as more structured in terms of its release schedule, unlike the more fluid and sometimes reactive nature of en primeur.
‘By selling wines from multiple sources, négociants get another revenue stream and reduce their dependency on the Bordeaux châteaux,’ said Liv-ex.
‘This is especially pertinent in a climate when the Bordeaux trade has been facing declining margins.
‘Many Bordeaux châteaux have been releasing less stock at higher prices, which has meant that négociants have had less wine to allocate, which has (perhaps unintentionally) driven collectors to look further afield. Being able to offer more internationally renowned brands, as fine wine buying trends change, has naturally led to the expansion of the La Place portfolio.’
Buyers are also driving the necessity to widen offerings.
‘Today we feel the dynamic market, in search of diversity,’ said Jean-Quentin Prats, general director of Joanne Rare Wines, which specialises in Beyond Bordeaux labels.
‘The amateur is eclectic, they like to taste great wines from all regions, this is nothing new. On the other hand, this September campaign makes it possible to better organise and centralise the commercialisation, to facilitate access for collectors to the wines sold by the Bordeaux wine merchants.
‘Being distributed by the Place is an opportunity for the estates to better reach their end customers who love great wines.’
New wines
So far, joining the Place has meant prestige – a collection of cherry-picked fine wines that are so defined by having, or having the potential for, active trading on the secondary market.
Liv-ex reported that, with the changes in this market, ‘moving away from reliance on one particular region’, La Place is reflecting a ‘shift in buying patterns’. Bordeaux’s trade share on Liv-ex has fallen in the past decade, and it also noted a rise in trading among wines beyond the key six fine wine market regions of Bordeaux, Burgundy, Champagne, Rhône, Italy and the USA.
A broader secondary market has developed within some of those key regions, too. Liv-ex said, ‘While the SuperTuscans Ornellaia, Masseto, Solaia and Bibi Graetz are now among the most established La Place names – and have developed active secondary markets – many other Italian wine regions are represented.
‘Critical attention and the search for value have led to the increased presence of ‘other’ Italian regions in the secondary market, such as Veneto and Abruzzo.
‘As with Italy, the USA has emerged as a strong secondary market force, and particularly so, over the past three years. Between 2019 and 2021, its share of trade has risen from 2.3% to 7.6%, while the number of wines trading has tripled.
However, it warned that ‘not all aspirational producers achieve the same success [as Masseto]. Those that push prices before their brand is fully established are unlikely to see the desired benefits. Nor for that matter is La Place.’
Breakthroughs have come in the form of Jim Barry’s the Armagh Shiraz, of which the new 2018 release is absolutely stunning (scoring 100 points), Santa Rita’s Casa Real and Yjar from Telmo Rodriguez. All have seen price increases since release.
It will be a test for the newcomers, especially one of the two New Zealand estates, Destiny Bay, which has been described as a something of a ‘phantom estate’; it has a loyal and plentiful customer base at home, as well as renown in certain fine wine circles, but is largely unheard of in the trade and on a more widespread scale.
When asked if the power of the September campaign is being diluted or improved as more wines arrive onto the Place, Prats said, ‘Improved for sure. The wine market is big enough. The more the common energies work together, the better the collector and the wine merchants will be able to choose the wines that correspond to them the most.
He added, ‘As a Bordeaux merchant, however, our role remains to guarantee the legitimacy of the wines we distribute. At Joanne Rare Wines we strive to choose only the wines with the most remarkable qualities, capable of flourishing on the market of fine wines which is our specialty.’
With the increase in wines represented comes a more competitive arena for brands to make their mark, including with sales teams in Bordeaux. Many winemakers are now embarking on co-ordinated campaigns to showcase their wines and convey the story behind them.
A number of these travelled to Bordeaux this summer, meeting buyers and hosting workshops and masterclasses, introducing new labels or showcasing the ageability of older ones.
Coming soon:
Individual ‘behind the label’ articles will be published for Decanter Premium subscribers later this month after meetings with Paul Hobbs (Viña Cobos), Allegrini, Lanson, Sam Barry (Jim Barry), Trevor Durling (Beaulieu) and Bibi Graetz.
The future
The September Releases is not only a brilliant occasion to taste a wide portfolio of exceptional wines – there are a number of extremely high-scoring wines this year – but also another opportunity to take the temperature of the fine wine market.
‘The current economic climate, characterised by rising inflation, is providing the ultimate test to emerging brands and the fine wine market as a whole’, reported Liv-ex recently. ‘Diversity looks to be the reason behind the market’s resilience despite external pressures.’
Its Liv-ex 1000 index crept up by just 0.1% in August but has still risen by 11.7% in 2022 so far.
In terms of ‘Beyond Bordeaux’ releases, there is still scope for expansion.
‘We are optimistic about the future for this category,’ said Prats, who cited a portfolio that is already ‘well developed’ but with the hope ‘to open the range to a few more carefully selected brands’.
It may be a stretch to see a Burgundy wine join La Place, but many fine wine regions remain unrepresented. There are hints of several other big-name estates ready to join, suggesting exciting times ahead for Beyond Bordeaux.
September release schedule
1st Seña 2020, Quintessa 2019
2nd Inglenook 2019
5th Opus One 2019 , Overture
6th Masseto 2019, Massetino 2020
7th Almaviva 2020
8th Solaia 2019, Yquem 2016, Vinedo Chadwick 2020
9th Hommage à J. Perrin 2020, Cloudburst Chardonnay 2020 & Cabernet 2019
12th Penfolds – Bin 169 2019, Cheval des Andes 2019, Wynns 2019, Vérité Joie, Muse, Désir 2019, Favia 2019
13th Bibi Graetz – Colore 2020 & Testamatta 2020, Latour 2010, Insignia 2019
14th Mazzei – Siepi 2020 & Concerto 2020, Tenuta Sette Ponti – Orma 2020, Craggy Range Aroha & Le Sol 2020
15th Catena Zapata – Nicolas Catena Zapata 2019 & Mundus Bacillus Terrae 2019, Caiarossa 2019
16th Beaulieu Vineyard – Georges de Latour 2019, CastelGiocondo 2017, Beaux Freres 2020 (Belles Sœurs), La Violeta, Casa Real 2019
19th Petrolo – Galatrona 2020, Telmo Rodriguez – Yjar 2018, Petit Cheval Blanc 2020, Giovanni Rosso – Etna Rosso 2019 & Barolo Cerretta 2018
20th Pym Rae 2018, Marco Parusso – Barolo Riserva Bussia Munie 2013, Wynns John Ridoch 2019 & Jim Barry The Armagh 2018
21st Clos des Goisses, CVNE Real de Asùa Carromaza 2019
22nd Palmer 2012
26th Vina Cobos 2019
27th Leclerc Briant Château d’Avize 2012, Kracher 2019
October
3rd Odyssée
4th Clos Lanson
11th Promontory