Bordeaux 2008: Chateau Latour releases at €110

Chateau Latour has announced a release price of €110 on the 2008 – nearly half the price of its 2007 wine.

The first of the first growths to announce its price, which translates to around €130 a bottle from the negociants, Chateau Latour is regarded as one of the successes of the vintage.

‘The precision and depth of Latour was amazing,’ said Decanter’s consultant editor Steven Spurrier at the en primeur barrel tastings two weeks ago.

Compared to the 2007 wine, whose exit price from the Bordeaux negociants was €240, the 2008 vintage represents a drop of 45%.

‘This is in line with expectations, although the English market could have done with a bit more,’ a Bordeaux negociant, who did not wish to be named, told decanter.com. ’It sends out a signal of the biggest percentage discounts that we can expect with this campaign, but generally this is good news.’

Christian Moueix, who released prices from some of his properties including Chateau Hosana and La Fleur Petrus last week to private clients, said he hoped an early campaign would ‘help the whole of Bordeaux’.

‘But some chateaux will do well at reasonable prices and others will fail – their policy over the past few years may well have an effect,’ he said.

He has yet to announce the release price of his top property, Chateau Petrus.

Following the early release of Chateau Angelus last Monday (at €59 ex-negociant price), the announcement of prices slowed throughout the rest of the week.

Written by Jane Anson in Bordeaux