Bordeaux 2010: Mouton Rothschild release mirrors Margaux, Palmer keeps 2009 price

Chateau Mouton Rothschild is the second of the great chateaux to release – and it has only offered 35% of its wine to the negociants.

Mouton: one third held back

The Pauillac first growth is €600 per bottle ex-negociant, 9% up on 2009 and exactly the same price as Chateau Margaux.

Mouton has released only 35% of its Grand Vin, and it has pegged the price of both its Grand Vin and its second wine to to Chateau Margaux.

The second wine, Petit Mouton, is €108 – almost double the price of the 2009 vintage of €60.

It is following the example of Margaux, whose second wine, Pavillon Rouge, is also €108 – on a 2009 price of €60.

Both these wines are far behind the most expensive second wine, Carruades de Lafite.

Its 2010 price has not been released, but the 2009 is now changing hands for around £300 a bottle.

While some UK merchants are outraged by the tiny tranche released from Mouton – one classed it as ‘a joke’ – they are not phased by the high prices of the second wines.

‘Pavillon is at the standard of the first wine 20 years ago,’ Fine & Rare’s Simon Davies told Decanter.com.

‘It has an enormous international following. The Far East loves it. We bought our entire allocation and will have no trouble selling it.’

At Farr Vintners, Stephen Browett said, ‘We have sold our Pavillon Rouge 2010 at £1380 per dozen. It has sold out immediately.’

Other new releases today are Palmer,Vieux Chateau Certan and Troplong Mondot.

Palmer is exactly the same price as last year: €215 ex-negociant.

Vieux Chateau Certan is €180 ex-negociant, an increase of 13% on 2009 (€156)

Troplong Mondot is €98.4 ex-negociant, an increase of 9.3% on 2009 (€90).

ALL PRICES QUOTED ARE PER BOTTLE

Written by Adam Lechmere