Price cuts on Angelus, Las Cases, Pavie, and Bellevue Mondotte welcomed

Negociants have welcomed price cuts for en primeur 2007 wines from Chateaux Angelus, Leoville las Cases, Pavie, and Bellevue Mondotte

But the reductions are failing to set the 2007 campaign on fire.

St Emilion’s Chateau Angelus, which came out this morning, is 23% down on 2006 at €85 ex-chateau – compared to €105 ex-chateau in 2006. It is selling at about €115 to negociants.

Owner Hubert de Bouard said his 2007 wine was ‘in demand’ and that the phones were constantly ringing with calls from courtiers.

Angelus was closely followed by Leoville las Cases, Pavie and Bellevue Mondotte.

Leoville las Cases came out at €75 ex-chateau, down 40% from €105 in 2006, with a recommended retail price of €89.

Pavie is €99 ex-chateau, also down about 40% from €138 in 2006. The two other Gerard Perse wines, released at the same time, were Pavie-Decesse, selling at €79 ex-chateau, down from €90 in 2006.

Bellevue-Mondotte is €130 ex-chateau, down from €135 in 2006.

In terms of actual demand, this morning’s price releases could not be said to have saved the campaign, with negociants only upgrading their description of the current demand from ‘difficult’ to ‘slow’.

Yquem director Pierre Lurton was noncommittal over reports that Yquem will not be releasing its wines en primeur this year.

‘I can’t say I won’t, but I am thinking about things,’ he said, adding that if the price was not out in the next 10 days, Yquem would probably not be sold en primeur.

‘The Yquem brand needs to be treated carefully, and we don’t have to take the primeur elevator, but I am not saying no yet,’ Lurton said.

Written by Sophie Kevany in Bordeaux