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The article below was written at the start of the campaign and published in the June 2023 issue of Decanter magazine. See our Bordeaux 2022 en primeur news section for more recent updates on releases in recent weeks, and stay tuned for more analysis on how the campaign has progressed.

As early en primeur releases reflect the trend of rising prices, some wines are selling well in a cautious market.

Bordeaux 2022 en primeur releases have been testing buyers’ appetite in a relatively sluggish fine wine market, with early debuts showing price rises on last year’s campaign.

Châteaux Cheval Blanc and Angélus effectively kick-started the Bordeaux en primeur campaign in May. On an ex-Bordeaux négociant basis, Cheval Blanc 2022 was released at €470 per bottle, up 20.5% on the 2021-vintage release price, with Angélus 2022 at €350 per bottle, up 32%, said Liv-ex, a global marketplace for the trade.

Latest: Figeac 2022 released with 100-point potential

Market context is important for buyers to consider, such as the availability and pricing of similarly rated back-vintages.

The initial releases

Cheval Blanc 2022, named a potential 100-point wine of the future by Decanter, was offered by UK merchants at about £5,760 per case (12x75cl in bond), said Liv-ex – below current prices for the highly regarded 2019, 2016 and 2015 vintages.

‘I think it’s a price that has met with interest from collectors who see this as a compelling vintage,’ said Matthew O’Connell, CEO of Bordeaux Index’s LiveTrade online trading platform.

Château Léoville Barton 2022 was released with an ex-négociant price up 15% year-on-year; it was offered in the UK at £780 (12x75cl in bond). ‘Léoville Barton sold out to our pre-orders this year,’ said Thomas Parker MW, buyer at Farr Vintners. ‘It represents real value relative to its peers.’

The market context

Although Bordeaux’s class of 2022 could be among the greats, the wines are emerging onto a sluggish market. Liv-ex said the en primeur campaign ‘will be no slam dunk’.

First growth prices for younger vintages have struggled for momentum recently, showed data from Bordeaux Index (see chart, below).

Yet O’Connell added that, in general: ‘Our view is that people are still interested in relative value in Bordeaux because quite a few people think it’s under-priced. I think this is a view that collectors share.’

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En primeur snapshot – five top performers

Prices don’t always rise following release. However, analyst group Wine Lister compared release prices and current market prices for five vintages (2017-2021), to calculate average returns (in £ sterling).

It said the five best-performing wines were:

Lafleur

Les Carmes Haut-Brion

Carruades de Lafite

Beychevelle

Lafite Rothschild

 Update: see first growth prices among other releases in the Bordeaux 2022 campaign

The Bordeaux Index view

Fine wine & spirits specialist Bordeaux Index kindly sponsors this section of Decanter, and provides its view on the market here every issue. It can be found at bordeauxindex.com

The 2022 vintage en primeur campaign will be an interesting one in a market context. On the one hand, 2022 is a vintage in which some remarkable wines have been made, a number of which may well in the future be recognised as benchmarks for the respective châteaux.

On the other hand, the Bordeaux market has been a relatively static one in the last 12 months, and likely pricing is such that many 2022 releases will not have a clear relative value benefit.

This point is compounded by the fact that this is the fourth out of five recent vintages to be perceived as being of high quality. In particular, the 2020s and possibly 2019s may look good value compared to 2022 release prices, while the pre-eminent 2016 vintage continues to be a reference point.

Certainly, collectors will want to own a number of these wines; it remains to be seen whether the 2022 wines have sufficient merit in an investment context to drive demand up further. We will largely see the impact of this point in secondary market trading over the coming couple of years.

Bordeaux Index

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Chris Mercer
Chris Mercer

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.