I think we can pretty much say that sale of Bordeaux 2010 futures was not a success this year. All the wine merchants I speak to from the United States to the United Kingdom to France to Hong Kong say that they are having trouble to sell Bordeaux 2010.
Sure, a few wines have sold well such as Pontet Canet, Beychevelle, Montrose, Lynch Bages, Vieux Château Certan and others. But on a whole, most wines didn’t sell very well.
“It’s just too expensive,” said one UK wine merchant. ‘My customers say that they think the Bordelaise are joking.”
I just got this in an email (honestly minutes ago!) from a big wine merchant in Hong Kong: “2010 Lafite for 600 Euros released from chateau? This guy must be on drugs.”
I don’t think many wine merchants in the world are selling first growth Bordeaux 2010 yet. Apparently very little was released on the market at the opening price. So merchants are waiting for the second or third offerings, called tranches, to average the prices. Will the world really want first growth futures at $1,000 to $1,200 a bottle?
Anyway, first growths are just one part of the Bordeaux market. And on a whole, Bordeaux 2010 futures have not been an easy sell. It’s been awhile since Bordeaux has had a great vintage that didn’t sell well as futures or en primeur. If I remember correctly, the last time was 1990. That outstanding vintage sold very slowly as futures as the world braced for the worst with the Gulf War. But it sold well in bottle later as a string of weak vintages followed in Bordeaux and markets such as the United States sought out top wines.
It will be interesting to follow the progress of Bordeaux 2010. Wine merchants tell me they are now focusing on recent vintages in bottle such as 2000 and 2005, which isometimes cost less than 2010 .
One thing is for sure though. The 2010 vintage is an outstanding oe with some truly extraordinary wines. The question now is where else can prices go but down for a while…
Interesting times for Bordeaux-freaks!