I was pretty amazed on October 26 to watch case after case of 2009 and 2010 Bordeaux go unwanted at an Acker Merrall & Condit wine auction in Hong Kong. The auctioneer couldn’t even get a bid at just below reserve price – in some cases 30% to 40% less than current retail prices in many stores.
“Isn’t anyone in the room interested in young red Bordeaux?” protested the auctioneer at the end of the sale to a room full of uninterested bidders.
What was most surprising was that either Robert Parker or myself gave a large number of the unsold bottles 100 points. They were perfect wines, and their points and tasting notes were clearly marked in the auction catalogue.
A 100-points 2009 Ducru-Beaucaillou, a 100-points 2010 Montrose and a 100-points 2009 Smith Haut Lafitte passed almost unnoticed. Instead, people scribbled reminders to themselves on the following lots – high, but not perfect-scoring aged Bordeaux, Burgundies and Italians from previous decades.
The 2009 Ducru, to take an example, was offered at about $200 a bottle, or about 40% less than the average retail price, yet there wasn’t one taker in the room or by phone.
I spoke to some friends in the Hong Kong wine trade after the sale, but it didn’t seem to surprise them at all. “Young Bordeaux with 100 point scores have a stigma now,” explained Simon Tam, head of wine sales for Christie’s in China. “Many customers here won’t touch a 100-point young wine any more because they expect it to be overpriced. People are after drinkable, high-scoring wines, but not ones that received 100 points.”
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