Chateau Pavie & Chateau Angelus elevated. Bordeaux bargains?
07.09.12
By James Fletcher
History unfolded in Bordeaux yesterday: In an emotional announcement for the estate owners, Chateau Pavie and Chateau Angelus have been elevated to St Emilion Premier Grand Cru Classé A – the top spot for this heralded right bank appellation (Gerald Perse, owner of Pavie, was said to be "overcome").
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The promotion draws the two estates level with heavyweights Cheval Blanc and Ausone; the St Emilion equivalent of a promotion from 2nd Growth to 1st Growth if you like. And it doesn’t take the greatest analytical brain in the world to realise that herein lies a rather exciting opportunity, as both estates currently sport 2nd growth prices. Take, for example, the heralded 2009 vintage. All four Premier Grand Cru Classé A estates produced exceptional wines, Pavie topping the quartet with the coveted perfect 100/100 from Parker, and the other three scoring an admiral 98+ or 99/100. Yet, those wines that up to yesterday were ‘merely’ Classé B are currently trading at a mere fraction of the other two. But in light of this news, for how long? |
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The chart below demonstrates just how significant the disparity is:
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2009 Vintage |
Score |
Market Price |
Differential |
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Ausone |
98+ |
11,500 |
451% |
|
Cheval Blanc |
99 |
7,200 |
282% |
|
Pavie |
100 |
2,550 |
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Angelus |
99 |
2,550 |
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So which to buy? Well, we dearly love both estates and expect future fortunes for investors to be very healthy indeed (our peers in both London and Hong Kong are reporting that the phones have lit up today). So with little to separate the two, we’d suggest that you go for the 100/100 offering, and secure yourself a case (or three) of this fabulous wine whilst still at this bargain price.