En Primeur 2014 | To buy or not to buy?
It is fair to say that for the first time since 2008 we are genuinely excited about the prospect of getting our clients involved in the en primeur (in barrel – wine futures if you like) campaign. We don’t want to jump the gun like so many other hair-trigger companies, but there is certainly room for optimism.
The campaign started with Gazin and few sweets from Sauternes last week, and accelerated with a very well-priced Duhart Milon, and one of the true bellwether wines – Beychevelle – earlier this week. But today the big guns are firing. Mouton has been released.
So far it is something of a mixed bag of a campaign – Duhart was 12% below 2013’s release price and seemed very accessible, and then yesterday Beychevelle came in at 12% above. A massive 24% differential. So what do we make of this? First of all, Beychevelle was a stand-out wine during our tastings. One of top 10 – and from an appellation (St Julien) that was a resounding success all round. Duhart however suffered by comparison to its cousins Lafite and Carruades, and was a fairly anonymous example. So, this variation in quality would seem to be mirrored by the pricing strategies of the two chateaux.
Most excitingly, the inaugural First Growth release, Mouton Rothschild, hit the market at £2,300 per dozen today. This represents a tidy 30% discount on its most comparable back vintage – the 2006 – which certainly makes it one to watch.
*Parker (or more accurately, his heir Neal Martin as Parker has retired from Bordeaux) scores aren’t yet known. But James Suckling – the ‘other Parker’ – gave 97-99, and the Wine Spectator gave 95-98, averaging out at a very healthy 96.5
So why aren’t we advising piling in today you might well ask? For one good reason – we focus on the concept of relative value, and without knowing the release prices of the other first growths we can’t make any considered comment. So sit tight, be patient and wait to see how the full picture looks. It isn’t as if all the Mouton ’14 will sell in a week. There is no need to make a snap judgement.
We will be keeping in daily contact over the next few weeks to keep you informed of how this most interesting of campaigns is taking shape. A positive start, for sure, but we need more evidence before our investment criteria are met.
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