Bordeaux 09 overview: an Asian perspective
Author: Berry Bros. & Rudd
Ch Conseillante vineyards
2009 Bordeaux En Primeur is done. It’s already interesting to read the views of merchants, critics, negociants and pretty much anyone with an opinion, on what has taken place over the last few months. So what the heck, this is my two bob’s worth from what I have witnessed in Hong Kong.
1. We were amazed by the prices (however we did expect this) and allocations were as small as we had feared.
2. Unlike reports from others we had great success from top to bottom with the wines. Demand was as huge for the likes of Batailley as it was those wines beginning with the letter L. The record sales we experienced were largely driven by our strong HK customer base, in addition to the burgeoning interest from Mainland China.
3. As Simon Staples says, it was near on impossible to predict what would work and what would not this En Primeur. For example, a certain second growth that caused a bit of a commotion in 2009 sold out within 15 mi – it was pandemonium and unexpected.
4. The Bordelaise took the fun out of EP in 09! I always remember this being an exciting and fun time of year with enthusiasm and love of Bordeaux palpable in the air. This year was different; decisions had to be made at a million miles an hour and if you didn’t make it quick enough… no stock. Again, allocations were the biggest issue BY A MILE. Selling wine was not the concern but managing expectations proved a considerable challenge. Telling customers that they can’t always get what they want is not fun!
5. All in all though, we saw far greater sales and interest than we have ever seen before in Hong Kong and Asia as a whole, now that is good. The ’09 bandwagon has corralled a huge amount of interest in Bordeaux and wine in general into Asia. There are many more people interested in wine now… thanks to 09 En Primeur.
6. Ch. Batailley was the best value wine of the vintage… by gee it was a while ago since that was released!
To all of you that bought ’09, well done (I was one of them). It wasn’t cheap but hey, neither is watching Man Utd play football or buying a Group One winning colt. You have to pay for the best (just ask Real Madrid). Sometimes money isn’t everything and when you are sipping back that piece of history in twenty years time you will be glad you made that purchase back in 2010. To those that did not I understand why, there is value in Bordeaux, still, just not in 2009.
To those that are making a massive investment on the vintage hoping to make a fortune, be sure to crack open at least one case in 20 years time. You’ll get to see that you don’t simply have a commodity but something very special that can move people and drive them into spending millions on it (I would if I could, I’m sure!). Can you imagine buying Monet’s Bordighera and not being able to sit down to look in wonder at what you just purchased!
Interesting update. Thank you. Especially as the BBR Asian experience seems to stand out for its diversity of selling.
One question:
You say “It was impossible to predict what would or would not work”, and then allude to a surprise sensation, but you don’t say what didn’t sell, when you thought it would. Maybe you don’t particularly want to own up to that, but from the outside, it looks like EVERYTHING sold, from top to bottom.
Or has there been a day of reckoning amongst the First growths: it seems to me from the Livex prices that Latour and Margaux are flourishing but Mouton which was released at a similar price has fallen back.
Lack of possible 100 Parker points perhaps.
It’s still obviously venomously expensive, but not able to charge the same prices as its peers.
Lastly, if there are problems with allocations, how much is that to do with chateaux and how much with a burgeoning number of wine merchants/ wine investment funds etc.etc.?
Very interesting questions. Certainly most things sold out but some were most definitely more successful and sold out quicker than others. For me the keys to success in Asia were the obvious strong points from Parker but also a very strong brand/track record assisted things massively. For example Lynch-Bages has immensely strong brand presence in Asia and rightly flew out the door, Pontet-Canet has been improving year in year out and once again it flew out the door. Wines that surprised me a little were the likes of Cos, Palmer and Angelus where pricing was aggressive, however the demand was huge and they sold as well as anything in the vintage. When you look at the case of Cos for example though, it has consistently received huge ratings from Parker over recent years, the 2009 is offered as a legend candidate and it is a hugely talked about/controversial wine. But it was still only a third of the price of the Firsts. To someone new to wine in Asia, you would look at this as a well priced case of wine, considering it is one of the greats from this most talked about of vintages.
Wines that struggled in Asia were wines that did not have strong points or brand presence/pedigree to back up the prices being asked. As far as the First Growths are concerned the demand was for all, however there is no doubt that Lafite and Latour was where the action was. I think Mouton suffered a touch from the points when compared to the other Firsts, in the long run I think it has the class to follow in Lafite and Latour’s footsteps, however this may be a long rather than a short term prospect. I get the feeling there was a far bit more on the market when compared to Margaux (where we are still at a loss to understand why there was so little available).
As for allocations, I think it may very well be a combination of a few things you have mentioned. There was undoubtedly less released in 2009 than 2008 and there were many more merchants from around the globe that were interested in 2009. The other key fact is the amount of interest and demand from new customers, this had to be balanced out with keeping your existing clients happy. All this together caused for the tough position on allocations.
Thanks
Adam