Latest Bordeaux releases finally show value

Pontet Canet and Batailley’s releases have injected some good value offerings back into a struggling campaign.

Pontet Canet appeared this morning (9 May) at €66 p/b, a 34% fall on its 2010 release.

Batailley released yesterday morning at €22 p/b, an 8% drop on its 2010 release price.

Both releases have been greeted with praise and relief as this campaign teetered on the brink of apathy thanks to a lethargic pace and some over optimistic pricing from the châteaux, notably Cantemerle, Beychevelle and Cos d’Estournel.

Critic Robert Parker even warned that the campaign would “bomb” unless prices came down drastically.

The only wines to have judged the market correctly so far were Lafite and the Sauternes estates.

Speaking to the drinks business at a tasting last week, Pontet Canet’s owner Alfred Tesseron responded to a question about pricing the 2011 by saying that the wine would “find its place in the market” and that he would release at a price the market would “find acceptable”.

This appears to be the case. At around £720 a case, the 2011 is quite similarly priced to its 2008 (£740) and is in fact rather more expensive than its 2001 (£610).

For Cos d’Estournel and others, pricing above physical vintages has proved the kiss of death.

But with Pontet Canet there has already been some movement on Liv-ex and as it is widely regarded as one of the top wines from the vintage, with 93-95 Robert Parker points, so far it appears to have been able to get away with a relatively modest drop in price.