La Place’s September campaign sees release of Opus One, Almaviva and Masseto
The first flush of releases are coming through as part of La Place’s hors Bordeaux campaign, with the 2022 vintage of Opus One, Almaviva and a “gorgeous” Masseto now released.
Chile’s Almaviva, which has been South America’s top traded wine in the last year, released the 2023 vintage today at €75 ex-negociant – down 34.8% on last year’s opening price, making it the least expensive vintage from the available on the market. It is also available to the trade at £924 per case of 12 – although Liv-ex noted that the 2019 vintage,, which was available at £900 per case of 12 “may still pose a threat”. It’s analysis also showed that the UK is the largest destination for the joint venture between Baron Philippe de Rothschild and Concha y Toro, making up around 43.6% of sales. The 2023 vintage was notable for being extremely dry, and db’s Bordeaux correspondent Colin Hay noted it as being “an unusual vintage” and one that was “less aromatically expressive at this stage – although that is far from being a bad thing”, with a “gloriously succulent and spherical” palate, and “polished tannins.” He awarded it 95 points, matching Jane Anson and a fraction under the 96 from Joaquin Hidalgo of Vinous.
Opus One, which hit the market on Monday (1 September), was released at £2,820 per case of 12 bottles, which marks a price down 5.8% on last year’s release, Liv-ex data shows. However, it also noted that the 2021 and 2019 vintages – which received better scores – are trading at a lower rate, with a market price hovering around £2,725. Liv-ex also noted that in the last year, more than a third of Opus One’s sales have been acquired by US consumers (35%), with a quarter to UK-based buyers, ahead of Europe (20%) and Asia (18.5% in the last year).
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Masseto 2022 and Massetino 2023 have also been released (2 September). Masseto, which Liv-ex notes is the third top-traded Italian producer of the year to date, is one of the most expensive releases from the producer, up €10 on last year to €475 ex-negociant, or £6,140 to the international trade. However, db’s Colin Hay called this “a true vin de garde” with “structure, class and poise”. “Gorgeous today [and] monumental in prospect”, he wrote, awarding it 98 points. This matched Jane Anson’s score, but was ahead of Antonio Galloni at Vinous, whose 95 points marked “his lowest score since the 2014” vintage, according to Liv-ex. Liv-ex sounded a note of caution however, noting that the 100-point 2021 vintage Masseto was available for less (£6,082) along with the 98-point 2018 and the 97-point 2017.
Finally, the first of the sweet wines came onto the market – Vin de Constance 2022 from Klein Constantia. This has been released at £48, which is flat on the 2021 vintage and around 2% up on the 2020, according to Wine Lister. db’s Colin Hay’s tasting notes called it “fresh, racy, lithe and engaging with just enough acidity to keep this fresh” and awarded it 98 points.
For all the tasting notes on this year’s Hors Bordeaux campaigns, please see here: Italy and Spain (reds); France (reds); USA (reds); Chile & Argentina (reds); Australia and New Zealand (reds); Germany (whites); white wines; Champagne; sweet wines.
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