05 Haut-Brion slips below £5,000

The 2005 vintage of Haut-Brion has dipped below £5,000 a case on Liv-ex, further strengthening the index’s claim it offers the best value of the first growths.

The index reported that since peaking in 2008, the 2005s, despite having a reputation as one of the greatest vintages of the last decade, have “failed to live up” to their former glory.

Back in 2008, prices rocketed in expectation of critic Robert Parker’s in-bottle scores and then slumped when only Right Bank properties Ausone and Eglise Clinet were given 100-points.

Parker has admitted subsequently that he may have been unduly harsh in his scoring but it has certainly helped the averages of some properties.

Earlier this month, Liv-ex noted that Haut Brion’s wines from 1998 to 2012, the 08-12 section in particular, had some of the highest scores of all the first growths but also some of the lowest prices per case.

Now the 98-point 2005 appears to have slipped below the £5,000 mark. Trading at around £4,800 a case it is back to 2007 levels and half the price of its near £9,000 2008 peak.

Once again, when compared with the other firsts, Haut-Brion appears the best choice when scores and price are taken into consideration.

The only one with a slightly “better” score is Margaux which has 98+ but it is also nearly £6,000 a case. Meanwhile, the only first that is cheaper is Mouton which is hovering around the £4,000 mark but it only garnered a 96.

Lafite and Latour also gained 96 points each but are sitting north of £7,000 a case – and Lafite buyers in particular will be ruing a drop of around 40% from a late 2010/early 2011 peak of over £12,000 to the current price.