Bordeaux 2015: Coutet and Chasse-Spleen prices released

Château Coutet and Chasse-Spleen have released prices for their 2015 wines, both with 10% increases on the cost of the 2014s.

Barsac estate Coutet is being offered at €26.4 per bottle ex-négociant which is 10% up on its 2014 price and 12% below the €30 p/b it asked for its 2005.

Moulis-en-Médoc property Chasse Spleen meanwhile upped its price 10.3% to €19.2 p/b ex-négoce.

Ever-popular cru bourgeois property, Angludet, is also out at roughly £18 a bottle or £215 a case from UK merchants – up on its 2014 price.

The releases follow a few earlier this month from La Tour Figeac and some other Right Bank properties. Those had a slightly larger 13% increase on their 2014 prices.

So far, for these relatively minor en primeur names, the increases seem somewhat reasonable – Coutet’s price is actually the same as it was in 1997 while Chasse Spleen’s price is just €5 more expensive than the €14 p/b its 1997 cost . Berry Bros & Rudd’s buying director, Max Lalondrelle, said: “I could cope with a sub 30% increase on 1997 price across the 2015 campaign!”

Will that be the case though?

Corney & Barrow’s Will Hargrove told the drinks business that, “unless a wine has been ‘bonkersly’ over-priced for a while then 10% up on a reasonable 2014 price does seem about the best we can hope for.”

Lalondrelle, added: “10% is manageable at this level but I somehow doubt that this would be the rule across the board.”

Of course, the weaker sterling to euro exchange rate means it is not a simple X or Y percentage increase on the 2014 prices.

In the release ‘blurb’ with Angludet, Corney & Barrow has made the point that, “a 28% increase in release price, in euro terms, over the 2014, is further exacerbated by a worse exchange rate compared to last year, seeing the overall rise in the region of 38%. These are not the sort of increases we wish to see.

“On the flip side this release is 10-20% under the market prices for 2005, 2009 and 2010.”

That said, the pound has firmed up a little in recent weeks which might allow for marginally more favourable buying power as the campaign goes on.

As for offers, both Corney & Barrow and BBR are expecting good demand for Angludet – Lalondrelle said he expected to sell out BBR’s allocation in “48 hours”.

Meanwhile, BBR has released Coutet and Chasse Spleen this morning but Lalondrelle added he wasn’t “expecting to sell too much”.

Hargrove added that Corney & Barrow would be “sitting on the others” – for now, possibly with a mind to offer the sweet wines in one go once more had released.

Whether this marks the true beginning of the campaign is yet to be seen. Many of the bigger estates may wait until the end of the month for more scores like those of The Wine Advocate to be released before launching into the market themselves.