Yquem 2014: good sales despite currency woes

The 2014 vintage of Château d’Yquem has been released at the same price as the 2013 and despite being more expensive due to the weaker pound, sales have been positive say merchants.

The wine was released at €250 per bottle ex-négociant, exactly the same as the highly praised 2013 and 2011 vintages from the Sauternes producer (the 2012 was not produced).

The wine hit merchants’ lists at around £2,850 per dozen and has sold well if not spectacularly according to many, not helped by the fact that since the sterling’s slump against the euro, even if the prices are ostensibly the same, the 2014 is 18.8% more expensive than the 2013 was in real terms.

Will Hargrove, fine wine director at Corney & Barrow, said it had “gone down better than expected” although they had not sold “a massive amount”.

Clearly, he said, if the wine had been 10-15% cheaper (to reflect sterling weakness) “we would have sold more”. Nonetheless, while he said it was not the “most excitingly right price” in the world, nor was it the wrong one.

Berry Bros & Rudd’s fine wine director, Max Lalondrelle, likewise said that, despite the weak pound, “sales had been good” but not as good as they had been for the 2001, 2007 and 2011 releases.

That the wine has been well received is no surprise. The 2014 vintage was, like the 2013, a top year for the white wines of Bordeaux and the ’14 Yquem has been given close to top marks across the board by critics, which is impressive given it was rated as “wine of the vintage” by Liv-ex’s members only the vintage before.

It was either the or one of the top-rated wines of the vintage for Neal Martin, Jancis Robinson MW and Antonio Galloni receiving not only high marks but also accolades such a “utterly great”, “a triumph” and “the business”.

Despite consistently high marks however, since 2005 Yquem has really struggled in the secondary market, showing average returns of -35% from 2005 to 2013.

The 2013 and 2014 are both higher-rated than the 2011 yet both were released at the same price. As Lalondrelle points out: “Prices will be the same for a while at Yquem as they are trying to remove the variations and steady the ship.”

There is still some way to go but things are potentially looking up. The return for the 2013 earlier this year was -4% but that is a significant improvement on returns for the vintages 2005-2011 where losses were all in excess of -20% and even as high as -63%. All of which creates buying opportunities for those wanting back vintages. The 97-point 2005 for example is close to £1,000 a case cheaper than the 2014 and the 98-point 2007 is £700 less expensive.