Angélus and Pavie ‘wrong’ to raise prices

Saint-Emilion estates Château Angélus and Pavie were wrong to put their prices up this year, according to one of their neighbouring estates.

Angélus owner Hubert de Boüard (left) and Pavie owner Gerard Perse’s decision to put their 2012 prices up has been criticised

Speaking to the drinks business, Jean-Michel Laporte, director of Château La Conseillante in Pomerol, said he didn’t understand the châteaux’s decision to put their prices up following their dual promotion to “Premier Grand Cru Class A” status.

“I disagree with their move to raise their prices this year when everyone else was lowering theirs – Angélus sold but Pavie didn’t, so it backfired on them,” he said.

Laporte believes the ongoing court battle over the St-Emilion Classification might eventually result in the entire region being declassified.

“It won’t really matter for the top two though, because everyone will remember that Ausone and Cheval Blanc were the original class “A” châteaux,” he told db.

Taking the opposite tack to Angélus and Pavie, Laporte revealed that putting La Conseillante’s 2012 prices down 20% on 2011 helped the wines sell out en primuer this year, while other châteaux struggled to sell.

“We were very lucky as we were one of the few Bordeaux châteaux to sell all our wine this year, and the wines have already been sold on by the négociants.

“There was a big take up from our key merchants – lowering our prices on 2011 definitely helped,” he said.

In April, Angélus released its 2012 vintage at €180 a bottle ex-négociant, 30% up on 2011’s €138 bottle price and a staggering 205% up on the 2008 price of €59 p/b.

Pavie also released its 2012 vintage at €180 p/b, a 58% increase on the €114 bottle price asked for in 2011.