Bordeaux 2016: All guns blazing

There’s been no let up in the releases this afternoon, with Canon, Rauzan-Ségla and Grand-Puy-Lacoste among those coming out all guns blazing – and occasionally misfiring.

Boom!

Despite the big name releases of Mouton Rothschild and Troplong Mondot this morning, the labels keep rolling out.

Slightly in the shadow of the Rothschild wines were Cantenac Brown which is an estate that has been pushing its prices upwards in recent years, and consequently putting it way out of line with Liv-ex’s fair value chart.

It has the same critical score from Neal Martin as its 2015 but at €39 a bottle ex-négoce, £474 per case, it’s quite a bit more expensive.

Its scores have been a little reserved, lower end of the 90s for most although Jancis Robinson MW gave it 16+ with the rather withering statement that it was, “an attempt at glamour”.

Also out was Lafon Rochet at £408 a case, in sterling terms a 36% increase on the 2015. With a 91-93 point spread from Martin it’s actually one of the highest rated wines from the estate of the last decade. It’s also the most expensive. Although the £400 mark isn’t a bank vault-busting price, in line with its back vintages, for a similar price buyers might look instead at something like Phélan Ségur (£415), which also had a better score from Martin.

After just enough time for a good lunch and post-prandial siesta, the peace of the late afternoon was shattered by a sharp volley of releases including Canon and Rauzan-Ségla from Chanel’s stable and ‘the best value wine of 2016’ – Grand-Puy-Lacoste.

Canon first, the Saint Emilion property has increased its 2016 price by 20% ex-négoce to €72 p/b.

As it has for a few vintages now it attracted high praise from the trade and critics alike. Martin gave it 97-99 and asked if it could even be as good as the 2015? Maybe not but close and even at £880 a case it’s at a 50% discount to that stellar effort.

Note as well that at 97-99 points (WA), it has the same score as something like Palmer or Haut-Brion but at a discount of £2,000 and £4,000 a case respectively.

‘Boom!’ said Liv-ex. Boom indeed and the perfect excuse (if one were ever needed) for pictures of artillery.

Also bound to go down well was the release from Margaux sister property, Rauzan-Ségla. Given a 95-97 spread by Martin it came out at €60 a bottle ex-négoce, so is being offered in London at £732 a case.

It’s a solid score from the property in a year that wasn’t quite as good for Margaux as the 2015 had been. Nonetheless, it’s the second-best scoring wine from the estate and priced below the 2015, 2010, 2009 and 2005.

Then there was Grand-Puy-Lacoste. For the seventh year in a row, Liv-ex’s members rated it the best value for money wine of the vintage – if it released at no more than £500 a case. As with Calon Ségur these hopes proved to be rather misplaced.

At €60 a bottle ex-Bordeaux it’s 25% up on the 2015 and its London price of £735 a dozen is nearly 50% more than the 2015 was.

As Ella Lister commented on Twitter, it’s the highest ever release price but also the highest score from the estate and it’s the “darling” of the UK wine trade.

All true. Rated 95-97 by Martin, who called it “classic Pauillac to its core,” one senses that in a stand up fight between Rauzan and GPL the latter would be backed with a little greater enthusiasm.

Nonetheless, with the hope it would be closer to £600 (at most) than £700 will merchants feel they can really get behind it? And will its habitual buyers feel it’s still worth it or that they’d rather save their money for something else?

As has been seen in this campaign and others, high prices or no, it’s the reassuring or damning word of a merchant in a client’s ear that can be enough to win or lose the day.