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Lafite prices push ahead of Ausone

Chapelle_d_ausone_1

Since the mid 90s, Ausone has been renowned for producing one of the world’s finest and most expensive wines (pictured above).

As Stephen Brook eulogised in the 2008 FT Wine Investment Supplement: “Ausone effortlessly blends richness, power and elegance – exactly what one expects from a great bordeaux… Vintages such as 1995, 1998, 2000, 2001, 2003, and 2005 are of stellar quality, and everyone knows it.” 

He went on to describe Ausone as “probably the most admired of all Bordeaux wines, and, after Pétrus and Le Pin, the most expensive.” And whilst Brook’s words still hold true two years on, Ausone’s position in the top three is looking increasingly precarious.

At present, the average price of recent Ausone vintages (2000-2008) is £8,833 with that eminent other – Lafite Rothschild – following just behind at £8,372 (see below for the current prices and scores). But though Ausone maintains its lead, for the moment anyway, the wines’ averages are swayed slightly by the prodigious prices fetched for Ausone 2005 (RP 100) – currently trading at around £19,000. If the 2005s are removed from the equation, the numbers paint a very different picture, with Lafite leading in price by an average of £600.This shift is even more striking considering that Ausone has consistently outscored Lafite over the past ten years, and produces a fraction of the quantity – just 2,000 cases per year compared to 20,000 cases. And while Lafite prices continue to rise by as much as 10% month-on-month, Ausone prices have remained relatively static.

Lafite and Ausone 

 All prices are in GBP and are for 12x75cl cases stored in bond.Scores from erobertparker.com

As you can see from the table above, the two value picks here appear
to be the 2001 and 2006 vintages of Ausone, both score 98 points and can be
picked up for £6,000 per 12x75cl case or under.

Indeed, the 2006 vintage gives us a striking example of
the two estates' divergent fortunes. May 2010 saw Lafite 2006 move above the price
of Ausone 2006 for the first time. Furthermore, Ausone 2006 can now be picked up for significantly under its original London release price of £7,500. Following an 18% year-on-year price fall, is it now a clear buy?

Lafite v Ausone