After frenzied en primeur buying at the start of this year's campaign, 2009 trading slowed down considerably in August as buyers turned their attention to back vintages that offer value. As a result, most of the 2009 Premier Crus have not seen any sustained price movement since their UK release. Indeed, there has been a gentle drift in prices since the heady days of June.
The chart below shows the price performance of the 2009 First Growths since their release and is based on their lowest list prices. As you can see, only Latour and Margaux have gained value, with both wines rising 6% on June to £11,150 per 12x75cl case and £8,500 respectively. And though Lafite was released at the highest price point (of the Firsts) this year, the vintage's prices are now converging with those of Latour. On average, the 2009 Premier Crus are down 2.1% on their release.
As we mentioned last month, the gradual price descent that many 2009s are seeing at the moment is not totally unexpected as prices tend to peak during the first few months of the campaign when demand is strongest. But whilst the 2009s continue to meander, back vintages are seeing prodigious price appreciation. Since the beginning of June, the 2005 vintages of the First Growths have risen in value by an average of 6%, whilst the 2000s have risen by more than 8%. The chart below shows the current market value of the 2009, 2005 and 2000 vintages. On average, the 2009s are trading at a 22% premium to the 2005s, but 3% below the price of the 2000s.
All prices are in GBP for 12x75cl cases stored in bond. Scores from erobertparker.com.
