With the French au repos for Ascension Day, there's little chance of any 2010 releases today (or tomorrow). As one irreverent Tweeter observed, "the Bordelais are getting well-earned rest from their frenzied en primeur campaign. Bet they need to catch up on sleep."
Whilst we wait (and wait) for the next round of play, it's worth reflecting on the performance of the releases so far.
Without a doubt, the most notable 2010 success story has been that of Beychevelle, which came to market two weeks ago. The vintage was released at €54 euros/bt, up from €44/bt last year. Despite the increase, buyers worked up an appetite for the wine and trading kicked off at £630. Having peaked at £710 last month, the wine traded today at £685, making it marginally cheaper than the 2009 (at £700).
But whilst Beychevelle has risen in value since its release, its peformance is the exception rather than the rule. As we pointed out in a recent blog post, brands with strong Asian followings are more likely to sell through, whilst other 2010s that are released at '09 prices (or higher) may not enjoy the same level of demand. This is certaintly true of Batailley (24 €/bot; +17 per cent on '09), which has yet to inspire trade on the exchange.
Sociando Mallet (22 €/bottle) has also received a lack-lustre response, despite emerging at a discount to '09 opening prices. The wine traded on the 24th at £215 per case and has yet to move in price.
For Rieussec (48 €/bottle) the reception has been no better. In a repeat of last year, merchants who acquired the Sauternes in order to secure allocations of Lafite have depressed prices by unbundling their stock on the secondary market. Trading prices slipped from £350 on the 20th of May to a low of £315 on the 24th.
Armailhac, released yesterday at 32 €/bottle ex-negociant, has fared well so far, even though its opening price was 17 per cent higher than that of 2009. The wine has seen healthy demand over the past two days and last traded on the exchange at £375 per case.
Don't forget that you can view all of the latest 2010 prices (and critical coverage) on the Liv-ex En Primeur pages. Follow us on Twitter and Facebook to keep up with the releases as they happen.
