The end of last week saw a flurry of trades for Petrus (L-WIN 1014033): the wine accounted for
more trade by value on 7th and 8th February than it did during
the whole of January. Trade was spread across a broad base of vintages,
although the 1989 and 1990 were the only top vintages – i.e. those particularly
acclaimed by critics – arousing interest.
As shown in chart above, lesser vintages of Petrus are far
outperforming their more admired siblings. We have already observed this with Lafite;
with Petrus the difference is more pronounced. ‘Off’ vintages have seen a price
rise of 78.7% over the last three and a half years, while iconic vintages have
risen just 23.7%.
Most vintages of Petrus can be divided into two distinct price
categories, as shown below. While the average price for an ‘on’ vintage Petrus
is around £30,000 per 12×75, an ‘off’ vintage is only £15,000. Asian collectors
are hungry for trophy assets, and they don’t come much more illustrious than
Petrus. But how much would one pay for a trophy? It is no wonder that buyers are drawn to those at half the price of the others.
