From August 2012 until August 2013 the Right Bank 100 index posted 13 consecutive month-on-month rises. Since then it has pulled back 4.1%, but over a two year period it has far outperformed the other sub-indices of the Bordeaux 500.
Breaking down the Right Bank 100 by wine (below), there are three wines that are outperforming, three that are doing well, and four that have struggled to rise over the last two years. It is unsurprising that Pavie and Angelus are in the first group: their performances were mediocre until their September 2012 promotion to Grand Cru Classe A; since then prices have risen on average by over 25%. In recent months the gains have slowed for both.
Two of the largest falls in recent months are in the middle category. Eglise Clinet climbed in price after Parker named its 2012 as the only wine from the vintage with 100-point potential. In the last few months it has given back these gains. While prices have also dipped recently for Figeac, over a ten-year period it is the third best performer of the Right Bank 100, behind Angelus and Fleur Petrus (which saw huge price leaps during the market’s bull run but which has struggled to move since mid-2011).
What becomes clear is that the Right Bank 100 has diverged from the general trajectory that Bordeaux has taken over the past few years. If we look at the Bordeaux 500 sub-indices over a five year period the pattern is striking. All indices (bar the Sauternes 50, a perennial underperformer) rose during the market’s bull run. But whereas The Fine Wine 50, Right Bank 50, Second Wine 50 and Left Bank 200 then dipped in a near-identical fashion, the Right Bank 100 beat away the bears and kept on climbing. Having risen 64% in five years, does the recent change in momentum suggest its relative outperformance is coming to an end?
