Last week Lafite Rothschild 2000 traded for under £10,000 per 12×75 for the first time since 2009; before Lehman Brothers collapsed in July 2008 it was trading for £10,700. Now at £9,985, it is down 55% since peak. This is not unusual for a Lafite: it has been hardest hit by the collapse in demand from Asia. The darling of the market once commanded a 129% premium over the other First Growths, but it has since dropped to 43%.
What is interesting is that Mouton Rothschild 2000 – with 96+ from Parker compared to Lafite’s 98+ – is still trading above the £10,000 barrier. The ram has long been bucking the general market trend, having risen 84% in five years. Now it would appear to have overtaken Lafite for the very same reason that pushed the latter up: Chinese demand.
