Léoville Barton 2024 - £48 RELEASE price
NM: (91-93) | drink 2030 - 2060

Léoville Barton 2012 - £45 MARKET price
NM: 93 | drink 2023 - 2040 (ie. now)

It appear they did not get the memo...

I hope the primary purpose that Bordeaux 2024 serves is to preserve the price reductions we’re seeing in subsequent years, EVEN if 2025 and beyond produce better vintages.

Montrose 2024 - £84.50 per bottle. There are similarly rated vintages, that you could start drinking now, on the market:
2024: £85 / RP (93-95)
2012: £87 / RP 93 [drink 2020 - 2055]
2008: £73 / RP 94 [2020 - 2055]

Buy the 2008, enjoy it now and over the next 30 years - no brainer.

La Gaffelière, one of my favs, comes out today at £35.50 a bottle and has favourable reviews (NM: 93-95, JA: 93). But is the price tempting enough? I have every vintage 2019-2023, but I could get the 2018 at £47 which has superior reviews in a superior vintage, and already has 7 years of age…

It’s apparent Bordeaux 2024 is extremely variable. That also appears to apply to how the wines are being judged by critics. Lynch-Bages (£60) scores between 87 - 95 depending on who you listen to:

Antonio Galloni: 93-95
@janeanson.bsky.social: 94
Neal Martin: 91-93
William Kelley: 87-89

Wild!

@janeanson.bsky.social do you have any plans to support integration with www.cellartracker.com for your website’s reviews?

Lafite-Rothschild 2024 EP release price of £285 a bottle, makes it the cheapest vintage on the market. Neil Martin has scored it 95-97. I wouldn't normally consider Lafite - to expensive. But that is tempting. Maybe I will buy a small quantity of top end this year, and sack of the middle market 🤔

Neil Martin's Bordeaux 2024 En Primeur report came out yesterday. Neil is the modern day Robert Parker; that is to say his scores move markets more than any other.

The first growths (Lafite-Rothschild, Angélus) EP pricing strategy seems to be going for the "cheapest price in the market" - no bad thing! If that trend continues across lower growth releases, I may yet actually buy something this year.

The first tempting EP release?Branaire Ducru 2024 comes out at £26.50 a bottle, making it pretty much the cheapest vintage on the market. Whilst there are better value-for-money vintages on the market, this is an extremely sane release that doffs its cap to reality. Well done. Will others follow?

La Fleur-Pétrus 2024 released at £113 per bottle. Unfortunately there are equally (or better) rated vintages on the MARKET for less/the same price. Some ready to drink now.

2024: £113 release / RP (91-93)
2021: £115 market / RP 94
2014: £114 market / RP 94 [ready]
2013: £100 market / RP 91 [ready]

De Fieuzal 2024 price is the same vs. 2023, £20 per bottle, but carries a slightly lower score from JA (92 vs. 93). The market is still flooded with the 2023, so again there is absolutely no motivation to buy EP.

The Wine Advocates William Kelley has just released his Bordeaux En Primeur 2024 report:
“Overall, indeed, this is clearly Bordeaux’s weakest vintage of the last decade… the sinking ship of en primeur… Bordeaux will be back, of course, it’s only a matter of time. But it may be some time yet…”

Pontet-Canet 2024 pricing seems to be merely reflect a drop in quality vs. 2023 and nothing like a "price reset" when comparing RELEASE price per bottle / @janeanson.bsky.social score (JA)
2024: £60 / JA 94
2023: £66 / JA (98-100)

The MARKET price for 2023 however is £60... so why buy EP?

More appears to be getting written about Batailley 2024’s “special label” than does the wine…

From my preferred wine brokers report on Bordeaux 2024:
“We will be offering a trimmed down range of wines… we will not be offering any second wines outside of the First Growth… better value and quality is to be found in physical, bottled stock.”

Not a ringing endorsement of the vintage…

#Bordeaux 2024 #enprimeur rule #1: Any comparison to price reductions vs. 2022 are false. 2022 was a overpriced vintage. 2023 simply returned pricing to 2021 levels. If Bordeaux is truly serious about tempting EP prices this year, they need to be bold.

Prediction: They won't be.

#ep2024 #ep24

Bordeaux 2024 en primeur kicks off today with Batailley - often first out the gates. Quick analysis of price (per bottle) vs quality (via Jane Anson) suggest little to get excited about
2024: £25 / JA 93
2023: £27 / JA 96
2022: £31 / JA 96
2021: £28 / JA 92
2020: £28 / JA 94
2019: £28 / JA 94