Lafite Rothschild 2021 was released at €470 per bottle ex-Bordeaux this morning (7 June) and was being offered en primeur by UK merchants at the equivalent of £5,808 per 12-bottle case in bond, said Liv-ex, a global marketplace for the trade.
Decanter’s Georgie Hindle rated Lafite 2021 at 97 points, a strong performance in one of the more challenging Bordeaux vintages of recent years. ‘Surely a contender for wine of the vintage, certainly on the Left Bank. Vibrant and explosive,’ Hindle wrote.
Last year’s release price earned praise from the trade and early reaction this time suggested the 2021 vintage could also spark interest among prospective en primeur buyers.
‘The new release is the best value [Lafite] on the market today,’ said Liv-ex.
‘Bravo, Lafite,’ said analyst group Wine Lister. ‘This release opens below every single back vintage on the market.’
It said a recommended onward selling price of £484 per bottle (in bond) was around 1% lower than the 2020-vintage opening price, yet Lafite 2021 was coming onto the market around 19% and 27% cheaper than current prices for the 2020 and 2019 vintages respectively.
The First Growth has seen strong momentum on the fine wine market over the past couple of years.
Matthew O’Connell, head of investment at Bordeaux Index and CEO of the merchant’s LiveTrade platform, told Decanter, ‘The Lafite pricing is much more like what we think fits this campaign – constructive versus secondary market prices and offering an appropriately judged incentive to drive demand.’
DBR Lafite-owned L’Evangile in Pomerol was also released today, at €180 per bottle ex-Bordeaux, flat on the 2020-vintage opening price, said Liv-ex. It was being offered by merchants at £2,220 (12x75cl in bond).
‘Feels nicely complete and one of the larger, more dense wines this vintage,’ wrote Hindle in her tasting note, giving L’Evangile 2021 94 points.
Lafite’s second wine, Carruades de Lafite, has already been released.
Troplong Mondot 2021 released
On the Right Bank, St-Emilion Premier Grand Cru Classé estate Troplong Mondot also released its 2021 vintage en primeur today.
It was being offered at £852 (12x75cl in bond), having been released at €72 per bottle ex-Bordeaux – unchanged on the 2020-vintage opening price, according to Liv-ex.
Decanter’s Hindle gave Troplong Mondot 2021 96 points. She said the wine may not have the weight of more opulent vintages, but it’s extremely refined. ‘So much energy here, the flavours come in waves on the palate, red fruits, cooling blue fruits, exotic spices, flowers and fresh minty, stone notes with a real mineral salinity on the finish.’
Liv-ex highlighted a number of alternative vintages that buyers might wish to consider, including the 2019 wine.
Wine Lister said of Troplong 2021, ‘The wider campaign context might make this a tough sell, however since Lafite may have injected some momentum this morning, it could work on the basis of Troplong’s clear upward quality trajectory.’
It’s the first vintage produced in the Château’s new cellars, allowing for greater precision during winemaking.
