Bordeaux 2016 prices are up but volumes are down
Bordeaux's annual En Primeur campaign, where producers sell wine before it has been bottled, is starting to draw to a close. This week saw many of the big names release wines and prices. Château Margaux, Château Haut-Brion and Château Mouton Rothschild have all released at €420 per bottle bottle ex-négociant (up around 9% in euro terms, being offered at £5,184 per case of 12 bottles on UK market).
Château Cheval Blanc also released, at €552 per bottle ex-Bordeaux, a rise of just 2.2% on the 2015. It is being offered on the UK market at £6,400 per case of 12.
With prices up, the quantity of wine being released is down, with many Chateaux choosing to keep the wines for sale later. Nick Martin, of the Wine Owners trading exchange, told Decanter.com ‘Mouton has released the same quantity as 2015 but in a more abundant year, so keeping more back as a proportion, and that’s on the back of en primeur release reductions in 2014/2015.'