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5th week 19-23 May : latest news
• Bordeaux dry white: Virginie de Valandraud, Valandraud, Pape Clément
• Left bank / Graves / Médoc: ---
• Pessac-Léognan red: Haut-Bergey, La Chapelle de Mission Haut-Brion, Pape Clément, Le Clarence de Haut-Brion, La Mission Haut-Brion, Haut-Brion
• Margaux: Giscours, Rauzan-Ségla
• Saint-Julien: ---
• Pauillac: ---
• Saint-Estèphe: Capbern, Le Marquis de Calon Ségur, Phélan Ségur, Calon Ségur
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4th week 12-16 May : FULL SCHEME
A number of crus took advantage of the full 5-day week to offer their 2024s, like a flock following in the footsteps of a Mouton (=sheep):
• Bordeaux sweet white: Haut-Bergeron, Coutet
• Left bank / Graves / Médoc: "G" d'Estournel, Poujeaux
• Pessac-Léognan red: Carbonnieux, Malartic-Lagravière, Domaine de Chevalier, Les Carmes Haut-Brion
• Margaux: La Tour de Mons, Labégorce (new), Siran, Marquis d'Alesme, Malescot Saint-Exupéry, d'Issan
• Saint-Julien: Les Fiefs de Lagrange, Gloria, Langoa Barton, Lagrange, Léoville Barton, Beychevelle
• Pauillac: Pibran, d'Armailhac, Clerc Milon, Pichon Baron, Petit Mouton, Mouton Rothschild
• Saint-Estèphe: Cos Labory, Haut-Marbuzet, Les Pagodes de Cos, Cos d'Estournel
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America first. This year, it was the American tasters who were the first to give their opinion on the 2024 vintage. Here are the scores of the two protagonists of Vinous (Antonio Galloni and Neal Martin), together with those of the Wine Advocate (William Kelley). In a forthcoming newsletter, we will give you the opinions of French critics (Revue du Vin de France, En Magnum with Michel Bettane, Jean-Marc Quarin, Le Point with Jacques Dupont, Les Echos with Bernard Burtschy, etc.).
Mixed vintage ---> mixed reviews. The quality of the wines of the 2024 vintage depends to a large extent on the people involved, even before the terroir. There is no single style that is characteristic of the vintage, but a wide variety of interpretations depending on the style and the desire for quality (often linked to financial capacity) of the vintages. The 2024s we tasted varied from the most acidic to the most velvety, from the most slender to the most massive. Hence the extreme diversity in the critics' rankings, where no single wine, grape variety or appellation seems to be unanimous. As proof, here is the podium of the 3 American critics:
• Antonio Galloni (Vinous)
- best score 95-98/100: Rauzan-Ségla, Cos d'Estournel, La Conseillante
one Margaux, one Saint-Estèphe and one Pomerol,
• Neal Martin (Vinous)
- best score 95-97/100: Lafite-Rothschild, Vieux Château Certan, Trotanoy, Lafleur
one Pauillac and three Pomerol,
• William Kelley (The Wine Advocate)
- best score 94-96/100: Pontet-Canet, La Conseillante, Cheval Blanc
one Pauillac, one Pomerol and one Saint-Émilion.
Compilation. By statistically reprocessing and compiling the scores of 14 tasters from around the world, Bordeaux-based data processing company Wine Services has just published the Bordeaux 2024 ranking. For your information, here are the top wines by colour:
• Dry white wines
La Mission Haut-Brion (96,15/100), Haut-Brion (96,04), Smith Haut-Lafitte (95,86), Pavillon Blanc (95,31), Domaine de Chevalier (94,98), Valandraud (94,64), Les Champs Libres (94,59), Cos d'Estournel (94,54)...
• Red wines
Les Carmes Haut-Brion (95,94/100), Lafleur (95,83), L'Église-Clinet (95,55), Montrose (95,54), Lafite-Rothschild (95,33), Haut-Brion et Mouton-Rothschild (95,26), Margaux (95,23), Petrus (95,18), Léoville-Las Cases (95,09).
Score/price ratios. In each taster's ranking, there are wines that stand out from the crowd by obtaining the same score as others that are much more prestigious and therefore much more expensive. Here is a short list of these astonishing wines, the best score/price ratios of the vintage according to these tasters (in anticipation of future prices for wines not yet on offer):
• Antonio Galloni (Vinous)
- 94-96/100: Couhins blanc (Pessac-Léognan), same rating as La Mission Haut-Brion blanc, Pavillon blanc...
- 94-96/100: Clos Puy-Arnaud (Côtes de Castillon), same rating as La Gaffelière, Pavie-Macquin, Le Tertre-Rôteboeuf...
- 92-95/100: Pédesclaux (Pauillac) same rating as Les Forts de Latour...
- 92-95/100: Poesia (Saint-Émilion) same rating as Beauséjour-Duffau, Trottevieille, Valandraud...
• Neal Martin (Vinous)
- 91-93/100: Clos Floridène blanc (Graves), same rating as Pavillon blanc, Pape-Clément blanc...
- 91-93/100: Clos Manou (Médoc) same rating as Rauzan-Ségla, Gruaud-Larose, Lynch-Bages...
- 91-93/100: La Petite Église (Pomerol) same rating as La Fleur-Pétrus, La Violette, Clinet...
- 91-93/100: Poesia (Saint-Émilion) same rating as Pavie, Le Tertre-Rôteboeuf, La Mondotte...
• William Kelley (The Wine Advocate)
- 93-95/100: Giscours (Margaux) same rating as Margaux, Palmer, Léoville-Las Cases...
- 92-94/100: Langoa-Barton (Saint-Julien) same rating as Léoville-Barton, Gruaud-Larose...
3rd week 5-7 May : THE 2024 CAMPAIGN IS LAUNCHED
• Bordeaux sweet white: ---
• Left bank / Graves / Médoc: Sociando-Mallet
• Pessac-Léognan red: Haut-Bailly II, Haut-Bailly, Smith Haut-Lafitte
• Margaux: La Gurgue, Ferrière, Durfort-Vivens
• Saint-Julien: Connétable Talbot, Talbot
• Pauillac: Haut-Bages Libéral, Lynch-Bages
- 5% à -10% : Petit Manou, Clos Manou, Prieuré-Lichine, Branaire-Ducru, Pontet-Canet
- 0% à -5% : Montrose, Angélus
In response to growing consumer demand for lighter, fresher wines, the Bordeaux grands crus quickly (and opportunely) began producing their own dry white wines. As an example, here's the list of wines we've produced to date from the Médoc's Grands Crus Classés alone, and we're confident that this (non-exhaustive) list will soon be extended:
- in Haut-Médoc : La Tour Carnet Blanc
- in Margaux : Tertre Blanc, Blanc de Château d'Issan, Brane Cantenac Blanc, Pavillon Blanc du Château Margaux (historic since 1920)
- in Saint-Julien : Arums de Lagrange, Caillou Blanc de Talbot
- in Pauillac : Blanc de Duhart-Milon, Blanc de Lynch-Bages, Les Griffons de Pichon-Baron Blanc, Pichon-Comtesse Blanc, Aile d'Argent de Mouton-Rothschild
- in Saint-Estèphe : Cos d'Estournel Blanc
In parallel with this acceleration, many appellations, like Pessac-Léognan, are asking for a white appellation to break away from the catch-all "Bordeaux blanc" label. The 'Médoc blanc' appellation should see the light of day from the 2026 vintage onwards.
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2nd week 28-30 April: THE TREND IS COMING FROM THE TOP
• Bordeaux sweet white: Doisy-Daëne, Rayne-Vigneau, Guiraud
• Left bank / Graves / Médoc: Clos Floridène, Chasse-Spleen
• Pessac-Léognan red: ---
• Margaux: ---
• Saint-Julien: Sarget de Gruaud, Gruaud-Larose
• Pauillac: Duhart-Milon, Carruades de Lafite, Lafite-Rothschild
The trend is coming from the top. Following in the footsteps of Branaire-Ducru, the leading appellations continue to set an example by offering their wines at prices almost 30% lower than the previous vintage. Prices are back to where they were 10 years ago, at more or less the same level as in 2014 (without inflation):
- Gruaud-Larose 2024 at €60.47 per bottle (-28% vs 2023 ; €52.60 in 2014)
- Angélus 2024 at €252.00 € per bottle (-31% vs 2023 ; €252.00 in 2014)
- Lafite-Rothschild 2024 at €403.20 € per bottle (-29% vs 2023 ; €384.00 in 2014)
We can only hope that this trend continues over the coming weeks, and that the imminent publication of the scores of the leading tasters does not revive the price ambitions of the estates.
No extra charge. We are well aware that we have to make a collective effort to reduce prices, so this year we have decided to pay the full cost of the surcharges on cases of 3 bottles (offered for all vintages with a unit price of over €50.00 including tax). As a result, you can now mix and match your reservations between the different crus that interest you more freely and free of charge.
Because size matters. As every year, we only offer the ‘classic’ sizes on our website: bottles and magnums for all wines, and half-bottles for sweet white wines. Please do not hesitate to contact us for any special requests (half-bottles, double magnums, etc.).
No-shows. We already know that a number of crus will not be released at this year's Primeurs. These include Climens, Les Trois Croix, Mazeyres, Fonroque, Le Petit Ducru and Tronquoy. This decision follows historically low yields, particularly for organically farmed vineyards and those affected by the hail storms of June 2024, but may also reflect a desire to postpone the sale of the wines indefinitely, in the hope of a more favourable economic climate once they have been bottled.
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1st week 21-25 April: KICK-OFF
• Bordeaux sweet white: ---
• Left bank / Graves / Médoc: Petit Manou, du Retout, Clos Manou
• Pessac-Léognan red: Esprit de Chevalier
• Margaux: ---
• Saint-Julien: Branaire-Ducru
• Pauillac: Pontet-Canet
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Bordeaux 2024: prices set to fall
Even if 2024 is one of the most expensive vintages to produce, and even if yields are at their lowest for 33 years, the price of 2024 Bordeaux wines is bound to fall, for a number of reasons:
• the critics' scores and comments for the 2024s will be favourable, but they will certainly be lower than for the last great Bordeaux vintages (2022, 2020, 2019, 2018, 2016, 2015, etc.), which are filling the cellars and stocks of both French and foreign customers,
• the more or less long-term slowdown in key export markets (England, China, USA, Japan, South Korea, Russia, etc.),
• the worldwide decline in red wine consumption, particularly among the younger generation.
It remains to be seen how far prices will fall. Rumours relayed by British merchants suggest that prices will more or less return to 2014 levels (at the Futures, Château Margaux 2014 was €338.00 a bottle, Cos d'Estournel €113,00, Léoville-Barton €58,80, Giscours €37,20...).
We already have a first positive indication with the vintages on offer this week:
- Pontet-Canet 2024 at €84.00 a bottle (€90,00 in 2014),
- Branaire-Ducru 2024 at €37,20 a bottle (€40,60 in 2014),
- Clos Manou 2024 at €20,70 a bottle (€22,00 in 2014).
For your information, Pontet-Canet is, along with La Conseillante and Cheval-Blanc, one of the top 3 wines of the 2024 vintage according to The Wine Advocate (formerly Parker).
With most of the grands crus announcing their releases before the end of May (next week, for example: Lafite-Rothschild, Angélus, Gruaud-Larose...), we'll soon have a clear idea of everyone's intentions (and lucidity).
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