|
A Wide Gulf Divides the Wine Trade
Sunday, 24th July, 2011
- David Farmer
The sale of the 2010 classified growths of Bordeaux have set a cracking pace with most increasing prices and the 1st Growths moving up at least 10%. They may go higher as traders judge the market. Fantastic stuff, and for those with the money to buy 1st Growths, you can expect to pay over £1000 a bottle by 2012. The 'lesser' wines or seconds made by the 1st Growths, from younger vines or parts of the vineyards with lower quality fruit now fetch what the 1st sold for back in 2000.
These wines illustrate the enormous gulf which separates this end of the wine trade from what the average drinker pays. The average price in a U.K. supermarket for a bottle of wine is £4.52 and it’s well under $10.00 in Australia. The great wines of Burgundy and Bordeaux create the glamour and boy do they create profit.
The Financial Times reported, June, 2011; “We have sold about 40,000 cases of Bordeaux, which at this point is half the volume of last year,” says Simon Staples, sales and marketing director of wine merchant Berry Bros & Rudd, one of the world’s biggest buyers of Bordeaux. Last year, it sold £110m worth of the 2009 vintage.” This one prestigious London merchant sells in value more than all the premium wines made in Australia. We have a long way to go.
As for the quality I was sent an email from another of the famous London merchants, Corney and Barrow offering a case of Chateau Cheval Blanc 2010 for £9,800 per case of 12 bottles (75cl) in Bond London; (2009 release price £8,900 per case of 12 bottles). Their score was 17 to 17.8/20, though I think this merchant house is not posting a universal score but rather one to be used only in the rarified world of fine Bordeaux-at least I hope so. Still for this money you do not get a 20/20 wine.
Still if this is out of your price bracket Mr. Staples of Berry Bros and Rudd does offer a budget special; "but for less affluent wine drinkers there is still value to be had. Mr. Staples says 2010 wines at the "quaffing end of the spectrum" priced at £120 to £300 a case are "miles more interesting than the 2009 vintage", adding, "we’re selling bucketloads of those."
Ah yes, the quaffing end of the spectrum which for most consumers means a $3.99 special from Dan Murphy or a $10.00 cask.
|
2 0 1 2
2 0 1 1
2 0 1 0
2 0 0 9
2 0 0 8
2 0 0 7
2 0 0 6
2 0 0 5
|
While We Dream Of Exports Others Get Ready For Chinese ImportsSunday, 18th December, 2011
Some Advice For Wine Marketing ManagersSunday, 27th November, 2011
Wine investment Chinese StyleTuesday, 6th September, 2011
A Wide Gulf Divides the Wine TradeSunday, 24th July, 2011
Forget the Food Bit - Just Give Me a DrinkFriday, 1st July, 2011
Chinese Wine Market Developing NicelyWednesday, 12th January, 2011
Perhaps the Barossa Should Make OneMonday, 20th December, 2010
A Comic Way to International FameMonday, 6th December, 2010
Goodness Knows What They Drink It WithMonday, 29th November, 2010
The State of the Modern Wine IndustryTuesday, 16th November, 2010
Up Date on the Liquor WarsTuesday, Friday, 26th March 2010
French fight backTuesday, 9th March 2010
Dinner with Sandra Tavares - Portuguese WinemakerThursday, 19th February, 2010
Yearning For A Faulty WineFriday, 31st August, 2007
All Is Not What It Seems with Chinese WineFriday, 31st August, 2007
Grateful for the MistakeTuesday, 31st July, 2007
The Real Wine Boom in ChinaWednesday, 25th July, 2007
Remembering the SopranosTuesday, 17th July, 2007
A Rat of a WineFriday, 13th July, 2007
Mildew Threatens BordeauxFriday, 13th July, 2007
Wayne Gretzky and an Australian ConnectionTuesday, 3rd July, 2007
Will the Pressure Ever End?Sunday, 1st July, 2007
The Danes are PreparingSunday, 1st July, 2007
What Wine Do You Put In a Counterfeit Ch. Lafite?Tuesday, 12th June, 2007
New Zealand’s Fame Keeps SpreadingThursday, 19th April, 2007
The New Zealand Landscape, Wines and Amazing Export GrowthWednesday, 21st February, 2007
Artful Prince Astonishes Wine WorldSunday, 14th January, 2007
That Dreaded Global WarmingSunday, 14th January, 2007
World Wine Sales StagnantSunday, 29th October, 2006
Illegal for Italians but Paris Makes it Great for GermansSaturday, 28th October, 2006
New Zealand Wine Storms AheadTuesday, 12th September, 2006
Wishing Jefferson Had Drunk ItWednesday, 6th September, 2006
Not a Little CritterWednesday, 6th September, 2006
A Welcome Cease FireSaturday, 26th August, 2006
Sniffing a FraudThursday, 24th August, 2006
Producers and Drinkers DisagreeSaturday, 22nd July, 2006
Sherry - a Seven Century Epic of SalesTuesday, 18th July, 2006
A Rap Over the Knuckles for DuboeufFriday, 14th July, 2006
A Brave Promise from the Euro CommissionerWednesday, 14th June, 2006
Wine Down a Russian SinkSunday, 11th June, 2006
A Dangerous Thing Those Blind TastingsSunday, 11th June, 2006
Looking Back - Can It Help Us Look Forward?Thursday, 18th May, 2006
Russia's Wine WarSaturday, 29th April, 2006
A Portuguese TraitorFriday, 21st April, 2006
The Exchange Rates Works Their Magic: Argentine Exports IncreaseTuesday, 18th April, 2006
Duboeuf Trial BeginsSaturday, 8th April, 2006
And the Big Get BiggerWednesday, 5th April, 2006
Some Spanish AssistanceWednesday, 5th April, 2006
Russian Wine BanTuesday, 4th April, 2006
Big Box Liquor and the New Zealand MarketThursday, 23th February, 2006
A State Wine for CaliforniaThursday, 16th February, 2006
Critter Market Increasing Its ShareFriday, 27th January, 2006
Millenials Like Cute LabelsSaturday, 21st January, 2006
Label Design ImportantFriday, 30th December, 2005
Bitters for Marie BrizardThursday, 22nd December, 2005
Madonnalicious WineWednesday, 21 December, 2005
Duboeuf Fraud Charges ProceedTuesday, 20th December, 2005
Lanson Bidders RetreatWednesday, 14th December, 2005
Bid for Vincor WithdrawnMonday, 12th December, 2005
A Victory for Banal Industrial Process?Tuesday, 6th December, 2005
A Self Imposed Boycott in BordeauxMonday, 5th December, 2005
A Drought for Sauvignon Blanc?Tuesday, 29th November, 2005
The Bid Goes On and the Bidder's Price Goes LowerTuesday, 29th November, 2005
French Varietal Marketing ExpandsTuesday, 22nd November, 2005
A French Fight Back?Tuesday, 22 November 2005
Rapid Growth from Small BaseTuesday, 22nd November, 2005
Brewers Seek Inspiration from MilkMonday, 14th November, 2005
The Good Spirit to the RescueThursday, 10th November, 2005
Goering's Raccoons Threaten German VineyardsWednesday, 26th October, 2005
Add Meritage to Your VocabularyMonday, 24th October, 2005
Californian Crop Larger Than ExpectedThursday, 20th October, 2005
Diageo Says "No" to MontanaThursday, 20th October, 2005
Consternation for ConstellationTuesday, 18th October, 2005
The Pursuit Goes OnTuesday, 18th October, 2005
Has Constellation Wines Got too Big?Thursday, 13th October, 2005
An Update on New ZealandWednesday, 12th October, 2005
Growing on Wine's BackMonday, 10th October, 2005
Decentralisation the Constellation CornerstoneFriday, 30th September, 2005
Goundrey in Billion $ BidThursday, 29th September, 2005
Massachusetts Plan to Ban Wine DeliveriesMonday, 19th September, 2005
France's Declining Wine MarketMonday, 19th September, 2005
Wines on the Back of His HandTuesday, 13th September, 2005
A Spanish Sushi Wine?Wednesday, 7th September, 2005
Italians Revolting Too!Wednesday, 31st August, 2005
Outside the Chateau, the Peasants are RevoltingMonday, 29th August, 2005
Deceit on the Goods at Georges Duboeuf
Saturday, 27th August, 2005
Wine Passes Beer in UK SalesTuesday, 23rd August, 2005
Wine Investment Comes to JapanWednesday, 17th August, 2005
The French Still RevoltingWednesday, 2nd June, 2005
|
|