I got an email from Ian at Wine Library today about some 2010 barolo. They are offering the 2010 G. Conterno Cascina Francia Barolo (just “Francia” going forward) for the low, low price of $225 a bottle on pre-sale. The “regular” price is supposedly $285.
2009s can still be found for $130. 2008s are available for $140 ($135 at one place in NY according to WineSearcher). So we’re talking about a 75% jump just to the sale price from last year and a 65% jump from the excellent 2008s (which of course were closer to $100/bottle when they were released).
Is there any precedent for such a jump? This seems outrageous to me, but I haven’t been on the scene for long, so I’d love to hear other perspectives. And yes, I know the 2010 vintage is supposed to be great, but 2008 got a lot of hype too, and I don’t recall any wines in Burgundy or Bordeaux nearly doubling in price in recent great vintages.
That price seems too high. But if that is indicative of the 2010 price across other retailers, then buying 3 bottles of 2008 over 2 bottles of 2010 seems like the way to go!
Another obvious basis of comparison is what other high-quality, traditionalist-leaning producers’ 2010s cost. Elio Grasso’s 2010s were recently available for $60-$65 and Brovia’s 2010 Ca’Mia and Rocche for $69. 3-4 of those or one 2010 Cascina Francia is an easy choice for me.
So that’s interesting information. It will be interesting to see if prices in the US can remain that out of line with Europe. Also, I’m wondering who is capturing the increase; the importer/distributor, the retailer, or both? If it is partly the retailer (in this case Wine Library), it is hard to see how they can sustain such high prices unless (a) there has been a huge uptick in demand since the 2008 vintage, or (b) 2010 had really low yields.
This is why I question Ken’s post. The Elio Grassos also got really high scores from Vinous in both 2008 and 2010 but didn’t see nearly the jump in price.
Ken, I know you’ve got your finger on the pulse with respect to Barolo/Barbaresco more than just about anyone else here, but I’d love to know what informs this comment. Do you believe that there has been such a dramatic uptick in U.S. demand for higher-end barolo between 2008 and 2010 that it can support a sudden jump in price of 75% when the producer has raised prices far less? I had no trouble getting 2008s and have been backfilling 2004, 2006, and 2008 this year instead of buying 2009, frequently finding good deals, including for 2008 Cascina Francia for $110 a bottle in the spring. I’m not saying your wrong (that’s why I asked the question), but it’s difficult to square Wine Library’s prices with basic economics unless there has been a big change in either supply or demand just in the past 2 years or so.
I’m eager to see if the pricing on Bartolo Mascarello’s 2010 increases significantly. I’m hoping for $125/$130, but that may be wishful thinking. I’ve more-or-less written off G. Mascarello’s Monprivato, assuming it will see a significant price increase.
The 2010 assessments are still trickling in, and while it is safe to say that it is a strong vintage, it is by no means “once in a lifetime” stuff that can justify radical price bumps. Moreover, Cascina Francia is a consistently good wine, but never a darling of the reviewers and really, riding the coat-tails of Monfortino in the way some second wines of first-growth chateaux do. Add to that a couple of recent funky vintages, and a no-brainer at $100 becomes an easy pass at $225 in a hurry, even if 2010 is a strong year for CF. As noted above, it appears that Brovia has made its best wines ever for a fraction of the price, and there are simply too many other good traditionalist wines out there for less money. There is not even the temptation of Giacosas in 2010…
Yep, and this jives with my experience so far. I’ve bought most of what I plan to buy already. Pricing has been flat to +10% tops and doesn’t correspond to scores. Still waiting for the Vajra/Baudana offers and then I’m done.
I only started buying Barolo 6 years ago and it seems like the juice that already had strong reputations (and pricing to match) then are the ones getting pushed up higher now. They were already out of my price range when I started so these price jumps don’t affect my buying plan.
Reminds me of 2005 Bordeaux prices. They’re never going down to what they were back only a few years ago. I recall seeing second growths in the NH store for $28/bottle in the 2002 Bordaux vintages…but those wines are in the hundreds now…and never going down. I think we can expect that the TOP producers here too…everyone wants to make what they believe their wines are worth. With increases in the KEY areas we had to expect that this day would be coming.
Quantities were down 10%-30%. Demand is surging. All actions remain US centric but a notable portion of that wine is being shipped outside of the states. This new pricing is a bit of a test on the producers part, trying to make the best of the current situation but there is also an imbalance in the marketplace. I can’t tell you how many producers claim to have huge unsatisfied demand coming from Asia and yes they are hesitant to cut supplies for their historically more important cli ets.
It doesn’t take much to jack prices on a few wines. I suggested that we’d be seeing these sorts of price Increases early this year because it seemed fairly obvious.
2010 is very likely the best vintage since 1989 and along with 1978 the best of my lifetime, though as I’ve said they will disappoint us before they will thrill us. The interesting question here is whether these price increases can stick and become the new norm. 2011 is another fabulous vintage And in the current atmosphere I expect all the wines of the vintage will be 90+ with a veritable tidal wave of 97+ pointers.
I do t think we can discount all the stupid high scores as partially responsible for the current climate, and point chasing consumers as well. But at the end of the day what we have in Piedmont are a very few producers bottling very limited amounts of, with the perhaps of a few hyperexpensive Burgundies, the finest wines on earth.
While I lament the current pricing. Having enjoyed undervalued Barolo since the release of the 1978 Riservas, I think that they have finally been accorded their due, whether we like it or not. I mean look at all the Cabernets in the $150 thread and tell me they are really better than Monprivato, G Rinaldi, Bartolo, or Cascina Francia.
There are still so many terrific Barolos that are reasonably priced so that we can all enjoy them, but the best have no begun to be priced along the lines of top Burgundy, and from a holistic point of view that makes perfect sense.
Types on my phone from a plane . Sorry for the errors.
I think 2008 is a good vintage and will have significant potential to be great when it is mature. If 2010 's are too expensive, it makes more sense to backfill with the 2008. Or for that matter reasonably priced 2004 which I think rivals 2010
Thank you for your thoughts, Greg. You would know better than I whether this is another example of those darn Asians buying all of our wine. Bummer for me, if so.
I am a little taken aback by the bolded pronouncement, however. I take it that you do not share the commonly-held view that declaring the just-released 2010 to be on par with '78 and '89 – or, for that matter, declaring 2011 a “fabulous” vintage before it has even been released – is likely to be a bit premature when discussing vintages of barolo?
Perhaps you’re reading more into my post than I intended. My memory is that early pricing on 07 and 08 was a big jump, then it quieted down. Those who bought early, paid too much. Greg used the phrase “This new pricing is a bit of a test on the producers part” which may be a better description of what I was trying to say.
