Love me some half bottles
EP still going or has everything been released?
all done a couple weeks ago
The Chateaus have announced all their offerings. But everyone is still taking orders (Chateau, Negociants, importers, retailers) and I donât believe anything has sold out.
Yes, it is.
Les Carmes Haut Brion and, surprisingly, Lafite.
In Bordeaux only right? Both still widely available in uk
I have no idea how much pressure the chateaux put on their negociants. In the past, they could, threatening allocations. Could be less of a threat now.
But in the next tier, there are probably wines still available. I have access to Carmenâs and Lafite at opening prices.
yeah, this year ive heard many negociants are ordering to demand only!
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quick look and Total Wine still has most everything at opening prices in US. Lafitte, Montrose, Carmes, VCC for sure
Yes, sir.
These werenât the only ones. I donât have the time to dig up what else sold out, but there were others. Not many though.
It was not surprising Lafite sold out.
i feel like we have different definitions of the words sold out:
https://www.wine-searcher.com/find/lafite+rothschild+pauillac+medoc+bordeaux+france/2024?srsltid=AfmBOopHmZIwoxrA1-dK8I9MD0dZ6B2PRJ3zPpdQEG6jrozVmFcdZ1Q4
By your definition, basically there are no vintages that sold out then.
The trade defines a vintage as sold out EP when the winery sells out what they allotted and the negociant canât order any more.
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My definition is when primary market stock is unavailable and youâre left with secondary market transactions only.
Itâs like saying apples are sold out because the depot doesnt have anymore, ignoring the 100 kg on the shelf in my local Walmart
I do take your definition, and I totally get why people use it, but its also not a consumer-centric definition. And ignores the significant volume of stock being held back at the Chateau for a later date. You can âsell outâ by selling the 10% you wanted to actually release, and retain 90% at home cellar! I dont think any consumer would really call that a sell out
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Most Chateaux have wine for sale going back decades pretty much all the time. So is any vintage really sold out if thatâs true?
We actually donât know the percentage of the production that any winery made available on EP, so thereâs that.
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Indeed - and a very nice illustration of the point. Bordeaux rarely sells out. Thereâs far too much volume and not enough demand!
But even in a slightly narrower definition of sell out, which to be honest is the one I use when discussing wines, if I as a consumer can readily purchase an en primeur wine, at its release price, it hasnt sold out.
There might be no more stock that the chateau are willing to allocate to negociants (or vice versa down the chain to the merchants), but if its on shelf available for me to transact directly, it hasnt sold out.
Of course one thing to point out - I think only Cru (?) in the UK allow you to do secondary market for EP purchases while theyâre still futures. I believe all the rest of them dont let you do secondary market sales until after it turns physical.
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Agree, with the caveat that a wine can be sold out in certain regions. If there is no availability in the US, but availability in the UK where exchange/shipping add a significant margin, that wine is effectively sold out to US customers.
yeah, I absolutely agree with that statement. It needs to be like, readily accessible, primary stock. Not some convuluted import from over here with these licenses, pay these tariffs, etc.
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It would be more interesting to me to compare vintages by bottles bought and dollars spent by consumers at similar points post-vintage rather than amounts sold by châteaux to negociants.
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You are on to something, but would say that the sale from Chateau to Negociant is misleading.
Negociants have been sitting on some large stocks of good vintages. Itâs more interesting to see what those stock levels are by vintage. That would tell us quite a bit.
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