I knew it was coming, but now that it is here it was too hard to swallow- Suenen 2016s just came out and locally the single vineyard bottlings are $375-400 each, up from about $150-180 last year.
In this case there was not much of a choice- the family decided to sell their holdings, and in order to get financing to buy the parcels he was working- Aurelian was forced to raise his prices. I do not know the details, but am guessing bank financing required a stronger cash flow projection than was the case at existing pricing.
@D_Pennet - interesting news on the Krug side and thank you for that info. I may reach out to them. I need a refresh on 2004 Mesnil, and while I know it won’t be $800 like it was at release, if the numbers are better than current retail I would be very keen. It has come to attention recently that in the US supply chain there is a decent backstock of recent vintages, coming the heels of a few years of dribbling out a few bottles here and there, so maybe some of that can get down here.
I hope this works out for him. Allocations are down dramatically since the wines are now wisely being spread out more. So hopefully as people in certain markets drop out, those willing to spend that much will take up what is left, but time will tell.
I love the wines, but for me- especially with champagne which I often open in more social settings- I no longer like opening really expensive bottles that are hard to find. When the inevitable “where can I get some of this” questions arise- it does not make other people feel good to be given an incredible number along with “assuming you can even find it for sale.” There comes a point where something is too exclusive and too pricey for comfortable enjoyment with others. Sadly, I have to give that thought often when opening wine now.
I’d quite agree. Never had this wine in particular, but its nice to strike a balance between accessibility, cost, and availability. A bottle that is a bit more than most people would spend on a wine, blows their mind, and can be purchased after the fact readily is the perfect trifactor for introducing people to wines IMHO.
Exactly why it was an easy pass for me. And fortunately, I actually prefer the Oiry to the C&C. I think so long as Oiry is inside $100, it’s a buy for me.
Right. Both the C&C and the Oiry were $70 in the Portland market and have been the same price for several vintages. Why would the C&C now be at such a premium to the Oiry?
I had my first bottle of Suenen Oiry base 2018 a few nights ago and found it rather oxidative. Is that the style or did I have an odd bottle? I would have preferred more freshness.
That’s downright insane. Hope it works out but Im not sure how anyone would pay over $350 for the single vineyard bottlings. Maybe Les Robarts, but they better be damn good at that price.
Was that for the 2019 base which is just now being released, or was it the 2018 base that was released last year?
I ask because the prices you reference were the prevailing retail prices for the 2018 base via regular importation channels. Direct importers had it for less.
The 2019 base here is is $135 for the Oiry and $185 for the C+C Blanc de Blancs. I would expect the direct importers buying in Europe will charge a little less.
That relative price difference has always been there - so to the poster who paid $70 for both, you either benefitted from a mistake or that might have been a close out on the 2017 base wines which were good for the vintage, but still shy of the usual performance one can expect here.
Production levels are why I think it might work out long term.
There are usually around 1,800 bottles of Robarts, 1,200 bottles of Cocluette and 500-600 of Mont Aigu and Grand Vigne (the latter may not have been made in 2016- I have seen no press, TNs or offerings for it.) That is pretty tiny- especially compared to the big houses.
PS- I think the single vineyard wines very much merit their $400 price tags relative to the pricing of their peers- especially considering the tiny production and the fact most other high dollar small grower champagnes are veering in more of an oxidative Selosse-style. And so they are not only truly great wines, but offer an experience that is truly unqiue.
I bought mine from Sec in Portland last summer for $70 each.