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After almost a month of quiet, Bordeaux ch teaus are revving upthe futures campaign for the 2011 vintage again. The past few dayshave seen a flood of en primeur releases from top properties, including first-growths Ch teauMargaux and Ch teau Haut-Brion. Prices are down from therecord-setting 2009 and 2010 vintages. But the response frommerchants, retailers and consumers has been mixed. A less thanclassic vintage and continued global economic uncertainty may bepushing most customers to wait until the wines are released. "A primeur campaign can only be justified by any potential profit you canmake, but this year the price is only one component of the globalequation," said Jean-Luc Thunevin, a n gociant and owner ofseveral Right Bank properties. "You have to take into account thegeneral atmosphere, our French elections, the U.S. presidentialcampaign, the new Chinese government, the euro crisis. All thisleads to a global feeling of fear." A month ago, it looked like the 2011 wines would be sold before Maybegan. N gociants and retailers asked for a quick campaign, and Ch teau Lafite Rothschild released its first allotment on April16. But then things slowed to a crawl. "Everyone wanted someone elseto lead the pack," said Jean-Charles Cazes of Ch teauLynch-Bages. "Finally, people got fed up at waiting." On May 9, Ch teau Pontet-Canet produced the spark when itreleased a price of 66 euros ex-cellar, 34 percent lower than therelease price of its 2010. First-growth Ch teau Margaux followedsuit on May 14 releasing its first tranche at 360 euros ex-cellar, along with Lynch Bages (69 euros), Palmer(160 euros) and Lascombes (43 euros), and several other leadingestates. Haut-Brion (360 euros), La Mission Haut-Brion (216 euros)and Ang lus (138 euros) released a day later. The delay suggests owners were unsure of how to price their wines.While the prices are significant drops compared to the 2010vintage Margaux and Haut-Brion dropped prices by 45percent they're not much different from current prices for the2008 vintage, which Wine Spectator senior editor James Molesworth considers similar in quality to 2011 . "The courtiers [who broker between ch teaus and n gociants]told property owners that the prices needed to come down, but couldbe more than 2008 but not too much," says Cazes. "But peoplelooked at the current retail prices and didn't want to cut toomuch. The problem is most of those prices reflect demand from Asia,which has cooled off." N gociants report that wines released at prices close to current2008 retail prices are selling well, such as Lynch-Bages and PontetCanet. Those that are higher such as Cos-d'Estournel andPalmer are not as much in demand. Chinese consumers, who showed great interest in the 2010s, havebacked off on futures, after watching many of those record 2010prices decline a few months later. And in the U.S., despite evidence that the economy is growingagain, only longtime Bordeaux collectors seem to be buying, andthey're being choosy. "We sold Pontet-Canet 'well,'" said DanielPosner, of Grapes the Wine Company in Westchester County, N.Y. "Notnearly as much as we normally sell, and we made no money, butpassed it through to clients." Other retailers report that the vintage faces two hurdles quality,though good, is not as high as 2009 and 2010. But at the same time,prices have not come down enough to justify scooping up a lot ofwines. That may change as customers place orders in coming months, butcontinued economic uncertainty is not helping. Haut-Brion releasedits price on a day when financial markets are worried about Greeceand other troubled European economies. "There is an atmosphere offear," said Cazes. "People are saying, 'What if the euro goes down?What's the incentive to buy now?'". We are high quality suppliers, our products such as Wine Glass Gift Sets , Clear Glass Coffee Mugs Manufacturer for oversee buyer. To know more, please visits Glass Essential Oil Bottles.
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