The Bordeaux 2017 en primeur wagon is trundling on, with prices from many of the leading châteaux still to be released. (Update 21 June 2018: En primeur prices for the 2017s have now almost all been included below.)

It’s a long and fairly tortuous journey, as ever, given that the tastings from barrel of the latest vintage, for the trade and the press, took place back in early April. Here I take a look at how the top wines stack up against the 2016s – a great but fairly expensive vintage – and the more reasonably priced 2014s.

For those vineyards that weren’t hit by the April frost, 2017 is generally closer to 2014 in quality than to 2016 (even if different in style), so it’s potentially a useful comparison. Both are good, sometimes very good vintages.

The list includes my ‘en primeur’ score out of 100 for all the leading wines in 2017, 2016 and 2014, plus the en primeur prices for all three years, and current market prices of the two earlier vintages. Simply compare the scores and the prices and you’ll see if there’s value to be had. (It’s not as simple as that, in truth, because some names are worth so much more than others.)

Note that these are for the top 180 wines from Pauillac, St-Julien, St-Estèphe, Margaux, Pessac-Léognan, Pomerol, St-Emilion and Sauternes, which are sold by the châteaux to Bordeaux négociants now (a year before bottling) and then offered to wine merchants around the world, and on to consumers. Cheaper wines from less famous appellations are not included in my list: these are sometimes offered ‘en primeur’, of course, but for a vintage like 2017 the finished product, I’d suggest, can be re-tasted and purchased after bottling. You could argue that the same applies for the vast majority of the wines on the list – but that’s the game.

Here is an overview of the vintage, and a list of my other posts on Bordeaux 2017.

Prices

A Liv-ex – the London International Vintners Exchange, the fine wine marketplace – have kindly provided the market price figures for the 2016s and 2014s (see the link for their explanation). This is essentially the value of the wine, based on real prices that a merchant is likely to pay, not the retail price. If you’d bought 2014s and they’d been kept in professional ‘bonded’ storage since they were bottled in 2016, this is what they’re worth as of mid-May 2018. (Dry whites were bottled earlier.)

All prices are quoted ‘in bond’, ie without tax (duty or VAT).

Prices went up quite considerably for the most sought after wines after the 2014 vintage for the more popular 2015s, and then again for the excellent 2016s. Higher ex-chateau prices have been exacerbated by the change in the exchange rate for sterling buyers, which was €1.40 to the pound in June 2015 when the 2014s came on the market, compared to €1.14 today.

Market prices for the 2014s – which are, of course, physically available – reflect the change in the exchange rate but also that the en primeur prices for them were, in hindsight, generally quite reasonable.

‘Best to drink’ dates

I have always scored barrel samples as a spread, such as 92-94, as these are unfinished wines, and a lot can change with barrel ageing/élevage through to bottling (evolution, racking, pumping, blending, fining, filtration, cock-ups, bottling…).

There is only room for my estimated ‘best to drink’ dates for each wine from 2017 in the downloadable pdf. As a broad brush, the very top wines should be left for a decade and will last happily for two more after that. In general though, for the higher quality reds from Bordeaux in 2017, many can be cracked open and enjoyed after 5-7 years, or left to age comfortably for up to 15 or 20, depending on the wine and the château – with larger formats for longer.

Useful links

Wine-Searcher
To source any wine, especially previous vintages.

Liv-ex critic scores
My scores are ranked alongside 14 others. With the exception of just 3 out of 100+ wines, my spreads overlap with Neal Martin’s (whose scores were posted there shortly after mine, I hasten to add). Equally my scores are fairly close to those of Jane Anson of Decanter, and not a long way off those of the rather more generous Chris Kissack. The four of us Brits have many years of experience tasting Bordeaux from barrel (though rarely together).

Liv-ex key prices for Bordeaux 2017
Similar and more comprehensive to my comparisons below, and bang up to date, but without the benefit of my scores to guide you. 🙂

Farr Vintners
Tasting notes from several critics on each wine.

A PDF of these tables

I will update the 2017 en primeur prices as they come in. If you want to see these tables as a pdf, you can download them below – including suggested ‘best to drink’ dates for the 2017s.

Download PDF (115kb)

Pauillac

We’d expect Lafite and Mouton to be very expensive, without the likely returns of, say, their 2014s. Pichon Baron, Pichon Lalande and Pontet Canet all made exceptional 2016s and the 2017s aren’t too far off the pace. I fear they’ll be reassuringly expensive. I’d take Lynch Bages 2016 or the 2014 over the 2017 at these prices, though it’s a popular wine all round. There are few real bargains in Pauillac nowadays, though Grand Puy Lacoste is regularly voted by Liv-ex members as the best value if sub £500 a case wine en primeur. Some wines like Petit Mouton, Clerc Milon and Carruades de Lafite have increased in value considerably. Back vintages of Batailley, Haut Batailley and Pibran offer value..

Saint-Julien

Léoville Barton is a 2017 to watch, and Poyferré too if the prices are right. Beychevelle is a hugely popular ‘brand’ and the 2017, at £650, is the cheapest vintage on the market. Langoa Barton, Clos du Marquis, Saint Pierre, Branaire Ducru and Lagrange are not unreasonably priced though there are drinking values in the back vintages of these wines around £300-£400 – and Gloria too, for less.

Saint-Estèphe

Montrose made one of my favourite 2016s and the 2017 will be expensive by comparison. Calon Ségur is a darling of the trade, giving consistent ‘returns’ to investors. Back vintages of Lafon Rochet, La Dame de Montrose, Phelan Ségur, Meyney, Cos Labory, Ormes de Pez and Capbern offer plenty of value (for drinking) at £150-£300 a case in bond.

Margaux

My scores for these wines are quite closely aligned for 2017 and 2014, so a direct comparison on price can give an idea of relative value. Prices of the 2014s have gone quite a bit on the whole, in part due to the exchange rate shift. Again, the value of certain ‘brands’ has shot up, such as Pavillon Rouge of Château Margaux – just look at the 2014. Rauzan Ségla is on a roll for quality and price (the 2015 is up from £570 en primeur to £860 now), as is Brane Cantenac and Issan. The 2015s are worth seeking out in Margaux and there’s good value in the back vintages of many of these wines, such as Kirwan and Prieuré Lichine. For drinking value, Labégorce is a solid performer.

Haut Médoc

I’d stick with the 2016s at these prices. Definitely.

Pessac Léognan

A potentially difficult appellation because some estates were badly hit by frost while the top wines (93-94 and above) did well in 2017. They are likely to be expensive. Values in back vintages for Domaine de Chevalier, Malartic Lagravière, Latour Martillac and La Parde Haut Bailly, among others.

Pomerol

Viewed like this, what an extraordinary list of wines. From the sublime to the, well, quite a lot cheaper. By the way, if you were not aware, these Pomerols are made in much, much smaller volumes than their counterparts on the left bank in Pauillac, St-Estèphe, St-Julien and Margaux. So the scarcity factor kicks in. Relative values in back vintages of Clinet, Gazin, Petite Eglise (of Eglise Clinet), Beauregard, Croix de Gay, Vray Croix de Gay, Rouget and La Pointe (frosted in 2017).

Saint-Emilion

Saint-Emilion is a huge appellation, of course, so there’s much to choose from at all sorts of price points. Some excellent wines in 2017, but the 2015s and 2016s were better, so the price comparison is important. Some of these wines, like Fleur Cardinale and La Tour Figeac, were badly hit by the frost and the production is tiny. The majority of the top estates were not damaged, however, and it’s extraordinary to think that while many enjoyed a good harvest, others most definitely did not: in 2017, the Saint-Emilion appellation as a whole was down 54% on the average of the previous three vintages (21hl/ha v 46hl/ha).

Dry whites

2017 was an excellent year for the dry whites of Bordeaux. If you can’t stretch to La Mission Haut Brion, there are options, such as Latour Martillac and a host of less expensive whites.

Sauternes

Sadly no wine from Château Climens in 2017, as Barsac was hit quite badly by the frost. Other than the frost in parts, it was another good year for Sauternes – like 2016, 2015, 2014, 2013, 2011, 2010, 2009, 2007…

My top 20