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Is Claret Expensive?

I’ve been a regular attendee at my favourite tasting group for a good number of years now. The main focus for the group is Bordeaux, although there are also many tastings of Rhone wines, as well as occasional forays into other regions.

One of the most noticeable aspects of our claret tastings is the relative paucity of first growths, the reason being purely financial. The addition of a mature vintage of Latour or Lafite Rothschild to a tasting incurs a significant increase in expenditure, which has to be borne by those attending. Whereas some will happily shell out £50 rather than £30 simply because of the inclusion of a first growth, this isn’t the case with everyone. And if numbers drop off, everyone else has to pay a little bit more. Clearly, there is a delicate balance to be maintained.

Bordeaux has a reputation for being expensive. And even worse, it has a reputation for exorbitant price rises, sometimes in vintages where the quality of the wines would logically suggest a decrease in price. Such vintages include 1997 and 1972. But does Bordeaux really merit that reputation?

Looking back at tasting sheets from previous decades, it is immediately apparent that prices for top clarets have exploded in the past two decades (and, as I suggest above, there were some significant rises in the 1970s also). A tasting sheet from June 1985, shown on the right, reveals some surprises regarding the prices and sources for the 1980 clarets tasted.

Clearly, prices for top notch Bordeaux have changed radically over the past two decades. A mere seventeen years ago, first growths were available for approximately £20, with a number of super-seconds coming in at under £10, and widely available off the shelf at your local supermarket. Of course, there is an element of ‘rose-tinted spectacles’ about an exercise such as this, as in real terms the wines were more expensive than the above figures suggest. In 1985, the cost of living and the average wage were very different to what they are today.

In the UK, changes in the cost of living over time can be described using the Retail Price Index (RPI), a figure published each month by the Government. The RPI for August 2002 (the most recent available figure) was 176.4, using January 1987 as a base of 100. Essentially, this means the cost of living in the UK has increased by just over 76% over the last fifteen years. Unfortunately for lovers of top clarets, however, the cost of obtaining recent vintages from some of the châteaux on the above tasting sheet has increased by as much as 500% since 1985 (admittedly two years before the RPI monitoring began). This is clearly discordant with inflation over the same time period, and certainly suggests that claret is overly expensive.

My attention, however, has been focused on the first growths and super-seconds. This is inevitable, as they are the standard bearers for the region. There are, however, sixty-one châteaux included in the 1855 classification, many of which produce fine wines, of great quality, offering excellent value-for-money (or good quality-price ratio, as some like to put it). The wise claret drinker is also aware of a number of fine Cru Bourgeois estates that regularly produce wines equal in quality to those of the classed growth estates. All of these wines are generally overlooked by trophy-hunters, who are in part responsible for the escalating prices of fine claret, as these individuals tend to purchase only the first growths and cult 'garage' wines of the right bank appellations.

The wines I recommend are the wines that the claret drinker, as opposed to the 'collector' or 'trader', should focus on, rather than those châteaux which clearly regard the wine they bottle as a luxury product, rather than something to be drunk and enjoyed. Here prices, to my mind at least, remain realistic. Perhaps claret isn't so expensive after all?

Classic Claret Recommendations

The wines from these estates typically cost less than £20 after duty and VAT. Maximal savings can be made by purchasing early, in case quantities. Hunting around bin-end sales and special offers will often result in an even greater bargain. At these prices, these so called ‘lesser’ chateaux offer a true experience of Bordeaux. (20/9/02)

These are just a selection of the best value clarets around.

For the real bargain hunters: La Vieille Cure, La Rivière, Pibran.

Cru Bourgeois: d'Angludet, Chasse-Spleen, Potensac, Poujeaux, Sociando-Mallet, Les Ormes de Pez.

Classed Growths: Haut Bages Liberal, Haut Batailley, d’Armailhac, Duhart-Milon.

Superb second wines: The second wines of some of the top châteaux outclass the 'grand vin' of many other properties. Try Clos du Marquis (Leoville las Cases), les Forts de Latour (Latour).

Top of the class: These are more expensive (they don't generally stick to the £20 limit I mention above), but they still frequently offer good value for money, as they are the cream of the crop. Try Léoville-Barton, Langoa-Barton, Lynch-Bages. Another personal favourite is Talbot.