Above: from left to right, Philippe Bascaules, Ella Lister, Alexandra Petit-Mentzelopoulos, and Alexis Leven-Mentzelopoulos at Château Margaux

With the final en primeur releases out yesterday morning (excepting Le Pin, Petrus, and Trotanoy), the 2024 campaign has now come to an end. Coinciding with Vinexpo Asia, the week beginning Monday 26th May (a UK bank holiday) was extremely quiet, with just one entry covered by Wine Lister. Brane-Cantenac released its 2024 on Tuesday 27th (at £35.50) - marking the first vintage to be aged in their new cellars.

The pace picked up this week, with key entries including Château Margaux and Ducru-Beaucaillou, on Monday 2nd June. The first growth lost half of its tractors in a fire just before the harvest, with neighbouring estates and suppliers rallying around, lending equipment so that the team could keep mildew under control. Thanks to this, it managed to secure a yield of 30 hl/ha, all while staying true to the organic framework it has tested since 2019. At £270, Margaux 2024 sits below all back vintages.

Tuesday 3rd June saw releases from Canon (£71), Clinet (£44), and Pichon Comtesse (£88.50). The latter has eradicated Petit Verdot from its blend and saw half of its usual volumes in 2024. This was followed by key entries from Grand-Puy-Lacoste (£35.50), La Conseillante (£117.87), and l'Évangile (£95) on Wednesday 4th June. A UK trade darling, Grand-Puy-Lacoste 2024 was released below all recent back vintages.

Yesterday’s (Thursday 5th June) releases rounded out the campaign, with entries from Pomerol giants, l’Eglise Clinet (£177) and Vieux Château Certan (£118). The latter entered the market below all previous back vintages, with a top-tier UK merchant telling us this release “opened the door to buyers who’ve admired [Vieux Château Certan] from afar but never had the chance to purchase it before", concluding that the 2024 "sold well".

In-depth analysis of the 2024 en primeur campaign will be included Part II of our annual Bordeaux study – due to be published on our reports page next week (beginning Monday 9th June).