Has Lafite peaked?
Prices for Chateau Lafite, considered by many the first among First Growths of Bordeaux, appear to have weakened, according to Liv-ex, the indices that track prices of fine wines.
"Though Lafite continues to see strong trade...prices for the First Growth have started to drift," Liv-ex said on its Web site. (www.liv-ex.com).
"Lafite...is now marginally cheaper than it was in December 2010," the index said. Cases of Lafite, depending on vintage and provenance, have been selling for between $12,000 and $20,000 at auction most of the year.
During the same period a year earlier, Lafite saw on average, a 46 percent price move higher.
Jeremy Howard, a former equities researcher at Goldman Sachs and Deutsche Bank, who now runs the UK online retailer Slurp (www.slurp.co.uk) said last year's prices were "unsustainable...so some kind of pause was inevitable."
Howard wrote his clients a note after the Bordeaux houses set their prices for the 2010 vintage this spring in a ritual known as en primeur.
Lafite was actually selling for a tad less than Latour at en primeur, where the world's top collectors, negociants and imports agree to buy them a full-year or more before the contents are bottled.
"Yet when looking at the older vintages the price difference is very substantial," Howard said. Case prices of Latour, again depending on vintage and provenance, have been selling for between $4,000 and $9,000 at auction.
"So what we're saying is either Latour is topping Lafite and should go on to outperform it; or by the same token Lafite is under priced in 2010 and represents a tremendous value," Howard said.
He is offering a case of 2010 Lafite for $18,650 and 2010 Latour for $21,000.
"Though Lafite continues to see strong trade...prices for the First Growth have started to drift," Liv-ex said on its Web site. (www.liv-ex.com).
"Lafite...is now marginally cheaper than it was in December 2010," the index said. Cases of Lafite, depending on vintage and provenance, have been selling for between $12,000 and $20,000 at auction most of the year.
During the same period a year earlier, Lafite saw on average, a 46 percent price move higher.
Jeremy Howard, a former equities researcher at Goldman Sachs and Deutsche Bank, who now runs the UK online retailer Slurp (www.slurp.co.uk) said last year's prices were "unsustainable...so some kind of pause was inevitable."
Howard wrote his clients a note after the Bordeaux houses set their prices for the 2010 vintage this spring in a ritual known as en primeur.
Lafite was actually selling for a tad less than Latour at en primeur, where the world's top collectors, negociants and imports agree to buy them a full-year or more before the contents are bottled.
"Yet when looking at the older vintages the price difference is very substantial," Howard said. Case prices of Latour, again depending on vintage and provenance, have been selling for between $4,000 and $9,000 at auction.
"So what we're saying is either Latour is topping Lafite and should go on to outperform it; or by the same token Lafite is under priced in 2010 and represents a tremendous value," Howard said.
He is offering a case of 2010 Lafite for $18,650 and 2010 Latour for $21,000.
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