The wine press has been ablaze recently with the news that Lafite is on a tear. The reason is the Chinese love of the wine. The best research I’ve seen on this phenomenon to date is from Jancis Robinson. In her article, ‘The Legend of Lafite’ she searches China, trying to determine why Lafite is such a darling there. The answer is not very conclusive, but the elements are:
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It tends to be shown as the first First Growth in the 1855 classification
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The Chinese revere tradition and the 1855 classification resonates
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Lafite is easy to say in Mandarin
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Lafite were first into China and has spent time and effort developing the market
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Lafite have a good Chinese website
In its reporting of how the wine market is recovering from the recession, Decanter covered the phenomenon. They identified how Lafite in some cases is now twice the price of other First Growths on the secondary market and even the second bottling ‘Carruades de Lafite’ is more expensive than some of the other top Bordeaux wines.
For Winevestors there are a couple of opportunities. Look back at back vintages which haven’t risen as much yet, and especially look at some of the weaker vintages. It appears that at this stage of the market the Chinese are not yet sensitive to differences in vintage quality. That will certainly change. Another bet is to buy Mouton Rothschild. The rationale is that the Rothschild brand will expand to Mouton as well.
While it is not crystal clear why Lafite has taken off in China. It is clear that China is now the predominate force in premium wine buying and will continue to effect wine sales in the coming years.
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