Uncorked: Episode 12 - Is This Bordeaux's Last Chance?
Welcome to Episode 12 of Uncorked, the Cult Wines podcast. Tom Gearing, our Co-founder and CEO, is joined as always by Jonathan Stevenson, EVP of Cult Wines North America, with special guest Aarash Ghatineh, Cult Wines’ CRO. Aarash returns for what Tom calls the ‘big guns’ episode, because we have reached that point in the year where the market story matters. We are already at the end of Q1, and with Bordeaux En Primeur about to dominate the calendar, this is the moment to take stock of what has changed, what has not, and where collectors are actually putting money to work.
The conversation starts with a straight read on the tone of trading so far this year, then pulls apart the themes sitting underneath it: stability returning to parts of the market, buyers focusing more on fundamentals, and renewed activity in the vintages and regions that offer both stature and opportunity. From there, attention turns to the questions everyone asks at this time of year. What needs to happen for En Primeur 2025 to land well? How should buyers think about value once carrying costs are considered? How has easier trading changed the old buy-and-hold logic? As ever, it is not all spreadsheets and seriousness; there is room for a bit of fun between the numbers.
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What topics were covered?
End of Q1: Steadier Market Tone
The episode opens with a temperature check. Aarash describes Q1 as a more stable period for pricing, with less speculation and more buying based on fundamentals like age worthiness, scores and fair value. Tom frames it as a welcome change after the volatility of the last couple of years, with a sense that prices are finding support rather than sliding month after month.
Prime Bordeaux Value & the Return of the ‘Holy Trinity’
A big theme is that mature, high-quality Bordeaux feels compelling again. The team talk through recent trade patterns and why the classic 2005, 2009 and 2010 trio is back in focus, both for drinking readiness and for value. Specific examples used to illustrate this point include Lafite Rothschild 2018 and the depth of trading activity around Lafite Rothschild 2010 and Mouton Rothschild 2005.
Why Burgundy Refuses to Take a Break
Tom asks the question many listeners will recognise: Why does everyone always want to buy Burgundy? The answer is not simply hype. Burgundy trading value is up strongly quarter-on-quarter, and the discussion links this to seasonality, small recent crops, and the behaviour of more discerning buyers who are increasingly willing to pivot away from small, expensive new releases and into back vintages that are drinking well. The 2017 and 2019 vintages come up in that wider discussion.
The Most Traded Wines
The team then moves on to what the data shows about liquidity and repeatability. Tom calls out Pontet-Canet as the most-traded red wine in the world, and Aarash explains why that is not as surprising as it sounds, pointing to its location, longevity, pricing, and consistency. From there, the conversation turns into a fun thought experiment, building a five-a-side team of the most-traded wines by region, with names like Cristal, Lynch Bages, Sassicaia, Tignanello, Opus One, and Dominus.
White Wines Getting Busier
A clear trend emerges: white wines are trading more. The team shares the quarter-on-quarter trade change by region, with Bordeaux white up 14.5%, Burgundy white up 13%, Italian whites up 38%, Rhône white up 22% and US whites up 56%, with the caveat that some of these start from a small base. The broader point is that high-end white wines are becoming more collectible and more actively traded.
Momentum Wines & Buyers Paying Up
The episode also touches on “momentum” as a signal, wines trading above the best offers in the market. DRC Echezeaux is called out as a standout in Q1 trading frequency, with the group discussing why the very top end of the market can behave differently when collectors are prioritising provenance over simply securing the bottle.
Bordeaux En Primeur 2025: Pressure & Possibility
As Bordeaux En Primeur 2025 approaches, the tone shifts. The team discusses why Bordeaux needs this campaign to work, the forces shaping pricing, and how buyers can think about offers in a more disciplined way, including the realities of costs, liquidity, and benchmarking against back vintages. They also talk about how the market structure is changing, with easier, more frictionless trading influencing how some collectors may approach En Primeur compared to twenty years ago.
A Wine Game with a Green Jacket Twist
To close, Jonathan introduces a game inspired by Rory McIlroy’s Masters Champions Dinner. The group talk about the Augusta cellar and then start guessing the prices of the wines Rory chose for the event, using UK delivered prices via CultX as the reference point (in USD). Wines mentioned include Salon 2015 and Domaine Leflaive Bâtard Montrachet 2022, and the game quickly turns into a wider chat about what “reasonable” even means at that level.
Get comfortable, this is your quarterly reset. We unpack what actually moved in Q1 and what matters as En Primeur comes into view. Follow the podcast, send us your questions, and tell us what you want us to dig into next.
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