The En Primeur campaign is officially underway, as Sauternes estate Chateau Guiraud releases its 2017 wine with a 4% increase on last year.
The price was announced at €31.20 a bottle ex-négociant – a marginal increase on last year’s €30 per bottle.
Chateau Guiraud, like many Sauternes estates, has made a habit of releasing its vintages far in advance of other labels – presumably in a bid to maximise exposure before the avalanche of Left and Right Bank releases arrive in early summer. Last year, the estate made its release on 27 March.
There is little critical consensus on the vintage overall so far, so it’s difficult to consider how Guiraud’s pricing stacks up. Sauternes in particular was badly affected by frost in 2017, and Guiraud produced just 50,000 bottles in 2017 compared to 80,000 in 2016.
However, James Suckling has already tasted a range of 2017s, commenting that the whites are “very beautiful”, suggesting Guiraud’s modest price increase could make it very attractive to buyers.
