URBAN GUIDE

Some wines sell at sky-high prices, but is a 5-star wine really better than the rest?

Subjective taste apart, wine tasters offer some arguments for the debate. «A very costly wine is often from a star appellation, and there is no terroir in the southern Côtes-du-Rhône or in Côtes-de-Provence as prestigious as that of Clos Vougeot,» says Hugo Noël of Cave de Baille. Yet there are Provence rosés that fetch $90 or $175 a bottle. One such is Château d’Esclans, which is owned by the Lichin family, better known for their famous Prieuré in the Bordeaux region. «That estate relies on a Saint-Tropez network of yacht owners, luxury hotels and international buyers; it goes beyond the quality of the wine,» continues Hugo Noël. Château Rayas in Châteauneuf-du-Pape has a 2007 red at €660 a bottle; Robert Parker scores it 98/100. «There is no maximum price, it’s always a matter of supply and demand,» explains wine merchant Philippe Gavotry.
«The wine guides’ scores, the price of land and the winegrower’s work justify these prices but there is also the cost of communication and marketing.» Pushing prices ever higher, some Châteauneuf-du-Pape growers produce very small cuvées, such as Château de Beaucastel’s 2000 Hommage à Jacques Perrin, at around €775 for a magnum. Winegrower Henri Bonneau, who died last March, offered quite exceptional cuvées and there is no doubt that his 1990 Réserve des Célestins, currently listed at €960, will become more popular in the coming years. While the stars of Bandol – Tempier, Pibarnon and Château Pradeaux – top the wine lists in the best restaurants, the renown of a terroir is not enough to justify soaring prices. By contrast, Domaine de Trévallon proves that wine quality on its own can justify very high prices: a 75cl bottle of its 2013 white vin de pays is priced at about €414.

Château d’Esclans : 04 94 60 40 40

Château Rayas : 04 90 83 73 09

Château Beaucastel : 04 90 70 41 15

Trévallon : 04 90 49 06 00

Domaine Tempier : 04 94 98 70 21