Bordeaux 2010: Mouton Rothschild release mirrors Margaux, Palmer keeps 2009 price

Chateau Mouton Rothschild is the second of the great chateaux to release ¨C and it has only offered 35% of its wine to the negociants.

Mouton: one third held back

The Pauillac first growth is €600 ex-negociant, 9% up on 2009 and exactly the same price as Chateau Margaux.

Mouton has released only 35% of its Grand Vin, and it has pegged the price of both its Grand Vin and its second wine to to Chateau Margaux.

The second wine, Petit Mouton, is €108 - almost double the price of the 2009 vintage of €60.

It is following the example of Margaux, whose second wine, Pavillon Rouge, is also €108 ¨C on a 2009 price of €60.

Both these wines are far behind the most expensive second wine, Carruades de Lafite.

Its 2010 price has not been released, but the 2009 is now changing hands for around £300 a bottle.

While some UK merchants are outraged by the tiny tranche released from Mouton ¨C one classed it as ¡®a joke¡¯ - they are not phased by the high prices of the second wines.

¡®Pavillon is at the standard of the first wine 20 years ago,¡¯ Fine & Rare¡¯s Simon Davies told Decanter.com.

¡®It has an enormous international following. The Far East loves it. We bought our entire allocation and will have no trouble selling it.¡¯

At Farr Vintners, Stephen Browett said, ¡®We have sold our Pavillon Rouge 2010 at £1380 per dozen. It has sold out immediately.¡¯

Other new releases today are Palmer,Vieux Chateau Certan and Troplong Mondot.

Palmer is exactly the same price as last year: €215 ex-negociant.

Vieux Chateau Certan is €180 ex-negociant, an increase of 5.4% on 2009 (€156)

Troplong Mondot is €98.4 ex-negociant, an increase of 9.3% on 2009 (€90).