Imports of French wines, demand remains strong (only) for top-of-the-range wines. But price lists are falling

On the one hand, Italians are more and more attentive to rewarding domestic bottles, just as they do with other products from the food&beverage world on the wave of 'food sovereignty'. On the other hand, however, consumption is languishing and Made in Italy wine exports are at a standstill after years of growth. But what is the scenario of the wine world if we look at it from the side of imports (and respective sales in Italian fine dining restaurants)?

Are the great French bottles still the reference point? For the world market they certainly are and from the ability of the French to enhance the product and to team up the Italians certainly have much to learn. Their fascination does not wane, especially if we look at the more exclusive part of the market, which has restarted with a sprint after Covid, even in Italy. Nonetheless, some difficulties are beginning to be registered, especially if you leave the elite of the super-famous domains, not very different from what is happening on the rest of the on-trade market, where distribution is experiencing a slowdown after a period of sprint. Also probably due to too high charges on bottles on the part of the merchants.

Helping us to analyse the market is a historic importer specialising in French wines such as Sarzi Amadè, for whom bottles from beyond the Alps - especially from Burgundy and Bordeaux (150 Bordeaux Châteaux exclusively for Italy) but also Alsace, Champagne, Rhône Valley - represent around 60% of the portfolio (30% the Italians, which have grown considerably in recent years, and 10% the rest of the world, for a total of around 400 references).
The top end remains in high demand and indeed it is difficult to meet the demand from Italian restaurants because it is difficult in the first place to obtain the bottles that customers would demand. But how should the strong declines recorded by Bordeaux "en primeur" 2023 (essentially preview purchases when the wines are not yet in bottle, ed.) be interpreted?
"It is now clear that the 2023 vintage will be in the sign of falling prices even for the most highly rated châteaux. We are still waiting for the prices of important wines such as Petrus, the château most coveted by the market and distributed in direct allocation for 10 years by our company,' comments Alessandro Sarzi Amadè, 'but the price lists of some of the most prestigious companies we deal with have already arrived and have registered a drop of between 20 and 30% compared to the previous vintage. I am talking, for example, about Château Lafite-Rothschild and Château Cheval Blanc'.

Is there therefore a decline in interest in Bordeaux or is it 'a readjustment' after the peak of the last few years? "The trend is a realignment of prices to the pre-covid era. However, the rumour of this forthcoming price reduction (bottles of the 2023 vintage will be delivered from 2027, ed.) has triggered interest from buyers and loyal customers, so much so that we have seen an increase in demand for high-end bottles since the beginning of the month.

On the Burgundy side, will there be the same drop in prices? "Prices for Burgundy wines are more or less stable, with the normal exceptions, but over the last ten years, Burgundy prices have also risen steadily, so it is normal that, with the first results of the Bordeaux en primeur, the current sentiment of operators is cautious," says the distributor.