March 2018 newsletter: Bordeaux 2015 great scores
Fact of the Month
“Forts de Latour 2012 has been released today and is the first wine to go on the market after the first growth estate left the en-primeur system”
Please find hereunder an update on the fine wine market and our performance.
Avalanche of positive scores for in-bottle Bordeaux 2015
James Suckling was one of the first critics to release his scores for in-bottle Bordeaux 2015. The result is undeniable, 14 perfect scores, the highest number he has ever given for a single Bordeaux vintage. Antonio Galloni and Lisa Perotti-Brown were next, following Neal Martin who announced his scores last week. As a result of these recent scores, the Bordeaux 2015 vintage is considered one of the most successful vintages over recent decades. Château Margaux, Chateau Canon and Petrus have received 3 perfect score each from different critics, and Margaux 2015 is described as “a new legend”. The values of these prestigious wines are rising rapidly and, when analysing a group of investment-grade wines from the last 10 vintages, we see Bordeaux 2015 as having the greatest potential.
Burgundy wine market outperforms other regions
It is noticeable that Burgundy has been the strongest fine wine region over the last year. Indeed, wine values from the top five producers gained 31 percent over 12 months and albeit high prices, the quality/price ratio is still healthy. This increase is especially the case for producers such as Domaine Leroy, DRC, Louis Latour, Rousseau and Roumier.
This trend is likely to continue over the near future because of the growing interest of Chinese collectors for prestigious Burgundy wines.
Current trend on the market
Boosted by the Burgundy 150 and Italy 100 indices, which have respectively seen 3.8% and 3.1% increases last month, the Liv-Ex 1000 index gained 1.1% in February. Over the last year, the Bordeaux Legends 50 index has gained 7.1% and Burgundy 150 index 20.6%, making them the best performing categories in the Liv-ex 1000 index.
10 years on, how is Bordeaux 2008?
Ten years after the 2008 Bordeaux harvest, how is the quality and price evolution of this vintage? In February, Neal Martin released his updated scores for the 2008’s, which are, generally speaking, around the low nineties.
In terms of price, we have noticed significant growth with wines such as Beychevelle, which has risen 237% to £835 for a 12 bottle case over the last 10 years. Lynch Bages also benefits from an increasing demand and its price has grown by 192% for the same period. But the best performance from en-primeur to peak is owned by Duhart Milon which has grown 390% over the last 10 years to reach £655 per 12 bottle case.
Cru Wine Investment online shop launching
We are pleased to announce that we are close to launching our new online shop. Indeed, in the next weeks you will be able to buy prestigious wines online from many of the World’s finest wine regions. This new venture is intended to provide a shop window onto some of the fabulous wines we are able to acquire, not only reflecting what we do best, but going the extra distance to meet the needs of any wine lover who wishes to enjoy exceedingly fine wines at competitive prices. Remember, we can find any wine that you need, whatever the occasion.
Cru Wine Investment performance
Cru Wine Investment, having anticipated the rush for Bordeaux 2015 wines, and the equally exceptional sibling vintage 2016, has acquired good quantities of prestigious wines from both these years for our clients. For instance, Lafite Rothschild, Vieux Château Certan, Haut Brion, La Mission Haut-Brion and Château Canon from the Bordeaux 2015 vintage which have all been well rewarded by the critics. CWI has also done some great deals, such as the acquisition and sale of a significant private cellar made up of not only prestigious Bordeaux wines including a vertical of Lynch-Bages, but also fabulous vintage Champagnes, with multiple vintages of Dom Perignon. Trading of fine wine continues apace globally, with strong sales of wines in Hong Kong & Singapore, as well as key European markets such as London, Italy and France.
Wine remains stable in uncertain markets
As we can see on the following graph, the wine investment market is still outperforming most traditional asset classes. The growth is in part driven by the growing Asian demand for wine at all levels. As predicted, equities were looking a bit peaky and are proceeding to wobble, with other markets mirroring that pattern – a good reason for a number of new investors to look towards more stable assets that tend to move to their own tune, such as fine wine. Our approach to fine wine selection and active portfolio management continues to generate growth in excess of the performance of the overall fine wine market. The outlook remains very positive.
If you would like a free consultation about the wine investment market, email us on [email protected] or call us on +44 (0) 207 016 9820.
Equally, if you have a wine cellar collection and you would like a free valuation, you can send us your list and we will gladly offer you a full valuation and recommendation of sale.
Kind regards,
The Cru Wine Investment Team – www.cruwineinvestment.com
