Archive for the
‘Investment Wine’

The price for Langoa Barton 2022 was released earlier today. It is being offered by the international trade for £428 per 12×75, a 20.9% increase on the 2021’s opening price (£354 per case). Production at the estate was down 30% compared to the previous year. We consider this to be a fair price, especially when one takes into account that it is still lower than the 2016 release price.

William Kelley (Wine Advocate) has scored the wine a barrel range of 93-95+ points, calling it ‘polished and penetrating’. The critic also predicted it ‘should match or even surpass the 2019 and 2016 vintages’ and says it is ‘one of the most intelligent purchases of the en primeur campaign’.

James Suckling gave it a barrel range of 96-97 points, calling it a ‘big wine’ with ‘depth and structure’.

If you are interested in discussing your investment wine options – please follow this link and fill in the form.

 

The next Bordeaux En Primeur release is Chateau Leoville Barton 2022. It is being offered by the international trade for £780 per 12×75, which is a 16.7% increase on the 2021’s opening price.

Critics have highly praised the vintage’s wine, with James Suckling giving it a barrel range of 95-96 points. He called it ‘very polished and poised’, adding that it was ‘harmonious for the vintage’.

William Kelley (Wine Advocate) scoring it 96-97+ points, calling it “one of the stars of the Médoc and a wine likely to equal or surpass its 2019 and 2016 counterparts.”

Pleasingly, the release price has come out under the 2016 and 2019 vintages. We will be taking our full allocation.

If you are interested in discussing your investment wine options – please follow this link and fill in the form.

Kicking off the big gun releases for the 2022 campaign is Chateau Cheval Blanc. It is being offered by the international trade for £5,760 per 12×75, a 21.5% increase on the 2021 (£4,740). An important point to get excited about for buyers is that it is available at a 15% discount to the acclaimed 2016 vintage in a vintage where yields are down across the region.

It being very early doors, all the scores aren’t in yet (notably Neal Martin) however critics have highly praised this vintage’s wine.

James Suckling giving it a barrel range of 99-100 points and said that the wine ‘soars to new heights with its brightness and weightlessness’ and questioned if it might be the ‘wine of the vintage?’

Jean-Marc Quarin awarding it a perfect 100-points.

William Kelley (Wine Advocate) gave it a slightly lower score of (97-99)+ points but still considered it ‘one of the stars of the vintage.’

If you are interested in discussing your investment wine options – please follow this link and fill in the form.

Sassicaia 2020 Takes Centre Stage

Sassicaia is a legendary wine produced in the Bolgheri region of Tuscany, Italy. This wine is made primarily from Cabernet Sauvignon grapes and is considered to be one of the finest examples of the Bordeaux-style blend. Sassicaia is renowned for its rich, full-bodied flavour, with notes of dark fruit, cassis, and hints of vanilla and spice. The wine is known for its smooth and complex taste and has earned the title of a “Super Tuscan” due to its quality and prestige.

Sassicaia is not only renowned for its outstanding flavour, but also for its investment credentials. This legendary wine has a long history of appreciation in value. Sassicaia is a limited production wine, with generally only a few thousand cases produced each year, adding to its exclusivity and driving up demand. Its consistent high ratings and awards from wine critics only further solidify its position as a top investment wine. With its combination of rare, high-quality wine and a history of value appreciation, Sassicaia is a sought-after addition to any wine portfolio.

The highly anticipated release of the Sassicaia 2020 vintage has finally arrived, with cases being sold for £2,400, a 20.6% increase from the 2019 release price of £1,990 per case. The 2020 vintage, however, will have a reduced volume due to a more restrictive fruit selection process following a hot vintage. According to wine critic Monica Larner, volumes for the 2020 vintage are down 25%.

The release of each new vintage of Sassicaia is always highly anticipated, with the wine often becoming the most traded Tuscan wine in the secondary market. The 2019 vintage is a testament to this, with the wine trading at a 23.4% premium on its release price just a few months after its release. The 2019 vintage went on to become the most traded Sassicaia vintage that year, followed by the 2018 vintage.

Bordeaux 2019 ‘Could be the Greatest Ever’

The Bordeaux 2019 vintage is back in the spotlight following the annual Southwold tasting, where it topped the scoreboard according to a variety of critics, even outperforming legendary vintages such as 2016, making it one of the greatest vintages ever.

Jancis Robinson MW described the vintage as “perhaps the best I have ever tasted at this stage” with “masses of ripe fruit” and “lots of tannin” for longevity. The vintage was a surprising success, released during the height of the European lockdown and offering high-quality wines at attractive prices. The 2019 vintage has been the most traded Bordeaux vintage in the last year, with some of the top-scoring wines seeing significant increases in value.

On average, the 2019s were released at a 21% discount to the 2018s, with some châteaux offering price cuts of up to 31% – This is ‘good news for those who took advantage of the relative bargains that were Bordeaux’s 2019s offered en primeur’, according to the critic.

All figures used are from Liv-Ex

If you are interested in learning more about Bordeaux/ Super Tuscan Investment wine, do get in touch. We also have some other great wines for you to enjoy from Tenuto San Guido that won’t break the bank if you fancy something special for your next dinner party!

 

Edward Stevens
Sales Manager
Waud Investment Wines Limited
edward.stevens@waudwines.com

What is the Liv-Ex Fine Wine 100?

The Liv-ex Fine Wine 100 Index is a benchmark for the global fine wine market. It tracks the price movements of 100 of the most sought-after wines from Bordeaux, Burgundy, Champagne, and the Rhône. The index is compiled and published by Liv-ex, the leading global fine wine exchange, and is updated daily.

The Liv-ex Fine Wine 100 Index is considered a key indicator of the fine wine market and is widely used by wine investors, collectors, and industry professionals to monitor performance and trends. The index is based on actual trade data from Liv-ex and reflects the prices at which the featured wines are traded on the platform.

The 100 wines included in the index are chosen based on their trade liquidity and market depth, ensuring that the index accurately represents the performance of the fine wine market as a whole. Wines are selected from a pool of over 5,000 wines traded on Liv-ex and must meet certain criteria, such as having a minimum trade volume and frequency, to be eligible for inclusion.

So how has it been performing?

The index hit an all time high a few months ago, and in fact the last couple of years have seen very strong performance as people look to alternative asset classes during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. The index is up 29% over the last 2 years – Some of the big Bordeaux names such as Lafite and Mouton Rothschild have done particularly well during this period as they usually do.

What next?

If you are interested in hearing more about the fine wine market or you would like to get involved in our next Bordeaux en primeur campaign, then do get in touch.

 

Edward Stevens
Sales Manager
Waud Investment Wines Limited
edward.stevens@waudwines.com

What is En Primeur Investment?

Bordeaux en primeur is a type of wine investment where buyers purchase wine before it has been bottled and aged. The process begins in late summer/ early autumn, when the grapes are harvested. The grapes are usually fermented in stainless steel or concrete tanks and then aged in oak barrels for a period of 12-24 months.

After the ageing process is complete, the wine is bottled and released for sale as “en primeur”. This means that the wine is being sold before it is actually available to drink. The wine is then shipped to the buyer, typically a couple of years later. This can then be stored under bond, free from VAT and import duty, for many more years in bottle.

What are the advantages?

One of the main advantages of investing in Bordeaux en primeur is the potential for a high return on investment. As the wine ages and improves in quality, it also becomes rarer and its value can increase significantly. Additionally, Bordeaux wines are highly sought after by collectors and wine enthusiasts, which can also drive up the price.

Another advantage of Bordeaux en primeur is that it allows buyers to purchase wine at the release price which is often lower than if they were to buy it on the open market. This can be a great opportunity for wine enthusiasts and collectors to acquire high-quality wines at a more affordable price.

In Summary

Bordeaux en primeur is a type of wine investment where buyers purchase wine before it has been bottled and aged. The process begins with the grape harvest in the Autumn, the grapes are fermented, aged in oak barrels, and then bottled and released for sale as “en primeur” after the aging process is complete. The potential for a high return on investment, the opportunity to purchase wine directly from the winery at a lower price and having perfect provenance are some of the advantages of Bordeaux en primeur investment.

We are in our 9th year of Bordeaux En Primeur Investment, with over 4 million under management. If you are interested in hearing more about the Bordeaux 2022 campaign or you would like to get involved, do get in touch.

 

Edward Stevens
Sales Manager
Waud Investment Wines Limited
edward.stevens@waudwines.com

Fine wine investment has seen another year of strong performance. The Liv-ex Fine Wine 1000 Index, which tracks the performance of the 1000 most sought-after wines, has seen a return of 13.1% over the last 12 months. This outperformance has been driven by a growing global market for fine wine, as well as increased interest from investors seeking alternative assets to traditional investments like stocks and bonds. In particular, fine wine has proven to be a relatively stable and consistent performer in the face of economic uncertainty. Additionally, the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic has increased demand for fine wine as people spend more time at home and seek out luxury goods.

Bordeaux wines, in particular, have been a consistently strong performer in the fine wine market. The Liv-ex Bordeaux Legends 40 Index, which tracks the performance of 40 Bordeaux wines, has seen a return of 8.5% over the past year. Bordeaux continues to be the most traded region on Liv-ex with a monthly regional share of 38.3% for December. This is due to the high demand and prestige associated with Bordeaux wines, as well as the limited supply of certain vintages. Additionally, Bordeaux wines have a long history of aging well, which makes them an attractive option for long-term investors.

Edward Stevens
Sales Manager
Waud Investment Wines Limited

A Liv-ex article published on the 18th May 2022. 

The UK Consumer Price Index (CPI) hit 9% in April, the highest level in 40 years.

The CPI reflects the prices of a basket of consumer goods and services known as ‘normal goods’, such as transportation, food, and medical treatment. According to many economists, these normal goods have no potential investment value during times of inflation. 

By contrast, several asset classes perform well in inflationary environments. For example, real estate, gold and other luxury goods are often popular inflation-hedging investments options.  

How does inflation impact fine wine?  

Luxury Goods’ are the opposite of necessity goods as they tend to be sensitive to a person’s income or wealth (as wealth rises so do purchases of luxury items). As inflation continues to rise, one would think that the performance of luxury goods would decline. However, as corporations strive to keep wages up-to-date with inflation, luxury goods are also seeing increased demand. For example, luxury group LVMH, just announced a 23% growth in Q1 2022 revenue 

Fine wine is a combination of investment and a luxury good. It has ‘an active secondary market’ and both inherent tangibility but also scarcity (especially over time). As such, it tends to perform well during times of uncertainty and inflation.  

The chart below compares fine wine, stock and housing investments to the CPI. As you can see, the performance of the Bordeaux 500 and Liv-ex Fine Wine 100 indices mirrors the pattern of CPI, rather than stocks (FTSE100) or housing (HPI).  

Fine wine would appear to be a wise investment for inflation protection. With inflation rising once more, collectors may be taking note. 

The iconic investment grade wine from California was released today – it is a blend of Cabernet Sauvignon (84%), Petit Verdot (6%), Merlot (5%), Cabernet Franc (4%), and Malbec (1%), spent 17 months in new French oak. The joint Rothschild/Mondavi project was one of the earliest adopters of La Place, all the way back in 2004.  

Critical Acclaim

This is our 4th Opus One vintage and this super wine has received improved scores on last year.

Antonio Galloni at Vinous rated the 2018 Opus One a score of 95-points. In his tasting note, Galloni observed: “Silky tannins and lifted, perfumed aromatics add to an impression of finesse that distinguishes the 2018 from some of the preceding vintages in a pretty big way”. 

Lisa Perrotti-Brown at the Wine Advocate awarded it 98-points, and said that, “the 2018 Opus One soars out of the glass with bright, bold boysenberries, warm cassis and ripe, juicy black plums notes, plus emerging nuances of lilacs, oolong tea, cinnamon stick, tilled soil and black truffles”. 

James Suckling gave it 99-points, noting that this “lasts for minutes”. “So wonderful to taste now, but better after 2026”, he added. The wine also received 97-points from Jeb Dunnuck 

Performance

Prices for Opus One tend to move with time rather than being influenced by critic scores. As can be seen in the chart below, older vintages command steadily higher prices.

If you are interested in discussing your investment wine options – please follow this link and fill in the form.