Chateau Lafite Rothschild
Bordeaux Wines
Bordeaux is one of the oldest wine producing regions in the world and has been producing wines since the 12th century. Since the 1855 classification by Napoleon 3 rd the most sought after wines in the world are found in Bordeaux.
While making up 60% of the investment grade market it makes Bordeaux the natural choice for any wine investment portfolio.
Château Lafite Rothschild is a wine estate in France, owned by members of the Rothschild family since the 19th century. The name Lafite comes from the surname of the La Fite family.
Lafite was one of four wine-producing châteaux of Bordeaux originally awarded First Growth status in the 1855 Classification, which was based on the prices and wine quality at that time. Since then, it has been a consistent producer of one of the world’s most expensive red wines.
Most Expensive Chateau Lafite Rothschild: In 2010 an Asian buyer purchased 3 bottles of 1869 Chateau Lafite for £163,000 per bottle.
Domaine de la Romanée-Conti
Burgundy Wines
Burgundy Wines are some of the most highly sought after wines in the world. The reason for this is the minuscule production levels from the Domaines.
Burgundy is made up of over 3000 Domaines and over 100 different appellations. Making Burgundy a difficult but extremely profitable area in which to build a portfolio.
Often abbreviated to DRC, is an estate in Burgundy, France that produces white and red wine. It is widely considered among the world’s greatest wine producers, and DRC bottles are among the world’s most expensive. It takes its name from the domaine’s most famous vineyard, Romanée-Conti.
The Domaine de la Romanée-Conti Romanée Conti 1945 famously set a world record for the most expensive wines sold at auction in 2018 selling for £424,000
Dom Perignon
Champagne Wines
No winemaking region has managed to position themselves as a brand like Champagne has. World famous for its sparkling wines, it is synonymous with Luxury, wealth, celebration and Elegance. It is for these very obvious reasons that champagne has a welcome home in any investment portfolio.
Efforts from Benedictine Monks, English scientist Christopher Merret and the famed Dom Perignon eventually added up to a sparkling offering that was for some time dubbed ‘The Devil’s Wine’ as bottles exploded and corks popped in a bid to contain the fizzing beverage.
Dom Pérignon is a brand of vintage Champagne produced by the Champagne house Moët & Chandon and serves as that house’s prestige champagne. It is named after Dom Pérignon, a Benedictine monk who was an important quality pioneer for Champagne wine but who, contrary to popular myths, did not discover the champagne method for making sparkling wines. The first versions of Champagne appear in 1531, and even in 1844 producers were struggling to bottle it efficiently.
The most expensive Dom Perignon champagne ever sold was a Methuselah with the bottle plated in gold. With one bottle selling for $49,000.
Masseto - Tuscany
Italian Wines
Italy has a long and rich history of winemaking going back centuries. Surprisingly only a small number of wines produced in Italy are deemed ‘investment grade’. Of the investable wines that are produced in Italy, a majority come from Tuscany and are referred to as ‘Super Tuscans’.
In the 1960s Tuscan Winemakers began experimenting with Bordeaux grape varietals and winemaking techniques, which lead to the immensely popular and more importantly, investable Super Tuscans we have today.
Masseto, Across the Alps in Tuscany we find Masseto, often known as the “Italian Petrus”. There are three reasons for this moniker: its production level is also 2,500 cases per year; it is made with the Merlot grape; and it is jolly expensive.
A case of the 1986 Masseto currently trades for £29,154.
Napa Valley
American Wines
When it comes to investing in American Wines there is only one area that matters. Napa Valley, although only 30 miles long and 5 miles across, it is responsible for 27% of California’s wine industry.
The last decade has seen Napa Valley Wines take market share from Bordeaux and Burgundy, making this market one to watch. Pay close attention to wines like Screaming Eagle, Opus One and Dominus.
Screaming Eagle Winery and Vineyards is a California wine estate producing limited amounts of varietal wine; due to the small quantities produced and high prices commanded, their wines are considered cult wines. The winery is located in Oakville, California, north of the town of Napa in the Napa Valley.
At the 2000 Auction Napa Valley, a 6-litre Imperial bottle of 1992 Screaming Eagle Cabernet Sauvignon sold for $500,000. And that’s not the most remarkable thing about the sale. Normally, when wines fetch hundreds of thousands of dollars at auction, they’re European, ultra-rare, and extremely old. That this deep-pocketed bidder was willing to spend half a million dollars for an 8-year-old Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon demonstrated the significance of the label — and its category.
Rest of the World
ROTW Wines
Less than 10% of the investible wine market comes from Australia, Spain, the Rhone region in France. With each of these having their own stand out vineyards that are delivering solid growth for investors such as Penfolds Grange, Domino du Mingus, and Châteauneuf-du-Pape.
So although it represents a fraction of the market, it does not mean that the returns are any less available and help create a well-diversified portfolio.
Vineyard in focus Penfolds Grange: Penfolds Grange (until the 1989 vintage labelled Penfolds Grange Hermitage) is an Australian wine, made predominantly from the Shiraz (Syrah) grape and usually a small percentage of Cabernet Sauvignon.
It is widely considered one of Australia’s “first growth” and its most collectable wine. The term “Hermitage”, the name of a French wine appellation, was commonly used in Australia as another synonym for Shiraz or Syrah.
Most expensive Penfolds grange is the Penfolds Grange Hermitage 1951, which sold for AUS $50,200 per bottle.
