Brought to you by Daniel Elswood - Wine Autioneer at Catawiki
With great risk can come great reward; any investment comes with an inherent amount of uncertainty, but sometimes it's worth the risk as the payoff can be great. Wine is one of many great investment goods and with a little advice from an expert, you can minimise the risk. Our wine auctioneer Daniel Elswood shares his insider tips on which wines are worthwhile investments.
Wines to Invest In
The most important thing to remember is that like any other investment, wine is not always a safe bet. There have been some fantastic periods where prices have doubled in a year and situations where the prices have risen and fallen sharply. Take, for example, the En Primeur (pre release sale of Bordeaux top wines) of 2009/10 when the very best wines released at a high pricing were believed to be sustainable and did go up. But then prices tumbled and a wine that sold for €6,000 originally went up to €12,000 and then soared down to €3,000 - they now sit around €5,000-€6,000. Lafite 2008 released at €1,700, went up to €12,000 within 2-3 years, went back down to €5,000 and is now at around €7,000.
2008 Chateau Lafite Rothschild, Pauillac AOC - Sold for €550
With this comes the next important part of wine investment. Although there are some advances to be made in a short-term capacity, wine should be viewed as mid to long-term investment (5 years or more). When viewed in this way, an average general return of 5-7% going forward is reasonable to expect as a minimum and allows the investors (if invested wisely) to ride out peaks and troughs.
The Domaine de la Romanee-Conti
The very best and 'safest' investment is if you can secure an allocation of Domaine de la Romanee-Conti, the wines of whom after release consistently double in price. The issue with this is securing the allocation, which can only be achieved by being a longstanding customer of a broker or by taking vast amounts of other wines and getting these as a bonus. However there is another solution, and that is keeping a sharp eye out for these precious bottles at our weekly Wine auctions.
Super Tuscans and Burgundys
The Super Tuscan wines such as Sassicaia, Tignanello, Solaia, Ornellaia & Masseto are all still quite reasonably priced for wines that are world renowned and which score excellently. Although in the past Bordeaux wine has been the top investment, the top red wines of Burgundy can now be seen to be the safer option. We recommend investing in vineyards such as DRC and, as mentioned above, it is best if you can get an allocation.
Other Good Wine Producers
- Domaine Leflaive
- Domaine Armand Rousseau Père et Fils
- Domaine Dugat-Py
- Domaine Leroy
Australian Wines
In line with the Super Tuscans in that pricing is still reasonably accessible and low given quality, rarity and reviews are the top wines of Australia. Good vintages of wines such as Penfolds Grange Bin 95 show good value (1986, 2001, 2008). Also the top wine of Henschke, the Hill of Grace Shiraz from the Eden Valley in Australia shows interesting investment potential.
Hopefully our advice will help you start or build your wine collection. For a diverse selection of exceptional wines from around the world, have a look at our weekly Wine auctions. With new auctions opening every Friday, you never know what great bottles you might find this week. Perhaps you've already built up a collection of fine wines and are ready to cash in on some of your investments. Then you can register as a seller for free and start offering them up for auction.