Simon Field MW was privileged to attend the meticulous recorking preparations for a landmark auction at Christie’s London, on November 30 to mark Olivier Bernard’s four decades at Domaine de Chevalier and to taste the 40 wines that will be offered then in a unique double-magnum superlot.

Domaine de Chevalier is located in the forest to the south of Pessac in the Graves—an oasis of calm, interrupted only by the hunter’s rifle or the call of the goshawk. Far, therefore, from the illustrious peers that are to be found in the conurbation of greater Bordeaux itself. There are neither Carmelites nor Lazarite missionaries here, only Hansel-and-Gretel silence, with no clues at all as to the identity of the eponymous Chevalier. Noble rather than aristocratic rusticity; Mauriac rather than Montesquieu; the voices of the provinces. And of course, one of the most brilliant of all the wines of the Graves, its reputation built on humility, maybe—on a very specific microclimate, certainly—and on the industry of one man, Olivier Bernard, who has been the chevalier d’honneur here for more than 40 years.

Good reason, then, to celebrate an anniversary. The Bernards acquired the property in 1983, with the paterfamilias Jean immediately ceding authority to his son Olivier, fifth of six children, but clearly the one with the interest and the aptitude, qualities that have billowed out over the years and that took him all the way to the presidency of the Union des Grands Crus de Bordeaux. The Oliviers had made their money as sugar traders in Lille, then as eau de vie distillers in Bordeaux (their company Lucian Bernard survives), and finally as vignerons. Olivier was at one point destined to be, of all things, an estate agent. A period in the navy ensued (where he met long-standing friend and amanuensis Rémi Edange) and finally the calling of the vines. He learned a lot from the previous owner, Claude Ricard, whom he describes as his “second father” (see WFW 80, pp.162–65).

Now the property has 65ha (160 acres) under vine, the majority devoted to red, the majority (and increasing) of that planted with Cabernet Sauvignon. Dark sand and gravel dominate this single sheltered block, with clay beneath; good drainage and prominent acidity are valued more and more as the soils get warmer. Olivier, Bordeaux ambassador par excellence, discerns positive progress over his tenure: “In Bordeaux, a warm vintage is a good vintage, and a warm terroir is a good terroir.” He contrasts the damp mediocrity of some of the wines of the ’60s with the recent sequence of excellence, citing 2015, ’16, ’18, ’19, ’20, and ’22 by way of proof. Frost, he concedes, can be a problem (he has 17 anti-frost machines, especially useful, appropriately enough, in 2017), and generally the impetus has been toward organic certification. The health of the soils is weaned from non-intervention primarily. The accreditation was achieved for the whites in 2022 and will be concluded for the reds in 2024. “I signed a pact with the terroir 40 years ago,” he says, and “we are both keeping our respective sides of the bargain.” Well said! These are subtle, nuanced wines, far from demonstrative but built to last, as the tasting notes here confirm. And let us, in passing, not forget the supremely brilliant white wine, not under the hammer in today’s analysis but legendary in its own right, and it will also be offered in magnums and double magnums at the auction held by Christie’s London on November 30.

From Melchior to double magnum

So, it’s a good time to celebrate, with a double magnum of the red wine from each of the 40 years to be auctioned at Christie’s London. In some years, it transpires, there are no double magnums in the cellar. One misty day in late March is therefore set aside to decant, rebottle, recork, and capsule from (even) larger formats to ensure that each year is now represented by two double magnums, one for the auction, one for library stock. I am privileged to witness what turns out to be (as is so often the case chez Bernard) a family affair, with wife Anne and son Adrien both assisting, along with winemaker Louis de Bouglon and, of course, honorary family member Rémi. A symphony of cork, wax, and cascading wine ensues, with small samples of each wine poured for me to taste before the addition of protective sulfur dioxide and the recorking. In the great hall of the hunting lodge, with thick stone walls, a massive fireplace, oak beams, 19th-century oil portraits, and (rather surprisingly) chinoiserie, the bottles are gradually lined up on a long trellis table. The work takes the whole day, and demands great attention to detail in terms of sediment, levels, and the like. Rémi needs to hold the double magnum as Olivier carefully stands over him to decant from the larger format—a vinous pietà, silence as it takes place.

It is quite an exercise all in all, especially given the scale of the operation and the large formats in play. They are, if you will pardon the list: 18 liter (Melchior) for 1987, 1988, 1989, 1990; 15 liter (Nebuchadnezzar) for 2000; 12 liter (Balthazar) for 1991, and 6 liter (Impériale) for 1992, 1993, 1995, 1996, 2003, 2006, 2007, and 2015. The other vintages are already available in the double-magnum format. Olivier has decided that, for many reasons, this format is the optimum size for this purpose; he seeks consistency and longevity in every vintage. New Diam closures have been bought, and the cellar master is on hand with his pipette to add a little liquid sulfur dioxide. Olivier then tops up from carafe with a modest drop of 2006 or 2008. “This carafe is usually for le service,” he jokes; this time the gratification is to be deferred for posterity. “Before 2005, there were very few larger formats anywhere in Bordeaux,” he advises. Domaine de Chevalier, fortunately, has maintained a relatively healthy library for days such as these. And a very special day it is, too. There is a wonderful atmosphere—familial, dignified, respectful, and proud. Forty years of excellence from one of Bordeaux’s greatest ambassadors. Bravo! 

Tasting Domaine de Chevalier

Domaine de Chevalier; March 26, 2023. Because of the informal and necessarily rather rapid nature of the tasting, I have not scored the wines. The 2016–21 vintages were tasted over lunch, while the 2022 was a barrel sample.

1983 (65% CS, 30% M, 5% CF)

Holding color admirably. Refined, with a seductive nose redolent of truffles spiked with incense, the sacred and the profane. Just a touch stalky, peaty almost, something elemental. Fine acidity inspires a lively peroration and a graceful, evocative finish.

1984 (85% CS, 10% M, 5% CF)

Minty and lively on the attack. Graves stone fruit, with a hint of wild strawberry and white chocolate for good measure. A touch of caramel, however, on the palate, telling tales from the old school (chaptalization?). A little short but bearing up well. A higher quota of Cabernet Sauvignon than usual.

1985 (65% CS, 30% M, 5% CF)

Fantastically allusive; black tea and gunpowder come to mind. An imperious tannic grip, velvety and plush, the acidity bearing up well. Quintessential Chevalier, built to last, with Palladian elegance and careful understatement juxtaposed.

1986 (65% CS, 30% M, 5% CF)

A minor key compared to the ’85, but with vestigial charm and a robust temperament. Black fruits to the fore, a touch of soot and licorice, too. Composure and elegance, pashmina tannins, a wrap of acidity that does not overwhelm, and a firm, black-cherry finish. Food friendly.

1987 (65% CS, 30% M, 5% CF)

An aromatic of tobacco and ancient evenings; hints of white chocolate and forest floor. The palate is more delicate and restrained than its two forebears, the sinews starting to relax, but the spirit is still there. A gentle ferrous lift on the finish. 

1988 (65% CS, 30% M, 5% CF)

A child of its vintage; reticent, subtle, and ultimately beguiling. A very fine linear character, with firm acidity, discreet tannins, and a gentle crescendo on the palate. Cigar box and cèpes, with hints of bacon rind and eucalypt, all finely rendered and composed. Perfect now. 

1989 (65% CS, 30% M, 5% CF)

Warmer and riper than the ’88, with a deeper color and a touch of VA behind the plums and Provençal herbs. Still generous after all these years, structurally poised and quietly powerful; à point now and for at least the next five years. 

1990 (65% CS, 30% M, 5% CF)

An excellent 1990, holding color well, with a deep core of red and black fruit. Violets and Assam tea leaf, striking chiaroscuro definition, and a backbone of acidity that does not overwhelm the structure. Velvet tannins, tight-grained and petrified over time. Classicism writ large, almost ageless.

1991 (65% CS, 30% M, 5% CF)

Chevalier often performs well in apparently lesser vintages. The ’91 is more open than the ’90, its aromatics with more lift; cassis and peonies, with petrichor and cigar box in the background. A medium intensity on the mid-palate, everything in proportion, the tannins finely corseted, and then, most striking, a glorious, uplifting, floral finish. Freshness rewarded.

1992 (65% CS, 30% M, 5% CF)

More evolved than some of its peers in color, with a terra-cotta rim and miasma at the core. Chewy and still muscular, maybe less composed than an archetype might be on the finish, which is, by comparison, a little abrupt.

1993 (65% CS, 30% M, 5% CF)

A lifted aroma: autumn bonfires in the next village; cèpes and dried rose petals. The palate is firm and foursquare; hints of tapenade and spirit to finish.

1994 (65% CS, 30% M, 5% CF)

A big-boned, stentorian example, each of the constituent elements vying for attention in a competition of ascending grace. The fruit has a pastille character, with hints of balsam and fig; black olives and sous-bois. The mid-1990s have bequeathed powerful wines, masculine of temperament and somewhat orotund. Food-friendly and baroque.

1995 (65% CS, 30% M, 5% CF)

Dark chocolate, crème de cassis, and dried fruit; a velvety texture, a Bacchanalian temperament; pebbly, too, with a certain sapidity behind the power. An archetype of the pre-Derenoncourt era, this will not want for followers. Muscular and hedonistic, but the cheekbones do not lack definition on closest inspection.

1996 (65% CS, 30% M, 5% CF)

An ethereal nose: rose petals, peonies, and Victoria plums. The mid-palate is a cadenza of taut stealth, the acidity marked but not overbearing, the fruit running an encyclopedic gamut. Somewhat atypical after a sequence of more powerful examples. A pleasing contrast and more than holding its own.

1997 (65% CS, 30% M, 5% CF)

Delicate, with a definite fade on the rim. An ode to autumnal characteristics, with gorse, thyme, and blood orange bolstering the usual descriptors; a billowing, slightly loose-leafed character, attractive, ephemeral, a touch mournful.

1998 (65% CS, 30% M, 5% CF)

An odd year in Pessac, very wet and then very hot; it is the latter feature that has left its mark here. Ripeness held in a tight tannic grip; Chevalier restraint tempered by a core of dark fruit; morello cherry and mulberry are announced behind the pebble-dash façade. A little foursquare, but with plenty of latent power.

1999 (65% CS, 30% M, 5% CF)

TCA on the first attempt; the replacement still lacks for focus. Maybe a little overextraction evidenced. Dark color, very firm tannins.

2000 (63% CS, 37% M)

A magnificent gift from this warm and generous vintage. The gradation of color, flavor, and texture alike are finely meshed into a definitive statement of Pessac power. Sweet fruit and gunpowder, dried cèpes and potpourri, a confident and uplifting finish. An excellent 2000. 

2001 (65% CS, 30% M, 5% CF)

A more delicate missive. Finely etched linear acidity and a floral elegance: violets and peony; a hint of the pines of the surrounding forests. Medium intensity, with a refreshing finish.

2002 (65% CS, 30% M, 5% CF)

A deep color, onyx at the core, with a firm rim. Aromatics dominated by graphite and vegetable sap, with cassis and bitter chocolate in support. The palate has an almost syrupy texture, yet with a distinctive almost medicinal character, resinous maybe. A touch of overextraction here, seemingly; the finish is monochrome, lacking nuance. Atypical.

2003 (65% CS, 30% M, 5% CF)

A generous floral nose, careless of the reputation of this scorching year. Structured, powerful, and authoritative; plenty of ripe fruit and matière, but no hint of surmaturité. The acidity is holding its own, with only the slightest astringency on the back.

2004 (53% CS, 35% M, 6% PV, 6% CF)

A pleasing statement from a sometimes-forgotten year—a year of plenty, in terms of both quality and quantity. A little reserved, thereafter upstanding, well bred, and with classic Graves pebbles and moist coal leavening the generous cassis and blueberry fruit. A hint of jasmine on the nose and eucalypt on the back, combining to add a charismatic flourish. The first year in which Petit Verdot staked a claim in the blend, usually repeated thereafter.

2005 (65% CS, 30% M, 3% PV, 2% CF)

Boasting all the complexity and potential that one would hope for from this fantastic year. An intense inky core and equally intense aromatics of forest floor, blue and red fruit, then hints of cardamom, fig, and laurel. Power patient in the wings; the tannins silky yet authoritative, the acidity suitably linear. On the up (and up). One of the most impressive wines of the tasting.

2006 (63% CS, 30% M, 4% PV, 3% CF)

A fascinating 2006, child of a gentle, but finely etched vintage, with nothing to disturb the golden mean that marries linear acidity and generous fruit. The tannins are especially rigorous; pinpoint focus and an embracing sinew. Very impressive and beautifully composed.

2007 (63% CS, 30% M, 4% PV, 3% CF)

Youthful and coiled, a little hard to read as it contemplates the transition from secondary to tertiary expressionism. Tea and gum cistus stand out today. Medium weight, with hints of crushed pepper and bitter chocolate on the back.

2008 (66% CS, 25% M, 9% PV)

The cooler years with later harvests inspire the more poetic side of Domaine de Chevalier; 2008 is not an exception. There is a generous color but, beyond that, a subtle floral aromatic, with hints of verbena and cinnamon and a palate texture that is marked by a lifted elegance. Not a long-term wine, perhaps, but very pretty.

2009 (65% CS, 30% M, 3% PV, 2% CF)

A complete contrast to the 2008: a powerful wine bursting with potential. Complete and intense, yet with lovely acidity running through its gastronomic heart. Smoky, lifted, long, and rich. Dark fruit dominates (blackberry, blackcurrant, and plum), with bitter chocolate and Havana cigar in support. 

2010 (55% CS, 35% M, 5% PV, 5% CF)

A magnificent Chevalier combining all the best features hitherto encountered, viz a distinct Pessac gravelly texture, robust fruit, power, and an ethereal floral lift (its acidity appreciably higher than in the 2009). Everything marries harmoniously in this terrific example, which is just getting into its stride.

2011 (62% CS, 32% M, 6% PV)

Reticent on the day, the 2011 has a rich color and narrow rim, powerful smoky aromas, plenty of ripe fruit, and a firm, slight, muscular structure. A little austere on the finish.

2012 (64% CS, 31% M, 5% PV)

Not dissimilar to the 2011 structurally but maybe a little more expressive on the nose; gravel and dried rose petals to the fore. It closes down quite quickly at the moment, but the mid-palate is accomplished. A very worthy effort from a tricky year. 

2013 (85% CS, 15% M)

From the powerful end of the Chevalier spectrum, this is a subtle and nicely balanced example. The long, late harvest has underwritten complexity here, and there is significant weight behind the perfume. Atypical, given the high proportion of Cabernet Sauvignon, but composed and slowly emerging (in the manner of the year itself).

2014 (65% CS, 30% M, 5% PV)

A touch dilute in the middle, perhaps; articulate but not grandiloquent.

2015 (65% CS, 30% M, 5% PV)

Precise and detailed, pointillist; everything, per Olivier, comme il faut (as it should be). To say the least. A classic Pessac nose, tobacco and pebbles, coal dust and mature plums; even a hint of sandalwood. Composed and elegant, perfumed and seductive. On the march.

2016 (55% CS, 35% M, 5% PV, 5% CF)

A dry vintage, with the old-vine Cabernets really coming into their own. A suitably intense color and distinctive sense of crème de cassis and eucalypt; a hint of licorice thereafter and a rich balsamic texture.

2017 (70% CS, 25% M, 5% PV)

A tricky year marked by frost and above-average rainfall. As anticipated, the wines majors on perfume and floral elegance, linear acidity, and a poised, silky structure.

2018 (65% CS, 30% M, 5% PV)

Benchmark Chevalier, a more-than-worthy vindication of Olivier’s dictum that equates the warmth of the vintage with the quality of the wine (even if one wonders for how much longer). Certainly apposite here; a magisterial color and encyclopedic nose, with the sweet and savory neatly entwined. Firm natural acidity, almost miraculously, embalms the ensemble in a haunting web of potential. 

2019 (65% CS, 30% M, 5% PV)

More in the vein of the 2016, another classic from Monsieur Bernard. The attractive dark-fruit aromatic is tempered by a gravely subtext; this is echoed on the palate, which is elegantly coiled, everything in proportion, acidity in support of the robust tannins, discreetly powerful—all very Chevalier, therefore. Great potential here. 

2020 (55% CS, 35% M, 5% PV, 5% CF)

A little more reticent than the 2019, but maybe with riper fruit, awaiting its moment. Pepper and clove behind the cassis; tree bark and a hint of clove. Fascinating on the day, yet hard to read with great precision, such is its innate complexity. One can discern brilliance, that’s for sure.

2021 (80% CS, 10% M, 5% PV, 5% CF)

A classic, gravelly Chevalier; one of the stars of a tricky vintage, once again automatically profound and with prefect balance. Tobacco and sous-bois support the dark fruit as the acidity, linear and confident, buttresses (and in no way undermines) the pashmina tannins. A very successful 2021—one of the wines of the vintage, in my view. The decision to up the ante with the Cabernet Sauvignon was clearly a good one.

2022 (65% CS, 30% M, 3% PV, 2% CF)

Adrien advises that the combination of the coming of age of the replantings of the ’80s and ’90s and the tilt toward biodynamic viticulture are the keys to the success of the 2022 here. The intensity of the vintage was thus tempered by the depth of the root structure, bestowing balance and complexity. Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot add, respectively, a leafy blue-fruit elegance and a lick of spice. An upstanding young Chevalier.

The post Domaine de Chevalier anniversary auction 1983–2022: Knights in red satin appeared first on World Of Fine Wine.

Chloe Ashton reports on the latest news and views from the world’s fine wine salerooms, as things begin to cool off again.

One year ago, fine wine registered a new record: the steepest price climb the market had seen since records began. Over a period of 30 months, from March 2020 until September 2022, Liv-ex’s three main indices rose by an average 38 percent. Since then, market prices have fallen, prompted by global economic jitters as the era of cheap financial lending comes to an end, and worsened by the natural close of an enormous demand cycle from collectors whose cellars are now bursting. Speaking to various members of the global fine-wine trade throughout 2023 thus far, the phrase “market correction” has been employed often, suggesting that price rises incited during the Covid pandemic were unsustainable. Correction or not, the current fine-wine era is likely to be transformational: Brexit threatens the UK’s position as a world trading hub, the baby-boom generation is reaching the end of its buying cycle, and climate change is rewriting the books of what a “normal” vintage looks like. Whatever lies ahead, making predictions (and assumptions) based on what has come before is riskier than it has been in the past.

Fog ahead in the fine-wine market

Indeed, when I asked George Wilmoth, head of sales at leading UK merchant, Justerini & Brooks, where the wine market might be heading in 2023, he deferred his answer: “Ask me again in September,” he said. A quieter market during the summer is usual, but it’s hard to know whether the current cooling-off period will extend into fall and beyond. So far this year, Liv-ex numbers all point toward market deceleration. The platform’s widest measure, and the biggest performer of 2022—the Liv-ex 1,000—dropped 6 percent between January and June this year (fig. 1). Its siblings, the Liv-ex 100 and Liv-ex 50, declined by 3.5 and 3 percent respectively. On the one hand, these are not big numbers relative to financial indices. The S&P 500 dropped 5.8 percent in one month between August and September 2022, finishing last year with a net annual loss of 19 percent. On the other hand, the Liv-ex 1,000’s rate of decline (1.17 percent per month) over the past six months matches exactly the average pace of its unprecedented upward climb from March 2020 through mid-September 2022. They say the faster the climb, the harder the fall, but at least the Bordeaux first-growth index—the Liv-ex 50—provides a cushion to soften the impact. Its journey down in 2023 (so far an average monthly loss of 0.79 percent) is at least slower than its previous rise (of 0.93 percent per month). Commenting on this year’s downward trend, Robbie Stevens, senior broker for Liv-ex reminds me, “The wine market is naturally cyclical.” Indeed, after such a surge, and considering the current context of muted demand, we should probably expect further falls for Liv-ex indices in 2023.

The fourth dimension

Supply-and-demand theory in its purest form is perhaps insufficient to describe wine-collecting cycles. Given the long cellaring periods that great wines require, demand does not equal immediate consumption, and a drop-off in purchases therefore cannot be an accurate measure of consumer interest. Demand can be active and passive—reflected in fine wine’s track record of peaks and troughs, wherein price rises generally indicate an overactive market; during plateaux, however, buyers are consolidating and holding, not necessarily actively trading. Matthew O’Connell, CEO of Bordeaux Index’s LiveTrade platform, appears relaxed about a temporary market downturn. While he admits that “business is slow,” he specifies that it has been more robust in the UK and Europe, while quiet in the US and quieter still in Asia. This “technical lack of activity,” as he puts it, has not skewed LiveTrade transaction prices as much as Liv-ex indices might suggest. “Burgundy’s cult names are still trading at prices similar to last year,” he tells me, albeit with lower frequency. Such market stagnation seems to be universal: Stevens notes that until March this year, merchants remained optimistic that the reopening of China might create room for continued growth, in demand and price elasticity. “[China’s] unlocking has actually had the reverse effect,” he explains, due presumably to distractions caused by the reopening of international travel and the country’s own internal trades taking precedent. 

The question over how much a lack of demand can genuinely bring prices down can only be answered through an additional dimension: time. An inactive market only becomes bear when merchants or collectors cannot continue to hold stock until demand picks up again. For the UK wine trade in general, Stevens predicts that trades on the Liv-ex exchange under market prices will increase in July and August, as consumer buying remains quiet and some merchants lose the nerve (or simply the ability) to continue retaining stock. For private collectors, the prior surge in demand combined with today’s choppy economic waters might shake a few bottles out of the fine-wine tree, from those who overshot on their purchases and are now forced to sell. O’Connell nonetheless reassures me that this need—and its consequent contribution to lowering wine prices—remains marginal. 

The tortoise and the hare

Regionally speaking, the table of relative success has turned in 2023. Liv-ex’s wider Bordeaux measure—the Bordeaux 500—has been the platform’s least worst performer so far this year (losing 2 percent since January 2023). The resilience of Bordeaux in harder times is not new, though O’Connell comments that its performance—in terms of pricing and trading density—could have been better, had this year’s en primeur sales proved successful. He notes that high prices for 2022 not only made for a small campaign, they also “failed to generate the usual enthusiasm and momentum for the region as a whole.” Indeed, despite some trading activity related to recent deliverable vintages, Arthur Coggill, associate director and fine-wine buyer at Goedhuis & Co, tells me, “Our buying director said it was the worst campaign he’d seen in 20 years.” He goes on to note, “The campaign’s poor momentum and misinformed pricing extinguished interest from buyers who were otherwise poised to invest, either because they had set money aside to do so, or because they buy en primeur systematically each year.” Despite this, Bordeaux has seen its market share increase on Liv-ex’s exchange, from 34 percent last year, up to 39 percent as of June 2023. For the small group of collectors forced to liquidate some of their wine holdings, Bordeaux seems to be the first port of call. “It’s certainly not what I would rush to sell, but people always seem to get rid of their Bordeaux first,” observes Wilmoth. He elaborates by explaining, first, that collectors tend to be less emotionally attached to Bordeaux than other regions; and second, that the strong returns observed thus far for Burgundy entice owners to hold these wines closer to the chest. Minute volumes of each cuvée also likely mean that the Burgundy that collectors have acquired will be more difficult to replace in future, whereas mature Bordeaux is still relatively available. Any discounted Burgundy trades on the Liv-ex exchange contributing to the Burgundy 150 index’s losses of 6 percent since the start of 2023 are more strategic; their sellers still earn strong net gains following the index’s recent ascent (70 percent between March 2020 and end 2022), and opportunistic buyers are still poised to snap up ultra-rare stock. The behavior of Liv-ex’s Champagne index appears similar…  

Sprint and stall

High trading of Champagnes under the peak prices of 2022—presumably on the part of those cashing in after the unprecedented price rises of the region—have brought Liv-ex’s Champagne 50 down by 9 percent between January and June 2023. O’Connell comments that “Champagne prices have risen so much over the past couple of years, it would almost be weird if they didn’t come down a little.” While he’s confident in Champagne prospects for the long haul (particularly given their solid backing by some of the luxury industry’s biggest players), the picture in the mid-term is perhaps less certain. Wilmoth believes we can expect the index to stall for a while: “The string of mediocre vintages to be released over the next few years is likely to keep prices flat,” he explains. But the worst performer of 2023 thus far has been Liv-ex’s Rhône 100 index. Declining by 12 percent between January and June 2023, similar mechanics as have befallen Bordeaux may be at play: liquidation by trade and private collectors alike, who are perhaps reevaluating the hefty investment in storage and patience required for top Rhône wines to become drinkable. Stevens notes, “The region’s succession of high-quality vintages means buyers will have a lot of Rhône in their cellars after the past decade.” The timing for release of 2021—a subpar vintage—amid fine wine’s current conditions has surely not helped. 

Live and online auction revenues totalled $226 million in the first half of 2023—down 21 percent on last year’s record-breaking H1 (fig. 3). While sales still look buoyant compared to the Covid-stricken results of 2020, this year’s decrease is significant enough to fall below 2019 and 2018 levels—a definitive sign of decline in global demand. 

Stable Sam

Indeed, all three major markets—the US, Europe, and Asia—report revenue reductions compared with H1 2022. The US maintains its position as top continent for wine auctions, taking a 57 percent share in sale revenues (equal to $129 million) for the first half of 2023. Its relative stability is also evident, as the market that has lost the least ground when compared to the first half of 2022: American auctions in H1 2023 were down 15 percent in value, whereas Asia—comprising sales in Hong Kong and Singapore—registered a loss of 30 percent (at $67 million). Europe’s auction total for January to June 2023 stands at $30 million, 26 percent down on the same period last year. And while global giants, aka “the big five”—Acker Merrall & Condit, Zachys, Sotheby’s, Christie’s, and Hart Davis Hart—still dominate the market, they have all suffered the consequences of muted enthusiasm for active buying of fine wine in 2023 thus far. Acker Merrall & Condit remains the world’s biggest auction house by value, earning $67 million in wine sales in the first half of 2023—a decrease of 11 percent on last year’s H1 achievement (fig. 4). Its compatriot Zachys registers an H1 result of $42 million, closing the gap on its rival with a smaller comparable decrease of 5 percent. Perhaps expectedly, all but three further auction outfits achieving six-month sale totals above $1 million reflect market decline. Those showing growth on the same period last year—Swiss houses Steinfels and Baghera, and Cannes-based Besch—are perhaps testament to the power of micro-markets, since they benefit from respective local (and more loyal) audiences.

Cracks appearing

As for explaining the cause and effect of cracks appearing in the market, opinions are mixed. Charles Antin, head of wine-auction sales at Zachys, maintains a positive outlook on the auction market in 2023. He notes that “blue-chip bottles have retained their high value” and that the “market has proven resistant in the face of uncertain economics.” In contrast, Steinfel’s Marc Fischer shares a different experience: “We clearly see that the interest in very expensive top wines is considerably lower, and prices have come down. In particular, there is almost no more demand for the super-expensive top Burgundies.” He observes that “UK wine merchants were bidding very carefully,” while “interest from Asia is still very strong, and Swiss clients are still very strong bidders.” Across the cultural border from Zurich to Geneva, Baghera’s Julie Carpentier noted a “renewed appetite from collectors around the globe” in Q2 2023. Her colleague and director of Baghera’s Singapore-based arm, Arthur Leclerc, shares his commentary on Asian activity: “The Singaporean wine market has been heading for a sharp price correction since the start of 2023. Wine merchants have large inventories and are retaining—they are therefore not in a buying period. On the other hand, we can count on an ever-increasing number of private buyers and consumers. This is particularly the case in Singapore and Asia in general.” Hope springs for Asia over the long term, as Leclerc notices “the ever-decreasing average age of our buyers.”

Top down

And while pockets of interest are still bound to crop up for the ultra-rare and desirable stocks, further evidence of a down-cycle can be found in lot volumes and top lot prices. Analysis of four-quarter rolling averages since 2020 suggests that both buyers and the access to high caliber lots attracting strong demand have decreased since the auction market peaked toward the end of 2021 (fig. 5). Thereafter, the average top-lot hammer price of live auctions has fallen steeply, by 43 percent between Q4 2021 and Q3 2023. Regionally, Bordeaux top lots were slower to peak than Burgundy, reaching a high in Q2 of last year before then declining 38 percent to end June 2023. Burgundy top-lot prices have been in freefall since the end of 2021, dropping a frightening 49 percent. And while Burgundy top lots show signs of stabilizing overall—with prices virtually flat for the past two quarters—the region’s dominating auction star, Domaine de la Romanée-Conti, may still have further to fall.

A market galvanized

On paper, this paints an ugly picture for the immediate future of the fine-wine trade. Merchant activity is low, and even with some access to unicorn wines at competitive prices, collectors may simply have had their fill for the time being. In reality, current market conditions provide the perfect hunting ground for new entrants, or indeed anyone with deep enough pockets and a good dose of patience willing to take discounted deals and sit on their wares for some years. Looking at the full fall schedule of auctions, and with a new Burgundy vintage due for release toward the end of the year, there will be opportunity aplenty for those willing to jump back in the game. Wilmoth comments that, ultimately, “the rich are only getting richer,” and this can only be good news for fine wine, since competition continues to increase for the most sought-after wines. 

Still, if the outlook appears bleak for 2023, my prediction is that the scales will tip back again in 2024, albeit less vigorously than the frenzied purchasing period during the global pandemic. While some merchants and Bordeaux négociants might kick me for writing so, a global market cleanse could be just what fine wine needs. 

Stockholders with solid capital backing could help consolidate the market, prices will “correct,” and consumer demand could rebalance geographically, reducing the historical bias of markets such as the UK or Hong Kong. For now, all signs point toward a new era for fine wine: galvanization. 

The post Liquid Assets: A transformational fine-wine era appeared first on World Of Fine Wine.

Chloe Ashton delivers the latest news from the auction and fine-wine market and views direct from the salerooms, rounds up the fourth quarter and last year, and sees some hints of sunshine on the horizon.

Clouds may finally be gathering over the fine-wine market. If they are, “they’re more like light rain clouds than heavy storm clouds,” says Matthew O’Connell, CEO of Bordeaux Index’s LiveTrade platform. Though ongoing macroeconomic uncertainty and bruised financial markets may have distracted some investors toward the end of last year, he believes the value of fine wines will hold steady in 2023. And following three years of blue skies and sunshine—unprecedented demand growth, and wine prices galloping ever upward—perhaps stability is the best thing we could ask for.

Still, fine wine’s standard industry measures for market health rose an average 5 percent between January and December 2022, while financial indices tumbled (fig. 1). 

Liv-ex’s Bordeaux First Growth index, the Liv-ex 50 was last year’s slowest performer. Following a 13 percent climb throughout the previous year (a record performance since the last Bordeaux boom in 2016), the index maintained its upward trajectory in the first three quarters of 2022. Experiencing a minor dip in the summer, it then fell 6 percent between September and December, landing at a net annual gain of 2 percent. The Liv-ex 100 dipped earlier and more severely than its narrower cousin but regained ground quickly, stabilizing into a final 12-month increase of 5 percent (compared with 22 percent in 2021). Liv-ex’s widest measure, the Liv-ex 1000, showed better peaks and more stable troughs over the two-year period. Despite flattening toward the end of 2022, it finished the year with overall growth of 9 percent (half shy of its 18 percent rise in 2021). The downward turn of all three indices as 2022 ended surely forecasts some bad weather for 2023; the real questions are where this will hit and perhaps for how long. 

Bubbling up (and over?) 

Regionally speaking, recent performance of Liv-ex’s regional indices suggests the greatest risk could be reserved for those regions with the furthest to fall. The Champagne 50 index climbed a gargantuan 74 percent between January 2021 and November 2022, before a sharp month-on-month fall. It finished 2022 with 12 percent growth for the year (compared with 40 percent in 2021; fig. 2). The pace of the two-year price sprint from Champagne nonetheless makes Burgundy’s first peak of 2016 look like a Sunday afternoon stroll, achieving the same gains in 24 months that Burgundy saw in 32. On the one hand, this could indicate that Champagne is set for a harder fall in 2023. On the other—and if we’re to take Burgundy’s longer-term performance as any indicator (fig. 3)—it could mean that Champagne’s ascent is just beginning. 

Indeed, Burgundy’s so-called bubble has never burst and shows no signs of doing so. The regional index was 2022’s best performer (rising 19 percent between January and December). O’Connell shares with me his instinct that Burgundy could end up on top again in 2023, based on the minute availability for the 2021 vintage, as well as ongoing demand satisfied by any and all recent back vintages collectors can snap up on the secondary market. Linden Wilkie, founder of Hong Kong-based merchant and Burgundy specialist The Fine Wine Experience agrees, and offers evidence that demand for Burgundy is crystallizing beyond the top icons. “I’d say the Burgundy craze started with people deciding they couldn’t drink DRC or Rousseau anymore due to the price, and therefore moving downward,” he explains. “But now, with a new generation of buyers and the influence of social media, the adventure of discovering a new producer overshadows the purchases by default of not having access to the top rung.”

Back to basics (and Bordeaux)

The same argument is made from a drinker’s angle by Giles Cooper, buying director of Chelsea Vintners. While he’s also convinced that Burgundy prices will hold in 2023, he’s expecting demand to pick up for Bordeaux. “Burgundy allows us to brag about what we’ve tasted that others haven’t,” he tells me. “But Bordeaux is a conversation, usually about a château we’ve all tasted many times, where we share which vintages we’ve preferred at what times—it’s more inclusive.” While the Liv-ex Bordeaux 500 and Bordeaux Legends 50 indices rose only 5 and 7 percent in 2022 (versus 9 and 12 percent respectively in 2021), the region remains a constant staple, and one that continues to appear exceedingly good value relative to other fine wines regions. As Cooper puts it, “Bordeaux is the absolute cornerstone of wine appreciation.” With a strong vintage 2022 set for en primeur release in late spring, it’s likely that much of the trade will be backing the historically reliable horse, amid a potentially volatile year.

Sun rising (in the East)

Geographically, Wilkie is cautiously optimistic about his own market. He explains, “The end of last year was very quiet for Asia, with a lot of Hong Kongers focused on traveling again.” His hopes are higher for 2023, as many mainland Chinese return to Hong Kong, and the effects of China’s post-Covid freedom finally kick in. O’Connell echoes this, expressing a “trade paralysis” from China in Q4 2022, but equally sharing Wilkie’s confidence in Asia’s return to vinous activity this year. And if this particular sun does rise in the East, it could light up the entire market, bringing “strong trade tailwinds to Bordeaux and Burgundy,” he adds.

Auction update

Elsewhere in the world, the major challenge for wine markets globally this year will simply be a battle against collectors’ own cautiousness. Following a frenzied few years, wherein many merchants registered consecutive annual revenue records, it’s possible wine lovers may intend to calm their acquisitions in 2023. Cooper doesn’t buy it, however. “I think these intensions will end up differing from reality,” he tells me, as he reels off a series of specific regions he’s excited about this year: “South Africa, Sonoma, so many different areas of Spain…” He clarifies: “I do think people will tell themselves to be more selective, but given how many high-quality wines are being made today, they could easily do so and still end up buying more than in previous years.”

Live and online wine auctions achieved an annual revenue total of $524 million in 2022—$115 million (or 18 percent) shy of the record-breaking year-end figure for 2021 (fig. 4). Online-only sales represented $79 million of this (or 17 percent)—an all-time high in absolute and proportional terms. While 2022 began strong for the global gavel (finishing the first quarter 15 percent ahead of the comparative period in 2021), it is clear that fine wine did not escape the worldwide economic downturn unscathed. Auction results from September to December 2022 were hit particularly hard, registering a three-month total of $149 million, 47 percent down on the equivalent period in 2021.

Star-spangled hammer 

While all territories experienced reduced hammer results last year, Asia lost the most ground (fig. 5). Auctions in Hong Kong represent 33 percent of 2022’s sale total (compared with 36 percent in 2021). Looking forward into 2023, this retraction has every reason to reverse itself as Asia’s Covid restrictions are lifted and “normal” activity returns to the continent. Until then, Uncle Sam remains atop the global auction podium, generating just over half of all auction revenues last year. Within the great continent, the effect of moving so many sales to online live-streaming (organized out of Delaware or Detroit) has skewed city-level results out of New York’s favor. Between 2021 and 2022, American auctions also appear to have made a move West; results from sales held in Los Angeles experienced an annual increase of 81 percent, thanks in large part to Christie’s entry on Hollywood ground in 2022. Europe, in the meantime, remains as fragmented as ever (with auction sites spreading closer to the vines, in Beaune and Bordeaux), though strong figures in London return Europe’s crown to the sovereign city, achieving an annual result of $39 million (up 15 percent on 2021). 

Mind the gap

Wine-auction revenue results continue to polarize in 2022, with the top five houses collectively achieving 90 percent of the year’s annual figure. The global auction market is now firmly split into two tiers—the aforementioned top five all achieving annual revenues well above $50 million, and the next rung netting between $5 million and $10 million per annum (figs. 6 & 7).

Acker Merrall & Condit remains in first place, with a wine-auction sale total of $121 million in 2022—34 percent down on its record-breaking achievement the previous year. Zachys also keeps its second-place position in the global auction-house ranking, while closing the gap on its compatriot; it finished 2021 lagging 21 percent behind the American giant but reduced this to 10 percent in 2022. Boston-based house Skinner is last year’s top performer for year-on-year increases. The house was acquired by Bonhams in early 2022, and while it remains a separate entity, benefits of the new ownership are clearly reflected in its 2022 sale total—more than three times that of 2021. Geneva-based auction house Baghera registers a dramatic drop in revenues for 2022 compared with 2021, though this is largely due to one exceptional sale in the previous year, which propelled Baghera’s 2021 figure past the $30-million mark. Its launch in Singapore will surely reap rewards in 2023, as Asia reopens.

Christ-aline

But the great success story of 2022 must surely be Christie’s. After a lull in sales during 2020 and 2021, the house was back with a vengeance in 2022, registering annual wine-sale revenues of $88 million—its best year ever. Edwin Vos, international head of Christie’s, is suitably pleased with the results. “We had some real stand-out cellars in 2022.” He mentions one or two spring auctions in April that, though held in Hong Kong, “received high international engagement at a time when Asia was sitting on its hands,” he notes. Possibly the brightest gem of 2022 was Christie’s sale of wines direct from the cellars of Domaine Ponsot. Vos explains how the process of curating such an event took between one and two years, as his team met, discussed, and tasted with Rose-Marie Ponsot many times before the auction went public. Attending the presale dinner in Geneva, it was clear to me that something special was up for grabs, and the team behind it had collated an auction sale superfecta: pristine provenance, old and rare vintages, large formats, a never-before-seen one-of-a-kind barrel, and a charitable aspect. (Rose-Marie Ponsot chose to donate the proceeds from said barrel to the charity À Chacun Son Everest.) Looking forward into 2023, Vos hints that the global house has one or two equally exciting tricks up its sleeve. “We’ve been lucky to start working on a private cellar with exceptional depth, containing all the Bordeaux 1855 crus classés going back decades,” he reveals. He is confident that sales ticking all the boxes “that make a wine lover’s heart race” will still see strong participation in 2023.

And despite the average 10 percent decline in numbers between a bumper 2021 and last year, the spirits of many auctioneers remain positive going into 2023. Expert for Besch auction house Pascal Kuzniewski tells me he was “very pleased with results in 2022,” though he expects “a limited decline in 2023, with a more selective market and more room for volatility.” Jay Hutchinson, marketing director at Hart Davis Hart, shares Kuzniewski’s cautious optimism. He notes, “We did see some [downward] movement in 2022, but if there is anything to be taken away from the sales of last year, it is that the fine-wine market is staying historically strong. We started out 2023 with a solid performance from our January auction and expect that momentum to continue throughout the year.” Indeed, if anyone can maintain high bid energy and strong hammer prices in 2023, it is likely to be Hart Davis Hart, whose 100 percent sold record remained more or less intact in 2022 while the sell-through rate of many other houses plummeted. 

Top lot free fall 

A study of four-quarter rolling-average sell-through rates since 2019 shows the demand peak for fine wines at auction in mid-2021, and a steep decline throughout last year (fig. 8). Mirroring the secondary market, though perhaps to more extreme ends, it appears wine’s demand/supply imbalance began to correct itself in 2022. Following two years of frantic purchasing, customers were more selective in their auction acquisitions last year, as the rolling-average rate of lots sold descended to 88 percent—just above rates registered at the start of the Covid pandemic (Q1 2020). The marked drop in engagement during the fourth quarter of 2022 is likely temporary and linked to pleasure-spend fatigue in a tough year for financial markets. Some financial indices have shown early signs of recovery at the start of 2023, and while it’s possible that a global recession may lengthen the muted interest from collectors, all historical signs point to another upward cycle, sooner or later.

Anecdotally, the downward trend in bids also correlates to lower hammer earnings on average—auction prices toward the end of 2022 were landing somewhere between low and high estimates, whereas 12 months prior they were beating high estimates consistently. The average price of disclosed top lots in 2022 reached $68,391, which is $43,886 (39 percent) less than the same figure in 2021.

If the place is right

Certain top lots throughout 2022 provide a happy counterargument, indicating that the right wines presented in the right context can still break records despite wider macroeconomic uncertainty. The highest top lot of 2022 is an exception to ongoing trends but a regional first: Sotheby’s single-collector New York auction “The Glass Cellar” earned $525,000 for a 29-vintage vertical of Harlan Estate. The next three highest hammer prices come from the same producer and plot: Henri Jayer’s Vosne-Romanée Cros Parantoux achieved $493,883, $414,225, and $415,477 for lots of the 1991, 1996, and 1993 vintages respectively last year. The 1996, auctioned by Sotheby’s in Hong Kong during June of last year, more than twice exceeded its auction estimate. The other two lots, auctioned by Christie’s, were both from the cellar of Joseph Lau, also selling well over their respective high-estimate prices, also auctioned in Hong Kong. In fact, of top lots achieved in 2022, no other geographical location gets a look in on the 20 highest hammer prices. 

Equally noticeable is the gradual decrease of Domaine de la Romanée-Conti from hammer-price top spots. While Burgundy’s domination at auction remains unquestioned, the 20 highest prices achieved in 2022 include ten lots of DRC, compared with 14 the previous year (and 13 the year before that). Have prices for the number-one Burgundy baron finally peaked? It’s certainly possible, given how frequently the wines have been traded over the past few years amid a vinous stimulation high, whereas the likes of Cros Parantoux crop up less often and therefore ultimately attract more attention on the rare occasions they arise. Further proof of this phenomenon comes in the form of the 162nd Hospices de Beaune auction, run by Sotheby’s in November, achieving a sale total of $32 million and setting a new record for the Pièce des Présidents (€810,000).

Hunkering down

While China’s return to the wine market may provide a lifejacket to the trade in 2023, my instinct is that the industry will still be rowing against the current—at least compared to the river rapids we’ve had the pleasure of riding in recent years. If the era of free credit and overspending is coming to an end, merchants and auction houses can expect to throw more mud at the wall and see less of it stick, as many collectors will be understandably distracted by the need to protect their wealth from a shrinking economy. On the flipside of this, any sales with ultra-rare wines and exceptional curation may stand out more than ever, gaining proportionally more traction with a selective audience. 

And while there may be turbulence ahead, wine investors should take confidence in fine-wine’s luxury model, molded primarily by the supply-and-demand equation. Ultimately, fine-wine prices maintain a track record of only ever going up eventually—it is simply a question of time. Even if supply increases this year, by virtue of saturated cellars seeking a spring clean, or certain buyers bowing out of the game temporarily, all the resales in the world could not satisfy the eager new entrants to the wine market. In the meantime, the wine-inclined can take comfort in sheltering from the rain with some exceptional bottles while they await the return of blue skies and sunshine.

The post Liquid Assets: Sunshine on the fine-wine market horizon? appeared first on World Of Fine Wine.

Can fine wine weather the dire economic conditions, aks Chloe Ashton, as she rounds up third-quarter activities in wine salerooms around the globe and looks at what the near future might hold.

Global finances have taken a turn for the worse in 2022; the stage is macro-economic Armageddon, mixing the longer-term effects of the Covid-19 crisis, interest rate rises breaking an historic decade of lows, pending energy shortages, and cost-of-living inflation. Dark echoes of the 2008 financial crisis have already sounded amid traditional asset classes: At the time of writing, the S&P 500 is down 22 percent year to date, and the IMF forecasts an inflation rise of 8.8 percent by the end of 2022. What’s more, the ongoing conflict between Russia and Ukraine generates further uncertainty in an already volatile environment—the world waits on tenterhooks. 

Meanwhile, fine wine marches steadily on—an asset class seemingly on its own planet. Stephen Browett, chairman of UK merchant Farr Vintners, tells me, “Business is very good. It doesn’t seem that current economic pressures are having much effect on fine-wine buyers.”

Olivier Staub, chief investment officer of Cult Wines, concurs: “Our clients have not slowed down,” he assures me, “and we are seeing interest in fine wine driven by search for diversification from traditional financial markets, which are in turmoil.”

Indeed, the standard industry indicators for wine-market performance—the Liv-ex indices—have continued to rise, despite macroeconomic difficulties, throughout 2022. Fine wine’s most diverse measure—the Liv-ex 1000 index—grew by more than 10 percent between January and September this year, beating its three-quarter performance in 2021 by 1 percent. The narrower two indices—the Liv-ex 100 and Liv-ex 50—saw gains of 3 and 7 percent respectively, falling short of the 13 and 12 percent increases of 2021.

Will Hargrove, head of fine wine at Corney & Barrow, references this more measured defiance of fine wine against economic uncertainty: “I think [economic pressure] has brought a slight coolness to the market—but then it was a bit overheated.” Despite the positive direction overall, all three indices did falter during the summer months, before continuing upward to finish September on a high.

Even as the pound reached its lowest rate against the dollar since 1971 toward the end of this year’s third quarter, the now entirely globalized nature of fine-wine trading appears to have helped maintain a buoyant marketplace. Browett confirms, “The strong HK dollar and US dollar (these are our two main export markets) have been very good for export sales.”

Regionally, the dominance of Burgundy and Champagne remains unchanged since last quarter’s report—Liv-ex’s corresponding regional indices have risen 20 and 16 percent respectively since the beginning of 2022. The frenzied demand for noble Pinot Noir shows no signs of stopping and, based on the supply-and-availability equation alone, may even continue, given the tiny crop awaiting Burgundy enthusiasts for the next round of primeur sales.

The upcoming vintage—2021—was hit by vinous hellfire; an increasingly common mild winter resulted in early budbreak, exposing vines to extensive damage from frost and hailstorms; then a wet summer threatened growing bunches with rot. As I walked around some of the vineyards on a visit to Burgundy in October, the physical gaps left by vines that vignerons have been forced to rip up due to disease or frost injury were a very real marker of how difficult the growing season was. In contrast, the few 2021s I managed to taste were classic and harmonious. Anthony Vertadier Mabille, associate director of Charles Taylor Wines, hails 2021 as “a truly Burgundian vintage” and “a return to the style of old, with good acidity and delicate flavors. But there’s not a lot of it,” he reminds me.

As for Champagne, releases of the 2012 and 2013—both excellent vintages—continue to propel demand forwards. When I visited Champagne shortly after this year’s harvest, the Champenois nonetheless spoke about the past 18 months with mixed emotions. There is a shared feeling of gratitude (and joy) for the impressive and persistent upticks in demand they have experienced since 2020.

And yet some feel frustration, since the region as a whole was bound by local association rules at the start of the pandemic, which enforced lower-than-average production volumes amid fears of having more Champagne than they could sell in a time of crisis. Ironically, the region is now experiencing a real shortage and having to exercise careful control on stocks leaving their cellars. One director of a major house told me, “This is a completely new era. We are not used to having to allocate our Champagnes, and now everything is already sold out through allocations”. Staub confirms that collector interest in Champagne continues to prove “very strong and widespread.”

All other Liv-ex regional indices maintain positive gains, averaging a 6 percent increase since January. Only the Rest of the World index struggles to keep up, sporting a 2 percent rise—compared with gains of 12 percent over the same period in 2021—and stumbling prior to both sets of Place de Bordeaux-based international wine releases in March and September. Theorizing with a Bordeaux négociant on future prospects for these wines as investments, we mused that while Covid created an opportunity for such wines to be discovered by more traditional drinkers, New World wines still lack the history and price-performance track record of the likes of Bordeaux.

Auction Update: Fine wine set for a record-breaking year

This year’s summer auction season generated revenues of just under $86 million, bringing the three-quarter total of 2022 to $375 million (fig. 3). These impressive numbers put 2022 ahead of 2021 year to date by $21 million (or 6 percent) and suggest the year is on course to be yet another record-breaker for auctions. 

Online-only sales have also increased year on year, both absolutely and proportionally: Fine wines auctioned online through major houses up to September 2022 represented $55 million, or 14 percent of all sales, compared with 2021’s three-quarter digital total of $40 million (11 percent).

Speaking to Alfonso de Gaetano—founder of digital auction platform Crurated—online sales appear set to continue their growth, particularly among younger audiences. He notes, “Digital platforms are now making it easier to buy wines and engage with winemakers that were often challenging to gain access to. They have changed consumer behavior, which signaled to fine-wine producers that they needed to rethink traditional distribution and more openly embrace the digital world.” 

Relating to the online space, recent conversations with several auction leaders have yielded a collective, twofold theory to explain the strong ongoing performance of the global gavel. First, this diversification in sales methods has made the auction world more competitive and far more accessible than it has ever been before, both to new kinds of consumers and to collectors living at a distance from physical sales. Second, the digitalization of auctions and wide publication of fine wine’s rising demand may well have encouraged more private collectors with saturated cellars to seek liquidation, filling salerooms with stock and further fueling the demand cycle. 

While it’s a blessing to support healthy bottom lines overall, this may nonetheless have affected hammer-price elasticity. A review of average lot prices since 2014 shows a first peak in 2018—the last time many gavel records were reached—and another last year, matching an unprecedented 12 months for wine prices in the secondary market (fig. 4).

Prices at gavel closure in 2022 thus far are not consistently stretching beyond high estimates—a possible indicator that engagement is beginning to soften. Two Swiss-based houses, however, argue the contrary: Julie Carpentier, co-founder and deputy director of Baghera, says, “We have witnessed strong demand from the international clientele for fine wines during August and September, especially from Asia-based wine collectors.”

Based in Zurich, Marc Fischer is similarly positive. Referencing his house’s summer auction and a vertical parcel of Armand Rousseau’s Chambertin in particular, he tells me, “This collection of super-rare Burgundies came under the hammer, and prices reached stratospheric levels.” He nonetheless observes “less interest from UK and Hong Kong buyers” at present.

Sales achieved by the “big five” auction houses make up 90 percent ($336 million) of three-quarter revenues for 2022 (fig. 5). While Covid-19 leveled the playing field for auction sales figures in 2020 and 2021, the resurgence of these top-performing houses suggests that decentralization of demand was but temporary. Indeed, based on figures to September 2022, the next best-performing auction outfit—Los Angeles-based Heritage—lies a $40-million gap away from 2022’s global auction number 5, Sotheby’s. 

Auction Goliath of the USA, Acker Merrall & Condit remains on top of the podium, achieving a three-quarter sales total of $88 million. Though still in first place, numbers are down 23 percent on the equivalent period for 2021, contrary to silver medalist Zachys, whose $77 million earned between January and September 2022 increases its three-quarter performance year on year by 47 percent. Indeed, the gap between the two houses has reduced significantly—at the same time last year, Acker’s running total represented more than twice that of Zachys.

Commenting on the house’s strong performance thus far, Charles Antin, Zachys’ head of wine-auction sales explains, “One of the strongest drivers of [Zachys’] successes in 2022 has been the quality of the collection as a whole.” Referencing August’s auction, The Unicorn Collection—the summer season’s highest-earning sale—he notes, “When the dust settled, The Unicorn grossed over $16 million and was Zachys’ highest average lot value ever at nearly $20,000; half of the lots on offer sold for over $10,000, and 246 bidders from around the world placed well over 5,000 bids. Half the lots in the auction sold over the high estimate, and $3 million of bids were placed live in the room.”

Christie’s boasts revenues achieved between January and September 2022 of $66 million, exceeding its three-quarter total of the equivalent period last year by more than three and a half times. The outstanding results move the international house up from sixth to third place relative to the first three quarters of 2021. Harnessing a market for online sales has no doubt boosted Christie’s figures, but Antin’s sentiment on the quality of an auction’s presentation (and perhaps, personality) resounds in Christie’s successes, too.

Long-term relationships with top collectors or producers have clearly done both houses a good turn: Five of Christie’s 13 sales between January and September 2022 were single-cellar collections, procured and curated with one private owner at a time, while a further three sales feature blocks of single ownership. Meanwhile, Antin makes mention of Zachys’ close relationship with Fred Schrader (of Schrader Cellars), and the advantage of being able to offer “a massive amount of his namesake wines straight from the winery and his personal cellar.” Wine collecting has always been deeply personal, but I would wager that the need for a human story behind a selection of bottles is accentuated after the global health crisis, as well as in times of turmoil. 

The only consistent exception to this appears to be wines from Domaine de la Romanée-Conti, which continue to dominate leading hammer prices (representing 35 percent of all top lots disclosed to September 2022) regardless of their previous owners, suggesting that any wine benefiting from such gargantuan demand simply has no price ceiling.

At any rate, fine wines with great stories told around them, or names so rare that to own a bottle would tell a story in its own right, may well remain protected from the financial turbulence facing the world at present. As for the wider fine-wine market at large, Staub highlights that “customers at the top of the wealth pyramid are unaffected and continue to buy and consume great wines.”

He adds, “Some are even benefiting from the current situation (high energy prices, strong demand for certain products post-Covid), and pure investors are driven by the search for stability and de-correlated assets to protect their wealth against volatility and inflation.”

While this may ring true in the long term, recent discussions with a handful of collectors suggest a momentary market freeze might hinder price performance in the coming months, caused by distraction amid all the uncertainty rather than any more ominous or persisting affordability issue. Such an occurrence might prove a necessary evil to recalibrate the market for certain icon wines and give those that are undervalued a chance to catch up—before wine prices take flight once again.

The post Liquid Assets: Fine wine in the eye of the storm appeared first on World Of Fine Wine.

Two sets of very rare wines from Burgundy domaines Comte Liger-Belair and Emmanuel Rouget are being offered in an online auction by Atlas Fine Wines.

The London- and Switzerland-based fine wine brokers Atlas Fine Wines is following up its sell-out Domaine Leroy auction in 2021 with another remarkable selection of Burgundy wines in its second online auction this month.

The Two Great Domaines auction, which went live in October and continues until 4pm on November 10, 2022, features wines from two of the finest vineyards in Burgundy: La Romanée Grand Cru from Domaine du Comte Liger-Belair (six bottles from each vintage, 2002 to 2017) and Vosne-Romanée 1er Cru, Cros Parantoux from Emmanuel Rouget (twelve bottles from each vintage, 2005 to 2019).

The wines, which were initially offered as complete verticals, are now being offered by the individual case, with 35 individual lots and opening bid case values from £8,000 to £53,000. 

The pre-sale release states that, “Each collection is being sold by one Atlas client, and all the wines included were sourced by Atlas. A renowned specialist wine authentication company has assessed each of the bottles individually to give absolute confidence to any prospective buyer and consequently, all wines included in this auction have been authenticated.”

Atlas also said it offers help with “prompt worldwide shipping with quotations available on request.”

Interested buyers are invited to register online where they can view both lots on offer, including an “extensive range of high-resolution images.”

“Our auctions are now a regular feature and continue to offer the rarest collections in the wine world for auction via our website,” said Simon Larkin MW, managing director of Atlas Fine Wines.

“Our model of dispensing with unnecessary and hefty buyer’s premiums attracts key buyers from across the globe, providing benefits to both vendor and buyer alike. Last year’s Domaine Leroy auction attracted buyers from 15 different countries and grossed £1.6 million.”

The post Rare Burgundy on sale in Two Great Domaines auction appeared first on World Of Fine Wine.

The fine-wine auction market is steeped in tradition. Its recent history, confronting globalization, a new generation of collectors, and digitalization, has resulted in some revolutionary (and likely permanent) changes to its operations and to customer expectations. Chloe Ashton speaks to ten prominent names in today’s brave new auction world to find out more.

Auction elders: Sotheby’s, Christie’s, Bonhams

George Lacey, head of auction sales for London, Sotheby’s

Having joined Sotheby’s 18 months ago, George Lacey has been busy bringing young energy to the auction house’s British office. Lacey cut his teeth at Berry Bros & Rudd, managing the Singapore sales team before moving back to Britain and the house he now calls home.

He has big news to share: “I’m moving back to Asia soon,” he tells me—he’ll take on the position of head of Asia for Sotheby’s, and he cannot hide his excitement.

“Singapore is where I learned most of what I know,” he confesses, attributing this to the great generosity of its wine community and its small yet very concentrated nature when compared to the vast London wine scene.

“When I moved [to Singapore], I tried to soak up as much as I could from as many collectors as possible—after all, they have been buying and enjoying wine for 25+ years and naturally know far more than I do.”

Despite the swift intra-house move, Lacey has already left his mark on London. “I think my experiences sharing bottles in Singapore was a valuable reminder of why we do what we do,” he explains.

Sharing bottles with the wine-obsessed was a key success driver there, and one he sought to implement on his arrival back in the UK.

“We didn’t necessarily have a systematic approach of doing presale dinners in London, so that’s something I’ve tried to develop, since enjoying the wines is such an integral part of the collecting journey.”

The new regime is clearly working: Sotheby’s London division is up 45 percent year to date on 2021. But Lacey is quick to emphasize the bigger picture of Sotheby’s recent wins on a global scale: “We have been very strong in knowing where to position tech and how to deploy it. If you look back to 2020, the speed and quality with which we went online is quite impressive.”

His passion for this side of the business is not at all misplaced, he justifies, given the simple fact that “pre-pandemic” operating styles will stay firmly in the past.

“Before Covid, everything was happening in the room or through literal sheets of paper with advance bids on them. Now we know how to get to the heart of what customers want in terms of user experience, whether they are in the room, on a beach in Hawaii, or in an office in Shanghai.”

Adam Bilbey and Michelle Chan, global head of Christie’s and head of Asia Pacific, Christie’s

If this year’s auction results are anything to go by, Adam Bilbey and Michelle Chan form part of a Hong Kong auction super-force for Christie’s.

Chan’s history with the Hong Kong wine trade dates back to 2008, when all duties on wine were removed and the business started to boom. She was introduced to the market by her brother—an avid wine collector—and has never looked back.

The combination of her deep knowledge and understanding of “Asian buyers’ tastes,” as she puts it, and the arrival of Bilbey from Sotheby’s in January 2022 has seen Christie’s enjoy a bumper year thus far.

Bilbey tells me, “We have great talent within the team around the globe, as well as in Asia, but also a brilliant history in [the Asian] market.”

Indeed, he believes the strength of Christie’s brand in Asia, alongside the harnessing of close relationships with collectors and buyers alike, has laid the pathway to 2022’s success. 

Just seven months into his new post as global head of Christie’s, he speaks of the house’s specialty with immense clarity: “Our primary focus is being able to curate and present stories of the world’s greatest collections.

“Once we can do this and prove that we know how to sell such fantastic wines, further collections will naturally come to us—that’s where the momentum has come from this year, I think.”

Chan offers further dimension to the auction giant’s accomplishments, highlighting the benefits of its position within a wider group: “There are lots of opportunities in cross-selling. I work with other departments—watches, jewelry, handbags, and accessories—closely and on a regular basis.”

She and Bilbey both underline the impressive recent track run of fine wine at large in Asia, and Chan specifies, “While Hong Kong remains the main geographical driver for wine buying here, we have seen growth from mainland China, Taiwan, and Southeast Asian countries—India, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, and so on.”

Revealing a little of what’s to come for Christie’s, Bilbey admits the market is poised to see a short lull “after such a long and successful run,” while Chan remains optimistic, citing advances made during Covid—digital sales, plus engaging content on WeChat and Weibo—as ballast for Christie’s in any choppy water ahead.

Diego Lanza, senior spirits specialist, Bonhams

I spoke to Diego Lanza on his first-year anniversary as senior spirits specialist at Bonhams. The road to where he was sitting during our call, in Bonhams’ sleek Hong Kong office, has been long and winding. After leaving a fledgling career as a mechanical engineer in favor of the cocktail scene in Italy, Lanza was drawn by the bright lights of London and the world of whisky.

“I started growing my interest in old and rare spirits on the shop floor at The Whisky Exchange,” he tells me, hailing one of his colleagues there as a major source of knowledge (“a genuine whiskipedia”).

Spending time with The Whisky Exchange’s founder Sukhinder Singh—and his personal whisky collection—deepened Lanza’s knowledge.

“He taught me the golden equation for whisky collection: quality plus scarcity equals value.”

While this rule might apply just as well in wine, Lanza is specific in its pertinence for spirits: “Single cask quite literally means there is only one, so this can translate into a maximum of 500 bottles. Once those bottles are gone, they are gone.”

I ask him for an explanation of the increase in rare-whisky prices over the past decade or so, my knowledge of the subject limited to the existence of the phenomenon.

“There are old-school collectors who have been buying to keep a selection of bottles for many years, and there is a much younger generation (20- to 30-year-olds) coming into the market, hungry for the intricate knowledge that comes with understanding a single-cask lot, an independent bottling, and so on,” he offers.

And while he concedes that price speculation continues to trend upward, he emphasizes that many younger collectors are buying with pure passion, to open and drink the bottles.

Citing his experience of Hong Kong thus far, he tells me, “These guys are obsessed with snatching the finest and rarest bottles, and they know how to appreciate them.”

As for the value of those left unopened, his rationale is simple: “We are lucky in the spirits world. Unlike wine, our bottles don’t really have a shelf life. As long as they are stored upright and away from direct sunlight, they can last for eternity. Imagine the value created for people who do that until they own the last bottle of something in the world.”

Wine purists: Zachys, Baghera

Charles Antin, global head of auction sales, Zachys

Charles Antin got “bitten by the bug of wine” in 2005. While running through a series of different jobs, wine was Antin’s outlet to engage with culture, which quickly became a career on joining Christie’s as an administrator in 2006.

As his thirst for wine knowledge grew, he sought a move to “a place where wine was the sole focus,” and he has been at Zachys ever since.

“I’ve come up through two different auction houses from the very beginning”—an experience that has a clear advantage in terms of his intricate understanding of how the business has worked and how it could work better in the future: “I was once the guy filing the paperwork, I was once the guy looking at every single bottle and lugging every case, so I have the ability to see what might go wrong before it does,” he tells me.

This benefit extends to Zachys at large, which has seven decades of pure wine specialism in the auction space and is now a triple-threat powerhouse. “We’ve got personal touch, a huge client base, and a global team that breathes wine.” 

Global is certainly the operative word for the house, which started in America but has expanded sales into Hong Kong, London, and online over the past few years.

It is nonetheless the charitable side of the company that Antin chooses to emphasize. “We were lucky during Covid: The auction business genuinely boomed, while our friends and colleagues in the restaurant and travel businesses were not so lucky.”

In response to this, and taking advantage of consumers drinking more at home, Zachys launched several charity sales during the pandemic, raising funds in large part for hospitality. (“The next big one in the calendar is for the United Sommelier Foundation,” he mentions.)

I ask what his plans are for the near future, if there are any more changes to come, but Antin’s response remains faithful to Zachys’ steady and familial attitude for gaining ground in business: “I don’t think there is going to be a huge sea change in the near future now—we sort of just did that!”

Julie Carpentier and Michael Ganne, co-founders, Baghera

Swiss auction house Baghera has soared to success since it was established in 2015 by dynamic duo Julie Carpentier and Michael Ganne. The two ex-Christie’s executives sought to tread their own path, applying what they knew—how to curate great auctions of great wines—to a more focused, wine-pure audience.

“The most important thing was to center everything around the wines and people, and let them share moments. If you like wine, you like people,” explains Carpentier.

The personal relationships, both with clients and producers, shine through in some of the outstanding sales Baghera has staged during its mere seven-year history. Beyond the numbers, human interactions appear intrinsic to the company’s identity.

Both Carpentier and Ganne emphasize the importance of maintaining auctions at midsize—no more than 250 lots: “It’s already vast, and we want to do justice to the wines, the people selling them, and those buying with every sale,” Ganne tells me. Carpentier adds, “It’s a method more suited to our kind of client—private collectors rather than trade buyers.”

Expanding outward from the auction activity, Baghera’s members club opened in September 2020 (in central Geneva), and its wine community continues to grow. The club even has a small boutique. (This “was never in the plans,” Ganne explains. “We just tried it when we took over the space, and it seemed to work. Not everyone has the time to buy their wines at auction.”)

Following some brilliant results generated online and in live sales that were broadcast to other markets (Hong Kong, for example, where live sales were accompanied by a dinner and a tasting when Covid restrictions in Asia would allow), Baghera is set for a new phase of development: A second club in Nuits-St-Georges and an office in Singapore are opening before the end of the year.

Ganne touches on the benefits of doing all of this off his and Carpentier’s own backs, rather than within the walls of a larger auction-house structure.

“A sailboat is easier to direct than a big ship with an engine,” he muses, “so I feel we’ll always be able to work with more agility, and ultimately more quality: more respect toward the wines, their makers, and the people who love to drink them.”

Digital disruptors: Hart Davis Hart, iDealwine, Crurated

Marc Smoler, senior vice president, Hart Davis Hart

Hart Davis Hart was established in 2004—a relative adolescent compared with some of the more traditional auction houses. Its senior vice president, Marc Smoler, joined in 2006 “when it was basically a startup.”

After 16 years working his way up through the house, Smoler maintains focus on what he considers Hart Davis Hart’s purpose: “Our goal has never been to be the biggest but to offer the best service and, particularly, to do our due diligence when it comes to wine provenance.”

Indeed, while such efforts still take up a lot of team time (“essentially it means that we review and reject quite a lot of wine”), Hart Davis Hart has clearly reaped the reward of these endeavors. The Chicago house has grown from revenues of between $1 million and $2 million, when Smoler joined, to $92 million in 2021, making it the fourth-largest auction house in the world by value.

These strong numbers result not only from continued efforts in service but also thanks to innovative technology ahead of its time. Hart Davis Hart invested early and heavily in online bidding functionality and live-streaming—a bet that paid off in 2020, when much of the wine world scrambled to digitize against the global pandemic.

“We were lucky, in that business didn’t have to change that much for us,” notes Smoler, though he concedes, “We did, of course, confront the same issues of physical inspection and stock shipments as everyone else.”

Hart Davis Hart has enjoyed another record-breaking year in 2022 to date. Reflecting on his near two-decade journey at the house, Smoler tells me, “It’s extremely rewarding to see. We’ve gone from organizing one or two sales per year to now handling almost that number per month”.

Even at that pace, Hart Davis Hart is perhaps proof that slow and steady wins the race; its deep and detailed auctions—fewer in number than at some other auction hoses but fine-combed for only the best lots—continue to maintain an unbroken 100-percent-sold record.

Angélique de Lencquesaing, co-founder and deputy CEO, iDealwine

iDealwine was founded in 2000 by three friends and wine enthusiasts (CEO Cyrille Jomand and deputy CEOs Angélique de Lencquesaing and Lionel Cuenca) who met while working at the Paris Stock Exchange (Euronext).

“It was at the time when the electronic stock exchange replaced the traditional trading floor. We realized that we could replicate this on the Internet, a place where wine lovers could bid on and buy wine in just a few clicks,” de Lencquesaing tells me, adding, “Our dream was to build a platform where the variety and vastness of fine-wine auctions was accessible to people all over the world.”

The dream became reality with the help of her aunt, May-Eliane, whom de Lencquesaing cites as a source of inspiration in wine and the person she first went to with her “grand idea”: software that could estimate the price of a wine and a platform to bid remotely on hard-to-find bottles. 

Since its foundation at the turn of the century—when iDealwine was far ahead of its time (“Even the Internet was in its infancy,” de Lencquesaing comments) and the first online-only auctioneer in Europe—the company has grown to providing price estimates on approximately 190,000 bottles under the hammer per annum, consulted by 550,000 people each month in more than 100 countries.

De Lencquesaing reflects on the two decades of iDealwine’s success thus: “In 20 years, we’ve witnessed shifting hierarchies, wavering confidence, evolving tastes, and with the help of our ever-expanding database, a push for us all to grow our [wine] knowledge.”

Looking forward, de Lencquesaing maintains her keen digital eye: “NFT—the phrase on everyone’s lips,” she says, explaining that digital blockchain tokens might offer solutions to tricky questions, such as how to set prices at estate level and allowing the producer to benefit as much as resellers from the increased value of their bottles over time.

“At iDealwine, we’re following this trend closely, since each and every bottle worth more than €500 sold on our site is equipped with WineDex technology, linking the bottle to a unique NFT.”

Alfonso de Gaetano, founder and CEO, Crurated

I was keen to discover more about Crurated from the inside, having seen the name crop up countless times on social media, in fine-wine circles, and in association with some of the hottest ticket producers of late.

Founder and CEO Alfonso de Gaetano has spent the past decade working for Google—an unsurprising fact when one understands the technology and methodology behind his new wine-purchasing platform.

“I wanted to create something that would solve problems for collectors and producers,” he explains. “I’ve previously worked on multi-pricing advertising models, so this was a source of inspiration for me in creating Crurated.” The platform hosts auction-style transactions, as well as fixed-price sales, depending on the rarity of the allocation in question and the objectives of its producer.

“My thought process for Crurated started during Covid. I spent a lot of time reflecting on the frustrations of collectors not having access to wines they wanted, and also of producers, not knowing where their wines end up or if they were being opened and enjoyed.”

De Gaetano’s proposition was therefore to create value for producers and connect them directly with their followers—an offer that certainly seems to have struck a chord with some of today’s vinous elite. Crurated has recently signed an exclusive distribution deal with Charles Lachaux for his négociant wines.

As for what is next, de Gaetano is candid about the platform’s heavy up-front investment in tech: “It is what helps us create such flexibility for buyers and sellers,” he says. Up next is a concept inspired by fractional NFTs used for the purchase of artworks by multiple buyers.

“From September, we will be launching the sale of wines from barrel only. Several customers can buy into one barrel, and the web app will show how many equivalent bottles are left to purchase. Collectors will be able to choose their formats for the quantities they purchase and, in some instances, commission custom labels.”

Adding an element of auctioneer excitement to the concept, most large formats will be available only to those purchasing from barrel.

World of Fine Wine is hosting the World's Best Wine List Awards on September 12. Sign up for the event here

The post Wine auctions in 2022: A changed world appeared first on World Of Fine Wine.

Chloe Ashton presents all the latest data from the thriving auction and fine-wine market, where both demand and prices have continued on their dramatic upward curve.

Wine prices have never been higher. Following an initial stumble at the beginning of the coronavirus pandemic (March 2020), Liv-ex indices have risen continually over the two years since, as demand for fine wine seems only to grow. Global uncertainty and, to an extent, simple consumer boredom from tiresome restrictions may have been the initial catalyst for this latest surge of interest (and thus prices), but both have advanced beyond expectations since. Stephen Browett, chairman of leading UK merchant Farr Vintners, reiterates that “wine was one of the few luxury pleasures not affected [by the pandemic], unlike holidays, restaurants, parties, and so on.” If this kickstarted a new era of wine buying and selling, it is riches built up over several years prior that sustain it. Erik Portanger, head of strategy for private wine-collection curator 1275 Collections, explains: “We are at the tail end of a decade-long bull market, which has created a huge amount of wealth and increased the pool of people who have the means to indulge their passion for fine wine.”

Sky’s the limit for the fine-wine market

The Liv-ex 100—the staple fine-wine measure comprising the top most traded wines on Liv-ex’s exchange platform—saw an increase of 22 percent between January and December 2021 (fig.1). Now filled approximately halfway by Bordeaux—and otherwise including important wines from Burgundy, Champagne, the Rhône, Italy, Spain, Australia, and the US—it attests to a fervent interest in fine wines of all shapes and styles. The broader Liv-ex 1,000 index increased by 19 percent in 2021, while the Liv-ex 50, comprising Bordeaux first growths of the past ten vintages, rose by 13 percent. Though the latter sports the least impressive increase of Liv-ex’s three major price measures, its performance relative to previous years is positive: The Bordeaux price indicator achieved its best annual performance since 2016 last year.

Collective price increases may have environmental causes, muses Portanger; he cites climate change as an important factor in wine pricing today, explaining that “adverse weather events are reducing supply just as demand is increasing. This has also drawn attention to the fact that many iconic wines are changing and might not even exist in years to come, which is creating a sense of urgency.” Thibaut Mathieu, managing director of Corney & Barrow’s Hong Kong office, concurs, highlighting consumer awareness of “the prospect of upcoming smaller vintages.” Liv-ex results certainly support this at a more granular level; regional indices ended 2021 on record-breaking highs, growing 10–40 percent between January and December 2021. The last quarter of the year saw a particularly fast upturn for the Champagne, Burgundy, and Rest of the World indices, which, in the case of UK buyers at least, Browett puts down to a “weaker supply of drivers,” magnifying relative demand between October and Christmas 2021.

Champagne on a high

The Champagne 50 index was by far the strongest performer in 2021, rising a remarkable 40 percent over the course of the year. Peter Crawford, Champagne collector and founder of online retailer and grower specialist Sip Champagnes, admits to me that price increases have, in some cases, been “frightening for someone who sells and buys Champagnes designed for drinking enjoyment.” He explains the region’s recent price growth through a culmination of factors. First, Champagne has benefited from a succession of strong vintage releases—2008, 2012, and 2013, which have all garnered unprecedented levels of interest. Second, these successful vintages have perhaps had more of a mainstream voice, thanks to high scores from globally recognized wine critics. Finally, the perverse advantage of lockdown boredom causing traditional fine-wine buyers to move beyond their Bordeaux- and Burgundy-based comfort zones has contributed to Champagne’s impressive ascension. Crawford nonetheless hints that fine wine’s new Everest could be reaching its peak, believing that price hikes adopted by some Champagne producers will simply be unsustainable. He foresees a potential growth deceleration with subsequent declared Champagne vintages. He says, “2014 was good for some Chardonnay-dominant areas, [while] 2015 was struck by disease in some areas.” But he adds that while good (if perhaps not great) vintages across the board are to follow, “we’ll understand fully within the next decade why our great-great-grandfathers planted grapes in certain areas.” Referring to the specific vineyard sites that still perform, be it in lesser vintages and/or under pressure posed by climate change, the near future of Champagne’s price performance may hang in the balance of the specific micro-site, rather than in the region’s traditional tendency for blending and consistency.

Burgundy balloon

Now second in command, the Burgundy 150 index grew by 29 percent throughout 2021, similarly experiencing an uptick in the year’s fourth quarter, which boosted the index beyond its first peak back in 2018. At the time of writing, the campaign for Burgundy’s latest vintage (2020) has already been and gone. David Roberts MW, buying director of Goedhuis, tells me that most wines “sold out incredibly quickly.” Indeed, whispers at the resumed set of Burgundy week tastings (Goedhuis, Flint Wines, Justerini & Brooks, Charles Taylor Wines) indicated that a majority of the wines were already “pre-sold,” while Roberts even muses that he and the Goedhuis team must consider “what further Burgundy we can offer during the rest of the year,” since recent vintages have seen the same pattern of being snapped up so quickly on release. With this in mind, and considering the lower volumes available (particularly for reds) in 2020, Burgundy prices are poised to continue their ascent. Mathieu offers that recent price hikes have not all been entirely market driven: “Producers are putting their prices up in preparation for a small 2021 [vintage].” This nevertheless seems to have done little to assuage demand. Portanger confirms that “appetite for top Burgundies is insatiable” but suggests there exists an alternative route for the insatiate, in “other regions with similar characteristics—most notably Barolo.” He admits the knowledge base of Piedmont throughout the market remains limited, which could present an opportunity for growth.

The Rest is yet to come

Liv-ex’s Rest of the World 50 index achieves third place for price performance in 2021, its 22 percent rise driven primarily by increased interest in wines from California. Meanwhile, Liv-ex’s Bordeaux 500 and Bordeaux Legends 50 indices still trail behind, growing by 10 and 12 percent respectively throughout last year. The Liv-ex exchange reported a record low of Bordeaux’s market share as a portion of platform trades by value. Mathieu admits this pinch is somewhat reflected in Corney & Barrow sales, a phenomenon he attributes to en primeur release prices exceeding the cost of available mature stock. “As long as this is the case, Bordeaux will be a tricky sell,” he says. Other merchant data differ. Browett tells me, “Bordeaux remains king for us [Farr Vintners] in terms of value and quantity sold.” He adds, “Our [Bordeaux] sales remain two to three times stronger than those of any other region.” Roberts echoes the importance of Bordeaux for Goedhuis, similarly noting that the region is still the merchant’s biggest seller by both volume and value. He has witnessed a recent resurgence of interest in Bordeaux, likely linked to the global health crisis. “During the 18 months of Covid, clients were withdrawing ten-plus-year-old Bordeaux from their reserves and rediscovering the joy of drinking claret,” he notes, explaining that this “served as a reminder that it pays to buy and lay down Bordeaux for later years.” Indeed, while last year’s release prices of some Bordeaux 2020 en primeur were “expensive,” Roberts calls the campaign “successful,” adding that it, too, encouraged buyers to revisit further physically available vintages for cellaring: “We sold quite a lot of 2015s during lockdown.”

Auction update

Despite ongoing restrictions linked to the global health crisis permeating parts of 2021, the year saw total live auction revenues from major houses reach $582 million (fig.3). Representing an astonishing increase of 53 percent on the Covid-stricken 2020, auction-house sales figures in 2021 were at an all-time high and even surpassed the previous reigning year of 2018 by $110m (or 23 percent). While purely digital auctions have only been measured since 2019, latest figures indicate that online sales are set to stay a permanent feature of the fine-wine world, after solidifying their importance for wine collectors during lockdown periods. Online-only auctions added $51m to sales in 2020 (resulting in a total annual figure of $432m), and this grew to $53m in 2021, pushing the wine-auction annual revenue total over the $600m mark.

Worldwide web

Geographically, the US has remained the number-one auction buyer in the world, responsible for 45 percent of all live auction revenues in 2021 (fig.4). Once the sovereign city of America’s gavel, New York has seen its live sales outpaced by those livestreamed from the state of Delaware (by Acker Merrall & Condit and Hart Davis Hart). The two areas together prove the power of the Northeast megalopolis, accounting for 43 percent of all global auction sales. Hong Kong represents Asia with a 38 percent portion of auction revenues, while Europe maintains a web of wine hubs, led by Geneva and London, that generate matching sale shares of 6 percent apiece. While key cities retain the obvious advantage of proximity to collector wealth (and a higher density thereof), strong results for outlier auction locations are made more achievable by consumer willingness to buy from a distance. Louis Krieger, deputy director of Boston auction house Skinner, remarks on increased confidence in buying remotely, saying, “Timed, online auctions continue to attract buyers, and fears of realizing lower prices versus live auctions can be assuaged.” Similarly, Pascal Kuzniewski, chairman of Besch auction house, based in Cannes, comments that the positive aspect of “attracting more and more customers from all over the world” outweighs the major disadvantage of remote access to sales; “fewer attendants in the auction room, of course.”

Cross-continental

Multi-continent auction outfits naturally still earn most in revenue terms. The three champions of 2021—Acker Merrall & Condit, Zachys, and Sotheby’s—all held sales in at least two out of the three “big cities” (New York, Hong Kong, London). Maintaining its position as the highest-earning house, Acker achieved sales of $185m in live, livestreamed, and online auctions between New York, Delaware, and Hong Kong in 2021, growing revenues by $59m (or 46 percent) year on year (fig.5). Second in line, Zachys achieved $147m ($64m higher than in 2020), representing an impressive 77 percent increase. Having expanded geographically through its first sale held in London during 2020, Zachys added another location to the gavel list in June 2021, celebrating California greats in St Helena, Napa Valley. Charles Antin, head of wine-auction sales for Zachys, attributes the house’s success in 2021 to being “the first auction house ‘back at it’ with live, in-person sales,” as well as to the variety of sale types on offer (“We had spirits-only, Champagne-only, single-owner live and online auctions”). International auction star Sotheby’s ventured into France for the first time last year, holding two sales, in Beaune and Paris respectively. Both featured single-producer lots—the former an auction exclusively of wines from Domaine de la Romanée-Conti, the latter an online auction in partnership with Mouton Rothschild, revealing the new artist label to be featured on the 2019 vintage bottles. Reaching revenues of $93m, Sotheby’s grew its wine and spirits department figures by $18m (or 25 percent) compared with 2020.

Specialist success

Looking at the wider set of results covering all major auction houses, the boom of fine wine and spirits compared with other collectibles is more evident. In growth terms, those houses specializing only in the auction of wines and spirits, as opposed to possessing the same department category within a larger set of auction offers, have performed better between 2020 and 2021. Wine- and/or spirit-specific houses achieved an average year-on-year revenue growth of 81 percent, while collectible auctioneers with wine departments gained 35 percent. Wine-auction houses are boosted by two single-city performers: Geneva-based Baghera and Cannes-based Besch each increased their 2020 sales figures by 150 percent. An exception to the specialism rule, Paris auction house Tajan improved its wine department’s revenues by an astounding 180 percent in 2021 (fig.6).

One-region wonder

While location and specialism (or lack of) show variable correlation to hammer-price success in 2021, winning-auction subject matter is unanimous: Burgundy continues to hold court in global salerooms. The region accounted for 60 percent of all top lots disclosed in 2021, proportionally flat on the previous year but exhibiting a significant increase in hammer prices. The region’s top lots reached an average $159,000 in 2021, 76 percent higher than the previous year. While Domaine de la Romanée-Conti continues to dominate Burgundian gavel wins (earning 57 of the 100 Burgundy top lots disclosed throughout 2021), the two highest-priced lots are from elsewhere. A 12-bottle lot of 1865 La Romanée from Bouchard Père & Fils, sold by Baghera in the second quarter of last year, remains unbeaten, going for $2,142,294. Next in line is a 10-bottle lot of 1991 Musigny from Domaine Leroy, auctioned in Hong Kong by Acker Merrall & Condit in January 2021. Finally, the most expensive top lot of the year from Domaine de la Romanée-Conti was declared by Zachys: A 6-liter bottle of 1998 Romanée-Conti sold for $684,750 in the American house’s November Hong Kong auction.
Bordeaux also maintains a similar share of top lots in 2021 compared with 2020 (around 26 percent), though its average hammer prices have not risen nearly as much: High-achieving claret and Sauternes grew top-lot prices by 12 percent. The winning representative of the region in 2021 was a bumper lot of more than 100 bottles of Yquem 1990, auctioned by Christie’s at its Geneva sale in November of last year. The sweet lot sold for $295,483, surpassing the hoard earned by Sotheby’s Parisian auction of Mouton Rothschild’s 2019 new artist label collection (containing six bottles, three magnums, a double-magnum, an Impériale, and a Nebuchadnezzar) by just under $133,000. Reflecting recent trends on the secondary market, top lots from Champagne and California continue to make appearances, while the Rhône saw winning hammer prices for the first time in 2021. Two separate sales, by Zachys in Hong Kong and Heritage in Beverly Hills respectively, generated top lots from the Rhône; the first, a nine-bottle lot of Jean-Louis Chave’s Ermitage Cuvée Cathelin 1998, sold for $54,513; the second a much more modest online sale of six bottles of Rayas’s Châteauneuf-du-Pape 2000 (going for $4,551).

All aboard

With record prices infiltrating the auction and secondary fine-wine markets, and a revived roster of live, livestreamed, and online-only sales planned, there is a distinct sense of optimism heading into 2022. The year that will hopefully see the back of Covid may well also earn further price increases, as more consumers seek to join the wine-collection club. Portanger tells me, “There is growing awareness of fine wine’s unique attraction as an enjoyable yet secure store of alternative wealth, offering the option to either drink or realize profits in the future. The good news is that the fine-wine market has been steadily broadening beyond the most obvious names, which creates a continuous stream of opportunities for collectors.” An energy surrounds even the most traditional of regions. Browett foresees “strong sales in 2022 for the great [2019] Bordeaux vintage” now that critics and merchants are tasting it in bottle. Roberts may urge caution to the region for its next en primeur campaign, though mostly relative to strong prior successes for claret. “Clients buying Bordeaux have purchased five out of the past six vintages released,” he notes, “so they may not feel the immediate need for 2021 [Bordeaux en primeur].” Whatever region may spark interest, prospective enthusiasts may do well to board the wine train now, before it speeds away without them.

The post The fine-wine market: Up, up, and away appeared first on World Of Fine Wine.

Upcoming auction dates

A selection of fine wine auctions from around the world in the coming weeks and months.

Bonhams London April 27

Zachys New York April 27–May 8

Bonhams Hong Kong May 19

Artcurial Paris May 10

Acker Merrall & Condit Delaware May 11

Hart Davis Hart New Castle, DE May 25–26

Acker Merrall & Condit Hong Kong June 3

Christie’s London June 7–8

Heritage Beverly Hills June 9

Artcurial Paris June 15–23

Hart Davis Hart New Castle, DE June 29–30

NB: All future auction dates were correct at time of writing but are subject to change; please check auction-house website

The post Upcoming auction dates appeared first on World Of Fine Wine.

Chloe Ashton reviews the latest facts and figures from the fine-wine market, amid talk of online bidding looking to make a more permanent mark on proceedings in the wake of its success during the Covid-19 pandemic.

The fine-wine market is back in business, breaking records and bursting with energy. Following a slump through the latter half of 2019 and the pandemic-stricken start to 2020, fine-wine prices have continued their steady road to recovery throughout 2021, fueled by continuous demand from all major markets. Bordeaux Index’s LiveTrade platform activity illustrates a high level of engagement from buyers in the market: Matthew O’Connell, CEO of LiveTrade tells me, “Executed transaction data shows a broad fine-wine performance increase of 15 percent over the past 12 months,” adding that “activity in Asia has been strongest, followed by the US, then the UK and Europe.”

All three Liv-ex indices also maintain their positive upward curves. The wider measure of the fine-wine market, Liv-ex 1000, ended September 2021 at another record peak (fig.1). Having broken its previous price ceiling of 2019 in March this year, it reached a new high for the eighth consecutive month at the end of 2021’s third quarter, growing by 10 percent during the year overall. The Bordeaux first-growth staple, Liv-ex 50, nonetheless beat its more diverse comrade on growth marginally in the nine months to September 2021, rising by 11 percent, while the middle sibling—the Liv-ex 100—took the price performance crown, increasing by 13 percent over the same period and achieving its fastest nine-month price hike since 2016.

The fine-wine market: Time heals all wounds

It is possible that the fine-wine market is learning to self-heal from previous traumas. Following the financial crash of 2008, the subsequent wine boom of 2010 saw the Liv-ex 100 index soar back upward at a rate of nearly 3 percent per month. At the time, Bordeaux first growths and their popularity in China dominated the upward charge, leaving the wider market in free fall at its buying cycle’s end, though thankfully this drastic phenomenon has not yet been repeated. The next upswing in 2016 produced a gentler climb, with the same Liv-ex measure increasing an average 1.87 percent per month throughout the year, and perhaps ultimately resulting in a less dramatic dip in 2019. Now 2021 is appearing stabler still, with the Liv-ex 100 index rising by 1.48 percent each month on average between January and September, and suggesting that a middle balance between traditional investment staples (Bordeaux and Burgundy) and the more exotic choices—from Champagne and Italy, for example—might be the best recipe for long-term stability.

Dizzying heights

Latest Liv-ex figures indicate that prices in the fine-wine market could find even higher altitude by the end of the year, across a broad range of wines charging onward and upward, collectively. As the diversification of consumer interest—accentuated by Covid-19 lockdown periods (in which collectors were more willing to explore beyond the classics)—proliferates after the worst months of the pandemic, all bets are off as to which regions are being bought and appreciated the most.

Liv-ex’s regional indices are all showing positive growth, led by a clear resurgence of interest in Burgundy (its index rising by 15 percent in the first nine months of 2021; fig.2). A close contender for first place, the Liv-ex Champagne 50, rose 14 percent within the same period. O’Connell tells me that trades for Champagne have shown “particularly interesting dynamics” of late, not least in their position “leading the charge” of activity on the LiveTrade platform (increasing trade of sparkling by 26 percent over the past 12 months). He explains that much of this has been due to a surge of interest in Champagne from Asia, while performance is skewed toward heavy trading of “prestige cuvées and particularly those from Krug and Taittinger.”
Liv-ex’s Rest of the World 50 index earns the bronze medal, sporting a 12 percent hike in the first three quarters of 2021. The remaining four indices—Bordeaux Legends 50, Bordeaux 500, Rhône 100, and Italy 100—form a group of second-tier performers, growing at 7–9 percent over the same period.

Auction update

Live auction revenues in the first three quarters of 2021 reached $314 million, exceeding figures for the same period last year by 37 percent, though still falling $25 million short of 2018’s three-quarter high (at $339 million; fig.3). Following a bumper second quarter for this corner of the fine-wine market, the third quarter of 2021 showed signs of a return to normality from pandemic-related restrictions, with a more modest schedule of live summer auctions than 2020 (17 compared to 28), as collectors reverted to a wider variety of estival pursuits. George Lacey, head of UK sales for Sotheby’s wine, is nonetheless very positive about the performance of the auction market in 2021 thus far: “It has certainly been a more robust year than we might have been expecting after 2020.” He comments that the number of participants in Sotheby’s London sales has never been higher, boosted by the house’s pivot to running live-streamed closes for all sales online. “This has meant it doesn’t matter if someone is on the other side of the world, they can still participate,” he notes.

Back to bases

Despite the continuation of political unrest, the fine-wine market in Hong Kong has maintained strong figures in 2021, representing the Asian auction market with $104 million in sales from January to September—an increase of 34 percent on its results for the same period last year (fig.4). The US maintained its dominance of the global gavel once again, achieving a collective $159 million in the first nine months of 2021 and accounting for 51 percent of all live auction revenues. Though an impressive result, this does mean that the juggernaut continent has ceded proportional ground to Europe when compared to its results last year, no doubt due simply to the revival of normality in the UK, France, and Switzerland.

America’s sovereignty in the auction game remains unchanged: Acker Merrall & Condit achieved revenues of $99 million from live sales in the first nine months of 2021, representing a growth on figures for the same period last year of 50 percent and giving the auction giant an ever-wider lead on other players (fig.5). Chicago-based auction house Hart Davis Hart nonetheless maintains its position in second place. Two sales held in August and September 2021 (the latter reaching an impressive hammer total of $19 million) helped the house increase its own year-on-year nine-month revenues by 40 percent, to $63 million. Senior vice president of Hart Davis Hart, Marc Smoler, tells me that he and the team were greatly encouraged by the strong set of results: “Our 4,700-lot August sale really proves there is no bad time to sell wine in this market. Then September blew records out of the water, creating new benchmark hammers for the wines of Domaine de la Romanée-Conti, Jacques-Frédéric Mugnier, Domaine Leroy, Emmanuel Rouget, Armand Rousseau, and more.”

The old guard renewed

The trio of US-based auction dominators who ruled the roost together in 2020 has well and truly broken up. Following a strong second quarter, international player Sotheby’s counted a three-quarter sale total of $47 million, maintaining its 2021 position in third place, with a mere million-dollar lead on American house Zachys. The majority of Sotheby’s summer success nonetheless occurred outside of the United States, back in Blighty. Indeed, London was Europe’s auction capital for July through to September, thanks in large part to a pair of sales held by Sotheby’s, featuring a mixture of lots from private cellars and direct from producers. Lacey reflects on the four sales sourced directly from producers in 2021 thus far (Primum Familiae Vini, Sassicaia, Eva Fricke, and most recently, châteaux Rauzan-Ségla and Canon in October): “It became evident during the pandemic that producers have become even more keen to connect with their end consumers. Ex-château stock allows us to introduce those who make the wine directly to those who consume it, with the secondary major benefit of perfect provenance.”

Aside from Sotheby’s strong performance, Bonhams also contributed to the UK capital’s summer-auction hoard, earning $1.6 million for two sales held in July and September. And though purchases out of London continue to prove themselves large in number, Geneva remains Europe’s overall auction capital in 2021, since no third-quarter results could outshine the exceptional performance of the live sales held by relative newcomer to the gavel game, Baghera, in April and June respectively.

Into a higher gear

The high engagement in auctions over the summer season is matched by a general growth in top lot prices. Smoler notes that “[Top lot] prices are rising across the board, with some regions realizing more than 50 percent growth, and this momentum shows no signs of slowing.” He is not alone in his observation—and despite the return of real-life pursuits that might distract collectors from fine-wine purchases, demand levels still appear high enough to be pushing hammer prices up a gear. Zachys’ head of auction sales Charles Antin comments, “On the heels of our July live sale, the typical late-summer slowdown was nonexistent. Zachys has seen its hammer prices steadily increase this year, with a massive jump between our live sales in July and September.” He continues, “As evidenced by our latest live sale, the market’s demand for blue-chip Burgundian and California wines is insatiable, as prices for such bottlings have skyrocketed, along with other price increases across the board. We only expect hammers to increase.”

Indeed, top lot prices have never been higher. Of those disclosed, the average top lot price in the first nine months of 2021 reached $148,607—an increase of 22 percent on the previous reigning average in 2018 ($122,223; fig.6). Several top lots over the summer auction season broke previous auction records:A three-magnum lot of Romanée-Conti, 2006, sold by Hart Davis Hart in its September auction, went for $191,200 to a private American customer, while Bonhams’ September auction culminated in a world-record hammer price of $140,300 for a Nebuchadnezzar of Mouton Rothschild 2000. Though Burgundy (and Domaine de la Romanée-Conti in particular) continues to dominate winning hammer prices, the whole market continues to shift upward off the back of the momentum created in crisis. Acker Merrall & Condit’s chairman John Kapon observes, “We are in the midst of a momentum and a market I have not seen in 25 years of doing wine auctions. The Burgundy market is literally doubling right before our very eyes.” Of Acker’s September sale in Hong Kong, he says, “While Burgundy gets all the headlines, Bordeaux quietly achieved 35 percent of the day’s totals, with results often 15–20 percent higher than before.”

All-access pass

While the return of live auctions, and indeed the simple pleasure of enjoying wines in the same room as friends once again, has had only a positive impact on secondary-market prices for fine wine, the concept of digital access appears to be a lasting consequence of the global health crisis. Marc Fischer, CEO of Steinfels, speaks of the downside of the online wine-buying revolution, with reference to his September auction: “Our traditional in-person auction took place on Saturday, and our clients could bid in person, as well as live online. Sadly, fewer bidders are coming in person to our auction, since they can now bid live online.” Lacey, too, remarks on the same phenomenon following the digitalization of Sotheby’s sales: “More than 90 percent of bids on London sales [for Sotheby’s] have been conducted through the online platform this year, as opposed to in-room or absentee bidding by telephone.”

Traditionalists might mourn the days of full live-auction rooms, but overall it should be noted that online access to auctions has primarily served to open up bidding to an international audience, no matter where the physical sale is taking place. After so many months during which collectors had no choice but to buy online, this mode of access to the finest and most desirable bottles has become the norm. The year 2020 will go down in history as the linchpin in fine wine’s digital revolution, with the numbers to prove it: The average price of top lots disclosed by major houses from online-only auctions last year was $31,650 (although this was skewed by an incredible anomaly achieved by Sotheby’s digital summer sale, which saw ten bottles of Domaine Georges Roumier’s Musigny 1997 sell for $866,426). Excepting this hammer record, the average online top-lot price for 2020 was $17,258, while the nine-month average figure in 2021 was 17 percent higher (at $20,272).

Heading down a primrose path?

With fine wine experiencing as yet unseen levels of demand, the outlook for sales in 2022 could see complications arise in the fine-wine market. New vintages set for release from Burgundy and Bordeaux promise good quality but reduced quantities, while many California properties made no 2020 vintage at all, due to the region’s devastating wildfires. Anthony Vertadier Mabille, head of trade at Burgundy specialist Charles Taylor Wines, tells me, “Demand for Burgundy is increasing, but production levels are trending the other way. Volumes of 2020 overall will be slightly smaller than 2019, which in turn was reduced compared with 2018. Luckily, we have the safety net of larger stocks of back vintages, which will help us find balance against the lower availability of upcoming vintages (2020 and 2021). Otherwise, we will simply be looking for more producers to add to our portfolio to satisfy the ever-growing demand from our customers.” On the auction market, Lacey’s analysis of such high demand experienced this year (wherein Sotheby’s London sales have seen the highest ever number of bidders per auction), is linked with last year’s lockdown: “The thirst for wine among collectors is enormous, thanks in all likelihood to the amount of time they spent at home [in 2020] depleting their cellars,” he remarks. One must stop to wonder, will there be sufficient fine wine to go around; and in the absence of availability through both physical and digital avenues, where will collectors turn to next, to sate their appetites?

Upcoming Auctions

Acker Merrall & Condit, Delaware, December 16–17
Sotheby’s, London, December 17
Steinfels, Zurich, December 27
Besch, Cannes, December 28
Baghera, Online, January 11
Baghera, Online, February 8
Steinfels, Zurich, March 5
Baghera, Online, March 8

The post The fine-wine market: Back in business appeared first on World Of Fine Wine.

Christie's is hosting an auction of treasures from the Perrier-Jouët Oenothèque collection of historic Champagne releases on Thursday December 2, 2021. Simon Field MW reports from Paris where he was given an advance preview of some of the vintages of Belle Epoque on offer in London next week by Perrier-Jouët’s new Chef de Caves, Séverine Frerson.

The white Japanese anemones which entwine every bottle of Belle Epoque are surely the envy of every marketeer and every designer in the world of Champagne. For they do exactly what it says on the tin, on the glass indeed, that is to say they evoke floral elegance, ethereal charm, and a synesthetic sense of harmonious unity. The contents of the book had better be good with such a brilliant cover! And so they are; a rare treat, then, for Christie’s to be auctioning a small but highly treasured selection of Perrier-Jouët’s finest historical releases at their King Street London showroom. The auction takes place on December 2, 2021.

Lots going back to 1874

There are to be 15 lots in all, the oldest from 1874 and the youngest 2006. In their number are eight magnums and one Jeroboam (the 2000 Belle Epoque). Not all these wines are privileged with the Belle Epoque livery; indeed, it is easy to forget that this icon was only introduced commercially in 1969, with the release of the 1964 vintage. The incumbent Chef de Caves, André Baveret, came across four magnums which had been decorated on commission by the master glassmaker Émile Gallé in 1902. Bavaret’s commercial eye got the better of him and the search was on to find an artisan ceramist to complete the job. A legend was born.

1902 was, of course, during the Belle Epoque. France had recovered from the humiliations of the Franco Prussian war and the depredations of the First Word War were still to come. The spirit of optimism and renewal found expression in the Art Nouveau movement, itself inspired by the sinuous forms of nature and taking shape across the visual arts. La Maison Belle Epoque, located on the Avenue de Champagne in Epernay, is Perrier-Jouët’s tribute to this school of art; it houses more than 200 pieces by Art Nouveau masters including Gallé, Majorelle, Lalique, and Guimard. Immersion in the rarified atmosphere of sculpture, glassware, furniture, and ceramics provides the perfect backdrop to an appreciation of the wine itself. Indeed Perrier-Jouët are offering a stay at La Maison as an additional enticement to many or all of the lots at the auction, a full tour and tasting included.

Long-standing partners

Christie’s and Perrier-Jouët are long-standing partners. In 1888 the auction house set a record for the best price achieved for a single bottle of wine, the 1874 Perrier Jouët, which was only bettered 88 years later. The 1874 takes center stage once again next month amid an impressive line-up, all the wines having been selected by the new Chef de Caves, Séverine Frerson, who has decided that it is high time to showcase the family jewels. Eleven of the 15 are bona fide Belle Epoques; before the rebirth described above, the wine was either labelled as vintage (1874 and 1964) or as Blason de France (1976 and 1979). The Blason name has been maintained but now covers the three wines (Grand Brut, Blanc de Blancs, and Blason Rosé) which sit one level below the Belle Epoque in the range. The Belle Epoque family itself is now a trio, the current releases being 2013 for the Brut and Rosé and, interestingly, the 2006 for the Blanc de Blancs.

A photogenic selection

So to Paris to taste a few of the wines with Séverine. The tasting takes place in Pernod Ricard’s impressive new HQ in the centre of the city, just behind grander Hausmann pomp, and just in front of the Gare St-Lazare, considerably less seedy than of old, but still edgy enough. Somehow or other the architects have managed to circumvent the famous Parisian laws on tall buildings, and we are tasting on the seventh floor, all glass and light and with a view of Sacré Coeur on one side and of Les Invalides and (inevitably) Montparnasse on the other. A most conducive venue. Séverine has assembled a very photogenic line-up for us, of both bottles and magnums, four of which are to be included in the auction. Five if one includes the magnum of 1988, unfortunately corked.

(We do not go as far as to discuss what will happen if the one of the auction lots is also tainted. I’m not quite sure how “cavet emptor” works with Champagne.)

None of these wines, in any event, have actually been made by Séverine, who only took over as the House’s eighth Chef de Caves in October 2020. She has been well schooled, however; her mentors include her predecessor at Perrier-Jouët, Hervé Deschamps, and the longstanding winemaker at Piper Heidsieck (now at Rare), Régis Camus. Even in the year since our last meeting, Séverine’s English has improved enormously; today’s Chef de Caves must include an aptitude as an international ambassador among their job credentials. She is eloquent in any language, however, recognizing the need for “humility and artistry in the face of the elements, when making Champagne” and adding, right on cue, “I associate Belle Epoque with white orchids, my favorite flower … grace and elegance are combined with a taut, structured quality.”

Cultivated charm

The floral leitmotif is key, it seems. The founders Pierre Nicolas Perrier and Rose Adélaïde Jouët (married in 1811) were keen amateur botanists and had a green house built, complete with orchids, palm trees, and even pineapples, the latter a first in Champagne at the time. Thereafter a long-standing reputation for elegance and charm was cultivated; Queen Victoria and Napoleon III were especially appreciative, history relates. It is no coincidence that Perrier-Jouët have had a fruitful association with the Côte de Blancs Grand Cru of Cramant, long considered the source of the most elegant of Chardonnays. Two of the key Perrier-Jouët vineyards, Bouron Leroi and Bouron de Midi, are located in the pure chalk of Cramant, and are always the mainstay of the Blanc de Blancs. Stylistically we are far removed from the steely austerity of villages such as Le Mesnil-sur-Oger, even though they are only a few miles away.

The Belle Epoque Brut, for its part, is usually made up of 50 percent of Chardonnay, some from Cramant, 45 percent of Pinot Noir, from Grand Cru villages of Ay, Mailly, Verzy and Verzenay, and 5 percent of Pinot Meunier. The latter was introduced to an extant 50/50 blend by Hervé and comes from the village of Dizy, which scores 95 percent on the echelle des crus. Séverine explains its inclusion in terms of a bridge between the harmony of the Chardonnay and the structured richness of the Pinot Noir. The percentage usually hovers around 5 percent and serves as a fine seasoning; its inclusion is historically apt, given that Meunier used to play a more significant part in the house’s top wines

Perrier-Jouët: Stylish to the end

It is highly likely, therefore, that there was more Pinot Meunier in the 1874, although once again Chardonnay is king (queen maybe) and the village of Cramant plays a key role. If we wish to find out how it tasted we will need to call upon the ghost of Oscar Wilde, a great fan of this particular vintage, which provided solace to him after conviction for gross indecency. Presumably, hopefully, he was able to smuggle it into Reading Gaol. His dying wish in any event, was for one final glass of “PJ’, stylish to the end, one may surmise. How it tastes today is anyone’s guess; vinous, evolved and complex are words which do not have to take on a euphemistic guise. Mature for sure. Séverine is more precise. ‘‘With such an old vintage, I expect aromas of incense and cognac, together with vanilla, tobacco, and marmalade … There may even be charming hints of chocolate.” Who can say? There is only one way to find out, if one is feeling flush.

The other wines are considerably younger, and include magnums of 1976 and 1979, the former an intriguing example of a very warm year which has produced wines that have nonetheless aged beautifully; then there is 1982, a famous Chardonnay vintage and also the celebrated trio of 1988, 1989, and 1990, all offered in magnum and all still in the prime of life. The other lots are made up of a magnum of 1979, the Blason, which was served at the Elysée palace, a jeroboam of 2000, representatives of the Belle Époque Rosé (2004 and 2006), and the Blanc de Blancs (2002). A panoramic perspective of the house across the ages, in other words. As we survey the rooftops of Paris, we are enchanted by the intricacy and artistry of these great wines.

Perrier-Jouët Oenothèque tasting at La Fondation Pernod Ricard, Paris November 4, 2011

La Belle Epoque Blanc de Blancs 2006 (en magnum)

On the Chouilly side of Cramant, HVE accredited, two sites dominate the wine, lending warmth and flower power: the steelier notes courtesy of sites further south in Le Mesnil and Oger. This is the sixth outing of the Belle Epoque Blanc des Blancs (93,99,00,02, and 04 came before) and has been dosed at 8 g/l. Nougat and melon, hints of vanillin, then acacia and quince: a liminal passage from floral to fruit, all perfectly poised, warm in respect for the vintage, yet tense and fresh in deference to the house style. | 93

La Belle Epoque 2013

A late, late vintage; described by Séverine as “skeletal” in style; she says this as we survey the Eiffel Tower from the tasting room. Notes of linden, tilleul, and tobacco beyond the citric fruit; with a little time, honeysuckle emerges, and also hints of almond and spring blossom to braid the floral tribute. | 91

La Belle Epoque 2012

By way of contrast to the 2013, 2012 is more expressive, and with but the gentlest of swirls in the glass leafy tobacco notes cede to a creamy, nutty indulgence. The finish remains finely tapered and restrained, however, rich and open on the one hand yet still very fine and elegant on the other; the quintessence of Belle Epoque in other words. There will eventually be a Blanc de Blancs too.| 94

La Belle Epoque 1999 (en magnum)

This one was disgorged in February 2009, its dosage the standard 8 g/l. A warm vintage, with water stress issues in the summer and a “classic” mid-September harvest. Today it is showing beautifully; amandine, nougat, Mirabelle plum, hints of honey, and buttered toast. There was no Pinot Meunier in the 1999; there was no need for it, evidently. A long chalky finish, with just a hint of salty butter. Perfectly à point in magnum! | 95

La Belle Epoque 1990 (en magnum)

A rich gold color. Alas this is not the most perfectly clean example, but certainly good enough to sketch a note, if not a score. Tobacco, incense, verbena, and white chocolate, all cushioned by flavors that Séverine compares to tarte tatin. Hints of sugar cane indicate evolution (this was a very warm summer) but this may be down to the slightly under-performing magnum on the day. | NOT SCORED

La Belle Epoque 1989 (en magnum)

This was disgorged in 1995, rather early one may think. There is no virtue in challenging that decision however, as this is an absolute stunner. A deep galleon gold, then a nose which marries Armagnac, quince, verbena, fennel, and something of the sacristy. Sweet and savory engage in a battle royale, all sails unfurled, with the most explosive results. Wax and lanolin are evidenced at the back of the palate; vinous but not without fizz, cerebral but not lacking for tension and energy. A magnificent, mature Champagne, which imparts its gifts with abandon.  | 97

La Belle Epoque 1988 (en magnum)

TCA taint.

La Belle Epoque Rosé 2013

The 2013 style is once again vertical, linear. An attractive soft copper with gentle red fruit aromatics and soft spice. 8% of red wine was added by assemblage, half from les Riceys and half from Ambonnay. Wild strawberry flavors, then blood orange and a hint of pink pepper. Subtly gastronomic and with more to give. | 92+

La Belle Epoque Rosé 2006 (en magum) 

Deep salmon color, hints of bronze; the 2006 captures the generosity of the vintage with plenty of lively red fruit charm and a plush creamy backdrop; plums, grapefruit zest, a hint of ginger and macadamia, cherry too. A lot going on here, but all of it forward and generous. A strong finish too. | 93

The post Perrier-Jouët Oenothèque auction: Intricacy and artistry appeared first on World Of Fine Wine.