Extract
[...] If we look at the regional indices that make up the Liv-ex Fine Wine 1000 index, it is the Champagne 50 that shows the best performance (+37.3% over the past five years), followed by the Italy 100 the Burgundy 150 the California 50 while the Liv-ex Bordeaux 500 and the Rhône 100 are down respectively -2.6% and -6.4%. As for wine auctions, they offer several advantages for the seller, including a free estimate of the lots, as well as access to a vast database containing a large number of references and a detailed history of prices. On the other hand, the seller does not know in advance the final price they will obtain. The record for wine auction sales is reached in April 2023, with 7 million euros for 30,000 bottles from a private collection (Frydman, 2023). [...]
[...] - Bordeaux are still number one in volume; - the share of organic wines continues to grow - the internationalization of the customer base continues, with a share of non-French buyers of 59% of the auctions in 2023. Prestige wine can thus be the subject of speculative enthusiasm, but it can also present some risks. The quality of vintages, as well as global demand from investors, influence the prices of prestige wines. Thus, in the event of average quality and/or a slowdown in global demand from buyers (notably from China), the price of these exceptional wines can drop, making them less attractive to investors. [...]
[...] Wine auction barometer 2022-23 from the iDealwine sales house: sales, bottles, and record prices Year Auctions organized (including private collections) Bottles sold (Equivalent 75 cl) Hammer price (in millions including fees) Average price per bottle Domaine most traded at auction (in millions Most expensive lot Most expensive bottle 2022 47 197 928 38,3 194 ? 2,1 (Domaine d'Auveney) ? (12 grands crus 2018 Domaine de la Romanée-Conti) ? (Musigny 2006 from Leroy domain) 2023 48 222 224 33,8 152 ? 1,5 (Domaine de la Romanée-Conti) ? mg of Petrus 1982) ? [...]
[...] In these conditions, wine can be considered as an alternative investment (Cardebat, 2017). The purchase of wines in advance can represent a very profitable investment, with advantageous prices for exceptional wines, often on the rise during resale. These attractive prices for prestigious wines are made possible by the early sale of wines, while they are still in the aging phase, long before their bottling and commercialization. These rare bottles can thus experience a significant increase in their value, after a few years of aging. [...]
[...] Finally, the Chinese market is slowing down. As a result, there is a drop in prices on the market of new wines, while the notes of the critics are rather good. In these conditions, the current drop in the price of Bordeaux wines in the new market represents an interesting opportunity for buyers. The prices of wines can experience strong fluctuations, without taking into account other costs to consider for an investor (Guichard, 2024): specific costs for storage (in their original wooden case) and logistics. [...]
