Wines of the Times

The combined efforts of the Chinese market and uber-critic Robert Parker mean certain wines have shot up in price; great news for investors, less so for drinkers. But there's still plenty around for fine wine fans who don't want to pay over the odds.
Stephen Browett reports

With a huge surge in demand for fine wine coming from the Far East in the last few years, these have been spectacular times for wine investment. Most people who have invested in the top wines of Bordeaux recently must be feeling pretty pleased with themselves. The First Growths have seen sensational rises in price and those wise or fortunate enough to buy, for example, Latour 2008 on release in June 2009 are already looking at a profit of over £5000 per case. The real jackpot winners are the buyers of Lafite and its second wine Carruades which have increased in price by an eye-watering 8 times in a little more than 18 months.

With any Carruades Lafite now trading at over £3000 per case - even for a mediocre vintage - this clearly a wine that nobody in the western world in their right mind will ever drink again; nor will there be many people outside South East Asia opening bottles of Lafite now that the market price (wholesale, not retail) starts at £600 per bottle. The feverish Oriental demand for Lafite and family is now pulling up the prices of all the other First Growths (and their second labels) and there are clear signs that China is no longer a one wine market. It is expected that the top twenty or so leading properties of Bordeaux will be joining the shopping lists of every fashion conscious wine drinking millionaire.

So, with the leading wines of Bordeaux offering such poor value for money, what should the rest of us who love great wine be drinking? Don't worry: there is still plenty of choice.

 

There is no doubt that after Chinese demand the most demanded and therefore the most overpriced wines tend to be those most highly rated by wine critic Robert Parker. His top scoring wines are demanded around the world with the result that a 100 point score from him can, at least, double a price. Take for example 1990 Château Montrose. This is a wine that most experts would rate no higher than the 1989 vintage but the magic 100 Parker points means that it sells for more than double price.

A golden rule for wine investment has always been to buy a young wine that Parker will like. The rule for drinking is perhaps the opposite. There are Châteaux that Mr Parker seems to always underrate - Giscours, Domaine de Chevalier and Figeac spring to mind - and there are vintages such as 2001 that are overshadowed by their highly praised predecessors yet have produced great wines. A case of 2001 Pichon Baron will set you back about 5% the price of neighbour Mouton Rothschild's 2000 and I rate it as a greater wine. Les Forts de Latour 2000 is a good wine but hardly good value at £2400 per case compared to Langoa Barton 2001 which sells for under £300.

The greatest value of all in Bordeaux is clearly to be found in Sauternes. With the Chinese apparently uninterested in sweet wines, it's possible to buy a mature top name Château for a fraction of the price of a red wine of similar quality and reputation. Even the great Château d'Yquem - the world's most famous sweet wine and the king of Sauternes seems undervalued. The very good 2003 vintage can still be purchased at £1800 per case - the same amount of money might buy you 2 bottles of Lafite or Latour.

Outside of Bordeaux there may be high prices for Grand Cru Burgundies, Cult Californians or Super Tuscans but there are still plenty of bargains in the fine wine world. Value can be found in the top cru Beaujolais, Rhônes from appellations like Gigondas and Saint Joseph (look for wines produced by great Rhône names like Chave, Guigal and Beaucastel) and in nearly all of Alsace, where Trimbach and Zind-Humbrecht seem like wonderful value now, and the Loire Valley. There are plenty of Macon producers, like Jean-Marie Guffens of Verget, whose best whites out-perform Meursaults or Puligny Montrachets that sell at treble the price.

The greatest wine value of all is probably to be found in vintage port which has provided investors with absolutely abysmal returns in recent years. These are some of the world's finest wines but they are sweet, strong and deeply out of fashion. The classic Taylor 1997 (a 96 point wine) would have cost you £420 on release in 1999 and today....well it's still available at £420 per case and now ready to drink. The 95 point rated Cockburn 2000 was £320 for a case of 12 in 2002 and today a UK wine merchant is offering it at £275. It doesn't look like this is a wine style that the Chinese will ever like, but for bargain hunters today it doesn't cost much to wash down the Stilton in style.

Stephen Browett is Chairman of Farr Vintners; farrvintners.com