Domaine de la Romanee Conti: yours for just £10,000 a bottle!
Monday 12 September
In August’s edition of Decanter, I asked is Burgundy a one horse-race when it comes to investment? The answer was yes - at the moment - but names like Jayer, Rousseau, Roumier and Dujac are worth a dabble in the top years.
The conclusion was backed up by an auction at Bonhams last week, selling a case of Romanee-Conti 1990 vintage for £126,500. That’s more than £10,000 per bottle or £1,750 a glass – although I suppose that depends on the size of your glass!
Another case of Romanee-Conti, this time from 1988, sold for £74,750.
Interestingly, both cases were bought by a European buyer and it will be interesting to see how they perform in the Far East when the auction house sells more cases of the 1988 and 1990 vintage in Hong Kong in November.
The price of Romanee-Conti has shown, on average, a rise of 50% over the last year, according to Liv-ex.
A good day: finding a bottle of Lafite under your bed
Thursday 28 July
It’s August in London, which means the wine trade goes AWOL. Some of us mere mortals have to work, but the daily grind is eased by a free corkage deal with several Michelin-starred restaurants in the big smoke.
Five of London’s Michelin starred restaurants, The Square (2*), The Ledbury (2*), Chez Bruce (1*), La Trompette (1*) and The Glasshouse (1*) allow you to bring your own plonk for free if you’re a Bordeaux Index customer.
Last year I had a rather boozy and delicious meal at The Ledbury with several wine journos. We almost didn’t get there due to a rather elderly black cab driver having little Knowledge. This year, it’s going to be Sunday lunch at Chez Bruce.
Tina Gellie, chief sub-editor at Decanter, will be my date and lucky for her, while rummaging under my old bed at my parent’s house, I found a bottle of 1989 Lafite-Rothschild I had forgotten I had been given by my uncle. At £8960 a case (Fine & Rare Market data), I have had worse surprises.
On the down side, I’ll have to drink it rather than sell it on, as my dad has written his initials (JG)on the label in black marker pen a bid to try and claim it as his own – typical Scouser. However, all in all, a fruitful day.
Calling all New Zealand and Australian winemakers that need a hand getting into the UK market.
Naked Wines wants to hear from any winemakers who have a great product but don’t have the funds to market it or winemakers who currently consult or make wine for wineries and want to start their own project.
This year, there’s a £10 million investment pot to support winemakers but they need to find you…
They’ve already helped Bill and Claudia Small, an Aussie couple making wines in NZ get their project off the ground. Naked have sold 47,000 bottles of their wine in the UK and the latest shipment sold out in just 48 hours.
Since launch in December 2008, Naked has recruited over 100,000 customers, who between them invest over £1m each month towards funding winemakers.
Nick Pegna, MD of Berry Bros & Rudd in Hong Kong a.k.a Lord of Asia has his 60 seconds to discuss Bordeaux 2009, the Hong Kong wine scene and drunken prawns.
Looking to invest in a wine that won’t cost you an arm and a leg but could pay handsome rewards? The word on the street is buy Chateau Lynch-Bages.
While researching another topic entirely for Decanter magazine, Lynch-Bages was the hot tip on all the wine merchants’ lips. Since the 2009 vintage was released, there’s a belief that this Pauillac chateau has set out its stall for the future – it is going to be a wine for the rich.
I remember my dad buying the 2000 when it came out en primeur as something to drink. It was a little more expensive than the usual crap he buys but it wasn’t overpriced. He’s now seen what it’s worth today (£1579, according to the new market data tool at Fine+Rare Wines) and can’t bring himself to drink something so expensive (I’ve offered to help him out if he needs some encouragement pulling the corks).
With the release of the 2009 at an all-time high, it has raised the bar for the future. Simon Staples, fine wine director at Berry Bros & Rudd, advises: “I would buy any vintage of Lynch-Bages under £700. The 2009 vintage has marked a new price point that won’t come down.”
Inevitably, the Far East has boosted demand for the wine and the price has risen accordingly. Alan Liu, sommelier at The French Window in Hong Kong, explains: “Lynch-Bages is really easy to pronounce here. We sell it to them as ‘Lansey Barr’ as that’s how it is said in Cantonese.”
So, how much can you expect to pay at the moment? The 2005 (91 Parker points) started life at under £500 en primeur, it’s now trading at £796 – which is still relatively good value when you look at the 2000 which is trading at £1579 and the 2009 at £1036.
However, the value really lies in those lesser vintages where Lynch-Bages performed well. The 2008 (91-93 points) can be picked up for the £600 mark, the 2006 (92 points) for £620 and the 2004 (also 92 points) for £618. I think I’m going to follow my own advice and pick up a few cases.
Staples adds: “Lynch-Bages has always done the investor very well. The quality of the wine has got infinitely better in the past years.”
