10 Best Investment Wines
Investing in rare wines is like building a startup business: you may need ten years to see significant returns. The industry is not for the faint at heart as knowledge and timing are a large part of success. But over the past few years, fortunes have been made.
“Had you allocated $100,000 to Cult Wines, a U.K.-based wine portfolio manager, your money—which is to say your wine—would have returned an average of 13 percent annually. In 2016, its index performance was actually 26 percent. The fine wine secondary market hovers at about $5 billion, a fraction of the $302 billion global wine market.
But Euromonitor International Ltd. projects that while “key luxury players face mounting risks in 2018,” the wine and Champagne category is set to increase by an estimated 7 percent,” shares Larissa Zimberoff of Bloomberg.
With a proven high return, more and more high wealth individuals are getting interested in how the wine market works. To help, here are some of the best investment wines that you can begin creating your portfolio around.
Latour 1999
Why Invest?
The Latour 1999 can be found in the 47 hectares land of Bordeaux – close to one of the best terroir chateau in the world. Now that it’s 20 years old, this 1999 vintage wine has reached its best drinking window, and a lot of people are curious on well the wine has matured so demand is at an all time high. The good thing about this wine is it still can last for another 20 years. Imagine that!
Chateau Latour, the maker of the fine wine, announced in 2012 that they won’t be selling Latour 1999 anymore. This has made the wine much more difficult to acquire which has increased is rarity and value. Access to new vintages and boosting appeal for older vintages mean higher profit.
Three-year Return: 49%
Ch. Lynch Bages 2000
Why Invest?
The Ch. Lynch Bages 2000 was ranked as a Fifth Growth during the 1855 classification. Recently, however, more and more drinkers and investors worldwide increased its status and considered it as being worthy of the Second Growth status level.
For one, it has a strong brand name. People know how reliable this brand is; thus, they believe that the investment. At the same time, it also has a robust secondary market, which contributes to its increasing high valuation. On its release last year 2000, its initial release price was only valued at £450 per 12 bottle case. Now, it is valued at £1,700 – with expectations of further appreciation in the next few years.
Three-year Return: 80%
Tignanello 2010
Why Invest?
Tignanello 2010 is a flagship wine by Piero Antinori. Antinori was one of the people who helped revolutionize the wine scene in Italy and introduced how much potential the region of Tuscany had when it came to winemaking. This particular wine was also able to qualify as a “Super-Tuscan,” even in its early years. Because of its global brand power, its demand across the whole of Europe and the world is ever increasing.
Three-Year Return: 63%
Gevrey Chambertin Clos St. Jacques 1999
Why Invest?
One of the finest producers in Burgundy, Armand Rousseau, spearheaded the emergence of Gevrey Chambertin Clos St. Jacques. Although Burgundy is considered a profitable wine region, it does not produce a significant amount of wine as compared to Bordeaux. Because of this, gaining access to its best wines and products can be a little bit tricky.
Because of the increasing curiosity and how much Burgundy has proved that its brand is worth the investment, the demand for this particular wine has had a meteoric spike. As more and more investors and collectors are attempting to get their hands on this wine, its availability has stayed consistently low. Simple supply and demand have helped is escalate in value so quickly.
Three-year Return: 83.4%
Haut Brion 1989
Why Invest?
The best selling point of Haut Brion 1989 is its taste. In fact, one of the best wine critics in the market, Robert Parker, rated it a perfect 100. He described it in his piece as prodigious and immortal. Now in its 30th year, the number of cases available for buying is continuously diminishing. Because of its scarcity, one case now reached an all-time high of $33,000 USD – a feat that only a few wines achieve.
Because of its value growth, a few collectors are currently selling to get a handsome return on investment. But as more and more people drink this fine wine, most experts are estimating the value will continue to rise.
Three-year Return: 102%
Champagne Moet & Chandon
Why Invest?
Following the 1995/1999 period, the 2002 might perhaps be the next best champagne period of all time. Because of this, the expectation over this vintage champagne is at its all-time high. Some tasters said that its primary and secondary drinking phase taste had already topped their expectations. This means that its value will continue to grow, given that it is about to enter its tertiary phase of drinking. Its taste will most likely improve by significantly over the next 5 to 10 years. Three-year Return: 77%
Salon Mesnil 2002
Why Invest?
According to Connoisseurs, the Salon Mesnil is considered to be the quintessential Blancs-de-Blancs Champagne. Its best selling point revolves around it being 100 percent Chardonnay. This means that the volume produced per year is limited and restricted, which is also backed up by its rarity and cachet.
To support this claim, the makers revealed that only a total of 62,000 bottles of this 2002 vintage were produced and released to the market. As it enters its long drinking window, only a few cases are available after seven years since being released. Three-year Return: 72%
Ch. Margaux 1996
Why Invest?
This Chateau Margaux 1996 bottled in September 1998 is probably one of the best wines produced under the Mentzelopoulos regime. It is known for its elegant and sophisticated features – some things that not a lot of wines can achieve.
According to reports, this extraordinary bottle has also remained flat for the past two to three years. This fact led the spectators to believe it is currently on its way to moving to the next two 100 point vintages.
Three-Year Return: 76%
Krug Clos Mesnil 2000
Why Invest?
Many investors consider Vintage Champagne as the fastest and most exciting growth area of the market. Under this, Krug Clos Mesnil 2000 is at the forefront of the fight because of its quality and brand. It is also known for its rarity because only less than 1000 cases of this were produced two decades ago.
Its value also increased because of the fact that it is the very first new millennium vintage. This feature contributed to its extra collectible status in the market.
Three-year Return: 80.7%
Domaine Leroy 2006
Why Invest?
Domaine Leroy 2006 falls under the investment credentials of Burgundy. Needless to say, the Burgundy market has led the way of wine investment wherein they were able to post a growth of 35 percent last 2018. This 2019, it continues to grow at a fast pace, which led the fine wine collectors to see it as a focal point at auctions.
This Burgundy wine only produced a total of 100 cases in Chambertin. The inability of its supply to match the demand led to its placing as one of the highest performing investment picks in its category.
Three-year Return: 633.10%
Where Do We Go?
Wine gets better with time. To produce the finest quality, you need ingredients of high quality as well as extensive knowledge of the wine-making process. And of course, a good bottle of wine is crafted with time. Similarly, investing in wine is not an easy task. With the help of research and assistance from other investors, however, this can be a hobby or passion that can generate fantastic returns.