Sunday, June 19, 2016

Alternative Investment With Liquidity: 2015 Bordeaux First-growth Up 60% From 2014

A wine joke:
The wine tasting was lovely until a self-professed oeniphile started droning on about the "oily richness" of some scamp of the vineyards, describing another as having "the faintest soupçon of asparagus and the tremulousness of a mimolette.” and extolling the merits of some Château de prétense no one had ever heard of.
Finally, pausing to take a breath he said "Je vais à Bordeaux" and one of his not-so-enthralled audience asked "What's that mean?" to which the oeni-weeny replied "I'm going to Bordeaux". 
His interlocutor then asked, "Who's Doe?" 
That's my story and I'm sticking to it.
-from our 2013 post "Dimson et al: 'The impact of aging on wine prices and the performance of wine as a long-term investment'"
And from Bloomberg, June 19: 

Bordeaux First-Growth Price Increases Reach 60% for 2015 Vintage
  • Mouton Rothschild matches Margaux among top left-bank wines
  • La Mission Haut Brion 2015 price more than doubles from 2014
Bordeaux first-growth wine estates on the left bank of the Gironde announced prices 60 percent higher this week for their critically acclaimed 2015 wines as the pace of increases accelerated across the region, according to Liv-ex data.

Chateau Margaux in the Margaux appellation and Chateau Mouton Rothschild in Pauillac both priced their 2015 wine at 384 euros ($433) a bottle, up 60 percent from the previous year, according to the London-based Liv-ex market. Chateau Haut Brion in Pessac Leognan, on the southern edge of the city, pushed its 2015 price up 60.4 percent to 385 euros, while Chateau La Mission Haut Brion, under the same ownership, more than doubled in price to 300 euros.

Gains in top-classed estates exceed those of more than 40 percent for many leading growers the previous week, advances of 32 percent in early June for other classed growths in the region and price boosts of 19 percent for those selling in late May. The release of the 2015 wines has drawn selective demand for the higher-rated estates from collectors while also sparking interest in cheaper, older vintages in the secondary market.

“It was an active week for Bordeaux, with the region’s market share by value rising above 85 percent for the first time since December,” Liv-ex said in its blog. “Buyers seeking value away from the new vintage frequently opted for the 2012, which accounted for almost a third of all Bordeaux trade.”
After three difficult vintages between 2011 and 2013 and a more classic style in 2014, last year’s wines may be the best since the highly rated 2009 and 2010 harvests. A hot June and July were followed by rain in August that helped the vines, and then a sunny harvest. Producers interviewed in Bordeaux and London have said 2015 is the highest-quality vintage in at least five years....MORE
The last time I used the "Alt with Liquidity" headline was in 2014 which I intro'd with the Dimson piece and:
When I was a young hotshot I decided I would sample every representative wine of one type or another.

I had decided on Bordeaux and told a very connected sommelier/procurer of my intent. He advised I definitely not go with Bordeaux as I "would have cirrhosis before I was a quarter of the way through" the 1500 wineries, each with multiple labels. Even if I limited the experiment to certain châteaux, the multitude of vintages would probably mean I'd end as just another poor alcoholic with an educated palate.
So we decided on the Champagne instead....
Somehow related:

"The 6 Most Statistically Full of Shit Professions"
#6. Stock Market Experts
#5. Wine Tasters
#4. Art Critics 
Hmmm...
And quite a few more, use the 'search blog' box if interested.

By-the-bye I just checked a link to a 2005 Bordeaux page at Berry Bros. & Rudd I had bookmarked and this is their 404 message:
We're terribly sorry but you seem to have reached a dead end.
For a nudge in the right direction, please use the search box below, or continue to our home page. If you lose your way again please do let us know.