by Chris Mercer - A series of successful auctions and improved fine wine pricing shows that investors are regaining their thirst for top Bordeaux.
The Liv-ex 50 fine wine index, which tracks the last ten physical vintages of the five Bordeaux first-growths, is up by around 10% since November last year.
Miles Davis, at Wine Asset Managers (WAM), said the rise is ‘significant’ as an indicator of the fine wine market’s health, and shows ‘demand is much stronger’. WAM believes the fine wine market in general is in ‘recovery mode’.
The increase in demand, Davis told Decanter.com, is partly driven by a supply shortage among merchants, who are looking to restock. However, he also believes the longer-term investment trend looks
by Adam Lechmere in Napa - Premiere Napa Valley, the annual barrel auction that has become one of the biggest events in the California wine calendar, took a total of US$3.04m on Saturday, just shy of last year’s record.
Last year’s US$3.1 was the first time the auction, considered a barometer of the popularity of certain wineries and the state of the economy, broke through the $3m barrier.
The average wholesale bottle price was US$160.75, an indicator of the quality of the 2011 vintage, one of the coolest and most difficult of recent years which produced low yields of highly-regarded wines, praised for their elegance and structure.
Auctioneers Ursula Hermacinski (pictured) and Fritz Hatton let three hours of raucous bidding, with delegates occupying the floor and winemakers sitting nervously around the sides waiting for their lot to come up. A total of 67 successful bidders out of 1000 attendees bought 207 lots of wines – the vast majority from 2011 – made especially for the event.
by Jane Anson in Bordeaux & Chris Mercer - Chateau Monbousquet owners Gerard and Chantal
Perse sign ‘alliance’ with pensions firm. A French pensions company has acquired an interest in Chateau Monbousquet in Saint Emilion, as part of a succession plan devised by owners Gerard and Chantal Perse.
No financial details have been disclosed, but it is understood that the deal involves the sale of a minority stake in Monbousquet, the first chateau bought by Chantal and her husband, Gerard, in Saint Emilion in 1993.
‘This alliance is to pass on our heritage, the fruit of more than 40 years work, to our children,’ Chantal Perse said. The family also owns Pavie, a Saint Emilion
16. bis 20. Juni 2013 trifft sich die Wein- und Spirituosenfachwelt wieder in Bordeaux. Dann öffnet die bedeutendste internationale Branchenmesse Vinexpo zum 17. Mal ihre Tore. Über 48.000 Fachbesucher aus 150 Ländern werden in der französischen Weinmetropole erwartet. Die Messe ist bereits jetzt komplett ausgebucht.
Für die meisten internationalen Wein- und Spirituosenfachleute ist die Vinexpo der wichtigste
Termin des Jahres. An der Gironde werden die entscheidenden Geschäfte gemacht, neue
Kontakte geschlossen und bestehende Beziehungen vertieft. Auf 90.000 Quadratmetern
Qualität statt Quantität beim Weinanbau: Baden-Württembergs Verbraucherminister Alexander Bonde (Grüne) kämpft gegen eine europaweite Freigabe von Weinanbauflächen. «Die profilierten Qualitätsweine aus unseren Weinbauregionen dürfen nicht zur Massenware verkommen», sagte Bonde am Mittwoch in Brüssel. Hintergrund seien Überlegungen einer Expertengruppe der EU, den Anbau von Weinreben ab 2016 schrittweise freizugeben. Seit 1976 dürfen einem Beschluss der EU zufolge keine neuen Anbaugebiete entstehen.
Nach Angaben der Weinbauverbände Baden und Württemberg wird im Südwesten auf gut 26.800 Hektar Wein angebaut. Das ist etwa ein Viertel der Anbaufläche in Deutschland. Aushängeschilder sind in Württemberg Trollinger, Lemberger und Schwarzriesling. Im Badischen sind vor allem weiße Burgundersorten und Spätburgunder beliebt. (dpa/lsw)