James recently wrote a special report for the Financial Times on wine investment, and interviewed several leading wine merchants for comments and analyses. One of the interivewees is Simon Brewster, senior private client sales of London-based Fine & Rare Wines.
Wine investment on Bordeaux remains in “a state of flux” due to high En Primeur prices, says the merchant, while interest in Burgundy, Italy and Chamapgne is surging. Consumer interest in Italian wines, for example, has been growing across all price points and regions, says Brewster, adding that the excellent 2010 Brunellos also pushed up market interest on Italian wines generally.
Luxury cuvee champagne is also racking up market shares with older vintages such as 2002 and 1996 being hugely popular among wine lovers, he continues.
Read our interview below to learn Simon’s perspectives on the latest trends on wine investment and where Italian wines fit into the story.
JamesSuckling.com: What are your views on wine investment at the moment?
Simon Brewster: It’s a challenging time, as Bordeaux, the traditional home of wine investment, remains in something of a state of flux. Release prices are high, rendering En Primeur less important, and older vintages are still largely yet to recover from their previous highs. There are opportunities in Champagne, Burgundy and Italy, but they are hard to predict as their markets are less mature and lack the liquidity of Bordeaux.
For example, if you are looking to buy wine from regions such as Italy that have less of a history of purchase for resale than Bordeaux, it is important that you have a route to a market where your wines can be effectively publicized and sold, should you wish to.
JamesSuckling.com: How is Bordeaux selling?
Simon Brewster: If it’s priced well and has a good story, it will sell as drinkers and collectors still love Bordeaux, but it has to be right. We had a successful En Primeur campaign by picking out the highlights and our favorites across the price points, and giving them our full attention.
JamesSuckling.com: Is there any upside to Burgundy? Why?
Simon Brewster: It has all the necessary requirements: rarity, immense quality and a touch of romance. Demand will always outstrip supply for the best on release and you’d expect this to be heightened further as the wines become scarcer and more desirable as they mature. That being said, where the upsides will be is harder to predict as the volumes traded are so low.
JamesSuckling.com: Any other regions to highlight for wine investment, price inflation or just plain collecting?
Simon Brewster: Luxury cuvee champagne is interesting. The volumes made and released are huge compared to Bordeaux and Burgundy, but a lot of it gets drunk when young. This means that older vintages rapidly become hard to find, which in return seems to be driving up prices. 2002 is now very tough to source and 1996 even rarer.
JamesSuckling.com: Italy seems to be outperforming most regions at the moment, are you bullish? Why?
Simon Brewster: We’ve seen huge growth of interest in Italy across all price points and regions, and see no reason why this shouldn’t continue. Barolo has much in common with Burgundy in terms of the nuance, purity and complexity of both the wines and the region. Tuscany is perhaps more Bordeaux-esque with more single estate wines, whether from Brunello or the always popular Super Tuscans. Standards from both regions are high and they offer phenomenal value across the quality levels. As long as both trends continue there’s no reason not to be bullish.
JamesSuckling.com: What areas from Italy sell the best?
Simon Brewster: Brunello 2010 has been spectacularly successful. A great vintage, it has been backed by the critics across the board and comes from a region that’s easy to understand. More importantly, prices are reasonable and offer fantastic value for money.
JamesSuckling.com: What producers are the most highly coveted?
Simon Brewster: The big names in Tuscany: Masetto, Ornellaia, Solaia and Sassicaia always meet strong demand and Fontodi is definitely one to watch. For Brunello, Valdicava, Casanova di Neri and Biondi Santi, to name just three, are hugely popular. For Barolo, Vietti, Voerzio and Giacomo Conterno are the three big hitters.
JamesSuckling.com: What areas and producers do you look for the future in Italy for investment and purchase?
Simon Brewster: In good vintages the Super Tuscans show some upside potential as do the very best of Barolo. Much will depend on third-party scoring and release prices.
Photos: Simon Brewster, senior private client sales of Fine & Rare Wines; and 1966 Petrus
