by Wine Owners
Posted on 2021-03-24
Luke MacWilliam, March 2021
When buying wine with half (or even a full) eye on investment, there is a sea of information and misinformation out there. Often authors have an agenda or a producer to push, they want you to buy the wine they are selling. I recently had a call from an importer who was telling me how “Producer X” (that they imported) is going to be a great investment wine and would we want to promote that “fact” to our members. The lines between marketing, and genuine insight and opinion can become blurred.
I politely declined, explaining that Wine Owners is here to facilitate trading between collectors and that when we do publish opinions regarding the investment market, it is based on a combination of data, observations and personal experience.
How you then choose to use this information is up to you; my number one piece of advice is to read broadly. Do not exclusively read what we put out or content from other trade members and don't solely listen to your account manager who has a target to hit. Combine all three and when you see things repeated by people with different agendas (or no agenda) there may just be something to it.
For example, back in January, Wine Owners’ very own Miles Davis wrote the following unassuming paragraph in his annual investment report.
“The Rhone is solid but unexciting yet provides immense drinking pleasure at a relatively cheap price point. Back on solid form, I think (Jaboulet) Hermitage La Chapelle ’09 and ’10s are under-priced (the ’78 remains the best wine I have ever drunk).” Miles Davis/Wine Owners 2020 Wine Investment Report and a look ahead at 2021
Totally independently, Bordeaux Index released their own report with a similarly passive but very honest insight on Rhone:
“Rhone: If Piedmont can be frustrating from the stop-start nature of investment potential delivering results, Rhone is perhaps tougher still. Rising En Primeur prices have not helped as they tend to snuff out broader interest in the region rather than fan the flames. We see the potential this year as being in the Northern Rhone primarily and focused more on the classical names: Guigal, Chave, Jaboulet.” Bordeaux Index’s 2020 Market Review & 2021 Outlook
Two unassuming and easily overlooked comments resonated with me. I read both within a few days and I love the wines of Northern Rhone as a consumer. I checked out the trading platform, there was an offer for Jaboulet Hermitage 2010, and a bid, that's another tick in the box, the wine is liquid, others want it too.
Then, as I was cleaning up my inbox I spotted the offer. A regular offer from a trade client that I often overlook, but there it was, jumping out at me like a jack-in-a-box. Jaboulet Hermitage 2010 at 10% discount to market.
That was it, I was not missing out on this, and I didn’t (Miles might have, despite me telling him immediately…sorry Miles!).
It’s unlikely that I would have bought this as a modest investment punt based on just a single one of those events. I might have bought some to drink based on Miles’ comment about the ‘78 and other reviews, but all 3 events together added up and it made sense. I have no regrets (except maybe I should have bought more!). Previously trading at just over £600 per 6 the last trade on Wine Owners was £715, and that still feels like a good buy... I’ll be holding mine for a little while longer (unless Miles bids me for one!).
by Wine Owners
Posted on 2021-03-17
For just a moment, imagine no longer having to depend on a tedious cellar spreadsheet and instead being able to view your entire wine collection all in one place in an interactive way, bringing your portfolio to life?
Spreadsheets can be dull and relentless at the best of times. By consolidating piles of paper, spreadsheets, emails and invoices all into a well organised online portfolio, you can pull other valuable pieces of information together that lend a new dimension of enjoyment to organising your collection. Contrary to what you may think, managing your collection end to end, ensuring that all your wine acquisitions are accounted for, can be a fun process!
Cellar management software enables you to achieve this in 3 steps:
Step 1) Getting your collection organised.
Figuring out what wine you have may sound simple but it often isn’t. Wines are sourced from multiple merchants and stored in numerous locations. Although the majority of merchants are organised, not all can be relied on to remind you of your purchases.
An online cellar management platform enables you to track your entire wine collection in one place, both your professionally stored wines and those at home. Wine Owners’ home cellar functionality enables you to track the exact location of each bottle down to hole in a bottle rack, so that no bottle will be forgotten and ensures wines will be consumed within their drinking window (a window that you can edit according to taste).
Having been built by a fellow wine enthusiast, all functionality has been developed taking every part of the wine journey into consideration. All important information can be recorded: the wine name, vintage, format, where it was bought, purchase price, condition, quantity or a shipment date if it is incoming stock.
When you join, you have instant access to a pool of valuable information including drinking dates, critic stores, producer profiles and up to date pricing information and more, enough to keep any wine collector happy. Optimised for mobile and tablet access, you can access your collection wherever you are, whether on public transport, at work or abroad.
2) Rediscovering your collection.
Now that you have catalogued your portfolio and you know what you have and where it is, Wine Owners can help you make well-informed decisions around a) which wines to drink next and b) what you have too much of thanks to overzealous purchasing or a very good relationship with your account manager!
Lots of fun is to be had exploring the integrated analytical tools which include sophisticated pricing graphs and relative value score analysis. You can also review your portfolio by a range of filters, view values per category, total value and category performance over different periods of time.
Latest perspectives of the critics are also helpful to appreciate the quality of the wines you have bought, and you can add your own tasting notes as well.
3) Shaping your collection.
Once you’re clear on your inventory, it’s time to take key decisions around your collection.
You may wish to sell surplus stock back to the merchant who initially sold you the wine or, if they refuse, you’re only a few clicks from being able to offer your wine for sale in a vibrant secondary market, with trading desk experts available to help.
An easy to navigate, comprehensive digital overview makes it a lot easier to make decisions around which wines in your collection you’ll want to keep and the ones that are ballast. You’ll also be less likely to miss a drinking window. As a wine collector, the satisfaction of enjoying that glass of wine that has appreciated 10-fold since the date of purchase cannot be understated!
For those members who want to buy and sell, it’s super simple.
As it is integrated with a peer-to-peer trading exchange, you are joining a vibrant ecosystem of like-minded collectors as soon as you upload your collection.
In addition, by making purchases through the platform, every part of the settlement process is looked after by our logistics team.
If you are ready to upgrade your cellar management experience, we’re here to help. You can start by creating a free account HERE to organise, value and monitor price changes on up to 30 wines. If you have over 30 wines, our premium plans offer all the tools you will ever need to easily and successfully manage your collection.
by Wine Owners
Posted on 2021-03-04
Miles Davis, March 2021
In early December I wrote the following:
‘Traditional assets continue to bounce around, no doubt causing palpitations and stress. More than ever, this year has been about timing in the capital markets, and if you got that wrong, the chances are you got it expensively wrong. Not so for vino! Unlike after the global financial crisis, the wine market has held its nerve, merchants did not mark down prices and the market has been stable. Investors are about, and even Bordeaux prices feel like they are firming up. Collectible assets are in vogue and it is easy to see why given these circumstances.’
Not too much has changed since then although there has been plenty more talk about inflation, with the UK’s November numbers coming through much higher than anticipated. This can be viewed as a positive. There has also been the small matter of a new American President. This, in itself, should not have a direct influence on the wine market (!?) but a $1.9 trillion stimulus package and a clear signal that money is going to keep being pumped into the system might be!
So, the macro factors are looking stable and the index performances from last year are also looking sensible. There is no massive ‘feel good factor’ about, which often brings about a more boom-and-bust style dynamic, so this is beginning to feel like an old-fashioned wine market, steady as she goes, nice little earner, thanks very much.
Bordeaux First Growths continue to be the fly in the ointment, underperforming all the other regions with +2.8%, save California with -2%, and generally Bordeaux’s market share continues to slide and is now less than 40% (95% ten years ago!). Pricing from a few of the Chateaux meant the 2019 en primeur campaign awoke the old beast for a moment but otherwise, the top end wine market of Bordeaux continues to struggle. Interestingly, the much broader Bordeaux 750 fared far better with a nearly 10% rise.
Italy was the star of the wine market show in 2020, with Tuscany posting nearly 20% gains and Piedmont 6.4%, followed by Champagne with 12.7%. It is more than coincidence that these markets have been exempt from US tariffs in recent times. Italy has long lived in the shadows of France in terms of reputation and price in the fine wine world, but the gap is still vast, certainly pricewise. The super recognizable names of the Super Tuscans, which have recently benefited from the mega vintages of ’15 and ’16, consistently receive incredibly high scores.
The 2016 Sassicaia (100 points WA, 97 VM), one of the most expensive Sassicaias of all time, is £230 a bottle, Lafite Rothschild 2016 (99 WA, 97 VM) is £530 a bottle, and production levels are roughly twice as much at Lafite. Maybe this is not a fair comparison but given the price differential and the tariffs in place, I know which one I would be backing:
This is a short excerpt from Miles Davis' 'Wine Owners 2020 Wine Investment Report and a look ahead at 2021'. CLICK HERE to read the full report.
