The leading investment Champagne recorded 137% growth in price in the last year, wouldn’t you like to add that much sparkle to your portfolio?
Champagne is leading fine wine regional performance in the secondary market, topping Burgundy’s trend performance over one year. Liv-ex’s Champagne 50 index rose 50.4% over the previous 12 months and 72.7% over the last two years and individual wines are delivering even stronger returns to investors.
The top ten performing Champagnes:
Champagne | YTD | 1 year | 2 years |
Salon Le Mesnil-sur-Oger 2006 | 42.1% | 84.7% | 142% |
Salon Le Mesnil-sur-Oger 2007 | 50.7% | 133.9% | 140.5% |
Taittinger, Comtes de Champagne Bl. de Bl. 2008 | 18.1% | 50% | 120.1% |
Salon Le Mesnil-sur-Oger 2004 | 24.4% | 137.2% | 113.7% |
Louis Roederer Cristal, 2008 | 40% | 49.1% | 109.8% |
Taittinger Comtes de Champagne Bl. de Bl. 2006 | -10.5% | 38.9% | 99.7% |
Krug, Vintage Brut 2002 | 17.5% | 58.1% | 99.6% |
Dom Perignon 2008 | 25.3% | 54.6% | 95.6% |
Louis Roederer Cristal, Rose 2008 | 5.5% | 33.3% | 88.8% |
Krug, Vintage Brut 2000 | 13.1% | 44.5% | 84.2% |
Source: Liv-ex Champagne Report, September 2022
What returns are wine investors seeing?
The average returns fine wine investments are currently delivering to investors stands at 22% over the last year, compare this data to financial markets, where the FTSE 100 has declined -2% and the S&P500 fallen -15.4% over the same period.
Some Champagnes have seen prices exceed the average performance by a large margin, for example the regional leader, Salon Le Mesnil is seeing its wines grow in value by more than 130%. So how do you explain this?
Vintage quality, international brand recognition and a highly robust global distribution network have helped establish the significant rise in popularity of investment Champagne brands over the last couple of years. Champagne is seen to offer value and a lower entry point to wine investors than other regions.
Average case price and growth by region
Region | Trade price: 31.08.2019 | Trade price: 31.08.2022 | Change |
Champagne | £1,885 | £3,331 | 76.7% |
Burgundy | £22,459 | £36,979 | 64.7% |
Italy | £2,694 | £3,910 | 45.1% |
Bordeaux | £2,821 | £3,454 | 22.4% |
Rhone | £1,360 | £1,609 | 18.3% |
Source: Liv-ex Champagne Report, September 2022
Is the Champagne growth trend sustainable?
Champagne is symbolic of luxury and the region’s top brands are recognised all over the world by people who neither invest in nor drink fine wine. The success of Champagne’s considerable regional marketing machine and the luxury brand profile of the top producers is the driving force behind the region’s success. The tax-efficient gains being generated by Champagne are attracting more investors and brands such as Louis Roederer Cristal are some of the most highly traded fine wines in the secondary market.
Most traded Champagnes (by value) in 2022
Wine | Release price | Market price | Change |
Louis Roederer, Cristal 2008 | £1,900 | £3,900 | 105.3% |
Louis Roederer, Cristal 2014 | £2,400 | £2,460 | 2.5% |
Dom Perignon 2012 | £1,320 | £1,900 | 43.9% |
Louis Roederer, Cristal 2013 | £1,700 | £3,440 | 102.4% |
Dom Perignon 2008 | £1,240 | £2,400 | 93.5% |
Salon Le Mesnil-sur-Oger 2012 | £3,800 | £12,600 | 231.6% |
Salon Le Mesnil-sur-Oger 2002 | £2,650 | £13,061 | 392.9% |
Louis Roederer, Cristal 2012 | £1,630 | £2,920 | 79.1% |
Taittinger, Comtes de Champagne 2011 | £1,070 | £1,179 | 10.2% |
Louis Roederer, Cristal Rosé 2013 | £4,200 | £4,568 | 8.8% |
Source: Liv-ex Champagne Report, September 2022
A larger proportion of Champagne wines are being stored for future value, rather than drunk, and the balance being consumed against production is changing, i.e there could be the potential for an overhang in the market. Those wines with lower production levels such as Laurent-Perrier owned Salon Le Mesnil, which produce just 5,000 cases a year, are unlikely to have an issue. Investors need to consider supply, global demand, and influences such as vintage premium.
Vintage Premium
Vintage quality is now having a stronger influence in Champagne investment performance. Overall vintage quality has always been a factor for Bordeaux, Burgundy and other regions’ investment wines but has really only had an impact in Champagne recently. As vintage Champagne is only made in years where there is sufficient quality to make the wine exclusively from that year’s crop, the vagaries of different vintages hasn’t been a factor to consider. However, critical appraisal and stand-out years are now attracting a premium.
2008 is a stand-out Champagne vintage and the only year so far where all the six leading labels (Bollinger La Grande Annee, Dom Perignon, Louis Roederer Cristal, Krug, Pol Roger Sir Winston Churchill and Taittinger Comtes de Champagne) produced a vintage Champagne. The region could face the challenge experienced by Bordeaux and Burgundy where new releases may struggle when back vintages look to offer better value to buyers, but performance currently remains very strong.
Top 5 best-performing Champagne labels:
| Champagne brand | Average 2-year growth |
1 | Salon le Mesnil | 99.5% |
2 | Taittinger Comtes de Champagne | 94.3% |
3 | Louis Roederer, Cristal | 84.6% |
4 | Krug | 84.1% |
5 | Dom Perignon | 69.7% |
Source: Liv-ex Champagne Report, September 2022
The secondary market in Champagne has broadened and strengthened in the last two years and the region known for its stable performance has seen the average levels of return grow significantly to challenge Burgundy’s top spot. Adding Champagne brands to your wine portfolio can be a way to achieve strong growth potential with a lower initial investment.
For more information contact our expert team on 0203 384 2262.