Bordeaux investment wines

Learn about the wine region of Bordeaux and the key investment Chateaux

 

Bordeaux Wine Investment Region

 

 

Introduction

Traditionally the greatest growing region for fine wine, Bordeaux is still the most prolific producer of investment wines and their quality and liquidity drive the secondary market. The global demand for Bordeaux's most prestigious wines ensures their continued importance to wine investors and their position as cornerstone investments in a robust fine wine portfolio.

Led by the renowned First Growth Chateaux Haut Brion, Lafite Rothschild, Latour, Margaux and Mouton Rothschild along with iconic Right Bank estates Petrus, Le Pin, Ausone, Cheval Blanc, Angelus and Pavie, the top Bordeaux wines have built a rich heritage across centuries and are globally recognised luxury brands.

Bordeaux investment wines can deliver significant returns to investors and are some of the most traded wines by value and volume on Liv-ex, the global stock exchange for fine wine. They provide liquidity and value and are key wines to include when planning your wine investment portfolio.

 

 

History of Bordeaux Investment Wines

 

Vines were first planted in Bordeaux in the 1st Century by the Romans. The regional capital, Bordeaux city, flourished with the development of wine commerce, but the origins of the international wine trade that we recognise today were established in the 12th Century under the reign of Eleanor of Aquitaine. 

In the 17th Century marshlands on the Left Bank of the Garonne River, which famously divides the region, were drained by the Dutch, creating the origins of the extraordinary terroirs of the Medoc. 

One of the most important developments in the region's history which shape Bordeaux wine investment today was the introduction of the 1855 Bordeaux Wine Classification, established at the command of Emperor Napoleon III. This provided the first real guide to understanding which were the most valuable wines of the region for investment. The Classification remains unchanged since then, apart from Mouton Rothschild’s elevation to First Growth in 1973.

Other developments that have shaped the market include the introduction of Bordeaux’s AOC system in 1936 to regulate production. In 1972, chateaux bottling became compulsory for Classed Growths. The evolution of Bordeaux’s En Primeur system created further liquidity in Bordeaux investment wines, and the wine investment market broadened beyond the First Growths to other key estates of the region. 

Today, Bordeaux accounts for up to 40 percent of the trade on Liv-ex, the global secondary market, and investment wines from the Bordeaux region are some of the most traded by volume and value.

Bordeaux wine facts

Bordeaux, to the oenophile, is a vast and bountiful land! With nearly 300,000 acres of vineyards, 57 appellations and several thousand wineries producing around 960million bottles each year, you could spend a lifetime tasting new wines from the region. But of all of these less than fifty great chateaux create Bordeaux investment wines.

The Gironde River divides the region creating the unique physical conditions of investment wine terroirs of the Left Bank, which includes the vineyards of the Medoc, Pessac-Leognan and Graves, and the Right Bank's St Emilion and Pomerol. 

The Left Bank is famous for its deep gravel banks which can be a metre-deep overlaying mineral-rich sandy-clay subsoil. With additional iron and limestone deposits the region's terroirs make some of the greatest wines in the world and are home to Bordeaux's First Growths. The legendary 1855 Bordeaux Classification ranks only Left Bank wines.

On the Right Bank, the soils are more mixed with clay predominant with limestone or iron deposits and gravel. St Emilion and Pomerol are the most famous communes and home to Right Bank's investment wines. The great Right Bank estates including Petrus, Le Pin, Ausone and Cheval Blanc, are generally smaller than the Left and the wines differ in style, being generally softer and fruitier than the Left. St Emilion's classification system is reviewed every decade and Pomerol remains unclassified.

Finally, Sauternes produces the most highly prized sweet wines in the world, of which Chateau d'Yquem is the only one to be classified as Premier Cru Superieur in the 1855 Classification. Owned by LVMH, Yquem produces some of the most valuable white wines in the world. 

Bordeaux's leading properties control everything from vineyard maintenance, winemaking, bottling and sale, ensuring quality, consistency, style and brand value are safely managed for a global market.

 

 

Bordeaux grape varieties

Almost all of Bordeaux's investment wines are red and made by blending two of more of the following grape varieties:

Cabernet Sauvignon - The most widely grown varietal in the Haut-Medoc, accounting for the majority of the blend in the finest wines of the Medoc region. Giving only moderate yields, it can be challenging to ripen and produces quality, dark tannic wines which are often softened by Merlot and age beautifully in oak.

Merlot - Bordeaux's most planted grape and particularly important in Right Bank St Emilion and Pomerol limestone soils. Merlot often ripens early, producing a medium yield and its richness and body are used to soften Cabernet Sauvignon in the wines of the Medoc and Graves.

Cabernet Franc - Traditionally, mainly grown in St Emilion and in a smaller way the Medoc, Pomerol and Graves. With larger yields than Cabernet Sauvignon, this grape is mainly used in blending.

Petit Verdot - Used sparingly in blending only very great wines, it ripens fully just in very hot years giving a very deep-coloured tannic wine which matures slowly.

Semillon - The best and most widely planted white grape of Bordeaux, the basis of all Sauternes and Barsac wines. When encouraged to develop 'noble rot' it provides the world's most famous sweet wines.

Sauvignon Blanc - Blended with Semillon in great sweet wines and increasingly used in single variety dry whites.

How do Bordeaux wine investments perform?

The secondary market in fine wine investment began with Bordeaux and grew with the development of international trade of the great wines of this region. The liquidity of the wine investment market has been underpinned by 'blue-chip' Bordeaux until the greater broadening of the market since 2018. 

Bordeaux's investment wines are still often the most traded by volume and value on Liv-ex. The appeal of the region's most iconic brands attracted new consumers and investors from growth economies of the Far East in the early 21st Century. This significant growth dynamic has expanded and further established the global market in investment wines and informed a wider audience of investors of the performance that can be achieved.

You can get information on the current performance of Bordeaux investment wines from our expert team.

 

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Bordeaux investment wines


The most important Bordeaux wine producers for investors are recognised as some of the most highly prized luxury brands in the world. The following Chateaux produce the key investment wines of this vastly important region.

Chateau Haut Brion

Appellation: Pessac-Léognan

Classification: First Growth

Link to Haut-Brion page

Chateau Latour

Appellation: Pauillac

Classification: First Growth

Chateau Lafite-Rothschild

Appellation: Pauillac

Classification: First Growth

Chateau Margaux

Appellation: Margaux

Classification: First Growth

Chateau Mouton-Rothschild

Appellation: Pauillac

Classification: First Growth

Le Pin

Appellation: Pomerol

Unclassified

 

Petrus

Appellation: Pomerol

Unclassified

Chateau Ausone

Appellation: St Emilion

Classification:Grand Cru Classe A

Chateau Cheval Blanc

Appellation: St Emilion

Classification:Grand Cru Class A

Chateau Angelus

Appellation: St Emilion

Classification:Grand Cru Classe A

Chateau Pavie

Appellation: St Emilion

Classification:Grand Cru Classe A

Chateau d'Yquem

Appellation: Sauternes

Classification:Premier Cru Superieur

Chateau Leoville Las Cases

Appellation: St Julien

Classification: Second Growth

Chateau Leoville Poyferre

Appellation: St Julien

Classification: Second Growth

 

Chateau Pichon-Baron

Appellation: Pauillac

Classification: Second Growth

Chateau Pichon Lalande

Appellation: Pauillac

Classification: Second Growth

Chateau Cos d'Estournel

Appellation: St Estephe

Classification: Second Growth

Chateau Montrose

Appellation: St Estephe

Classification: Second Growth

Chateau Ducru Beaucaillou

Appellation: St Julien

Classification: Second Growth

Chateau Leoville Barton

Appellation: St Julien

Classification: Second Growth

Chateau Palmer

Appellation: Margaux

Classification: Third Growth

Chateau Beychevelle

Appellation: St Julien

Classification: Fourth Growth

Chateau Duhart-Milon

Appellation: Pauillac

Classification: Fourth Growth

Chateau Lynch-Bages

Appellation: Pauillac

Classification: Fifth Growth

Chateau Pontet-Canet

Appellation: Pauillac

Classification: Fifth Growth

Chateau La Mission Haut Brion

Appellation: Pessac-Leognan

Classification: Graves Cru Classe

Chateau Vieux Chateau Certan

Appellation: Pomerol

Unclassified

Bordeaux Wine Investment Reports

Our expert team analyse market data and trade information to provide valuable insight on Bordeaux wine investment performance.

Using key Liv-ex benchmarks for average trend performance and specific pricing information we can guide you to identify the most suitable opportunities for you and keep you informed on your wine's performance over time.

 

View Investor Reports

Bordeaux En Primeurs

Bordeaux established the en primeur system, where investors can acquire an allocation of wine still maturing in barrel in the Chateau cellar, often referred to as a 'wine future'.

Every year the latest Bordeaux vintage release provides the opportunity to buy rare, iconic wines when they first come to market.

Acquiring wine this way can offer great benefits, but investors should be aware of the pros and cons.

 

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