The top ten performing investment wines in the first half of 2021 have been revealed. In a buoyant market the leading wines have delivered 25 – 35% growth in the first six months and the top ten ranking mirrors the regional diversity of the secondary market this year.
- Top ten investment wines see growth up to 35% in six months
- Champagne a fizzing winner – Rosé Cristal leading the way at 35.1%
- Burgundy bouncing back with DRC seeing over 30% growth
- Value at all levels – with investments from £1K – £35K seeing growth over 20%
The Ten Investment Wines for Growth in H1 2021:
| Wine | Region | Price:
JAN. 2021 | Price: JUNE 2021 | Growth | |
| 1 | Louis Roederer Cristal, Rosé 2008 | Champagne | £4,168 | £5,632 | 35.1% |
| 2 | Louis Roederer Cristal 2008 | Champagne | £1,940 | £2,602 | 34.1% |
| 3 | DRC, Grand Echezaux 2009 | Burgundy | £20,400 | £27,000 | 32.4% |
| 4 | Masseto 2009 | Italy | £5,344 | £6,986 | 30.7% |
| 5 | Salon Le Mesnil Grand Cru 2006 | Champagne | £4,900 | £6,228 | 27.1% |
| 6 | Tignanello 2016 | Italy | £980 | £1,244 | 26.9% |
| 7 | Vieux Chateau Certan 2011 | Bordeaux | £1,140 | £1,428 | 25.3% |
| 8 | Cheval Blanc 1998 | Bordeaux | £5,900 | £7,270 | 23.2% |
| 9 | DRC La Tache 2013 | Burgundy | £35,520 | £43,200 | 21.6% |
| 10 | Beaucastel Hommage Jacques Perrin 2015 | Bordeaux | £2,400 | £2,700 | 12.5% |
Source: Liv-ex.com 19 July 2021
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Leading Regional Wine Investments
Champagne: continues its trend as the top fine wine regional performer over the last 12 months and three of the region’s wines are ranked in the top ten fine wines for investment YTD to 30th June. The top five investment wines all provided returns over 27%. The top ten ranking is led by a pink Cristal. Rosé Champagnes have seen a significant growth in demand this year with trade value on Liv-ex three times the preceding three-year average in the first half of the year.
Louis Roederer Cristal Rosé 2008 has grown an impressive 35% in six months and ranks as the top performing investment wine in the first half of 2021 seconded by Cristal 2008 with 34.1% growth. At half the price of the Rosé version with similar levels of return this wine has delivered outstanding value this year. The third of the three Champagnes to be ranked in the top ten, Salon le Mesnil sur Oger Grand Cru 2006 has grown 27% YTD to the end of June 2021 and also makes the top five.
Burgundy: has had a strong H1 2021, with price trends returning to the levels seen pre-2018 and the US Tariffs imposed in 2019, which suppressed performance. Trade in Burgundy wines to 30 June 2021 YTD is up 54.4% on the same period in 2020 with higher value wines increasing in demand. Burgundy still accounts for some of the highest ticket items on the market and the number of wines sold at more than £100K per (12 x 75cl) case is six times greater than 2017 and those sold at over £5K up 81%.
The DRC index, which monitors the performance of Burgundy’s super star brand; Domaine de la Romanée Conti is up 10.9% over the last year. No surprise then that two of the DRC wines are ranked in the top ten investment wines in 2021 to date. DRC Grand Echezaux 2009 has grown 32.4% (three times the DRC index performance), was ranked sixth and DRC La Tache 2013, is up 21.6% and 9th in the list.
Italy: Super Tuscan and Piedmont wines surged up Liv-ex’ Power 100 ranking published in January 2021 and, whilst Italy as a region has had a relatively quiet H1 2021 with a trend growth measured by Liv-ex’s Italy100 index at 3.2%, individual performances have been outstanding. Masseto 2009 has achieved 30.7% price growth seeing the wine listed 4th and fellow Super Tuscan, Tignanello’s 2016 vintage has grown 26.9%, ranking it 6th in the top ten.
Bordeaux: has been the primary focus for the market in Q2 and the Liv-ex Bordeaux 500 index has been the top performing regional index in H1 2021. Bordeaux’s leading price performers in this measure are Pomerol’s Vieux Chateau Certan 2011 and St Emilion’s Cheval Blanc 1998 recording 25.3% and 23.2% respectively, placing them 7th and 8th.
The Rhone: has been an emerging force in the secondary market and a region to watch with a number of brands seeing increasing levels of trade. Beaucastel is one of the key labels and the Beaucastel Hommage Jacques Perrin 2015 rounds up the top ten investment wines with 12.5% growth YTD at 30th June 2021.
The key observation here is that we are not seeing one or two regions dominating demand and growth in the fine wine market this year. Price increases and returns on wine investments are being enjoyed across all regions and at an impressive level. Fine wine investors should ensure that they adopt a similar regional composition when planning their wine investment portfolio and future acquisitions.
For more information see our Guide to Collecting and Investing in Fine Wine and speak to a member of our expert team on 0203 384 2262.