01.03.24 – Fine Wine Investment – Those of us whose tea caddies were down to the last few leaves will have been alarmed by headlines recently suggesting that shortages were just around the corner. Shipping routes through the Red Sea are being affected by the Houthi interference so our future tea bags are having to take the long way round the Cape of Good Hope. Shelves of PG Tips in Manchester were being stripped by hoarders, screamed one inflammatory article. To most of us all this would have been the cue for an(other) eye roll, but the episode speaks to an eternal truth: the law of supply and ..read more

18.08.23 – Fine Wine Investment – Amidst evolving market conditions, the Bordeaux 2022 en primeur campaign is firmly in the rear-view mirror, prompting a careful examination of pricing strategies and buyer sentiment. The campaign has garnered mixed reactions from the fine wine trade, with many expressing disappointments over the high release prices and their impact on buyer interest. The campaign, which traditionally offers wine enthusiasts and investors an opportunity to purchase Bordeaux wines before they are bottled and released, has raised concerns about affordability and the sustainabilit ..read more

02.09.22 – Fine Wine Investment – The Fine Wine market has paused for breath over the last month or so which is not too surprising given its outstanding performance over the year to date, flying ahead despite the combined headwinds of global economic and geo-political outlook which have dented the returns of more mainstream markets. We aren’t about to rehearse the reasons for this but would simply offer the reminder that an asset class which is both resilient in adversity and yet also positively reactive to economic prosperity merits serious consideration in any diversified asset portfolio. Ov ..read more

08.08.22 – Fine Wine Investment – Mercifully we can now bid farewell to the ill-fated 2021 En Primeur campaign. Having discussed its flaws in earlier notes there is no need to re-hash here. Suffice to say it is now regarded, other than for the occasional gem (boy did we have to choose our 21s selectively! Lafite being the greatest surprise), as one of the most ill-considered and uncommercial in recent times, and it has to be said it is a fairly crowded field. Of late only in 2019 can the producers be said not to have been utterly numb to the realities of the outside world. Mind you it is possi ..read more

24.06.22 – Fine Wine Investment – We are drawing inexorably to the close of this year’s en primeur campaign and the release prices are unfortunately pretty much in line with the gloomier prognostications. Very few bargains thus far, plenty which defy reality, and others which, as we shall see, are notable but unfortunately not for their relative attractiveness. If anything they have drawn attention to back vintage opportunities, but if you have a helpful algorithm you don’t need the hallucinations of hopeful chateau producers to achieve that. We note with interest that a lot of the 2019s have ..read more

24.05.22 – Fine Wine Investment – There is a great spectator sport that takes place this time every year, as Fine Wine producers and commentators tie themselves in knots trying to justify what is more often than not going to be an absurdly priced en primeur campaign. Screeds are written about the climatic conditions of the prior growing and harvesting season examining in minute detail levels of temperature and rainfall and prevalence of frost and mildew, all of which would be of considerable value if the pricing of the wines resulting therefrom were to bear any relation to the established fact ..read more

25.04.22 – Fine Wine Investment – Notwithstanding the ongoing challenges posed to investors in all markets due to the seemingly endless supply of bad news, Fine Wine prices continue to rise, on ever-increasing volumes. March saw activity on the Liv-ex platform surge by 20% over February levels, with indices continuing to test all time high ground. Champagne and Burgundy may continue to hog the headlines, but prices are rising pretty much across the board, with the traditionally somnolent Rhone region even seeing a welcome shot in the arm. This is a very exciting time in the Fine Wine calendar ..read more

18.03.22 – Fine Wine Investment – It always seems odd to be writing about investment issues when such events as are unfolding in Ukraine hold centre stage, but life doesn’t press the pause button and although markets are emotionally linked to such matters on a short term basis, beyond that they are ethically agnostic. People still need to get paid out on their pensions. The Fine Wine market was reminded of this earlier in the week when Chateau Latour released a tranche of its 2014 vintage. More casual observers of this space may just need reminding that 10 years ago Latour decided to withdraw ..read more

8.02.22 – Fine Wine Investment – The Fine Wine market has enjoyed rather a decent pandemic and is in such robust health that articles have recently been penned wondering whether a correction might be due. “Corrections” are NOT “bear markets”, by the way. Corrections occur within the life of bull markets for any or for no reason at all, and can be characterised as a temporary pullback in prices, in index terms of between 10 and 20%. If bull markets are difficult to time your way through, corrections are downright impossible, and in mainstream markets like equities most sensible advisers will co ..read more

17.03.21 – Fine Wine Investment – Under normal circumstances mid-March in the fine wine market is a very exciting time, awash with expectation about the forthcoming En Primeur campaign, but unfortunately we can’t quite call these normal circumstances. The recent attempt by the UGCB to raise the stakes by announcing that the campaign this year, for the 2020 vintage, would take place in 10 cities worldwide has just being reined in to now exclude the US and the UK, so the focus will be on mainland Europe and, more particularly, the Asian cites of Hong Kong and Shanghai. Like most market participa ..read more