iDealwine update: Champagnes sparkle at auction

In this month’s fine wine update from online merchant iDealwine, strong demand for older vintage Champagnes marked its recent auctions.

Non-vintage Champagne will never be an auction blockbuster for three main reasons: we can find them at affordable prices, they are highly accessible due to their volume and distribution, and finally their ageing potential is limited. On the contrary, prestige cuvées and to some extent top vintage reserves by prestigious houses like Roederer, Krug, Dom Pérignon or Pol Roger, and a limited number of very sought-after Champagne growers like Selosse or Jacquesson, produce truly exceptional wines at high price-points, which are in fairly limited quantities and made to age. These are the ones that perform well on the secondary market, with prices that have increased consistently over the last few years.

After having spent several years in bottle, prestige cuvées are often consumed soon after their release. Champagne houses insist on the fact that even though they can be kept for further consumption, they are meant to reach their optimum around the time of release. The rapid consumption of the wines in the first months or years implies a decrease in stocks and logically an increase in their value on the secondary market.

At iDealwine, even though most of the wines sold are reds from Bordeaux, Burgundy and the Rhône Valley, an increased proportion of Champagne has been offered at auction in the past few years. Many wine collectors have been diversifying their selection, getting a few cases of blue chip Champagne that they stock for the future. The most important thing is to make sure the conditions of storage are perfect to protect the delicate bottles. The optimum temperature, light and humidity must be respected – strong variation can be lethal for Champagne. If these conditions are respected, the wine should have a bright future for your palate or pocket.

Recession-buster

Despite a growing interest in Asia for a few top cuvées, Angélique de Lencquesaing, deputy managing director of iDealwine, notes that overall the slowdown in Asia hasn’t really affected the price levels of Champagne. The demand remains fairly limited from the region and is only concentrated in the hands of a few knowledgeable fine wine collectors, most notably from Hong Kong and Singapore.

In the first of the two auctions of September, most of the bids were coming from Europe and to a lesser extent from the US. In the first of its two online auctions in September, iDealwine displayed among the 4,600 bottles on sale a beautiful Champagne collection that belonged to a fine wine lover from the region, and his cellar included a rare selection of formats and cuvées from Veuve Clicquot. La Grande Dame, the iconic cuvée produced from eight Grands Crus and with a traditional dominance of Pinot Noir in its blend, performed particularly well. The 1985 vintage sold for €240 (30% over the estimate), the 1998 for €204 (82%), the 1990 for €180 (34%), the 1996 at €156 (44%) and finally the 1989 €144 (33%). There were also many magnums and other cuvées such as the Vintage Réserve 1990 that reached €360 and the Brut Réserve 1985, which sold for €312. Another interesting and rare wine was the Trilennium Reserve Cuvée, made from the 1989 vintage, specifically for the celebration of the new millennium. This limited edition and sought-after magnum went under the hammer for €276.

Taittinger also had a good presence in this auction with several bottles of its exuberant blanc de blancs from Côte des Blancs, Comtes de Champagne. Known as the vintage of the century in Champagne, the 1990 was particularly in demand and sold for €324, while the 1996 went for €204. Another house, Selosse, a small yet very sought-after biodynamic grower Champagne, was the most expensive bottle of Champagne in this sale with its blanc de blancs Extra Brut 2002, which sold for €384 to an American wine lover, thus exceeding its estimate by 38%. Also, Bollinger, which always does well at auction, saw its Grande Année 1996 reach €180.

A few old vintages also stood out, such as the Pol Roger rosé 1964, which sold for €372, and the Dom Pérignon 1971 that reached €360 (30% above its estimate).

Finally, within the non-vintage cuvées, the Cuvée 729 by Jacquesson – the 729th cuvée produced by the house since 1898, constituting a blend of the 2001 vintage with reserve wines – was sold for €90. The Cuvée 730, with a majority of the 2002 vintage, reached €64. Santé!

iDealWine is an international wine auction website. Visit it at www.idealwine.com