France under the hammer

A recent masterclass organised by online auctioneer, iDealwine, and the drinks business Hong Kong mapped out the latest trends at auction and the market evolution for France’s top wine regions from Champagne, Burgundy, Bordeaux, Rhône to the up-and-coming appellations of Jura, Languedoc, and Sauternes-Barsac.

From left to right: Jean-Baptiste Mage, owner of local wine shop The Wine Guild, Ivy Ng, publisher of the drinks business Hong Kong, Arthur de Lencquesaing, iDealwine’s international development manager and Alix Rodarie, iDealwine Asia area manager

In 2016, iDealwine reported a stellar year as buyers from more than 50 countries placed bids on its online platform, bringing its WineDex up by 7.08%; much of it thanks to the scarcity of icon wines, a shortage of Burgundy grand crus from recent vintages and compounded by the Rhône Valley’s growing appeal among collectors.

Among all bidders, France took the lion’s share of sales with 60% and a total value of €6.59 million, while Asia including Hong Kong and China made up about 15% of iDealwine’s sales in value. “Initially [Asian buyers are] more interested in classic Bordeaux top growths, however we have observed a strong appeal from Asian collectors for Burgundy wines, challenging bidders from our more traditional countries like France, the UK or Germany, especially with iconic wines like Domaine de la Romanée Conti, Henri Jayer or Domaine Leroy,” commented Arthur de Lencquesaing, iDealwine’s international development manager.

Despite representing a smaller percentage, cash-rich Asian buyers are more generous when it comes to fine wines. Compared with their counterparts in France, they spend an average of €160 per bottle versus just €80 in France, added de Lencquesaing.

End to Bordeaux bashing

All the wines poured at the iDealwine and dbHK masterclass. From left to right: Champagne Jaquesson 738, Comte Armand Pommard Clos des Epeneaux 2000, Domaine Marcoux, Châteauneuf-du-Pape 1999, Domaine de la Grange des Pères, Languedoc 2002, Château Coutet 1988, Château La Conseillante 1986, Château Léoville-Las Cases ‘Clos du Marquis’ 1990, Montus Madiran 2000, La Sobilane, Rivesaltes 1947 and Château d’Arlay Jura Vin Jaune 2006

Despite diversified and varied options, when it comes to fine wine, Bordeaux still commands global attention – even with some diminished interest in the past few years. Last year, the renowned French region made a strong return to the fore, putting an end to what de Lencquesaing described as “Bordeaux bashing”.

“Last year for the first time, Bordeaux’s volume increased and the value also, so Bordeaux’s market share at auctions moved from 54% to 57%. It was the first time Bordeaux was picking up,” he explained, speaking to a room of about 40 collectors in Hong Kong at the China Club on 11 May.

Mature French wines including Bordeaux and Burgundy in particular are moving the auction markets, as a scarcity of recent vintages in France from 2011 to 2015 caused by a string of extremely bad weather is expected to continue to push up prices for recent and back vintages, said de Lencquesaing.

“From 2011 to 2015, we have not been very lucky in France. We had poor vintages mostly in terms of volume and the crop damages resulting from frost, hail and mildew, so we have limited production in the past few years. 2015 is a great vintage but with limited quantities. So there’s big pressure because demand is rising everywhere. The volumes in the past vintages are reducing, so that means recent vintages are pushing the prices up and also have an impact on the mature vintages,” he explained.

Using Bordeaux’s Château La Conseillante as an example, he said, “last year, we could see the price increase significantly especially for its old vintages. We’ve seen en primeur prices for the wine go fairly high in recent vintages, at the same time they had good scores from wine critics.”

The Right Bank Bordeaux estate, wedged between more famous neighbours such as Cheval Blanc, Vieux Château Certan and L’Evangile, is aptly nicknamed as ‘the new Cheval Blanc’, de Lencquesaing noted during the masterclass, a nod to its quality and its increasing use of Cabernet Franc in the blend, a style akin to Cheval Blanc.

“We believe this is a wine that has a lot of potential,” he concluded, while showcasing a 1986 La Conseillante to the guests at the masterclass.

Comparing La Conseillante’s auction prices for the 2010 vintage (€150) and the 1986 vintage (€110), he stated that sales of mature wines, often, outperformed recent releases for their drinkability and better value. Speaking of this year’s en primeur campaign, the grandson of May de Lencquesaing, former owner of Château Pichon Longueville Comtesse de Lalande, cast his own doubts on Bordeaux’s ever-rising prices. “Why would we buy a wine that is still in barrel and is not the final wine? I am doubting en primeur. I think a lot of people lost money during 2009 and 2010,” said the young Bordelais, “but if you look at the wines in the long run, people will get their money back.”

Trailing close behind Bordeaux is Burgundy, which accounted for 21% of iDealwine’s value sales in 2016. In the auctioneer’s top 10 most expensive wines that went under the hammer last year, nine came from Domaine de la Romanée-Conti. Other high risers from Burgundy include Domaine Coche-Dury in Meursault, Domaine Jacques-Frédéric Mugnier, Domaine Roumier, Domaine Armand Rousseau in the Côte de Nuits, Domaine Marquis d’Angerville, Domaine Comtes Lafon, Bouchard and Drouhin in the Côte de Beaune.

Moving to Pommard, a rising star from the appellation tapped by the iDealwine international brand manager is Domaine Comte Armand. Its premier cru monopole ‘Clos des Epeneaux’ has seen sharp increases for older vintages such as 1990 and 1999, he added, when introducing a 2000 vintage at the masterclass.

Rhôning on 

Arthur de Lencquesaing

Moving eastwards from Bordeaux, the Rhône Valley is another region that is really starting to grip wine buyers’ attention. Not only did the Rhône Valley enjoy a double-digit growth in 2016 of 11.15%, it also set a record for top wine sold at iDealwine auction with a Hermitage La Chapelle 1961 from Paul Jaboulet Aîné going for €13,320 a bottle, outperforming anything from Bordeaux or Burgundy.

The third most represented region on iDealwine, accounting for 9% of its total value in 2016, the Rhône’s top icon wines including Château Rayas, Guigal, Chapoutier, Jaboulet, and Jean Luis Chave in Hermitage and Henri Bonneau in Châteauneuf-du-Pape as usual are trophy collectibles. Blue-chip wines such as Guigal’s ‘La La’s’ were certainly in demand among Asian buyers, according to de Lencquesaing.

Speaking of factors driving up collector interest, de Lencquesaing noted that a death of a winemaker or a recent change of hands often can trigger sudden interest, citing Domaine Gentaz-Dervieux in Côte-Rôtie, Domaine Noël Verset in Cornas and Henri Bonneau as examples.

Rosy for Champagne

Meanwhile, in the northern part of France, long reigning branded Champagne houses dominated iDealwine’s top 20 performing Champagne brands at auctions with Dom Pérignon, Krug and Louis Roederer taking the top three spots. The first two recorded significant increases last year; 67% for Dom Pérignon and 46% for Krug.

Older Champagne vintages continue to generate buzz. A 1959 Krug magnum went under the hammer last year for €6,480. However, compared with classic cuvées, de Lencquesaing believes that there’s a growing trend for buyers to move away from classic brut towards rosé and premium cuvée.

Dom Pérignon for instance, has been very successful in consistently generating market interest and with it, commercial success, thanks to releases of more premium cuvées including P1 and P2 as well as more frequent vintage releases. From 1921 to 2000, the Champagne house produced 36 vintages, while from 2000 to 2010, they already rolled out seven vintages, according to de Lencquesaing after presenting a Champagne Jaquesson 738 at the masterclass.

In Asia, however, white wines generally fail to attract fervent collector interest except for wines from the Côte de Beaune (Domaine d’Auvenay, Domaine Leflaive), a few mature Champagnes (Selosse, Dom Pérignon, Krug, Cristal) and sporadically Alsace grand crus (Clos Sainte Hune), “the demand for white wine remains very small in Asia, and we don’t foresee any big shift soon,” commented the iDealwine specialist.

Rising regions

Arthur reveals the identity of a wine tasted blind during the masterclass. It has stumped the guests but three capable tasters have guessed correctly that it’s a 1990 Clos du Marquis from St. Julien.

Moving away from France’s supernovas, other relatively obscure regions such as the Loire Valley, Languedoc-Roussillon and Jura offer buyers more breadth and depth in their portfolio.

In iDealwine’s top 20 performers from ‘other regions’, seven are from the Loire, three in Alsace, three in Languedoc, three in Jura, one in Provence, one in the South-West and one in Cognac, according to the online auctioneer’s analysis.

“People are looking beyond classic regions,” stated de Lencquesaing, “one wine that we always talk about is the Loire’s Clos Rougeard. It has been exploding, literally, for its price. The 1990, for example, has moved to €560, when it used to be traded at €280. [Its price] doubled in a year.”

As collectors become more discerning about wines, a sign of a maturing wine market, lesser appreciated regions are expected to get a boost.

“Before, collectors in Asia were thinking about pure investment. It’s not just about investment, and it’s more about the pleasure of drinking the wine. The fact that now Asian collectors know more about the wines and the styles of the wines they like is encouraging,” explained Jean-Baptiste Mage, owner of The Wine Guild Shop in Hong Kong and a speaker at the masterclass.

Late last year, rumours of Martin Bouygues buying up Clos Rougeard had prompted its volumes sold at auction to jump by 44% compared with 2015. Other stars from the Loire include Domaine Dagueneau, and among other Loire domaines that are also making head-way are Charles Joguet in Chinon and Le Clos Naudin and Domaine Huet in Vouvray.

Moving to the south, one wine that is inextricably linked to collectors’ frenzy toward southern French wine is La Grange des Pères. “In a few years, it has become an icon wine. From 2015 to 2016, prices on average rose between 20% and 40%, but will probably reach a plateau [soon],” according to de Lencquesaing when introducing its 2002 vintage at the masterclass.

Equally impressive is another wine from Madiran by Montus, described by many wine critics and de Lencquesaing as “the Petrus of the southwest”. The guests at the masterclass were treated to a 2000 vintage of the Tannat-Cabernet blend.

Meanwhile, Jura is another region that has quickly grown to be an alternative for wine collectors weary of whopping price hikes in other prominent wine regions. Famous for its oxidative wines called ‘Vin Jaune’, it also produces Chardonnay and other white cuvées and red wines.

For sweet wines, collectors are looking to traditional strongholds in Sauternes or Barsac, said de Lencquesaing when introducing Château Coutet Sauternes-Barsac 1988 to the guests at the masterclass. Using La Sobilane Rivesaltes 1947 as an example, he added the sweet wine produced from Rivesaltes are also gaining traction, providing an alternative to botrytis affected wine or icewine. The vins doux naturels (VDNs) are made using a natural grape spirit to stop its fermentation while there’s still high level of alcohol and sugar.

Below are all the wines showcased at the masterclass on 10 May:

Jacquesson Cuvée 738 Champagne
Domaine Comte Armand, Pommard, Clos des Epeneaux, 2000
Château La Conseillante, Pomerol, 1986
Domaine Marcoux, Châteauneuf-du-Pape, 1999
Montus, Madiran, 2000
Domaine de la Grange des Pères, Languedoc, 2002
Château d’Arlay Jura Vin Jaune, 2006
Château Coutet, Sauternes-Barsac, 1988
La Sobilane, Rivesaltes, 1947