iDealwine update: Through the roof

Everything in Burgundy is leaping up in price – from the grapes to the land – and iDealwine auctions have followed suit, achieving record prices

EVERYTHING SEEMS to be increasingly expensive in Burgundy, whether it is the vineyards, the wine, the grapes or the domains. The word ‘record’ is everywhere, and the already high prices are continuously rising. Recent auctions of fine and rare Burgundy lots on iDealwine have confirmed that there has been no respite in the region: in the past year, the WineDex® Burgundy is the highest-performing regional index with an increase of 11.4%, while Bordeaux is only up by 5.18%.

October and November have seen another series of spikes on iDealwine auctions for Burgundy wines.

Unsurprisingly, Domaine de la RomanéeConti has made the headlines, reaching a new threshold of €17,146 for a bottle of 2000 Romanée-Conti, outperforming the previous iDealwine record earlier this year when the 1990 vintage sold for €15,240. Covering just 1.8 hectares, and producing less than 6,000 bottles per year, the iconic monopoly keeps on rising, auction after auction. Prices of a few other top Burgundy producers have increased significantly, according to our recent auction reports. This is the case with the trio from Côte-de-Nuits: Leroy, Rousseau and Roumier, which sometimes even doubled their price estimates.

Even though Asia is accounting for an important part of the bids for these iconic red wines, especially since 2015, fine wine collectors and merchants from traditional European countries, notably France, Belgium and the UK, keep a solid position, coveting these bottles too.

In the wake of these exceptional values, the whole of Burgundy seemed to shine brightly in recent auctions. Among the names recording strong price rises is Domaine d’Angerville from Côte de Beaune, with its 1er Cru Clos des Ducs Volnay 1988, rising by 45% to reach €189. From the heart of the Côte de Nuits, the success of Domaine Mugnier wines is staying strong (€608 for Chambolle Amoureuses 2008, with an 11% rise, and €596 for the 2006, up by 26%). Also remarkable was the performance of the Grand Cru La Grande Rue 1989 from Domaine Lamarche, auctioned at €365 (+71%), and Clos de la Roche 2010 from Dujac, which sold for €620 (+44%).

After a few months of stability, white Burgundies are on the rise again, especially Meursault. The 1er Cru Goutte d’Or 2006 from Arnaud Ente was sold for €292 (+41%) in the second auction of October to an Asian connoisseur. Already well established, Domaine Roulot continues to shine: its 1er Cru Perrières 2010 went for €730 (+82%) to a Chinese bidder, while the 1er Cru Charmes 2008 from the same domain soared to €413 (+116%) to a UK buyer. The 2007 vintage of this cuvée reached €401 (+142%).

Unmissable in the landscape of superb white Burgundy, the classic Meursault 2007 from Coche-Dury also sold for €413 (+25%) in October, acquired by a Danish bidder.

auction update – sponsored by iDealwine

Burgundy auction prices

Source: iDealwine

Clos de Tart estimate

Source: iDealwine

A NEW RECORD

The most striking illustration of the boom for Burgundy was the historically high amount paid  for the vineyard of Clos de Tart by Artemis Group in early November. Prices for previous transactions for the likes of Clos des Lambray in 2014 or Bonneau du Martray this year had already made the headlines, but the €280 million paid for the 7.53-hectare Morey-Saint-Denis monopoly set a new record.

Didier Mommessin, the CEO of Clos de Tart, explained in an interview with Le Bien Public that “the vines of grands crus no longer have a classic commercial value but are approached in a way comparable to masterpieces in the art world”. These transactions are creating a real bias in the value of real estate from which Burgundy winegrowers will probably suffer in the coming years and alter the structure of Burgundy ownership.

It remains to be seen how the price of wines from the Clos de Tart will be valued in the future, and what consequences this purchase will have on prices. Given on one hand the price of the purchase, and on the other the pricing policy of the Artemis group with the other great domains it owns, it is difficult to imagine that the ex-cellar prices will remain at their current level.

However, having increased significantly in recent years, it is unlikely that recent vintages in the secondary market will boom in the short term. Many amateurs will seek to acquire more mature vintages, produced by the talented Sylvain Pitiot until 2015.