Alternative Outlook

The growth of the wine investment market has been significant over the last decade and each year provides exciting opportunities for investors keen to secure their money in the commodity. But what does 2013 have in store?

It is fair to say 2012 was a mixed year for wine investors. The Liv-ex Fine Wine 100 finished 9.6 per cent down on the year and struggled in particular up until July, when notably Vin-x called the market and issued the statement in the trade press that they felt that the market had bottomed. The 2011 crop was not a …

Pétrus is the most reliable label for fine wine returns according to Christie’s Anthony Hanson MW. Addressing attendees of the Fine and Rare Wine Specialist course at Vienna’s Palais Coburg on 2 July, Hanson analysed the price performance of a range of collectible labels before declaring, “The king has been Pétrus”.

Continuing, he said, “It has yielded an average annual return of 14% all the way through bull and bear markets – it is incredibly dependable as a château.” He added that Pétrus has produced “so many grea…

As the best vintages outperform every asset but gold, Julian Knight goes to Bordeaux to get a taste of the business.

The two-storey country house, modest compared with the other châteaux of the area, sits proudly underneath a perfect wide blue sky, surrounded by neatly trimmed vines festooned with lush red roses which would be any horticulturalist’s dream.

I am in Bordeaux, the spiritual home not just of French but world wine making. Opposite me, examining a vine with dexterity and not a small degree of tenderness, is Oliver Be…

The impact of value and brand focused purchasing of investment wine in China has led to a price growth spurt in five First Growths – Lafite, Latour, Margaux, Mouton and Haut Brion.

Throughout the closing months of 2010 Albany Portfolio Management predicted the success of these brands after paying close attention to the performance and buying behaviours of customers in the Asia region, which differ significantly to the traditional vintage focused purchasing of the West.

The pronounced difference in price between Lafite and the other…

January was a record month for fine wine investment with the Liv-ex 100 rising by 2.9 per cent and the Claret Chip by 3.4 per cent.Year-on-year, the indices were up 40.8 per cent and 52.4 per cent with the positive returns coming at a time when most stock markets were relatively weak.

The Wine Investment Fund (TWIF) claimed evidence has emerged that the market is in a new phase in terms of favoured brands.

Lafite, in particular, has underperformed the other first growths for two months in a row, and at precisely the time when Chine…