Does investing in Rioja wine make sense? Yes, but it is still very much a name game.
While pre-1970s Riojas have had a solid fan base for decades among vintage wine lovers in Germany, Scandinavian countries, the UK and the US in particular, until very recently no wine investment fund in its right mind would have considered buying newly released Rioja wines.
But the times they are a-changing…
Mature Riojas
Rioja has a long history of making amazing wines. Mature bottles such as the Marqués de Murrieta, Castillo Ygay Reserva Especial 1925 or CVNE, Viña Real Reserva Especial 1962 are testimony to the longevity and sublime quality of great Rioja, showing that it can be the equal of any hallowed French wine.
For vintage wine drinkers and collectors, old Rioja bottles from wineries such as CVNE, La Rioja Alta, Marqués de Murrieta, Marqués de Riscal, López de Heredia, Bilbaínas and Paternina are well worth seeking out, as they still present value for money.
Some specialised shops have older vintages of Rioja on offer, but be sure to check out wine auctions. The key word with any old bottle of wine is provenance, so if you are looking to purchase bottles at auction or in a specialist emporium, always enquire about its prior storage conditions.
A bottle of Castillo Ygay, Reserva Especial Blanco 1932 or a Marqués de Riscal, Reserva 1945 in good condition will set you back several hundreds of pounds or dollars, but there are many other great wines – such as Bodegas Berberana, Cosecha Especial 1952; Bodegas Bilbaínas, Viña Pomal Reserva Especial 1962; or Bodegas Palacio, Glorioso Reserva Especial 1959 – to be found in the £50-£80 ($68-$108) price range at auction.
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Incidentally, a rare bottle of Castillo Ygay, Reserva Especial Blanco 1919 sold recently for £3,300 ($4,488) in an online wine auction.
For reasons of low availability, provenance issues and volatile prices at auction, pre-1970s Rioja wines present less of an interest for the average investor. So, while savvy buyers have been able to profit from the increased prices at auction, investing in old bottles of wine only makes sense when you know the market very well.
Glorioso Reserva Especial 1959 and Berberana, Cosecha Especial 1952
(Image credit: Credit Unknown)
Recent Rioja releases
Today, Rioja is home to a plenitude of different wines from big historic wineries as well as small family-owned bodegas. The variety is enormous, with a growing proportion that can be regarded as ‘fine wines’.
In recent years, the fine wine market has diversified enormously in terms of the quantity of different bottles being traded, and Spanish producers are benefiting from this.
Trade data from global wine trading platform and analyst Liv-ex suggests a rise in activity of 1,250% between 2010 and 2020, and results at wine auctions show that in the past two years demand for Spanish fine wines has grown exponentially.
Current trends indicate that while wine investment companies focus on luxury cuvées produced in small quantities from wineries such as Contador, Artadi and Bodega Lanzaga, the most traded Riojas in the secondary market are the top wines from Marqués de Murrieta and La Rioja Alta.
Results at auction for Castillo Ygay, Gran Reserva Especial 2010 and La Rioja Alta, 904 Gran Reserva – wines produced at volumes in excess of 100,000 bottles – are around 30% above their original release price.
Leading the pack at wine auctions in terms of gain are the Gran Reserva and Reserva wines from López de Heredia. The recently launched Viña Tondonia Gran Reserva Blanco 2001 has been selling at auction at about £250 ($340) per bottle, which is a 250% increase on the release price.
Special bottling Bodegas Matador, Parreno López de Heredia 2001 is currently selling for more than £600 ($816) per bottle at auction, roughly a tenfold increase on the original 2017 release price.
Buyers are clearly focusing on brands with pedigree and those wines that have received top marks from critics in recent years. Another plus is that the current releases come from heralded vintages in Rioja: 2001, 2009, 2010, 2015, 2016 and 2019.
Final advice
Rioja is one of the more interesting and vibrant wine regions, with an enormous variety of bottles being produced.
Investment-wise, it’s early days and the current trade share of Spanish wines on the secondary market (less than 1% of the total market) is marginal when compared with French and Italian wines. However, there are clear signs that top Riojas are being taken more seriously as collectable and investment-worthy.
Conditions have never been more favourable for prestigious Spanish wines to take their rightful place next to the best French and Italian vintages.
My advice is to keep a keen eye on Rioja and consider not only the return in your wallet, but also the opportunity to broaden your palate.
