Rioja’s investment potential

Rioja continues to be one to watch on the fine wine market, even if opinions are mixed on its investment credentials. It is certainly no fine wine newcomer, but has been garnering more attention from collectors and drinkers, according to Georgina Crawley, business development associate director at merchant Goedhuis & Co.

‘I do think with the continuation of Burgundy and Bordeaux out-pricing so many customers it’s a region that has started to shine and be noticed far, far more,’ she said.

There is a particular opportunity for collectors and drinkers at the gran reserva level, she believes. Producers are helping to improve consumers’ understanding of terroir and vineyard sites, while merchants’ access to ex-cellar stock has increased in the past decade, she added.

‘It’s time to start looking more seriously at Spain,’ said Cult Wine Investment recently. ‘[The wines] offer collectors and investors an ideal trilogy of world-class quality, long lifespans and excellent relative value.’

It highlighted rising prices on some top labels, but also noted that ‘the finest Rioja wines still often sit below £100 per bottle’.

Goedhuis works closely with the producer CVNE and recently offered its Imperial Gran Reserva 2016 at £240 (6x75cl in bond), for example. Meanwhile, Muga’s Prado Enea Gran Reserva 2011 – rated 96 points by Decanter – was £275 (6x75cl ib) at Bordeaux Index.

The Rioja market in context

Matthew O’Connell, CEO of the LiveTrade platform at Bordeaux Index, reiterated his view that even top Rioja is of more interest to collectors than investors.

‘There’s no doubt that they’re world-class wines, but you don’t really see parcels of this stuff traded in the market,’ he said.

Despite evidence of prices rising as wines age, Rioja remains a relatively small player on the secondary market.

Talking to Decanter back in December 2022, when he was managing editor at Liv-ex, a global marketplace for the trade, Rupert Millar said reasons may include wineries’ varying release schedules, or lack of market ‘hype’, as well as collectors primarily buying wines on release to cellar and drink.

Yet ‘there’s every potential for Spain as a whole – and Rioja in particular – to grow its secondary market presence, and it has been happening, bit by bit’, he added.

Liv-ex continued to see an increasing number of Spanish wines trading on its platform in the first 11 months of 2022.

Rioja accounted for 29% of Spanish wine trades by value, while Ribera del Duero, the home of Vega Sicilia and Dominio de Pingus, accounted for 61%.

Marqués de Murrieta’s critically acclaimed Castillo Ygay Gran Reserva Especial 2010 was the most traded Rioja wine by value on Liv-ex over the same period. In December, Liv-ex data showed its price was up by 25% in 12 months.

Meanwhile, R López de Heredia’s Viña Tondonia Tinto Reserva 2010 was Liv-ex’s most traded Rioja wine by volume, although its price was up by just 3% over one year.

Auction snapshot

Vega Sicilia dominates Spanish wine sales at auction, according to Charles Antin, auctioneer and head of wine auction sales at US-based Zachys.

He said the auction market for Rioja was nascent but people do seek out wines, ‘specifically Ygay, López de Heredia, Rioja Alta, CVNE and Remelluri’. Since January 2020, Zachys had sold 1,040 bottles of Rioja for $124,000 (203 lots), he said.

A London-based Christie’s auction in December 2022 suggested strong buyer demand for mature, top vintages. Results included:

Artadi, El Pisón 2001

(12x75cl) £3,000 (high estimate £2,000)

Marqués de Murrieta, Castillo Ygay Gran Reserva Especial 2005

(6x75cl) £1,188 (high estimate £550)

Marqués de Murrieta, Castillo Ygay Gran Reserva Especial 2004

(6x75cl) £813 (high estimate £550)

Marqués de Murrieta, Castillo Ygay Gran Reserva Especial 2005

(6x75cl) £750 (high estimate £550)

R López de Heredia, Viña Tondonia Blanco 2005

(6x75cl) £688 (high estimate £450)

Price highlights from the excellent 2010 vintage

Prices based on 12x75cl (IB)

Rioja Alta, 904 Gran Reserva 2010

The price momentum was largely flat in 2022, but this was up by nearly 54% since UK release. Liv-ex market price: £600

Muga, Prado Enea Gran Reserva 2010

This wine lost some ground during 2022 but was still up more than 40% in two years. Liv-ex market price: £758

Marqués de Murrieta, Castillo Ygay Gran Reserva Especial 2010 Momentum continued for this wine in 2022 and it has nearly doubled in price since being released in the UK. Liv-ex market price: £2,000

Data sourced from Liv-Ex, December 2022

DES284.market_report.rioja_alta_904_gran_reserva_2010.jpg

DES284.market_report.marque_s_de_murrieta_castillo_ygay_gran_reserva_especial_2010.jpg

One to watch

Yjar

It’s early days for Telmo Rodríguez’s Yjar, produced from a 3.8ha vineyard in Rioja Alavesa. In September 2021, its critically acclaimed debut 2017 vintage helped spearhead a new wave of Spanish wine releases via the Place de Bordeaux, with wines from the likes of CVNE and Marqués de Riscal debuting in 2022.

Liv-ex data in December 2022 showed the price of Yjar 2017 up 18.7% since its UK release, at £924 (12x75cl in bond).

Yjar 2018 was released in September 2022 at £1,140 (12x75cl in bond, Liv-ex). The wine ‘instantly sold out’, according to Goedhuis & Co, although it’s understood allocations were relatively small.

Explore More

Chris Mercer is a Bristol-based freelance editor and journalist who spent nearly four years as digital editor of Decanter.com, having previously been Decanter’s news editor across online and print.

He has written about, and reported on, the wine and food sectors for more than 10 years for both consumer and trade media.

Chris first became interested in the wine world while living in Languedoc-Roussillon after completing a journalism Masters in the UK. These days, his love of wine commonly tests his budgeting skills.

Beyond wine, Chris also has an MSc in food policy and has a particular interest in sustainability issues. He has also been a food judge at the UK’s Great Taste Awards.