Wine investment: Top Champagnes to regain their fizz
Falling from the heights they achieved in the boom run of 2022, many prestige cuvées have seen their prices begin to stabilise.
Prestige Champagne has lost some market traction, but top brands are still considered to have room for growth over the longer term. Global Champagne shipments fell 9.2% in 2024, to 271.4m bottles.
‘Champagne is a barometer of consumer mood,’ said Maxime Toubart, co-president of the Comité Champagne trade body, citing conflict, plus economic and political uncertainty. Top prestige-cuvée Champagnes aren’t wholly immune from macroeconomic factors.
Prices have clearly fallen since late 2022, but they nevertheless remain higher than five years ago, according to data from international merchant Bordeaux Index (see graph below).
Matthew O’Connell, CEO of Bordeaux Index’s LiveTrade online trading platform, said top-tier Champagnes, such as Cristal, Krug and Dom Pérignon, have changed their market context in the past decade, partly via an expanded pool of buyers.
He said the current market needed a catalyst for renewed growth, but added: ‘I do think once prices start going up [again], people will think, “there’s quite a long way these can go up and therefore I should be buying these now”.’
Conditions remain challenging currently. Liv-ex, a global marketplace for the trade, said a bearish trend on its Cristal index ‘has moved firmly into the medium term, but the long term upward trendline remains intact’.
Liv-ex’s Champagne 50 index dropped 25.2% in two years to 31 January, yet was still up 29.4% over five years. LiveTrade’s O’Connell said collectors seeking opportunities could consider middle-aged vintages from 2002 to 2008, which are likely to become more scarce as people begin to pop corks.
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Bordeaux Index data showed how Cristal and Dom Pérignon 2002 rose to November 2022 price peaks and fell back (see table, below). Miles Davis, market expert at merchant Vinum Fine Wines, said Champagne has developed a more solid secondary market in the past 10 years.
While current conditions were difficult, trading was still taking place. ‘[For example,] we had quite a big parcel of Dom Pérignon 1996 that sold very well, but it was well priced.’
Fine wine & spirits specialist Bordeaux Index kindly sponsors this section of Decanter, and provides its view on the market here every issue. It can be found at bordeauxindex.com.
The Champagne market was characterised across the second half of 2023, and 2024, by steadily falling prices, following a preceding 18-24 month period in which every prestige Champagne saw a very significant change in price, almost doubling in many cases.
We are left with a situation where there is almost no Champagne that is cheaper now than in 2020 but, equally, pricing sentiment is finely balanced.
Given a significant rise in discretionary spending and global penetration of luxury assets, it was unsurprising that Champagne was a key beneficiary in 2021-2022 – ultimately we anticipate there being much future upside potential for top wines across grande marques and grower Champagnes over the medium term.
Recent release prices have not been helpful in ensuring maintenance of demand in this trickier market environment, but this may rebalance itself over the coming 12-18 months. Where we see the most value is in semi-mature vintages such as 2002, 2004, 2006, 2008, where the pricing curve has flattened.
These wines are ready or almost ready to drink, are very strong vintages and are in meaningfully lower supply than for recent vintages; as prices resume an upwards trajectory, these should see the most upside.
Record takings at US charity wine auction
This year’s Naples Winter Wine Festival charity auction in Florida has generated a record total of $34m (£27m), according to organisers. Wealthy attendees competed for luxurious experiences spanning fine wine, gastronomy and travel at the event, held at the Ritz-Carlton Naples, Tiburón hotel at the end of January.
Top-selling lots included ‘Meet Me on the Right Bank’, including a five-night stay at St-Emilion’s Château Troplong Mondot for five couples, and also featuring dinner Michelin one-star Les Belles Perdrix. It sold for $800,000.
An eight-night stay for two couples at various Antinori family properties, from Villa Tignanello in Tuscany to the Umbria estate Castello della Sala, sold for $750,000. Guests will enjoy rare magnums and jeroboams of Antinori wines.
Organised by the Naples Children & Education Foundation, auction proceeds go to non-profit organisations supporting underprivileged children in the local area.
Rare Napa gems in demand
Historic Napa Valley wines have put in eye-catching performances at recent US-based auctions, suggesting bidders continue to cherish rarity amid a subdued general market.
Zachys sold a magnum of Heitz Cellar’s Martha’s Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon 1974 for $11,250 (£9,035), including buyer’s premium, at its ‘Collection of a Lifelong Enthusiast: The Final Installment’ in New York in late January.
Its pre-sale high estimate was $7,500. Featured in Decanter’s ‘Wine legend’ series back in 2017, this wine helped to put California on the modern fine wine world map. Production in the 1974 vintage included 1,200 magnums, said Zachys.
Charles Antin, Zachys’ global head of auction sales, said between one and five magnums of the wine are sold globally each year – making them extremely rare.
Meanwhile, Sotheby’s sold a single bottle of Screaming Eagle’s debut 1992-vintage Cabernet Sauvignon for $21,250, including buyer’s premium (high estimate: $12,000), at ‘The Epicurean’s Atlas: Around the Globe Part II’. Six bottles of Napa Valley’s Harlan Estate, Cabernet Sauvignon 1994 also sold for $12,500 (high e: $11,000).
While trends cannot necessarily be discerned from individual lots, results indicate ongoing strong collector interest in rare Napa Valley gems. Zachys’ Year in Review for 2024 said Bordeaux, Burgundy and California accounted for nearly 80% of sales by value.
Burgundy dominated its 10 top lots sold in 2024, however; led by a 12-bottle collection of Henri Jayer, Cros Parantoux Réserve, Vosne-Romanée 1996, which fetched $137,500, including buyer’s premium.
Disclaimer: Decanter’s Marketwatch pages are published for informational purposes only and do not constitute investment advice. Wine prices may vary and they can go down as well as up. Seek independent advice where necessary and be aware that wine investment is unregulated in several markets, including the UK.
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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.