In April, wine lovers awoke from their winter slumber and injected some energy into the secondary wine market. This goes for enthusiasts all around the world with those from Asia and the United States of America in the lead. All regions saw excellent results, but it was the Loire Valley that came out on top with one estate from Chinon standing out in particular. Domaine Charles Joguet was represented by wonderful mature vintages in April’s auctions on iDealwine that were snapped up.
Loire’s Cabernet Francs,adorned with amazing ageing potential, develop magnificent aromas over time. Their power and highly concentrated characteristics soften over time, leaving well integrated tannins and an enveloping texture that conserves the wine’s freshness and elegance in their place. The wines produced at Domaine Charles Joguet in Chinon demonstrate this perfectly. Bought by Charles Joguet in 1957, the estate was transferred to the Genet family in the middle of the 1980s. The 1989 and 1990 vintages were exceptional and wine enthusiasts continue to comb the secondary market in search for them.
Charles Joguet left his mark on the estate both in terms of how he managed the vineyards and how we worked in the cellar. A fan of Burgundian wine, he was inspired by the region’s method of isolating the most distinctive and qualitative plots. He therefore went on to create single-plot wines from his different parcels of vines planted on both sides of the Vienne river. From Chinon, Les Charmes comes from a limestone-clay plot and Les Varennes du Grand Clos is a gravel terrace with a high amount of silica. Clos du Chêne Vert sits on limestone and steep sloping, limestone-clay soils. This is one of the property’s iconic wines along with Clos de la Dioterie which sits above Les Varennes du Grand Clos. Its vines, which are about 80 years old, face north-east, getting plenty of sun when it shines. The estate’s team always concludes the harvest with this legendary plot.
A magnum of 1990 Chinon Clos de la Dioterie was auctioned in April, and it surpassed the symbolic €1,000 mark. It went under the hammer for €1,014, testament to the stir this wine in a large format, which is rarely seen in the Loire, caused. A standard bottle from the same vintage sold for €338. Chinon Les Varennes du Grand Clos also saw success at iDealwine’s auctions in April. A bottle from 1990 was auctioned for €275, while one from 1989 went for €250. A 1990 Chinon that was produced from the property’s young vines sold for €165. This all goes to show that it’s worth buying wines from Domaine Charles Joguet – which is in the talented hands of Anne-Charlotte Genet today – that are from good vintages when they’re young and carefully keeping them in a cellar with the correct temperature and humidity to be either savoured or resold in the future.
An energetic market for all regions
The secondary market was full of energy in April. After an adjustment period which saw some wines return to their 2021 price level at the start of the year, things are picking up. From Burgundy, Domaine Groffier and Domaine Hubert Lamy stand out. The Rhône Valley saw the Hermitages from Chave and the Châteauneufs from Henri Bonneau remain stable with one or two lots still readjusting. Bidders were as keen as ever for the famous Côte-Rôtie LA-LA-LA trilogy from Guigal and for Château Rayas from the southern Rhône. Elsewhere, Aurélien Lurquin from Champagne lit up the auctions.
Bordeaux’s cult vintages are still all the rage and “bottles of the century” continue to entice wine enthusiasts. For example, Château Haut Biron 1989 was auctioned for €1,753 (+8%), a bottle of Château Palmer 1983 went under the hammer for €1,027 (+11%), a Château Cheval Blanc 1990 sold for €977 (+7%), and a bottle of Château Yquem 1967 went for €1,127 (+13%).
Now is a time to follow the market closely and to search auction catalogues with a fine-tooth comb as there are still many good deals to be found.
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