In this trying time for the wine market and with wine consumption falling, is investing in wine still a sensible financial decision? Last week, the journalist Lorraine Goumot reviewed the main wine trends with iDealwine’s Angélique de Lencquesaing on the French news channel BFM.
Angélique, you’ve just published iDealwine’s Auction Barometer. What does it cover and how is it useful for collectors when choosing what to invest in?
This is a document that delves into the results from the previous year’s auctions which took place on the iDealwine website and covers about twenty different regions in French and around the world.
Why is this report relevant? Well, it shows that the auction sales on iDealwine increased by 18% in volume and 15% in value last year. French wines are beloved around the world and it’s one of the country’s greatest sources of pride. What’s more, the bidders – which come from 59 countries spread across four different continents – are some of the world’s greatest wine connoisseurs whose purchases foretell what will be the most sought-after bottles in a few months or years. We can see the way they spread their choices between classic regions such as Bordeaux, Burgundy and the Rhône Valley as well as those further afield which produce fascinating wines. These wine enthusiasts have the gift of uncovering treasures that soon the whole world would like to own.
The Barometer, of course, features the most famous labels but also reveals the stars of tomorrow, and this final point is the most useful information in the report for collectors.
You noted a slight drop in auction prices last year. What is the current situation in the fine wine market?
After a marked decrease in the average price of a bottle auctioned in 2023 (-22%), which followed the record-breaking year of 2022, the market stabilised in 2024 with a much more moderate drop of 1.9% in the average price, which settled at €149. But this apparent stability actually masks a more contrasting situation and a phenomenon seen in every region – the price for the most iconic and famous wines in each region fell by a great amount, between 6% and 10%. It’s at these prices, dare I say it, that bottles were bought with a sharp rise in the volume of these wine sold, confirming that demand for these fine wines is still very much alive.
Auction sales give an idea about the type of wines to add to a collection. How does this appear in the data? In what way has the share of sales between different regions evolved?
2024 was a very successful year for Burgundy on several points. Firstly, the volumes auctioned increased considerably (+29%, the equivalent of 70,000 more bottles sold than the previous year), which is some performance for a region that produces four times less wine than Bordeaux. Secondly, the value of Burgundy wine makes up nearly half of the total value auctioned last year, standing at 45%.
Does that mean you should have a collection mainly formed of Burgundian wines? This is no doubt an interesting point to follow but keep in mind that the average price of Burgundian wine, the highest of all the regions at €250, remained stable in 2024. Have we hit the limit here? Only time will tell…
At the same time, Bordeaux remains the region that sold the highest volume (one out of every three bottles was a Bordeaux grand cru), making it a “safe bet” for any collection. The average bottle price is half that of Burgundy, at €123, meaning that there are brilliant opportunities to be found in the region.
The Rhône Valley stays stable year on year, with stable prices, so 10% of a collection could be made up of wines from the region.
The remaining 25% to 30% should be spread between other regions around the world that saw growing success at iDealwine auctions last year.
Wine has once again become France’s preferred tipple, but this mainly concerns white wine. Does this translate to auction sales?
Indeed, the recent survey by SOWINE showed that wine has overtaken beer to become France’s preferred alcoholic beverage again with a penchant for white wine. Red wine is the majority at auction – is this because of their proven ageing capacity? Well, they represented 70% of the volumes sold last year, down from 73% in 2023 – a marked and rapid change. White wine has gained 5% in five years to stand at 28% in 2024. We saw increases in white wine sales in every region but especially those that are known for their white varieties such as the Loire Valley, Jura, Savoie…
When looking to invest, should you solely focus on Burgundy?
One icon seems to be immune to the drop in prices and that would be Domaine de la Romanée-Conti. Contrary to all other stars from the region, its average price did not decrease in 2024. Quite the opposite, actually; it rose by 6%. The level of the average price (which is above €4000) for wines from this cult estate is not within reach for some so it is important to understand this unending quest for Burgundy grand crus. Above all else, the region’s star grape varieties – Chardonnay for white wine and Pinot Noir for red – are beloved around the world. These two varieties, which sit at the top of auction rankings (and see record prices), are also grown in other regions. When it comes to white wines, the south of Burgundy, in Mâconnais and the Côte Chalonnaise, offers great alternatives to the wines from Chablis and Côte de Beaune at attractive prices as does Jura, which is also in demand. For red wines, we saw that wine enthusiasts have started to search outside of Burgundy for Pinot Noir in regions such as Jura, Alsace, the Loire (in Muscadet, more specifically), Roussillon (100 Phrases pour Éventails, the wine by Hervé Bizeul and Jean-Yves Bizot was a star in 2024), and beyond.
So if it’s not Pinot Noir, it’s not worth it?
No, far from it! This quest for Pinot Noir is linked to the search for wines that are fresh, delicate, silky, and suitable to be appreciated soon without having to wait many years to taste it. This style of radiant wine whose bottle can be opened immediately can of course be found in other regions and from varieties and matches the latest trends linked to changing habits such as less meat consumption and enjoying wine not necessarily with a meal. To that extent, the transformation seen in Bordeaux in recent years deserves our attention.
The Bordeaux En Primeur campaign has just started. Will this type of sale still be around in the future? Does wine from the region align with the changing tastes of wine lovers?
Bordeaux had been producing wine that corresponds with current requirements for a few years now. 2021, 2023 and, most recently, 2024 – the vintage that’s currently being sold “En Primeur” – fall into this style of wine and are being sold at price points that are much more accessible than Burgundy grand crus. Furthermore, we cannot forget the ageing capacity of these wines, a crucial requirement for successfully creating a wine-investment collection. So yes, Bordeaux is a land of opportunity today. I could talk all day about this, but some Bordeaux estates have released their 2024 wines a very attractive prices.
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