Is There a Fine White Wine Worth Investing In?
Alliteration aside, there are some perfectly good reasons why fine wine investments connoisseurs could ask themselves if there is a white wine worth investing in. If you take a look through our stock list, you’ll find that pretty much all of them are red. In fact, if you can find any white wines on the list, we’ll be impressed.
There are two reasons for this. Firstly, red wine is morally superior. Secondly, and more importantly, red has a greater propensity to improve with age, because of the tannins and other compounds present within the wine.
Despite that, there are still some white wines that may play a part in a varied fine wine investment portfolio. Here is a look at some of the contenders.
Chateau d’Yquem
D’Yquem is perhaps the world’s greatest sweet wine. Unlike many white wines, the elixir of Y’quem can last for centuries, and indeed a bottle of the 1811 vintage was sold for a staggering £78,105 some years ago.
So, if you’re planning on hanging around for a couple of centuries, then the Chateau d’Yquem is a decent investment choice.
Over the shorter term, however, the d’Yquem hasn’t performed as well, having lagged somewhat behind its red wine contemporaries. There’s a good chance that d’Yquem has its part to play in a balanced portfolio, but perhaps only for larger investors.
That said, if sweet wines ever take off in the future, then this will certainly be one to watch.
DRC Montrachet Grand Cru
The second wine on this list is almost universally considered to be the greatest of all white burgundies – and certainly the most expensive. The DRC Montrachet is priced at upwards of £3,000 a bottle, and sets a high bar for quality and exclusivity.
Unfortunately, the already high price and narrow secondary market mean it’s difficult to see where it has any real place in a fine wine investments portfolio. This white wine will wow and impress, but for a genuine financial investment, it’s not such a wise choice.
Coche-Dury Corton-Charlemagne Grand Cru
Another infamous white burgundy, with prices of a slightly more reasonable, but still nonetheless jaw-dropping average of around £2,000 a bottle. As with the DRC Montrachet, prices like these mean the chances of the bottle inflating in value to a sufficient degree are slim.
It might perform well in terms of quality, heritage and status – but there are numerous red wines that will do all this and yield much safer results for fine wine investors.
So does white deserve a place in fine wine investments?
We think there’s definitely a place for a white wine in some portfolios of fine wine investments, but in truth, white’s scope is limited. If you’ve got a highly developed wine portfolio in place, it’s worth considering, but if you’re looking to build something up from scratch, the best fine wine investment advice we can offer is: keep it red.
With one of the best selections of fine wine investments London has to offer, Amphora has the experience and the market know-how to help you build your portfolio.
Take a look through our fine wine stock and see if you aren’t inspired to get started today. Alternatively, if you want to get stuck into the facts and figures and find out how we choose our recommendations, read more about our fine wine investments algorithm here or give us a call.