Super-Tuscan bargains
Fine wine investments in Tuscany
On this blog, and indeed in much of the wider fine wine investments industry, we hear a lot of talk about wines from Bordeaux. That makes sense, on a good year they constitute anything up to 95 per cent of all investment wine.
But whilst wines from other regions don’t always constitute the most popular purchases – it’s the best investment we’re after here at APM… which brings us along to the Italian region of Tuscany.
Over the last five years, wines from Tuscany have outperformed the Liv-ex 100 by a substantial margin.
The rise of the Super-Tuscan
Prior to the late 1960s, nearly all Italian wine production adhered to the Chianti DOC (Denominazione di Origine Controllata). While nothing matched the famous Premier Crus of Bordeaux, the Italian output from the DOC was perfectly quaffable – if not slightly mass produced. In essence, the Chianti DOC decreed that estates could only use Italian grapes in the wine-making process.
In 1968, however, an Italian named Mario Incisa della Roccetta broke from the pack and decided to use the French grapes that had bought regions like Bordeaux such success, including Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc and Merlot. Thus, the Super-Tuscans were born.
Since then, Super-Tuscans like Masseto, Sassicaia, Ornellaia, Solaia and Tignanello have come to prominence, with Masseto emerging as the both most expensive and critically-acclaimed of the pack.
How good are Super-Tuscan fine wine investments?
Over the last five years, wines from Tuscany have substantially outperformed the Liv-ex 100.
In summer 2014, APM commissioned a fine wine investments study by Kristen Staddon, entitled ‘Are Super-Tuscan wines a sustainable investment for APM’s clients?’
The question at that point was far from moot. We wanted to find out if the outperformance was repeatable. Could Super-Tuscans hold their own as a separate sector within the asset class?
The quick summary is that the findings strongly supported the hypothesis.
Competitive prices for promising investments
We recently had a look across the Super-Tuscan spectrum and have unearthed two absolute bargains.
The vintages of 2006 and 2009 are Maremma’s best on record for Maremma, both at 97 points. Across the board, Masseto wines score highly, with Masseto’s 1999 topping the bill. A combination of these factors prices the Masseto 2006 at £6,000.
All things being equal, therefore, we might expect some price consistency, especially if the individual wines are rated alike, and this is precisely where the opportunity lies.
The Ornellaia wines from 2006 and 2009 both score 97 points. Same wine, same vintage score, same wine score, same price – right?
Wrong! The 2006 costs £1,500, whereas the 2009 costs only £1,180. That’s a discount of over 20%.
Similarly, the Solaia of 2006 scores a perfectly decent 94 points, and trades at £1,700. The 2009 scores 96+, yet trades at a mere £1,220. A better wine, from an equivalent vintage, trading at a discount of nearly 30%.
Ladies and gentlemen, these wines are completely mispriced.
Invest in fine wine
Buy Ornellaia 2009 and Solaia 2009.
Ornellaia 2009 @ £1,770 per 12 pack.
Solaia 2009@ £1,200 per 12 pack.
If you want to find out about more fantastic London wine investment deals, then stay tuned to our wine investment blog to find out more. Contact us today if you want to find out more about our bespoke wine investment services.
Originally published November 2015.