moneyweek.com 8October 2021 MONEYWEEK
Collectables 43Scandalinthe
Frenchwineworld
Twotopwine-makersfrom
Saint-Émilion,in
southwesternFrance,stand
accusedofriggingthe
region’sclassificationsystem
inalandmarktrialthathas
grippedthewiderBordeaux
wine-makingworld,says
HenrySamuelinTheDaily
Telegraph.Accordingto
prosecutors,Hubertde
Boüard(pictured),awine
consultantandco-ownerof
thefamedchateauAngélus,
andPhilippeCastéja,awine
merchantandownerofthe
chateauTrotteVieille,
unfairlyusedtheirinfluence
asmembersoftheINAO,
France’swinegoverning
body,toensuretheirown
domains,alongwithothers
theywerepaidtoadvise,
kepttheirrankingorjoined
theselectclub.Bothmen
denyanywrongdoing.
UnlikeBordeaux’s 1855
classification,St-Émilion’sis
reassessedeverytenyears.
Inclusioninthetwomain
categoriesofGrandCru
ClasséandthemoreprestigiousPremierGrand
CruClassécanboostwine
pricesbyaround 3 0%,andlift
propertyprices.Ausone,
ChevalBlanc,Pavieand
Angélus,thetopfourA-grade
chateaux,producesomeof
themostexpensivewinesin
theworld,withthepriceofa
bottleofAusone“soaring
intothethousands”.Inthe
latest rankings,from2012, 64
chateauxmade thecutfor
GrandsCrusClassés, and18
wereawardedPremiers
GrandsCrusClassésstatus.
But theownersofthree
chateaux,whoeitherwere
refusedpromotionorfailed
tomakethegrade,criedfoul.
Theyhaveaccusedthe
Bordeaux prosecutor’s office
of yieldingtopolitical
pressuretosavereputations
bytryingtohavethecase
quashedbeforeitwentto
court. Theyalsocontend
thatwine-tastingnotes
only accountfor30%of
thedecisionstoaward
rankings,withtherest
basedonthefameofthe
chateauxandothercriteria.
Thetrialcontinues.L
astyearwasavintageone
forwinecollecting.The
valueoffinewineroseby
13 %intheyeartotheendof
June,accordingtoresearch
byanalyticscompanyWine
Owners,onbehalfofKnight
Frank,theestateagencyand
publisheroftheKnightFrank
LuxuryInvestmentIndex.
Thatwasafarbetter
performancethanfrom
watches,say,which,asanasset
class,appreciatedby5%over
thesameperiod,andclassic
cars,whichgained4%.
SalesofBordeaux,in
particularvintagesbetween
1996 and 2000 ,havedonewell
asthesewinesareataprice
pointwheretheycanbedrunk
noworsquirrelledawayby
well-offcollectors,saysWine
Owners’founderNickMartin,
quotedinTheTimes.Mouton
Rothschild 2016 wasoneofthe
headiest risers ,gaining 14%
in valueoverthe peri od. Other
risers includeDom Pérignon
2008 champagne,which has
risenby18.5% to £1,680 for
12 bottles, an d“SuperTuscan”
Sassicaia2015, up 14.6%.
Even humble rItaliansare
starting to getalookin. Lured
in by theprestigiousregions
of Tuscanyand Piedmont,
buye rs arenow starting to
explore otherItalia nregions,
such as Veneto,Abruzzo and
Umbria,notes wineexchange
Liv-ex in itsrecentItaly’s
Underdogsreport.Italy’s share
of secondarymarkettrade in
finewinesitsatarecord high
of 16%year-to-date–Italy
is nowthe thirdmost-traded
Collectors and tipplers are havingagreat timeof it. Chris Carter reportsAvintage year for oenophilesng...
NumberOne”guitar,theearliest
edproductionmodelof thefamed
LesPaulelectricguitar, is heading
tionwithChristie’sinNewYork.
n1952,thesolid-bodyinstrument
gits creator’snameisbeingsold by
l’sson,Gene,whodubbedit a
trockandroll machine”.Guitarists
mmyPage, Pete TownshendandJeff
eckall cametoembracetheGibson
sPaul.“I’dhavetosay,what’sthe
rightbrother’s firstplaneworth?
hat’sThomasEdison’s firstlightbulb
worth?ThePaulguitar, theLesPaul
NumberOne,washiscrowning
achievement,” says GenePaul.
Bidderswilldecideon 13 October.
heguitarisvaluedat between
00,000and$150,000.Gone...
AcassetterecordingfromJanuary1 970
ofa33-minute interviewbyfourDanish
schoolboyswithJohnLennonand
YokoOno, whomtheymetwhilethe
couple werein Denmark, sold with
auctionhouseBruunRasmussenin
Copenhagenlast week.Onit, theboys
discussthecouple’speace campaign
againstthebackdropoftheVietnam
War, Lennon’s hairandhisfrustrations
withTheBeatles’image. Lennonalso
singsanunreleasedsong,calledRadio
Peace,whichhewroteforaradiostation
ofthesamenamethatheandOnohad
wantedtostart in Amsterdam,anda
renditionofGive Pe aceaChance.The
tape,alongwithaset ofphotographs
fromthemeeting,fetched370,000
kroner(£42,500).categoryonthesecondary
marketafterBordeaux,with
40 .5%,andBurgundy(20.4%).
PricesencompassingallItalian
regionshaverisenby 12 .2%in
thepastyear,makingtheLiv-
ex Italianfinewinesub-index
thethird best-performing,after
Champagne andBurgundy,in
theLiv-ex1000index,which
tracks thepricesof1,000 wines
from around theworld.Upsidesfromwarming
Climatechangeisa lsobringing
newwines into ourcellars.
Warmer temperaturesand
longer ripe ningseasonshave
boostedcoolerregions,suchas
southernEngland andBritish
ColumbiainCanada, says Alan
Livsey in th eFinancialTimes.
Andwhile warmer weather
canbeaboonfor cooler
climes,itc an cutthe otherwayformore establishedareas.
Frosts in Bordeaux last spring
adve rsely affected vines, floods
in Germany’sRhine Valley
thissummer couldresultin
thewidespread lo ss of mature
vines, andwildf ires in northern
Californialast year contributed
to “smoke tain t”.Bordeaux,
Californiaand Italyare also
producingmorealcoholic
wines,according to another
study from Liv-ex,due to more
sugarint he grapes.That’snot
necessarily abad thing,but it
does present newquestions and
challengesfor wine-makers
andcollectors.
“Disaggregatingrising
finewineprices from climate
change is noteasy”, says
Livsey .“It’s fair to saythatfew
investorshavefully thought
through theimpactofclimate
change onwine portfolios.”AuctionsMoutonRothschildproducedsomeoftheheadiestrisers“Wine rose by13% in the year to the end of
June,beating watches and classic cars”©Alamy©Christies2021©GettyImages