Which wines for investment? Bordeaux en premier.

Strategy 1 - Bordeaux en premier.  This is a five plus year strategy, stick with the historic winners.


The key points:


1) Choose the most traded wines. According to Livex some of the most heavily traded wines include:

Angelus, Cos d'Estournel, Pichon Lalande, Pavie, Leoville Las Cases, Cheval Blanc, Ausone, Haut Brion, Latour, Mouton Rothschild, Petrus, Margaux, Lafite Rothschild, Lynch Bages

Check out of the historic returns of each wine. While history will not guarantee similar future returns, it is an excellent indicator as to which wines are an investment class.

2) Choose only a reputable wine merchant. Choose a company which has traded actively for more than just a handful of years and preferably one with a physical shop or warehouse. This will limit your risk of falling foul to wine fraudsters. 


Companies House, in the UK, has a searchable registry of companies and, for a small price, you can see more comprehensive information like the companies last annual return. Some reputable wine merchants in the UK are Berry Bros & Rudd and Fine and Rare Wines


3) Choose great vintages over mediocre ones. While Bordeaux will produce high quality wines each year, you want to choose a stand out vintage. Consumers of fine wine know the best years and demand these accordingly. The easiest way to determine the best vintages is to refer to wine experts like Robert Parker or Jancis Robinson.


4) Choose a professional storage facility. Storing your wines in a professional facility not only ensures they age well and drink well,  but will also maximise your sale price. Buyers will only purchase wine stored properly - and with proper paperwork. Sotheby’s auction house suggest without the proper paperwork – without provenance – a case of wine can lose 30% of its value.


This means storing your investment grade Bordeaux in a wooden rack next to the fridge is tantamount to heresy. Even if you investment in a professional home storage wine fridge, how can you prove it was kept in optimum conditions?


Happy investing...


My winners for 2009 Bordeaux were:


Wine                                 Cost on Return 12 months 
La Fleur Petrus               107.60% 
Hosanna                          221% 
Lynch Bages                   36.70%  


My losers:


Clarence Haut Brion      -6.70%
Cos d'Estournel            4.30%  

Like all investments there are risks and research will only mitigate, not eliminate, this risk. Even if you don't make a decent return, the worst that can happen is you have to drink it!

Strategy 2 - Pick the lower RP scores