Treasures hidden on our MUST BUY list

Like a virtual treasure map, Wine Lister’s Hidden gem indicator helps you discover fine wines that are under the radar, yet worth uncovering. These wines are seldom found in the top restaurants, infrequently searched for online, but have high ratings from wine critics, or are assigned “Hidden gem” status by the global fine wine trade.

Of the 1,639 wines that are currently recognised as MUST BUYs by Wine Lister’s proprietary recommendation algorithm, 87 are Hidden gems. To help you uncover these underrated wines, this week we examine the Hidden gem MUST BUYs with WL scores above 95.

A preliminary look at the elected wines reveals a common trend of lower-than-average prices. While achieving WL scores of 95 and over, the 15 red Hidden gems illustrated above have an average price of £67 (per bottle in-bond) – perhaps a consequence of their slight obscurity. By virtue of being “Hidden gems”, these wines are also harder to source, however, it is worth informing your merchant of your interest in purchasing them, in the event of their availability.

Burgundy achieves five entries in this week’s subgroup, with two from a small-production négociant house, Lucien Le Moine. Well-deserving of their Hidden gem status, both wines achieve a WL score of 96. The 2012 Lucien Le Moine Charmes-Chambertin is available from Lay & Wheeler at £173 (per bottle in-bond), and the 2012 Lucien Le Moine Gevrey Chambertin Les Cazetiers can be purchased from BI Fine Wine & Spirits for £83 (per bottle in-bond).

California is represented by two wines of the same vintage and grape. The Ojai Vineyard Bien Nacido Pinot Noir 2014 hails from vines in Santa Barbara’s Santa Maria Valley, whose east-to-west face encourages the flow of cooling Pacific Ocean breezes, apt for the Burgundian variety. The Ryan Vineyard Pinot Noir 2014 from cult California producer, Calera, is produced from vines in several sites across the Central Coast.

Two entries from Rhône’s Tardieu-Laurent show notably good quality-to-price ratios, achieving “Value pick” status. With a WL Score of 96, the 2005 Cornas Vieilles Vignes is priced at £43 (per bottle in-bond), while the 2006 Gigondas Vieilles Vignes has a WL Score of 95 at £24.

A joint venture between two négociants, Dominique Laurent (of Burgundy fame), and Michel Tardieu (Rhône), Tardieu-Laurent is a boutique négociant operation. Buying young wines from growers across the Rhône, the domain completes maturation and blending, before bottling with no fining nor filtration. The 2005 Tardieu-Laurent Cornas Vieilles Vignes is available to purchase from Fine + Rare (in magnum form), and the 2006 Tardieu-Laurent Gigondas Vieilles Vignes can be bought from Wine Bourse (by the case of 12).

Tardieu-Laurent also features twice on the list of white Hidden gem MUST BUYs, with both its 2008 and 2016 Hermitages Blancs achieving WL Scores of 95.

Like their red counterparts, Tardieu-Laurent’s white Hidden gems are Value picks. Jancis Robinson pays compliment to both vintages, describing the 2008 as “Clean, intense, multilayered”, and the 2016 as “Very serious stuff”. Both wines can be purchased from Corney & Barrow (by the case of 12 in-bond).

Five out of the 10 white Hidden gems shown above are Riesling-based. There is no doubt that the noble grape can produce impressive quality wines at reasonable prices, though this remains somewhat of a fine wine trade secret (when compared with the consumer popularity of other white grape varieties and styles).

The two whites from Alsace cover icon Riesling producers Hugel and Albert Mann. Germany’s entries comprise of the 2006 and 2007 vintages of Dr. Loosen Erdener Prälat Riesling Auslese Goldkapsel, which achieve WL Scores of 96 and 95 respectively.

Loosen’s four-acre Erdener Prälat vineyard has south-facing red slate soils, and a notably warm microclimate, which, combined with the warming effect of the river and the heat-retaining cliffs that surround it, ensures ripeness in every vintage. The 2006 Dr. Loosen Erdener Prälat Riesling Auslese Goldkapsel can be purchased from Lay & Wheeler for £47 (per bottle in-bond).

To discover more of Wine Lister’s Hidden gem MUST BUYs, click here.


From bargains to blowouts: white Burgundy at five different price points

As shown in a recent post on using Wine Lister to build your portfolio, Burgundy is the best-represented region of Wine Lister’s MUST BUY hoard (33%, or 533 wines). 10% of these (161 wines) are white Burgundies, that show high quality and good value within their respective vintages and appellations. These wines cover a vast range of prices, from £15 (per bottle in-bond) up to £1,354.

This week’s blog post examines white Burgundy MUST BUYs at five different price points, to help the hunt of those buying fine wine at every level.

Prices are shown per bottle in-bond (when buying by the case).

Under £20 – 2016 Domaine A. & P. de Villaine Bouzeron

Bouzeron’s location in the north of the Côte Chalonnaise provides the setting for Aubert de Villaine’s personal project – one with a humbler reputation than that of his magnum opus, Domaine de la Romanée-Conti. Dispelling the region’s once-unfavourable reputation, de Villaine’s restricted yields and hand-harvesting produces top quality Aligoté Doré. The 2016 vintage achieves a WL Score of 90, and was described by Neal Martin as having “a touch of salinity towards the finish with judicious hints of stem ginger and a hint of rhubarb”. This wine is available to purchase from Justerini & Brooks, where a case of six starts at £90 (in-bond).

Under £150 – 2015 Domaine Bonneau du Martray Corton-Charlemagne

Bonneau du Martray is the largest single owner of vines in Corton-Charlemagne – an appellation that is often said to rival Montrachet. The 2015 vintage was discussed in Wine Lister’s blog on the top 2015 white Burgundies by WL score, in which it was the second highest overall scorer. As of 2018, around 25% of Bonneau du Martray’s Corton-Charlemagne vineyards has been leased to Romanée-Conti – a factor that could drive its price up in the future. For now, this Corton-Charlemagne remains of exceedingly good value in the context of Grand Cru white Burgundy. The 2015 vintage can be purchased from UK merchants such as Goedhuis, where a case of six costs £916 (in-bond).

Under £350 – 2012 Domaine des Comtes Lafon Meursault Genevrières

Despite lacking the Grand Cru status held by Corton-Charlemagne, the higher cost of Domaine des Comtes Lafon’s Meursault Genevrières (Premier Cru) could in part be reflective of the increasing popularity of Meursault. Dominique Lafon is often considered one of the leading producers in Meursault, as reflected in his meticulous vinification process. Spending two winters in wood, and sleeping in some of the deepest and coldest cellars in the region, his wines are bottled nearly two years after harvest – one of the latest bottlings in Burgundy. Achieving a WL score of 94 and ‘Investment Staple’ status, the 2012 vintage is available to purchase from Four Walls Wine Co., where a bottle costs £225 (in-bond).

Under £500 – 2017 Maison Joseph Drouhin Montrachet Marquis de Laguiche

The second Grand Cru white Burgundy examined here is more expensive than Bonneau du Martray’s Corton-Charlemagne, but nonetheless also good value – this time in the context of Montrachet specifically. Hailing from négociant house Joseph Drouhin, its Montrachet Marquis de Laguiche is priced around £432, while the average price of all Montrachet 2017s on Wine Lister is £1,249. Sourcing grapes from vineyards owned by the Laguiche family, the quality here is just as impressive as several Montrachet wines produced by Burgundy domains. Achieving a WL score of 95, the 2017 vintage was described by Jancis Robinson as “Creamy, deep, powerful and endlessly long”. This wine is available to purchase from Berry Bros. & Rudd, where a case of six bottles starts at £2,750 (in-bond).

Over £500 – 2015 Domaine Roulot Meursault Charmes

The “blowout” wine of this week’s selection is Domaine Roulot’s Meursault Charmes. Having assumed direction of the estate in 1989, Jean-Marc Roulot has been successful in fine-tuning the distinct style of wine developed by his father, Guy Roulot. While many other wines of this village exhibit richness and concentration, the 2015 Meursault Charmes reflects Jean-Marc’s commitment to achieving a brighter style of Meursault – one which expresses its terroir vividly. Speaking on his aversion to excessive lees-stirring, he says, “I prefer to lose a little volume and power on the palate in order to obtain the ‘ligne droite’ [straight line] and the purity. This haunting purity and directness is evident in every wine Roulot produces.” The wine is available from several UK merchants, including Morgan Classic Wines, and Fine+Rare, from which prices start from £425 (per bottle in-bond).


The wine collector’s toolbox – Wine Lister’s Vintage Value Identifier

Last week’s blog post examined two of the most popular Wine Lister website features amongst collectors: the MUST BUY recommendation tool and the Compare Tool. Wine Lister’s Vintage Value Identifier helps the modern wine collector to further refine their online investigations.

Featured on each wine page, the dynamic Vintage Value Identifier gives a clear visual of quality-to-price ratios across the vintages of a given wine, and applies a Value Pick Score to measure the relative value.

By performing the price analysis for you, this tool pinpoints exact vintages of your favourite wines that are the best options to buy or sell, based on the impressive quality for their price.

See the example of Montrose below, or by exploring its wine page here.

As indicated by the red dots, and values on the right-hand axis, Montrose’s Value Pick Score fluctuates between vintages. The 2004, 2007, 2009 and 2010 vintages share the lowest Value Pick Score (23), while the 2014 Montrose achieves the highest score of 28.

The 2014 vintage tends to represent excellent value across the board in Bordeaux. This is due to its good (if not excellent) quality overall, and its release after the lesser-quality 2013 (which kept release prices down). Montrose’s 2014 was awarded 96 points by Wine Lister partner critic, Neal Martin, who notes, “a bouquet that exudes class and sophistication: pure and mineral-driven black fruit, cedar and pencil lead, hints of blueberry developing with aeration although it never impedes upon the sense of terroir”.

While the true benefit of the Vintage Value Identifier lies in the Value Pick Score, it is still possible to view the pure price vs. quality analysis, as illustrated below:

While Montrose 2009 achieves the second-highest WL Score of the featured vintages, it also commands the highest price (£172 per bottle in-bond, when buying by the case). Achieving MUST BUY status, the 2014 vintage is conversely priced at £77 per bottle in-bond for a similar level of quality (hence the higher Value Pick Score). The 2014 Montrose is available to purchase from Corney & Barrow, Cult WinesJusterini & Brooks, and BI Fine Wines (the latter in magnums only).

Guiding your future purchases, you can identify good value in back vintages of any wines by using the Vintage Value Identifier on each wine’s page. Click here to start your own analysis.

Wine Lister is currently offering a range of portfolio analysis services to private clients. If you are interested in having your wine collection analysed by our team of fine wine data experts, please don’t hesitate to contact us.


The wine collector’s toolbox – using Wine Lister to build your portfolio

An Easter weekend on lockdown presents as good a time as ever to evaluate your wine collection. While it can be tricky to keep track of what you’ve got and when you should drink it, Wine Lister’s various online tools allow detailed analysis of your collection and can guide future purchases, whether for drinking or investment.

This week’s blog post examines two of the most popular Wine Lister website features amongst collectors, starting with the MUST BUY recommendation tool.

Wine Lister’s proprietary recommendation algorithm produces a dynamic list of wines with high quality that show value within their respective vintages and appellations, helping wine lovers buying at almost every level to make the best choices for their desired region, style, or vintage.

There are currently 1,665 MUST BUYs out of the 30,000+ labels on Wine Lister. See the chart below for a breakdown of MUST BUYs by region – an indication of what a diverse portfolio could look like for the modern collector.

While the same chart from a decade ago may have been dominated by Bordeaux, the global demand and secondary market values for Burgundy’s top wines have continued to spiral upwards. Burgundy represents the greatest percentage of MUST BUY wines, with red and white recommendations accounting for 33% of all MUST BUYs collectively. The red Burgundian MUST BUYs feature a range of prices starting from the most expensive, DRC’s Romanée-Conti 2015 (available at £14,500 per bottle in-bond), down to 64 wines priced at £100 or under, including Stéphane Magnien’s Clos Saint-Denis 2010 (available at £76 per bottle).

Bordeaux represents 13% of MUST BUYS, and also encompasses a wide range of prices, from six vintages of Petrus (with an average price of £1,990 per bottle) down to two vintages of Marsau (priced at £12 and £13 respectively). Tuscany, Piedmont, and the Rhône follow closely behind, while California makes up the largest proportion of New world MUST BUYs.

With so much MUST BUY choice available, you may wish to filter these by top regions, and then further by Wine Lister Indicator. For example, filter results by ‘Investment staples’ to see wines that are long-lived (but not too old), and have proven wine price performance, while staying relatively stable and liquid.

Wine Lister’s Compare tool can then further refine your investigation, by displaying your selected MUST BUYs side by side. This is illustrated below using three 2016 Saint-Estèphe MUST BUYsCos d’Estournel, Calon Ségur, and Montrose. While Calon Ségur appears to be the best value, Montrose has the highest scores from Wine Lister’s partner critics, and therefore the better WL score overall.

See the above comparison for yourself, or start your own wine comparison here.

Wine Lister is currently offering a range of portfolio analysis services to private clients, from detailed geographical split and further purchase advice, to investment forecasting and a fully-fledged “drink vs. sell” plan. If you are interested in having your wine collection analysed by our team of fine wine data experts, please don’t hesitate to contact us.


Quality across Crus Classés – the best Médoc MUST BUYs

As we spare a thought for Bordeaux during what would have been the 2019 en primeur tasting week, we continue to encourage our readers to investigate the abundance of physical vintages available from this noble region. This week we examine the top Bordeaux MUST BUYs in four of the five left bank classified growth groups.

Though the tasting and sale of 2019 may be postponed, 17 reds from last year’s en primeur campaign (2018) still appear in our top MUST BUYs selection, and are worth snapping up for future drinking. The impressive quality of recent physical vintages in Bordeaux, namely 2016 and 2015, is clear to see – each vintage earns 10 and nine MUST BUY places respectively in the Wine Leagues below.

Of the 222 Bordeaux wines that are currently identified as MUST BUYs, 97 are Médoc classified growths. Looking at the top 10 wines for ‘Cru Classé’ levels (second to fifth), WL scores indicate that the quality structure intended in the 1855 classification is perhaps not so rigid, now that modern winemaking techniques have more of an influence. For example, five wines in both the third and fourth growth groups earn 94 WL, and six wines among top fifth growths earn the same score.

These rankings are formulated by Wine Lister’s new interactive tool – Wine Leagues – which can be accessed here.

With a WL Score of 97, Montrose’s 2016 release takes the lead spot in the list of top Bordeaux second growth MUST BUYs. Awarded 98 points by Wine Lister partner critic, Antonio Galloni, and described as ‘a wine of pedigree, depth and character’, this wine comes at price of £111 (per bottle, in-bond, when buying by the case). Super-second Pichon Comtesse features three times – with 2016, 2010 and 2018 vintages present. The latter two vintages are available in-bond at Goedhuis & Co – the 2010 would make for a great lockdown indulgence, whilst the 2018 is an investment for future drinking.

Calon Ségur dominates the Bordeaux third growth wine league, occupying half of the top 10 spots with vintages 2005, 2009, 2014, 2015 and 2016. The average cost of these vintages is £71 (per bottle, in-bond). Palmer features twice, though at a higher price – its two listed vintages (2008 and 2010) are available at £204 and £155 respectively from  BI Fine Wine & Spirits.

The top Bordeaux fourth growth MUST BUY list is dominated by more recent vintages (2015-2018). Occupying the top two positions with its 2018 and 2016 releases, Branaire-Ducru has a notably good quality-to-price ratio. Both vintages achieve a WL Score of 94 at the cost of £38 per bottle (in-bond). The 2018 Branaire-Ducru achieved special mention in last year’s examination of WL MUST BUYs from Bordeaux en primeur 2018, as did Beychevelle. Both wines are available to purchase by the case (in-bond) at Albany Vintners.

Of the 18 Bordeaux fifth growths, eight achieve MUST BUY status. Grand-Puy-Lacoste achieves multiple entries on the League, with 2009, 2014, 2015 and 2016 all receiving a WL Score of 94. These four deliverable vintages are available from several UK merchants including Berry Bros & Rudd, where prices start from £245 for the 2014 vintage (per case of six in-bond). Described by Neal Martin as ‘one of the great vintages from this estate in the modern era’ the cost of the 2009 supersedes its descendants – a case of six bottles starts at £450 (in bond).

All users can see the standard Wine League page here. Pro users have access to a more extensive set of Leagues, and can log in to access here.