Increased interest online across both banks
Wine Lister’s annual in-depth study shines a spotlight on the pattern of increased interest in some Bordeaux wines over the past two years, with key properties across appellations seeing elevated popularity during the pandemic.
Wine Lister Leagues 2021: the Biggest Movers in search rank – Wine Lister’s measure of popularity (p.6)
Using monthly search data from the most-visited wine website in the world, Wine-Searcher, Wine Lister’s Biggest Movers highlight wines whose online search rank has improved the most between October 2019 and October 2021 (within the top 100 most popular wines).
Which wines have seen the greatest increase in online popularity over the last two years?
The list of top 12 popularity movers comprises a range of price points, reflecting the broad spectrum of online fine wine enthusiasts, from cult classics to up-and-coming wines to watch. The findings indicate that appetite for Bordeaux has not waned, with increasing searches for Bordeaux bottles correlating to the success of the last two en primeur campaigns, within the context of a global pandemic.
Right Bank recognition
Rising 30 places, Canon was the biggest popularity mover, and takes first place in the League. Indeed, in February 2021, Wine Lister’s annual Founding Members Bordeaux survey revealed the trade’s opinion of Canon as having the most potential to see the greatest increase in demand in the near-to mid-term; naming Figeac a close second, which secures eighth position in this year’s Biggest Movers League.
Pomerol continues to prove popular – alongside Figeac, Lafleur has moved up 20 places, to sixth position in the League, while Jean-Pierre Moueix’s La Fleur-Pétrus is also featured, in 10th place.
Left Bank elevation
Two Pessac-Léognan properties appear in the top 12 Biggest Movers, with Smith Haut Lafitte and Domaine de Chevalier landing in fifth and seventh place respectively. Smith Haut Lafitte red 2020 received its highest score from Wine Lister partner critic, Antonio Galloni (for Vinous) of 95-97 points since the celebrated 2016 vintage – on release en primeur in June this year, it was announced that the bottles will sport special edition labels, marking owners’ Florence and Daniel Cathiard’s 30th harvest, and 655 years of the property.
Representing Saint-Julien, Léoville Poyferré and Branaire-Ducru have seen upward quality and popularity trajectories in recent years. With the latter boasting another 17-point score from Jancisrobinson.com for the 2020 vintage, the property continues to offer notable value for its quality.
Popular picks beyond Bordeaux
Harlan is the only non-French Biggest Mover this year, not least thanks to Will Harlan and his team’s conscientious efforts to maintain strong connections with the European fine wine trade. The only champagne to be featured in the League – Taittinger Comtes de Champagne Blanc de Blanc – has a strong reputation within the industry as one of the most tradeable Grandes Marques, with investment appeal encouraging its search rank to increase by 30 places in the past two years. The wine has gained further attention from the collector market following the postponed release of the landmark 2008 vintage, in October 2020.
A popular choice amongst the trade, Rayas’ Châteauneuf-du-Pape is cited in both Wine Lister’s articles on Drinking with experts: your favourite sommeliers’ favourite wines and Drinking with experts: your favourite winemakers’ favourite wines, and jumps an impressive 23 places in search rank, while collector’s favourite, Comte Georges de Vogüé Musigny climbs 14 places, to 11th in the League.
For the full analysis, download your free copy of Wine Lister’s 2021 Leagues here.
The insider’s guide to fine wine trends, and the most compelling wines to watch
Wine Lister has released its second annual Wine Leagues, celebrating some of the top-performing wines and producers in today’s new and much-diversified fine wine era. Informed by an in-depth trade survey with leading industry figures, the report provides a 360° view of those regions, producers, and wines that have seen strides in quality, popularity, economic promise, and more in 2021.
Wine Lister’s annual in-depth survey sees our expert panel of 47 CEOs, MDs, and wine department heads share their insight on some of the fine wines to have on your radar, as we ask them:
“What are the most compelling wines and producers in the market today?”
Respondents singled out 188 wines and producers collectively, that span no less than 20 major regions. Within the list, our team identifies Bibi Graetz, Les Carmes Haut-Brion, Roberto Voerzio, Berthaut-Gerbet, and Fürst as wines to watch in the Old World, whilst calling out the New World wonders of Catena Zapata, Errazuriz, Pedro Parra, Rhys Vineyards, and Ridge Vineyards.
The report also includes rankings across:
- Biggest quality improvers, which show impressive movement from Italy (occupying five places in the list of the top 20 by Quality score progression), with Isole e Olena Chianti Classico leading the pack
- Best search rank movers, wherein Bordeaux represents eight of the top 20 wines whose popularity has increased most in terms of online searches (including Smith Haut Lafitte, Domaine de Chevalier, Figeac, and Léoville Poyferré)
- Burgundy superstars, focusing on popularity movements from the trade’s darling region – Arnoux-Lachaux features 10 times in the list of top 20 Burgundian wines whose online searches have increased the most over the last two years
- Wine Lister’s top-10 recommendations per Wine Lister Indicator; Hidden Gems, Value Picks, Buzz Brands, and Investment Staples in 2021
For the full analysis, download your free copy of Wine Lister’s 2021 Leagues here.
In an industry so defined by the art of its craft, the limit of crunching numbers often starts and ends for wineries in vat rooms and through lab panels. Wine Lister was founded on a guiding principle that while wine is a mystical liquid, that lives and breathes, that can transcend facts and figures and contribute mightily to the human experience, there are also plain truths to be found in data analytics for both consumers and producers alike. It is on this basis that we have built a strong following of website users – collectors eager to follow trends of the secondary market, and professionals keeping abreast of the latest analyses – but also liked-minded producer clients, who find value in Wine Lister’s benchmarking and bespoke analytics solutions.
Wine Lister’s benchmarking solution relies on 14 separate data points across three areas in the life of a fine wine – Quality, Brand, and Economics – as well as qualitative trade panel feedback (through an unparalleled network from founder Ella Lister’s years as a fine wine journalist) to assess a wine’s 360° positioning in the global marketplace. Measured annually, Wine Lister’s benchmarking service enables continuous measurement of a wine within its global competitive environment, and results in a reliable, tangible reflection of progress, and ideas for the strategy path forward. Indeed, long-time Wine Lister client Don Weaver of Harlan Estate recently reflected that “It was a natural growth [to work with Wine Lister], another coming of age of our business… As we’ve matured as a business and penetrated further out into the market, we realised that we needed analytics coming back to us, and we needed best practices in our business. We can’t do everything, so we looked at Wine Lister to help us see things through different eyes.”
Such analytical rigour has resulted in numerous actionable insights for our clients, from assisting one client in increasing its journalistic coverage in a foreign market where it was underrepresented compared to peers, to a pricing strategy update for another that balanced the producer’s own interests while maintaining market confidence.
Once findings are identified, clients of Wine Lister can choose to investigate further, by supplying some of their own internal data to our analysts, enabling us to conduct deep-dives on topics as wide-ranging as customer retention, social media and communications effectiveness, or individual release price positioning. The benchmarking analysis is thus a base on which Wine Lister builds long-term relationships with its clients, helping them take their wine to the next level.
For more information, see our producer services page, or contact us for a free 30-minute consultation.
As 2020 draws to a close, Wine Lister has compiled a report celebrating the top-performing wines and producers within a series of categories over the past year. Using our axes of Quality, Brand, and Economics, and the several factors that constitute these values, we have created seven leagues that paint a panoramic view of some of the world’s best wines, ranked within their areas of excellence.
Wine Lister’s 2020 Leagues include rankings of Quality Consistency (wines that show the smallest standard deviation between Quality scores over the last 20 vintages), and Biggest Movers (wines whose popularity has increased most in terms of online searches over the past year). Our team has also put together its top-10 wines per Wine Lister Indicator, revealing our recommendations for Hidden Gems, Value Picks, Buzz Brands, and Investment Staples.
We end the Leagues with a list of 21 Ultimate MUST BUYs for 2021, compiling a selection of MUST BUY highlights hand-picked by our fine wine experts, that offer an impressive addition to any fine wine portfolio in 2021. These are some of the picks that would feature in Wine Lister’s “fantasy cellar”.
Download your free copy of Wine Lister’s 2020 Leagues here.
Before the bulk of Burgundy en primeur 2019s are released onto the market, Wine Lister has published its second in-depth Burgundy study.
Below we explore the complex relationship between the region’s price performance and its popularity growth over the past two years, informing your investment decisions over the coming months.
The two-year price performance of a basket of 175 Burgundy wines (the same wines featured in our previous study on the region in 2018), based on the last 30 vintages. Price data partner: Wine Owners.
As shown in the chart above, Chambolle and its surrounding sites lead in the price performance of Burgundy Grand Crus, followed by wines hailing from its northerly neighbour, Morey-Saint-Denis. The notorious sub-set of Grand Crus from around Vosne – home of legendary Richebourg, La Tâche, Echezeaux, and Romanée-Conti – has seen slower price performance, which is matched with lower popularity growth (see below).
The two-year popularity growth of each Burgundy subset. Popularity data partner: Wine-Searcher.
Though Chambolle and its surrounding Grand Crus have excelled in two-year price growth, consumer interest in the wines of this subset increased the least. Following similarly this opposing relationship between the two data sets, Nuits-Saint-Georges / Vosne Premiers Crus and Village wines gained the most popularity over the last two years by a large margin, while the subset’s price performance trails behind in last place.
A growing interest in lower-priced wines from Burgundy is further explored through trends identified by key members of the international fine wine trade in Wine Lister’s report. Producers such as Arnoux-Lachaux and Georges Mugneret-Gibourg are well worth looking out for when buying Burgundy en primeur for drinking in several years’ time.
Visit the Analysis page to purchase Wine Lister’s in-depth 2020 Burgundy study, or download it using your Pro subscription here (available in both English and French).
Many wine lovers like us have been making the most of lockdown to explore outside of the more traditional wine-growing regions and grape varieties. Wine Lister’s new cellar analysis service can include tailored guidance on future purchases for drinking or investment, providing recommendations for top-quality wines from alternative producers and regions.
To help you discover some of these brilliant New World picks, the Wine Lister team has put together a short selection of MUST BUYs that have exhibited a recent rise in popularity, as established through search frequency data from Wine-Searcher.
Australia to ask for – 2014 Cullen Diana Madeline
Founded in 1971, the Cullen Estate has maintained concern for its environment since its inception, keeping both chemical intervention and irrigation to a minimum. In 1998, the estate adopted an organic viticulture, which was further developed into a biodynamic practice in 2008. Winemaker, Vanya Cullen, states the biodynamic approach to harnessing Earth’s energy “achieves greater individuality of site through working with nature rather than against it”, suggesting its ability to better display terroir and climate. The estate’s flagship wine, Diana Madeline, comprises a blend of 89% Cabernet Sauvignon with small amounts of Petit Verdot, Merlot, Malbec, and Cabernet Franc in 2014. With a WL score of 95 at £50 per bottle (in-bond), it is described by Wine Lister partner critic, Jancis Robinson, as “refined and elegant”, and displaying “great harmony”. It can be bought by the case of 12 from BI Fine Wine & Spirits.
Argentina to acquire – 2015 Bodega Catena Zapata Nicolás Catena Zapata
Nicolás Catena Zapata helped pioneer the use of European winemaking techniques in Argentina’s high altitudes, following in the footsteps of his grandfather, Nicola Catena – an Italian immigrant who founded the winery in 1902. The inaugural vintage of the namesake wine (1997) was debuted in the USA and Europe at a series of blind tastings, where it received comparison to First Growths Latour and Haut-Brion, and achieved either first or second place in every event. Composed of 83% Cabernet Sauvignon and 17% Malbec in 2015, Nicolás Catena Zapata grapes are fermented in 100% French Oak barrels for 15 days. Fermentation temperatures are kept low, to extract pronounced aromas, while cap management is done by hand to encourage the extraction of nuanced flavours and gentle tannins. The 2015 Nicolás Catena Zapata receives a WL score of 94, at £49 per bottle (in-bond), and can be acquired by the case of 12 from Fine+Rare Wines.
California to call upon – 2010 Dominus Estate Dominus
Owned by Christian Moueix (of Petrus fame), Dominus Estate demonstrates its prestigious proprietorship with one of the highest quality Bordeaux blends in California. Comprised of 95% Cabernet Sauvignon, and 5% Petit Verdot, the 2010 Dominus Estate Dominus was produced in the smallest quantities known to the property since its 1984 vintage – consequential of a rigorous selection of lots for the final blend. Wine Lister partner critic, Antonio Galloni, calls the 2010 “a towering, utterly magnificent wine”, describing “asphalt, licorice, menthol, plums and cassis” that “wrap around the palate and never let up”. With a WL score of 98, at £233 per bottle (in-bond), it can be aged for another 20 years, and is available to purchase by the case of six from Corney & Barrow.
Chile to chase – 2014 Seña
A blend of 60% Cabernet Sauvignon, 16% Carménère, 11% Malbec, 8% Merlot, and 5% Petit Verdot, the 2014 Seña was described by WL partner critic, Jeannie Cho Lee as a “fabulous wine that offers layers of flavors that range from exotic spices, rose petals and violets to blackberries and fresh herbs”. Owner Eduardo Chadwick tells us of his addition of the late-ripening Petit Verdot, which adds spice and complexity to the wine. With extremely fine-grained tannins and acidity, thanks to its cool climate, the wine has received several comparisons with top Bordeaux blends. Achieving a WL score of 96, at £78 per bottle (in-bond), the 2014 Seña can be bought by the case of six from Lay & Wheeler.
New Zealand worth knowing – 2014 Kumeu River Maté’s Vineyard Chardonnay
Achieving a WL score of 94 at £38 per bottle (in-bond), the 2014 Kumeu River Maté’s Vineyard Chardonnay constitutes a good value New World Chardonnay with excellent ageing potential (it can be aged for a further 10 years). Wine Lister partner critic, Neal Martin, describes the 2014 vintage as having “a riveting, brilliantly defined bouquet of oyster shell, citrus peel and apple blossom”, concluding that it is “world-class stuff”. Having taken over the estate from his Dalmatian father, Maté, in 1982, Kumeu River director, Michael Brajkovich, was the first New Zealander to become a Master of Wine, and used his knowledge to develop its viticulture through improving drainage, growing grass between the vines, and introducing a Lyre trellis system. Named after Michael’s late father, the 2014 Kumeu River Maté’s Vineyard Chardonnay is available to purchase by the bottle from Lay & Wheeler.
Also featured in the above MUST BUY recommendations are: 2016 Ridge Vineyards Geyserville, 2015 Ben Glaetzer Amon-Ra, 2014 Colgin Cellars IX Estate Red, 2013 Kay Brothers Amery Vineyards Block 6 Shiraz, 2013 Leeuwin Estate Art Series Chardonnay, 2011 Viña Almaviva, and 2009 Viñedo Chadwick.
For bespoke fine wine purchase recommendations, as well as advice on creating the financial room with re-sale suggestions, get in touch with our team at team@wine-lister.com, or download the full Cellar Analysis information pack.
Part I of Wine Lister’s annual in-depth Bordeaux report: For better, for worse, examines the state of the market for Bordeaux wines, in the context of 2019 en primeur.
As well as providing insight into the wine trade’s latest position on key wines of the region, the study examines Bordeaux’s disconnect between consumer popularity and its market performance at the start of 2020 (exacerbated by recent macro-economic hits to the UK, Hong Kong, and the US).
As illustrated below, Bordeaux has achieved the slowest price growth on the secondary market since May 2014, while Piedmont has seen the most impressive growth – likely due to increasing attention given to the region, and the rarity factor of many of its top wines, from which Burgundy also benefits.
The price performance of Bordeaux compared to four other key fine wine regions: Burgundy, California, Piedmont, and Tuscany. The price indices comprise the top five wine brands in each respective region.
A glance at its price performance since May 2019 tells a similar, if more unnerving story – Bordeaux has floundered over the past year, down nearly 5%.
Despite its price performance difficulties, Bordeaux nonetheless continues its legacy as the most popular wine region by a large margin, based on monthly searches made on Wine-Searcher.
The average search rank of Bordeaux compared to four other key fine wine regions: Burgundy, California, Piedmont, and Tuscany. Results are based on the average searches on Wine-Searcher for the 50 top-scoring wines per region over the last year.
Irrespective of its price performance struggles, Bordeaux remains a focus of fine wine buyers – within the trade and beyond – all over the world. The en primeur campaign is a wheel that just keeps on turning, even in spite of a global pandemic. Trade and consumers alike can’t help but back Bordeaux, for richer and poorer.
More insight into the success of the 2019 en primeur campaign will be included in Part II of this study. In the meantime, visit the Analysis page to purchase Part I, or download using your Pro subscription (available in both English and French).
As en primeur 2018 picks up pace, we consider the 10 Bordeaux wines that any fine wine collector should acquire for their collection. These are based on the results of Wine Lister’s latest Founding Member survey, gathering the views of over 50 key players in the global fine wine trade.
You can download this slide here: 10 must have Bordeaux wines for your collection
At the end of November Wine Lister spent three days in Burgundy meeting with producers across the length of the Côte d’Or. With more wine in their barrel cellars than for a very long time (in some cases more than ever), the mood was light and easy. The 2017 vintage saw the first normal-sized crop since 2009 (and 2018 was even more generous). “It’s the first year we’ve had barrels three rows high,” marvelled Thibaut Gagey as he showed me round Maison Louis Jadot’s vast cellars in Beaune, currently housing a record 6,000 fûts.
Thibaut Gagey in the Maison Louis Jadot cellars
The 2017 vintage is a “belle surprise” for Gagey, who admits, “we weren’t very confident at first.” This pleasant surprise was something expressed time and again by growers during our tastings of 2017 from barrel. With Burgundy Week about to unfold, here we look back over some of those conversations.
In Volnay, Guillaume d’Angerville calls the 2017 “a huge positive surprise.” He explained that “a lot of people had discounted the vintage early on,” because “they thought it would be diluted.” Our tastings, at Domaine d’Angerville and elsewhere, proved this supposition to be mistaken, the wines having taken on weight and complexity during their élevage. Jasper Morris MW refers to 2017 wines as “relatively homogenous, some with more concentration and others with less.” Either way, the wines are juicy, luminous, and downright delightful.
Tasting from barrel with Guillaume d’Angerville
Boris Champy, Manager at Domaine des Lambrays, calls the vintage both “classic” and “modern” at once, because he believes there’ll be many like it in the future. He compared 2017 to 2009. Angerville is reminded of the “tenderness” of 2007 (“but more substantial”) and the “harmony and elegance” of 2002 or 2010. “It’s going to give a lot of pleasure,” he pronounced. Gagey also cited 2007 for its positive surprise factor, and 2014 for its “accessibility”. The immediate pleasure these wines offer up is almost disconcerting, but this early approachability does not mean they won’t age. The 2017 might not be the longest-lived vintage, but it has everything in place for a good innings.
However, it “won’t be the vintage of the century,” Gagey states. “What it doesn’t have is that extra grip, depth, and drive of a great vintage,” confirms Morris. Meanwhile, the whites are superlative. “Apart from 2014,” Morris calls it the “most consistently good white vintage for a long time.”
The growing season was early, but otherwise unexceptional, apart, of course, from the threat of frost once more rearing its ugly head. This time, though, the Burgundians fought their nemesis with a thick veil of smoke. The fires they lit around their vineyards may have served to raise the temperature a fraction, but just as importantly, their smoke prevented the morning sun being magnified through the ice and burning the buds. And so, apart from in Chablis, yields were back to normal levels.
One might assume therefore that prices will come down – after all, the consistent increases over the last eight years have been put down to limited supply. This would be naïve, though, with global demand and secondary market values for Burgundy’s top wines continuing to spiral upwards, even to the bewilderment of some Burgundians (after the record-breaking results of the latest Hospices de Beaune auction of 2018 wines in November, Louis-Fabrice Latour, president of the BIVB (Bureau interprofessionnel des vins de Bourgogne), said he was “surprised prices went up, and by so much”).
The fact is, momentum is with Burgundy. The region’s top 50 wines grew in popularity by 26% over the last year, while Bordeaux’s search rank on Wine-Searcher remained stable, and other regions saw search levels drop. This means that top producers can almost certainly raise prices again this year and still sell through. We spoke to a few domaines who planned to do so, and some by significant margins. Mostly, though, prices should be flat on 2016 or see only modest increases (less than 10% up on 2016 prices). A minority have even come down in price. Either way, this is surely a vintage worth getting your hands on for unadulterated drinking pleasure.
Wine Lister’s Burgundy Market Study published this time last year for subscribers is now free for all to read. Download it in English or in French.
At the beginning of this new year, Wine Lister is prolonging the festive sparkle through a look at the major trends to emerge from our first Champagne report. Wine Lister’s Champagne study analyses a basket of 109 top wines from the world’s premier sparkling region, and includes insight into the major trends of the Champagne market as identified by Wine Lister Founding Members (c.50 key players in the international fine wine trade).
While quality across the board is something to keep us celebrating well in to 2019 (see more on this here), the notable trends could indicate an increase in year-round enjoyment of Champagne. The chart below shows responses to our question, “What are the most important trends in Champagne?” by number of votes.
The trend most-frequently ranked as number one or two by Wine Lister Founding Members was the rise of grower Champagnes, closely followed by the increased emphasis on terroir / site Champagnes. One U.K. merchant remarked that “Consumers are now identifying with specific terroir in Champagne and understanding the value of the grower…” – a comment that further leads us to suspect an increased appreciation of Champagnes as wines, and not just celebratory bubbles.
The “rise of the grower” trend is, however, juxtaposed by continued demand for big brands. Of the basket of wines treated in the study, the grower Champagne segment has seen an increase in popularity (measured by search rank) of 9% since the beginning of 2017. Though this performance is superior to the maison segment’s slight decline in popularity (-4%), grower Champagnes still sit twice as far down the popularity rankings, with an average search rank of 1,620 compared to 775.
Perhaps predictably, big brands still win the race when it comes down to the bottom line. A U.K. merchant commented, “Small growers are getting much better press, but I suspect the big name cuvées still rule the roost for sales/investment”. Indeed, when asked to award confidence ratings to specific Champagne producers, the trade cited only one grower champagne within the top two confidence scores (9/10 and 8/10), Jacques Selosse. The houses to earn top confidence ratings were Dom Pérignon, Krug, Louis Roederer, Salon, Bollinger, Pol Roger, and Taittinger, as shown on the chart below.
A top tier merchant offers some explanation into the difference in picture painted between the top Champagne trend and Champagne confidence ratings: “Production needs to be small but not so small as to result in a proliferation of Champagnes which the vast majority have never heard of. The big brands which produce great quality are still finding serious demand in the market!”
For a more in-depth look at Champagne, subscribe or log-into read the full report here. Alternatively, all readers can access a five-page executive summary. (Both versions are also available to download in French).