Price increases in Burgundy haven't been news for some years now, but a dip into Wine-Searcher's database suggests that the rate of increase has now officially reached ludicrous proportions.
Last year we listed the most expensive red wines in Burgundy and they were painfully expensive; DRC's Romanée-Conti Grand Cru weighed in at $15,037 a bottle on average, making it easily the most expensive wine listed on Wine-Searcher. Meanwhile, Domaine Leroy Musigny was second at an average price of $7089 and the Roumier Musigny was third at $6197.
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Considering the list of the 10 most expensive Burgundy reds last year had enjoyed an average bump in price of 16.8 percent – and the top five had an average price increase of 17.85 percent – you'd think that things might have slowed down after such a hectic surge in price. You'd be wrong – very wrong.
In July this year, fine wine index Liv-ex had Burgundy's top wines increasing in value by 23.7 percent year on year, but that doesn't tell half the story. Burgundy's most expensive wines currently listed on Wine-Searcher have increased in price by an astonishing 84.55 percent on average since we last looked at them.
Think about that number for a moment; if anyone offered you returns of 50 percent on your investment in a single year you'd think they had a tile loose. If they offered you in excess of 80 percent return, you'd be forgiven for hightailing it to the nearest financial regulator. But that's the plain story of Burgundy in the past year.
If it's unicorn wines you're after – small supply, great reputation, massive demand, steepling prices – Burgundy is the unicorn stud farm. No region breeds as many or such powerful examples. But the usual suspect – DRC, which is perennially Wine-Searcher's most expensive wine – is actually the worst performer this year. It has risen by a relatively paltry 31 percent in average price, from $15,037 to a still impressive $19,653. Impressive, but not breath-taking, although it remains top of the list.
For breath-taking, you need to look at the second most expensive wine on the list, the Leroy Musigny. Last year, it was less than half the price of DRC at an average of $7089; today, it is within $1200 of its peer. It has enjoyed the most spectacular increase of all in the past year, leaping by a whopping 161 percent to sit at an average price of $18,546. Again, think about that return: if you'd bought a case of 12 last year, your $85,068 investment would now be worth $222,552. If that's not MVP-level performance, I don't know what is.
And it's not just one wine doubling in value year-on-year; the Leroy Chambertin might have slipped a place from fourth to fifth over the year, but its average price grew by 115 percent, from $4128 a bottle to $8873. Its sister wine, the Romanée-Saint-Vivant, leapt from $2668 last year to $5408 this year, a jump of 103 percent.
Leroy would appear to be the winery of the moment, with six wines on the list. It's a perception strengthened by the performance of one of its whites; the Leroy Chevalier-Montrachet has gone from an average price of $3647 to $6554, a climb of 80 percent. Richebourg sits in 8th place, with an average price of $6236, a jump of 76 percent, while the Leroy Domaine d'Auvenay Mazis-Chambertin is in 9th spot on $5747, a rise of 81.5 percent.
As for the rest of the list, the Roumier Musigny is still in third place on the list, but its average price has soared by 97 percent to $12,198. Domaine Leflaive Montrachet has also been impressive, appreciating by some 56 percent, from $6532 to $10,225. The last white on the list, DRC's Montrachet, had the second-lowest increase, rising a still-astonishing 45 percent, from $5244 to $7591.
So where are the next big bolters coming from? Bordeaux's returns have been much more modest, while even Napa – a happy hunting ground for unicorn fans for many years now – "only" managed a 19.8 percent increase in the past 12 months, so it's left to Burgundy to produce the thoroughbreds of the species.
Looking at the star performers can offer hints – as the more rarefied wines disappear, the "lesser" wines can become more attractive. For example, the Leroy Corton Les Renardes is available in Wally's Wine & Spirits in LA for $1900, which looks pretty good against an average worldwide price of $2855, especially for a wine that has bumped up its average price by 46.2 percent in the past year. Although, it must be pointed out that the wine is simply an example and we do not offer investment advice here at Wine-Searcher, we simply point out wines that are performing beyond the usual parameters.
It's all very well admiring these magnificent creatures from a distance, but the important question is how on earth do you get your hands on a piece of the action? Well, there are few more useful weapons in a unicorn hunter's arsenal than Wine-Searcher. While availability is generally declining for these wines, our search pages are probably the best place to start your safari. Good hunting
