More on fine wine prices

Back in 1984 a bottle of 1st growth Bordeaux bought pre-arrival from a good merchant cost about A$100 (up in famous vintages down in others). In recent years it has been more than A$400 ($700 in 2003). Adjusted for inflation it should be around A$225.

Looks like fine wine has been getting more expensive.

Rate of inflation in fine wine prices

How fast do fine wine prices rise ? Presumably above the rate of inflation, making them worthy of investment. My analysis suggests they are rising at far above the (US) inflation rate.

I found an old indent offer for 1982 Bordeaux, apparently published around late 1984. I entered the prices (which included tax and duty) for several wines for which I also had pre-arrival prices from the 2000 vintage. Both vintages were hot, with high demand so seemed fair comparisons.

The wines were:
Chateau Palmer
L'Evangile
Leoville Poyferre
Haut Bailly
Figeac
Chasse Spleen
Haut Bages Averous

The combined 1982 vintage prices (in 1984) were A$228. The combined 2000 vintage prices were A$1767.

Adjusted for inflation (1984 - 2003) the same bundle of wines in 2003 should have cost only $400 !

In other words they should cost about double what a similar group of young wines should have cost in 1984, but they actually cost about 8 times as much.

Now this seems ridiculous. Perhaps the 2000 prices were just absurdly high, even compared to 1982. So with a different bundle of wines I compared 1982 to 2004 (2004 had prices way down on 2000). The wines were:
Palmer
L'Evangile
Leoville Poyferre
Margaux
Lafite
Haut Brion
Pavie
Pichon Baron

The 1982 bundle was $527, and the 2004 bundle was $1410. Inflation adjusted the 1982 vintage bundle should cost only $975 in 2005. Again fine wine price rises way above inflation.

And is it really fair to compare the stellar 1982 vintage with the fairly good value vintage of 2004 ?

Also I'm using prices in Australia (which are subject to changes in Australian tax and some local costs) but a US inflation adjustment. I found an Australian inflation adjustor and while it gives a higher current value of the 1982 bundle of $1200 there seems little doubt that fine wine prices are outpacing inflation.

PS the Australian inflation adjustor says the first 1982 bundle should cost less than $500 in 2003 (not the $1700 that the 2000 vintage wines actually sold for).

New World wine lake ?

Adelaide newspaper The Advertiser reports that Australian wineries currently have one billion litres of unsold wine, equivilent to 2/3rds of the 2005 vintage with a record 2006 harvest about to begin.

With bumper harvests in California too there is a lot of unsold wine sloshing around. Grape growers will feel the pain of drastically reduced prices for their grapes. While consumers should see some price reductions too, as wine brands fiercely compete for custom.

But I don't expect fine wine prices to fall, they never seem to.

The Wilson Vineyard Polish Hill Shiraz 2001 (review)

84 points

Polish Hill, Clare, South Australia.

Nice label. Stelvin screwcap.

A brambly shiraz built for the long term - sort of but rather old fashioned aromas and flavours of milky lanolin oak and tartaric acid. Young but old (fashioned).

Chateau Patache d'Aux 1996 & 2000 (review)

88 points/ pnts

Medoc, Bordeaux, France.

This is near the bottom of the Bordeaux fine wine pyramid. One of the better cru bourgeois chateaux of the Medoc, that can be bought en primeur or pre-arrival in Australia for $25.

1996 was a good vintage for parts of the Medoc, and cabernet in particular. This wine has an unusually low proportion of Merlot in the blend (only 20% in 1996, 30% in 2000) with 70% cabernet sauvignon.

At almost 10 years of age this is drinking very well. Fully integrated oak. Soft yet reasonably flavoursome, with nice touches of leather and only the slightest oxidation. Everything I'd hope for in a wine at this price level. Savoury, food friendly.

2000 'perhaps the greatest vintage ever' is a slightly bigger wine (note the 13% alcohol on the label, personally I think the wine probably doesn't quite reach this level). There is a slight hard greenness (vegetal rather than herbaceous super green like old NZ cabernets) which makes me wonder if the 1996 is/was not the better wine.

Paired against the older wine this now smells of oak esters - marzipan and a touch of 'Frangelico' liqueur. It wouldn't smell like this without its partner wine alongside. Interesting, highlights the value of vertical tastings.

Having seen how gracefully the 1996 developed I'm much more upbeat about this 2000. Previously I'd thought it a bit dilute and green.

All in all, good quality humble fine Bordeaux. A contrast to the unbalanced power of most cheaper New World cabernets.

Guigal Cotes du Rhone 2003

87 points

Southern Rhone, France. 13%

Surprisingly approachable and not at all baked or hefty. Very well handled fruit given the extraordinarily hot vintage. There is tannin certainly but it isn't immediately obvious. The wine is already drinking well, and will presumably gain a little complexity over the next 5 years.

Slightly sweeter than the Crozes-Hermitage (reviewed below), also more body.

If you want a $20 French wine that won't disappoint your guests (esp those not familiar with French wines) then this is your wine. Very good for what it is, though I am a little puzzled by its popularity in Australia (where there are similar but more flavourful competitors).

M Chapoutier 'Les Meysonniers' Crozes-Hermitage 2000

84 points

Southern Rhone, France. 13%

I was surpirsed to see flashes of crimson when I first poured this - at almost 6 years of age, in a v.good but not outstanding vintage and for one of the earliest drinking of Northern Rhone appellations. The wine has ever so slightly above average acidity which may explain the good colour.

This is a well made food friendly wine without great varietal character, weight, or concentration. Pretty good for what it is.

Top wines tasted in 2005

The top 3 wines on this blog were:
Chateau Lafite Rothschild 2002 and Chateau Mouton Rothschild 2002
Rockford Basket Press Shiraz 1996


For the commercial wine of the year I'd nominate Tyrrells Rufus Stone Heathcote Shiraz 2003.

I've picked over the blog to list all the 90+ point wines that there is a not unreasonable chance of being able to buy still.

Brini Blewitt Springs Shiraz 2002

Chateau Leoville Las Cases 2001

Rockford Moppa Springs 1999

Wolf Blass Grey Label Shiraz 2002

Tresmoulis 2000 Corbieres

Chateau Leoville Barton 2001 and 1999

Massena Grenache Shiraz Mataro 2004

Moss Wood Cabernet 2001

Mr Riggs Shiraz 2003

Tyrrells Rufus Stone Heathcote Shiraz 2003

Robert Chevillon Nuits St-Georges 'Les Roncieres' 2002

Chateau Croix de Gay 2001

Roger Sabon Chateauneuf de Pape 'cuvee prestige' 2000

Voyager Estate shiraz 2002

Torbreck The Struie shiraz 2003

Browns of Padthaway Ernest shiraz 2002

Peter Lehmann 8 songs shiraz 2000

Chateau Rollan de By 2001

Henriques & Henriques Madeira Malmsy 15 yo

Greenock Creek apricot block shiraz 1999

Chateau Senechaux Chateauneuf-Du-Pape 2001

Winter Creek Barossa Shiraz 2002

Laurona 2000
Chateau Potensac 2000

Noon Eclipse 2003

This wine is one we rarely get to taste. They open the cellar door for 2 weekends and sell out. Some friends of mine did the line up and waiting, so we tried it last night after a day of eating and drinking more mediocre wines.

88 points

Some people would give this wine much higher ratings, and I have to admit it is easy to drink and very powerful. It has very ripe red fruits, not really overextracted, but more port-like in the sense of ripeness. It has a bit of residual sugar, which though a bit strange reduces the potential alcohol a bit. I don't know what food I would recommend- we just drank while talking. The bottle doesn't say what the blend it, but it seemed to me to have mainly Shiraz with some very ripe Grenache.

Halliday's palate

In response to Byron's and other comments about Halliday's high rating of Melton's 2002 Cabernet: Halliday himself says he is 'generous' with his Australian tasting notes. The use of numerical scores for wines highlights the problems of rating scales in general (sorry to be so academic). When reading any wine writer's reviews, one must take into account the palate of the reviewer. We do so when reading Robert Parker, and should so the same with Halliday. He is easily overcome by high fruit and alcohol levels as well as oak. He doesn't mind added acidity. I read a few more reviews of the 2002 Melton Cab. Most rated it below 95 and all praised it as a good example of Barossa Cab, none compared it to any classical style (Bordeaux) cabs.

Halliday does not taste blind; either did we, so our opinions have to be influenced by what we expect to be drinking and of course what our personal preferences are. I happen to like Barossa style wines, like Charles Melton, Rockford, and some of Torbreck's lower priced (and lower oaked) wines. It may have to do with familiarity (I don't drink much Bordeaux), but I really liked those 2 top Bordeaux. I guess I like ripe grapes and tanins on par with the fruit level of the wines. I don't shy away from higher alcohols like Byron (and Jordan Louviere), but I do like them in balance with the rest of the wine.

Chateau Saint-Michel 2000 (review)

77 points

Canon Fronsac, Bordeaux, France.

I'm a fan of Bordeaux but let me pan this wine because it reeks of acid (some added), making it really limey and rather poor to drink. The colour is great, and a deep sniff reveal marizipan but everything is let down on the palate.

I suspect that ripe grapes were let down by bad winemaking decisions.

1st Growth Wine Tasting

Chateau Puygueraud 2002 Bordeaux Cotes de Francs 87 points
Leconfield Coonawarra Cabernet 2004 83 points
Charles Melton Barossa Valley Cabernet 2002 87+ points
Chateau Lafite Rothschild 2002 Pauillac Bordeaux 95+ points
Chateau Mouton Rothschild 2002 Pauillac Bordeaux 93+ points
St Supery Cabernet 1999 Napa Valley 90 points

We started with the Puygueraud half bottle for context. A lovely fresh savoury light wine with some tannin. Should drink and age well over the next 5+ years. Lacks substantial concentration but is very food friendly still. Classic budget claret, excellent cafe/restaurant wine.

Leconfield Cabernet in comparision was all fresh sweet acidic fruit with considerable herbaceousness. Surprisingly approachable for such a young wine, very pleasant. Yet later when we came back to this wine it tasted green and unpleasant. Very interesting addition to the tasting.

Charles Melton's 2002 Cabernet was another stark contrast. I thought the nose was a bit like some classic Aussie reds of the past (many Cabernet Shiraz blends) warm and with a touch of grease paint - personally I found this quite attractive though it won't appeal to everyone. There was also quite a lot of other exotic oaky chocolate mocha aromas. Not a particularly varietal (cabernet) wine. A syrupy wine, like some South African wines. Pretty nice to drink even without food. Somewhat choclate milkshake in style. The alcohol is a bit hot and noticeable. Some poeple have used the word 'elegance' when describing Barossa cabernet from the cool balanced 2002 vintage - it's a bit of a stretch. Certainly though there is far less evident added acidity, the wines are fresher and will be less leathery with age. Drink now to enjoy the modern winemaking or leave for a few years for it to settle down into maybe a slightly less sweet traditional Australian red.

The nose on the Lafite was quite a shock I thought, in terms of power and concentration. It had the sort of lead pencil and blackcurrant aromas one should expect but the intensity was arresting. Without tasting this wine it is very obvious that it is extremely young, and is built to age. The colour, needless to say, was very dark and shiny. This is very concentrated but not at all syrupy or hefty. Very savoury with plenty of fine tannin. The first taste wiped my mouth clean of flavour, not to suggest that the wine is ethereal, but very tightly bundled and tannic. This wine has real breed, power without weight, and great complexity. It should age superbly and for a long while.

The Mouton was more exotic, a bit more clumsy (hardly a criticism given it is only a baby - perhaps one year in bottle) with sweeter mocha tones of oak. There also seems to be more alcohol, certainly a bit more gylcerol weight and the heroic tannins are more chewy. Very rich and pretty exciting. A bit more showy than the Lafite, serious wine but less classic. With time I expect the differences between these two wines will narrow a tad. Personally I think the sheer style and restraint of the Lafite is more exciting but it is very much down to personal taste. Nice to see difference in style between these neighbours.

St Supery 1999 was a pleasant relief compared to all of the very young wines above. Closer to a bordeaux than to the Australian wines, not syrupy and less hefty than many Californian wines I have tried. 13.8% alcohol which is not bad relatively speaking. Reminded me of some good quality NZ cabernets with well handled french oak and classic tiny touch of herbaceousness, classic winemaking. There is cool climate fruit here. The extra 3+ years in bottle this wine had over the others made it much more drinkable. A nice food wine; less savoury than bordeaux and far less concentrated and complex than the first growths.

LORINON Tinto Crianza Bodegas Breton 2001 (review)

88 points.

Rioja, Spain. 12.5%

Lovely soft squashy fruited Temprinillo. With a nice touch of savoury oak influence (I'm not sure how the Spanish do this with American oak). A very enjoyable wine. Without high alcohol.

An excellent cafe wine. Drink now or over the next year or two. $25.

PS 2001 was a very good vintage in Spain.

Red Nectar Barossa Valley Shiraz 2004 (review)

??

Barossa Valley, South Australia. 14%

Inky dark. A concentrated wine with some tart acidity. Honestly I find it near impossible to assess such a wine so young. Weird to think that probably 80% of this wine will be consumed within the next 6 months.

Murdock Coonawarra Cabernet Sauvignon 2000 (review)

87 points

Dark even colour, nice shine. Fruit driven aromas, brambley with mint. This is a sleek concentrated wine. Plenty of blackcurrant fruit, some nice gylcerol and restrained alcohol. It is very noticeably Coonawarra, but thankfully without over the top mintiness.

Very much a fruit driven wine. Quite lovely and approachable. With a reasonably long life ahead of it.

But if you prefer more serious savoury wine you'd wonder what all the fuss it about. This wine is a darling of the critics, James Halliday recently gave it 97 points. It's made by Peter Bissell the Qantas/Gourmet Traveller Wine magazine winemaker of the year (he makes Balnaves and Parker Estate).

What I like most about it is the restrained alcohol. It's a premium wine, a worthy competitor to the top Western Australian (and Californian) cabernets. A reminder that Coonawarra is one of the serious cabernet regions of the world.

What I don't like about it is the rather simple yet full throttle fruit flavour.

WAIT ON.. I wrote this before I had it with food.

Let me revise somewhat to say it is more old fashioned (eg added acid) and overt fruit than I give the impression (above). Wine critics ! They taste (rather than drink) too much - when they do they find it hard to revise their prior ratings (for many obvious and non-obvious reasons).

Bottom line - I won't buy another bottle. Even for the reduced (now around $35 - odd the price has been coming down in spite of the rave critic reviews) price.

Lengs & Cooter old vines Shiraz 2000 (review)

85 points

Clare Valley, South Australia. 14%

Not the Arnold Schwarzenegger, monolithic blockbuster, sort of wine I expected from this producer. Rather classic Clare flavours in a medium weight wine, with tartaric acid a background flavour (rather than a hard finish). Quite nice

Very soft, not creamy or svelte, virtually no tannin to speak of.

Voyager Estate Chenin Blanc 2004 (review)

79 points

Margaret River, Western Australia. 13%

Clean, very soft acids, some retained sugar, somewhat commercial. I hoped for something a bit more exciting from this producer.