How to turn wine into an investment | Interview BFM

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Guillaume Sommerer : It's Friday, and before the weekend we wanted to talk to you today about pleasure investing and, more specifically, wine investing. Corentin Raynaud, Head of Sourcing and Châteaux Relations at U'Wine, is here to tell us more.  

You might not think about it, but wine can be an interesting investment, as it naturally increases in value over time, particularly when purchased en Primeur. Could you explain the advantages of buying en Primeur? 

Yes, Guillaume, with pleasure. 

Before answering, I'd just like to remind those who don't know what a Primeur wine is. In fact, it's a very young wine that's just started maturing and has just been put into barrels. It takes an average of 18 months for this wine to be bottled and ready for delivery. 

Now, to answer your question, the main advantage of buying en primeur is above all economic. Indeed, it's the only way to benefit from the best price in a wine's life cycle. The "primeur" exit price is lower than the price of the "deliverable" wine, i.e. wine ready for bottling.  

Buying early allows you to benefit from the wine's natural value later on. Conversely, buying wine at its peak often means buying at full price, once the wine has already appreciated in value. Buying en Primeur has always been part of our DNA at U'wine, as we believe it's one of the best ways to build up a cellar of great wines.

The other advantage of buying wines en Primeur is to have access to sometimes highly coveted wines that are no longer available after bottling, since everything has been sold.  

And given the quality of the 2022 vintage, this advantage is far from trivial. As you can see, this is a vintage that creates real buying pressure. Not everyone will have access to certain wines. 

The Primeurs 2022 campaign started a few weeks ago. What can you tell us about this vintage in terms of quality ? People are talking about the vintage of the century. Do you share this opinion ?  

What's certain is that what we sensed at harvest time has been confirmed by the tastings: 2022 will indeed be a great vintage in Bordeaux. A great vintage for laying down, one that will go down in history. 

It's always a bit tricky to compare a vintage that's only just come into being with monuments like '82, as people are saying all over the place. Time will tell. But there's no denying that 2022 has everything it takes to compete with these anthology vintages, that's for sure.  

 As for the style of the wines, there are two things to remember:  

• on the one hand, the wines have a lot of tannin, but tannin that is extremely pleasant to taste, very silky and very well integrated into the wines.
• and secondly, the alcohol/acidity balance is exceptional for such a sunny year. We didn't expect so much acidity in such a hot year. And it's acidity that brings freshness to the tasting. 

To sum up, 2022 is a promising vintage in terms of tasting, ageing potential and value. 

A fine vintage. What about the value-added potential? I imagine this depends in particular on the release price of these primeurs? 

The release price, of course, but also supply and demand.   

Demand is strong for 2022. As we can see at U'wine, our customers have been asking us for this campaign for a long time. It's been a few years since we've felt this kind of enthusiasm.  

As far as supply is concerned, we can say that it's very good, but not abundant in Bordeaux. Some estates had lower yields than in a normal year, due to the heat. However, this is not the case everywhere, and some Châteaux are very satisfied with the quantities produced, for example on the limestone plateau of Saint-Emilion. But on the whole, supply is not over-abundant.

With the quality of the wine and the sometimes limited quantities, this is a vintage that obviously won't be sold off. That said, even with prices on the rise, the potential value of 2022 remains very attractive. We can already say that, like '82, 2000 and 2005, this vintage will be a sure bet.

2022 could even appreciate in value a little faster than 1982, for example, since yields are lower, so scarcity could be created more quickly over time.

Very well, we take good note of your enthusiasm for this vintage. As someone who's had the chance to taste these wines, can you give us some guidance and share some of the estates and nuggets to bank on this year in particular ? 

As we said, this year's class average is very high.  

But without any surprises, I'd say that the great estates have all answered the call and released some very great wines. In particular, we can mention :   

• Château Montrose in Saint-Estèphe, unquestionably one of the wines of the vintage
• Haut-Brion in Pessac Léognan and Domaine de Chevalier in Pessac-Léognan, which has the merit of producing a great red wine and a great white wine.
• In Saint-Emilion, Figeac has produced a monumental wine with incredible precision,  
• And I'd like to mention Clos Fourtet in this appellation too,
• Malescot Saint-Exupéry in Margaux, an appellation that is doing very well this year.

As for more confidential properties, even if we're already talking about great Châteaux, that's also what we're looking for at U'wine. Find and follow the future stars of tomorrow, who offer very interesting quality/price ratios and significant ageing potential. 

I'm thinking, for example, of :  

• Haut-Bages Libéral in Pauillac, which continues to improve year after year, with great finesse,
• Lagrange, Langoa Barton, Branaire-Ducru in Saint-Julien,
• Beauregard in Pomerol,
• Jean-Faure in Saint-Emilion.

Very well, thank you Corentin for these recommendations ! Finally, we understand that 2022 promises to be exceptional in Bordeaux. What about the other regions ? Do you already have an idea ? 

Well, my opinion is a little broader at the moment, since we haven't tasted everything yet. Nevertheless, in talking to winemakers in Burgundy, the Northern Rhône, Languedoc-Roussillon and the Loire Valley, 2022 is a year that's putting a smile on everyone's face, in terms of both quantity and quality.  

It's this homogeneity that makes this vintage even more exceptional. The first tastings I've been lucky enough to make are really promising, so we'll keep watching. 

Discover our primeur selection.