En kasse Château Latour oppnår $ 16.350 på Sotheby's
13.04.08
Chãteau Latour case fetches $16,350 as Bordeaux Wines Rally
By Guy Collins
April 14 (Bloomberg) -- Prices for first-growth Bordeaux wines including Chateau Latour have rallied in the past three months after dipping late last year amid the collapse of subprime mortgage lending, according to wine-fund managers and market participants.
At a Sotheby's auction in London this month, cases of top- growth clarets -- Saint-Emilion and Pomerol -- mostly matched or exceeded prices fetched in similar sales at the start of the year, reflecting a broader market rebound.
Investors' appetite for the Bordeaux 2005 vintage, due for delivery this year after trading on the futures market, is driving fine-wine prices. Critics including Robert Parker gave the 2005 vintage the highest rating of any year since 2000, spurring demand from the U.S., U.K., China and Russia.
``So far this year, it's been totally dominated by 2005s,'' said Miles Davis, partner and co-founder of Wine Asset Managers LLP, a London-based wine investment fund. ``We started buying first-growth 2005s in January, and some of those positions are up 30 percent since then.''
A case of Chateau Latour 2000 sold for 8,280 pounds ($16,350) at Sotheby's on April 9, compared with 2,415 pounds for four bottles (equivalent to a price per case of 7,245 pounds) last September, representing a 14 percent increase.
The London-based Liv-ex 100 Index of fine wines, which mainly comprises red Bordeaux, rose 2.8 percent month-on-month in March, taking its 12-month increase to 33.7 percent. After a 4 percent drop from July to November last year, reflecting financial market turbulence, it has rallied 6.7 percent.
Record High
``We had a record high in March,'' said James Miles, founder of Liv-ex, an online wine exchange. Miles said 2005 ``is the big story. We seem to be trading lots of vintages on the back of it.''
The Liv-ex 100 Index climbed to 253.72 in March, compared with a base of 100 in January 2004. The index, which consists of 92 percent red Bordeaux with white Bordeaux, Burgundy, Champagne, Rhone and Italian wines making up the balance, does not yet include the 2005 vintage because final critics' ratings are not available.
Apart from the 2005s, prices at Sotheby's London auction indicated buying interest for benchmark years over the past quarter-century. The wines were from a single collection and offered duty paid only.
A case of 1989 Chateau Haut-Brion from Pessac achieved 8,970 pounds, including a 15 percent buyer's premium -- 8 percent up from 8,280 pounds paid in January. Two cases of Chateau Mouton-Rothschild 1995 sold for 2,300 pounds each, up 5 percent from 2,185 pounds in January.
Vintage Demand
Two cases of Chateau Lafite-Rothschild 1996 sold for 6,670 pounds, matching the price paid for a similar case in January, and up from 2,990 pounds paid at Sotheby's for a half-case in December, equivalent to a case price of 5,980 pounds.
Not all wines beat or held recent prices. The top lot for Chateau Margaux was 4,830 pounds paid for a case of 1996, meeting presale estimates, though down 19 percent from the 5,980 pounds paid for each of three similar cases at Sotheby's on Dec. 5 last year.
From Saint-Emilion, a case of Cheval Blanc 2001 sold for 1,668 pounds, up 16 percent from 1,438 pounds paid for a similar case in December. From Pomerol, two half-cases of 1998 Chateau Petrus sold for 10,120 pounds each, 26 percent up from the 8,050 pounds paid for a similar half-case in December.
Demand for top Burgundy also remains buoyant. The top lot at the sale was an assorted case of Domaine de la Romanee-Conti 1990, including one bottle of Romanee-Conti, three each of La Tache and Romanee Saint Vivant, two of Richebourg and Echezeaux and one Grands Echezeaux. It sold for 21,850 pounds, close to the upper end of its pre-sale estimate.
Yquem Sale
Chateau d'Yquem also featured in last week's sale, with two cases of 1989 fetching 2,760 and 2,530 pounds respectively. The top price matched the level paid for a half-case of the same vintage last October.
Sotheby's is planning to auction 136 bottles of Yquem on April 16 that span 70 vintages dating back to 1892 and come directly from the chateau's cellars.
``A lot of people make up collections from hither and thither,'' said Stephen Mould, senior director of Sotheby's international wine department. ``The unique thing about this sale is the bottles all come from the chateau. All the wines appear to be in great shape.''
London auction house Bonhams is also holding a sale on April 30: the cellar at the Mirabelle restaurant in Mayfair. The restaurant was sold in November.
Bonhams said in a statement that Mirabelle, which dates back to before World War II, was frequented by Winston Churchill, Orson Welles, Laurence Olivier and Vivien Leigh. Wines on offer from its collection include nine vintages of Chateau Latour dating back to 1916, as well as Haut Brion 1928 and Cheval Blanc 1953. Burgundies, Rhones and Champagnes as well as Australian and Napa Valley classics are also on sale.
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Last Updated: April 13, 2008 22:45 EDT