SOURCE: Sotheby’s
Wine collectors may be buying up Bordeaux and Burgundy, but they’re also seeking out suitable spaces to store their liquid investments, writes Nina Caplan
There aren’t many collectibles that are as delightful to consume as they are satisfying to amass, but wine is special, in the glass and in the cellar. And this is a great time to be a wine collector, as commercial interest in the area continues to grow. In 2023, wine auction sales reached a new high for the third year in a row and, for the first time, Sotheby’s sold $158 million in wine auctions.
Wine collecting is evolving. Whereas Bordeaux used to be the collectors’ darling (and is still the backbone of most collections), there is now a thirst for Burgundy that, given the small quantities available, is almost impossible to assuage. And not just any Burgundy. “Collectors used to place more emphasis on the Grands Crus or the famous appellations, but now so much collecting is producer-driven. People will follow, say, Christophe Roumier or Jean-Marc Roulot,” says Lukas Dempsey, AVP in wine at Sotheby’s.
This approach is true of Barolo, too. “Collectors are becoming more particular, wanting Vigna Francia by Giacomo Conterno, for example, or certain wines by Bruno Giacosa,” says Richard Young, Sotheby’s head of auction sales in fine and rare wines for the Americas. “Maybe these clients are more and more educated—or else they have that geeky side we associate with Burgundy, where collectors enjoy understanding specific plots.”
Dempsey concurs. “There is a focus now on the hyperlocal, the traceable, the site-specific,” he says. It is even the case with Champagne: people who used to simply love Krug are now more excited about their single-plot cuvées, Clos du Mesnil, or Clos D’Ambonnay. Another advantage of concentrating on individual vineyards is that it’s possible to collect them all.
And not just to lay down or to sell. Collectors, particularly younger ones, also want to drink the wines. “They will buy at village or Premier Cru level because they want to really experience these wines and the prices of the Grands Crus make that difficult,” says Young. The wines needn’t be mature, either. Where once, Burgundy under 20 years old was rarely seen at auction, now 2020s and 2021s come onto the market.
This democratization is all relative, of course. After all, at the top echelons of collecting, scarcity is part of the point. The excitement around “The Epicurean’s Atlas: The Encyclopaedic Cellar,” last year’s sale by Sotheby’s Hong Kong of the first tranche of one of the most important and valuable wine collections ever to come to market, demonstrates that.
While many collectors store their wine in professional cellars, to protect provenance, every wine-lover’s home needs storage that is kind to bottles. Ideally, that space will be below ground, for temperature control, including humidity, and bottles will be stored on their side. “People forget how important it is to maintain 70% relative humidity, particularly on the West Coast, given the dry climate,” says Young. If possible, the temptation to have a showcase should be resisted. However much people want to display their prize finds, direct light is terrible for wine. “Even [window] glass with ultraviolet protection isn’t ideal,” he says. Wooden cases might hide their contents from admiring eyes, but they safeguard the bottles.
Young’s key advice to homebuyers is: think big. “Architects or designers often ask their clients: ‘How big a cellar do you really need?’ And they may say 1,000 bottles and think that’s more than enough, but within a year every collector wishes they had asked for more space. I always advise them to opt for the largest area that is realistic, because it is much harder to extend.”
SOURCE: Sotheby’s