Burgundy Prices - OMG
You will be familiar with the reasons for the escalation of prices for the finest wines from Burgundy. I do not propose to review them here. Suffice to say none of these reasons look like candidates to disappear anytime soon. So we should expect prices for the top Burgundies to persist at current levels for a good while longer. I have yet to hear a really feasible argument to the contrary.
The crazy prices have had many consequences - most of them not good.
1. First, just to get it out of the way, the most selfish consequence. Loyal consumers who have bought a higher end wine from particular Domaines for years can no longer afford these wines. This list is alarmingly long but just to give one example I no longer can afford to buy Domaine Mugnier Chambolle-Musigny Les Fuees, a wine I have consistently bought since the early 1990s. Bah ! I should say of course that normally this is not the growers’ fault - the ex Domaine charge can be extremely reasonable and not have risen much at all. But all those subsequent percentage based mark ups in the distribution chain…..Not good.
2. Younger consumers will never - or very seldom - get a chance to experience the very best wines, whose price point has driven these wines completely out of reach. Only perhaps in the rarified atmosphere of structured tastings might they get to taste a sip. How is a young sommelier to learn his trade ? Is it smart to alienate what may be an entire generation of young wine enthusiasts ? I say this not only in the context of DRC or Domaine Rousseau - whose wines are now the reserve of millionaires - but even in relation to the better village level wines in Burgundy, the cost of many of which exceed $100. There is quality in Burgundy to be found at lower prices than this but a large portion of the best wines will never be drunk by even the most ardent enthusiast…. Not good.
3. Wine prices in most restaurants are even more absurd than ever, reducing any benefit that may derive from restaurants’ wine lists providing the opportunity to try something exceptional in a perfect setting…. Not good.
4. Given the now high value of your long stored bottle of Vosne-Romanee Premier Cru Les Beaumonts, the bottle’s value almost requires that its contents be contemplated at some length. I find myself limiting my consumption of these wines only to when in company of those who will appreciate the privilege of drinking them, that privilege deriving as much from rarity as value. I have so many fewer bottles at this level than I used to. So my best wines are drunk only with my knowledgable wine buddies. Can that be good ? No…. Not good.
5. Land prices have gone up to levels that make no sense on the basis of returns on investment. This is a complicated issue but has a profoundly adverse impact on the domaines themselves, who are not only unable to grow their estates but face punishing death taxes. The prestige of owning these vineyards - which in turn has resulted from the increased luxury product association of the wine they generate - has now meant that corporations are buying land / Domaines at uneconomically high prices because they want the prestige/ marketing benefits of ownership but do not need the investment intrinsically to yield a profit. Until quite recently, this promotional motivation has been mostly a Bordeaux phenomenon, but now has expanded its reach into Burgundy and elsewhere…. Not good.
6. You can still find bargains in Burgundy - from the less well known villages (which are fast becoming a lot less well known) - and running these down is fun. But it is a constant toil because the ‘new names” of today stay undiscovered for not so long any more. The internet has not helped in this. Word travels fast. So you have to keep moving forward. Fortunately there are a lot of names emerging. No harm in this. It is gratifying in fact to see the younger set have the success they deserve and their reputations grow, even if the wines are not quite the bargains they initially were. And their wine prices are capped by the more modest appellations they normally farm. This is the only benefit I can think of deriving from higher prices. Emerging growers get more support because we are are actively looking for them to avoid having to pay the high prices of the more established Domaines….Good
7. The prices of some other quality wines in the world have already responded with increases of their own. This is to be expected and reflects the fact that of course many high quality wines are made in small quantities akin to Burgundy. So the top end wines from these celebrated regions have also risen in price. Witness the price increases of the most sought after Barolo between vintages 2008 and 2013. Barolo was always a strong candidate to see price increases given its many similarities to Burgundy - strong association with terroir, well delineated vineyard sites, making small production wines that last. So now we are all running around trying to figure which ‘famous” wine region’s wines are currently really out of price alignment with Burgundy on the quality/price ratio….Maybe Good