Investing in Italian wine: SuperTuscans continue to lead the way

An elite group of SuperTuscan labels have consolidated their position on the market, but trade players also see a broadening interest in Italian fine wines. Tignanello has been a standout performer for Italy on the fine wine market over the last year. ‘The scores are high for it, [and] it has quite a strong brand following,’ said Matthew O’Connell, CEO of Bordeaux Index’s LiveTrade platform and head of investment at the merchant. He believes that brand strength is an important factor for the top SuperTuscan wines on the market, namely Tignanello, Sassicaia, Ornellaia and Solaia. [subscriber-content]‘Our trading has increased more in Sassicaia and Tignanello than in the other two,’ O’Connell said. All have sustained demand, but indices for Tignanello and Sassicaia rose in value by 31% and 26% respectively over 12 months to May 2022, based on LiveTrade transaction data across all vintages. There’s a positive outlook for these top-tier SuperTuscans, O’Connell said, but it’s all relative: ‘I think the outlook for Tuscany is not as exciting as it is for Burgundy and Champagne at the moment.’ In an investment context, he said the top-tier SuperTuscans have outpaced Piedmont. Charlie Foley, specialist and auctioneer at Christie’s wine department, told Decanter: ‘SuperTuscans are the hot ticket, I believe, because the wines are easily understood in international markets, due to one- name brands and [their use of] Bordeaux grapes.’ He highlighted demand for Masseto, too. ‘Production is small and vintages are sold on allocation, which increases secondary market prices.’ Older vintages of top Italian wines are rarer at auction, but tend to do well. ‘The famous [Sassicaia] 1985 vintage always sees high prices,’ said Foley. As does Giacomo Conterno’s Monfortino Barolo Riserva. Foley believes the market could expand. ‘I think it is an exciting time for Italian wine,’ he said. ‘Drinkers and collectors are looking beyond the famous names.’ [caption id="attachment_482695" align="alignnone" width="225"] Sassicaia 1985[/caption] Foley added: ‘Keep an eye out for producers who are pushing the envelope and will be regulars in auction rooms in years to come. ‘Sandrone, Vietti, GB Burlotto, Tenuta di Trinoro, Bibi Graetz, Tua Rita, Castellare di Castellina, Gravner and Frank Cornelissen are all producers that excite me personally.’ At Liv-ex, a global marketplace for the trade, the Italy 100 index dipped by 0.7% in April, yet was up by 16% in one year. A record number of Italian wines traded on Liv-ex in 2021, and it recently highlighted names beyond Piedmont and Tuscany, such as Quintarelli, Romano Dal Forno and Valentini. Georgina Crawley, business development director at Goedhuis & Co, said that the merchant sees Tuscany and Italy in general as a growth area. Bolgheri has seen huge interest and can offer great value at a range of prices, she said. ‘Probably 10 years ago you just didn’t have that spotlight on all of the brands that are now available in the market.’ She also cited a younger generation of producers coming through and hitting their stride in northern Italy, such as in Barolo and Barbaresco. The classic, earlier-drinking persona of Barolo’s current-release 2018 vintage (chart below) is an opportunity to ‘understand the characters, the style [and] the terroir of growers’, she said. While top names offer investment opportunities, Crawley explained that it’s important to build the market. ‘People have got to drink wine for the investment wheel to work,’ she said. ‘We’ve got to remember that these wines are giving something hugely enjoyable in that glass.’ Monitor: the latest sales activity [caption id="attachment_482692" align="alignnone" width="630"] 10 top-performing SuperTuscan wines over the past 12 months[/caption] Sassicaia and Tignanello have seen strong secondary market price increases across several vintages over the past 12 months, suggests data from Bordeaux Index’s LiveTrade platform, shown on the chart opposite. This underlines the international market momentum for these labels, although Matthew O’Connell, CEO of LiveTrade, added that there is ‘quite a bit of sensitivity’ in the market concerning release prices for top SuperTuscans. One that worked particularly well on release was Tignanello 2018, which ‘sold very well because it was, and is, a good market price’, he said. Sassicaia was the top-selling Italian wine at Sotheby’s in 2021, according to the group’s latest annual report. The label accounted for 26% of Italian wine sales by value across auction and retail. Masseto was second, with a 14% share of sales in the Italy category. Ornellaia was third, with an 11% share, followed by Gaja, Antinori, Soldera, Giacomo Conterno, Sotheby’s own-label Italian wines, Romano Dal Forno and Fontodi. Beyond these names, a Christie’s auction in London saw two magnums of Quintarelli’s Amarone Riserva 1995 fetch £2,000, beating the pre-sale high estimate of £1,400 and showing how older vintages can capture buyers’ attention. Tasted and rated for Decanter Premium Ornellaia, Bolgheri Superiore, Tuscany 2019 Recently released from a highly regarded Bolgheri vintage, Ornellaia 2019 received 98 points from Decanter’s Georgina Hindle. ‘Supremely elegant, with delicate perfume surrounding the rich fruit aromas,’ she wrote. ‘Excellent tension on the palate – you feel this is so direct and pristine, the flavours just driving from start to finish in one straight push but with concentration and intensity.’ Lay & Wheeler offered six bottles for £855 in bond. Goedhuis & Co, one of Ornellaia’s direct partners, initially offered the 2019 on allocation only. For context, Bordeaux Index was offering the 2017 and 2018 vintages (6x75cl) at £820 and £810 respectively. The Bordeaux Index View Fine wine & spirits specialist Bordeaux Index kindly sponsors this section of Decanter, and provides its view on the market here every issue. It can be found at bordeauxindex.com . SuperTuscan market performance really picked up pace in Q4 2021 following a quieter year before that, and this momentum has persisted into 2022 so far. Tignanello and Sassicaia have led from the front, with interest in the 2018-2019 pair of strong vintages serving as a catalyst in the same way the 2015-2016 pair did a couple of years ago; the performance of Ornellaia and Solaia has been respectable, but it appears that brand recognition among an expanded buyer base has been a differentiating factor. In terms of top-performing vintages, semi-mature vintages (2009-2013 area) have tended to outperform somewhat, given there is less supply on the market, but for the most part the significant price gains have related to demand for the name rather than specific vintages. We believe the outlook for the region is strong but mainly concentrated on this Big Four, rather than implying much increased demand for Tuscany more broadly. 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