Are you looking for a relatively safe and fun diversification product? Build up a heritage cellar. By buying bottles of wine to keep them, then resell them after ten years, you can expect substantial capital gains. For this, it is good to know a few rules. First of all, wines do not keep for decades, because they have a “peak”, the date at which they reach their fullness of aromas. If you exceed this ideal tasting period, which depends on their region of origin, their color – reds generally keep longer than whites – and their vintage, your wines will be less sought after and your profits will be lower.
Then, be aware that the value of bottles changes from one year to the next. Sometimes, certain bottles will see their price multiplied by 5, if the enthusiasm of buyers is there, while others will have difficulty finding buyers if the fashion for a domain has passed. Finally, “only bottles kept at constant temperature and in good hygrometry conditions will sell quickly and well”, recalls Angélique de Lencquesaing, co-founder of iDealwine.com, a reference site for the purchase and sale of wines. . If you do not have the required square meters, many companies offer bottle guarding services: Chemin des vignes, Garde-vins, La Cave, iDealwine, InVinôme, Les Chais de France, Les Caves des Montquartiers, WineSitting, etc.
Diversification, the key word
To start, bet on the bottles with the highest international prices, namely French wines! “Our country has a collection of age-worthy wines and great appellations that wine lovers from all over the world covet,” says Cavissima, a cellar building site. Bordeaux and Burgundy remain the most sought-after regions, with the potential for added value being even greater with premier crus and grands crus in Bordeaux, and wines from listed houses in Burgundy. Because they are widely bought by people who… drink them.
Then diversify your cellar towards other regions. As such, bottles from the Rhône valley, the Loire – from its source to its downstream –, the Jura, Corsica, Provence and Beaujolais are interesting. A little more exotic, wines from the South-West, Italy, Spain, Australia, South Africa and Latin America also have their aficionados. Finally, if you have a little more substantial means, you can invest in very great champagnes. Only buy vintage bottles, because they are produced from grapes from the same year, and not from blends from several harvests: their price is guaranteed and will only increase.
To help you start your cellar, L’Express asked iDealwine to put together an allocation of bottles corresponding to three savers profiles. Specifications ? Choose wines that are easy to find today. To acquire them, you can go to specialized wine merchants, go directly to the wineries mentioned, or prefer an online intermediary, such as Cavissima or iDealwine. Another criterion: not to exceed an overall budget of 5,000 euros. If you can afford a little more, buy a few magnums rather than bottles. “As they are produced in smaller quantities, after eight to 10 years, they will be even rarer on the market and therefore will be more valuable,” explains Angélique de Lencquesaing.
The “cautious” profile
The first saver profile is considered “prudent”. This will be yours if you want to keep your bottles as long as possible. It is therefore appropriate to favor wines for aging, focusing on highly sought-after regions and traditional appellations. You can spice up your allocation slightly with a few more exotic bottles, made from great grape varieties. For this profile, iDealwine recommends a third of great Bordeaux. In red, Château Figeac 2016 (330 euros per bottle), Château Haut-Bailly 2020 (139 euros) and, in white, Château Cos d’Estournel 2020 (135 euros). To stay within the safe values, you have to add almost the same proportion of Burgundies. In red, Beaune Premier Cru Les Grèves Domaine des Croix 2021, Marsannay de Sylvain Pataille 2021 and Pommard Domaine Lucien Boillot & Fils 2019 (108 euros, 38 euros and 49 euros) and, in white, Pouilly-Fuissé “En Chatenay”, vintage zen, from Soufrandière 2021 (48 euros).
Then, add two red wines from the Rhône, Châteauneuf-du-Pape Clos des Papes 2020 and Côte-Rôtie Amétthyste Vignobles Levet 2020 (75 and 40 euros), as well as two wines from the Loire: in red, Sancerre Le Paradis Alphonse Mellot 2019 and in white, Vouvray Le Mont Sec Domaine Huet 2021 (120 and 32 euros). The exotic touch will be on a sure Italian value, with a Barolo DOCG del Comune di la Morra Roberto Voerzio 2017 (114 euros).
The “balanced” profile
The second saver profile is described as “balanced”. It corresponds to investors ready to take a little more risk in the composition of their cellar. The latter will always include sought-after regions, with a proportion of 75% Bordeaux, Burgundy and Rhône, but with less classic estates and winegrowers of conviction. For Bordeaux, opt for a Château Pavie Macquin 2019 and a Château Pichon Longueville Baron 2018 in red (89 and 185 euros) and for a sweet white, Château Suduiraut 2015 (65 euros). In Burgundies, we recommend two reds from 2021, Chassagne-Montrachet La Goujonne from Hubert Lamy and Aloxe-Corton Premier Cru Clos du Chapter from Follin-Arbelet; as well as a white, Chablis premier cru Côte de Léchet from Jean-Paul & Benoît Droin 2020 (72, 56 and 37 euros). Finally, in red Rhônes, target Châteauneuf-du-Pape Charvin 2020, Côte-Rôtie Château d’Ampuis Guigal 2019 and a white, Condrieu Les Vieilles Vignes de Jacques Vernay by Stéphane Ogier 2019 (45, 92 and 78 euros) .
The remaining quarter will be made up of bottles from recognized winegrowers, in regions whose prices are rising. A red and a white from the Loire, respectively Saumur-Champigny Les Poyeux d’Antoine Sanzay 2015 and Anjou Grandes Rogeries Nature Terra Vita Vinum 2020 (55 and 65 euros). As well as a white wine from Alsace, Clos Windsbuhl Zind-Humbrecht 2020 riesling and an Australian red, Barossa Valley Penfolds Wines RWT Bin 798 Shiraz (68 and 145 euros).
The “dynamic” profile
Finally, the saver who wants a more “dynamic” cellar, to be rotated regularly, will select more sophisticated bottles, which will appeal to enlightened amateurs, and will complete his purchases with a few bets in promising regions. In red burgundy, set your sights on Château Troplong Mondot 2016 (135 euros), Château Les Carmes Haut Brion 2020 (169 euros) and Château Siran 2019 (35 euros) and, in white, on Château Smith Haut Lafitte 2020 (135 euros). Added to this selection are red Burgundy with Pernand-Vergelesses Premier Cru Ile des Vergelesses from Chandon de Briailles 2018 and Beaune Premier Cru Chouacheux from Fanny Saber 2019 (75 and 54 euros); as well as white, with Meursault from Vincent Bouzereau 2021 and Chablis premier cru Vaucoupin from Clotilde Davenne 2021 (48 and 40 euros).
Complete with two red wines from the Rhône, Côte-Rôtie Oléa from Domaine Jasmin 2020 and Châteauneuf-du-Pape Le Vieux Donjon 2021 (68 and 42 euros), and a white wine from Loire, Anjou Rouères from Domaine Belargus 2020 (65 euros). For the more daring part, a wine from Provence, Bandol Terrebrune 2019, and a Corsican wine, Patrimonio Memoria d’Antoine Marie Arena 2021 (35 and 49 euros) will be good options.
Pay attention to taxes
If the bets of these three cellars prove to be winners, you will obtain, on resale, capital gains… which could be eroded by the tax authorities. Regardless of the number of bottles, if the amount of the sale is less than 5,000 euros, or 10,000 euros for a couple, you will not be taxed. Beyond that, capital gains are taxed at 19% from the first euro and subject, in addition, to social security contributions of 17.2%. All after a reduction for the length of holding, of 5% per year after two years. “The total exemption is therefore acquired after 22 years”, underlines Jean-Michel Coquema, notary in Joué-lès-Tours. A tax period rarely adapted, unfortunately, to that of the beverage.
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