Investing in Burgundy Wine

Burgundy is the rising star of Hong Kong wine auctions

In 2011 we are seeing the smart money increasingly buying up Burgundy wines instead of Bordeaux first-growths. It has been notable during Hong Kong's wine auctions this November that many of the Bordeaux lots - including stars such as Lafite 2005 - have failed to attract bids or just make the minimum expectation.

At the same time, interest in Burgundy has spread beyond the wines of Domaine Romanee-Conti and Henri Jayer. Wine buyers from Hong Kong, Taiwan and now mainland China are snapping up the A-list of Burgundy producer names, such as Rousseau, Coche-Dury, Roumier and De Vogue. And these wines are often securing final bids in excess of the auctioneer's high-end estimates.

Burgundy Soars as Chinese Buyers Grab Cases at Auction

This Bloomberg article reports on emerging interest in Burgundy wines seen in HK:

Nov. 14 (Bloomberg) — Hong Kong investment banker Alan Chen embraced wine collecting after a visit to Bordeaux’s Chateau Margaux five years ago.

“Now I’m fascinated by Burgundy,” said Chen, head of Asian Equities at Mizuho Securities Asia Ltd., as we sipped 1999 Domaine de la Romanee Conti Richebourg at a pre-auction tasting in Hong Kong.

Chen, 41, is part of the new Asian wave of Burgundy collectors bidding up prices.

While red Bordeaux has been the big driver of wine auctions, Burgundy is the new star, especially in Hong Kong..
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