La Place de Bordeaux September release highlights
Jump to some of our favourite wines from the new releases:
California – Maya Dalla Valle 2019
Once upon a time, La Place de Bordeaux was all about Bordeaux. The historic distribution system has helped the new wines from Bordeaux reach global audiences since the 17th century but now offers up a diverse set of new wines from 11 countries every year.
Inclusion on La Place’s three-tier system (producer to broker to negociant before reaching merchants around the world) expands and diversifies a wine's global market, which can potentially improve its investment potential. Rothschild-owned Almaviva marked the first non-Bordeaux entry in 1998 but now, every September features some of the world’s greatest wines from South America, California, Italy, and elsewhere.
Some of the wines released last year have already posted impressive price gains, highlighting the importance of getting in early as many are hard-to-source. Different vintages from different regions are released this September but several wines will come from the following:
Italy 2019 – We’re particularly excited about the potential for some of the new Super Tuscans from the strong 2019 vintage. A cool start to the growing season gave way to a dry summer with good diurnal range toward the end of the season. The 2019s Tuscans should show impressive nuance and subtlety.
California 2019 – We think 2019 represents an intriguing buying opportunity as it precedes the 2020 vintage which was marred by wildfires and smoke taint concerns. The fact that 2019 appears to be a textbook vintage boosts the wines’ appeal:
“2019 was another unremarkable growing season—and I mean this in the best possible way,” said Lisa Perrotti-Brown when writing in the Wine Advocate. “…a vintage that is going to make a lot of Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon lovers, in particular, very happy.”
Chile 2020 – A warm, dry growing season meant the harvest came a few weeks earlier than usual, which proved fortuitous as the initial wave of COVID brought uncertainty as the picking and pressing finished. As a result, producers and sites performed differently but the best examples managed to harvest concentrated ripe fruit to make powerful, age-worthy wines.
La Place de Bordeaux’s ‘Beyond Bordeaux’ tasting event highlights:
Almaviva 2020 - 96pts Wine Advocate
68% Cabernet Sauvignon, 23% Carmenère, 5% Cabernet Franc, 3% Petit Verdot, 1% Merlot
Cult Wine Investment’s view: Almaviva is a collaboration of two great winemaking dynasties – Concha y Toro of Chile and Baron Philippe de Rothschild of Chateau Mouton Rothschild. The 2020 emerged from a dry growing season with a rich, powerful Bordeaux-style blend. This new wine matched the 2018 vintage with 96 points, the highest ever Almaviva score from Wine Advocate.
- +21.9% - price increase for Almaviva 2019 since September 2021 (Worldwide Wine Searcher data)
- +47.0% - 5-year average all-vintage price appreciation (Worldwide Wine Searcher data)
Seña 2020 - 97pts Wine Advocate
53% Cabernet Sauvignon, 25% Malbec, 15% Carmenere, 7% Petit Verdot
Cult Wine Investment’s view: The 2020 edition of Seña keeps alive a streak of scores of 95 points or more going back to 2013. Seña impressed at the tasting as one of the most elegant, nuanced New World wines, balancing its ripe fruit profile with an energising minerality.
- +15.5% - price increase for Seña 2019 since September 2021 (Worldwide Wine Searcher data)
- +22.9% - 5-year average all-vintage price appreciation (Worldwide Wine Searcher data)
Maya Dalla Valle 2019 - 100pts Wine Advocate
67% Cabernet Sauvignon, 33% Cabernet Franc
Cult Wine Investment’s view: For the second straight year, Maya reaped a 100-point score from the Wine Advocate. After tasting, it is hard to disagree that this is another bottle of perfection with its layers of rich fruit, spices, and minerality. Less than 500 cases are typically made each year.
- +27.6% - price increase for Maya Dalla Valle 2018 since September 2021 (Worldwide Wine Searcher data)
- +14.4% - 5-year average all-vintage price appreciation (Worldwide Wine Searcher data)
Solaia 2019 - 97pts Wine Advocate
75% Cabernet Sauvignon, 15% Sangiovese, 10% Cabernet Franc
Cult Wine Investment’s view: Marchesi Antinori's Solaia is a Tuscan star and a must-have nearly every vintage. The 2019 is concentrated and already very fragrant with rich fruit and dried herbs woven together beautifully. The 10% Cabernet Franc is higher than normal, a trend similar to Bordeaux and other regions which has helped with weather variability.
- +35.9% - price increase for Solaia 2018 since September 2021 (Worldwide Wine Searcher data)
- +61.5% - 5-year average all-vintage price appreciation (Worldwide Wine Searcher data)
Masseto 2019 - 98pts Wine Advocate
90% Merlot and 10% Cabernet Franc
Cult Wine Investment’s view: The first vintage made in a stellar new winery facility, Masseto 2019 is on point, delivering all the luxury and richness that fans of this wine look forward to. This also marks the first vintage to include a portion of Cabernet Franc alongside the Merlot, adding a firmer backbone to the smooth fruit and sweet tobacco notes - a memorable wine in so many ways.
- +21.1% - price increase for Masseto 2018 since September 2021 (Worldwide Wine Searcher data)
- +45.1% - 5-year average all-vintage price appreciation (Worldwide Wine Searcher data)
YJAR 2018 - 96+pts Wine Advocate
Cult Wine Investment’s view: This is just second vintage of YJAR, the new project of Telmo Rodriguez based on a very old vineyard in Rioja Alavesa. The style is straightforward and modern, allowing the field blend of old vines to work their magic, unfolding slowly in the palate to a lasting impression of incredibly pure fruit. We think the profile of this low-production Rioja will climb high in the coming years, helped by the La Place exposure.
- +32.9% - price increase for YJAR 2017 since October 2021 (Worldwide Wine Searcher data)
Disclaimer: Past performance is not a guarantee of future returns.
Now could be the right time to invest in Italy
The diversity of Italian wines and attractive relative value make this historic wine region a particularly appealing investment in the current backdrop. In this report, we delve into our outlook for Italy and summarise the trends in different sub-regions of one of the world’s greatest fine wine countries.
