Some make loans to have a car or a house. Be ready to make one to buy a Burgundy’s grand cru ! A very interesting enquiry from franceinfo.fr is gone inside of the mythical places of these Burgundian grands crus, as the Domaine Roumier in Chambolle-Musigny. When the wine speaks about money, it’s here…
Short reminder of basic economy lesson (my classes from the lycee are going to be useful…finally 😉 ):
THE OFFER: 1% of the Burgundian production, it means 2 millions of bottles by the 6 billions produce by France each year ! This is the part of these legendary wines. Then, who says rare, says sought after: Bonnes Mares or Charmes Chambertin from domaine Roumier rarely exceed 1 ha but resonate like a dream for wine enthusiasts…To that, we have to add a climate not really favourable towards doing a big production since 2010. Indeed, according to the Bureau Interprofessionnel des vins de Bourgogne, the productions of 2012 and 2013 observe a decline of 19% compare to 2011.
THE DEMAND: well known since some decades by the Chardonnay reputation (more fancy now), comes the speculation from emerging market as China, but mainly from “historical” customers as UK (20% of exportation), US (18%) and Japon (10%).
PRICE IMPACT: no need to explain more. M. Roumier admitts that he increased his prices of 30% in 3 years, and others of 70% ! For them, it’s logical because they invest a lot to stay to the top, in the excellence, but wouldn’t take advantage of this speculation…Indeed, some privates individual buy the wine immediately after their bottling (or even more, book before) and sold its on the market place. Example of the Romanée-Conti 2005: 1000€ after it launch against 10 000€ right now ! But an Belgian importer, always in the same report, wonders if the harvest is better, the price will decrease ? Not sure…
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- Henri Jayer, died in 2006
Everything refer us to an interesting ranking that the most important wine analysis website in the world, , published last year about . The study is based of a price average of 42 000 shopping wine websites, about bottle of 75cl, whatever the vintage. But the wine-grower has to produce a rare wine with a unpredictable cepage, like the Pinot Noir…No doubt with the result: 37 wines from Burgundy are in the ranking, against 3 from Bordeaux and 1 in the Rhone Valley.
The first place is for the legendary Burgundian Henri Jayer with his grand cru Richebourg evaluated around 12 100€. Two others of his wines are in the TOP 10, and the Romanée-Conti comes up to the second place, only around 9800€ the bottle…
| Position | Wine Name | Average Price (USD) | Maximum Price (USD) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 16,671 | 27,602 | ||
| 2 | 13,528 | 55,840 | ||
| 3 | 7,887 | 20,370 | ||
| 4 | 7,639 | 14,657 | ||
| 5 | 6,167 | 8,875 | ||
| 6 | 5,765 | 15,999 | ||
| 7 | 5,164 | 16,645 | ||
| 8 | 5,079 | 11,361 | ||
| 9 | 4,898 | 11,744 | ||
| 10 | 3,945 | 14,000 |
So why ? Apart from the emblematic person of Henri Jayer, who enhanced his Vosne-Romanée Premier Cru Cros Parantoux, his wines became cults thanks to the art ! He is, in spite of him, at the center of a planetary success: Drops of God. His Cros Parantoux is the main vineyard of this japanese cartoon, where the sommelier searchs for these famous divines drops…Immediate consequence: the sales increased in Japon and Asia !
But, from the beginning, you ask yourself a main question: are these wines worth their prices ? I will mention the thought of Olivier Thiénot (that I have had to the “Ecole du Vin” in Paris 
), in this article. Fundamentally, who has already drunk its ? Who, around you, has already consumed a Henri Jayer’s wine or another in the ranking ? Almost nobody and it won’t change in a hurry. The rarity does the myth, the myth increases the mystery and the mystery grows the demand and the price. So, as Olivier Thinéot wrote it: “the cult wine, isn’t the one which we don’t taste ?”
