Is now the time to be stocking your cellar as deeply as you can?

A topic in another thread got me to go out & look at some wines online and there are just a TON of deals right now on high-end wines. I can’t remember a time where I saw some many hard-to-get wines that could be had for a fraction of what they were selling for only 1-2 years ago. Happy hunting folks!

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And the whiskey,whisky market is showing the same signs.The secondary market softening is a leading indicator.

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What retailers / offersare you reffering to? I thought the deals around the new year were quite good (such as Zachys)

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In the higher-end Burgundy and N. Rhone spaces I’m seeing quite the opposite. The price escalation over the last 12 months has been dizzying.

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I just saw a bunch of Allemand lots hammer for softened prices.

The economy was pump primed globally during Covid, and we have seen highest inflation rates in some time.
With burgeoning money supply, coupled with low interest rates, luxury goods boomed from 2020 to 2023 and prices escalated rapidly.
In the ultra fine wine market this was exacerbated by consecutive low yielding vintages in some regions, but especially Burgundy.
The producers fervently raised prices, but my suspicion is that it’s gone too far. I have spoken to a few distributors who are pulling back on purchases and seeing unsold stock, where as they were allocating the same wines 12 months ago.
On the demand side, higher interest rates and higher living costs are squeezing disposable income. Of course this doesn’t affect the ultra wealthy, but may in time impact profitability of their businesses.
Personally, I am expecting prices to stabilise and over time decline in real terms and am buying very modestly with this expectation. Good volumes in 2022 vintage in Burgundy will help to test the resilience of the market.

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Heh. Let me tell you about the 1990s.

Let me tell you about the 80s

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Yeah those too!

do tell.

What wines are you talking about? Nothing that’s on my radar.

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I am not seeing the same, by any stretch.

I generally only buy: Burgundy, Piedmont, N Rhone, BdM and Champagne.

Can’t remember finding any steals of late.

Examples??

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“The best time to plant a tree was twenty years ago. The second best is now.”

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Are you referring to the lots on Winebid? For whatever reason, I never get the sense that there is a high demand for N.Rhone on Winebid. Unless it is super rare, rarely see multiple bids, let alone the first week they are listed.

Top end burg prices softening for sure… but it’s the opposite when prices drop as it is when they rise.

When prices go up of course many retailer waste no time in pumpin’ it up :slight_smile: But i feel like many retailers are in no hurry to discount, holding out hope pricing trend reverses…
but yah definitely starting to see softening, altho top end burg still obnoxiously pricy :frowning:

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Would love to know where you guys are seeing these Burgundy deals? Thank you in advance.

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Top end Burgundy has been softening for sure. It really depends on what you are searching for.

A few anecdotal examples:

Current release Raveneau 1er Crus were going for $6-$700, now you can find them for $4-$500.
Rousseau CSJ was like $2,200 and it’s more like $1,600 now. I remember 2019 Roumier Bonnes Mares hit the secondary market at $2,800 to $3000 a bottle and I’ve seen it as low as $1,500.

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It was K&L.

Depends on the region, to some degree, but I’ve been buying a ton of Bordeaux over the past 6 to 9 months. I think the Bordeaux market is flooded with a glut of stock from back-to-back, many successful vintages, and now we supposedly have a softening economic market. I cannot believe some of the prices that I am paying for 2016 and 2019 vintage Bordeaux wines. No, I’m not finding wines like Figeac or Lalande or Trotanoy for a steal, but I am definitely grabbing many classified growth wines at prices that seem at or even below EP.

I actually created a list for my sister and said she could literally build the core of a quality bordeaux cellar just from these two vintages with the list of wines that I gave her. And none of the wines were over $75, and many were under $50. Classified Growth Bordeaux!

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Softening economic market??? Where? Certainly not in the US.

Probably caused more by good and larger harvests in recent vintages. I understand that 2022 and 2023 were relatively large harvests in Burgundy. How large have recent harvests been in Bordeaux?