FOR THOSE WHO INVESTED IN WINE 8 YEARS AGO, EARNINGS NOW REACH 10%: MASSETO BY ORNELLAIA IS THE PROTAGONIST OF THIS POSITIVE TREND

From 2001 to the present, while global stocks have remained about the same, losing only 1%, a more positive evolution has been registered for the big names in wine with an 11% increase in value. According to the Liv-Ex index, this increase is second only to that of gold, which went up by 15% between November 2008 and February 2009.

Within the financial panorama, wine has increasingly become an umbrella against the crisis. In fact, for company quotes, winemaking enterprises have systematically out-performed those on the lists they pertain to. Since November 2008, in fact, the quotes for the top 100 wine brands have had a wavering pace with signs of a rebound that were a little more convincing in April and May 2009; the quotes for gold have, instead, literally exploded, especially at the end of February 2009.

Among the luxury wines, Masseto has registered the record. The 2006 vintage, en primeur, went for a sum of 604 euros per bottle (double the price it is sold for to consumers) at the Gelardini & Romani wine auction that was held in Italy last March 14. And this is a significant constant growth when the economic crisis is taken into consideration. And Masseto’s popularity has also increased at auctions abroad (Christie’s, Sotheby’s London, Sotheby’s New York, etc.).

From 1998 to the present, the value of this wine has been in constant growth. The same bottle of 1998 Masseto has, in fact, increased in value 446% over the past ten years. The latest statistics show an average increase in value of 322%, and 70% of this increase occurred between 2007 and 2008.
The announcement on November 11, 2008 that 20% of production would be assigned to five of the top negociants of Bordeaux has also contributed to this success. “It is a great success that reconfirms the quality of our Merlot”, explained Giovanni Geddes, director of the Ornellaia estate. “Being in Bordeaux represents a privilege. The negociants have always managed the great Cru of Bordeaux and therefore have the ‘know how’ to perfectly manage a great Cru of Italy. With this operation we will maintain total control of the traceability of our wine. We have an agreement that foresees the total transparency on where the wine will be sold and the exclusion of sales in some specific nations”.

The operation is important, above all, when considering the fact that until now no other wine that does not have a direct link with Bordeaux or Châteaux producers has ever been sold through the negoce de Bordeaux. Masseto is the first in this international novelty and it should be able to generate a new trend among the great wines of the world.