Wine auctions: France still dominates the scene, but Italy is growing rapidly with Piedmont and Tuscany

The wine collectors and auctions market is small in terms of numbers, but it is very important to build the brand value of some of the few, but prestigious wineries around the world. The market of wine collectors and auctions reflects their territory, is talked about more and more, and it knows no crisis. For many years, the market has been the exclusive prerogative of French wines. However, although Bordeaux and Burgundy are still the rulers, for some time now, Italy has also been a top player with its leading brands and territories, which are concentrated especially in Tuscany and Piedmont. These trends are confirmed once again in numbers, which in this case come from iDealwine, world leader in online wine auctions and the number one auction house in France. iDealwine has published its “annual barometer”, a detailed analysis of the fine wines and auctions market, of data compiled on the basis of approximately 200.000 bottles auctioned each year. In 2022, iDealwine organized 47 auctions, including nine private collections, and sold 197.928 bottles, for a total value of 38.3 million euros (+40%), including purchase commissions.
Last year there was a general increase in clearing prices. The average price per bottle reached almost 194 euros (+39%). Not at all surprisingly, in 2022, the Bordeaux, Burgundy and the Rhône Valley Regions all excelled in terms of value and volumes at auctions, 73% and 83.6% respectively. There were many new faces and rising stars in the wine world emerging together with the great icons, among the 14 regions analyzed in the report. One of the most important players in 2022 was definitely Italy. The rather recent phenomenon of collectors searching for Italian fine wines is growing and evidently does not seem to have any intentions of stopping. Fine Italian wines, iDealwine emphasized, “have been the main stars for several years now, representing 61% of the non-French wines in the sales catalog in 2022, compared to 39% in 2021. In terms of value (+53%) and volumes (+32%), Italy is now the eighth “region” in the ranking of wine regions awarded on iDealwine. Therefore, Italian wines are the most in demand, after French wines”.
The top selling Italian wines were, needless to say, Tenuta San Guido, or Sassicaia, which reached 103.334 euros and 402 bottles at the iDealwine auctions. Then followed Gaja, Bartolo Mascarello, Giacomo Conterno, Giuseppe Rinaldi, Comm. G.B. Burlotto, Ornellaia, Cappellano, Borgogno, Bruno Giacosa, Antinori, Bertani (the only Veneto company in the "Top 20", where Piedmont and Tuscany reigned, ed.), Aldo Conterno, Pelissero, Col d'Orcia, Barbaresco Producers, Sandrone, Case Basse (Soldera), Roagna and Vietti.
The most popular of the individual bottles of Italian wines was Sassicaia from the legendary 1985 vintage, which a Swiss collector bought for 2.170 euros, while instead, a bottle of Barbaresco Santo Stefano di Neive 1964 di Bruno Giacosa sold for 1.854 euros (revalued 331%), and a legendary Barolo Monfortino Riserva di Giacomo Conterno 2004, sold for 1.178 euros, respectively, to a private collector and a dealer both from Hong Kong. A French merchant paid slightly less, 1.166 euros, for a bottle of Brunello di Montalcino Riserva Soldera 2004 by Case Basse, and a bottle of Masseto 2008 by Tenuta Masseto di Frescobaldi completed this “Top 5” ranking.
As far as collectibles are concerned, as mentioned above, the top Italian Regions were Tuscany and Piedmont. “Whether it’s the Top 20 of the most traded Estates or the ranking of the most expensive lots, 19 out of 20 positions belong to names from the famous and prestigious Regions of Piedmont and Tuscany. Demand is concentrated on a few top producers, iDealwine pointed out, “and it is starting to become the rule for Italian fine wines, too. There was a conspicuous increase in value of the most expensive lots sold in 2022, as their average price equaled 809 euros, or seven times the average price of the rest of the Italian wines sold at the auctions in 2022”. There are, however, also “outsiders”, because Italy as well as France, the French auction house underlined, has a great number of producers who work in their vineyards, respecting the environment. This trend has emerged at the auctions for fine Italian wines, where several companies that use a biological and biodynamic approach in the vineyards were present in the 2022 auctions. “In the past few years, Italian Regions such as Abruzzi and Lombardy (Valtellina, Oltrepò Pavese), have made their debuts in the iDealwine auctions, while in 2022 the real star of the show for this current trend was Sicily. Last year, 204 bottles were traded from this Italian Region and several wine Estates were quite successful, including Frank Cornelissen and Tenuta delle Terre Nere”.
This, then is the general outlook, including a focus on Italy. However, iDealWine has reported numerous trends. The most traded wine Estate at auctions, for instance, was Domaine d'Auvenay, selling 386 bottles, for a total value of 2.1 million euros and the average price per bottle, 5.464 euros. The most expensive lot of the year, on the other hand, was an assortment of Domaine de la Romanée-Conti 12 Grand Cru 2018 from (1 Corton, 1 Montrachet, 2 Échézeaux, 1 Grands-Échézeaux, 2 Romanée Saint-Vivant, 1 Richebourg, 3 La Tâche, 1 Romanée-Conti), which sold for 84.320 euros. The most expensive bottle of the year was a bottle of Musigny Grand Cru from Domaine Leroy that sold for 34.100 euros, while the highest priced special format was a Mathusalem (6 liters) by Petrus 2015, which sold for 62.000 euros.
The market trend, however, in 2022 revealed two contrasting phases. “In the first half of the year, there was a sharp increase in prices, while in the second part of the year, on the other hand, there was a sharp decline. There was also a drop in prices of some wines whose value had skyrocketed between 2021 and 2022, especially some top icons, such as Leroy, Auvenay, Rousseau, Roumier, Bizot, Lachaux, Rayas and Grange des Pères. The drop, however, and in spite of everything, does not compensate for the increases in value registered in the first six months of the year. This moment of pause is linked to the international geopolitical context, and to growing inflation, which has prompted collectors and wine lovers to be much more cautious in their purchases. Then, there was also a sharp increase in prices of Champagne. The land of renowned bubbles is the second Region that has the highest average price per bottle, 259 euros (+42%)”.
The report revealed that organic, biodynamic and natural wines are more and more present among the most expensive wines sold at auctions. And, as a matter of fact, at the top of the rankings of wines produced respecting the environment, there are the emblematic Domaine de la Romanée Conti, d'Auvenay, Leroy and Leflaive, known not only for the undisputed quality and excellence of their wines, but also for their biodynamic approach. Further, the prices of natural wines have, in general, registered significant increases and several Estates have surpassed the threshold of 1.000 euros per bottle. Some examples are Estates such as Bizot, Selosse, Prieuré Roch, Domaine des Miroirs, Overnoy, Thierry Allemand and Jardins Esmeraldins. Finally, rarity is still the predominant factor. In other words, micro-Estates, productions that have a Reserve profile, and old vintages that are almost unobtainable, were the main factors that determined the surge in prices in some Regions.