As one of the highest-rated vintages of the decade, 2010 Burgundy makes an exceptional investment for collectors and casual fans of Burgundy alike. In this guide to the 2010 Burgundy vintage, we’ll look at what made this year so special, which wines are the best of the vintage, and how to get the most value from your collection.
Bordeaux’s Château Le Pin, generally referred to as just “Le Pin,” produces some of the most decadent and complex Merlot in the world. At the cost of $4,000 per bottle, on average, collectors are willing to pay top dollar to get a taste of these renowned wines. Château Le Pin’s best vintages can garner even higher prices on the secondary market; some of the top-ranked vintages are valued at $10,000 or more per bottle. Whether you’re a passionate fan of Bordeaux or an established investor looking to add to your portfolio of valuable wines, it’s important to know which years from Le Pin are considered the greatest in the estate’s history.
You don’t have to travel to Burgundy to find complex white wines with distinctive minerality and finesse. California’s northern Sonoma Coast is home to some of the most reputable Chardonnay producers in the world. Unlike most New-World Chardonnay, which is typically rich and buttery, top-rated Sonoma Chardonnay leans toward an elegant, acidic, and earthy profile. These wines have compelling notes of crisp green apple, refreshing citrus, racy acidity, brine, and wet stone—flavors and aromas that develop even greater depth with age.
If you’re looking for a crowd-pleasing food and wine pairing, it’s hard to go wrong with Cabernet Sauvignon from California’s Napa Valley. Many of these wines are powerful, high in alcohol, and fruit-forward, balanced by bracing acidity and prominent oak. The finest Napa Valley Cabernet is bold and acidic enough to stand up to the heartiest dishes but also complex and interesting enough to serve on its own or with simple hors d’oeuvres. It’s very easy to find a great Napa Cabernet food pairing and there are a few classic pairings every wine enthusiast should try at least once. The foods in this pairing guide will bring out the best flavors in your Cabernet Sauvignon; we’ll also suggest some more unusual pairings that are sure to impress your dinner guests.
The Saint-Émilion appellation of Bordeaux has an incredibly long history of winemaking and a sterling reputation among serious wine collectors. This region of the Right Bank is known for producing rich, lush Merlot and floral, tannic Cabernet Franc with spectacular aging potential. The complexity of the wines and their high secondary market value is on par with the Right Bank’s other famous appellation, Pomerol, and many wine enthusiasts consider these two regions to produce some of the very best Bordeaux. In other words, if you want to build a truly impressive Bordeaux collection, seeking out the best wine from Saint-Émilion is a good start.
Domaine de la Romanée-Conti Romanée-St-Vivant may not get quite the same attention from collectors as the producer’s other top wines, like La Romanée-Conti or La Tâche. However, it would be a mistake to pass over Romanée-St-Vivant. This wine is among the freshest and purest in Domaine de la Romanée-Conti’s roster and is deeply enjoyable to drink. With succulent red fruit, silky tannins, perfumed florals, and a complex underlying spice, Romanée-St-Vivant is an intriguing and versatile Pinot Noir that pairs well with a variety of foods. It’s also one of the few wines from this producer that can be drunk either young or old and provides excellent value for the price, making it a popular choice among Burgundy collectors.
The hotly anticipated release of 2015 Brunello di Montalcino is finally here, and many critics are already raving about the power and purity of these Tuscan wines. After the difficult 2014 vintage (a year that was plagued by cool, wet weather and under-ripe grapes), winemakers had an excellent 2015 season. Hot, dry weather resulted in quality wines that are lush, but not overly ripe, with plush tannins and relatively low acidity. This is a great vintage for Italian wine enthusiasts, especially those looking for exceptional young wines to drink over the next few years.
The 2019 Bordeaux futures campaign is one for the history books. In the wake of a global pandemic, en primeur week was significantly delayed, as were some futures releases. However, what’s incredible about the 2019 Bordeaux vintage is that, despite these hurdles, the quality of the wine is still capturing the attention and imagination of the world’s most knowledgeable wine enthusiasts. Some top critics have had barrel samples delivered directly to them, and early reviews suggest that this is a vintage worthy of your attention. Many of these wines are pure, elegant, and have fine tannins. Just as enticing are their release prices, which are, on average, 30 percent lower than wines of the equally high-quality 2018 vintage.
The last 15 years have yielded some of the best Bordeaux wines in recent history. In particular, five of those years—2005, 2009, 2010, 2015, and 2016—treated critics, collectors, and enthusiasts to early tastings that revealed exceptional quality and suggested these wines would age well for decades. These extraordinary years tend to be compared with one another, too. For example, debate continues over which year wins out when you compare the 2009 and 2010 Bordeaux vintages. And there is still some question regarding how these two vintages stack up against the 2005.
On October 18, 2019, the U.S. imposed a 25-percent tariff on a variety of goods, including wine, imported from the UK as well as three countries of the EU. These countries were found guilty of providing illegal government subsidies to the multinational aerospace company Airbus by the World Trade Organization (WTO). By subsidizing Airbus, the three countries where the corporation’s shares are traded—France, Spain, and Germany—distorted the marketplace for airliner manufacturing in general and the Boeing Company in particular.
If you’ve been collecting fine wine for any period of time, you know that choosing the perfect wines to add to your portfolio isn’t the hard part of collecting—it’s figuring out the right time to open (or sell) those wines.
You love to drink great wine. And, as the years have gone by, you have naturally—and, perhaps, deliberately—developed a more discerning palate. You might even go so far as to call yourself an oenophile: you’re devoted to learning more and have grown to appreciate how wine is produced. You also put careful consideration into how, where, and when the wine you purchase is consumed. The next step as a true connoisseur is to build a wine collection—both for your future enjoyment and to provide the option of selling some bottles for a profit. Investing in Bordeaux wine is a great place to start.
