Investing in Champagne: the good, the bad and the bubbly

Australians are prodigious drinkers of Champagne - even more so over the Christmas period when a glass or two of bubbles is de rigueur for many.

Wine broker Langtons has just released Australia's largest allocation of luxury Champagne and is promoting it as an investment.

Australia is consistently landing in the top 10 markets for Champagne globally and Langtons believes "the local fine wine market is expected to mimic overseas success with Champagne making it a key collection and investment category for fine wine enthusiasts".

My advice is to always buy wine you want to drink down the track, not merely as as an investment. To my palate Champagne does not improve with age. Others disagree. 

“When it comes to cellaring, Champagne is a category that deserves more of the spotlight here in Australia," says Michael Anderson, head of auctions at Langtons.

"As we’ve seen overseas, Champagne has an impressive ageing potential which sees the wine develop with grace to place itself as a wine category regularly fetching eye-watering prices under the hammer.

"We can expect to see Champagne rise up the ranks in the secondary market here in Australia, with savvy investors already purchasing sought-after bottles to cellar away for future auctioning."

Overseas, avid collectors are displaying an ever-growing interest in rare cuvées, prestige bottlings, and late-disgorged releases and most recently, non-vintage (NV) Champagnes are also joining this list, Langtons says. 

We shall see. 

Take a wine trip back in time

If you are a wine lover who likes to occasionally take the vinous road less travelled then Master of Wine Peter Scudamore-Smith has something to tickle your interest.

 

Scudamore-Smith has released two aged wines under the Terroirs of the Granite Belt label - a pair of small-batch releases from the Settlers Rise vineyard that show how Queensland wines can develop. 

So meet the 2010 Aged Chardonnay and the 2008 Aged Shiraz - a pair of wines that might be confronting for wine drinkers used to bright and fruity current releases. 

"It has been said that ‘great wine needs time’ and we would agree," says Scudamore-Smith.

"Many age worthy wines are released too young and well before they have reached optimum maturity. Our approach at Settlers Rise is to give our wines the time they need to age in the bottle before release.

"For this reason, the current release of the ‘Terroirs of the Granite Belt’ by Settlers Rise includes a 2010 Aged Chardonnay and a 2008 Aged Shiraz. Both wines have been deliberately aged and cellared since their production, in order to release them at the start of their optimum drinking window."

The chardonnay was sourced from 20-year-old high-altitude vines at Cottonvale and Ballandean and was whole-bunch pressed, wild yeast fermented in 40% new French oak and aged in bottle at 15 degrees Centigrade. 

This is spicy and earthy with secondary characters in command. Certainly not a wine for everyone, but fascinating. 

The 2008 Aged Shiraz is heading into porty, raisiny territory and is one for those who like their reds in this zone. 

It is 100% shiraz from 40-year-old dry-grown vines on granite soils at Ballandean. It spent 18 months in 100% new French oak. Intense and assertive with preserved fruit and dark cherry elements on the palate. 

A fascinating exercise that will doubtless meet with mixed reactions. Both wines retail for $59 and will certainly find a spot on restaurant wine lists. Both wines are, thankfully, bottled under screw caps. 

For more details see https://www.uncorkedandcultivated.com.au/settlers-rise/terroirs-granite-belt/ 

A special wine tasting in Coonawarra

Coonawarra is one of Australia's very best wine regions for premium cabernet sauvignon. 

This July, several of the finest producers are getting together to put on what should be a fascinating tasting, the good people at Majella Wines tell me. 

The Coonawarra @ Heart collective of Majella Wines, Katnook Estate, Leconfield Coonawarra, Bowen Estate and Balnaves of Coonawarra will be holding a masterclass: "The ageing ability of Coonawarra Cabernet Sauvignon 2010 v current release."

Each of the wineries will be comparing the aging ability of cabernet sauvignon from 2010 - one of the best vintages on record - to their current release wines.

Each winemaker will speak about their wines, which will be available for sale afterwards.                                                

This one-off event will be held from 10.30am-noon on July 16 at the Katnook Barn (above) and numbers will be limited. It is part of the month-long Cellar Dwellers celebrations in the region. 

The cost is just $60 person and bookings are essential. Check out the details at:

www.trybooking.com/events/landing/874305