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Welcome to Bordeaux Index

Harpers Wine & Spirit Review, 02/02/2012

Are investors looking to Italian wines as the next big thing? Merchants are reporting growth, but whether the wines are being bought as investments remains to be seen.

Bordeaux Index reported a sales rise of 63% in Italian wine and said the country’s wines were becoming more attractive to investors. But other merchants, while acknowledging the popularity of some Italian wines, are doubtful that they are being bought for investment.

BI’s managing director Gary Boom said: “Italy now boasts fine wine producing areas and producers capable of competing with the top French and international names while retaining an exceptional quality/price ratio. This trend is attracting a wave of interest in wine buyers all around the world who are not only willing but are also keen to understand these wines more.” ...

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The Independent, 01/12/2011

Oil, gold and fine wine outstripped the FTSE in 2011, the index of the 100 most valuable companies having fallen 5.6 per cent over the year.Fine wine grew only marginally but that comes off the back of two years of 30 per cent growth that generated fears the market was a bubble waiting to burst. Gary Boom, the managing director at the Bordeaux Index, said: "The stock market has not impressed, and investors are looking for alternatives. I tip the top Lafite, Mouton Rothschild and Margaux to do well in 2012 as there is a flight to quality when there is a large amount of uncertainty around."

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Huffington Post, 07/12/2011

With the eurozone crisis making stock markets volatile, and with safe haven assets, such as gold, already exorbitant, it is hardly surprising that investors are looking for alternative places to put their cash. It is probably a measure of the uncertainty in the markets that few eyebrows were raised at the news that Michael Spencer, the City grandee and billionaire had bought a minority stake in Bordeaux Index, a wine trading and investment company that has ridden a wave of interest in fine wine as an investable commodity.

Gary Boom, Bordeaux Index's founder, describes the company as "the Goldman Sachs of the wine market".

"Wine as investment is a pretty resilient little vehicle," he said, speaking from Hong Kong. "If you take wine from when we started measuring in 1983 it has outperformed all the stock exchanges out there. Not by masses, but by one or two per cent a year. The only commodity that has stood up to that is gold."

Driving the demand is surging interest in China for fine wine, as well as a more relaxed tariff structure in Hong Kong. Boom said that the removal of 40% duty on wine by authorities in the city-state in 2008 caused an explosion of interest. "At a stroke it literally created a world centre for fine wine," he said.

In 2010, the international wine department at Christies, the auction house, reported sales worth nearly 46m GBP, as sales in Hong Kong drove prices and volumes. While big auctions, such as the November 2010 192,000 GBP sale of a bottle of 1947 Cheval-Blanc, or the 345,00 GBP paid - in Hong Kong - for a collection of Chateau Lafite Rothschild in September of this year, make headlines, there is a solid market for large volumes of more "accessible" bottles sold for a few hundred pounds.

The growth of individual wealth in China and other Asian markets has seen consumers develop a taste for wine, then trade up to finer, more expensive varieties as their incomes grow. It is the same trend that has seen luxury goods companies, from Burberry to Louis Vuitton Moet Hennessey, to gradually reorient their businesses eastwards.

Wine, even fine wine, is a more affordable luxury, Boom said.

"It's slightly different trying to sell Ferraris at 200,000 GBP a go and trying to sell a bottle of Pichon Baron at 130 GBP a bottle. Even at the top level you're talking the Mouton Rothschild and the Chateau Brion, you can still pick up vintages at 200 GBP a bottle."

Boom, a former colleague of Spencer at the latter's brokerage firm, Icap, founded Bordeaux Index 15 years ago. With offices in London, Hong Kong, Singapore, Beijing and Shanghai, the company allows its 13,000 registered traders to trade wine in real time. Its annual sales are now more than 100m GBP, Boom said.

Its scale is part of the reason for its success, according to Boom, allowing it, like a large investment bank in the financial markets, to see the flows of money and assets around the world.

"In the wine market it's similar [to the stock market], but it's an easier market to stock pick because that information is harder to come by. It does depend who you know. We think we are very good. We are the Goldman Sachs of the wine market. We tend to trade and have a lot better information than anyone else out there."

Spencer, a known wine aficionado, paid a "decent figure" for his stake in Bordeaux Index, according to Boom. But will he, and other traders, actually drink their investments?

"Well, I do, and I can't be the only person out there drinking it," Boom said. Mouton Rothschild 2001 you can now pick up for 250 GBP a bottle. This is cheaper than most handbags. The last I looked in London there were a lot of very smart handbags around. It's the same as it will cost your to get your car out of the pound when you get clamped in London. So it's not excessive. You can drink some of the greatest wines. You can drink Pichon Baron or Montrose 2003 for 100 GBP a bottle. It's a lot, but it's not top of the market."

"Our average price for a bottle of wine that we sell is about 130 GBP, and we sell well in excess of 100m GBP. I would say 75-80% of that is drunk at some point."

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JMen, 12/2011

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The Independent, 06/12/2011

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CityAM, 05/12/2011

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The Financial Times, 05/12/2011

Michael Spencer, chief executive of broking giant Icap, has made a seven-figure personal investment in Bordeaux Index, the online wine trading exchange, and is to become chairman of the privately owned company.

Founded 15 years ago by Gary Boom, a former Icap main board director, Bordeaux Index offers live trading in fine wines, one of the fastest growing alternative investment classes in recent years as Asian buyers drive prices of classic vintages to record highs. With 13,000 registered traders, it has offices in London, Hong Kong, Singapore, Beijing and Shanghai, and Asian buyers account for half its 100m GBP sales in 2010.

Declaring pre-tax profits of 6m GBP in that year, the company is expecting sales in mainland China to double next year as the Chinese tast for investing in wine matures, and says that one-third of its customers buy wine as an investment they will trade, rather than drink.

“I’m genuinely impressed by the growth of the business, and the way it has developed its market in Asia by applying the techniques and technology of financial markets to fine wines,” Mr Spencer said. A renowned connoisseur of fine wines, he described his personal wine collection as being “large enough”.

“Wine is one of the last great commodities in the world to be dragged out of the dark ages and traded on a global index,” said Mr Boom. “We are more than a traditional wine merchant, as we can handle both sides of a trade, increasing transparency and liquidity in the market.” In addition to Asian expansion, Mr Boom has his eye on Brazil, Russia and India as future markets. “India currently charges duty of 40 per cent on wine imports, but if the government drops that rate, it may well be the next big market to open up,” he said.

Stating that wine prices were often “pretty similar to a bond yield curve”, he said: “For example, we tend to find a case of 1986 Mouton Rothschild trades at 55 to 56 per cent of the price of a case of the 1982 vintage.”

When Mr Spencer became Conservative party treasurer in 2004, he pledged that when a Conservative prime minister was in office, he would host a dinner for party funders and serve bottles of Petrus, the Bordeaux appellation regarded as producing “the king of wines.”

He did so at the 2010 party conference in Birmingham, when he stepped down as party treasurer, presenting a case of 2001 Petrus from his own collection, as the vintage matched the year in which David Cameron first became an MP.

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The San Francisco Gate, 29/11/2011

Nov. 28 (Bloomberg) -- At the 4th Hong Kong International Wine & Spirit Fair, a smiling Wing Lung Bank employee hands me a colorful flyer about its new "Wine Financing Service."

Can't afford a case of investment-grade Bordeaux? This Hong Kong-based bank will lend you as much as HK$5 million ($641,840) to buy, as long you select from its list of 50 top names. The response, says assistant general manager William Tang, has been overwhelming.

Investing in wine is a big topic at this year's fair, Asia's largest, held earlier this month at the city's Convention and Exhibition Centre. The bank's booth is one of three dozen in a new "Wine Investment Zone.

"Many affluent Chinese, worried about rising inflation, a roller-coaster stock market, and restrictions on real- estate investment, are looking to alternative assets. Wine, a status symbol for new millionaires, is a hot choice.

At one booth Doug Rumsam, managing director of Bordeaux Index's Hong Kong office, says he has just spoken to two women from a Guangdong fund-management company interested in diversifying into wine...

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Bloomberg, 01/12/2011

A collection of Chateau Lafite Rothschild valued at 850,000 pounds ($1.3 million) and a “super-lot” of Romanee-Conti estimated at as much as $800,000 are among the December highlights as another record year of international wine auctions draws to a close.

Global wine sales by the leading five international auction houses -- Acker Merrall & Condit, Christie’s International, Sotheby’s, Zachys and Hart Davis Hart Wine Co. -- have reached at least $367 million so far this year, according to data compiled by Bloomberg News. The figure is about four percent ahead of the total for the whole of 2010. Hong Kong events account for close to half the volume.

Demand for France’s most prestigious chateaux has cooled in recent months. Distribution problems in China, the European debt crisis, a slowdown in the U.S. economy and the fallout from Bordeaux’s ambitiously priced 2010 “en primeur” campaign have contributed to an 8.4 percent drop in the Liv-ex 100 Fine Wine Index this year.“

The really tough months were September and October,” Joe Marchant, head of investment at the London-based brokers Bordeaux Index Ltd., said in an interview. “There was a big fall-off in demand from Asia. Volumes are beginning to recover in the run-up to Chinese New Year in January, though it will take a while for prices to rise again.”

The global trade in fine wine -- of which auctions represent just a part -- is worth about $4 billion, according to the London-based Liv-ex wine exchange. Prices for top investment-grade Bordeaux such as Chateau Lafite declined by as much as 20 percent from August to October, said Marchant.

Asian Demand
“Now the price has come down, we’re seeing more demand from Asia,” he said. “A lot of Lafite has been drunk and it maintains its position as Bordeaux’s No. 1 First Growth.”Christie’s will be hoping for a bounce-back of Asian demand today when they offer more than 800 bottles of Lafite owned by Evelyn de Rothschild, a U.K. member of the family that owns the Pauillac vineyard.Vintages range from 1998 to 2008. Three 12-bottle cases of Lafite’s highly rated 2000 are estimated at 14,000 pounds to 18,000 pounds each. The same wine was selling for HK$372,000 ($47,900) a case at Christie’s, Hong Kong, in April.

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Tatler Magazine, 11/2011

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WineYields, 11/01/2011

A correction to a ‘new normal’ – or an opportunity?

I came across two perspectives on the current market last week, both suggesting different market direction. The website Financial News carried the following story, with an interview with Gary Boom from Bordeaux Index:

“There’s definitely a market correction going on – the numbers don’t lie,” he said.

“Late last year the market was distorted by buyers who viewed wine as a single dimension, one-way bet. Twelve months ago we saw case quantities of single bottles bought at auction for 135,000 GBP – some 60% above market price. It was completely irrational.”

Increased demand from wealthy Chinese investors and widespread enthusiasm for select 2008 lines resulted in a number of high-profile auctions, including an astonishing sale of three 232,000 USD bottles of 1869 Lafite to an anonymous Hong Kong phone bidder last October.

The bubble looks to have burst for now, with Mr Boom predicting a “bumpy” few months if past experience is to be relied upon.

The latest figures are a blow to wine investment funds, which have begun to attract mainstream investor interest in the wake of record returns.

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Harpers Wine & Spirit Review, 10/27/2011

Fine wine prices retreated 7.5% in the third quarter of the year, pointing to a "market correction" according to Bordeaux Index.

The London fine wine merchant is advising investors that even though there's not an immediate likelihood of a strong rebound in prices - it will come back round.

Among the biggest victims of the slumping market have been many of the prestigious First Growth wines from ‘blue chip' vintages that have shed up to a third of their price - along with selected 2008 wines that were inflated during a series of well-publicized auctions last November.

Founder and managing director, Gary Boom, said: "There's definitely a market correction going on - the numbers don't lie."

However, despite the fall in headline prices, Bordeaux Index is confident the fundamentals of fine wine as a medium to long-term investment remain solid.

"Compared to other asset classes aside from gold, fine wine still continues to outperform its rivals."

Boom said investors only need worry if they're looking at their positions as a short-term bet.While the fall in prices has come as a surprise to many recent market newcomers, Boom says investors should draw strength from recent history and take a more measured and cautious approach for the near term.

"There was a noticeable dip three years ago in 2008, but the market recovered surprisingly quickly," he said.

"The rebound was fuelled by Chinese demand - primarily in Lafite - which then knocked onto other First Growths.

"While Chinese interest in wine remains robust, the diversity in demand is presenting investors with new challenges - and the potential for healthy rewards.The rising popularity of investing in wine has seen the commodity become increasingly tied to volatility in the wider financial markets. As a result, participants need to be realistic about their investment horizons.

Despite a weaker market, Bordeaux Index said it remains on track for another record year, with turnover for the year close to 100m GBP.

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Wall Street Journal, 28/10/2011

Next week, Hong Kong hosts its own International Wine & Spirits Fair, complete with more than 930 exhibitors from 37 different countries, underlying the region's importance to the fine-wine market.

True to form, there is a wine-investment zone where exhibitors will no doubt be talking up the latest opportunities in the market. One area that has received a lot of attention recently is Bordeaux's most sought-after sweet wine, Chateau d'Yquem. The chateau, under the ownership of Bernard Arnault's LVMH Moet Hennessy Louis Vuitton SA, has a meticulous attention to detail. According to fine-wine merchant Bordeaux Index, it still has the highest unit labor costs of production of any Bordeaux wine and historically has sold for some of the highest prices. It certainly has the lineage to attract the investment community. The wine can boast a glittering array of distinguished collectors, including George Washington, Thomas Jefferson and Napoleon Bonaparte.

In the past year, Bordeaux Index has seen volumes of d'Yquem rise almost 100%, driven by sales from Asia. This came on the back of an extraordinary sale in July, when a 200-year-old bottle of Chateau d'Yquem sold for 75,000 GBP, breaking all records and making it the most expensive bottle of white wine in the world. Wine brokers in Hong Kong say that whenever Chateau d'Yquem is served at a tasting, it is well-received.

"Chateau d'Yquem is a unique wine," says Joe Marchant, who works on the investment arm of Bordeaux Index. "It is really the only sweet Bordeaux that has the potential to attract a cache as a wine mega brand. [The chateau] has the production to support a market in Asia, but it is very early days.

"Certainly its taste rivals any of the great wines in terms of elegance, concentration and complexity. I have tasted through a number of vintages and found that, when young, d'Yquem can appear somewhat reticent and closed.

But with bottle age, around 10 years, it is transformed. The blend of predominantly Semillon and Sauvignon Blanc, affected by botrytis and aged in oak barrels, creates flavors of lemon, gingerbread, caramel, spice and, in some cases, an inviting creaminess.But like all sweet wine, d'Yquem suffers from being prized but rarely consumed. In Asia, the market is still dominated by dry, red wines, despite a propensity for white wines and sweet wines to marry well with Asian cuisine.

Today, the 1996 vintage will set you back around 200 GBP a bottle, compared with around 400 GBP for the 2010. My suspicion is that back vintages of d'Yquem such as 1997, '98, '99 and 2004 may experience a price rise long-term and catch up with the 2010 price, while the much celebrated 2001 vintage will always be in demand. But for real gains, consumers will have to work out when to drink it.

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The Guardian, Zoe Wood 21/10/2011

Claret Crisis

Is the bordeaux bubble about to burst? That is the question analysts are asking after new figures showed the price of investment-quality wine had tumbled 7.5% in the three months to September.

In the aftermath of the credit crunch wealthy investors poured their money into "alternative" investments such as fine wine, a trend that has seen the top vintages sell for six-figure sums.

Gary Boom, managing director at wine merchant and trader Bordeaux Index, blamed the drop on buyers becoming more savvy. He said: "The market has definitely deflated for newer Bordeaux vintages compared with 12 months ago. After seeing the sky-high release prices set by the chateaux for the 2010 vintage, a correction was inevitable."

The investment market concentrates on bordeaux wines produced by the region's top 30-40 chateaux, with Chateau Lafite the star performer. Bordeaux Index says investors are now looking to other areas such as Burgundy. "They're expanding their horizons," said Boom.

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The Drinks Business, 20/10/2011

Bordeaux Index founder Gary Boom noted that with prices and orders for the estate’s wines going steadily up, DRC was benefiting from an increasing diversification in Asian buyers interests, which also encompasses the second growths.

He said: “These wines are benefiting from new attention from Asia. Buyers from Singapore and China are definitely being more open-minded, with DRC in particular proving popular.

“We’ve seen a whole host of various DRC wines in all formats being snapped up like there’s no tomorrow. If this level of demand continues, DRC may end up becoming ‘the new Lafite’ in China.”

The burgeoning interest in other chateaux has been noted before by the merchant and with it a falling away of interest in Lafite.

As noted recently by The Drinks Business, downward turn by Lafite on the Liv-ex indices has had a negative impact on prices of other wines.

However, Boom denied that the Lafite bubble had burst, pointing to the heightened interest in other wines to show that buyers were simply spending their money elsewhere.

“It’s important to remember this is one part of a much bigger market,” he said.

“Our turnover is up almost a third on last year in spite of buyers turning away from established favourites like Chateau Lafite and instead seeking wines that are offering better value for money.

“Just because Lafite goes out of fashion doesn’t mean it’s a burst bubble. It just means that there’s not the demand for that particular wine at the moment – and other wines are selling well.”

Boom also attributed a slump in prices to a “correction” of the markets after two enormously hyped and highly priced vintages, which has prompted buyers to look for better value for money in other estates.

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The Independent, 16/10/2011

The choice of assets to invest in for above-inflation growth is narrowing all the time. On Friday, it was revealed by Bordeaux Index that the price of fine wine had actually slipped 7.5 per cent in the last quarter, dramatically reversing the trend of the past year or so, which saw investment in wine one of the few stellar performers.

Bordeaux Index put the fall down to buyers choosing to move away from the most tradeable first growths – Lafite, Latour, Margaux, Chateau Haute-Brion and Mouton Rothschild – to the slightly lower-prestige and hence cheaper vineyards. Reading between the lines, what seems to have happened is that some of the great vineyards, seeing the huge interest from wealthy Chinese buyers, have been ramping up prices and restricting supply. As a result, they have prompted their investors to turn elsewhere. Killing the goose that lays the golden egg springs to mind.

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Harpers Wine & Spirit Review, 14/10/2011

Bordeaux prices fell by 7.5% in quarter three, as buyers reject expensive ‘hyped up' newer vintages and turn to other markets, according to trader of first growths, Bordeaux Index.

Bordeaux prices have softened, but it's market diversification, not a "bursting bubble", says managing director Gary Boom.

Boom adds that a correction was inevitable. "This summer we saw investor after investor simply refuse to buy at those price points, instead they're expanding their horizons and looking for a variety of different wines to purchase."

"It's important to remember this is one part of a much bigger market.

"Our turnover is up almost a third on last year in spite of buyers turning away from established favourites like Chateaux Lafite and instead seeking wines that are offering better value for money."

"Just because Lafite goes out of fashion doesn't mean it's a burst bubble. It just means that there's not the demand for that particular wine at the moment - and other wines are selling well."

Boom says the proof of the market's diversification can be found in a massive rise of sales for the rarest and most premium Burgundy wines, and the ‘super seconds' Bordeaux wines.

"These wines are benefiting from renewed attention from Asia," said Gary Boom.

"Buyers from Singapore and China are definitely being more selective, with Domaine de la Romanee-Conti in particular is proving popular.

"We've seen a whole host of various DRC wines in all formats being snapped up like there's no tomorrow. If this level of demand continues, DRC may end up becoming ‘the new Lafite' in China."

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Finance Asia, 15/09/2011

Europeans are spending less money on wine these days, due to a change in drinking habits and the weakening economy, but strong demand in Asia is keeping the industry's growth story alive, according to M&A International, an M&A boutique.

Indeed, Hong Kong has even overtaken New York as the world’s biggest wine auction centre, bolstered by the removal of duties on wine in 2008. Much of the demand is driven by investment rather than consumption. Including wine in a portfolio is increasingly common as investors seek out assets whose price movements are uncorrelated to other markets.

The Liv-ex 100 Benchmark Fine Wine Investables Index, which measures the value of the top 100 investment-grade wines and is the industry’s leading benchmark, has increased by 77% since the end of 2008, outperforming the 45% growth in the Hang Seng index and 35% in the S&P500.

Wine is a liquid asset in more sense than one, according to John Kapon, the chief executive of wine auctioneer Acker Merrall & Condit, highlighting that it can be sold quickly and easily. “Even during the financial crisis, prices [of wine] had gone down by only 20%-30%, and just six months later they completely recovered,” he said. By comparison, the sell-off on the S&P500 was twice as big and the recovery to 2007 levels has still not happened. Wine prices are relatively stable due to the fact that people’s consumption of wine creates demand and thus supports prices.

The cellar-owning classes did not originally buy wine to sell, Kapon explained, but some collectors are now finding that their obsession has landed them with more Bordeaux than they could consume in several lifetimes. When prices go up, they take the opportunity to sell some of their excesses, which helps to keep a lid on prices.

Hong Kong wine sales have topped more than $232 million so far this year, including a 300-bottle Lafite-Rothschild collection that sold for $7.6 million earlier this month, and the market shows few signs of the misery affecting stocks — Acker Merrall & Condit is holding its 16th sale in Hong Kong on September 16 and 17, featuring 959 lots with an estimated total value in excess of $10 million.

Hong Kong might host the world’s biggest wine auctions, but consumption in the city is still quite low and offers plenty of room for growth, particularly in the restaurant market, according to Kapon. “If you go to a New York restaurant, wine is on every table,” he said. “If you go to a Hong Kong traditional Chinese restaurant, there is not a lot of wine on the table. More and more people [in Asia] will discover wine, and in big cities [drinking] culture tends to develop faster than in the countryside.”

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Harpers Wine & Spirit Review, 08/09/2011

Fine wine prices ended the month 4% lower after traders and chateaux took their traditional summer break, according to Bordeaux Index.

Gary Boom founder and managing director said strategically, the softer prices had little to do with changes in the wine market per se – and were more a reflection of the pressures investors were under to reduce risks in all markets.

“However it isn’t all doom and gloom," he added. "Demand remains encouragingly robust, with turnover 20% higher than a year ago."

Boom said there have been some positive stories – especially among some of the ‘Super Seconds’ – but not nearly enough to keep the market in positive territory.

He claims investors are definitely more risk adverse, as shown by the price of gold.

"But in the year to date fine wine is still doing well, presenting investors with a 10% return.”

The impact of this year’s much discussed en primeur release remains more difficult to gauge, he claims.

Since their release in July, they’ve been sporadically traded and headline prices have held ground – but Boom believes that the lack of trade may be masking some gloomy news.

“Fundamentally, they are some of the most expensive wines in the market – and traditionally this is the time of year buyers tend to focus on physically deliverable stock."

“It’s likely that if you were forced to sell the 2010 en primeur now, you wouldn’t be overjoyed with the prices.”

With the summer break now finished and stock provisions being revised, all eyes will be concentrated on prices and volumes, but with no end in sight to the uncertainty in financial markets, it’s likely that prices will remain soft throughout September.

Boom expects turnover will increase at the sharp end as investors look to crystalise profits and / or take advantage of softening prices to open new positions.

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The Telegraph, 23/08/2011

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The Wall Street Journal, 15/08/2011

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The Independent, 14/08/2011

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The Drinks Business, 11/08/2011

Trading during July for Mouton and Latour 2010 was “muted”, while Lafite dominated turnover, according to Bordeaux Index. Speaking of sales over the course of last month, the merchant recorded a strong performance from Lafite 2010 and “good numbers” for Margaux and Haut-Brion, but a subdued demand for Mouton and Latour.

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Harpers Wine & Spirit Review, 10/08/2011

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Spear's Wealth Management Survey, 22/07/2011

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Investors Chronicle, 21/07/2011

Investing in top-class Bordeaux wines has delivered greater returns and less volatility than investing in equity markets, to which they are not really correlated. The Liv-ex Fine Wine 100 index, which represents the price movement of 100 of the most sought-after fine wines, has grown by a 14 per cent compound annual rate over the past 10 years

Wine prices have been driven up recently by Chinese investors entering the market, while over the past 10 years keen US and Asian buyers have created a strong supply/demand ratio.

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The Telegraph, 19/07/2011

The Bordeaux Index returned 14pc in the first six-months of the year compared to the FTSE100 return of just 1pc.

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City AM, 19/07/2011

FINE wine remains a good choice for investors, who enjoyed steady gains of over 13 per cent during the first six months of 2011, according to Bordeaux Index.

Gary Boom, founder and MD of the fine wine merchant, said that 15 per cent growth in wine sales in the first quarter of the year reinforced the “health of the wine market in general”, in contrast to the volatility seen in global financial markets..... 

The Bordeaux 2010 en primeur campaign, which was hotly anticipated by many as one of the vintages of the century, has shown erratic results.

A weakened pound, price rises of between 10 and 15 per cent and plenty of competitively priced 2009 options available, contributed to a fall in sales volumes of approximately one third.

However, actual sales values fell by less than 10 per cent, reflecting the higher prices and a market bias towards more expensive wines.

“Where there was a combination of critical praise and fair-ish pricing, there’s abundant demand for the upper echelons of Bordeaux,” said Boom. 

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The Mail on Sunday, 03/07/2011

For most people, wine is a pleasant tipple that makes life that little bit more enjoyable at the end of the day. Some drinkers take it more seriously than others.

Some drink more of it than others. And a growing number of connoisseurs are buying wine not simply to drink but to make money.

Now it is worth almost GBP 1,000. Chateau Latour, another famous name in wine, has surged more than sixfold over the past decade, while Chateau Margaux has tripled in value.

These wines share several characteristics. They are all from the Bordeaux region in France, they are all top brands, they all appeal to a growing number of extremely wealthy Asians and of course, they taste good.....

Bordeaux Index sells a variety of top wines, but it specialises in those from Bordeaux and compiles an index of the 100 most actively traded wines from that region.

Customers can use the company as an upmarket off-licence or they can use it like a fund manager, giving the firm a set sum of money to invest over a period of years, typically between two and five. The investment can be tracked through a constantly updated online index, much like the FTSE 100.

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Bloomberg, 23/06/2011

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Harpers, 22/06/2011

Bordeaux wine investors are rediscovering previous vintages after being put off by the double-digit price rises of the 2010 harvest, according to Bordeaux Index.

Bordeux Index managing director, Gary Boom says with the higher 2010 prices creating relative value for older wines, there's been a noticeable shift towards consumers buying back vintages - a trend that Asian drinkers have begun to adopt.

They now realise they can drink the same quality offered by first growths by carefully buying selected second to fifth growth wines.

Among the most sought after back vintages last month were Lynch Bages (2000 & 2008); Leoville Lascases (1996 & 2000); Ducru Beaucaillou (2003); Pichon Lalande (2000 & 2003); Pichon Baron (2000 & 2005); and Leoville Poyferre (2003).

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The Independent, 09/06/2011

One of the world's most influential wine critics is alarmed by the high price of Bordeaux wine, saying the region risks hurting itself by focusing so much on the East Asian market.

"Bordeaux is the epicenter of the greatest wines," Robert Parker said in an interview with AFP. "I hate to see the image damaged by the fact people tend to think it's too expensive."

"Bordeaux is focused too much on the wealthy Asian market," Parker said. "Despite the fact that China has so many wealthy people, it's a very dangerous game if they raise prices, because the world economy is very, very fragile.".......

"The chateaux care about Robert Parker scores, but they have an eye on the Far East," said Gary Boom, managing director of Bordeaux Index, with offices in Hong Kong and London.

"I was in Bordeaux a couple weeks ago and I told the chateaux then that if the prices go up, the wines will sell, but ownership will get transferred to the Far East," he said.

"They will go exclusively to the Far East. They don't seem to care."

Buyers in China and Hong Kong - now the biggest single market for Bordeaux wine - can be fickle, however.

"If it's a 'Far East' brand like Beychevelle, I will sell everything, but if not, my sales are down," Boom said, referring to Bordeaux labels that are especially well-known in Asia.

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The Telegraph, 09/06/2011

A leading claret has raised its price for the 2010 vintage by 39 per cent, reports Victoria Moore.

If anyone thought the warning of American wine critic, Robert Parker - dubbed 'the pope of the vineyards’ - to the Bordelais this week to be modest with release prices of the 2010 Bordeaux vintage or risk facing a 'financial crisis’ in the “fragile global economy” was going to calm matters, they counted without the swagger of Chateau Pontet Canet.

“Pontet Canet literally flying out of the door,” tweeted wine merchant Bordeaux Index, who say they sold out within half an hour.

View the article here

City AM, 09/06/2011

Fine wine merchant Bordeaux Index says wine prices have rebounded. Wine prices climbed nearly 1.25 percent in May. Older prime vintages were much in demand, with Margaux ’96 and Mouton ’86 leading the way.

View the article here

Evening Standard, 07/06/2011

The economic recovery may have faltered but champagne sales are fizzing, figures reveal today.....

Demand for top still wines is also strong. Wine merchants Bordeaux Index said prices for the most actively traded wines rose 1.2 per cent last month, making a return so far this year of almost 12 per cent.

The most in-demand vintages include Chateau Margaux 1996 and Chateau Mouton Rothschild 1986, said managing director Gary Boom.

View the article here

The Drinks Business, 02/06/2011

Chinese buyers and wine drinkers are beginning to show signs that they are branching out of the first growth bracket and exploring other levels in the Bordeaux classification, according to Bordeaux Index sales director Sam Gleave

Long famed for their devotion to Lafite and other first growths, Asian buyers are now “branching out into super seconds”, Gleave told the drinks business.

“Our sales of Lafite have fallen away slightly to just a few a week,” he continued. “There’s been no fall in the price and Mouton has taken up some of the slack, the 2005 in particular.”

He spoke of how he had recently completed a sale of Ducru-Beaucaillou 2003 and that the likes of Pichon-Baron, Pichon-Lalande, Montrose and Leovilles Barton and Las Cases were attracting interest.

As a result, Gleave stated, many drinkers are finding they are enjoying wines from second and third growths and that they do not have to spend enormous amounts of money to do so.

It helps that quality has risen over the years and Gleave believes the super seconds are now producing wines that are the equivalent of the first growths 15 years ago. The Asian market will not be slow to realise this.

“This market will become sophisticated very quickly,” said Gleave. “Do not underestimate it or the people in it.”

View the article here

Decanter, 29/05/2011

Chateau Latour 'reigned supreme' in the words of Christie's as the auction house sold more than GBP4.6m of wine from the cellars of the chateau on Friday....

During the eight-hour session 392 lots came under the hammer. All were taken direct from the cellars of the Bordeaux first-growth – this was Christie’s answer to the Sotheby’s Chateau Lafite-Rothschild sale of last year, in which record prices were paid, again in Hong Kong.

All but one of the top ten lots at this Latour sale were from the 1961 vintage, and all went to an ‘Asian private’ buyer....

A 12-bottle case of the 1945 then went for GBP122,148 (on a high estimate of GBP56,000), followed by cases and a jeroboam of 1961, all doubling the most Christie’s estimated they would fetch.

A case of the 1982 case sold for GBP42,000 and an imperiale of the same vintage fetched GBP44,000.

More recent vintages also sold well: cases of bottles and magnums of 2009 went for GBP13-14,000, the 2008 fetched over GBP8,000 a case...

View the article here

The Independent on Sunday, 29/05/2011

As the best vintages outperform every asset but gold, Julian Knight goes to Bordeaux to get a taste of the business...

...It's difficult not to agree that it is a special place. But does this beauty spell a real investment opportunity for anyone but the super rich? The investors who have their own property, cash savings and some shares but who are looking for something different to add some much needed growth to their portfolios....

...The local winemakers – happy to get their hands literally dirty – don't want to sully themselves with talk of pounds and pence or euros and cents. But, nevertheless, money is being made in huge quantities, with the price of investment wines comfortably outperforming nearly every other asset class – with the exception of gold – over the past decade. "There are a number of factors which have driven prices up, but they all, in effect, relate to supply and demand," says Sam Gleave, the sales director at Bordeaux Index, a wine merchant and investment specialist....

View the article here

BBC News, 28/05/2011

A single bottle of wine has sold for GBP135,000 in auction.

The six-litre bottle of 1961 Chateau Latour was sold in Hong Kong by London-based Christie's auction house.

The sum was more than three times the expected price. Wine experts said the bottle was of "perfect provenance"....

Gary Boom, founder of London-based fine wine merchant Bordeaux Index, said: "The prices were encouraging but not surprising and shows how important the provenance is and how essential it is to buy from trusted and immaculate sources.

"Quite simply, when you have perfect provenance and a squeeze on supply then it's no surprise that prices reach these levels."

The fine wine market has been booming in London despite the economic slowdown.

...It has been driven partly by an explosion of interest in fine wine from growing economies in the Far East - particularly in China, Hong Kong and Singapore.

View the article here

Spears Wealth Management, 20/05/2011

London’s premier fine wine merchant Bordeaux Index last month sold over 150 cases (12 bottles or 24 half bottles per case) at GBP1,450 per case.

“Our network of contacts in China are telling us d’Yquem has suddenly become highly fashionable,” says Bordeaux Index founder and MD Gary Boom. “It’s become the drink of choice – much in the way that Dom Perignon Rose was in Japan 15 to 20 years ago.” ....

The month’s Bordeaux Index ‘bargain buy’ is Lanessan 2005. Attracting a score of 90 points (out of the maximum 100) from influential critic Robert Parker, it’s proving a popular buy at a price of GBP12.50/bottle.

With summer on the horizon, the main topic of conversation - aside from Bordeaux 2010 – is which wines to stock up on. To help wine lovers make an informed choice, Bordeaux Index’s ‘Insider Tips’ for summer 2011 are:

NV Pol Roger, Champagne at GBP19 / bottle

2008 Fevre, William Chablis, White Burgundy at GBP10 / bottle

2010 Chateau d’Esclans – Whispering Angle, Rose at GBP14.50 / bottle

“With prices ranging from GBP10 to GBP19 a bottle – these three wines represent extremely good value for money,” said Gary Boom. “They’re a perfect way to enjoy a long, hot summer.

View the article here

Harpers Wine& Spirit, 10/05/2011

Interest in en-primeur pre-orders have surged after wine critic Robert Parker spoke of 2010 being a "prodigious vintage", says Bordeaux Index.

The general consensus is the wines are again unique and of extremely high quality, says managing director Gary Boom.

"We're already seeing strong interest in customers entering pre-orders."

"Interest has gathered throughout April but the numbers have surged across the board since Parker released his scores."

....."It's worth keeping an eye on the bigger picture. So far this year wine buyers have enjoyed returns in excess of 10% - a figure only exceeded by the ongoing bull run in the oil market," he added.

View the article here

Wall Street Journal: Scene Asia, 06/05/2011

American wine critic Robert Parker: Some people love him; others, well, don’t.

But his influence was felt this week after he released a positive review for the 2010 vintage of premium Bordeaux wines.

Mr. Parker said on his website Tuesday that the wine, still two years away from delivery, was one of the “greatest Bordeaux vintages I have tasted in my career.”

The next day, wine buffs around the world flooded their brokers with orders. Business was particularly brisk in Hong Kong, says Guy Ruston, a sales executive at wine merchant Bordeaux Index.

“Parker is still the man,” he says. “Everybody in the office spent all day on the phone.”

View the article here

Wall Street Journal, 04/05/2011

Tuesday night, at a small private dinner in London, in the company of six high profile Bordeaux buyers and one Medoc producer, everyone’s blackberry was on red alert.

The reason? Robert Parker, the world’s most influential wine critic, was releasing his scores for the Bordeaux 2010 vintage and updating his scores on the 2008 vintage.

The power and influence of Parker’s points should not be underestimated. To witness the effect a good score has on raising the mood of a producer or broker is astonishing.

Put simply a high Parker score sells wine, which is all you need to know....

For those of you who do not subscribe to his website you can find the scores at Bordeaux Index.

View the article here

The Daily Mail, 25/04/2011

Business is booming: Champagne sales have tripled over the past few weeks compared to last year, according to wine merchant Bordeaux Index

The French Champagne sales have tripled over the past few weeks compared to last year, according to wine merchant Bordeaux Index. One client has splashed out GBP 6,000 on 20 cases of Pol Roger Non Vintage for a particularly high-end street party.

View the article here

Decanter, 13/04/2011

Wine merchants in the UK are confident they are going to be able to sell Bordeaux 2010 – simply because it is so 'wildly different' to its predecessor. Winemakers and chateau owners across Bordeaux shrugged their shoulders when faced with the inevitable question, is it better than 2009? And most merchants agree there are few similarities...

In the midst of such confidence it was left to Gary Boom of Bordeaux Index to sound a warning note. 'Great vintage, tough sell,' he said. 'Everyone went mad on the 2009s - this time last year I had GBP20m of orders on the table. This year I've got nothing. I can't pick up the phone to these people and tell them there's yet another vintage of the century.'

Boom agreed, however, that those who bought the 'great pairings' like 1989 and 1990 were never disappointed. 'I will say to them, "have faith, hang in there. In the long term you will be pleased with your purchase".'

View the article here

Wall St Journal, 13/04/2011

Last weekend, Christie’s accomplished a rare feat: It held a wine auction in Hong Kong that didn’t sell out. In fact, only 68% of the lots on offer sold.That’s a stark contrast to the string of record-breaking auctions in recent months, in which bottles of top Bordeaux and Burgundy fetched astronomical prices....

Doug Rumsam, managing director of the Hong Kong wine merchant Bordeaux Index, said that the Christie’s auction results “came as a surprise.”

“We haven’t seen any dip in our business…. Demand is still strong,” he said. “I’ve always wondered if the auction houses would continue at this pace unless they could keep regenerating their audience. If not, it was bound to slow down eventually. You don’t just continue spending at the rate some of these guys have been spending. After a year or so of buying very heavily, many [buyers] have completed their cellars and are now very selective.”

View the article here

The Independent, 11/04/2011

Wine merchants warned Friday demand could be high for another excellent Bordeaux vintage after buyers from around the world descended on southwest France for the annual market. China and Hong Kong have become the biggest customers for the world renowned Bordeaux wines but some traders are warning against neglecting the more traditional markets in Europe and the United States.

Most expect sales and prices to match last year's or to increase through the three month sales period, leading up to June's annual Vinexpo sales fair. The sales drive kicked off in buoyant mood.....

Chinese demand is expected to remain limited to established labels. "We expect Asia to still only want the top 10 or 20 names and can't see that changing," said Gary Boom, managing director of Bordeaux Index, which has offices in Hong Kong and London.

View the article here

Investment Week, 07/04/2011

As Asia’s love affair with fine wine grows, Joanna Faith looks at how this new phenomenon is affecting the asset class as a whole. The success of wine as an asset class is hard to refute – the numbers speak for themselves....

With few asset classes currently delivering such attractive returns, the case for investing in wine is well versed: fine wine prices are largely uncorrelated to other asset classes; investors can see returns of up to 30% a year from some bottles; and demand is exceeding supply.A wave of demand from Asia – more specifically China, whose love of luxury products such as jewellery and designer handbags, has been well documented – is to thank for this new dynamic....

Gary Boom, managing director, of Bordeaux Index, a trader of fine wines, says one of the biggest risks to the wine industry is if “China goes into meltdown”.

View the article here

FT, 01/04/2011

The difference is that now the red wines have benefited from so many years in bottle, they look considerably more charming than they did at just a few months old. In fact, those who bought 2001 red bordeaux en primeur should feel quite pleased with themselves. And those who bought 2001 sweet white bordeaux should feel very smug indeed....

A recent tasting of nearly 60 significant 2001s organised in London by fine wine traders Bordeaux Index confirmed these impressions. (It has to be said that 10 years does seem to be the ideal age to judge a bordeaux vintage – far too much guesswork is needed much earlier than this. And let no one think that tasting a vintage at only a few months old, as we are now doing with the 2010s in Bordeaux, is a precise science.)..

The Bordeaux Index tasting concentrated on the smartest wines, with all the first growths (mostly GBP4,000-5,000) and equivalents (nearly all of which had been donated for the tasting, including Le Pin which is a tiny property and whose 2001 is currently trading at around GBP18,000 a case) and most of the significant classed growths. But the exuberance, confidence and harmony of the two cheapest wines included in the tasting, one from each bank, Ch Poujeaux 2001 Moulis (GBP225 a case) and Ch La Tour Figeac 2001 St-Emilion (GBP295), suggest that there are many bargains among the lesser 2001s...

Jancis’s picks

Approximate UK prices per dozen bottles in bond

Top quality

• Ch d’Yquem 2001 Sauternes GBP 4,600

• Ch Latour 2001 Pauillac GBP 5,200

• Ch Haut-Brion 2001 Pessac-Leognan GBP 4,100

• Ch Lafleur 2001 Pomerol GBP 3,000

• Ch Petrus 2001 Pomerol GBP 16,000

Best value

• Ch Doisy Daene 2001 Sauternes GBP 325

• Ch Doisy Vedrines 2001 Sauternes GBP 350

• Ch Coutet 2001 Sauternes GBP 395

• Ch Rayne Vigneau 2001 Sauternes GBP 395

• Ch La Tour Figeac 2001 St-Emilion GBP 295

• Ch Beausejour Duffau Lagarrosse 2001 St-Emilion GBP 380

For 875 tasting notes on 2001 bordeaux, see Purple pages of JancisRobinson.com

View the article here

Growing Business, 23/03/2011

Claret with clarity: how a seasoned City slicker transformed the wine industry..

Few people are lucky enough to combine their business with their pleasure; fewer still are lucky enough to make profits from their passion. So Gary Boom, of Bordeaux Index, is part of an elite band.

Boom has built Bordeaux Index, the wine trading business he founded in 1997, into a GBP 150m-turnover company with customers in over 120 countries. His company has grown into a fully-fledged wine merchant, and has used financial instruments such as a two-way price index to bring order to the often chaotic wine market.

Wine collecting had been Boom’s principal hobby for years before he launched Bordeaux Index, but the enjoyment it gave him was often diminished by the “shoddy service” he received from existing wine companies....

He says that the distribution service was often extremely poor, with couriers simply dropping the cases of wine he’d purchased round the back of the house, and the industry was blighted by vagueness and disorganisation.

Falling back on his financial background, Boom began to conceive a new venture. He explains:

“I thought wine was one of the last great commodities, but it was very badly served by the companies that ran it. The wine market is a big commodity market and, in City terms, it reminded me of an unregulated market.

“By providing transparency to the market, I could start commoditising it. We’ve always publicised our wine prices, shown exactly what quantities are for sale, listed the prices we buy at and the prices we sell it. Clarity is the key.”

View the article here

erobertparker.com, Neal Martin Wine Journal, 23/03/2011

Graduating At Ten..

Why, why, why? Those are the three words that enter my head when I read of yet another case of vinous infanticide. There I was, thinking child sacrifice died out with the Phoenicians. I can sympathize why someone might be tempted to crack open a Claret before ten years of age, savour those primal fruits and obdurate tannins.

But make no mistake, the best Bordeaux wines are built to age and that is why God/glaciers deigned them with a particular terroir and a noble grape to make longevity possible.

No point in building a Babylonian palace gilded in pearls if it crumbles to rumble in ten years. Nobody will remember that. Bordeaux will forsake one of its great virtues if it reduces itself to a palimpsest, whereby the most recent vintage simply replaces the previous one.

I have attended countless dinners with young (5-10 years) and more mature vintages (10-25-years) and whilst such a vertical might illustrate an improvement in winemaking technique, better ripeness levels or perhaps finer tannins, they also demonstrate that the older wines offer far more intellectual pleasure than their younger counterparts. They marry, rather than dominate the cuisine they partner, they offer secondary aromas and flavours that neither Nature nor winery trickery can create. Only time can do that...

So when it comes to a ten-year on tasting, I regard it as the first look at the class of Bordeaux graduating from college and entering the big wide world otherwise known as their “drinking window”. If a wine is showing its age by ten years in so far that it seems enervated or drying out, then it is a failure because frankly speaking, I could have saved myself a wad of money and bought a scintillating New World wine at half the price and one-quarter of the ego. At ten years, Bordeaux ought to fly off into the clouds and show those “pretenders” who is the “Daddy”. At some point, they have to justify why Joe Public shelled out a small fortune for an unfinished wine from a vintage that now seem to haloed in the womb....

I like the 2001 Bordeaux vintage...I like it a lot and have done since birth. Predestined to be over-shadowed by the 2000s, they represented outstanding value during the first few years of their life and it is only now that prices have started creeping up. Most of the wines are now entering their secondary phase, losing their flush of primary fruit and developing their own individual characters. In many ways, these wines are (and I am sorry to use this cliched word) unashamedly “classic” in style with the initial puppy fat of fruit ebbing away to reveal some surprisingly structured tannic finishes. The good news is that there is more than enough fruit to keep most of these wines in balance....

Wine-Journal’s Recommendations

On A Budget: Chateau Langoa-Barton 2001, Chateau Brane-Cantenac 2001, Chateau La Tour Figeac 2001, Chateau La Tour Blanche 2001, Chateau de Fargues 2001
Blow The Budget: Chateau Lafite-Rothschild 2001, Petrus 2001, Chateau La Mission Haut-Brion 2001
Lay Down For the Kids: Chateau Lafleur 2001, Chateau Montrose 2001.

Thanks to Bordeaux Index for organizing this tasting, to the chateau that have the guts to donate their samples and to my true trusted pourers who enabled me to conduct the tasting blind. Also thanks to Monica Schuster for another blinding quiche.

View the article here

My Finances, 16/03/ 2011

Forget stocks, shares, bonds, oiecs and investments trusts – if you really want to understand exactly what you are investing in there are some truly unusual but very interesting assets out there...

While a financial adviser will probably tell you it's essential to have a range of stock market investments in your portfolio, perhaps a bit of cash, they might also tell you that alternative investments provide a way of diversifying.

They don't have to be high risk, they can complement a hobby or interest and they may even make you some superb returns...

Investing in wine doesn't have to mean notching up a hefty tab down your local. Nor does it necessarily mean owning a cellar full of dusty vintages.

Fine wine has over the years become a popular asset class in its own right and there are products which allow investors to benefit from its rising prices...

the Bordeaux Index, the monthly report on the state of the fine wine investment market, reveals wine prices rose by 3.7 per cent in February.

Compared to crude oil, which rose by 12 per cent and gold, which went up 7.7 per cent in February, it might not look such a good bet.

But Bordeaux Index founder and managing director Gary Boom, said this needs to be looked at in context. He said the instabilities in the Middle East and North Africa were responsible for the rise in oil, while investors used gold as a risk insurance for portfolios.

Long term the figures look more impressive – over the last year fine wine prices went up by 30 per cent and for each of the last 15 years the average annual gain was 15 per cent.

Mr Boom added: "Stripping away the impact of these unheralded events in the Middle East and North Africa the performance of fine wine continues to impress.

"The gains investors are enjoying are well above twice those gained on equity markets – further proof that the sector has become a cog in a much larger machine."

So what's the outlook? Apparently everything is heading towards a small but exceptional vintage for Bordeaux.

Mr Boom added: "The 2010 prices could well exceed last year's records but ultimately the prices will be affected by outside, wider issues affecting a range of investment options."

View the article here

The Spectator 15/03/2011

Chinese demand boosts returns for wine investors...

The last time I wrote about wine for these pages, the global recession still lay ahead of us. In June 2008, fine wine prices were soaring on the back of the decision by the Hong Kong government to abolish import duty on wine (previously 40 per cent, and prior to that 80 per cent). The huge Chinese market was just starting to open up. Since then, wine prices have weathered the recession well, fulfilling the old adage that fine wine is the last asset class to fall in value and the first to rise. With record auction prices recorded in Hong Kong in January — Andrew Lloyd Webber’s collection of 8,600 bottles sold for GBP 3.5 million, well above the GBP 2 million estimate — it is still the case that brand reputation trumps quality of vintage for many Chinese buyers....

There is a small cluster of wine investment companies with proven track records that I can still recommend, as I did in 2008. They are Magnum Fine Wines, Premier Cru Fine Wine Investment, and Bordeaux Index. All three recommend that you invest for a minimum of five years and in a balanced portfolio, usually containing one expensive case of a leading first growth and a couple of lesser growths.

View the article here

Jancisrobinson.com, 15/03/2011

As you may know, I am all in favour of blind tastings when it comes to comparing like with like, or at least similar with similar. This usually translates into tasting wines of the same vintage but from different producers, the classic horizontal tasting like those I shall undertake when looking at the 2010 primeurs next month in Bordeaux. Recently London fine-wine traders Bordeaux Index hosted a blind vertical tasting that turned out to be even more interesting....

Ronan Laborde of Ch Clinet in Pomerol was there with examples of every single vintage of this widely admired Pomerol from 1987 to 2008, but they were served not exactly in random order but in decidedly mixed up groups by vague age range. And the results were certainly suprising. My favourite vintages turned out to be the 1994 and 1988 - with 1993 and 1991 showing surprisingly well too. And apparently I was not out on some strange egocentric limb. These vintages appealed to many other blind tasters too...

View the article here

Decanter, 08/03/2011

Philippe Dhalluin, co-managing Director of Mouton Rothschild, was at the two- Michelin-starred The Square restaurant last Monday to host a spectacular dinner featuring an array of vintages of Chateau Mouton-Rothschild for the customers of Bordeaux Index.

Gary Boom, Bordeaux Index’s owner, welcomed his clients and said “the first decent wine I bought was 1985 Mouton, it was from Majestic Warehouse and was a lot different to the industrial swill I’d been used to in South Africa”. He then went on to tell the packed restaurant to enjoy the evening “and be as noisy as you like,” an instruction they cheered, and with the aroma of that First Growth filling the restaurant, obeyed easily....

View the article here

City AM, 10/03/2011

Buying into fine wine is proving to be a lucrative investment even in uncertain times..A COMPOUND annual growth rate of 15 per cent since 1999: sounds good, doesnt it? It sounds even better when you find out thats higher than US and UK equity markets and comparable only to property without, er, being property and suffering its recent fate. Surely it cant get better than that? Well, actually, it turns out it can. Mainly because its wine and red wine to be more precise. Investors are pouring into this liquid market....The source of this growth is China. It turns out they are crazy for Bordeaux. So much so that the 200year old vineyard Lafite Rothschild have confirmed that its labels will now feature Chinese characters. Many say this means you have to be a China bull to think the wine sector is hot. That might be true. But Joe Marchant from Bordeaux Index insists not: Investment from the high net worth community in Europe and America is growing fast too.

View the article here

The Independent, 06/03/2011

Traded fine wine prices rose 3.7 per cent in February, according to the Bordeaux Index, continuing the assets strong start to 2011. This meant that wines comfortably outstripped the FTSE 100 index, which grew just 0.6 per cent last month, and the Dow Jones, which grew 1.6 per cent. However, the Middle East crisis meant that oil was the top performing asset class, rising 11.7 per cent to well over $100 a barrel. Gold surged 7.7 per cent.

View the article here

Financial News, 04/03/2011

It has so far been a good start to the year for investors in fine wines with prices continuing to climb thanks to demand in both traditional and emerging markets. Fine wine prices were up 3.7% month-on-month, according to Bordeaux Index, making it a record February for sales by the index provider and fine wine merchant....While Chateau Lafite remains a firm favourite among wine aficionados, others including Chateau Mouton Rothschild, Chateau Margaux and Chateau Haut Brion are snapping at its heels...it looks as if the decent start to the year could continue with the first tasting of 2010 En Primeur wine futures in April. Gary Boom said: Everything we are hearing points to a small but exceptional vintage for Bordeaux. The 2010 prices could well exceed last years records but ultimately the prices will be affected by outside, wider issues affecting a range of investment options.

View the article here

Decanter, 25/02/2011

Auction house Christie's is stepping up its efforts in the Far East with the appointment of its first-ever head of wine for China... This week London merchant Bordeaux Index announced it will launch a wine school in Hong Kong. Hong Kong wine educator Anastasia Mak will run the school, based on Michael Schuster's courses at Bordeaux Index's London office.

View the article here

Harpers, 18/02/2011

The best known Burgundy producer Domaine de la Romanee Conti saw prices for its 2005 vintage plunge by up to 50percent as the global financial crisis hit. But two years later it is enjoying a rise in demand for both drinking and investing, says Bordeaux Index managing director Gary Boom...Demand for fifth grwoth status Chateau Lynch Bages has shot up 20percent in just five weeks, Bordeaux Index sold 2.904 bottles of the 2008 vintage this month... Boom also said clients were increasingly looking for value wines given the record high prices of first growths. This chasm has encouraged clients worldwide to start buying these names as they seek out more value, and demand is strong. A recent Pichon Lalande 2006 offer we mailed out showing 50 cases (12 bottles per case), at GBP850 per case sold out within an hour and this wine is now selling at GBP950 per case...

View the article here

The Drinks Business, 17/02/2011

Chateau Yquem could finally be emerging as a preferred fine wine brand in the Far East according to merchant Bordeaux Index, which has just sold 600 bottles and 1,200 half bottles in a single trade to a Chinese buyer. The famous LVMH owned Sauternes has for some time been tipped as a must have label in Asia, particularly after the Chinese authorities legalised the importation of sweet wines, including Sauternes, in September last year. However, forecasts of rapidly rising demand and subsequent price appreciation have not materialised. Nevertheless, Gary Boom, managing director of Bordeaux Index, said of the significant Yquem sale: Watch this space as we think it could mark the start of a love affair for this liquid gold with the mainland Chinese buyers.

View the article here

Wall St Journal (Asia), 08/02/2011

After Bordeaux wines fetched sky high auction prices last year in Hong Kong, it seemed like France's other top region Burgundy was getting neglected. But this year might be Burgundy's time to shine. Early reviews of the 2009 vintage of Burgundy are in, critics began tasting late last year, and the verdict is good: According to the London based dealer Bordeaux Index, the 2009 vintage is the most forward and generous one over the past decade.

View the article here

Bloomberg, Elin McCoy 07/02/2011

A blizzard threatened the New York arrival of nearly 100 Bordeaux chateau owners who were eager to show off their 2008 vintage, now bottled and soon to appear on retail shelves...Many owners are already touting the greatness of 2010 and suggest 2008 may be Bordeauxs last price/quality buy. I have heard that about other vintages, but this time it just might be true...As Gary Boom, managing director of London based merchant Bordeaux Index puts it, The 08s are the hottest ticket right now. You can get two cases of 2008 Pichon Lalande for the price of a decent handbag.

View the article here

Harpers, 04/02/2011

Fine wine started the year strongly, with January prices returning 3.8% growth, but a late rally at the end of the month meant the Dow Jones skipped it into first place with 4% growth. Januarys star wines all came from Mouton, Margaux and Haut Brion with the best-performing vintages returning double-digit returns, said Bordeaux Index.

View the article here

Spears WM, 24/01/2011

The higher than expected GBP 3.5 million price tag for wines pulled from the personal cellar of composer Andrew Lloyd Webber has again emphasised the unquenchable thirst Asian buyers have developed for fine wine. Unlike the frantic scenes we saw at the end of last year, this time around prices overall were solid and the buying was steady, observed Doug Rumsam, MD of Bordeaux Indexs HK office. What we found particularly impressive were the results of the second Growths, many trading well above the usual market price. said Doug. But now the dust has settled from the weekends Hong Kong auction, experts are questioning the premium paid to own part of the vast collection owned by the creator of Phantom of the Opera and Cats. In the cold light of day the price paid was up to 60 percent higher than compared to the open market, said Gary Boom, Founder & MD of Bordeaux Index fine wine merchant...Going into 2011, things continue to look positive for the market over the mid term, said Gary. In the macro sense, there are few signs of tightening in emerging markets with bumper growth projections forecast again for the key market of China. The Asian market will grow again this year and it will be lead by China. With 2011 still in its infancy, the key driver is proving to be the Chinese New Year. Although celebrations are not due to begin until next month, buyers have been snapping up premium wines for the past eight weeks, elevating the Chinese New Year into one of the industrys most important events second only to En Primeur. Bordeaux Indexs month turnover surged 200 percent in December from the previous year, with first growths again proving highly popular with buyers. The explosion in sales helped push annual revenue above the GBP 100 million mark for the first time. New trends are emerging in the maturing Chinese market, as buyers begin to move beyond the leading brands. They are already looking at second Growths and trying to move away from the perceived safety of the First Growths, said Doug Rumsam.

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The Telegraph, 24/01/2011

The Chinese relationship with wine continues to amaze. If urban myths are to be believed the accepted norm is to buy the most expensive vino possible and swill it with coke. In this country the same drink is known as calimocho and was favoured by punks for a while in the Eighties. Even they got fed up with it. Back in China it shows no sign of falling out of fashion... A recent auction of fine wines saw certain vintages going for 65pc more than the open market. For example, a case of Chateau Mouton Rothschild 2000 sold for GBP 17,565. On the open market it would be expected to fetch GBP 10,800. A Chateau Cheval Blanc 2000 went for 55pc above the going rate. What the wines had in common was that they came from Cats creator Lord Lloyd Webbers personal collection. This is very odd. His musicals are cheesy, so they might go well with wine, but can they really taste 60pc better than normal stuff? Even the boss of Bordeaux Index was not convinced. It is dubious he told me.

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Asia Tatler Dining, James Suckling February 2011

The region has gone crazy for Bordeauxs much heralded 2009 vintage. Renowned US wine critic and Asia Tatlers new wine editor James Suckling explains what all the fuss is about... "Our sales of Bordeaux en primeur went from nothing to USdollars 32 million in 2009 in Hong Kong," says Gary Boom, owner of London based Bordeaux Index, which also has an office in Hong Kong. "It's still very centred on the first growths and the second wines of first growths, but it is impressive." The 2009 Bordeaux vintage has been heralded as one of the greatest of all time. Comparisons have been made with such modern classics as 1982, 1989, 1990, 2000 and 2005, while some say wine lovers have to go back to 1961, 1959, 1945 or even 1929 to find such a stellar year. I began my barrel-tasting career with the storied 1982 vintage and have been tasting young vintages of red Bordeaux ever since, but I don't remember ever tasting such an exciting young vintage as this one. What is so striking is the purity of fruit in the wines, particularly the reds. They show an essence of perfectly ripe grapes that seems almost unworldly. They have intense and juicy fruit, yet they maintain the tannin structure and bright acidity that one expects from top notch Bordeaux.

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FT, Jancis Robinson 21/01/2011

There is a problem with the 2009 vintage in Burgundy. It is too attractive. So attractive that some UK merchants have already sold their allocations of the most sought after wines. The good news, however, is that there are many delicious wines among the less famous producers and more humbly ranked vineyards. And for once this was a vintage that delivered both quality and quantity... My wine of the week: Domaine des Terres Dorees 2009 Morgon At last weeks orgy of Burgundy 2009 tastings, four digit prices per dozen bottles were so frighteningly common, it was a pleasure to encounter a little oasis of reasonable pricing in the wines of Jean-Paul Brun of the Domaine des Terres Dorees in Beaujolais. His wines are so damned good that this is not the first time I have chosen one as a wine of the week... The 2009 Beaujolais vintage was truly great and many of the more serious bottlings are just coming on to the market. They should be kept for quite a while. In this particular case I would suggest drinking it over the next six years, possibly longer. I found it had great structure for the future yet managed to have that glorious succulence and silky texture of Cru Beaujolais at its most seductive. And this is a true expression of Morgons special minerality. Scrumptious stuff. The label says that decanting is recommended. I left the bottle open overnight to highly advantageous effect. GBP 90 a dozen in bond from Bordeaux Index

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This is Money, 06/01/2011

Wine investors enjoyed a stellar 2010, with prices for the top vintages rising 40% on surging demand in Asia. The growth owes much to strong demand in Asia, where fine wine is proving very popular. Record auction prices were set in Hong Kong, where cases of twelve wines traded for tens of thousands of pounds. Gary Boom, founder of Bordeaux Index, said: 'Once more, the key dynamic has been continued demand from the Asian market. 'Chinese buyers in particular have got a taste for fine wine and with alternative investment classes such as gold and shares limping through to the end of the year, it's hard not to give any other forecast other than for growth to continue well into the New Year.'

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Wall Street Journal, 07/01/2011

There is not much that is finer than wine these days, especially as an investment...The story behind the rise as it often is with fine art and luxury goods is China...So will prices for Bordeaux head even higher in 2011? Again, all eyes are on Asia...wine experts say that the en primeur sale of the 2010 crop of Bordeaux will be crucial to assessing the state of the market. Already, the buzz is that the 2010 wines will be superb....Of course, instead of growth, you could look for value....Gary Boom, managing director of Bordeaux Index in London, a fine-wine merchant, recommends focusing on the bad years of top labels, or on the top vintages of the second tier wines. The reasons: The top vintages of second tier wines are where many wine lovers will go to satisfy their thirst for high-end wine without having to pay Lafite prices, he says. And people who want to show off their riches by quaffing Lafite will likely go for the least expensive one, he argues, which means there will be demand for the lesser vintages. I call it the Cristal effect, he said, referring to the expensive champagne (roughly 250dollars to 300dollars a bottle) by Louis Roederer that was popular with hip-hop artists in the last decade. If anybody is buying to drink, they will choose the cheapest one.

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Harpers, 05/01/2011

The fine wine merchants and traders Bordeaux Index predicted 2011 will be another strong year for the category as order books were already groaning after the first full day of trading yesterday...With another first class en primeur vintage waiting in the wings, buyers are already acquiring positions in the most desirable back vintages in advance of the new release, said Boom.

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FT, 04/01/2011

Wine is proving to be a stellar investment, far outperforming its rival assets over the past year. In December the price rise for wine was limited to just one per cent, in contrast to gains in equities of 6.7 per cent, gains in gold at 2 per cent and gains in oil of 8.7 per cent. But over the whole year in 2010 wine outperformed all the other asset classes for the second year running. Wine investors are now enjoying returns of 32 per cent, much higher than the 22 per cent return on the classic safe haven, gold. Over the last 15 years, the average annual return on fine wine has been 15 per cent. A classic Christmas rally sent equity markets to the years highs as traders bet on continuing strong growth for emerging markets and a firmer US recovery in 2011, said Gary Boom, founder of Bordeaux Index, a fine wine merchant. With cyclical bulls viewing the surge in the US 10-year Treasury Note as a sign that growth could be about to take off and yet more talk of further monetary stimulus in the spring, analysts are predicting both commodities and equities to show well in 2011. Festivities, such as next months Chinese New Year are expected to keep the fine wine prices growing in the first quarter.

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FT, The Lex Column, 30/12/2010

Plenty of investment predictions made this time last year were blown out of the water in 2010. Equity markets in favourite emerging economies such as Brazil and China went backwards. The oil prices went sideways, as did property prices.. Commodities promised much, but some, including cocoa lost ground....perhaps to console themselves, investors turned to drink. The value of investment grade Bordeaux wine rose more than 32 per cent during the year on the back of Asian demand, according to Bordeaux Index. But wine has an advantage over all other asset classes in that both winners and losers buy the stuff; the former to celebrate, the latter to commiserate. No wonder the average annual return on fine wine over the past 15 years is more than 15 per cent, a performance that few other asset classes can match

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AFP, 26/12/2010

When Chateau Lafite chief executive Christophe Salin set a modest price for the 2008 vintage in April 2009, the financial world was melting down. Today, a robust market led by China and a lucky "8" have pushed up prices on the grand cru by 590 percent...Lafite is the rock-star of fine wine in China, the fastest growing wine market, and the 2008 packaging affirms Chinas status. "I thought it would be a nice way to say hello, and thank you to the Chinese people," said Salin of his packaging initiative. ..the surge came quite unexpectedly last October at Sothebys Hong Kong auction of 2,000 bottles of Lafite direct from the chateaus cellars. The headline sale was a bottle of 1869 Lafite, estimated to be worth 8,000 dollars a bottle, but which sold for 233,972 dollars, making it the most expensive bottle of wine on the planet. "It was surreal," said Salin, who was already in shock from the second sale of the night. The 2008 vintage, estimated to be worth 666 dollars a bottle, sold for 2,860 dollars per bottle. Word had leaked out about the Chinese-friendly packaging and speculation heated the market. "We must have sold 600 cases of Lafite in the 10 days after the auction with a 10-15 percent uptick in the prices" across the board since the auction, said Gary Boom, managing director of wine merchant Bordeaux Index. They were all vintages of Lafite.

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The Daily Telegraph, Gary Boom 20/12/2010

The turnover of UK market for fine wine has almost doubled in 2010. Although the 2009 Bordeaux En-Primeur and increasing prices have contributed to some extent, the UK market is the healthiest it has been in a number of years. In addition to Bordeaux, there have been strong increases in demand for almost every major fine wine region, especially Champagne. UK buyers are buying fine wine both as an investment, and to drink. Sales via direct investment companies have increased significantly but not out of proportion to overall turnover. Sales of first growths excluding Chateau Latour are still markedly skewed towards Asia. Demand for the very expensive 2009 Vintage was predominately from the UK and also was significantly more diverse than for the three preceding campaigns. Gary Boom is managing director of Bordeaux Index (www.bordeauxindex.com)

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Decanter, 13/12/2010

The snow and freezing conditions could not deter the 60 or so guests who made it to the Pol Roger dinner at The Ledbury early December, the exclusive event put together by London broker, Bordeaux Index. Established in 1849, Pol Roger remains a family-owned and independent house.

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The Telegraph, 03/12/2010

Wine sales are enjoying a bumper winter this year with reported turnover up 200 per cent compared to 2009. According to the Bordeaux Index, a monthly report on the state of the fine wine market, bottles of white and red outperformed gold and oil. Wine prices jumped 5 per cent, year on year, bettering rises in the price of oil, which was up three per cent, and gold up to two per cent. The rise has been attributed to an increased interest in China for fine wines over the past 12 months...Gary Boom, the founder and Managing Director of Bordeaux Index, said: Once more, the key dynamic has been continued demand from the Asian market.

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Wine Spectator, 02/12/2010

Plus, high-tech wine labels, and wine retailers ask for an audience with the U.S. Supreme Court...Chinese consumers have certainly brought good fortune to Lafite investors. Prices of the 2008, already far higher than other first growths (due in large part to the affinity for Lafite in the Hong Kong wine market) have jumped 15 percent to 20 percent since the Chinese packaging was revealed. Now that good fortune has spread to Mouton. In anticipation of the Chinese label, prices of Mouton 2008 increased 60 percent in the past month according to Gary Boom, managing director and founder of Bordeaux Index in London.

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Money Observer, 02/12/2010

Fine wine prices jumped 5 per cent in November, outpacing gains in both oil and gold. After a pause in late summer, wine prices have rocketed as the Christmas period approaches, with high demand from China and Hong Kong. Monthly volume soared a massive 200 per cent compared to November 2009. Fine wine has climbed 32.4 per cent so far this year, according to figures from the Bordeaux Index...Despite the recent headlines around the booming gold and oil prices, fine wines outperformed both in the last month, which rose at 2.2 per cent and 3.3 per cent respectively.

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Spears Wealth Management, 02/12/2010

Top fine wine merchant Bordeaux Index reveals that high rollers at a newly opened casino in Singapore will have to dig deep into their pockets to afford a glass of the house red, after the casinos owners spent GBP 111,000 on a single case of vintage Burgundy. Describing the wine as an immaculate case of Romanee Conti 1971, Bordeaux Index MD and founder Gary Boom said the price goes to show that its not just Bordeaux wines that consumers are thirsty for.....One of the key factors with Burgundy is the scarcity of the product, and because of this, the market price is simply whatever someone is willing to pay, said Gary Boom. There are literally only hundreds of cases of the best Burgundy produced every year compared to the tens of thousands of Bordeaux that come onto the market. With demand always far outstripping supply, the key point in this niche market is gaining access to these extremely rare and exclusive Burgundy wines, a hurdle that Bordeaux Index has successfully cleared.

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The Telegraph, 30/11/2010

The choice of a Chinese artist for the 2008 Mouton-Rothschild vintage is a shrewd piece of marketing that reflects the increasingly obvious power of China's new super rich in the international wine industry...The power of the Chinese buyer has been reflected in record sales in Hong Kong this year where last month an auction at the Mandarin Oriental hotel smashed all records, with some experts openly declaring the prices as bonkers. The lot that stole the headlines were three bottles of Chateau Lafite 1869 which fetched GBP 143,000 each, eclipsing the 1985 record of GBP 105,000 and capping the sale last March of an Imperial bottle of Petrus 1982 to a Hong Kong collector for GBP 45,000...Fine wine sales to Asia are rocketing, said Gary Boom, the founder of Bordeaux Index after that sale, Even by Hong Kong standards GBP 45,000 for a bottle of red albeit a world class bottle of red was a remarkable sale.

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City AM, 29/11/2010

YOU might recall that a couple of weeks ago a box of vintage Bordeaux was sold for GBP 43,000 at auction in Hong Kong. Well, its been bettered. A casino in Singapore has gone, er, all in on red by splurging GBP 111,000 on a case of Burgundy. Which, if your maths is not immediately up to it, comes in at GBP 9,250 a bottle. The wine in question was a Romanee Conti 1971, which has been described as having a perfumed mix of spiced tea, smoked beef jerky and abundant earth. Gary Boom, MD of wine auction expert Bordeaux Index, who has recently hired a representative just to look after the growing market is Singapore, said that demand is being driven there by gift giving. Good times.

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The Independent, 28/11/2010

Far-Eastern interest is changing the market for investors, say Chiara Cavaglieri and Julian Knight..It may only be 2010 but it looks like the 21st century will belong to China. With its economy set to outpace the United States as early as 2030 and nearly a quarter of the world's population speaking Chinese, signs of China's new status as a world superpower are everywhere...."Massive wealth is being generated in China and they've caught the wine bug in a very big way," says Gary Boom, the founder of the BI. "They have both money and desire but no stock so all the great wines in the world are migrating over to Asia."

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Wine Spectator, Suzanne Mustacich 22/11/2010

Record Lafite sale an indication of escalating wine prices in Hong Kong market.... When the hammer came down on the extraordinary sale of a bottle of 1869 Chateau Lafite, history was made. Estimated to reach US dollars 8,000, it sold for US dollars 233,972, making it the most expensive 750ml bottle of wine on the planet. There was a big round of applause, some cheers, and a little bit of shock and amazement, recalled Robert Sleigh, head of Sothebys Asia wine department. People were conscious of witnessing history. We must have sold 600 cases of Lafite in the 10 days after the auction. There has been a 10 percent to 15 percent uptick in the prices across the board, all vintages, said Gary Boom, a wine merchant specializing in Bordeaux.

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The Guardian, Tania Branigan 16/11/2010

Territory enjoying its status as wine capital of Asia since cutting duty from 40% to zero two years ago...When three bidders fought up the price to a new world high for a single bottle of wine, the well-heeled buyers present gasped and applauded. Three bottles each sold for a stratospheric HKDollars1.8m (GBP143,000), easily beating the 1985 record of GBP105,000. Even those in the trade describe that as a "bonkers" price; perhaps three times a European merchant's. "It's not a reflection of where the market is, but of the fact that anything's possible if you hit the right buyers in China," said Doug Rumsam, managing director of Bordeaux Index in Hong Kong.... But at the top of the market, the price is itself a selling point. Some are buying to store or speculate. Many, perhaps most, are buying for business purposes: to grease the wheels of projects or woo new clients. They need a wine that recipients can recognise as outrageously expensive. "Orders that five years ago would have been staggering are arriving with startling regularity," said Rumsam.

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City AM, Gary Boom 12/11/2010

AS THE giddy prices achieved at the recent auctions in Hong Kong confirmed, the right price for anything is what someone is willing to pay for it. With premia to market averaging around 60 per cent on over GBP10m of widely available stock, it speaks more of the bidders zeal than of the market reality. But looking at the fine wine market more broadly, as prices continue to canter up and the investment play becomes ever more pivotal, then price transparency and settlement certainty grows in importance.

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The Drinks Business, 11/11/2010

Bordeaux Index is looking to dispel the myth that it only deals in Bordeaux with an updated and more in depth Burgundy offering...Despite its name and reputation, sales director Sam Gleave explained that the development of the Burgundy range was a continuation of the brokers previous work, but with more direct sourcing and logistical and marketing support for consultant Philip Slocombe. Speaking to the drinks business, he explained that the investment would allow for greater range in terms of variety and volume of those existing directly imported domaines, as well as up and coming growers such as Jean Tardy, Harmand Geoffroy, Laurent Roumier and Paul Pernot. Gleave continued that BI had always tried to keep its Burgundy selection on a par with that of Bordeaux but it had usually only stretched as far as buying wines from private cellars or on the secondary market. The new emphasis will mean much more direct buying from both well established, famous names and up and coming producers...

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Decanter.com, Maggie Rosen 08/11/2010

Hong Kong and China wine market experts are calling the prices fetched at the recent Sothebys Chateau Lafite auction in Hong Kong crazy and not a bellwether of the market. Merchants, auctioneers and other insiders many of them assembled for the Hong Kong International Wine & Spirits Fair have responded to the record breaking prices paid for Chateau Lafite at a recent Sothebys auction in Hong Kong with a mix of amusement and mock horror. I dont think its a reflection of the market, but of the right buyer in the right mood, said Doug Rumsam, managing director of Bordeaux Index in Hong Kong.

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The Drinks Business, 05/11/2010

The recent Sothebys sale of 2000 bottles of Lafite in Hong Kong saw the largest prices ever achieved at a wine auction. The Lafite collection all bottles released direct from the estates own cellars played no small part in driving the auction's pre sale estimate of 20 million HK dollars to the staggering heights of 65.5m dollars. Three bottles of Lafite 1869 became the most expensive bottles ever sold at auction with each realising 1,815,000 dollars. Their high estimate was a mere 65,000 dollars. Other bottles that reached over $1m apiece included two bottles of 1870, a Jeroboam of 1959, two bottles of 1899, an imperial of 1982 and two cases of the same vintage. The very first lot, a case of 2009 en primeur, was sold for GBP 43,000, four times its average price in London. Doug Rumsam, managing director of Bordeaux Index in Hong Kong said he had never seen anything like it.

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City AM, Thomas Hamed 05/11/2010

WINE has gained more value this year than either gold or shares, driven largely by Chinese demand. According to research from The Bordeaux Index which tracks live changes in the prices of 80 to 100 of the most traded wines demand for fine wine grew by 26 per cent in the year to date, and 39 per cent in 2009.... Wine merchants do not see a speculative bubble forming, despite the rapid price rise. Gary Boom, managing director and founder of Bordeaux Index, says that most wine sold leaves London, suggesting that investors actually consume the wine... Boom said: With continued strong growth in both Asia and Latin America and expected improvements from the US and Europe we are confident investors money will continue to flow into wine over the next two months.

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Decanter.com, Jane Anson 04/11/2010

As the biggest weekend in the Burgundy calendar approaches, one expert suggested the Chinese would find great Burgundy affordable compared to top Bordeaux. Hong Kong-based wine merchants agree that the most informed Chinese consumers are increasingly interested in Burgundy. Doug Rumsam of Bordeaux Index in Hong Kong said, The clever Chinese buyers have been buying Burgundy for a while, with interest widening out slightly from Domaine de la Romanee Conti, to Domaine Armand Rousseau, Domaine Georges Roumier and a few others. Some of the great collectors in Hong Kong do enormous amounts of business in China, and when they entertain there, they often open great Burgundies, so appreciation is spreading on the mainland. But, he said, Burgundy would be a difficult market to sustain in China because of its fragmented nature.

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The Daily Mail, 03/11/2010

A bottle of wine from Napoleon III's reign in France almost 150 years ago has sold at auction for a record GBP 147,020. However the initial joy at such a high price was tempered by fears that it would push the overall cost of fine vintages further and further out of reach for the majority of drinkers. The cost is being driven, some claim, by a small group in the Far East, with demand now out-stripping supply. Gary Boom, the head of Bordeaux Index, which specialises in trading fine wines, said in the Telegraph: 'We've already seen that people who can no longer afford Lafite start to buy Mouton, and those who can't afford Mouton, buy Leoville Barton. It goes on down the chain.'

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The Telegraph, Harry Wallop 03/11/2010

A record GBP 147,020 has been paid for an individual bottle of wine, leading experts to warn that fine wine could soon become unaffordable for the majority of drinkers. Wine dealers said the auction, organised by Sothebys, had redefined prices for fine wine across the market, with some describing the prices fetched as complete madness. Even though only Lafite was on sale, prices of other famous Bordeaux had already started to climb in price at wine merchants back in London. Gary Boom, the head of Bordeaux Index, which specialises in trading fine wines, said: It has to have a trickle down effect. We have already seen that people who can no longer afford Lafite, start to buy Mouton, and those that cannot afford Mouton, buy Leoville Barton. It goes on down the chain. Mr Boom said: The Chinese buyer of these bottles is not going to drink them. They are there purely so he can say to people, I own them. I reckon it will have turned to vinegar.

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The Jing Daily, 03/11/2010

Three Bottles Of 1869 Chateau Lafite Sell For HK dollars 1.8 Million (US dollars 230,000)each. As Doug Rumsam, MD of Hong Kong operations for Bordeaux Index, reflected on the shift in market power from West to East, Wine investment traditionally was centred upon the finest wines the market had to offer from the best vintages but now we are seeing a different trend. Mainland buyers want to indulge their clients with gifts from the cellars of the finest brands in the market while at the same time getting value for money. They are looking at the best value vintages of the first growths rather than focusing on the great vintages and as a result we have seen a dramatic rice in the price of the 2001, 2002, 2004 and 2007 vintages. As Rumsam added, We have had clients come through the door ready to buy Lafite en masse. Buying 20 cases in one go to give away as gifts is not out of the ordinary.

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The Wall Street Journal, Will Lyons 01/11/2010

Some interesting figures were released this morning from wine merchant Bordeaux Index, pulling together the unexpected prices achieved for Chateau Lafite over the last ten days...On Tuesday it emerged that Chateau Lafites 2008 bottle would feature a Chinese symbol for the figure eight. According to Bordeaux Index the announcement caused the price of the vintage to move from GBP 9,000 (14,000 US dollars) to GBP 13,000 (20,000 US dollars) a case as of Monday morning. The market was further fueled by Sothebys Hong Kong auction which saw prices reach unexpected levels. With regards to 2009 a case was sold for GBP 43,000 (69,000 US dollars) pushing the Bordeaux Index price to GBP 13,500 (21,000 US dollars). Doug Rumsam, managing director of Hong Kong operations for Bordeaux Index, said that attention may now be turning to the top wines of Burgundy. Labels with symbols that stand out, like Angelus or Beychevelle, have risen to fame faster than others. Thats the nature of an emerging market where buyers cling to an element of safety and follow the herd. That is definitely changing though, and even over the last few months we have seen mainland buyers looking at Burgundy wines. The speed of change in China is extremely rapid.

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Decanter, John Abott (December issue)

London merchant Bordeaux Index is known for pushing the boat out. Its Bordeaux 2009 en primeur campaign saw its PR machine go into overdrive....yet behind this brazen facade is a company willing to take risks, with a focus on giving clients the most complete wine experience it can offer. When it unveiled its bespoke wine tours service in January, i joined a two day guided tour of Bordeaux to find out exactly what people could expect. From the outset, the focus was on unlocking the doors to the finest estates. Our itinerary read like a whos who of must see Chateaux....every detail can be customised..with Bordeaux Index merely facilitating your itinerary, to the merchant accompanying you as guide, and booking a chauffeur...we did it in style, and everything from our stretch merecedes to meals at Cafe Lavinal..flights and hotel arrangements, was diligently handled...everywhere we went, we were warmly welcomed and treated to some serious wines..Bordeaux Index says its tours are desgined to bring the fantasy of major wine estates to life, while making each trip personal and tailored. The key word is flexibility says Gleave as everything about these trips is bespoke.

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The Times, Hannah Fletcher 30/10/2010

An Asian boom in claret reached a new peak yesterday when a bidder in Hong Kong paid a record GBP 43,000 for a case of 2009 Chateau Lafite, a wine which is too young to drink for another 18 months. The sum of GBP 3,583 for each of the 12 bottles is up to four times what would be expected at European sales for the same vintage. The price testified to the much-vaunted quality of the 2009 season, which is being compared to the famed vintages of 1961, 1982 and 2005. I have never seen anything like it, said Doug Rumsam, the Hong Kong managing director of Bordeaux Index merchants. The bidders got caught up in the excitement of the auction and neither was willing to back down. The Hong Kong auction did not reflect the world market price, he added. This would more or less carry on as before in London and New York. To an outsider its difficult to accurately display how popular Lafite has become [in China]. The wine is used for a variety of purposes, as gifts, as a form of currency during business deals, as an investment and just as importantly, its also bought simply to drink, he said.

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City AM, Gary Boom 29/10/2010

In shock news, it seems that Chateau Lafite Rothschild has decided to release the nascent 2008 vintage with a very small Chinese symbol on the bottle. The symbol, which apparently is considered lucky, shall feature on every (as yet) unbottled bottle and magnum of the vintage. While this is hardly an unprecedented move, Mouton Rothschild 1996 has a label designed by Chinese artist Gu Gan and the chateau is intending a repeat for 2008 it has nonetheless generated considerable media interest.

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The Drinks Business, Rupert Millar 28.10.2010

....with particular emphasis on the on-trade due to its versatile style and limited production. Bordeaux Index recently invited the drinks business to a private tasting of the range at China Tang. Tenuta Tolaini is a relatively new winery founded in 1999 by Pierluigi Tolaini in Chianti Classico. After making his fortune in North America, Tolaini a native of Tuscany whose family used to make wine returned to set up his own winery. Bordeaux Index, who act as agents for the winery in the UK, are focusing on the on trade when it comes to distribution, just as the US importers due to Tolainis links there one of his biggest markets have chosen to do. Bordeaux Index has already succeeded in introducing the wines to a few venues. One of the reasons for meeting in China Tang is that the restaurant lists the Al Passo and Picconero on its menu.

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Decanter, John Abbott 27/10/2010

Demand for Chateau Lafite Rothschild 2008 shot up overnight yesterday, following the announcement that its bottles will be etched with the Chinese figure eight. UK merchants are reporting selling out of the wine following the news, broken yesterday by Decanter.com, that the bottles will carry the symbol when the wine is bottled next year.This is not the first time Lafite 2008 has seen an overnight price spike. In April 2009, the wine famously rose from GBP 2,000 per case to GBP 3,500 following the release of Robert Parkers score of 98-100.Sam Gleave, sales director at Bordeaux Index, said the company was fairly apathetic at the first growths announcement. Chateau Lafites expansion into China is a natural progression of their brand. China will become a significant producer of fine wine in the not too distant future and Lafite are showing they are willing to take risks and enter a new market. Pure demand has already caused the price to move on our LiveTrade screen from GBP 9,000 per case to GBP 11,500 per case in a little less than 24 hours, he added.

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The Drinks Business, Patrick Schmitt 21.10.2010

The Union des Grands Crus de Bordeaux tasting in London this week confirmed the good value present in the 2008 vintage compared to 2009. Unsurprisingly, much of the discussion at Tuesdays tasting of 2008 Bordeaux surrounded the 2010 vintage, widely held to be extremely high quality with good concentration and low yields. However, Gary Boom, managing director at Bordeaux Index, cautioned the Bordelais and trade. Its a complicated market at the moment, he said. Normally the arrival of a great vintage is one of the most powerful tools for attracting interest but the reality is that we already have ample supply of prime vintages, with plenty of the 00/05/09s sat awaiting consumption. In contrast, its the highly sought-after off-prime vintages of 99/01/04 that are looking increasingly stretched, he added. Referring to increased consumption in Asia, where the demand is centred on certain Bordeaux brands, whatever the year, he advised: As we are on the cusp of another great vintage, my advice to investors would be to focus on the 2007/08s with the right labels and be wary of the 2009/05s at the wrong price.

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City AM, Gary Boom 15/10/2010

IT SEEMS a little precipitate to mention Bordeaux 2010 when we have only just said farewell to the all consuming jamboree that was Bordeaux 2009. But such is the rhythm of nature that, as the new harvest approaches completion, initial reports are starting to appear on the latest crop. And the word is that 2010 is destined to be good, very good indeed.... So what does all this mean for the market?

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Harpers, Richard Siddle 05/10/2010

Fine wine continues to outperform both the equities and gold markets throughout the year despite a slow down in growth of 0.8% in September. The findings, from Bordeaux Index, point to what it calls will be "solid, respectable" price rises for the rest of the year. Although gold at 5% and equity markets at 7% outperformed fine wine's 0.8% growth in September, they still lag overall for the year. "A settling of prices is pretty rational and to be expected - no market goes up 5% a month forever," said Bordeaux Index founder and managing director Gary Boom.

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City AM, Gary Boom 01/10/2010

BACK in late June, our analysts presented me with their prognosis for 2009 Bordeaux. The en primeur campaign at the time had already become the largest in history and despite high initial releases, prices were still going up extremely fast in the secondary market. Activity, however, was still ferocious so we had to make a decision regarding our position. We had looked at a raft of previous vintage data and mapped price curves for all the great vintages for several years after release.

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World of Fine Wine, Ella Lister 09/2010

Ella Lister gives an overview of the bullish first six months of fine-wine trading in 2010, paying special attention to the second quarter, and offers a first-hand account of the frenzied trading at the height of the 2009 Bordeaux en primeur campaign....Rough diamond. One such merchant, Bordeaux Index, founded in 1997, was another wine company with first-half sales of 2010 surpassing its 2009 full-year revenues, this time helped by a strong en primeur campaign. Its annual revenue is currently around the GBP 75 million (US dollars 112 million) mark. The fastgrowing company moved to its modern City HQ in 2008...At the cutting edge of todays wine trade, Bordeaux Index fosters few relics of the wine trade as we knew it... Bordeaux Index uses sophisticated computer programs previously unheard of in the wine trade, as well as employing two full time investment specialists to analyze potentially lucrative opportunities. As neighboring jewelers continue to trade the tangible in the form of precious stones in Londons diamond quarter, wine is sold electronically at No.10 Hatton Garden.

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The Investors Chronicle, 10/09/2010

30% The Bordeaux Index, which tracks live changes in the prices of 80-100 of the most liquidly traded wines, jumped 30 per cent in the year to the end of August. Record orders from Asia could push prices higher still.

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Harpers wine & spirit magazine, Carol Emmas 10/09/2010

The prospects of a great 2010 Bordeaux vintage look promising according to fine wine merchant, Bordeaux Index. Early indications from Chateau Clinet point lower yields and recent good weather that has done its best to ensure the 2010 vintage will be one to remember. Ronan Laborde, chief executive officer of Chateau Clinet said: We will have a lower production than in 2009 down approximately 15%, maybe more. All the berries have already turned to red on our spot (Cabernet included). Looking at the leaves and tasting some berries makes us think it is a promising vintage. We should start to pick the young Merlots in two weeks. Old vines...we'll see. Bordeaux Index founder, Gary Boom, said: The early signs are promising for the 2010 Bordeaux. However, we're certainly not getting carried away, there's a long way to go and a lot can happen before we can start getting really excited.

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The Drinks Business, Patrick Schmitt 08/09/2010

Lafite 2006 is the fastest appreciating fine wine of 2010 according to merchant and trader Bordeaux Index. With a rise of 71% over the last 12 months to the end of August, the famed first growth from this lesser vintage has smashed an average price increase of 23% for the merchants most traded wines. Following the 2006 vintages market leading performance is Lafite 2003, showing a price jump of 56% over the same period. Margaux 2001 and Latour 2003 have both enjoyed a 53% rise, while Mouton Rothschild 2002 is up 50%.....Further, Bordeaux Index recorded sustained sales during the quiet month of August. Turnover was up 26% compared to last years summertime sales, although prices rose only 0.3%.Gary Boom, managing director of Bordeaux Index said, The hangover from the excess of the 2009 en primeur appears to have finally cleared and with it there is every prospect of a strong autumn ahead. The orders from Asia ahead of the mid-Autumn festival are the best ever. Given the limited stock availability, I wouldnt be at all surprised to see prices nudge up accordingly. He also said, Despite the high prices, Lafite remains the belle of the ball. The Bordeaux Index five top performing wines were*: Lafite 2006: 71% Lafite 2003: 56% Margaux 2001: 53% Latour 2004: 53% Mouton Rothschild 2002: 50% **The Bordeaux Index tracks live changes in the prices of 80-100 of the most liquidly traded wines on the merchants LiveTrade market making screen, launched in May last year.

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Charles, Metcalfe 04/09/2010

Another brilliant meal at The Ledbury...Two of us took advantage of the GBP 27.50 set lunch menu, which included such delights as crispy skinned pressed roast suckling pig and meltingly tender flame-grilled mackerel. And we also benefitted from the GBP 25 per bottle corkage charge....The last time at The Ledbury had been earlier in the summer, a dinner courtesy of Bordeaux Index and Olivier Humbrecht. This had been an Alsace wine fest, with eight Rieslings, three Gewurztraminers and six Pinots Gris, presided over by the biodynamic MW Olivier H himself.

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Fine - The Wine Magazine, Stuart George. No.9

The London and Hong Kong merchant Bordeaux Index received a single order for Lafite worth GBP 200,000 and sold over GBP 8 million of fine wine in January, 72 percent higher than its 2009 monthly sales average of GBP 4.7 million. Whatever happened to that quiet January...Bordeaux Index turnover for Q1 was 60 per cent up on the same period in 2009. Doubtless this figure was helped by the GBP 45,000 sale of Petrus 1982 Imperial to a Hong Kong fine wine collector, the most expensive single bottle ever sold by the company in its 13 year existence.

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City AM, Gary Boom 03/09/2010

AS THE wine market reluctantly drags itself back to work after the long summer break we approach what has become one of the defining periods of the trading year, the run-up to Asias mid-autumn festival of the moon, which falls on 22 September this year. This celebration not only provides a welcome boost to trade but also gives a real insight into both the shape and level of demand over coming months. In other words, it is a key indicator of confidence.

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Erobertparker.com, Neal Martin 18/08/2010

This was second German themed dinner organized by Gareth Birchley of Bordeaux Index at, where else, The Ledbury. Brett Grahams astounding cuisine prompted Egon to later comment: I travel the world showing my wines with great food, but I have never experienced food and wine matching like this. Readers should note that these wines are of perfect provenance i.e. from the cellars of Egon Muller himself.

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FT, Andrew Jefford 14/08/2010

Chateau d Esclans Sacha Lichine grows and vinifies his rose with as much care as a Medoc classed growth. His blends are, for Provence, iconoclastic, in that they mingle up to 30 per cent of the white variety Rolle with Grenache rather than using Cinsault, generally the preferred lead grape. Best to my mind is Chateau d Esclans itself: both the outstanding 2007 and the promising 2008 are complex, mouthfilling wines in which strawberry cream and peach notes are filled out with white blossom, and the deftly drawn palate fruits are given an almondy texture and length(GBP 229.42 by the case at Bordeaux Index)

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The Drinks Business 12/08/2010

2010 is likely to complete a trio of excellent consecutive Bordeaux vintages, but how is the market set for the influx of yet another onslaught of top-scoring clarets and how is it going to be priced? ... if the weather continues in its current trend, 2010 will be another excellent harvest, the third in a row, mirroring if not surpassing the 88, 89, 90 triumvirate. Gary Boom, founder and managing director of fine wine merchant Bordeaux Index, said: Bordeaux has been enjoying another great summer so far, but the next six to eight weeks will determine the final quality of the vintage.

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Decanter, Rebecca Gibb 10/08/2010

Fellow merchant Gary Boom of Bordeaux Index reported their allocations had been 'fair' but criticised negociants for withholding the vintage's most sought after wines. 'Negociants tend to sit on stock particularly the first growths so very little is released. I'd like to see the firsts getting together to distribute their own wines.'

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Jancis Robinson.com, 09/08/2010

This is to alert you to the fact that Tamlyn Currin has recently completely updated our long article Professional wine storage in the UK, using Julia Harding's previous update of my earlier survey. She provides some useful observations about who is currently offering the best deals.... Bordeaux Index - Competitive rates and no extra charge for wine bought from other merchants. They'll store your wine even if you have never bought from them. Average storage temperature at Vinotheque is 13degrees C, 60-65% humidity. Reduced rate for 6-bottle cases (GBP 3.75 + VAT). Customers are invoiced twice a year and receive information on drinking dates and investment potential, plus Robert Parker scores - also available on request at other times, free of charge. There's a minimum charge of six months. For wines bought from them, they'll provide free condition reports with digital photographs (otherwise GBP 2.50 per case).

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FT, Jancis Robinson 31/07/2010

The principal function of a fine wine broker is presumably to broker fine wine, but it is much appreciated when they break out of the mould and do something a little more altruistic. Bordeaux Index has begun holding annual retrospective open tastings in Londons Hatton Garden of the most significant bordeaux made 10 years earlier.

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The Guardian, 03/08/2010

Wine is more resilient than gold and often outperforms stock markets and hedge funds. Investments should improve with age. But a Madrid-based fund has beaten stock markets and hedge funds around the world this year by putting its money in the ultimate vintage buy: wine. All the way up the chain, companies connected to the wine trade are cashing in on soaring prices and demand. In March, an Asian collector splashed out GBP 45,000 for a six-litre bottle of Chateau Petrus 1982. Wine has proved as resilient as gold during the recession, as investors consider it inflation-resistant, and at least you can drink it if all else fails. Consumers around the world are getting more knowledgeable about wine, becoming more demanding at shops and restaurants. Interest in wine courses is also exploding... A more educated palate is lifting prices. The Bordeaux Index, which tracks about 85 "investment grade" wines of the famous French region, has gained 22% since the beginning of the year. "The cake is getting bigger. Emerging markets are looking to acquire wine, also as a way of investment," says Joe Marchant, who runs the investment group at Bordeaux Index. The company has offices in London, Hong Kong and Singapore, with about half of its clients in Asia, and the other half in Europe.

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CITY AM, Gary Boom 16/07/2010

MORE column inches have already been devoted to 2009 Bordeaux than to all the campaigns over the past decade, it would seem. This en primeur has been the biggest, craziest and most highly talked-up in memory. So as the dust settles and we can finally begin to think about the impending summer holidays, lets take a few questions and see what is going on with the 2009 Bordeaux.

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The Daily Mail, Nina Caplan, 13/07/2010

Odd as it sounds, for many years a tall glass of red wine and Sprite was the drink among Chinese high society. But let's hope they've given up on the lemonade, because - along with their fellow millionaires in Russia and India - the wealthy Chinese have developed a raging thirst for wines so expensive that diluting them with fizzy pop would be borderline criminal. 2009 was the real deal - hot, with cool, dry September nights - and experts are ecstatic. 'The best vintage in my lifetime,' announced French wine critic Michel Bettane, while America's legendary Robert Parker, the man who can make or break a vintage, is calling the quality 'historic'. The result is a perfect storm: super-rich plutocrats keen to splash their new cash on the world's most famous wines, and wines so luscious it is being said they'll keep for the next 50 years. 'The market is bonkers,' says Gary Boom, founder and MD of wine merchant Bordeaux Index. 'I've been buying wine for 25 years and I've never seen anything like it. Prices normally go up on our website for a few days while people pick and choose, but we've been selling out within seconds. People are pre-ordering, saying they'll pay whatever. The problem is getting hold of the stock.'These crazed buyers, whether Far Eastern or British, aren't choosing their purchases on taste: only a few experts have tried the vastly expensive red liquid they're buying, which won't even be bottled until 2012. In fact, many will never even see their wines. Some will sell them straight on in the hope of a chunky profit; others will have to drum their fingers for decades. So far, they're right: if you had shelled out for Chateau Lafite 2005 when it came on the market, it would have cost you GBP 4,000; that case is now worth GBP 12,000. That's a rather better rate of return than anyone with a savings account ever gets, never mind at today's rock-bottom interest rates. So why aren't we all funnelling our funds into high-end wine? Why leave it to the Chinese? 'We have to ask ourselves, is this a bubble?' says wine expert Michael Schuster, who runs wine courses at Bordeaux Index. 'For the past ten years prices have risen and we couldn't quite believe it would continue, but so far it has.

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The Drinks Business, Rupert Millar, 08.07.2010

Despite low allocations, Bordeaux Index has reported huge sales of the latest Bordeaux vintage as UK and European customers rush to grab what they can ahead of Asian buyers. Bordeaux Index has sold GBP 23 million of 2009 en primeur, and as a result the companys H1 sales for 2010 have surpassed those from the whole of 2009. However, results could have been even better if allocations from the chateaux themselves had been larger.Only 10% of Bordeaux Indexs sales were from its Hong Kong office, whereas the private UK market took 60% of sales and 30% went to European or UK traders and investment groups. Boom said: The majority of buyers from the Far East are exclusively interested in the top estates particularly Chateau Lafite so they are currently missing out on the en primeur frenzy as they wont get allocated the stock unless they have purchased good amounts of the lesser classified growths. The UK has always had a massive relationship with en primeur so when the greatest vintage in the world comes out they are going to buy it, he told the drinks business. The stock goes from being allocated to sold without even hitting our website. We have never seen an en primeur campaign like it.

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Jancis Robinson, 08/07/2010

A week today, one of France's most talented and thoughtful winemakers, Olivier Humbrecht MW of Alsace, will be hosting a dinner at The Ledbury, haunt of food-loving winos in London W11 where triple Michelin-starred chef Brett Graham will be serving dishes specially chosen to complement a host of Olivier's most acclaimed wines. Olivier was one of the most inspiring speakers at the recent Master of Wine Symposium in Bordeaux (where this picture of him was taken) and the line up of wines is truly mouthwatering. This dinner is the third Riesling dinner organized by Gareth Birchley of Bordeaux Index, the other two having been hosted by Erni Loosen and Egon Muller who said, according to this report on the dinner about Brett's pairings, 'I travel the world showing my wines with great food, but I have never experienced food and wine matching like this'. They have wisely decided to show a wider range of wines than just Rieslings at this dinner.

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The Sunday Telegraph, 04/07/2010

Wine cellars are replacing home cinemas and basement gyms in our affections as the perfect way to indulge a hobby, and possibly provide some investment value, too. For those with more modest budgets, between GBP 3,000 and GBP 5,000 should get you an entirely workable cellar, says Gary Boom, founder of wine merchants Bordeaux Index, with any decent builder able to tank (plaster and make waterproof) the area, and with the wine left in its original, unopened cases which is where it is happiest. Gary Boom points out that besides the obvious pleasures, wine has proved to be a good investment over the past 30 years averaging 10.5 per cent a year and always outperforming the stock market, he says. But you do not have to be an expert. About 2,000 novices a year are entering the market. You think of an amount you want to invest, come to a company like ours and we advise on what to buy, Boom says. Like property, wine collecting is best done as a mid to long-term investment. And as wine is classified as a wasting chattel, there is no capital gains tax when you sell.

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The Sunday Times, 04/07/2010

1. Fine wine is bucking the trend, with Bordeaux's most celebrated chateaux selling at record prices. Bordeaux Index, where you can buy and sell wine online, has sold more fine wine in the first half of 2010 than it did in the whole of 2009.

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The Independent, 04/07/2010

Wine traders are doubling their money, despite the effects of the credit crunch, says Mark Leftly...Wine trading is a serious, hugely profitable business....Forget gold: wine is where the canniest investors have flocked since the market collapsed. "People aren't keen on the stock markets now, so they move on to safe havens like gold and wine," argues Gary Boom, the managing director of fine wine trader Bordeaux Index. "But over a 25-year period, wine has outperformed gold as well. Watches, cars, armour, pictures you name it, wine has outperformed it." It takes some doing to outperform gold. The precious metal was up 13.3 per cent in the first half of this year, while the FTSE All-World Index has slipped 10.6 per cent.

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The Mail online, 02/07/2010

The world may still be on the brink of economic meltdown - look at the latest jobless data from Europe and the US - but this has failed to put any crimp in the frenzy surrounding the 2009 'vintage of the century' from Bordeaux. Asian buyers have snapped up most of the product from the fancy estates from Lafite to Pomerol. But merchants, such as Bordeaux Index, report runaway sales of the 2009 'en primeur' - wine still in the barrel - with GBP 15m sold in June alone. With the aficionados raving about the quality of the 2009 vintage, fine wine paradoxically is looking like a great hedge against austerity. All one needs now is a cellar...

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City AM, 02/07/2010

Welcome to what is the first in a series of short articles looking at wine investment. While the City is well acquainted with the sensory pleasures of wine, it tends to be much less familiar with holding and trading wine as an asset. With this in mind, we will be cutting through the pomposity that afflicts this business to take a good look at the structure of the market, address some key readers questions and offer up plenty of up-to-the-minute comment and ideas.

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Reuters, Adam Lechmere 22/06/2010

The Bordeaux 2009 en primeur campaign has caught fire after a sluggish start. It now looks as if the prices of the top wines, the First Growths together with the right bank blue chips like Petrus, Angelus, Ausone and Le Pin are going to be consistently 300 to 400 percent more expensive than the 2008 vintage, and considerably pricier than the great 2005.Wine merchants are flustered. The chateaux traditionally release their en primeur wine in tranches. The first tranche is a toe in the water, they watch to see how the market behaves, and price subsequent tranches accordingly.Merchants won't sell the wine until they know how expensive they are going to become.No one really knows how many of Lafite's 20,000-odd cases have been released in the first tranche, but merchants, scrabbling for their allocations, agree they are smaller than ever this year. "Every year we lose a percentage," said Sam Gleave of London merchant Bordeaux Index. "Soon all we're going to get is a six-pack. But what can we do? We're hamstrung by it." Gleave may grumble about the lack of 'transparency' in the system, with no real idea of the number of cases released and merchants at the mercy of the chateaux, but he agrees it's all part of the game. "We're just negotiating as hard as we can," he said.

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Bloomberg, Elin Mccoy 14/06/2010

The 2009 vintage is another great one in Bordeaux, and futures buying heated up last week as more chateaux released prices for their still-in-the-barrel wines.But the biggest names are holding back, leading to speculation that prices will be the highest ever. So far, most labels are 5 percent to 70 percent more expensive than the sticker-shock futures of the fabulous 2005s.To woo customers, Hong Kong outposts of London merchants translated their tasting notes into Chinese. Gary Boom, managing director of merchant Bordeaux Index, said he expects Asian orders to be a quarter to a third of the companys 20 million dollars to 30 million dollars futures sales. Asian demand is only shaping the prices of the first growths and their second labels, said Boom. If the U.K. do not buy because they are too high, Asia will not provide a bailout.

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CITY A.M, 08/06/2010

LEADING wine merchant Bordeaux Index has launched the worlds first live wine trading index. The online index will allow clients to track changes in wine prices in real-time. It will track up to 100 of the most liquidly traded wines on its LiveTrade market-making platform. Users will also be able to view individual price graphs for all of the wines traded with data going back to January 2008, giving added transparency to the industry. Bordeaux Index founder Gary Boom said: For the first time, investors will no longer need to base their decisions upon monthly market movements. Our technology facilitates dynamic, daily updates and will allow users to monitor the market at their convenience. And just as importantly, it does not require a statistics degree for interpretation. Bordeaux Index is one of the largest fine wine merchants in Europe with a turnover approaching GBP 75m.

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Wine Spectator, Suzanne Mustacich 01/06/2010

The ease of starting a new business in China and the difficulties in investing in other sectors such as real estate have lured investors to fine wine, further increasing pressure on demand for top labels. "When the duty went down, it was like a trigger," said Doug Rumsam, managing director at Bordeaux Index. The Chinese focus on brands, rather than vintages, has also changed the investment side of the market, said Rumsam, opening the door to vintages that have not been easy to sell to Americans or British consumers. And everyone seems to see the potential. "People from Bordeaux, the U.S., U.K. and other countries are interested in this growing market, so the competition is very, very intense," said Finance.

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Decanter.com, Adam Lechmere 25/05/2010

Next door to Vinexpo at the Hyatt Regency hotel, London-based merchant Bordeaux Index held a tasting of 2009s for its clients, the majority extremely wealthy Chinese collectors. This was a first for many: even those who buy millions of dollars of blue-chip Bordeaux every year were unused to tasting en primeur. As a potent draw, Bordeaux Index chief Gary Boom had persuaded proprietors such as Liliane Barton of Chateau Leoville Barton, Jean-Jacques Bonnie of Malartic Lagraviere in the Graves and Fabrice Dubourdieu of Doisy Daene among others, to pour their wines.

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Lisa Perrotti-Brown MW, erobertparker.com, 25/05/2010

Today I breakfasted on 2009 Bordeaux wines at the Dynasty Club at a tasting organized by Bordeaux Index. The whole team was there Gary Boom, Sam Gleave and the local contingency, Doug Rumsam. Some stunning wines on show from right round the region giving a superb overview.

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Real Business, 20/05/2010

Unimpressed with the treatment he was receiving as a customer, MD Gary Boom set up his own wine merchants, Bordeaux Index, with two partners. He saw room for a company that would give better service, be happy to deal with newcomers to the market and take a more modern, non-stuffy approach, explains director Colin West. At Bordeaux Index, every customer has a relationship manager, tuned into their clients likes and dislikes, which has helped boost sales to over GBP 1m a week. Other innovations have included a wine tourism business, a partnership with Michael Schuster in which courses and tastings are run from the top floor of Bordeaux Indexs premises and the establishment of a two-way trading system called LiveTrade.

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Jancis Robinson, 05/05/2010

Prize for the primeur hawker shouting the loudest goes to. Bordeaux Index. Their PR machine seems to have overtaken that of Berry Bros this year. I have now received six mailings from them on the subject of bordeaux 2009, the first as long ago as February entitled 'Excitement over "vintage of the century" hits fever pitch'. More recently the company's founder Gary Boom was quoted promising a return of 20% in the first year. Another press release circulated their story about dodgy offerings of 2009 bordeaux in China. Such figures for the 2005 vintage are generating huge excitement amongst investors looking for a similar or better return from the even more highly-hyped 2009 vintage. However, Bordeaux Index today moved to temper the investment frenzy with a few words of caution. Whilst there's no question that the 2009 en primeur presents a great investment opportunity, we urge buyers to take expert advice before buying,' says Bordeaux Index founder Gary Boom. 'For every investor that makes a great return on the 2009 vintage - and there will be plenty - there will be many of others who follow instinct instead of advice and, unfortunately, suffer a loss.' So remember, then, to seek advice from You Know Who.

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The Telegraph, 03/05/2010

Bordeaux Index, one of the largest merchants in Europe, said it had reports that Chinese traders had already convinced some private clients to order and pay for 2009 wines, even though they had not yet hit the market. There's huge interest in the 2009 Bordeaux from China, said Sam Gleave, the sales director of Bordeaux Index. In an unregulated and uneducated market, there was always potential for rogue trading. Unfortunately, it seems as if that potential has been realised. The praise heaped on last year's output has fuelled the frenzy. Robert Parker, an influential wine critic, said: 2009 may turn out to be the finest vintage I have tasted in 32 years of covering Bordeaux.

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Decanter.com, Richard Woodard, 29/04/2010

Some private clients have already been conned into paying for top Bordeaux 2009s, even though the chateaux themselves have not yet announced their release prices. Warnings were issued after Sam Gleave, sales director at merchant Bordeaux Index, found that trade in some yet to be released high-profile wines was already booming. Don St Pierre Jr, CEO of ASC Fine Wines Greater China, told decanter.com: 'Unfortunately, I am not surprised.' 'Bordeaux Index is right. Because this type of offer is so new to China, there will be more and more of this type of fraudulent activity happening in the market.'

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The Independent, 28/04/2010

Concerns are growing in some wine industry circles that a few rogue Chinese wine traders may be mounting a wine scam, just as the 2009 Bordeaux futures sales are poised to begin, experts fear. Fine wine merchant Bordeaux Index alleged that unscrupulous traders in Shanghai had hoodwinked private customers into ordering and paying for the 2009 vintage of legendary wines. Among the top wine names concerned were Chateau Lafite and its popular second wine, Carruades de Lafite, when there is little possibility that the wines will be delivered. The top Bordeaux wines this year are widely expected to be of particularly good quality.The alleged scam is to offer the wine for sale, take the customers money and then never deliver the wine. The fraud becomes apparent only with time. "We cannot call it wine fraud because it will be another two years before a crime could be considered to have been committed," Sam Gleave, sales director of Bordeaux Index wrote to AFP. "If suppliers deliver then obviously that's great" however what has driven my concern is that some suppliers are taking money for and actually confirming orders for wines that have not yet been released by the chateaux." Reputable merchants would not offer a wine for sale without knowing the price and their allocation. And allocations this year will be at a premium.

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Erobertparker.com, 26/04/2010

Top London wine merchants Bordeaux Index issue first warning of illicit trade in unreleased vintage. Revealing for the first time that private clients have already been persuaded to order and pay for 2009 Bordeaux wines that have not even been released yet from rogue traders based in the Mainland. We have long had concerns that a vintage like the 2009 Bordeaux could result in fraudulent futures trading, says Gleave. We urge buyers interested in the 2009 Bordeaux to deal exclusively with reputable merchants ONLY. Anyone offering top 2009 Bordeaux today is a fraud.

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The Guardian, 24/04/2010

Wine of the year, Bordeaux. Believe the hype: the 2009 Bordeaux truly is the vintage of a lifetime. I recently went to Bordeaux to taste the 2009 en primeur and was thrilled by its quality. Wines from Pauillac were my favourites, but this is an extraordinary vintage, across the board. Stay in Bordeaux's historic centre at the grand Regent Hotel. Take the "route des Chateaux" in the Medoc, hitting the Margaux appellation for a glimpse of Chateau Margaux, the most beautiful property on the Medoc. Tours are by appointment only. Eat lunch at the estate's Le Lion d'Or in nearby Arcins before visiting Pichon Longueville Baron, an amazing fairytale-looking chateau. Gary Boom, founder of Bordeaux Index, a wine merchant that offers tours of the Bordeaux region

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Early bird wine news, 20/04/2010

As wish-lists pile up on desks and prices start to be hinted at for 2009 en primeur Bordeaux, investors may like to muse over big ticket sales recently achieved by Bordeaux Index . Increasing numbers of wealthy residents are buying fine wine, both for drinking and for investment; regarded as a hedge against rising inflation in the Far East. Bordeaux Index confirmed another sale of Petrus 1982 at the same price on 31st March, the last day of the tax year for many companies. Another big sale to the Far East was a single-bottle vertical collection of top Burgundy, Romanee Conti from vintages 1952 to 2006, sold to a Chinese collector for GBP 323,500 in November 2009.

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The Sunday Times, Profit Track 100 18/04/2010

As the world attempts to recover from recession, the different ways in which privately owned British businesses are pursuing growth are promising. Each year fast track visits dozens on companies that have delivered sustained profit growth. This years 10 finalists have a variety of growth strategies such as Bordeaux Index, the fine wine merchant, have exploited new technology. The top 60 Bordeaux wines can be bought and traded on Bordeaux Indexs online trading platform. The company has developed technology that allows its customers to see live buying and selling prices on the web, and claims that it sells GBP 1m of fine wine every week. The firm, led by managing director Gary Boom, has offices in London and Hong Kong.

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The Drinks Business, Patrick Schmitt 15/04/10

As en primeur prices for Bordeauxs least expensive labels begin to emerge speculation is mounting on the cost of the top wines. Prices are widely expected to be higher than 2005 due to anticipated demand from China and predicted high Parker scores exacerbated by lower production levels among some of the first growths. This is the first en primeur campaign to really excite the fast-growing Chinese market, said Gary Boom, managing director of Bordeaux Index. He estimates that the fine wine merchant will sell GBP 25 million worth of Bordeaux throughout the en primeur campaign, including GBP 7m to the Chinese market. We expect significant interest from the Far East, in addition to unprecedented levels of investment from our more traditional en primeur markets, he said.

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The Drinks Business, 08/04/2010

As merchants return from en primeur tastings in Bordeaux, speculation is becoming increasingly focused on the upcoming prices from the chateaux. For instance, Bordeaux Index pointed out that the sterling is 26% off against the euro compared to 2006, meaning prices could well be 26% higher in the UK than they were for the 2005 vintage. Many leading chateaux may not announce prices until Mays Vinexpo in Hong Kong. According to Sam Gleave, at Bordeaux Index, 2009 Bordeaux is stirring interest in Asia and the region may take its first tentative steps into en primeur buying. We expect the strongest ever demand for this en primeur campaign, he said. This vintage is attracting interest from buyers who previously haven not bought en primeur, most notably investors in the Far East. As a result, we have huge funds lined-up for the vintage. We are sure this will be a record vintage for the company.

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Decanter.com, Stuart Peskett 07/04/2010

Bordeaux Index returned from the tastings 'buzzing with excitement' over quality. According to sales director Sam Gleave, the 2009 Bordeaux 'fully warrants its vintage of the century' moniker. 'Not only has the vintage over-fulfilled the hype but in 20 years of tasting I can confidently say that the 2009 is the best,' he reports. 'This is a benchmark vintage for Bordeaux.'

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The Independent, 04/04/2010

"Prices will be high but that is more due to the euro to sterling (1.10 to the pound as opposed to 1.45 during the 2005 campaign) and no it is not Bordeaux at any price," said Sam Gleave, sales director of Britain's Bordeaux Index. "Both the merchants in the UK and our private clients are experienced enough to know when to say NO and realise where the threshold for sensible pricing lies," he added. Having just tasted them with my team we can all vouch for the incredible quality of the wines," said Gleave.

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The Guardian, Robert Booth, 03/04/2010

Classy claret Top wines, top prices. The 2009 Bordeaux is already being ranked as the sixth great vintage of the last 50 years. Finding good-valued bottles from previous blockbuster years 2005, 2000, 1982, 1961 and 1959 is now very difficult and high demand is also set to overwhelm supplies of the '09. The single bottle prices of these great vintages, when the fruit ripened perfectly, say it all. A 1959 bottle of Chateau Lafite Rothschild today costs GBP 2,500, the '61 is GBP 1,300 while the grandest, at GBP 3,250, is the '82, according to merchant Bordeaux Index. Even the '05, which won't be ready to drink for another five years at least, costs GBP 850 today. There are so few great vintages partly because of the region's climate. Hailstorms wipe out swaths of the crop, too much heat "overcooks" the grapes producing too much alcohol, and rain close to harvest results in "thin" wine

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The Independent, 31/03/2010

Hong Kong has emerged as a major buyer this year, increasing the pressure on the prices. "We have huge funds lined up already for the vintage and we are sure this will be a record vintage," Doug Rumsam, managing director of Bordeaux Index (HK), told AFP. "Demand for First Growths (eight top Bordeaux wines) will be intense... Allocations, however, will be tight and I am not sure the mainland Chinese will buy across the board and pick up the lower growths," he said. Chinese buyers are definitely cutting a swathe through the professionals at the trade tastings, and taking the opportunity to visit estates. At Chateau Cos d'Estournel and Pichon Longueville Comtesse de Lalande, 1,500 visitors are expected for private barrel tastings, with more buyers from Hong Kong and China than ever. Many believe the skyrocketing prices for the First Growths like Ausone, Lafite-Rothschild and Petrus, will open the market to equally highly rated labels that are less well known in Hong Kong and China.

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Decanter.com, Steven Spurrier, 31/03/2009

It still is the most talked-about vintage of the decade. Steven Spurrier reports on a fascinating tasting. The question now, ten years on, is whether the 2000s are worth the hype and, more particularly, the prices that demand has taken them to. A tasting of 57 wines, almost all sent directly from the chateaux, organised by fine wine traders Bordeaux Index (to follow on from their 1999 tasting last year) gave us all the opportunity to find some answers.

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The Evening Standard, 30/03/2010

The Imperial six litre bottle of 1982 Petrus was bought by a Hong Kong collector through London based wine merchants Bordeaux Index. It is believed to be the most ever paid for a single bottle of the 1982 vintage. The buyer is thought to have acquired the wine as an investment rather than to drink. Far Eastern buyers have dominated the fine wine market in recent years. Wine is seen as a shrewd investment as it holds its value even in times of high inflation and also has status value among the new rich of China.

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The Financial Times, Jancis Robinson, 26/03/2009

I had a chance to participate in a really wide-ranging horizontal tasting (same vintage, various different chateaux) of top quality 2000 bordeaux now that it is 10 years old and has benefited from at least eight years bottle age. Fine wine traders Bordeaux Index called in or bought samples from 48 of the top addresses from Chateau Petrus down to Chateau Chasse-Spleen and showed them in London to assorted wine commentators in the morning. Rarely has such a tasting given me so much pleasure.

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Wine Spectator, Suzanne Mustacich, 26/02/2010

The only good news came from Asia. Mainland China reported their Bordeaux imports rose 40 percent in value and 97 percent in volume. Hong Kong increased imports by 46 percent in value and 24 percent in volume. And there's no sign of slowing demand. "We expect further growth for 2010, around 50 percent," said Doug Rumsam, managing director of Bordeaux Index (HK) Ltd.

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Decanter.com, Richard Woodard, 25/03/2010

"An Asian collector has splashed out GBP45,000 on a bottle of Chateau Petrus 1982 from fine wine merchant Bordeaux Index - a record for the company. The six-litre Imperial bottle became the most expensive single bottle sold by Bordeaux Index in its 13-year history, emphasising the Far East's growing thirst for the big names. Company founder Gary Boom said fine wine sales to Asia were 'rocketing' and added: 'It reflects the incredible current level of interest in fine wines in the region".

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The Drinks Business, Patrick Schmitt, 25/03/2010

"Wine writers such as Jancis Robinson MW, Neal Martin and Steven Spurrier gathered at fine wine merchant Bordeaux Index last week to assess top claret 10 years on. On leaving the tasting, each commentator was asked to fill in a form listing their favourite five wines of the vintage. Having collated the results, Latour took the top slot, followed by Haut-Brion, Lafite, Cheval Blanc and Petrus".

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Robert Parker.com, Lisa Perrotti-Brown MW 23/03/2010

From Hong Kong - China's new gateway and a strong market for Bordeaux in its own right - Doug Rumsam of Bordeaux Index is even more confident, "The market here has picked up significantly since the release of 2005. Mainland clients are now looking at En Primeur for the first time and are willing to look at this as a long term investment. There is already significant interest in 09 as a vintage and I think this is all part of the trend of increased consumption and sales in the region as a whole. Media report more, there are more consumers and more merchants representing the wines of Bordeaux. This is the first really exciting vintage since 2005 and whilst I don't think HK will rival the UK for EP sales, they will be involved to a greater extent than ever before."

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Jancis Robinson.com, 23/03/2010

"Last week I had the great pleasure of 'looking at' nearly 50 of the more significant red bordeaux from the vintage celebrating its tenth birthday. This is traditionally the time at which classical red bordeaux starts to come round and starts to provide good drinking. I am delighted that fine wine traders Bordeaux Index have decided to take over the mantle of my late mentor Edmund Penning-Rowsell in organising an annual retrospective tasting of 10-year-old top bordeaux. (See here for an account of their 1999 tasting last year.)"

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The Guardian, Simon Hoggart, 20/03/2010

"I fulfilled a small ambition this week and drank some Le Pin, the Bordeaux wine which, with Chateau Petrus, is the most expensive claret. It's said that the vigneron inspects every single grape before it's used. The tipple was very nice, as it should be at GBP33,000 a case before tax and duty. The tasting was at Bordeaux Index, a fine wine brokers in the diamond quarter of Hatton Garden. Wine, unlike most other investments, only keeps its value as long as it's untouched. Some will never be drunk, so their value will go on increasing".

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FT.com, Jancis Robinson, 22/01/2010

First off, Jean-Paul Brun of Domaine des Terres Dorées deserves special mention for making some of the most expressive Beaujolais in existence - and for making the trek to London himself to introduce them to the occasionally bemused customers of UK wine trader Bordeaux Index. These have to be some of the best-value 2008s around.

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The Drinks Business, Patrick Schmitt, 30/04/2009

Gary Boom, managing director of fine wine merchant Bordeaux Index says, "It is a labour of love, and the people I know do it because they love the product. There is still an air of romance to the whole thing, thank God."

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