After a slack period with Italian Wines things have changed since the exceptional vintage 2004 in Tuscany. Wines of that region are again sought after and more popular at the moment than the very high-priced Bordeaux Clarets! Robert Parkers Wine Advocate (Issue 144) rates the vintage 2004 in Tuscany even higher than the famous vintage 1997 and with 96/100 points it is the highest rating in Tuscany ever!

The Petrus of Tuscanny - Masseto

Thus it’s no wonder why most merchants are out of stock with Cult Wines like Masseto, Solaia, Sassicaia or Ornellaia 2004, just to name some of the most renowned wines of that region. What concerns the best wines of Italy does not refer to the Fine Wines of France. The best cult wines of Bordeaux still remain high priced, although their peak was reached in autumn last year. Wines like Lafite Rothschild, Latour, Petrus or Mouton Rothschild increased their prices by 10% to 40% at that time. But only the best vintages stayed at that level. Since 3 months prices went down. To give you an example: Lafite Rothschild 2003 was sold at eBay (one of the worlds largest online wine trading market) for € 750,00 - € 790,00.

2004 - a great vintage for Supertuscans

Nowadays the same wine is auctioned off for 620,00 -  700,00 Euros. And still Lafite Rothschild is among the most sought after wines. Champagne prices decreased in auctions too. Although prices for Roederer & Co. will certainly rise this year, many cellars of Restaurants and Collectors are still full and there is no intent to buy the incoming vintages in larger quantity. Yet demand for Champagne of the best labels is much higher then supply.  With the high-priced vintages 2005 and 2006 in Bordeaux, many wine lovers sold their stocks of relatively weak vintages like 2001, 2002 or 2004 just to grab some of the alleged En Primeurs 2005. That big amount of offered Cult Wines from Bordeaux caused a price reduction of 10 – 20 percent within a few weeks (e.g. Ebay wine prices 11/2007 – 1/2008). On the other hand, Italian Cult Wines went the other way round. Masseto 1997 for instance was sold in October 2007 for approximately 250.- Euros. This year price went up to 340.- Euros! Not to mention Masseto 2004. Since the wine is on the market, prices have doubled! Our advice: Buy if you still get some 2004s from Italy and store them in you cellar. Wines from Tuscany are again in fashion. And they’re really good – my palate says!