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Champagnes of the world's most coveted

The Champagnes of the world's most coveted

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Forbes.com used data from the Liv-ex 25 Index Liv-ex.com, the London International Vintners Exchange, an electronic marketplace for wine merchants. The index tracks prices of 25 of the most sought after Champagnes in the world. The awards were followed between 30 June 2007 and June 30, 2008, in the cases of 750 ml bottles wine in good condition and packed in their original packaging.

No 1: 1996 Krug
Price: £ 2,350 ($ 4713.4)
Gain of twelve months: 56.7%

2: 1985 Krug
Price: £ 2340 ($ 4693.4)
Twelve months Gain: 52.4%

3: 1990 Krug
Price: £ 2,200 ($ 4412.5)
Twelve months Gain: 51.7%

4: 1988 Krug
Price: £ 2,400 ($ 4813.5)
Gain of twelve months: 50.5%

No. 5: Krug 1995
Price: £ 1,395 (2797.8 $)
Gain of twelve months: 46.8%

6: Louis Roederer Cristal 1996
Price: £ 2500 ($ 5014.2)
Gain twelve months: 42.9%

7: Dom Perignon 1996
Price: £ 1,700 ($ 3409.7)
Twelve months Gain: 41.7%

8: Dom Perignon 1982
Price: £ 2,400 ($ 4813.6)
Gain of twelve months: 41.6%

No. 9: Living Mensil 1996
Price: £ 1,768 ($ 3545.9)
Gain of twelve months: 41.4%

10: Louis Roederer Cristal 1989
Price: £ 3,200 ($ 6417.9)
Gain of twelve months: 39.1%

Champagnes of the world's most coveted

18/07/08, 6:15 p.m. ET (Forbes) Next time you need to celebrate, pop open the champagne - or perhaps do not. The bubbly might provide an experience much more useful if you keep the cork in the bottle and sell it at auction.

Why? While global stock markets been tanking in the wake of the subprime crisis, the price of a case of high-end bubbly is surging.

The London-based Liv-ex Champagne 25 Index, which tracks the course of 25 of the most popular Champagnes, rose by 27% in the 12 months ending in June It is against the rise 8% in the Liv-ex 100 Index of the best wines (mostly Bordeaux), and down 14.8% in the FTSE 100 over this period.

In Depth: Champagnes of the world's most coveted

Twelve months ago, a case of Krug 1996 would set you back just under $ 3000 on the auction market, but now worth $ 4,713.40. Louis Roederer Cristal 1989 is now worth 39.1% more than a year ago, bringing a $ 6,417.90 case.

Behind figures

It's a simple case of demand outstripping supply. People are quick to glug Champagne as soon as they buy, according to Justin Gibbs, director of the London Stock Exchange Vintners International, an electronic market for trading in wine. Although top Bordeaux reds are typically provided for 20 years, Champagne is ready to drink when it lines store shelves - and often.

People tend to drink champagne quickly, "said Gibbs. As a result, a vintage can become scarce within a couple of years to be released by the producer. As supply of lower Champagnes of the highest quality, the price goes up quickly.
Thus, an increase of low demand, as someone who is simply trying a case or two for a wedding, can drive the price dramatically on this case is shortly after the initial release.

There's the "bling" factor, too, which is adding to the appeal and increase the price of the best champagnes. "The champagne is what is drunk in casinos in the world, on yachts of Russian oligarchs and by the wives of players, so there is an element of flash money about it, "says Gibbs.

Bordeaux remains strong

Driven by this demand, the price of Champagnes such as Krug Perignon, Louis Roederer Cristal and Dom have exploded over the past year, surpassing the great names of Bordeaux as an investment, at least for now. While prices have soared high on the vintage of Bordeaux in 2005 and remained stable on the 2006 wines, the 2007 vintage is considered low, if an interest has waned - and turned to Champagne instead.

Yet it is not enough to attract the leading wine funds away from their traditional base of investment of Bordeaux red. "Historically, bordeaux [The British term for red wine from Bordeaux] has done a lot better than Champagne, and we expect that to continue, "says Will Beck, based in London Wine Asset Managers, which does not currently invest in Champagne.

"It turns out that Claret is taking a break after a performance incredible in the previous two years, while Champagne has had a relatively good year in terms of performance. Fund "Wine Asset Managers' Fine Wine, available to individual investors, has returned 46% since it was established in 2006.

Supplies scarce

While assessments of Champagne can be driven by consumption, the price of fine Bordeaux red is driven only partly by the scarcity supply. Chateau Lafite Rothschild, for example, produces about 17,000 cases per year, while it is expensive, it costs much less than the wine of Chateau Petrus, that does not produce more than 2,500 cases each year.

The figures on the production of Champagne are harder to find because the houses are less forthcoming with information. This is one reason asset managers such as Beck invest more at home in Bordeaux red, since the castles that produce are open about their production figures. "There is much more open about Bordeaux," Beck said, "and we can work with a production figure for over each year. "
What you invest in wine collection or? Add your thoughts in the Reader Comments section below. Peter Lunzer, a wine consultant in Fund, the London-based Wine Investment, agrees that - for now at least - Champagne, which is only just beginning to emerge as an investment vehicle, is a riskier alternative of Bordeaux. "One of the reasons why we invest in Bordeaux," he says, "is that unlike Champagne, there are a lot of international data on how prices have fluctuated over the years. "However, some say the tide could change. "There is a group of investors who feel that there is only one way Champagne prices are headed, and that is in place," said Geoffrey Troy of New York Wine Warehouse, the North American partner for wines at auction at Christie. "We are seeing a number of collectors serious wine buying serious amounts of Champagne as an investment. "The House of Louis Roederer

Passion great wines and a desire to compensate for the limitations that "politics castle" naturally imposes on the development of Champagne Louis Roederer have, over the years, by Jean-Claude Rouzaud and Frederick to acquire an exclusive group of properties

around the house Champagne Reims, if properly managed independently really share the same philosophy of excellence, and now form the "Group Louis Roederer". It includes Roederer Estate and Scharffenberg, both in California, Champagne Deutz and Delas house in the Rhone Valley, Ramos Pinto and vineyards of the Douro, Portugal Domaines Ott in Provence *, and the Château de Pez and Château Haut-Beauséjour Bordeaux (St. Estephe), who were joined at the end of 2006 Château Pichon Longueville Comtesse de Lalande (Pauillac) and Château Bernadotte (Haut Medoc). Louis Roederer also an equal share with the group in the House Duclot Descaves in Bordeaux.

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Bordeaux 2010 Château Pichon Longueville Comtesse de Lalande - Sylvie Cazes