Well, it’s that time of year again. Treetops are glistening and children are listening to sleigh bells in the snow and suddenly Christmas is upon us once more. So, it’s time to ask ourselves: what makes a good Christmas gift great?
We’ve already covered our favourite luxury gifts for wine lovers, the best Christmas Gifts for investors and our pick of the top 5 wines in previous posts, so we won’t go into the specifics of those here. But we did want to highlight the benefits of our collections. These are a great way to start your wine investment journey and are suitable for all budgets and time investment horizons.
Wine collections do exactly what they say. They are collections of six bottles (usually, although we do offer some exceptions) of pre-selected wine, that are ideal for investment. They’re the gift that suits everyone – they offer good ROI, come in a range of investment horizons and have some of the best wine ratings on the market. Keep them in bond until they reach their maturity date, and they really are the gift that keeps on giving!
We have lots of collections on our wine investment app but we’ve picked our favourite for Christmas here:
Château PONTET CANET Vertical Collection
We’ve called this Collection The Christmas Vertical Collection. Perfect for giving – even to yourself – this very limited edition of six vintages is ready to drink or keep for another decade.
About the wine:
Chateau Pontet Canet is the wine that everyone should know about. It is big, bold and powerful and makes a mockery of its Fifth Growth classification. It is one of, if not the most, popular Bordeaux wine distributed worldwide and is one of the few wines to have been given a perfect score of 100 points by wine guru Robert Parker. As if that wasn’t enough, investors should know that the producer’s annual releases regularly provoke mini-crashes in the investable wine market.
Chateau Pontet Canet has created a stupendous vertical collection, which showcases why it deserves the reputation it has and is now considered one of the most prestigious properties in Pauillac. Six vintages (1990, 1994, 1995, 1996, 1998, 1999) mean you can taste the evolution of the chateau’s wine over time, as well as gain a better understanding of the different vintages. Vertical tastings also allow you to discern any changes to techniques and, by making sure everything else stays the same (the producer, the land, the varietal), you can simply compare the years themselves.
Available in a very limited edition, this collection is ready to drink but will also age for another 15-20 years. Aggregate scoring for the collection of the 6 bottles is 91.5/100.
Collection Magnum Leoville Las Cases 1981 – 2001
The Magnum Christmas Collection is a little break from tradition for us. Instead of six 75 cl bottles, this lovely collection is three magnums (3 x 150 cl).
About the wine:
What can we say about the producer? As part of the holy trinity of Leovilles (the other two being Château Léoville-Poyferré and Château Léoville-Barton), Las Cases could be summed up in two words. Incomparable terroir. The terroir is made up of gravelly sand and clay soils and has a complicated mix of eight subsoils that offer superb drainage. The superb 17-century Château Leoville Las Cases commands views of gently sloping hills (98 hectares in total), with vines that are completely enclosed. Las Cases is the largest and oldest of the magic three Leovilles, and is much closer to its lofty neighbour Chateau Latour and its Pauillac identity than its own St. Julien one.
Despite the wine produced being near perfect in quality, the chateau is classified as a Second Growth. Should there ever be a reclassification of the 1855 chart, we would fully expect Leoville Las Cases to be promoted to First Growth. But for now, it stays a Super Second, seducing both investors and collectors alike with its intense taste and muscular tannins. Our advice is don’t overlook Las Cases; with the market for first growths becoming saturated, investors need to look outside of the Big Five firsts for the top tiers in French wine.
Collection Magnum Leoville Las Cases 1981 – 2001 (96/100 Anthony Galloni ) – 2011 (95/100 James Suckling).
Magnum Nicolas Catena Zapata 2016
Well, hello New World wine and welcome to the party. You took your time getting here but golly you were worth the wait! If you are not familiar with Bodega Nicolas Catena Zapata you soon will be, as this is the estate that put Argentinian wine on the world map. As pioneers of high altitude wines, Bodega Catena Zapata has consistently been producing superb wines for over one hundred years. Catena Zapata’s gamble of planting vines at high level paid off and today is considered among the best producers in the country. With such a pedigree, it is unsurprising that this 2016 vintage of Nicolás Catena Zapata is an exact reflection of what a great Argentinian blend should be. Made with 61% Cabernet Sauvignon, 31% Malbec and 8% Cabernet this wine is concentrated, complex and a classic example of what this producer is capable of.
The winery prides itself on its sustainability practices; harvests are by hand, vineyards are biodiverse and based on scientific research and Laura Catena (who co-owns the winery with her father, Nicolás) has developed programmes to improve the quality of life in rural local areas, with a goal to introduce young people to the wine industry as a potential future employer. It is no understatement to say after having changed the face of Argentina’s viticulture, with their high altitude wines, the dream father-daughter duo of Catenas now plans to change the face of the European market.
Our Magnum Christmas gift is a great introduction to the world of New World if you’re not familiar. Scores for this vintage were unsurprisingly superb: 96 from Wine Advocate and 95 from James Suckling.
Fine Wine Christmas Collections FAQs
I want to make an order for Christmas. What is the deadline for ordering?
There is no deadline for ordering but as all our Collections are only available in small numbers of Limited Editions, it’s first come first served! Delivery times can vary enormously, especially at this time of year, so it’s best to get an order in sooner rather than later if you want to offer it for the 25th of December. Our gift vouchers (see below) are a great solution for latecomers!
Are the Christmas collections discounted?
No, they’re not discounted but they still provide great value for money, especially for those who want to keep the Collection in storage. All our Collections can be delivered to an address of choice, but they can also be kept in our state of the art warehouse where they will continue gaining in quality and, hopefully, price. When you consider that once again fine wine proved to be one of the best-performing assets in 2021, that’s what we call a great deal!
Do the collections have a special packaging suitable for a gift?
All our Collections come in beautiful original wooden cases that not only look gorgeous but are the best packaging there is for wine – the pleasure of prising open a wooden case on Christmas morning is second to none. The beauty of a wooden case is that it also promises optimal ageing if you’re thinking of storing, not drinking, your wine.
Can I get a gift voucher from you?
Yes! All our Collections are available to give as gifts. Simply download the app, go to Collections and click on Gift. Then, it’s up to you to decide – Collections can either be sent to the address of your choice (delivery times vary), or you can opt to keep the wine in our bonded warehouses gaining value and quality. A gorgeous, personalised certificate will be sent to your inbox, allowing you to give something tangible to the lucky receiver on the big day. Sounds too good to be true? It’s not.
Vindome Wine Collections are available on the Vindome wine investment app or on vindome.net