August 5, 2008
A few weeks back, IWM featured
these twenty-six DRC magnums from the
historic 2005 vintage in Burgundy.
The $400,000 parcel sold, a prodigious
investment that goes far beyond that of a
mere collector’s obsession. As
rare wines have recently been shown to
outperform most traditional commodities,
these large formats will certainly reward an
investment objective.
But at IWM, we also consider this
investment from another angle—namely,
what the individual could have received by
investing half of that $400,000 in Italian
selections. Our Cellar Management Division,
in fact, created a proposal (which we have
included here) just the other week for a
client who was looking to obtain a complete
cellar of
Italy’s Finest
Wines. The list we developed included a
small portion of mature vintage wines that
are ready for consumption today, but was
primarily comprised of wines meant to be
enjoyed over the next three
decades. The list began with
jeroboams from our Granbussia Millenium package, as
well as the Barolo legends-to-be from the
structured vintages of 1996, 1999, 2001, and
2004. These vintages received additional
support from expressions representing
Italy’s qualitative
spectrum—Barbaresco, Amarone, Brunello
di Montalcino, Super-Tuscans, Taurasi, and
Montepulciano. In the first column,
names like
Gaja, Giacosa, Mascarello,
Sandrone, Antinori, Scavino, Biondi-Santi,
Soldera, Valentini, Fiorano,
Mastroberardino, and
Pianpolvere occupied the cells, while
iconic names such as
Sassicaia, Masseto,
Solaia, Redigaffi, Case Basse di Soldera,
Monfortino, and
Granbussia
populated the second column. More
than 800 bottles from Italy’s greatest
vintages, producers, and wines featured in
our debut
Italy’s Finest
Wines proposal.
26 Magnums of the most-sought after wine in
the world or 800+ bottles of Italy’s
finest wines? There is no right or wrong
answer here. Each individual has a different
budget, objectives, and palate. And whether
the budget is $500 or $500,000, most
enthusiasts and collectors need help finding
and purchasing the wines most appropriate for
them. Fulfilling this need is the focus of
both IWM in general and our special Cellar
Management division in particular. If
you are interested in learning more about
our program or receiving a customized cellar
proposal, please contact us at 212.473.2323,
x101 or via email at
winerequest@italianwinemerchant.com.
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