This Is The Essence Of Rare Burgundy Investment. And The Potential Is Enormous…

Domaine Sylvain Cathiard – A Hot-Topic In Bourgogne

Sebastien Cathiard is the name mentioned by all wine producers if you ask for their favorite producer in Burgundy. In Burgundy, this is the man that everyone these years is looking at, and if you are a winemaker, just being good friends with Cathiard can raise the reputation of your wines considerably. This has been the case in recent years from Coquard Loison-Fleurot, where the domain winemaker has learned to make wine from Sebastien Cathiard.

Supply and demand are in no way related when looking at Cathiard's wines. This is the case because the wines are extremely coveted across the product portfolio, while production is at an all-time low. Domaine Cathiard owns only 5.5 hectares of land, which is spread over so many vineyards that there is not one vineyard with more than one hectare. This means that Cathiard only produces approx. 1,500 cases of wine a year. Even Domaine Cathiards Bourgogne rouge, which can be a bit blasphemously called the domain's table wine, is produced in just over 2,000 bottles a year. But we find the great potential in the house's top wine, Romanée Saint-Vivant, where production is among the smallest in Burgundy.

With Roots In Domaine De La Romanée-Conti And Domaine Lamarche

Since 2011, Sebastien Cathiard has been in charge of this small domain. Sebastien started with his father in 2006 and Domaine Sylvain Cathiard et fils was born. The property was otherwise founded in the 1930s when Sylvain Cathiard's grandfather bought the first parcels while working for Domaine de la Romnée-Conti and Domaine Lamarche. Over the years, a few parcels were added while other parcels were sold, but in 1986 Sylvain started with his own parcels and supplemented with grapes from his father. A relatively untraditional way to start a domain, but the result has since proved to be one of the most interesting in Burgundy. Today, the domain's crown jewel and most famous possession is 0.17 hectares on the Grand Cru vineyard, Romanée Saint-Vivant. Romanée Saint-Vivant is located in one of the most prestigious wine regions in the world, namely the wine municipality Vosne-Romanée and more precisely between the village of Vosne-Romanée and the mythical Romanée-Conti vineyard. This is an absolutely optimal location and some of the world's absolute best and most famous land for wine production.

“Sébastien Cathiard has quietly gone about making Domaine Sylvain Cathiard one of the most elite producers in Vosne-Romanée, with prices to match.”

                                                                 - Neal Martin, Vinous

Extremely Rare Burgundy Investment: Romanée Saint-Vivant Is Grand Cru Of The Greatest Caliber

There are Grand Cru vineyards and then there are Grand Cru vineyards in the Vosne-Romanée. Here, terroir, climate and exposure are on another level and provide some prerequisites for exclusive wine that you do not find anywhere else in the world. The ridge that stretches through this commune adds the backbone to some of the most legendary vineyards, and not just in the area, but in the world: namely Romanée-Conti, La Tâche, Richebourg and last but not least Romanée Saint-Vivant. All of the above vineyards supply some of the best and most coveted red Burgundy wines in the entire world.

Romanée Saint-Vivant has a small plot just below Romanée-Conti. Here, the Cathiard family managed to buy a parcel of just 0.17 hectares out of the vineyard’s total of 8.37 hectares. This means that Domaine Cathiard in a good vintage only produces approximately three barrels, which is equivalent to less than 900 bottles.

This is a wine that is strongly allocated and even the best restaurants have a long way to get these wines. From the producer only under a handful of bottles are allocated to the entire Danish market per year.

Cathiards Romanée Saint-Vivant is simply the epitome of a rare Burgundy investment and the investment potential is at its peak.

What is also interesting is that all scores are barrel scores, i.e. preliminary scores before the wine is bottled and the final product is ready for sale. This may be due to the fact that the production of Cathiard's Romanée Saint-Vivant is so limited that even the biggest critics cannot guarantee a finished bottle. Something that gives food for thought and testifies to the exclusivity of these bottles.

In Which Vintage Should You Invest In?

Right now, you have an extremely rare opportunity to invest in several different vintages between the 2009 and 2017 vintages. But which one should you as a wine investor choose? As the points above testify, all the wines deliver a stable high level of quality and there are no particular variations. But when it comes to this wine, it is more a question of whether it is possible to obtain, than to have the opportunity to choose vintages. In other words, our recommendation is the same across these wines, and the choice of vintage is secondary, as case and potential relate to Cathiard's Romanée Saint-Vivant in general and not to a specific vintage.

RareWine Invest’s Opinion

As the name RareWine Invest indicates, this is about investing in rare wines and with Domaine Sylvian Cathiard's Romanée Saint-Vivant we get to the very core of understanding what rare investment wine is.

These wines are produced to such a limited extent that they are allocated so heavily that the national distributors of the individual countries are allocated to as few as individual bottles per year, where, for example, only a small handful come to Denmark each year.

In other words, it is not a question of having the luxury of choosing and picking between which vintage and formats you want, but of actually being able to buy.

The extremely limited production also means that today it is practically impossible to find the perfectly mature Romanée Saint-Vivant from Domaine Cathiard and if a wine investor in the future can offer just this to the world’s wine merchants and lovers, it is simply a treasure.

Here you have the opportunity to invest in both cases of ordinary bottles and individual magnum bottles. Magnum bottles, which by their nature are produced to an even lesser extent and have almost mythical status.

The potential is simply enormous and combining Domaine Cathiard's recognition with the hyper limited and coveted production of Romanée Saint-Vivant, there is roughly no limit to what these bottles may cost in the future. The precedents of the perfectly matured Romanée Saint-Vivant from Cathiard are extremely limited and if this can be presented, you simply have something unique.

If you also believe in Burgundy and believe in the most exclusive, rare and prestigious wine, then Cathiards Romanée Saint-Vivant is the perfect choice - and right now you have the chance.

The quantities are extremely limited and are sold on a first-come, first-served basis.