Domaine De La Grange: Invest In One Of The Last Vintages From The "Mozart Of Wine"

For a while, just a while, you should forget about Burgundy, Champagne, and the great wines from Italy. We are going to Languedoc in the south of France. From here, you now have the opportunity to invest in some of the latest wine, master Laurent Vaillé has created. These will be sought-after treasures for Domaine de la Grange's loyal followers in the future - followers who are already used to extremely limited supply and rising prices.

Farewell To The Mozart Of Wine - A True Master

"I pay no attention whatever to anybody's praise or blame. I simply follow my own feelings." This is how the composer Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart is quoted, and apart from an enormous talent ahead of his time, this quote is perhaps one of the reasons why the winemaker, Laurent Vaillé, is honoured as the "Mozart of wine". 

Laurent Vaillé founded Domaine de la Grange des Peres, which has roots going back to 1958, when his grandfather bought an estate near Aniane in the south of France. Vaillé planted new vineyards on the property in 1988, and from the 1992 vintage he was able to present the first red wine from the domain.

Vaillé studied oenology at the University of Montpellier. However, more interestingly, Vaillé built up experience working with Eloi Dürrbach of Domaine de Trévallon in Les Baux de Provence, Gérard Chave of Domaine Jean-Louis Chave in Hermitage and Jean-François Coche-Dury in Meursault.

All stories have an ending, and with a magnificent reputation and status as one of Southern France's most respected winemakers, Laurent Vaillé's life ended on April 30, 2021 at the age of just 57. 

Despite his great humility, Laraunt Vaillé managed to create a great and respected name, despite not operating in the most prestigious regions. His success serves as an inspiration to younger talents in those very regions, while his faithful followers must now look far and wide for Vaillé’s coveted wines. 

Expensive, But Could Get Even More Expensive

In October 2004, Wine Advocate, in a review of Domaine de la Grange des Peres' 2001 vintage, described the house wines as follows:

"This estate's wines are frightfully expensive and terribly hard to locate in the United States, selling out instantly upon arrival on our shores."

In the words "frighteningly expensive", Wine Advocate thus stated that the release price of a red 2001 Grange des Peres was $75 (approx. €60) per bottle (including duties, taxes and fees).

In April and May, all the Domaine de la Grange des Peres wines took a big jump following the tragic news of Laurent Vaillé's death. In fact, the average price across all offerings for a red 2001 vintage, according to wine-searcher.com, came to €511 per bottle^*. This average price has risen to €598^* since then. 

The same trend has been observed across all vintages of the domain. 

In this investment tip, you can invest in the 2018 vintage, which is among the last that Laurent Vaillé himself has completed

The price of this also rose on the news that the last wine from the master himself has been produced.  Wine-searcher.com testifies that the average price on the platform rose from around €100 to almost €600 per bottle^* on the news but has settled back to a more real level free of the immediate hype of €460. 

Cheapest price on wine-searcher.com is now € 333^*, while your investment price here right now is € 325^*.

What was expensive in the eyes of Wine Advocates in 2004 has only got more expensive, but in the long run there is great potential in wine produced by a legend who is no longer with us. This, in fact, is the definitive last. 

*

Limited Production And Limited Information

Laurent Vaillés and Grange des Peres produce two wines - a red and a white. Quality has always been put before quantity, which is why yields have always been kept low. In fact, as low as 20-25 hl/ha. By comparison, grand cru in Burgundy can produce up to 35 hl/ha. 

This means that across these two wines only 30,000-36,000 bottles are produced per year. 

At the same time, for unfathomable reasons, criticism has been extremely limited in more recent vintages - perhaps because of the above. This means that there are no scores from the critics we normally use. This is thus a case that is even more pronouncedly based on supply and demand. The demand is there. The supply does not remain so. 

RareWine Invest's Opinion

By investing in Domaine de la Grange des Peres and in winemaker Laurent Viallé in particular, you are breaking away from the classics and investing in a true master. 

This case is in many ways a pattern breaker, a bit like Laurent Vaillé himself. But in this, too, lies its strength. Here we do not have great scores to lean on, and that is basically irrelevant, as Vaillé's name and status have not been made based on mediocre wine. 

Grange des Peres has a large and almost cult following, and more wine lovers and connoisseurs are joining in all the time. 

In the sky, new stars are constantly being turned off and on, but some burn themselves into history for good. Laurent Viallé is one of these, and the irrevocable last wine from his hands has been produced. 

Take part in the legacy, honour the Mozart of wine, and help ensure that wine lovers all over the world can be offered perfectly mature Grange des Peres from Laurent Vaillé in the future.