No One Above, No One Beside: Invest In Screaming Eagle

If you like the best, the most exclusive, the most prestigious and the most expensive, and if you like wines from Napa Valley, there is really only one way to look - and that is towards Screaming Eagle.

Screaming Eagle is unquestionably the king of Napa Valley and thus the finest that wine lovers can get their hands on from the American continent. But beyond the obvious potential of the famous and the rare, Screaming Eagle is also backed by a multi-billionaire businessman who knows how to create continuity in success and thus be your partner in your Screaming Eagle investment.

The latest vintage, 2019, of Screaming Eagle's flagship wine has been released and you can now skip the long waiting lists, take part in the micro-production, and invest in what has become the benchmark of American wine.

Screaming Eagle: In Short

The former real estate agent, Jean Phillips, acquired about 22 hectares of vineyards in Oakville, Napa Valley, California in 1986. Most was quickly sold off to other producers in the area, with the exception of 0.4 hectares planted with Cabernet Sauvignon. Jean Phillips reached out to the already famous Robert Mondavis employees for advice on the commercial potential of her land, and shortly thereafter hired her first winemaker.

The 1992 vintage was the first (commercial) release of Screaming Eagle and the combination of extremely few bottles produced and positive reviews, including 99 points from Wine Advocate, which is spectacular for a first wine, resulted in Screaming Eagle becoming one of the most recognised and expensive wines from Napa Valley.

In 2006, another turning point for Screaming Eagle came when Jean Phillips sold the estate to financiers Charles Banks and Stanley Kroenke, the latter in particular being of particular interest - both to Screaming Eagle, but also to you as an investor.

Today, only 6,000-10,000 bottles of Screaming Eagle are produced per vintage.

Financier, Sports Mogul, And Proprietor

Multi-billionaire Stanley Kroenke is no Mr. Anybody. Kroenke has partly made his fortune through sports (not athletics) and real estate, and at age 74 he ranks No. 183 on Forbes' 2022 list of the world's richest - a ranking, by the way, that does not include his marriage to Ann Walton Kroenke, heir to Walmart and a multibillionaire herself.

Stanley Kroenke's portfolio includes the Denver Nuggets (NBA), Colorado Avalanche (NHL), Colorado Rapids (Major League Soccer) and Arsenal (Premier League), but he is also one of the largest landowners in the US by far - second only to the US government and a few other property owners. In addition, there are more than 5.5 million square metres of property, mainly shopping centres and the like.

It is thus not a businessman completely without capacity or format, who in 2006 partially took over Screaming Eagle and in 2009 became 100 % owner. As we know from the world of Champagne, it is not without importance for a producer/brand to have some big muscles behind it, as is the case for example with Moët & Chandon, owned by the LVMH group, or Perrier-Jouët, owned by Pernod Ricard.

In addition to financial strengths that can contribute to growth and brand building, marketing skills and general business flair are not unimportant. We can only speculate whether Screaming Eagle is just a passion project for Kroenke, but if it is, it is still hard to imagine that there is not business in it for him too - you could say it is in his DNA. The price of Screaming Eagle has increased dramatically since 2006, partly because Screaming Eagle itself is pushing up the price - something that surely will continue in the future. In addition, future investment in the estate is also assured, and the foundations for Screaming Eagle to continue as the king of Napa Valley remain in place.

New Screaming Eagle Has Never Been More Expensive...

Depending on the situation, an overwhelming price tag can be a very good thing, and as described at the beginning, an investment potential in this world sometimes also consists in just being the most expensive. A new Screaming Eagle has never been more expensive, yet it is much more than just that. Something Antonio Galloni of Vinous has linked a few thoughts to:

“Because of its price, both on release and in the secondary market, Screaming Eagle is the most talked about wine in Napa Valley. It is hype or not? All I can say is that I was very fortunate to drink a number of older vintages during lockdown and all those wines lived up to their reputations.”

Despite the price tag, Screaming Eagle lives up to its reputation. And here it is also important to remember that five years ago € 12,000 was considered excessive for a bottle of DRC Romanée-Conti. Today, the same bottles sell for +50-100 % more.

2019: Great Vintage In Napa - Even Greater For Screaming Eagle

The 2019 vintage is rated by Vinous as being a potential great vintage in Napa Valley - in fact they give the 2019 vintage (across the region) 94-97 points, indicating a great vintage. But it does suggest that Screaming Eagle tops this…

The 2019 Screaming Eagle is so new to the market that we still await the Wine Advocate's critique and rating, but that does not hold back Antonio Galloni of Vinous or James Suckling.

James Suckling awards the 2019 vintage 99 points, while Vinous gives it a perfect 100 points - something they have only done twice before, namely for the 2016 and 2007 vintages.

This gives a preliminary average of 99.5 points, second only to the 2016 vintage, which scored 3 x 100 points (!!). However, it should be said that the Wine Advocate's final scoring will obviously affect this. So should the Wine Advocate give:

• 100 points, the 2019 vintage is inherently approaching perfection and will be right on the heels of 2016 as the greatest vintage ever. The average would be 99.7.
• 99 points, the 2019 vintage with 99.3 points on average remains the second-best Screaming Eagle ever rated.
• 98 points, the class of 2019 will land on an average of 99 points, which is the same as the 2018 vintage, and these will thus share 3rd place, one point behind the 2016 vintage.
• 97 points, the 2019 vintage will still, with 98.7 points, share 4th place with the 2012 vintage, which by the way received 100 points from both Wine Advocate and James Suckling.

And so, it could go on. The critics are independent, and their paths are unpredictable, and a high score from one does not necessarily mean a high score from the other. That said, there has not been a major disagreement on the quality of Screaming Eagle between Vinous and Wine Advocate in recent memory.

This is just conjecture, but one thing is certain: with Screaming Eagle, it is more about whether you can get some bottles, rather than having the luxury of being able to choose between vintages. With the 2019 vintage, you can now get a 100-point vintage that even comes with an extra potential upside in the Wine Advocate's missing score.

Screaming Eagle Has Delivered Solid Returns

If you are looking for in-depth data in the wine world, the UK wine exchange Liv-ex has the most comprehensive dataset in the world with more than 875 million historical price points. The best place to look for trends in "the others", that is all non-French wines, is by looking at the Rest of World index.

Liv-ex's Rest of World index¹ has seen growth of more than 42 % over the past five years, driven largely by California wines and Screaming Eagle in particular. This is reflected in the fact that the last five vintages of Screaming Eagle, which have been on the market for at least five years², have returned an average of 79.4 % over the last five years, according to Liv-ex.

At RareWine Invest, we do not yet have as extensive data as Liv-ex, but sometimes less can do. On 25 June 2019, we had the opportunity to offer Screaming Eagle (the 2016 vintage)³ for the first time for investment via an investment tip. Had you invested back then, you would have enjoyed a 44,5 % return today.

1: The last 10 vintages of, according to Liv-ex, six leading brands from California (Screaming Eagle, Dominus, Opus One), Australia (Penfold's), Portugal (Taylor's) and Spain (Vega Sicilia)

2: 2014, 2013, 2012, 2011 and 2010

3: Investment tip only available in Danish: https://www.rarewineinvest.dk/nyheder/2019/screaming-eagle-kongeoernen-af-napa-valley-flyver-mod-nye-hoejder/

RareWine Invest's Opinion

None above, none beside. Screaming Eagle can simply be described that way. It simply does not get any better when it comes to American wine.

Now you have the opportunity to invest in the latest release of Screaming Eagle's top wine of the same name, which with 100 perfect points from Vinous manifests why Screaming Eagle is what it is.

Previous vintages have also validated the potential with strong returns. The premise has not changed for the 2019 vintage, and if you want to secure your investment, we recommend acting now. We only see very limited quantities of mature Screaming Eagles in the market and for the same reason rarely have the pleasure of offering them for investment.

If you believe in the best, rarest and most prestigious, as we do, then the 2019 Screaming Eagle is an obvious investment case for you.