2015 Argiano Brunello: Good Timing To Invest In One Of The Great Wines Of The Future

Argiano - Great Wine, Great Price

If you think the name Argiano sounds familiar, there is probably something about it. Argiano belongs to an exclusive club of the best Brunello di Montalcino producers along with names like Biondi-Santi, Il Poggione, Casanova di Neri and Altesino. And it is not because there is a shortage of producers. Those who have been privileged enough to have travelled to the area will know that producers are located side-by-side and the standard is sky-high. If you are one of the best producers here, the level is almost elitist - nothing less.

Argiano has a long history dating back to the 16th century, but it was not until 1992, following the purchase of the property by Noemi Marone Cinzano*, that a major modernisation and improvement of wine production began. Since then, Argiano has become one of the most recognised producers in the region.

Argiano mainly produces red wine, with a focus on reflecting the unique terroir of the area. The Brunello di Montalcino is the heart and soul of Argiano, but the house is also behind the Super Tuscan Argiano Solengo and a Riserva that certainly deserves to be mentioned.

Common to all Argiano's wines is that you will find great wines with a relatively small price tag. And this is also something that is being realised by the rest of the wine world - and it is exciting for the wine investor. And here you have the opportunity to invest in a vintage that is to Brunello what 2002 or 2008 is to Champagne. And supply is in full decline.

*Cinzano is a rich and influential Italian family known for the production of Cinzano vermouth and other spirits.

Quality And Historical Returns On Argiano Brunello di Montalcino

Looking back at vintages from this millennium of Brunello di Montalcino, three vintages stand out as exceptional - 2010, 2015 and 2016. And it is also here that Argiano has made the most of its Brunello di Montalcino. Across Wine Advocate, Vinous, and James Suckling, the 2010 vintage has scored 95.7p on average, 2015 94.3p and 2016 95.0p*. Outside of these three vintages, none get over 93p on average. With the 2015 vintage, we are dealing with one of Argiano's best Brunello di Montalcino, which also comes from a vintage that for Brunello is equivalent to what 2002 or 2008 is for Champagne.

The whole thesis of investing in good Italian wines is that, historically, their prices have not risen as much as their French counterparts, for example. And this is exactly what makes Argiano particularly interesting. Historically, from a broad perspective, Argiano has not delivered impressive returns, which you can now use to your advantage. In fact, according to Liv-ex, the last 10 vintages** that have been on the market for at least five years have returned an average of "only" 29.4% over the last five years. But here it is important to look forwards rather than backwards. Good Italian wines are in a different place today than they were just five years ago. The timing for investing in Italian wine has never been better, and the big upside is still ahead.

Great vintages like 2015 are showing the right signs. Wine-searcher.com reports that the average offer price of the 2015 Argiano Brunello di Montalcino has already increased by 35.8% since its release in February 2020.

*2010 - WA: 95 Vi: 94 JS: 98, 2015 - WA: 95+ VI: 93 JS: 95, 2016 - WA: 94 VI: 94 JS: 97

**Vintage 2004-2013

Another Record Year For Brunello Sales

ItalianFOOD.net, part of Gruppo Food, a leader in Italy for more than 30 years in B2B communication in the food sector, has recently commented on Brunello sales. Sales of Brunello di Montalcino increased by 18% (by value) in 2022, compared to the previous year. In terms of volume, sales increased by 7%, so while more wine was bought, it was also at a higher price.

It also reports that the positive development is due to good performance in almost all export markets, while the domestic market remains the largest with an increase of 27% in 2022 in value terms.

Brunello di Montalcino's "trade organisation" (Consortium for the protection of Brunello di Montalcino) points out that the strong performance, following an already successful period with the release of the great vintages of 2015 and 2016, can be attributed to the wine world's growing appreciation and recognition of the Brunello brand.

Availability In Full Decline

As said, Argiano's Brunello di Montalcino was released in early 2020, where it seems that the approximately 100,000 bottles produced were relatively efficiently distributed. From February and one year onwards, wine-searcher.com testifies to a rapidly increasing availability in terms of the number of offers for this particular wine:

But after the peak, availability was sent into a complete decline, and there has actually been an 84.2 % reduction in supply. Meanwhile, Wine Advocate estimates that the optimal drinking window for the 2015 vintage is 2021-2033, while Vinous estimates 2024-2031.

This is what we call the sweet spot: we are right at the start of this great wine's optimal drinking window and the available quantities are drastically reduced.

RareWine Invest's Opinion

By investing in Argiano's Brunello di Montalcino, you are investing in the ability to deliver Brunello di Montalcino from one of the area's most recognised producers and from a benchmark vintage.

There is actually a perspective on Champagne when we look at the potential and market mechanisms around Brunello di Montalcino. One argument in favour of investing in Champagne is that this is very much a consumer product, where only a few people think about saving for later, which is why the amount of Champagne from great, mature vintages is extremely limited. This is even more pronounced when we look at Brunello di Montalcino. Here the price is even lower, which only encourages you to enjoy it immediately, because there will be a new vintage in a few years. But mature Brunello di Montalcino is in a completely different league - and the wine world knows it.

Here you can invest in the 2015 vintage for just €28 a bottle. Therein lies both extra security and potential. Security in the sense that the price is so low that it is hard to imagine any loss of value. There is simply a lower limit to what good wine can cost. Potential in the sense that if you were to pay double for a 2015 Argiano in its prime in five years' time, it seems like an offer most wine lovers would jump at. And until then, would wine lovers even notice if the price of a bottle like this went up five or ten euros overnight? They probably would not.

Here is one of the great wines of the future.