Value-For-Money Investment With 98p From WA: 2019 Flacianello Della Pieve

“Flaccianello remains an old love and a wine that hits the highest marks for quality consistency vintage after vintage”

– Monica Larner, Wine Advocate

Do you want to invest in wine, but do not have a temperament for the astronomically expensive Burgundy wines. On the contrary, you prefer a "volume-game", where you want more bottles at a lower price without compromising on quality - then Italy is a place you will be able to profit.

Wine lovers around the world are really starting to discover Italian wine, and the quality just keeps getting better. The price, however, is not yet keeping pace.

Fontodis Flacianello della Pieve is not yet playing with the big Super Tuscans - but that is also where the investment potential lies. Flaccianello delle Pieve shows consistently high quality and great historical returns. Now it is all about the latest addition. Read more about the potential of 2019 Fontodi Flaccianello della Pieve below.

Fontodi - Worldwide Recognition

The Fontodi estate is located in the heart of Tuscany. Since 1968 the property has belonged to the Manetti family, when Dino Manetti bought it. He put his first wines on the market in the 1970s and since then they have indeed reaped worldwide acclaim.

And in particular the house's flagship wine Flaccianello della Pieve attracts full understandable attention. It is made from the vineyard's oldest and very best vines - and the flagship is even reputed to be one of the most successful wines of Tuscan origin made from 100 % Sangiovese. Tuscany is home to some of Italy's best wines, so to be named one of the most successful is a great stamp of quality.

Perhaps the reason for the high recognition is that Dino's sons Giovanni and Marco Menetti, along with winemaker Franco Barnabei, share a passion for quality and winemaking. Likewise, they share a massive respect for the area in which they grow wine. And that together forms a solid foundation for creating world-class wines.

Fontodi Flaccianello - Consistent Quality

That Monica Larner's quote at the top of this article says that Fontodi achieves the highest quality marks - vintage after vintage - is not a postulate. And indeed, in the last 10 vintages, no Flaccianello delle Pieve has received lower than 94 points from Vinous, James Suckling and Wine Advocate respectively.

The 2019 Fontodi Flacianello della Pieve gets 94 points from Vinous, 98 points from Wine Advocate and 96 points from James Suckling, giving it 96 points across the same critics. With 96 points, it thus places itself solidly in the middle among the last 10 vintages.     

How Fontodi Flaccianello Performs

Fontodi performs. According to Liv-ex, the last 10 vintages of Fontodi Flaccianello, which have been on the market for at least five years*, have produced an average return of 76.4 % over the last five years.

For the purposes of this investment tip, it also makes sense to look at the price performance of comparable vintages. The chart above shows that both the 2017 vintage (96p) and the 2010 vintage (95.3p) are roughly on a par with the 2019 vintage in terms of scores.

And according to price trends on wine-searcher.com, 2017 Flaccianello has increased 37 % in two years. 2010 Flacianello was released in 2013, and since then it has increased 76 % - also according to price trends on wine-searcher.com. Add to this that the 2008 Flaccianello (95.7p) has seen a 150 % price increase since the first data point on wine-searcher.com in 2013.

*2005-2014

The Expansion Of The Wine Market And Liv-Ex Italy 100 Index

In recent years, Liv-ex has presented that the definition of the category "fine wine" is expanding, which is underlined, among other things, by the fact that more and more various, in wine terms atypical, regions are trading on the secondary market. However, this trend is not just outside the traditional wine regions, but can also be seen in the existing traditional regions - buyers are looking for value at different price levels. This is happening in Burgundy, for example. It is happening in Champagne. And it is happening in Italy.

Fontodi's Flaccianello della Pieve does not yet have the same high reputation as the traditional Super Tuscans (Sassicaia, Masseto, Tignanello, Ornellaia and Solaia), but there is every indication that more and more people are waking up to Fontodi.

A sign of this trend can also be interpreted from the UK wine exchange, Liv-ex: Italy 100 is a sub-index of the broad Liv-ex Fine Wine 1000 index and Italy 100 is thus the index to track performance in this category.

The index consists of the ten most recent and physical vintages from the five original Super Tuscans as well as five other leading Italian producers. The newest wine on the Italy 100 is just Fontodi's Flaccianello della Pieve - and to be in such company underlines that Fontodi is at the top of its game quality-wise.

Fontodi performs.

Affordable Luxury And Italian Wine In Times Of Crisis

It is a fact that Italian wines are gaining popularity and one of the fundamental reasons for this is that the quality of the best has increased a lot in the last 20 years. But even though quality has increased, price has remained low, offering investors value-for-money investments.

The 2019 Fontodi Flaccianello della Pieve here costs € 90 and will thus appeal to buyers seeking high value at a lower price point. However, there is one more aspect worth including in this investment case due to economic uncertainty worldwide. And that is the so-called lipstick index:

In times of crisis, consumers tend to seek "affordable luxury." In wine terms, the great wines of Burgundy and Bordeaux would thus be the luxury products, while Italian wines (without diminishing anyone) could in this perspective be described as "affordable luxury".

Add to this the fact that during the 2007-2009 financial crisis the Italy 100 index rose by 62.9 %, while the stock market almost halved during the same period.

Coming crisis or not, Italian wines have some exciting characteristics that are interesting for many investors and might also fit your investment profile - in any case, Fontodis Flaccianello is a good bid in the category.

Dive into our analysis of what the future looks like for the best Italian wines from an investment perspective: Investing in Italian wine: what does the future look like?

Rarewine Invest's Opinion

With its high quality, attractive price, and strong historical returns, Fontodi Flaccianello speaks directly to the classic narrative of wine investment, where stability and security are paramount. 

Add to this the fact that with an investment price for the 2019 vintage of € 90* per bottle, you get a great start to your investment as you are currently saving 7 % compared to the world's cheapest price on wine-searcher.com, ex. duty, tax and VAT, in whole cases and perfect condition.

However, there is an interesting element to this. For where should Flaccianello be placed. Between the other super Tuscans or in the field where the consumer is looking for expansion of the wine market? The fact is that 2019 Flaccianello is affordable luxury - and with an inclusion in the Italy 100 index, it proves its worth among Italy's very best.

Supply and demand is, of course, the catalyst for all investments. The price of this one mean many can afford to be in.

And despite all the above, exciting characteristics, only in the region of 60,000 bottles are produced per vintage. The price ensures a wide audience and perhaps even more so a minimal hiding tradition - and that is exciting for a wine investor.