Latest news with #Burgundy
ABC News
5 hours ago
- Entertainment
- ABC News
Lena Dunham's Too Much with co-creator Luis Felber + Michael Shanks/Together + François Ozon/When Fall is Coming
British-Peruvian musician Luis Felber (Attawalpa) co-created the buzzy Netflix series Too Much with his wife Lena Dunham, a rom-com full of joy and complexity about a New Yorker looking for love in London. Australian filmmaker Michael Shanks on Together, his sticky body horror that made a mark at Sundance, starring Dave Franco and Alison Brie. French master François Ozon on his latest - When Fall is Coming - an ambiguous family murder-mystery set in Burgundy. CREDITS
CNA
2 days ago
- Business
- CNA
Fine wine prices have fallen sharply: Here's what collectors are buying now
Merchants of fine wine have had a difficult couple of years. Prices have performed miserably. An index of the 100 most sought after bottles, produced by the exchange Liv-ex, has dropped nearly 21 per cent in sterling terms in the two years to June. To cap it off, a weak 2024 vintage in Bordeaux and Burgundy has dissuaded clients from taking up any new releases of wine from those regions. It's enough to make anyone think about drowning their sorrows. But Miles Davis, a consultant at London-based merchant Vinum Fine Wines, has noted some unusual behaviour recently: His customers are buying again. 'In the first half of June, we were fortunate enough to [have] some chunky orders,' he says. Falling prices have helped shift what kinds of wines buyers are looking for. Traditionally, seasoned collectors would invest in younger bottles and hold on to them for 10 or more years to let the flavour — and hopefully the price tag — improve. With little indication that the market value when they come to sell will justify the holding costs, buyers these days, especially younger ones, are doing things differently. 'The wealthy we see buying fine wines today are buying them to drink [now],' says Nick Pegna, global head of wine & spirits at Sotheby's. 'They are interested in wine and the experience. They are buying mature wines [that are] available now.' So what wines are selling right now? And after some hefty price falls, are there some bargains to be had? NOT SO LONG AGO, THE MARKET LOOKED ROSIER Up until 2020, a series of ever-warmer growing seasons and some improvements in winemaking, including using precision digital tools on viticulture, contributed to a halcyon period for Europe's top winemakers. Then a burst of COVID-era purchases by stuck-at-home wine connoisseurs, who bought up the best of France, Italy and the US through most of 2022, led to a final surge in prices. A hangover from the pandemic period boom then settled in. When the Russian invasion of Ukraine sent commodity prices soaring and central banks raised interest rates sharply, fine wine buying dried up. Bordeaux and Burgundy wines, the most widely traded, have suffered badly. A Liv-ex price index of Bordeaux's 500 best wines has dropped 23 per cent over the two years to June. Its Burgundy 150 benchmark has lost 27 per cent. The depth of this bear market has surprised even long-term veterans of the London fine wine market, such as Stephen Browett, chair of Farr Vintners, who has worked in the business for 45 years. 'This is looking like the weakest wine market we've had in a very long time. In the banking crisis of 2008, the market was very weak but then the duty came off in Hong Kong [causing] the Asian market to boom afterwards. Our business [for French wines] in Hong Kong then just exploded.' 'Buyers are in the driving seat at the moment,' adds Browett. 'But no one needs to buy wine.' Add to this the cost of safely storing these wines, which in the UK can cost from £1 (US$1.35; S$1.72) to £1.50 per bottle annually before any taxes and duties. Those with large collections in storage may have thousands of pounds of added costs annually, painful if some of that collection is falling in price as well. 'What's worrying people about this fine wine market problem is that it's broad,' says Justin Gibbs co-founder at Liv-ex, which is celebrating its 25th anniversary. In past slumps when demand for Bordeaux slowed, buyers opened their wallets to buy wines from Burgundy and Tuscany as well as vintage Champagne. 'But now it's not just Bordeaux [falling in price], it's happening in Italy and California.' Despite the gloom, both Gibbs and his founding partner James Miles see value worth chasing, particularly in Bordeaux. 'Over the next 12 to 18 months this is a great time to be picking up bargains [there],' believes Miles. 'Your downside is limited.' With the wine industry under pressure, adds Miles, the potential for bankruptcies and liquidations will grow. That could mean discounted offers of top bottles from Bordeaux, Burgundy and elsewhere. 'There will be chances across the board to buy wine 30-50 per cent from peak prices of October 2022.' AN EARLY VICTIM OF THE DOWNTURN WAS BORDEAUX There, winemakers have long had a practice of offering their newest vintages for sale well before bottling, known as en primeur. But previous discounts offered by the chateaux to their customers, partly to attract working capital, not only disappeared but turned into a premium to older vintages. That dismayed the market. A reticence to pay a premium for wines, not yet bottled and which might need ageing (and storage) for a decade or more, has put off collectors. 'For sophisticated drinkers who don't need [or want] to deal with ageing their wines, they may prefer to buy drinking wines from much earlier years,' says Chloe Ashton, managing director at 1275 Collections, a fine wine curator. 'There are small parcels of these older, greater wines sitting with chateaux or negociants [wholesalers who buy from the chateaux],' she says. Some of her clients have found supply of rare vintages, such as Mouton Rothschild 1982. Ashton also points to those vintages which received less than stellar reviews at the time, but have since evolved into lovely wines. She suggests looking at the 1983 Bordeaux vintage for clarets or bottles from 1995 and 2001. 'The point is there is not a rule on vintages,' she adds. 'In the last 10-15 years, the baseline [quality] . . . is so much better than it was.' Collectors might rightly ask where the future buyers will come from. US and Asian connoisseurs are less active then they were two decades ago. However some are taking small sips. Where prices have fallen, 'customers are buying better but less,' according to Shaun Bishop at JJ Buckley Fine Wines near San Francisco. 'That has mostly happened for Bordeaux, Burgundy less so.' His clients were less bothered by the swelling cost of the chateaux releases during en primeur. Bishop says that what customers do not like is the uncertainty about the final delivery price of foreign wines, due to President Donald Trump's vacillating policies on tariff s. Instead, they prefer to buy what Bishop already has in stock, which is dwindling. 'The consumer right now wants something that is in a bottle and ready to go.' Hong Kong was once the epicentre of the Asian buying boom in the mid-noughties. Paulo Pong at Altaya Wines thinks that while his customers still love Bordeaux, there's plenty of stock available that is ready to drink. So for them 'there's no point in buying young Bordeaux and ageing'. Altaya has had more interest in Burgundy after prices have fallen. Given the small acreage and low volumes produced — in bottles not cases — a little selling can quickly move prices of the most expensive wines. 'Increasingly, there's a trend [in Hong Kong] of people drinking more white wine,' he says. 'With Burgundy this is a challenge for us, as we can't get enough of some top whites. And [our clients] are drinking these much younger, focusing on Premier Crus and Grand Crus from communes such as Puligny-Montrachet and Chassagne-Montrachet.' Top producers include Coche-Dury and Colin-Morey. By Alan Livsey © 2025 The Financial Times.
Yahoo
4 days ago
- Sport
- Yahoo
Bologna FC: Oussama El Azzouzi set to join Ligue 1 on loan
The Moroccan midfielder heads to Burgundy to revive his career ahead of AFCON 2026. Oussama El Azzouzi / Credit photo : X Oussama El Azzouzi is set to play in Ligue 1 this season. The Moroccan midfielder from Bologna FC is expected to join AJ Auxerre on a one-year loan deal with no purchase option. After a challenging 2024/25 season in Serie A, where he featured in just two matches, the 24-year-old is gearing up for a fresh challenge in France. Linked with several clubs, the midfielder has chosen Burgundy as his destination for the 2025/26 campaign. According to local media, Bologna FC and Auxerre have reached an agreement in recent hours. Thus, Oussama El Azzouzi is set to join AJ Auxerre on a season-long loan without a buy option. This move offers the Moroccan a chance to reignite his career and, above all, to impress Walid Regragui ahead of the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations, scheduled from December 21, 2025, to January 18, 2026.
Forbes
22-07-2025
- Business
- Forbes
From Grapes To Gains: Considerations For Investing In Burgundy Land
Anthony Zhang | Cofounder of Vinovest , a leading wine and spirits investment platform. getty Once dominated by multigenerational farmers, Burgundy's wine country is increasingly shaped by balance sheets, not birthrights. In the past few years, high-profile acquisitions by luxury conglomerates, tech billionaires and global family offices have transformed the region's landscape. These deals reflect a broader thesis: For investors looking for scarce, tangible assets with embedded cultural value, Burgundy can offer long-duration exposure. With just about 30,000 hectares under vine and grand cru representing around 1% of output, Burgundy is one of the most supply-constrained agricultural markets on the planet. Top parcels in the Côte de Nuits now change hands at 30 million-plus euros per hectare. But these valuations are not supported by yield alone. Burgundy is functioning more like an alternative asset class—comparable to fine art, trophy real estate or classic cars—with returns tied to scarcity, legacy and social capital as much as operational income. In 2024, LVMH purchased 1.3 hectares of grand cru vineyard land. The parcels were acquired for an estimated 15.5 million euros, and operations are continuing under the existing domain structure. This adds to LVMH's growing Burgundy footprint, signaling a strategy of high-prestige land banking. Alibaba Cofounder Buys Parcels In Côte de Nuits A French holding company backed by Joe Tsai's investment vehicle acquired grand cru plots in Gevrey-Chambertin. This marks one of the most notable entries of Chinese tech wealth into the Burgundy vineyard market. The move is consistent with Tsai's broader portfolio of agricultural and symbolic cultural assets. Artémis Domaines Acquires Clos de Tart In a landmark 2017 transaction, François Pinault's Artémis Domaines acquired the Clos de Tart monopole—a 7.5-hectare grand cru vineyard in Morey-St.-Denis—for just under 200 million euros. This made Pinault only the fourth owner in the vineyard's nearly 900-year history. Clos de Tart is Burgundy's largest walled grand cru monopole and represents one of the region's crown jewels. This acquisition is part of a broader luxury wine strategy by Artémis Domaines, which also owns other luxury wine brands. Revenue Potential: A hectare of grand cru typically produces around 4,500 bottles annually. With some bottles selling for over $64,000, top estates can potentially generate millions in gross revenue. Operating Margin: Vertically integrated producers (owning the land, making the wine, controlling allocations) can achieve 60% to 70% gross margins, based on my conversations with wine producers in the region. Internal Rate Of Return Characteristics: Based on my observations, hold periods of 10 to 25 years, low liquidity and strong appreciation potential make these plays similar to private equity real assets—but with added prestige. However, short-term profitability is often not the objective. With land prices already elevated, most acquisitions do not underwrite to immediate yield. Instead, they represent: • Long-term capital preservation with upside tied to land appreciation • Non-correlated luxury asset exposure • A high-status flex: Ownership of Burgundy grand cru land is one of the most exclusive forms of global cultural capital. Barriers To Entry And Investment Risks SAFER Oversight: All vineyard transactions in Burgundy must pass through SAFER, France's rural land agency, which retains the right of first refusal. Foreign or financial buyers must structure deals via French-registered entities (EARL, SCEA, SARL) with local operators. Fragmented Ownership: Many holdings are micro-parcels, sometimes just rows of vines, requiring legal structuring or co-ownership. Reputational Scrutiny: Burgundy is protective of its traditions. New owners must be perceived as stewards, not speculators. Climate Volatility: Frost, hail and drought increasingly affect yields, making this investment potentially unpredictable and costly. Conclusion: Scarcity, Legacy And Strategic Capital What we are seeing is not a speculative rush—it's a strategic reallocation of long-term capital into one of the world's rarest real assets. Burgundy offers investors more than income: It offers embedded cultural value, legacy positioning and the signaling power of owning land that few others can access. In a financial world increasingly dominated by intangibles, Burgundy remains visceral, finite and timeless. For those with capital, patience and the right structure, it can be one of the last great investment flexes. The information provided here is not investment, tax or financial advice. You should consult with a licensed professional for advice concerning your specific situation. Forbes Finance Council is an invitation-only organization for executives in successful accounting, financial planning and wealth management firms. Do I qualify?
The Independent
22-07-2025
- The Independent
Is there a luxury train from Paris to French locations?
Q I was told that there is a luxury train going from Paris in September to different places in France. It's first class and the journey is for around six days. Susan Barr A Le Grand Tour, as the venture is known, talks a good game. The plan is for a six-day 'immersion in the French wonders'. Passengers will travel a total of 2,500 miles around France, packing in a host of sites. The experience starts at Paris Gare de l'Est, which I regard as the most elegant of the capital's stations. Day one takes in Reims for lunch (and presumably some champagne), continuing to Beaune in Burgundy, where a private tour of the ancient almshouse awaits. Day two: Avignon, with a rooftop tasting 'of the region's finest wines and produce'. On the same day, the train will reach the southwest city of Carcassonne. For the third day, the first destination is, oddly, Pau: a second-division historical city, though with a decent view of the Pyrenees. In the afternoon, the Bay of Arcachon will improve humours, with a visit to the Dubourdieu shipyards and a boat trip. Maritime appeal continues on day four, with handsome La Rochelle in the morning and a private tour of Chenonceau, the 'Château des Dames' later on. The finale appears to happen on day five. To quote the marketing: 'Le Grand Tour ends with a spectacular journey back in time at Puy du Fou.' This is a historical theme park southeast of Nantes. The sell continues: 'Over the course of a day, history blends with legend to come alive again until nightfall, when the grand spectacle of the night shimmers under the stars.' You might think this an unusual choice of location for the climax (presumably day six is a trundle back to Paris to offload one set of passengers and take on the next lot). But it makes sense when you learn that the trip is promoted by the Puy du Fou enterprise itself. The plan was set out in 2022 and little appears to have happened since. I have checked putative departures up to 2028 and can see none confirmed. So while a first-class trip around France in September sounds like a grand idea, get a first-class Interrail pass instead. Q Our flight from Venice was delayed overnight. Who is responsible for sourcing our accommodation? Ellen Saville A Under air passengers' rights rules, anyone whose flight is delayed overnight is entitled to be provided with a hotel room and meals commensurate with the length of the delay. In addition, the Package Travel Regulations specify: 'Where the organiser is unable to ensure the traveller's return as agreed in the package travel contract because of unavoidable and extraordinary circumstances, the organiser must bear the cost of necessary accommodation, if possible of equivalent category.' Both sets of rules point to the same outcome. Often when a flight in connection with a package holiday is delayed by 24 hours, your stay at the hotel will simply be extended by a night. But the airline or holiday company (which, in your case, are basically the same entity) may move you to a different property, such as an airport hotel, if necessary. I think it highly unlikely that you will be left to sort out the problem yourself; but if you are, pay for the extra stay and meals and present the receipts to the company. Q We are heading to North Macedonia and Albania this summer. My wife is worried about the driving. Is it bad? Richard V A Your wife is right to be concerned. I have consulted the Albanian traffic accident statistics for the past decade. They are tragically high. The average death toll on the roads is more than 200 per year. Adjusted for population, that is about 2.5 times the fatality rate in the UK. In terms of road miles, the accident rate is worse still, since Albania is a small country (the size of Wales) and long journeys are commensurately rare. While I haven't studied the North Macedonia statistics, my observation from travelling around is that driving and road standards are equally poor. The reasons: bad driving (fuelled by alcohol in one in 25 accidents, the statistics relate), inadequate policing and some dangerous roads. Rail travel is not a viable option in either country. In these circumstances, it is wise to rely on professional drivers. In both countries, I travel longer distances by bus or minibus, and make shorter journeys by taxi. This works out better than you might imagine. On arrival at Tirana airport, coaches are usually waiting to run into the capital – or, less frequently, to Durres on the coast. Coaches or minibuses run between larger towns and cities – many minibuses run on demand, departing when full. Crossing between North Macedonia and Albania is straightforward. For shorter journeys, you can flag down a taxi (the North Macedonian capital also has Bolt, which is similar to Uber) or take a local bus. If you plan an excursion taking in three or four locations in the day, your hotel will know some reliable drivers who will offer a fair price. I should stress that I am a non-car owner and a poor driver, and therefore always prefer it when someone else is driving. You can enjoy the many spectacular views – and meet interesting locals.
