Top Cellar Holdings by Producer and Some Thoughts on how/why that's Changed

A bit of thread drift over in the JJ Prum discussion got me thinking about how my buying by producer has changed over the years, and why those changes have come about.

In the Prum thread, I made the assertion that German Riesling might be the only category where one could consistently buy the same top producers in quantity over a 20 year + period. Looking at my cellar by producer now versus a few snapshots over the years that I have to look back on, that is definitely the case. Not too many years ago, names like Roumier, Bachelet, Bartolo Mascarello and Conterno were near the top. Now they are much further down, not because I like them less, but because I simply haven’t been able to keep buying them due to price.

Here’s where I stand now:

Keller
Emrich-Schönleber
Antonio Vallanna
Egly-Ouriet
Daniel Rion
Ridge
Bruno Giacosa
Ratzenberger
Cavallotto
Taittinger
Diebolt-Vallois*

  • I included #11 because the Egly-Ouriet position consists almost entirely of one wine, the NV Rose, albeit over multiple disgorgements.

A large part of the change comes from my point about changing prices above. While burgundy is still the largest holding in my cellar, only one producer remains on the list.

I think overall buying and drinking habits have had a huge influence as well. 10- 20 years ago, when I was single, I used to buy fewer, more expensive bottles, because I was mostly drinking wine at group dinners with a lot of high end wines. Over the years, especially since getting married, I’ve lost interest in those kinds of events, and now enjoy wine primarily at home over dinner with Jonathan, or with small groups of friends. The wines we reach for most often are more modestly priced, but still delicious, and we tend to buy them by the case(s) and love following them over the years together. Can’t do that with many beloved producers anymore, whether due to price, scarcity or both.

Another reason is a migration towards drinking a higher percentage of white wines than in the past, though we still drink more red by a tiny margin, mostly because we eat a lot of roast chickens. :slight_smile: Notably, the next 10 positions on my list include only one red producer, with the rest being producers of Champagne, Chablis and more Riesling.

Champagne itself is a big reason for my dominant producer changes over time - I only started drinking champagne about 7 or 8 years ago, so I’ve had some catching up to do.

And Ridge came entirely from Jonathan’s dowry.

Thanks for reading my ramblings. I’d be interested to hear other people’s thoughts on the subject.

Only notable change for us is that Julian Haart has hit number three.

Concentration seems to increase because much of the new and interesting stuff we buy the bottle and drink the same day as purchase.
Top five producers now 35% of the cellar. (Prum, Schaefer, J Haart, Grunhaus, Keller).

I’ve made big inroads on drinking down the champagne lake. Peters and Lilbert still top but dropping in % terms.

The list goes to 11…a large % of the Rhys is in 375ml or 500ml, so it’s not really as high up as it looks. Even if I count two for one on all my Donnhoff 375s it remains at the top of the list. von Schubert is slowly dropping down the list due to limited local availability, but since I prefer those wines with a ton of age it’s not that big of a deal.

Donnhoff
Prum
Rhys
Edmunds St. John
Selbach-Oster
Bedrock
Produttori del Barbaresco
Ridge
Maximin Grunhaus/von Schubert
Willi Schaefer
Mugneret Gibourg

I don’t buy nearly as much wine as I used to buy because of age (I am no longer buying wines to put away for many years) so my list of top producers does not change that much anymore:

Prum and Truchot essentially tied (Prum will eventually be #1 as I cannot buy Truchot anymore)
Jadot (holding to going down - have enough and prices have gone up)
Dublere (as Blair has sold the winery, this will come down as I drink mine up)
Rossignol-Trapet - still buying, great value in Grand Cru Burgundy
Ridge - stopped buying Montebello, still buy Geyserville and Lytton Springs
Reinhold Haart - been buying heavily
Zilliken - Looking forward to buying 2019s
Hudelot-Noellat - Bought a lot in 2013-2017, not a fan of the style of 2018 red Burgs generally, will only buy if I taste
Bouchard - Mostly just buy Meursault Perrieres. Best value in Meursault Perrieres
Chandon de Briailles - Need time to mature. Enjoying what I have but not really buying much more.

A lot of these have been on the list for a very long time, including Prum, Truchot, Jadot, Ridge and Bouchard.

My #s for top purchases since the beginning of 2018 are very different:

  1. Ramonet - Buy whites when in Burgundy and price is right. On buying binge for reds. Going up, except I like to drink the wines.
  2. Reinhold Haart - Bought a bunch this year and may buy more if I can find 2019s.
  3. Bernard Moreau - Buy whites and reds. Moving up my list.
  4. Taittinger - Dominates my Champagne purchases. May not in future if prices stay high as reported for 2008s.
  5. Clos to a tie among Falkenstein (mostly this week), Heitz-Lochardet, Hudelot-Noellat and Pierre Amiot.

I expect these last number to change some this fall as I buy more 2019 German wines.

Likewise I’ve seen far more producers “rotate off” due to price than stay on the list. Even within producers, where Ridge Geyserville has stayed on, but Montebello has rotated off.

Beaucastel, Felsina Rancia, Ridge Geyserville, Leoville Barton. That’s about it for producers/wines I was buying 20+ years ago and still am. Others, like Lopez de Heredia, Huet and Prüm, would be there except I wasn’t wise enough to be buying them back then.

But Chave, Giacosa, Chave, Mascarello Monprivato, Chave, Conterno Francia, Chave, Pichon-Lalande, Chave, LMHB, Chave, Chevillon, Chave, and too many others to name, have all had to be replaced with less expensive names. Domage, but there are far worse problems to have…

My cellar is much more unbalanced than most here, it seems.

  1. Dom Perignon
  2. Krug
  3. Cristal

By number of bottles that’s like 25% of the cellar right there.

  1. PYCM
  2. Hudelot Noellat
  3. Chartogne-Tallet
    Our house white/red/champagne are from those 3 houses all of which I have in >10 case quantities.

Then almost all of the rest of the cellar is red burgundy, from a variety of different producers without a dominant one.

I’m pretty concentrated in Piedmont and try to focus on a few producers. Whether I’ll be able to keep that up for all of these for the next 20 years, we’ll see…it does get harder each year, but I’ve found a way thus far to buy at prices I can stomach. It’s sort of an open question each vintage esp in hyped ones like 2016.

  1. G.D. Vajra (14%)
  2. Elio Grasso (9%)
  3. Bartolo Mascarello (8%)
  4. Giuseppe Rinaldi (7%)
  5. Vietti (7%)
  6. Produttori del Barbaresco (6%)
  7. Luigi Baudana (3%)
  8. Francesco Rinaldi (3%)
  9. Giacomo Conterno (3%)
  10. Bruno Giacosa (3%)

Top 10 = 63%

We have also migrated toward drinking more white wine and Champagne over the years.

Roumier
Rousseau
De Vogue
Jadot
Fourrier
Perrot-Minot
Arnoux
Chave
Groffier
G. Conterno
That’s about 31% of my cellar.

Not much of a change from 5 or 10 years ago. I think the reason isn’t because I continue to buy these wines in quantity (that’s not the case. They were so reasonable 20 years ago, not so much anymore! $100 per bottle for Rousseau ‘Chambertin’ wasn’t a prob in the late '90s). It’s because what I buy now I generally consume the same year. More white wine (what my wife likes), some ‘everyday’ wines, and so proportions don’t change that much. Roumier used to be an ‘everyday’ wine (at least the village Chambolle) and now the whole range is ‘special occasion with friends’ wine, same with Rousseau. When I was buying, I thought I had a 10-15 year supply of the good stuff, now it’s more like 30-40 years!

I was a surprised when I ran the report. I was expecting Bordeaux producers Giscours and Le Gay to top the list but I guess I was on a California buying spree at one point in time
In order

Peter Michael
Aubert
Kistler
Patricia Green
Anderson’s Conn Valley
Jonata
Bevan
Abreu
Zind Humbrecht

Producers have changed dramatically (and predictably) during 8 years of finding my way into the hobby.

The clearest through-lines are transition from 10:1 new:old world to the reverse and 4:1 red:white to the reverse.

Thanks everyone, especially those with notes about how things have or haven’t changed. So often, when new wine collectors ask for advice about what to buy or cellar, they hear “be careful, your tastes may change,” which is absolutely true, but that just touches the surface of how things can change (or not). I am hoping this thread might shine some light there, and I encourage long time collectors to share!

Speaking specifically to changes, I started out with a heavy % of my red wines in Zinfandel. Loved the stuff. Fell out of love with it (even Ridge) for several years (2000-2007 or so), then got back into it in a big way. Hope I don’t switch again!

Drinking way more whites, Rosé and sparkling. Started heavy into Syrah and Zins.

It’s interesting to look at this list, but a few things are certainly heavily influencing this list right now. Keller has been my #1 producer for a few years now. However, Bob Bartlett has decided not to make any more wine. So I’m now on a buying spree to pick up as much as I can. I’ve got 5 cases & 3 mags that I’m quite excited to be adding to the cellar. Sine Qua Non has been in my top 10 for the past 3-4 years, they have been gifts to clinicians on my team, my in-laws, & wines that I truly enjoyed opening & sharing…however, I rarely find myself craving their wines, and that’s why they are no longer in my top 10. Brovia has made a big jump in my holdings thanks to the 2016 vintage. I just recently started drinking their wines and the 2006 Villero I opened at my wedding was gone in 20 minutes. It was that good. Produttori is just always a solid value…end of story. Musar has been in my top 10 for the last decade. Coudert & everything below has been a mainstay in the cellar for years but I’ve been buying more Levet while I still can. I’m not sure how long I’ll be able to justify the rising costs in the N. Rhone.

Bartlett Winemaker’s Reserve Blueberry (14 bottles & 51 pending) 8.5%
Weingut Keller (37 bottles & 6 pending) 5.7%
Fratelli Brovia (6 bottles & 26 pending) 4.2%
Produttori del Barbaresco (26 bottles & 2 pending) 3.7%
Chateau Musar (26 bottles) 3.4%
Coudert (22 bottles) 2.9%
Thomas (16 bottles & 1 pending) 2.3%
Bernard Levet (8 bottles & 8 pending) 2.1%
Elio Grasso (8 bottles & 6 pending) 1.8%
Cavallotto (10 bottles & 4 pending) 1.8%

Ok, following your lead here and focusing my thoughts on how to reassure nascent collectors. My cellar is below 1,000 bottles and heavily Old World – so that may provide some perspective.

First, I wish I could tell you what my top 10 producers are. I think I could tell you but I don’t use CT and don’t have Excel spreadsheets of my wines. So, I want to reassure new collectors you don’t have to take the quantitative approach with lots of data points. It doesn’t have to be mapped out and constantly recalibrated as if assembling a 10-year business plan with breakeven points and exit strategies, etc. (though if that’s your thing, it’s totally great!). It’s OK to be a right-brained, absent-minded professor when it comes to collecting.

Second, my tastes haven’t really “changed” in the past 20 years. It’s more been an exploration of key regions over the years. I suppose it’s like a “buy and hold” strategy similar to a tortoise-like stock-and-bonds strategy. I’m not constantly mixing up my portfolio or trying to time the market when it comes to wine. It’s been blue-chips (Rousseau, say) mixed in with a few “growth” picks (back-in-the-day Keller, say). I would get into a certain region for whatever reason – say Chablis or Tuscany – and geek out and heavy up my exploration and buying in that area for a year, say. I’d buy maybe three cases of the wines that I zeroed in on – from favored producers, over a few vintages. Then I just forget them and moved onto my next “fling” – say Loire whites or Pinot-based farmer fizz. Rinse and repeat. Before I knew it, I had a pretty decent cellar without consciously managing it like a sabermetrics-obsessed baseball G.M.

Third, I gave up long ago trying to curate the perfect balanced cellar. It’s not like I’m crafting a list for a Lower East side hipster bar. I just concentrated on key regions and TOTALLY skipped others. Spain makes more wine than any nation on Earth, much of it very good. But I only have like six bottles of Spanish wine in my cellar. (4 Monos old vine stuff from sandy soils from outside Madrid, BTW. Tasty lifted garnacha! [wow.gif]). So main advice: Buy what you like, not what you think you should like or to impress others.

My list is heavily influenced by mailing lists which in turn has been driven by what I consider to be good value.

Carlisle (17.3%) - For me and my wine preferences Carlisle has been and remains one of the most consistently good and fairly priced producers in the wine world. I have been a mailing list customer for over 15 years.

Quilceda Creek (5.3%) - Again for my tastes one of the very best values in high end Cab. I have been on their mailing list for about 20 years.

Cayuse - (5%) - Love their wines with cellar time. I have been on their list for about 15 years.
Walter Hansel - (4.1%) I really like their Chards and Pinots. I’ve been buying their wines for over 10 years.

Chateau Montelena (2.9%) - I was on their mailing list for about 15 years. Dropped off of the list because of the cellar time needed to mature.

Betz (2.8%) - Have been buying their wines for over 15 years. Great Cab. Rhone blends and Syrah.

Gouges (2%) - These were an auction misstep. Most are from’04 to '07. After 16 years some of the '04 are actually drinkable.

Tablas Creek (1.5%) I have been buying some of their red wines for a long time but have started to buy a lot of their Rhone whites in the last 5 years. Great summer wines.

Outpost - (1.3%) I was on their mailing list for quite a few years and accumulated quite a stash of their outstanding cabs.

Pegau - (1%) I love CdP and have a lot in my cellar from a wide variety of producers. Of the next 10 ranks in my cellar, 6 are CdP producers.

Like most of you who are aging gracefully, I have been drastically reducing my wine purchases by dropping off mailing lists or sharing allocations with friends.

Interesting exercise :slight_smile:

Top 10 producers purchased from 1/2017-12/2018:
Rhys
Arnot-Roberts
Larkmead Vineyards
Littorai
Jean Foillard
Ridge
Joseph Phelps
Aubert
Rivers-Marie
Thierry Allemand

And from 1/2019-9/2020:
Rhys
Vincent Dauvissat (René & Vincent)
Thierry Allemand
Vietti
Produttori del Barbaresco
Jean Foillard
Arnot-Roberts
Bruno Giacosa
Jean-François Ganevat
Krug

Quite the shift…

For me the only change is that I’ve been buying more grand cru lately for burg, otherwise not really any.

Expanding on changing tastes, that has also played a role in my cellar.

Initially, my cellar was almost all Napa cab because, as everyone knew, Napa cab and Bordeaux were the only wines worth pursuing, and Bordeaux was in the midst of a string of mediocre vintages, remedied when the ‘95s were released.

Fairly soon, large allocations to the Rhône and Tuscany emerged, plus other CA wine like zin and syrah, and Piedmont and other regions like Campania and Rioja after that, but it was only many years that cellar allocations to Burgundy, Loire (Chenin), and Germany emerged.

All of the changes in producers referenced in my first response were due to price. All of the changes in regions referenced in this response were do to changing/expanding tastes.