W I N E K N OW L E D G E
UNVEILING THE LUXURY OF WINE Unlike top-end whisky or cognac, wine tends to be largely modest in presentation. Some producers, however, have started to trumpet its luxury status. BY RICHARD HEMMING
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ne says Bonnes Mares, the other says Beaune. In every other respect the labels look the same – there’s no gold-embossed lettering, no crystal-studded glass, not even a gift box. Both come from Burgundy. Both are made from the same variety, Pinot Noir. Yet one is 20 times more expensive than the other. Wine is notoriously obtuse. Look closer at those labels and you’ll see grand cru written on the label of the Bonnes Mares. For wine lovers, those are the magic words indicating the highest-ranking Burgundies, coming from specific vineyards that imbue their grapes with heavenly levels of complexity – hence the sky-high price.
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ALL BOTTLED UP Perhaps it’s only what’s inside the bottle that matters, but as a luxury experience, wine often falls short. Wine bottles look essentially identical – there are only slight variations in shape, and labels generally follow the same standard conventions. When you browse endless shelves of wine in a shop, there are precious few clues as to which are the most prestigious bottles. Compare that to top-end whisky or cognac. Glenrothes 1968 single malt arrives in its own hand-stitched leather suitcase with an oak display plinth like a Smithsonian artefact. Remy Martin’s Louis XIII comes in a bespoke bottle with a fleur de lys stopper, swaddled within a silk-lined red box fit for the Warrior King himself. Even apparently humble goods such as scented candles are now nestled within crepe paper like bone china antiques. So why is premium wine so spartan by comparison?
