The time’s right to release one of Australia’s most expensive white wines, says Levantine Hill owner
At $600 a bottle it’s one of the most expensive Australian white wines ever produced, but there’s never been a better time to release a luxury wine, says Levantine Hill owner Elias Jreissati.
Levantine Hill Estate owner and property developer Elias Jreissati believes the time is right to release one of Australia’s most expensive single vintage white wines – his 2020 Optume chardonnay – saying luxury wine offers a counter cyclic opportunity for collectors.
Mr Jreissati says he’s concerned about the effect higher interest rates and the cost of living is having on those that can least afford it – the people who he describes as being “clobbered” by the RBA’s rate decisions – but for those drinkers looking to spoil themselves and who are a stranger to mortgage stress it is a time to savour the finer things in life.
“We look at it and we think, myself included, that if you have worked for 40 years, you reach a stage in life where you can afford certain things,” he said.
“Generally we find some of our customers find the tightening in the economic environment a more opportune time to actually ask us for more of an allocation of wine, and there’s an element of opportunistic buying that comes forward in a tougher time.
“So a collector would be looking for an opportune time to collect and our product is pitched at a certain demographic; those demographics have not changed and in fact some of those are on the lookout for more opportunities in a counter-cyclical market.”
The product he is talking about is his super premium wine, the latest Optume vintage from his cool climate Yarra Valley winery, Levantine Hill, where he has set himself the goal to produce some of the most expensive wines in the region and the nation.
The 2020 Levantine Hill Optume chardonnay will be released to the public on Friday. Its price of $600 a bottle possibly makes it the most expensive single vintage white wine ever produced in Australia.
Only 55 dozen of the chardonnay have been produced. It is flanked by the 2018 Levantine Hill Optume shiraz, priced at $880 a bottle and only 82 dozen created.
Last year, Mr Jreissati, who is also a successful property developer through his property company Bensons, unveiled the first vintage for Optume, releasing the 2017 Levantine Hill Optume shiraz and 2017 Levantine Hill Optume cabernet sauvignon which both sold for $800 a bottle.
Since that maiden Optume launch in March 2022 – both wines quickly sold out – there has been 10 interest rate increase by the RBA and soaring inflation. But Mr Jreissati believes his target market is less exposed to movements in interest rates.
“From a Levantine Hill brand perspective, luckily our consumer profile is unchanged with those interest rate changes, in that I think our typical customer is one that is less exposed to what 10 interest rate rises have done to their mortgages,” he said.
“Our price point has always been reasonably high; we are more a business that delivers product to the discretionary spender. Our customers are largely unaffected.”
Last year’s Optume vintage was completely sold domestically and Mr Jreissati believes the same will be the case for this year’s chardonnay and shiraz. He expects another sellout even amid the current economic climate and the price of the Optume shiraz raised to $880 a bottle from $800.
The Levantine Hill owner and his chief winemaker are positioning the Optume brand as the Yarra Valley’s answer to one of the nation’s iconic and most pricey wines, Penfolds Grange, as well as South Australia’s other super premium brand, Henschke’s Hill of Grace.
At almost $900 a bottle for the shiraz it is within striking distance of the price of latest release Grange.
The Optume wines were crafted by Levantine Hill winemaker Paul Bridgeman and selected from key vineyards within Victoria’s famed Yarra Valley, including the chardonnay which has a very limited release.
“Sourcing just 55 dozen from seven individual sites just shows the lengths we go to in identifying the best rows to pick and isolate for this (chardonnay) wine. To Levantine Hill, chardonnay is certainly the greatest white grape variety. It is responsible for some of the most valuable, intense, regal and expressive white wine in the world,” said Mr Bridgeman.
“We are taking Yarra Valley chardonnay to a new level by exploring and marrying the individual strengths of diverse sites from across all climatic influences in the Yarra Valley to make a wine superior in all aspects than the expressions of any singular site.”
Mr Jreissati said in all economic conditions there are still consumers willing to spend money on sought-after products and brands.
“You don’t see the world’s greatest brands like Louis Vuitton, Chanel or others close up shop. It may well be that trade is less brisk but there is always an underlying demand, and I think for us we’re not producing large quantities,” he said.
“In a country with 26 million people, 1000 bottles of wine is really not a big ask for the consumer to digest that quantity.
“Producing 1000 bottles is not a hard sell.”
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