The Wines that Won in 2020 | Wine-Searcher News & Features - Wine-Searcher

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It was quite a year and it changed how the industry operates – so which brands fared best last year?

It was a year without parallel and the general consensus is that 2020 changed everything – but did it change what we wanted to drink?

Well, yes and no. What we looked for during 2020 certainly changed, but if you look at the worldwide figures, as a planet we're pretty consistent – we like our wines to be mostly red and mostly from France. That's a rock-hard certainty that has remained unchanged for the two decades that Wine-Searcher has been around.

One thing that has definitely changed in the Covid-riddled year has been the number of people looking for wine online. In 2019 we registered more than 210 million searches and that number has skyrocketed to 240m in 2020, a rise of 13.7 percent. More than one-third of those searches came from the US.

It has been a reflection of the wider picture: people sheltering in place, or reluctant to go out flooded retailers with online orders, changing the entire dynamic of e-commerce in the wine sphere. And where would they go to find their favorite wines? Well, here of course.

The top 10 most searched-for wines last year came as no surprise really – they were the same wines as 2019, just in a slightly different order. The interesting thing is how many increased their search numbers against the worldwide average.

The World's Most Wanted Wines for 2020:

	Wine Name	Ave Price
	Château Mouton Rothschild, Pauillac	$715
	Dom Pérignon Brut, Champagne	$216
	Château Lafite Rothschild, Pauillac	$971
	Château Margaux, Margaux	$770
	Petrus, Pomerol	$30
	Château Latour, Pauillac	$863
	Tenuta San Guido Sassicaia, Bolgheri	$304
	Opus One, Napa Valley	$413
	DRC Romanée-Conti Grand Cru	$20,703
	Château Haut-Brion, Pessac-Léognan	$654

Just four of the top 10 wines managed to beat the 13.7 percent benchmark: Mouton (up 18.5 percent), Dom Pérignon (up 28.3 percent), Latour (up 19.4 percent) and Opus One, which managed a healthy rise of 25.5 percent. The lowest increases were Sassicaia (up 0.8 percent), Haut-Brion (up 4.6 percent), Petrus (up 6.1 percent) and Lafite (up 6.8 percent). Margaux searches rose by 10.9 percent, while DRC just missed the benchmark figure on 13.2 percent.

The one product from 2019 not in the top 10 for 2020 is Johnny Walker Black Label, which saw a drop of 13.7 percent in search numbers worldwide.

Spot the difference

It's when you drill down into the individual markets that the differences really stand out.

The US bucked the worldwide trend, somewhat, with a rise in search numbers of 11.2 percent on 2019, but the standout performer was a Bourbon, rather than a wine: George T Stagg saw search numbers soar by 49.3 percent to be the eighth most searched-for product in the US for 2020. Interestingly, the second-placed product is also a Bourbon, the unstoppable Blanton's, although it only achieved a 1.4 percent increase in searches.

Other big movers in the US were Dom Pérignon, which saw searches increase by 35.8 percent, cementing its place on top of the list for a second year, Latour (up 25.8 percent) and Mouton (up 24 percent). The top 10 for the US is Dom Pérignon, Blanton's, Opus One, Lafite, Mouton, Caymus, Margaux, George T Stagg, Latour and Petrus.

Across the Atlantic, the UK saw a healthy increase in search numbers (up 21 percent), with Dom Pérignon again blowing all other Champagnes out of the water with a jump in search numbers of 41 percent. The top 10 there is much more orthodox and French, with Dom at the top, followed by Lafite, Mouton, Margaux, Latour, Petrus, Sassicaia, Lynch-Bages (which jumped 22 percent over 2019), Yquem and Pontet-Canet, which enjoyed a 33 percent increase in interest in 2020, pushing it into the top 10.

While France saw a 0.1 increase in overall searches in 2020, it was bad news all round for the top 10 wines – Mouton finished on top with a drop of 5.2 percent, followed by Petrus (down 10.7 percent), Lafite (down 8.9 percent), DRC (down 10.1 percent), Margaux (down 11.8 percent), Yquem (down 6.1 percent), Haut-Brion (down 10.7 percent), Cheval Blanc (down 9 percent), Latour (down 12.2 percent) and DRC's La Tache, searches for which dropped by 11.2 percent.

Meanwhile, Hong Kong was bouyant, registering a 29.2 percent overall rise in search numbers, with the top 10 all gaining double-digit search increases. The standout, though – as in much of the world – was Dom Pérignon, with a 37 percent increase in searches.

The obvious stone in the shoe, however, has been China, which saw a fall in overall searches of 18.8 percent. The top 10 – with the exception of the first-placed wine, Echo de Lynch-Bages, which had a whopping 21 percent increase in interest over 2019 – virtually all saw double-digit falls in search numbers. Of the rest of the top 10, only Pontet-Canet had a less-than-dramatic fall at 9.2 percent.

Indeed, looking at the wider China picture, only three wines in the top 25 managed an increase in search numbers: the Echo, Cos d'Estournel (up 1.6 percent) and – inevitably – Dom Pérignon, which managed a commendable 15 percent rise.

With few signs of "normality" returning anytime soon, it might be time to buckle up for 2021 – it could be another bumpy ride.

January 31, 2021 at 01:07AM
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The Wines that Won in 2020 | Wine-Searcher News & Features - Wine-Searcher

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