The Journal · Observed prices
Before setting a cellar budget, you need to know what a good bottle costs today. We surveyed 362 wines at two online wine merchants: here is what they tell us about prices, by ageing horizon and by region.
On 24 October 2026, we recorded the prices displayed on the public pages of two French online wine merchants, Comptoir des Millésimes and Avenue des Vins: 362 wines from eleven regions, from €6.90 to €98. Wines over €100, magnums and gift boxes are excluded. The ageing horizon of each wine is our own estimate, based on the appellation, the vintage and the price level.
This is not an overview of the whole market. It is what two reputable merchants offered on a given day. That is enough to give orders of magnitude.
| Horizon | Wines | Median price | Under €20 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ready to drink, within 3 years | 163 | €24 | 62 wines |
| Medium-term ageing, 3 to 8 years | 99 | €34 | 4 wines |
| Long-term ageing, 8 years or more | 100 | €48 | 2 wines |
The median price is the one that splits the list in two: half the wines cost less, the other half more. Above all, note the gap: a bottle for long-term ageing generally costs twice as much as a good wine that is ready to drink. Under €20, the choice of wines for ageing becomes very thin.
| Region | Ready to drink | Medium-term | Long-term |
|---|---|---|---|
| Beaujolais | €18.50 | €28.50 | — |
| Languedoc-Roussillon | €16.90 | — | — |
| South-West | €13.50 | — | — |
| Rhône Valley | €21.50 | €32 | €48 |
| Loire | €29 | €30.50 | — |
| Burgundy | €28 | €37 | €56.50 |
| Bordeaux | — | — | €39 |
| Champagne | €38 | — | — |
| Alsace | €28 | — | €62 |
Median prices per bottle. "—": fewer than ten wines recorded in this cell, too few to give a reliable figure.
Two lessons. First, Beaujolais, Languedoc and the South-West offer the best ready-to-drink wines for under €20: that is where to look for your weekday wine. Second, Burgundy remains the most expensive region at every level. A cellar that loves it must set aside a larger share of the budget for it, or turn to its lesser-known appellations: Rully, Mercurey, Saint-Romain, Auxey-Duresses.
With a classic split of 40% ready to drink, 40% medium-term ageing and 20% long-term ageing, the average price of a bottle is around €30. A €3,000 budget therefore buys about a hundred bottles, and €6,000 about two hundred; slightly fewer if you keep a reserve for opportunities.
If you are mainly aiming for ageing, allow closer to €35 a bottle on average. If you mainly want to drink well straight away, €25 to €28 is enough, and less still if you look in Beaujolais, Languedoc or the South-West.
A recorded price is a snapshot. Promotions come and go, cuvées sell out, vintages change. A price more than a month old should not be taken at face value: that is why every price in a Cellar Book is dated, and we redo our price surveys every month.
The free Cellar Diagnostic splits your budget by region and by ageing horizon, based on your tastes.
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