The last year has been spent zigzagging between Paris and Buenos Aires, two cities separated by more than just geography.
Paris, all elegance and refinement. Buenos Aires, raw, improvised, and alive.
The comparisons are inevitable, especially when you hear Buenos Aires called “the Paris of the South.” But these days, with strikes in France, rising inflation, and political unrest sweeping Europe, maybe it’s time to call Paris the Buenos Aires of the North.
This week, back in Buenos Aires, I’ve been trying to put my finger on what’s changing here. It’s not just the inflation—though 140% is a hard number to ignore—it’s the mood.
There’s a strange cocktail of resignation and optimism, as though the city is bracing itself for what comes next.
Over dinner with an ex-UBS banker friend, turned full-time investor, the conversation turned, inevitably, to the economy.
“Now’s the time to buy property here,” he said, swirling his glass of malbec. “It’s a third of the price of Paris. All cash, of course. But if credit comes back, there’s going to be a boom.”
At the same dinner, my friend who runs a Michelin Guide-listed restaurant shared how much he’s spending on the perfectly clear, fancy square ice for his welcome drinks.
“Do you know how much I’m paying for ice?” he asked, with a resigned laugh. “A dollar per cube, on average.”
It’s absurd, and entirely fitting for a place where resilience means finding humor in the chaos.
The peso, absurdly strong for now, only adds to the surrealism. It’s propped up artificially, but no one believes it will last.
Devaluation is inevitable; it’s a matter of when, not if.
And yet, here’s Buenos Aires, dancing through the uncertainty with the defiant energy it’s always had.
Sitting with a group of locals and expats, we reflected on the waves we’ve seen over the past 15 years of living in and out of this city: the booms, the busts, and the quiet in-betweens.
There’s a rhythm to it all, and somehow, it always finds its way back.
Earlier in the week, I joined a virtual investment conference hosted by Joel Bowman.
Rick Rule, one of the speakers, made a compelling case for Argentina’s untapped potential: “There are billions ready to drop into mining here. But we need clear fiscal policy, and if something goes wrong, recourse to international courts.”
The appetite is there; the uncertainty is what’s keeping the floodgates from opening.
And yet, confidence seems to be creeping back.
Argentina recently made its largest debt repayment since 2020, a staggering $4.3 billion. Investors are cautiously optimistic about Javier Milei’s economic reforms.
As the Financial Times noted, the rally in sovereign bond prices reflects growing confidence in Argentina’s ability to honor its debts—a rarity in a country that has defaulted three times in this century alone.
Over the course of these conversations, I shared some of my own observations.
The spirit in Paris feels like the opposite of Argentina. In Paris, doom hangs heavy in the air—conversations filled with complaints about what’s broken, what’s gotten worse, and what’s next to fall apart.
In Buenos Aires, there’s a strange optimism beneath the chaos, as if people are already preparing for the rebuild before the total collapse has even come.
With the quality of wines coming out of Argentina—and Trump eyeing tariffs on Europe—your best buy for value right now is Argentina.
And I’m happy to say we’ve secured enough to cover our next collections. Just not sure how long winemakers can hold this pricing.
Investments here have always been easy for foreigners to get into. The real challenge comes when you try to take them out.
For now, I’ll stick to taking out the wine. After all, I’m only the wine guy.
Paris could learn something from Buenos Aires. Argentines don’t just endure; they act, adapt, and wait for their moment.
The tango teaches you to find rhythm in the unexpected.
Cheers to Buenos Aires—and to making sense of chaos one sip at a time.
Diego
