Demand for fine wine, as reflected in the value of LIVE bids, grew to an annual high this October after rising from a six year low in March. Driven in part by this increased confidence, trade value hit its second highest level in ten years in October while the number of unique wines traded hit a new record.
The increased demand has had its effect on prices. The broadest measure of the market, the Liv-ex 1000, rose 0.29% to close at 352.47. This is the index’s fifth positive monthly move in the past six, giving a year-to-date rise of 1.25%.
Within the Liv-ex 1000, the sub-index performance was split. The Bordeaux 500 increased 0.75% to close at its highest level in the past two years. However, it was the Rest of the World 60 that had the best of the month, up 0.93%. The ROW60 was led by strong performance and demand for US wines. The Bordeaux Legends increased 0.82% while the third best performing sub-index of the year, the Rhone 100, rose 0.52%. Our report on the region will be published next week.
The top two performing sub-indices of the past year, the Champagne 50 and Italy 100 both drifted, albeit by less than 1%. The Burgundy 150 also fell, down 0.41%.
