Recent trading activity
Italian trade (16.2%) picked up in the beginning of the week, primarily driven by Tuscany (13.9%). Bordeaux took 36.7% of the market, with Château Pavie 2018 leading trade within the region.
The most active wine overall was Louis Roederer Cristal 2014, which last changed hands at a record high of £2,820 per case. This represents a 17.5% premium on its release price.
Apart from Cristal, Krug 2008 and 2006 were in high demand. Champagne made up 16.9% of total trade, once again accounting for a higher trade share than Burgundy (16.6%).
The Rhône offers value despite rising prices
Despite the price rises seen during the recent bull run for fine wine, the Rhône continues to provide the lowest entry point into the fine wine market across the leading European regions, despite rising prices.
The Rhône 100 index has risen 16.3% in the last year. However, based on the component wines that make up this index (see table above), its average case price is 95.6% lower than the wines in the Burgundy 150 and 62.8% lower than the Bordeaux 500.
The southern Rhône in particular offers value to collectors, with the average price per case of top Châteauneuf-du-Pape being under £1,000.
Within the Rhône, prices for wines from the north of the valley continue to rise faster than those from the south. The northern Rhône index is up 21.3% compared to a 6.0% move for the southern over the last one year.
Although the northern Rhône has been the leading market force for most of the past decade, Châteauneuf-du-Pape wines are increasingly in demand. The region has cornered 53.1% of the Rhône market so far this year.
As buyers are looking for value, the south offers plenty of opportunities. The average case price of a top southern Rhône is £963, compared to £2,343 for one from the north. For instance, a case of Châteauneuf-du-Pape’s Vieux Télégraphe costs on average £473 and Château de Beaucastel – £658.
So far this year, 8.3% more wines from the southern Rhône have changed hands on Liv-ex compared with the same period last year.
Opportunities within the Rhône
There are currently over 1,350 LIVE opportunities from the Rhône.
Liv-ex analysis is drawn from the world’s most comprehensive database of fine wine prices. The data reflects the real time activity of Liv-ex’s 600 merchant members from across the globe. Together they represent the largest pool of liquidity in the world – currently £80m of bids and offers across 16,000 wines.
