- The Liv-ex 100 fell 0.5% in April, closing at 414.04. Year-to-date the index is down 1.3%.
- All the major Liv-ex indices recorded negative movements last month.
*made using the Liv-ex Charting Tool
The Liv-ex Fine Wine 100 fell 0.5% in April, unwinding the small gain made in March, to close at 414.04. Year-to-date the index is down 1.3%.
Of the 100 wines that make up the index, 53 saw their price fall, 42 rose and five ran flat.
Reflecting an uncertain period for the fine wine market, all the major Liv-ex indices recorded negative movements in April. The Liv-ex Fine Wine 50 (which tracks the movement of First Growths) and the Liv-ex Fine Wine 1000 (which tracks 1,000 wines from around the world) indices were down 0.7% and 1.0% respectively.
A note on En Primeur
Today’s indices update comes as the first Bordeaux 2022 En Primeur releases have been announced. As discussed in our extended report on the region, the wine trade has become increasingly risk-averse in the lead up to this year’s En Primeur campaign as a result of the troubling macroeconomic headwinds. A sentiment that is mirrored by the drift in the Liv-ex indices this year.
While 2022 may well be considered one of the truly great vintages, the chateaux might wish to keep the broader economic picture in mind when pricing their wines. Many of the great vintages of recent years have yielded little to no return for collectors who are increasingly questioning their role in the En Primeur process.
The tools are there for the chateaux to price the wines with the collector in mind and provide a shot-in-the-arm to the fine wine market more generally. Indeed, Larrivet Haut Brion (Rouge) kick-started the campaign today and released their red at a 5.3% discount to 2021.
April’s top performers
*prices shown are Liv-ex Mid Prices; the mid-point between the highest live bid and lowest live offer on the market. These are the firm commitments to buy and sell at that price; transactional data rather than list prices. It represents the actual trading activity of 620 of the world’s leading fine wine merchants. Because Liv-ex doesn’t itself trade, this data is truly independent and reliable.
The top-performers in April were from a variety of regions, inlcuding Italy, Champagne and Burgundy. Bruno Giacosa Barolo Falletto Vigna Le Rocche Riserva 2010 saw the biggest increase to its Mid-Price, up 7.9%.
It was followed by Salon Le Mesnil-sur-Oger Grand Cru 2012 (5.0%). Fellow Champagne, Dom Perignon 2010 was also among the top five, up 4.8%.
Meanwhile, from Burgundy, Domaine Armand Rousseau Chambertin-Clos de Beze Grand Cru 2016 (4.9%) and Domaine de la Romanee-Conti, Richebourg Grand Cru 2018 recorded price rises of 4.9% and 4.6% respectively.
However, it is worth noting that despite their strong performances in April, Armand Rousseau, Dom Perignon and Domaine de la Romanee-Conti are all down year-to-date with falls of 4.8%, 6.0% and 8.2% respectively.
What is the Liv-ex 100 index?
The Liv-ex Fine Wine 100 Index is the industry leading benchmark. It represents the price movement of 100 of the most sought-after fine wines on the world’s most active and liquid marketplace from France, Italy, USA, Australia and Spain. Stretching back over 20 years, the Liv-ex 100 is quoted on Bloomberg and Reuters screens.
All Liv-ex indices are calculated using our Mid Price; the mid-point between the highest live bid and lowest live offer on the market. These are the firm commitments to buy and sell at that price; transactional data rather than list prices. It represents the actual trading activity of 620 of the world’s leading fine wine merchants. Because Liv-ex doesn’t itself trade, this data is truly independent and reliable.
Independent data, direct from the market.
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