- The Liv-ex 100 fell 2% in May, closing at 405.68. Year-to-date, the index is down 3.3%.
- All the major Liv-ex indices recorded negative movements last month except the Port 50.
- The best-performing labels came from Tuscany, Burgundy, Champagne and Piedmont.
*made using the Liv-ex Charting Tool
The Liv-ex Fine Wine 100 fell a further 2% in May following the decrease seen in April, to close at 405.68. Year-to-date, the index is down 3.3%.
Reflecting on the current fine wine market and the slow start to the En Primeur campaign, all the major Liv-ex indices recorded negative movements in May apart from the Port 50, which saw a small increase of 0.1%.
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) were down 1.2% and 2.4% month-on-month respectively. The Liv-ex Bordeaux 500 (which tracks 500 leading Bordeaux wines) was also down 1.3% in that same period.
Despite these negative movements, trade value was up both by value and volume in May. The breadth of the market has also improved slightly month-on-month, with 1,864 individual labels (LWIN 11s) traded on Liv-ex last month.
What’s driving the index?
Of the 100 wines that make up the index, the majority experienced price declines, with 79 wines seeing their prices fall, while 21 rose.
Interestingly, Burgundy wines featured heavily in both the top and bottom performers. Among the top ten performers, Domaine de la Romanée-Conti, La Tâche Grand Cru 2018, Domaine Ponsot, Clos de la Roche Grand Cru 2019 and Domaine des Lambrays, Clos des Lambrays Grand Cru 2019 all rose more than 2.2% month-on-month.
In terms of the biggest fallers, Clos de Tart Grand Cru 2019 experienced a significant decline of 9.7% in May, followed by Domaine Georges Roumier, Bonnes Mares Grand Cru 2019 (down 6.8%) and Coche-Dury 2019 and Domaine Arnoux-Lachaux 2019, down 6.6% and 6.4% respectively.
Italian wines also had a strong presence in the top ten performing wines within the index, with Giacomo Conterno, Barolo, Monfortino Riserva 2013, Ornellaia 2019and Sassicaia 2018 and 2019 all rising by more than 2.1%. However, the biggest faller last month was also from Italy; Gaja, Barbaresco 2018 was down 10.3% month-on-month.
Some Champagne wines suffered heavy declines, with Louis Roederer Cristal 2008, Dom Pérignon 2010, Taittinger, Comtes de Champagne Rose 2008, Krug, Vintage Brut 2008 and Louis Roederer Cristal Rosé 2013 all falling by more than 5%.
May 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 May were from a variety of regions, including Tuscany, Burgundy, Champagne and Piedmont. Domaine de la Romanée-Conti, La Tâche Grand Cru 2018 saw the biggest monthly increase to its Mid Price, up 10.6%. Fellow Burgundy wine Domaine Ponsot, Clos de la Roche Grand Cru 2019 was also among the top five risers, up 4.7% month-on-month.
The next biggest riser was Giacomo Conterno, Barolo 2013, from Piedmont, whose Mid Price rose 6.3% month-on-month. Meanwhile from Champagne, Taittinger, Comtes de Champagne Blanc de Blancs 2011 recorded a price rise of 5.4% while Sassicaia, Tenuta San Guido 2018 experienced a rise of 3.0%.
However, it is worth noting that despite their strong performances in May, Taittinger, Comtes de Champagne Blanc de Blancs and Domaine Ponsot, Clos de la Roche Grand Cru are both down year-to-date, by 6.9% and 4.7% respectively.
A note on En Primeur
The En Primeur campaign is currently underway, and releases have been gradually coming out throughout the month. Although the bulk of releases is still to come, an upward trend in release prices is clearly apparent.
At this point, it looks like Bordeaux back vintages might be better opportunities than 2022 releases for value-seeking buyers. Our release posts not only give readers crucial pricing information, but also highlight opportunities within each wine’s back vintages that might offer better value than the new release.
From the Lix-ex Fine Wine 100, the following wines have been released so far:
Château Cheval Blanc, €470 per bottle, +20.5% YoY ex-negociant
Château Angélus, €350 per bottle, +32.10% YoY ex-negociant
Château Beychevelle, €67.50 per bottle, +17.20% YoY ex-negociant
Château Lafleur, €610 per bottle, +8.90% YoY ex-negociant
Château Palmer, €295 per bottle, 22.9% YoY ex-negociant
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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