- The Liv-ex Fine Wine 1000 index fell 2.4% in May, the largest decrease in seven months.
- Year-to-date, all of its sub-indices are down.
- The Rhône 100 was the worst performer, down 6.3% in May.
*made using the Liv-ex Charting Tool.
The broadest measure of the secondary market, the Liv-ex Fine Wine 1000 index, experienced a significant decline of 2.4% in May, closing at 457. This marks the index’s largest month-on-month decrease in the past seven months.
Year-to-date, the index has declined by 4.8%. Since November 2022, it has been consistently falling, except for March when it ran flat. The Liv-ex Fine Wine 100 (the industry benchmark) and the Liv-ex Fine Wine 50 (which tracks the movement of First Growths) also fell in May, by 2% and 0.9% respectively. These negative movements are reflective of the market’s risk aversion following months of economic and political turmoil, leading to rising costs.
However, trade value was up both by value and volume in May. The breadth of the market also improved slightly month-on-month, with 1,864 individual labels (LWIN 11s) traded on Liv-ex last month.
The Rhône 100 falls 6.3% in May
*made using the Liv-ex Charting Tool.
As shown in the chart above, all of the Liv-ex 1000 sub-indices are down month-on-month and year-to-date.
The Rhône 100 has seen the largest drop, falling by 6.3% month-on-month and 12.3% since the beginning of the year. The Liv-ex April Market Report mentioned potential retracement indications for the bullish long-term trend of the Rhône 100, which seem to have now materialised.
The worst performers of the Rhône 100 in May were Château Rayas, Châteauneuf-du-Pape, 2008 (-27.6%), M. Chapoutier, Ermitage, Le Pavillon, 2011 (-25.3%) and Domaine de la Janasse, Châteauneuf-du-Pape, Vieilles Vignes, 2017 (-21.6%). Interestingly, M. Chapoutier, Ermitage, Le Pavillon, 2011 is still up 20.4% year to date.
In May, the Burgundy 150 saw a sharper decline of 2.7% compared to the Champagne 50, which dropped by 2.1%. Additionally, the Rest of the World 60 saw a decline of 3.3%.
The Bordeaux 500 only fell by 1.3% this month, and its year-to-date performance has been the most resilient of all the sub-indices, with a decrease of only 2.0%. The Bordeaux Legends 40 index dropped by 2.7% this month – the same amount as the Champagne 50. However, year-to-date, it has only declined by 2.7% compared to the Champagne 50‘s 9.1% decline in 2023 so far.
As highlighted in our En Primeur report, Bordeaux prices have remained remarkably stable over the past year or two while other regions have seen sharp rises and declines. As the En Primeur campaign slowly progresses, it will be interesting to see how Bordeaux 500 performance evolves.
The Italy 100 index, which tracks the price performance of the ten most recent physical vintages for five ‘Super Tuscans’ and five other leading Italian producers, fell the least in May, with a decline of 0.6%.
What is the Liv-ex 1000 index?
The Liv-ex Fine Wine 1000 Index is broadest measure of the market. It represents the price movement of 1,000 of the most sought-after fine wines on the world’s most active and liquid marketplace. Stretching back over 20 years, the Liv-ex 1000 is comprised of seven sub-indices from across the world: the Bordeaux 500, the Bordeaux Legends 40, the Burgundy 150, the Champagne 50, the Rhone 100, the Italy 100 and the Rest of the World 60.
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.
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