- The Liv-ex Fine Wine 100 fell 3.1% in July, closing at 381.41. Year-to-date, the index is down 9.1%.
- All the major Liv-ex indices recorded negative movements last month, reflecting general caution from both collectors and merchants alike.
- Among the top price performers were wines from The Rhône, Champagne, Piedmont, Tuscany and Burgundy.
*made using the Liv-ex Charting Tool
The Liv-ex Fine Wine 100 has continued its downward trajectory, with a steeper decline of 3.1% in July to close at 381.41, following the decrease seen in June. Year-to-date, the index is down 9.1%.
Across all major Liv-ex indices, negative trends prevailed during July.
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 3.8% and 2.1% month-on-month respectively. The Liv-ex Bordeaux 500 (which tracks ten vintages of 50 leading Bordeaux wines) was also down 3.0% in that same period.
Despite the market’s downward trajectory, trading activity saw an uptick in July by both value and volume, as sellers reduced prices to clear. The market breadth also expanded month-on-month, with 1,865 individual labels (LWIN 11s) trading on Liv-ex over the course of the past month.
What’s driving the index?
Out of the 100 wines in the Liv-ex Fine Wine 100, 76 wines saw their prices fall, while 20 rose and 4 remained flat month-on-month.
Most regions were represented in the top-performing labels in July. Once again, the wine that increased the most in July was from the Rhône: Château de Beaucastel Hommage à Jacques Perrin, Châteauneuf-du-Pape 2019 saw its Market Price increase 8.2% month-on-month. This is despite the Rhône 100 index falling by 1.6% in July and 16.4% year-to-date.
Champagne was also represented among the wines that increased in July. Dom Pérignon, Rosé 2008 experienced a rise of 6.8% and Louis Roederer, Cristal 2008, Pol Roger, Sir Winston Churchill 2013 and Dom Pérignon 2012 all experienced increases above 1.8% during the same period. After an eight-month period of declines for the region, buyers emerged to take advantage of perceived value. Krug 2008, for example, is once again trading over £4,000 per dozen, having touched £6,300 in May 2022.
While the Bordeaux 500 declined 3.0% in July, there were a few wines that bucked the trend, including: Château Rauzan-Ségla 2018 increasing 3.9% and Château Léoville Poyferré 2009 up 1.2%. However, Bordeaux dominated the list of wines that saw the biggest declines. Big fallers included Château Lafite Rothschild 2016 and 2018.
Burgundy also featured significantly among the steeper decliners, with Domaine Georges Roumier, Bonnes Mares Grand Cru 2019, Domaine Leflaive, Puligny-Montrachet Premier Cru 2019, and Domaine Armand Rousseau, Chambertin-Clos de Bèze Grand Cru 2016 all experiencing decreases in their respective prices. However, the region also saw a few rises with Domaine de la Romanée-Conti, Richebourg Grand Cru 2018 and Coche-Dury 2019 both seeing their Market Price increase more than 3.7% in July.
What were the top-performing wines in July?
*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.
As previously mentioned, the top price performers were from diverse regions. Leading the pack with the highest increase in July was Château de Beaucastel Hommage à Jacques Perrin, Châteauneuf-du-Pape 2019 from the Rhône, with an increase of 8.2%. Following closely was Dom Pérignon, Rosé 2008, with a 6.8% increase. Taking the third spot was Gaja, Barbaresco 2018, from Piedmont, which rose 5.3%. However, the wine’s year-to-date performance has been less positive, experiencing a 9.0% decrease.
Ornellaia, Bolgheri 2019 stands out among July’s top performers as the only wine to not be down year-to-date, rather increasing 6.5% during the period. In fifth position in the list of best performing wines in July is Burgundy’s Domaine de la Romanée-Conti, Richebourg Grand Cru 2018 with an increase of 4.2%.
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 630+ 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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