- The Liv-ex 100 fell 1.3% in August, closing at 376.55. Year-to-date, the index is down 10.3%.
- All major Liv-ex indices saw negative movements in August. Only the Bordeaux Legends 40 and Sauternes 50 recorded increases.
- Among the top price performers in the index were wines from the Rhône, Bordeaux, and California.
*made using the Liv-ex Charting Tool
The Liv-ex Fine Wine 100 index continued its decline in August, albeit at a slower pace, dropping by 1.3% to close at 376.55. This follows the steep 3.1% decline in July. Year-to-date, the index has fallen by 10.3%.
In August, all Liv-ex indices experienced declines, except for the Bordeaux Legends 40, which increased by 0.3%, and the Sauternes 50 index, which saw a 0.9% increase.
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 1.0% and 0.8% month-on-month respectively. The Liv-ex Bordeaux 500 (which tracks 500 leading Bordeaux wines) also decreased by 0.8% during the same period. All of these declines were less severe than those recorded in the previous month.
Trading activity increased in August, with trade by both value and volume showing an uptick as sellers adjusted prices and buyers took advantage of opportunities. Market breadth also expanded, with 2,035 individual labels (LWIN11s) trading on Liv-ex over the past month.
What’s driving the index?
Out of the 100 wines in the index, 54 saw their prices decline, 35 increased, and 11 remained unchanged month-on-month. This is a notable positive change from July, where over 75 wines experienced declines.
Top-performing labels in August included wines from Burgundy, the Rhône, Bordeaux, and California. The wine that increased the most was Domaine de la Janasse, Châteauneuf-du-Pape, Vieilles Vignes 2019, which increased by 33.7% month-on-month.
Other strong performers included 2019 wines from the Rhône, such as Paul Jaboulet Aîné, Hermitage, La Chapelle Rouge (+11.1%) and Domaine Jean Louis Chave, Hermitage, Rouge (+7.8%). 2019 appeared to be the vintage of choice in August, with six wines from that vintage featuring in the top ten price performers in the index.
In Burgundy, Domaine Arnoux-Lachaux, Vosne-Romanée 2019, was a strong performer with an 11.1% increase. Other Burgundy wines like Domaine Armand Rousseau, Chambertin-Clos de Bèze Grand Cru 2016 (+7.6%), and Domaine François Raveneau, Chablis Premier Cru, Montée de Tonnerre 2018 (+4.0%) also performed well.
However, the Burgundy 150 index as a whole declined by 0.6% in August, with some wines like Domaine Georges Roumier, Bonnes Mares Grand Cru 2019 (-10.2%) and Domaine des Lambrays, Clos des Lambrays Grand Cru 2019 (-8.7%) experiencing significant declines.
Bordeaux had a mixed performance this month. Notable risers included Château d’Yquem 2015, which increased by 15.1% month-on-month, and Château Haut-Brion 2010, with a 7.8% increase. On the other hand, four of the bottom ten performers were from Bordeaux, including Château Lynch-Bages 2019 (-7.2%), Pétrus 2019 (-7.3%), Château Margaux 2015 (-9.0%), and Château Figeac 2018, which recorded the biggest fall at -11.8%.
Which wines performed best in August?
*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-performing wines in the Liv-ex Fine Wine 100 came from Burgundy, the Rhône, Bordeaux, and California. Two wines have shown a positive year-to-date performance: Domaine de la Janasse, Châteauneuf-du-Pape, Vieilles Vignes 2019 (8.4%) and Scarecrow, Cabernet Sauvignon, Rutherford 2019 (1.9%).
However, the other three wines have recorded a less favourable year-to-date performance: Château d’Yquem 2015 (-11.1%), Domaine Arnoux-Lachaux, Vosne-Romanée 2019 (-18.6%), Paul Jaboulet Aîné, Hermitage, La Chapelle Rouge 2019 (-7.7%).
The 2021 vintage of Hermitage La Chapelle, formerly known as Paul Jaboulet Aîné’s Hermitage La Chapelle, was recently released at £2,268 per 12×75 as part of La Place de Bordeaux’s Autumn Releases. This release represents a significant increase of 56.2% compared to the 2020’s release price of £1,452 per case and is considerably higher than the 2019 vintage’s current Market Price of £1,580 per 12×75.
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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