- The Liv-ex 100 fell 1.1% in December, closing at 360.37. The index, which turns 20 this month, ended the year down 14.1%, but remains up 285.5% since its inception.
- All major indices were down month-on-month, the market still unable to find a bottom.
- Among the top price performers in the index were wines from the Rhône, Bordeaux, Piedmont and Tuscany.
*made using the Liv-ex Charting Tool.
The Liv-ex Fine Wine 100 fell once again in December, dropping to a level last seen in September 2021. However, the fall was less steep than the 1.3% decline in November and the 1.9% recorded in October. The index ended the year with a 14.1% decrease.
Liv-ex indices are celebrating their 20th birthday this month. The Liv-ex Fine Wine 100 is up 285.5% since its inception and remains up 15.5% on a five-year period.
Looking at the broader market, the Liv-ex Fine Wine 1000 (which tracks 1,000 wines from around the world) declined by 0.7%, a slower pace compared to the previous month’s 1.5% to end at 414.58. Among the Liv-ex 1000 sub-indices, the Bordeaux Legends 40 saw the most significant decline, dropping by 1.6%, an improvement on last month’s 2.2% fall to end at 410.72. Conversely, the Italy 100 experienced a positive movement, increasing by 0.4% to finish at 376.83 in December.
The Liv-ex Fine Wine 50 (which tracks the movement of First Growths and is updated daily) dipped by 0.8% month-on-month, a notable improvement on its 1.9% fall in November. The Bordeaux 500 (which tracks 500 leading Bordeaux wines) fell 1.1%, matching the decline recorded in the previous month.
During the festive season, activity on the exchange was maintained, with exposure nearly matching that of November both in terms of brands (LWIN7s) and individual wines (LWIN11s). However, trading levels experienced a decline, with both trade value and volume lower than the preceding month.
What’s driving the index?
In December, the Mid-Prices* of 54 wines within the Liv-ex 100 declined, down from 59 in November. Meanwhile, 35 wines recorded an increase in their Mid-Prices, mirroring the figure from November.
The top-performing wines were from Rhône, Bordeaux, Tuscany and Piedmont, with E. Guigal’s Côte Rôtie, La Turque 2018, seeing the largest rise at 11.4%. The wine was also one of six displaying a positive one-year performance, up by 4.8% year-on-year.
While many 2018 and 2019 wines featured at the top, they also prominently occupied the lower ranks, including Masseto, Toscana 2018 (-12.5%) and 2019 (-10.3%), Château Figeac 2018 (-10.9%) and Domaine François Raveneau, Chablis Premier Cru, Montée de Tonnerre 2018 (-8.6%).
Which wines performed best in December?
*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, two 2019 and two 2018 wines were among the best performing in December. Château Margaux 2018 was one of them, with 96 points from Neal Martin and an initial 100-point score from Lisa Perrotti-Brown in 2021, which was subsequently downgraded to 99 points in 2023.
This downgrade could be a reason why the wine has seen its value fluctuate since its release price at £5,112 per case. It hit its peak trade price of £6,330 in September 2022 but has since fallen to its last trade price of £5,278 (5.8% below its Market Price of £5,600 per case).
Château Margaux 2018 trades on Liv-ex
Château Lafleur 2019 also came in the top five best-performing wines within the index with an increase of 6.5% in its Mid-Price in December. The wine has a score of 99 points from Neal Martin, Lisa Perrotti-Brown and Jane Anson. With a last trade price of £14,398 per case, the wine is trading 148.2% above its release price of £5,800 per 12×75, but lower than its peak trade price of £19,126 per case in November 2022.
Château Lafleur 2019 trades on Liv-ex
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.
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