As the En Primeur campaign continues to unravel, Bordeaux asserted its lead on regional trade with mature First Growths among the most-traded wines.
- Bordeaux led weekly trade, while Tuscany and Piedmont recorded a strong week at the expense of Burgundy, Champagne and the ‘Others’ category.
- Four of the top five top-traded wines by value were First Growth back vintages.
- This week, Liv-ex made its En Primeur opening report available for all to read. Release posts and pricing analysis were also published, some exclusive to Liv-ex members.
What’s happening in the secondary market?
All eyes were seemingly on Bordeaux as more En Primeur releases came from the region including Château Mouton Rothschild and Château Angelus. The region accounted for 46.3% of trade, and four of the five top-traded wines by value this week were back vintages of First Growths. More on this below.
Burgundy was quite some way behind with 20.0% of trade, down from 27.7% the previous week. This was despite having one wine among both the top-traded by value and volume. Champagne and the Rhone both saw their trade shares fall week-on-week, as did the ‘Others’ category which tumbled after a successful previous week, falling from 10.2% to just 3.4% of trade.
Tuscany and Piedmont on the other hand were on the up, rising to 9.8% and 5.1% of trade respectively. Tuscany in particular had three wines among the top-traded by volume: one Super Tuscan and two Brunelli di Montalcino. The USA was another winner this week, its trade share rising from 3.0% to 4.2% of trade.
Over in the spirits world, a case of Glenfarclas Highland Single Malt 15YO Speyside traded at £245 per 6×70.
What were this week’s top-traded wines?
As mentioned above, most of this week’s top-traded wines by value hailed from Bordeaux. More specifically, four of them were back vintages of First Growths.
Château Lafite Rothschild 2018 led weekly trade, last trading at £5,850 per case. The wine was released En Primeur at £6,000 per case in 2019, and has since seen its trade price rise above £8,000 per case before falling back down below its release price.
Château Lafite Rothschild 2018 trades on Liv-ex
Château Margaux 2019 was also among the top-traded wines by value. Similarly to Lafite 2018, the wine was released at £4,200 per case in 2020 and saw its Market Price rise to over £6,000 before falling again, albeit above its release price. Margaux 2019, which boasts four 100-point scores from Lisa Perrotti-Brown, William Kelley, James Suckling and Jane Anson, last traded at £5,218 per 12×75.
Two older back vintages also featured: Château Mouton Rothschild 2000 and Château Latour 1996. Although both have seen their trade prices peak and trough significantly over time (Latour 1996 is currently trading around its 2017, 2013, 2011, 2010 and 2008 levels), they have experienced remarkable growth since their release. The former last traded at £18,700 per 12×75, 1083.6% over its release price, while Latour 1996 last traded at £5,980 per case, 469.5% over its release price.
Château Latour 1996 trades on Liv-ex
A Burgundian wine completed the top five, Clos de Tart Grand Cru 2014, which last traded at £4,000 per case, 60% above its release price of £2,500 per 12×75.
As usual, the top-traded wines by volume show a different side of the market. Bordeaux did make an appearance with Fifth Growth Château Lynch-Bages 2021, which has a much lower Market Price than its regional counterparts mentioned above.
Tuscany had three wines among the top-traded by volume, including Super Tuscan Tignanello 2021. The wine was released in April 2024 at £1,300 per case, and last traded slightly below that price at £1,226 per 12×75.
Two other wines waved the flag of Tuscany, including the by-now very familiar Argiano, Brunello di Montalcino 2018. After its trade price peaked at £680 per case back in December 2023, the wine is now trading at £530 per 12×75. Conti Constanti 2019 was the other in-demand Brunello di Montalcino this week.
Burgundy’sDomaines Leflaive, Mâcon Verzé 2022also made an appearance after featuring on the list several times over the past few weeks.
The 2023 En Primeur campaign so far
Another busy week of the En Primeur campaign saw the following wines released:
- Château La Lagune 2023, £330 per 12×75
- Château Haut-Batailley 2023, £432 per 12×75
- Château Lafon-Rochet 2023, £330 per 12×75
- Château Cantemerle 2023, £241 per 12×75
- Château Mouton Rothschild 2023, £4,068 per 12×75
- Le Petit Mouton de Mouton Rothschild, £1,644 per 12×75
- Château Angelus 2023, £3,120 per 12×75
- Château d’Armailhac 2023, £408 per 12×75
- Château Chasse-Spleen 2023, £250.80 per 12×75
To get a day-by-day breakdown of releases, fill in this form to see our Bordeaux En Primeur 2023 Key Prices.
Weekly insights recap
Liv-ex’s Bordeaux 2023 En Primeur opening report is now available for all to read. The results of the Bordeaux En Primeur survey were also published this week.
The April indices update is available for all to read, as is this summary of Jane Anson’s Bordeaux 2023 scores. Members gained access to exclusive En Primeur release posts, as well as this analysis of the risers and fallers in the Burgundy 150 index.
Liv-ex analysis is drawn from the world’s most comprehensive database of fine wine prices. The data reflects the real-time activity of Liv-ex’s 620+ merchant members from across the globe. Together they represent the largest pool of liquidity in the world – currently £100m of bids and offers across 20,000 wines.
