- Bordeaux and Burgundy led trade this week, followed by Champagne, Tuscany and the USA.
- The top five traded wines this week were dominated by high-value wines from Champagne, Burgundy, Bordeaux and California.
- This week, Liv-ex published a detailed report on trading in the first half of 2024 and a market update on US merchants’ buying habits.
What’s happening in the secondary market?
Bordeaux’s share of trade by value fell significantly this week, taking only 28.5%, as opposed to last week’s 40.3%. While all five of last week’s top traded wines hailed from Bordeaux, only one – Le Pin 2020 – did so this week.
Burgundy came in at a close second, with a 27.8% share of trade – up from last week’s close at 18.8%. The region was buoyed by Domaine de la Romanée-Conti. Trades of wines from DRC accounted for over 10% of overall trade on the market this week.
Champagne, slightly down from its close last week at 12.5% trade share, followed as the third most traded region by value, despite Salon le Mesnil 2012 taking the top spot as most traded wine by value.
Tuscany’s trade share increased from 9.5% to 11.1%. As expected, Sassicaia and Tignanello proved most in-demand from the region. They were followed, however, by Isole e Olena Cepparello, thanks to the recent release of Paolo de Marchi’s final vintage.
The USA enjoyed another strong close, with wines from the region comprising 8.3% of traded value. Screaming Eagle’s Oakville Cabernet Sauvignon remained popular, with trades of 2021 and 2019 vintages accounting for over 50% of traded value in the region.
While the ‘Others’ category saw decreased trade on last week, Spanish wines continued to trade regularly. Domino de Pingus’s Pingus 2021 was the top-traded wine from the region by value, while Clos Mogador’s Manyetes Vi de Vila Gratallops 2021 was the top-traded by volume.
What were this week’s top traded wines?
This week, Salon le Mesnil 2012 secured the top spot as most-traded wine by value. Between late 2021 through the peak of the market in October 2022, Salon 2012 traded regularly between £10,000 and £12,000. Since then, the price has been adrift, alongside the broader Champagne market, which has fallen 26% since peak. Still, unlike some recent releases from other Champagne houses, those fortunate enough to have secured an allocation are still enjoying handsome returns (released on allocation at £5,800 per 12×75).
Salon le Mesnil 2012 auctions and trades on Liv-ex
Screaming Eagle’s Oakville Cabernet Sauvignon 2021, Le Pin 2020 and DRC’s Romanée-Conti Grand Cru 2017 took second, third and fourth place respectively. All three of these wines are known for their low production numbers, which elicit their high prices.
Top-traded wines by volume
Tenuta San Guido’s Sassicaia 2018 came in as the top traded wine by volume, and fifth top-traded wine by value. Since its release in early 2021, prices have remained remarkably flat – resilient to the market’s downward momentum.
Sassicaia 2018 trades on Liv-ex
Isole e Olena’s Cepparello 2021 came in as the second top-traded wine by volume. The wine was released in Italy in April, and, as of this week, has found its way onto the secondary market. As reported by Jancis Robinson, Isole e Olena was sold in 2022 to the EPI group. This makes the 2021 vintage the last produced by Paolo de Marchi, who has painstakingly built Isole e Olena from the ground up over the last 45 years.
Clos des Papes 2022, recently bottled and a newcomer to the secondary market, took fourth place amongst the top traded wines by volume. In the short time since its En Primeur release at £732 per 12×75, the wine has depreciated in value, last trading at a 30.3% discount to its original price.
Weekly insights recap
This week, Liv-ex published a detailed report on trading activity in the fine wine market during the first half of 2024, available here. Liv-ex members were sent a Market Update looking into buying habits of US merchants.
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.
