- Bordeaux led weekly trade, followed by Burgundy, Champagne and the USA.
- Two Californian wines were amongst the top-traded of the week.
- This week, Liv-ex members were sent a Market Update on the difference between trade and Market Prices over time. A one page summary of the August Market Report was also published.
What’s happening in the market?
Bordeaux continued to lead the market this week, closing with a 30.5% share of traded value – exactly flat on last week’s share. Château Lafite Rothschild (several vintages) accounted for 29.2% of the region’s trade. Château Haut-Brion and Château Margaux followed, taking 11.4% and 9.4% respectively.
Though Burgundy’s trade share has dipped from 25.4% last week to 21.3% this week, Domaine de la Romanée-Conti has seen an uptick in activity. 35.5% more (by value) has changed hands this week than last week. As we recently reported in a Market Update on the DRC index, though prices have been falling, both number of trades and volume traded of DRC is up year-on-year.
Piedmont’s share of trade has almost doubled since last week, closing at 6.2%. Alongside Gaja’s Sori San Lorenzo Barbaresco 2016, which featured amongst the top-traded wines by value, several vintages of Giacomo Conterno’s Barolo Monfortino Riserva traded actively.
The USA has made the most significant gains this week, up from 2.9% last week to 11.2% this week. This was thanks largely to trades of high-value California wines from Screaming Eagle, Dominus and Opus One.
Spain’s trade share by value decreased slightly on last week. Dominio de Pingus overtook Vega Sicilia as the country’s top-traded producer, with several vintages of Flor de Pingus changing hands.
What were this week’s top-traded wines?
Bordeaux had only one entry into the top-traded wines by value this week – Château Lafite Rothschild 2019. The wine also featured as the top-traded wine of H1 2024. Its trade at £4,700 this week marks its lowest-ever transaction price on the market, 8.1% below its initial international release at £5,112. As prices have fallen, trades have occurred increasingly frequently — the first two weeks of August 2024 have seen more than double the volume traded throughout July 2024.
Screaming Eagle’s Oakville Cabernet Sauvignon 2021 – another of H1 2024’s top-traded wines – came in second place. Its last trade of the week occurred 8.4% above its Market Price, which speaks to the wine’s retail scarcity.
Dominus 2014 featured amongst the top-traded wines of the week by both value and volume. In late July, a case of 6 changed hands for £600 (£1,200 per 12×75). This week’s trades have occurred at higher price points – from £1,450 to £1,708 per 12×75. Still, trades are taking place below the wine’s Market Price, which currently sits at £1,800.
Liv-ex trades of Dominus 2014
Top-traded wines by volume
Two Champagnes featured amongst the top-traded wines of the week by volume. While Piper Heidsieck’s Prohibition Edition took the top spot, Bollinger’s Special Cuvée has traded more regularly over the past year. The wine’s prices have remained resistant to the broader market’s downward momentum, with both Market Price and traded prices rising steadily since its initial release. In the chart below, we observe several trades above Market Price. While the majority of these are of large bottle formats, several cases traded at the end of July at £430+ per 12×75, a 15.0+% premium to the Market Price at the time. This week, large volumes traded at a 14.6% discount to Market Price.
Liv-ex trades of Bollinger, Special Cuvée
Weekly insights recap
This week, Liv-ex members were sent a Market Update on the difference between Market Prices and trade prices over time. While the August Market Report is reserved for members on Silver packages and above, a one page summary was published this week for all members.
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.
