- Bordeaux led weekly trade, followed closely by Burgundy, Champagne and Tuscany.
- Two vintages of Opus One were amongst the top-traded wines this week.
- This week, Liv-ex members were sent a Market Update on bid-to-offer ratios in the Italy 100, including a closer look at Masseto.
Bordeaux continued to lead the market this week, taking a 33.1% share of traded value – up from its close last week at 30.9%. Château Lafite Rothschild proved the most actively traded producer, with several vintages of both the first and second wine (Carruades de Lafite) changing hands.
Burgundy came in second with a 24.3% share. The region was buoyed by high-value wines from producers such as Emmanuel Rouget, Henri Jayer and Domaine de la Romanée-Conti.
Tuscany’s share of trade fell from 9.9% last week to 6.4% this week. While large volumes of Isole e Olena’s Cepparello traded, higher-value Tuscan wines such as Tignanello and Masseto saw a dip in activity.
The USA overtook Tuscany with a 7.1% share of trade. While Screaming Eagle’s Oakville Cabernet Sauvignon has frequently featured as the top-traded wine of the region, this week Opus One took center stage, accounting for 62.3% of the region’s trade. Alongside the 2019 and 2018 vintages, which were amongst the top 5 traded wines of the week, the 2015 and the 2016 also traded actively.
Spain took a 5.0% share of traded value – more than double its close at 2.0% last week. Vega Sicilia dominated in the region, accounting for 60.6% of trade. As expected, Unico traded most actively, though several vintages of Valbuena 5 and Alion also changed hands.
What were the week’s top-traded wines?
For the second week in a row, Bollinger R.D. 2008 has come in as the top-traded wine by value, and once again has featured amongst the top-traded wines by volume. The wine’s price has fallen over the course of the week, trading at £2,064 per 12×75 on Sunday and 7.9% lower at £1,900 on Wednesday.
Château Lafite Rothschild 2019 came in second place – the only Bordeaux wine amongst the top five. Last trading at £4,620, the wine’s price has now fallen well below its initial international release price of £5,112. While trading actively throughout this year, the wine has seen a strong uptick in demand over the past month.
Opus One 2019 and 2018 were the third and fourth top-traded wines by value this week respectively. Trading prices for the 2018 vintage varied between £2,922 and £2,676, hovering approximately around the wine’s original release price of £2,760. By contrast, trades of the 2019 vintage are taking place circa 10% below the wine’s original release price. Though receiving a similar critical response, the 2019 vintage was priced nearly 10% higher than the 2018, and released just prior to the turn of the market.
Liv-ex trades of Opus One 2018
Liv-ex trades of Opus One 2019
As can be clearly seen in the charts, prices of the Opus One 2018 exhibit more volatility than prices of the 2019, which have tracked consistently down since April 2023.
Top-traded wines by volume
Isole e Olena’s Cepparello does not trade frequently on the exchange but the 2021 vintage did so this week in large volumes. The wine traded this week at £696 per 12×7, but in July sold consistently at £736 per case.
Weekly insights recap
This week, Liv-ex members were sent a Market Update analysing the Italy 100’s bid-to-offer ratio, with a deeper look at one of its component wines, Masseto.
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.
