Three years ago we compiled a list of the most-viewed brands on Liv-ex, based on page clicks for January 2011 (five months before the market peaked). Back then, the list was Bordeaux heavy: the only two in the top 50 from beyond the Gironde were DRC and Sassicaia. We decided to update this using wine page views for January-June 2014 to see if there had been a shift in brand popularity in the market.
Interestingly, although First Growth trade has dwindled (from 70% in 2011 to around 35% now), the five Bordeaux Premier Crus remain the most viewed wines on Liv-ex. Two of the biggest risers in the table are Pavie and Angelus, which have increased in popularity since their promotion to Premier Grand Cru Classe A in September 2012. But the largest change is in the views for non-Bordeaux brands: there are now six in the top 50. Cristal, Masseto, and Guigal are all new additions, Sassicaia is the 28th most viewed wine compared to 44th in 2011, and DRC has moved up into the top ten. Of the 100 most-viewed wines, a third are non-Bordeaux.
We can see the emergence of Bordeaux brands which were not in the top 50 in 2011 but have gained a following on the back of their 100-point 2009s or 2010s: Pape Clement, Smith Haut Lafitte and Clos Fourtet. There have also been notably fewer views for the wines that were popular during the Asian-driven bull run, including the First Growths’ second wines, “dragon boat” Beychevelle and the Lafite-owned Duhart Milon.
Wines in red are new to the table from 2011.
Wines that exited the top 50 from 2011: Clarence Haut Brion, Rieussec, Conseillante, Lascombes, Troplong Mondot.
