The Liv-ex 1000 extended its losses (-0.40%) in April, although at a much slower rate than the month prior (-1.06%).
The Liv-ex 100 also ended the month with a decline (-0.30%) while the Fine Wine 50 increased 0.82%, the first monthly increase since August 2019 and largest upward move since June 2018. The Fine Wine 50 – the ten most recent vintages of the Bordeaux First Growths – remains the weakest sub-index of the Bordeaux 500 over the past year.
Currency markets were working against the Liv-ex indices in April; Sterling strengthened significantly from its lows in mid-March, increasing the price of wines when viewed in alternative currencies.
Sub-Indices
Within the Liv-ex 1000 sub-indices, the Champagne 50 had the largest monthly increase, 1.31% followed by the Bordeaux 500 at 0.09%. The Bordeaux Right Bank 50 (0.60%) and the Fine Wine 50 (0.80%) were the main drivers of growth for the region but were countered by declines in the Second Wine 50 (-0.7%) and Right Bank 100 (-0.2%). The Left Bank 200 and Sauternes 50 both were flat.
The Italy 100 (-0.86%), Rest of the World 60 (-1.46%) and Rhone 100 (-0.06%) all declined but enjoyed impressive growth in both market share and distinct LWIN7s traded. The three regions produced records across both categories.
In fact, the overall market saw considerable broadening but at the expense of value. Reflecting perhaps the shift to home consumption and trade automation, the average bottle of wine traded has declined in price by 35% since January while there has been a 31% increase in the amount of unique wines traded in that period. In April, 34% of trades were conducted through automation, up from 22% in January.
