What’s happening in the market?
Burgundy is back in focus, rebounding after the close of Tuesday’s trading to claim a 21.2% share of total trade. This performance can be attributed to the active trading of wines from Domaine Arnoux-Lachaux and Domaine de la Romanee-Conti.
In contrast, while it is still leading the pack, Bordeaux’s market share has dropped slightly to 46.1%. The region’s top position is buoyed by wines from Château Pontet-Canet and Château Figeac trading.
Champagne continues to lose ground and now only holds a 9.9% share of total trade by value, compared to 14.9% last week.
Today’s deep-dive: Port opportunities below £500
Port has traditionally occupied a modest presence in the secondary market. The Port 50 index, which tracks the price performance of the ten most recent physical vintages of Dow, Fonseca, Graham, Taylor and Warre, has recorded a modest 3.2% decline year-to-date, less than the 7.2% decline experienced by the Bordeaux 500 and the 9.5% drop experienced by the Liv-ex Fine Wine 1000.
Its year-on-year performance is similar, with a 5.7% decline compared to the 6% and 8.4% drops observed in the Bordeaux 500 and Liv-ex Fine Wine 1000, respectively. Inside the Port 50, the Graham’s and Taylor’s sub-indices have declined the most over the last year, dropping by 8.7% and 9.7% respectively. As such, there are opportunities for buyers to secure these wines at advantageous prices. See more below.
As the holiday season approaches, activity around Port typically picks up as it makes an appearance on many Christmas tables. Last November saw the highest number of LWIN11s traded and the highest monthly trade by value for Port wines. Buyers may want to take advantage of the current softer market ahead of the seasonal boom and explore mature vintages (such as ’94, ’97, ’03, etc.), many of which are now available at a discount to their Market Price or at prices lower than last year.
For instance, Warre’s 1994, with 94 points from Robert Parker, presents an attractive opportunity. The wine has a current Market Price of £495 per case, but its last trade price was recorded 3% below that, at £480 per case. This time last year, it was available at a Market Price of £540 per case, highlighting the potential savings for buyers.
Another example is Graham’s 2003, which has a current Market Price of £480 (12×75) but last changed hands at £338 per case.
Opportunities under £500 per case
With the broader market experiencing a downturn, buyers can take advantage of numerous Port wines priced at or below £500 per case.
The table below shows some of the highest-rated Ports within the Port 50 index that are currently available at £500 or less:
There are currently 158 LIVE opportunities for Port on Liv-ex. Log in to the exchange to view them and trade.
In case you missed it
Here’s what we’ve been reading:
- Liv-ex: Burgundy’s back: The region’s trade share increases to 22.1%
- The Drinks Business: Ethics of drinking £15k bottle of DRC questioned
- Financial Times: China keeps benchmark rates unchanged as economy finds footing
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.
