- The Liv-ex 100 fell 0.1% in September, closing at 376.34. Year-to-date, the index is down 10.3%.
- The market is showing signs of volatility, with major indices recording contradictory movements.
- Among the top price performers in the index were wines from Australia, France and Italy.
*made using the Liv-ex Charting Tool
In September, the Liv-ex Fine Wine 100 displayed stability, with a marginal decline of 0.1%, closing at 376.34. Year-to-date, the index has faced a 10.3% decrease, but September’s minor decline marks a notable departure from the steep downward trend that began in April.
Looking to the broader market, September brought some volatility in the indices, with the majority still experiencing declines. However, the numbers were slightly rosier than the previous month: the Champagne 50 ran flat, while the Italy 100 and the Rest of the World 60 both recorded increases.
The Liv-ex Fine Wine 50 (which tracks the movement of First Growths and is updated daily) dipped by 0.1% month-on-month, marking a much slower decline than the previous month. Meanwhile, the Liv-ex Fine Wine 1000 (which tracks 1,000 wines from around the world) recorded a steeper decline of 1.0% compared to the previous month’s 0.8% fall. The Liv-ex Bordeaux 500 (which tracks 500 leading Bordeaux wines) decreased by 0.8% last month, matching the previous month’s decline.
Last month, we wrote that August’s figures pointed towards a buyers’ market; it appears they have risen to the call, as September saw increased trading activity by both value and volume on the exchange. Market breadth continues to expand steadily, with 2,202 individual labels (LWIN 11s) trading on Liv-ex last month.
What’s driving the index?
The Liv-ex 100 recorded a more balanced performance compared to the previous month. Among the 100 wines in the index, 49 wines saw their prices increase, 44 decreased, and 7 remained unchanged month-on-month. By contrast, in August, only 35 wines saw their prices increase, an improvement on July’s 20.
The top-performing labels in September hailed from around the world, including wines from Australia, Piedmont, Bordeaux, Champagne, California, and Burgundy. Penfolds Grange 2017 from South Australia recorded the most significant increase, rising by 18.4% month-on-month.
In terms of regions, Bordeaux had 23 wines inside the index experiencing price declines, compared to 17 that saw gains. Among the stronger performers were Château Pavie 2018 (+6.5%) and Château Figeac 2018 (+5.1%), while Pétrus 2019 fell by 6.5% month-on-month and has suffered a 26.2% year-to-date drop, making it the third-worst performer for the year so far.
Burgundy, on the other hand, saw 13 wines inside the Liv-ex 100 increase in value or maintain their prices from the previous month, and only five wines experiencing declines. However, the rate of these decreases far outpaced the rises. For instance, Domaine des Lambrays, Clos des Lambrays 2019 experienced an increase of 6.4% and Coche-Dury, Meursault 2019 increased by 4.9%. In contrast, Domaine Arnoux-Lachaux, Vosne-Romanée 2019 recorded a drop of 14.8%. This is reflected in the fact that the Burgundy 150 index declined even further in September, down 2.1% compared to the August decline of 0.6%.
After a strong month for the 2019 vintage in August, the tables have now turned with eight of the bottom ten wines hailing from that vintage, including Domaine Arnoux-Lachaux, Vosne-Romanée 2019 (-14.8%), Domaine Jean Louis Chave, Hermitage, Rouge 2019 (-8.7%), and Château Pontet-Canet 2019(-6.9%).
Which wines performed best in September?
*prices shown are Liv-ex Mid Prices; the mid-point between the highest live bid and lowest live offer on the market. These are the firm commitments to buy and sell at that price; transactional data rather than list prices. It represents the actual trading activity of 620+ of the world’s leading fine wine merchants. Because Liv-ex doesn’t itself trade, this data is truly independent and reliable.
As previously mentioned, the top-performing wines in the Liv-ex Fine Wine 100 came from France, Italy and Australia. While they all sit at the top for the month of September, they have all declined year-to-date. Piedmont’s Bartolo Mascarello, Barolo 2017 and Bruno Giacosa, Barolo, Falletto Vigna Le Rocche Riserva 2016, for instance, have both seen their value decline by 10.6% and 9.6% in 2023 respectively.
Salon released its 2013 vintage of Le Mesnil-sur-Oger Grand Cru in September at a price of £2,745 per 3 bottles (£10,980 per 12×75). This vintage was released at a higher price than the Market Price of some of its back vintages, including the 2012, among others. Furthermore, Salon Market Prices have a 93.2% correlation to Wine Advocate scores and at that release price, the 2013 comes in above the line implied by Liv-ex’s Fair Value methodology. The 2012 vintage on the other hand, which sits in September’s top performers, came in under the Fair Value line, indicating a potential opportunity for buyers. The wine has a Wine Advocate score of 98 points and a current Market Price of £10,200 per 12×75.
Liv-ex members have access to the Fair Value Tool, which lets them explore the relation between wines’ Market Prices and their age or critics scores. Request a demo to find out more.
What is the Liv-ex 100 index?
The Liv-ex Fine Wine 100 Index is the industry leading benchmark. It represents the price movement of 100 of the most sought-after fine wines on the world’s most active and liquid marketplace from France, Italy, USA, Australia and Spain. Stretching back over 20 years, the Liv-ex 100 is quoted on Bloomberg and Reuters screens.
All Liv-ex indices are calculated using our Mid Price; the mid-point between the highest live bid and lowest live offer on the market. These are the firm commitments to buy and sell at that price; transactional data rather than list prices. It represents the actual trading activity of 620+ of the world’s leading fine wine merchants. Because Liv-ex doesn’t itself trade, this data is truly independent and reliable.
Independent data, direct from the market.
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